Fitness entrepreneur spreads the message on the mainland

Wherever he is - warming up a crowd of marathon runners in Tiananmen Square, or leading a pack of joggers in a Beijing park - Linus Holmsater is easy to spot.

A shock of blond hair, a pair of fluorescent pink shorts and a voice that bursts with enthusiasm are the unmistakable trademarks of the Swedish fitness instruction entrepreneur. He is a man on a mission to prevent China becoming a nation of computer-screen-watching fatties, intent on persuading people, by vigorous action and loquacious exhortation, that fitness can be fun, whether it is a gentle run around the local park or a mass aerobics session.

If Holmsater fails, it will not be for lack of effort or commitment. So far his mass exercise businesses, Heyrobics and HeyRunning, which are offered at cheap prices or even for free, are proving to be hugely popular, initially with the expatriate community in Beijing and, increasingly, with local Chinese.

Holmsater, 28, quit a well-paid job in finance to start Heyrobics, initially running it as a non-profit organisation seeking to get people off their couches. The long-term aim is to build a database of subscribers with commercial value, offer premium paid-for fitness programmes and tailor-make courses for corporations.

For now, though, Holmsater is focusing on increasing the number of participants and gaining wider exposure. Having tentative official blessing has helped - he led the Tiananmen Square warm-up for 30,000 participants in the Beijing marathon one year - along with appearing on local television. Regular HeyRunning sessions in the city's largest downtown park, Chaoyang, can attract a summertime crowd of up to a hundred people, while scores take part in the twice-weekly Heyrobics gym sessions involving work-outs with a strong social and networking element.