Singapore's first hot yoga studio, Affinity Yoga (formerly Absolute Yoga), has successfully been in operation for over 10 years. But on Sept.2, both of Affinity Yoga's studios (one in River Valley and the other on Telok Ayer Street) closed without notice, causing an uproar on social media.
Several members have filed police reports against the company, which was founded and is co-owned by American, Jeanne Chung. Chung released a statement on Sept. 4 saying, “We are just taking a week to fix some important parts of the business so we can be back good as new on Monday. Or even better”. She didn't reveal how Affinity Yoga would compensate their members or if the company would allow for membership refunds.
It is known that roughly two years ago, an Australian woman, Cameron Brown, came on board as co-owner. But she wasn't always Cameron Brown. A former Affinity Yoga teacher who wishes to remain anonymous said working was a positive experience when Chung was in full control. "She ran such a tight ship; the studio was spotless and the members were happy. Then a woman named Nikki Haustead came on board. Shortly after she started working with us, she changed her name to Cameron Brown," the teacher said.
Who is Nikki Haustead?
According to social media users, Nikki Haustead changed her name to Cameron Brown to avoid being found by her creditors. She'd apparently moved to Singapore to join Affinity from Australia, where she'd opened and managed a host of yoga and pilates studios including Tiaki Pilates and Yoga, and failed to pay dozens of staff and suppliers thousands of dollars.
The anonymous former Affinity Yoga teacher was surprised that Chung had taken on a partner with such a background. “When Cameron first joined the studio, I Googled "Nikki Haustead", the name she was first introduced as, and I found such shocking information. It's so easy to trace these things these days, it puzzles me why Cameron was brought on board”.
Some in Affinity Yoga's community are aware of Brown's past. Christina Chua, a member of Affinity Yoga's Facebook page wrote on Sept. 4, “I tried contacting (Cameron Brown), but she denied being Nikki and said nothing should be demanded of her and hung up...”.
In June, 2013, user 'Donotjoin Y' wrote on rayv.com.au, an Australian website which allows users a platform to review local businesses, “Nikki Haustead has been cheating, exploiting and scamming people for money since at least 2005. I know from watching her behavior... I know (because) her and her ex-husband Dean Haustead (tried) to scam $30,000 from me”.
Arran Sethi, a Briton and former employee at Tiaki Pilates and Yoga, wasn't so lucky. He worked for Brown for almost nine months and says that Brown still owes him USD26,000 in unpaid salaries. He says three of his former colleagues are still owed USD48,000, USD20,000 and USD15,000 respectively. Sethi, along with several others, had come on board to help Brown establish Tiaki Pilates & Yoga.
“She started Taiki in Hurstville but then it went under and she declared bankruptcy. This happened while she was spending money on luxuries like Botox, dinner dates and getting pampered. She was absolved of her debt and then she opened another Taiki on Humphreys Lane. She also sold a franchise to New Zealand, but eventually she was ousted because she ran up debts for the company”.
The unprofessional behavior did not stop there. “We would sometimes work seven days a week. Me and my colleagues would even take care of her three children like we were their nannies,” says Sethi, “Sometimes she would request for us to sleep in her bed with her because she was scared to be alone.
“We were young and enthusiastic and she's a good sales person. She promised that she would help me get citizenship in Australia. She promised me company shares and that she would make me a manager at one of her studios. When I left, I felt emotionally and psychologically manipulated. She looked me in the eyes, crying and swore on her children's lives that she would pay me. I didn't get anything”.
When Sethi learned that Brown had moved to Singapore and started work with Affinity Yoga, he called and emailed the studio several times, but he says that they denied that Nikki worked there. However Sethi isn't surprised by the recent events at Affinity Yoga.
Odd business practices
Chung has been based in the United States over the past year as she was tending to a sick relative, leaving Brown as the only Singapore-based owner.
It was during this time that Amanda Lee, an Affinity Yoga member since 2005, started noticing odd business practices, “In 2013 the studio started running a lot of aggressive promotions. We were told that it was part of their ninty anniversary promotions and no more (promotions) would be offered in 2014. But after (the promotions) ended... the prices just got cheaper and cheaper to the point where they were advertising $1 classes for new students. Then I noticed teachers started to leave. The classes were packed... and the class schedule just kept changing and the maintenance of the studio got poorer”.
Lin Zhigang took to Facebook to review her experience with Affinity Yoga, “When will you stop with your never ending promotions? You just had a 40% off in September, telling all students it was a once in a life time good deal which we have to grab. IMMEDIATELY after the promotion is over, you come up with a one for one, which is effectively 50% off, better than the previous promotion... This is (totally) disrespectful to students who had bought your promotion packages earlier. (It's) dishonest and unethical”.
Sethi isn't surprised by the recent events at Affinity Yoga, “She used to do the same in Sydney. Members were conned each time into thinking they are getting a good deal. Once they'd signed the contract Nikki would take their money and not offer any true support”.
In the statement which was released this week, Chung explained that the reason why the studio closed was because several teachers resigned without notice. It is said that the reason why the teachers left so abruptly was because they hadn't been paid in at least two months.
Says Lee, “I hope the studio will resume and function properly this time, without any involvement by Cameron. Either that, or my money back”.
