The Origin
"I didn't start a-Shugo as a business. I started it as a necessity — because I couldn't find products and coaching built for someone like me."
AV
Ashish Verma
Founder · IIM Lucknow · Marathoner
In 2024, I weighed 95 kg. Professionally accomplished, personally stretched, and quietly running on empty. Then I started running — one painful kilometre at a time.
What I discovered shocked me. India's running market had exploded to 2.5 million runners, but the products and coaching available were built for someone else. Generic gear. Western nutrition. Coaching that assumed you had the body of a 25-year-old and the schedule of a professional athlete.
25 kg later, dozens of races completed, and a body and mind completely transformed — I decided to build what I wished had existed. a-Shugo is the brand I needed. And I think it's the brand India's runners deserve.