Visiting Boxing, Movement & Athletic Performance Specialist
Boxing coach and competitive MMA athlete. Formerly Wellness Instructor and Boxing Coach at Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, now open to visiting practitioner work with resorts, cruise lines and wellness retreats.
Varun Kumar is an Indian boxing coach and combat-sports athlete. He has competed in MMA, boxing and submission grappling, and has won titles in all three.
In India he worked as a personal trainer at Cult.fit and as an MMA and performance coach at Zero Fitness, before joining the wellness team at Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, where he worked from October 2025 to October 2026 as Wellness Instructor and Boxing Coach. His sessions there covered private boxing, personal training, strength and conditioning and group classes, for individual guests, couples and small groups.
Each session is planned around the guest: their experience, their fitness and how hard they want to train while on holiday. A guest who has never worn gloves and one who trains five days a week will not get the same session.
National MMA Champion, State Boxing Champion and Submission Grappling Series Champion.
Former Wellness Instructor and Boxing Coach at Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi.
Boxing, strength, mobility, guided stretching and small-group training.
Six session types, each run privately or for small groups and adjusted to the guest's level.
One-to-one instruction on the pads. Stance, footwork and the basic punches come first, then combinations and a short conditioning round. Guests who already box can go straight to pad work.
Punches, kicks, knees and elbows on pads, with no sparring and no contact between guests. Coordination drills and conditioning rounds are scaled down for beginners or up for guests who already train.
Resistance exercises, bodyweight work and functional movements, chosen around the guest's goals and the equipment on site. A structured session for regular gym users who want to keep training while they travel.
A slower session. Guided and assisted stretches for the hips, back, shoulders and legs, always within a range the guest is comfortable with. Useful after a long flight or a day of diving, swimming or training.
Crawls, transitions and short floor sequences that work on balance, coordination and body control. Movements are introduced one at a time and linked together as the guest gets comfortable.
Boxing, movement, strength or stretching for people travelling together: couples, families and groups of friends. Sessions are set up so that people of different fitness levels can train side by side.
Varun has competed in mixed martial arts, boxing and submission grappling. His coaching draws on that background: technique first, with attention to stance, balance and defence, even in a session that is mainly about fitness.
Wellness Instructor and Boxing Coach
–
Recognised as Employee of the Month in March 2026 during his tenure as Wellness Instructor and Boxing Coach at Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi.
For a year Varun delivered fitness sessions to resort guests as part of the wellness team.
Much of the work was private: boxing on the pads, personal training and strength sessions for guests who wanted to keep training during their stay. He also led group classes and small-group sessions, and coached couples and families who wanted to train together.
Coaching in a resort is different from coaching in a gym. Guests arrive with very different experience, limited time and their own idea of what a holiday session should feel like. The job is to read that quickly, keep the session safe and enjoyable, and fit it around the rest of their stay.
Proposed formats for resorts, cruise lines and wellness properties. Each is designed to sit alongside an existing spa or fitness programme.
A set period on property, delivering an agreed schedule of sessions for guests. Length and timetable are agreed with the property.
One-to-one sessions booked through the property's wellness or spa team.
Private sessions for guests travelling together.
Scheduled group sessions on a single topic.
Sessions are delivered in English. Programme format, residency duration and commercial arrangements can be discussed individually with each property.
Wellness Instructor and Boxing Coach
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
Employee of the Month,
MMA & Performance Coach
Zero Fitness, India
Personal Trainer
Cult.fit, India
Advanced Certified Fitness Management & Personal Trainer
Level IV
Basic First Aid & CPR
Certification
Technogym Equipment Training
Attended
Front of House Upselling Certification
British Butler Institute,