Photos: Affinity Yoga
Singapore's first hot yoga studio, Affinity Yoga (formerly Absolute Yoga), has successfully been in operation for over 10 years. But on Sept.2, both of Affinity Yoga's studios (one in River Valley and the other on Telok Ayer Street) closed without notice, causing an uproar on social media.
Several members have filed police reports against the company, which was founded and is co-owned by American, Jeanne Chung. Chung released a statement on Sept. 4 saying, “We are just taking a week to fix some important parts of the business so we can be back good as new on Monday. Or even better”. She didn't reveal how Affinity Yoga would compensate their members or if the company would allow for membership refunds.
It is known that roughly two years ago, an Australian woman, Cameron Brown, came on board as co-owner. But she wasn't always Cameron Brown. A former Affinity Yoga teacher who wishes to remain anonymous said working was a positive experience when Chung was in full control. "She ran such a tight ship; the studio was spotless and the members were happy. Then a woman named Nikki Haustead came on board. Shortly after she started working with us, she changed her name to Cameron Brown," the teacher said.
Who is Nikki Haustead?
According to social media users, Nikki Haustead changed her name to Cameron Brown to avoid being found by her creditors. She'd apparently moved to Singapore to join Affinity from Australia, where she'd opened and managed a host of yoga and pilates studios including Tiaki Pilates and Yoga, and failed to pay dozens of staff and suppliers thousands of dollars.
The anonymous former Affinity Yoga teacher was surprised that Chung had taken on a partner with such a background. “When Cameron first joined the studio, I Googled "Nikki Haustead", the name she was first introduced as, and I found such shocking information. It's so easy to trace these things these days, it puzzles me why Cameron was brought on board”.
Some in Affinity Yoga's community are aware of Brown's past. Christina Chua, a member of Affinity Yoga's Facebook page wrote on Sept. 4, “I tried contacting (Cameron Brown), but she denied being Nikki and said nothing should be demanded of her and hung up...”.
In June, 2013, user 'Donotjoin Y' wrote on rayv.com.au, an Australian website which allows users a platform to review local businesses, “Nikki Haustead has been cheating, exploiting and scamming people for money since at least 2005. I know from watching her behavior... I know (because) her and her ex-husband Dean Haustead (tried) to scam $30,000 from me”.
Arran Sethi, a Briton and former employee at Tiaki Pilates and Yoga, wasn't so lucky. He worked for Brown for almost nine months and says that Brown still owes him USD26,000 in unpaid salaries. He says three of his former colleagues are still owed USD48,000, USD20,000 and USD15,000 respectively. Sethi, along with several others, had come on board to help Brown establish Tiaki Pilates & Yoga.
“She started Taiki in Hurstville but then it went under and she declared bankruptcy. This happened while she was spending money on luxuries like Botox, dinner dates and getting pampered. She was absolved of her debt and then she opened another Taiki on Humphreys Lane. She also sold a franchise to New Zealand, but eventually she was ousted because she ran up debts for the company”.
The unprofessional behavior did not stop there. “We would sometimes work seven days a week. Me and my colleagues would even take care of her three children like we were their nannies,” says Sethi, “Sometimes she would request for us to sleep in her bed with her because she was scared to be alone.
“We were young and enthusiastic and she's a good sales person. She promised that she would help me get citizenship in Australia. She promised me company shares and that she would make me a manager at one of her studios. When I left, I felt emotionally and psychologically manipulated. She looked me in the eyes, crying and swore on her children's lives that she would pay me. I didn't get anything”.
When Sethi learned that Brown had moved to Singapore and started work with Affinity Yoga, he called and emailed the studio several times, but he says that they denied that Nikki worked there. However Sethi isn't surprised by the recent events at Affinity Yoga.
Odd business practices
Chung has been based in the United States over the past year as she was tending to a sick relative, leaving Brown as the only Singapore-based owner.
It was during this time that Amanda Lee, an Affinity Yoga member since 2005, started noticing odd business practices, “In 2013 the studio started running a lot of aggressive promotions. We were told that it was part of their ninty anniversary promotions and no more (promotions) would be offered in 2014. But after (the promotions) ended... the prices just got cheaper and cheaper to the point where they were advertising $1 classes for new students. Then I noticed teachers started to leave. The classes were packed... and the class schedule just kept changing and the maintenance of the studio got poorer”.
Lin Zhigang took to Facebook to review her experience with Affinity Yoga, “When will you stop with your never ending promotions? You just had a 40% off in September, telling all students it was a once in a life time good deal which we have to grab. IMMEDIATELY after the promotion is over, you come up with a one for one, which is effectively 50% off, better than the previous promotion... This is (totally) disrespectful to students who had bought your promotion packages earlier. (It's) dishonest and unethical”.
Sethi isn't surprised by the recent events at Affinity Yoga, “She used to do the same in Sydney. Members were conned each time into thinking they are getting a good deal. Once they'd signed the contract Nikki would take their money and not offer any true support”.
In the statement which was released this week, Chung explained that the reason why the studio closed was because several teachers resigned without notice. It is said that the reason why the teachers left so abruptly was because they hadn't been paid in at least two months.
Says Lee, “I hope the studio will resume and function properly this time, without any involvement by Cameron. Either that, or my money back”.
Photos: Affinity Yoga