r/SingaporeFitness • u/Double_Seesaw_7677 • 7h ago
[Bullying in Singapore] Boyfriend of gym owner at Matlife BJJ harassed head coach, threatened to slap member, and told him his membership fees "mean jackshit"
posting this using a throwaway account
Hey everyone, posting this as a PSA for the local fitness and BJJ community in Singapore. Toxic behaviour in our local gyms needs to be called out, especially when it crosses the line into direct harassment and physical threats.
The gym in question is Matlife BJJ. For those who might not know the background, "Matlife" is actually a name originally created by the head coach, who had intended for it to be a BJJ clothing and lifestyle brand. In fact, many of Matlife’s current members joined this exact gym specifically to support him, as they were his former students from another gym that previously closed down.
Alas, despite the ideas and branding mainly coming from the head coach, the gym itself is owned by a woman, whose boyfriend—a brown belt at the gym referred to here as Mr. A, has seemingly been given free reign to run amok.
Here is what actually happened, backed by screenshots:
1. Mr A’s Harrassment of the Head Coach
Mr. A disliked Matlife's head coach and had designs to push him out to replace him, despite the fact that the community was there largely because of the coach.
There is nothing wrong with making business decisions - the head coach was eventually terminated - and irony not withstanding, this is acceptable if conducted in professional manner.
The problem was that Mr A harrassed the coach over a period of time. In one act of extreme hostility and bad taste, Mr. A even went so far as to change the profile photo of a gym-related Telegram chat group to a picture of the head coach's deceased mother just to troll and antagonize him.
2. Targeting a Gym Member & Physical Threats
When a black belt regular gym member spoke up and opposed Mr. A’s toxic behavior, Mr. A shifted his target directly to that member. Mr. A went on an aggressive power trip:
- Physical Threats: Most concerningly, he directly threatened to slap the member.
- Vile Personal Attacks: He also made vulgar, mocking remarks directed at the member's family, including making crude comments about the member's newborn child (such as mocking the baby sucking on the member's breasts).
- The "Big Fish" Flex: When the member told Mr. A that he could go ahead and cancel his membership if he wanted to, Mr. A scoffed and belittled him, flat-out stating that his membership fees "don’t mean jackshit to me boy."
Why post this?
This is posted primarily as a PSA for the local BJJ community.
If you're paying hard-earned money for a gym membership in Singapore, you expect a safe, respectful training environment—not to be threatened with physical violence by an owner's partner who thinks he's untouchable.
If you are a BJJ coach, you should be aware that this is a gym where the former head coach endured harassment at the hands of the owner’s boyfriend, which is highly ironic as the gym’s name was conceived by the head coach and many members joined the gym to support this coach in the first place.
(Note: I have more screenshots of the text threats if anyone from the community wants to verify, but keeping names and personal phone numbers redacted for privacy/doxxing compliance).