FitLab, the multi-brand performance lifestyle company behind Nike Studios, has some new capital to play with. The fitness platform has secured a $65 million strategic financing facility from Atlas Credit Partners, made up of approximately $35 million funded at closing and $30 million of remaining availability. 

With the capital, FitLab has acquired what the company calls a “cutting-edge fitness equipment manufacturer,” enhancing its ability to weave together all aspects of a customer’s fitness experience and deliver them in a multitude of ways. 

“Our pursuit of excellence extends beyond fitness and wellness innovation, encompassing strategic partnerships that elevate our company,” said Mike Melby, co-founder and co-CEO of FitLab. “We’re thrilled to secure the financing from Atlas to allow us to accelerate our expansion and offer our integrated platform to a broader audience seeking unparalleled fitness experiences.”

FitLab is no stranger to ambitious growth. The company recently agreed to a partnership with GoSaga, an organization that invests in and scales next-gen lifestyle brands across health, wellness, fitness and beauty to launch a minimum of 250 studios across the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. 

Right before that, the company inked a deal with Nike to launch Nike Studios, which will include a network of boutique fitness locations, including Nike Training Studios and Nike Running Studios. FitLab also has rights to brands such as Racked, XPT by Laird Hamilton and Gabrielle Reese, and Fast by Conor McGregor. 

Atlas Credit Partners also comes to the table with an impressive track record. The asset management firm has 80-plus years of combined business experience financing cutting-edge, medium-sized institutions such as SoundHoundAI and AST SpaceMobile. They’ve invested a total of over $950 million to date. Atlas agreed to a similar strategic funding deal with wellness brand Hyperice this past summer. 

“FitLab uniquely integrates every channel of the fitness ecosystem into a single, differentiated platform,” said Andrew Sung, head of research at Atlas Credit Partners. “With this acquisition, combined with the company’s ramp of boutique fitness studios and partnership with a best-in-class global brand, we believe that our investment will help accelerate the pace at which the company continues to innovate the fitness experience.”

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GoSaga, a holding company behind next-gen lifestyle brands across wellness, fitness and beauty, has formed its first-ever Advisory Board consisting of experts in franchising, commercial real estate, creative development, and market investing as its portfolio of brands continues to scale.

The firm has seven studios set to open across its portfolio in the first half of 2024.

“Having been in the high-growth fitness space for over fifteen years, I know what it takes to reach the goals that GoSaga has set,” Jay Galluzzo, Advisory Chair and CEO of Body20, tells Athletech News. “The Advisory Board brings all of the experience GoSaga needs in order to hit milestones and momentum in its growth plan.” 

Galluzzo was named CEO of Body20 in December and co-founded Flywheel Sports. The industry veteran also serves on the board of Barry’s. 

Joining Galluzzo is Jay Siano, founder and CEO of Sabre Real Estate Advisors, an expert in commercial real estate and wellness. He advised and helped scale brands such as Starbucks, Orangetheory Fitness, Massage Envy, European Wax Center and Solidcore.

Jessica Yarmey, CEO of FlexSociety, has also been welcomed to the board, bringing rich experience in fitness and wellness as CEO of KickHouse and chief marketing officer of Club Pilates. In addition to Yarmey, Glenn Kaufman, a private market investing expert and managing director at D Cubed Group, and Jeff Leaf, who has worked for Pvolve as executive creative director, have been tapped to supply their industry knowledge.

The board also includes a silent and managing partner at a large private equity firm with expertise in consumer investments, particularly those in fitness and wellness. 

“We are so excited to add firepower to the existing leadership team at GoSaga,” Becky Cerroni, president and chief operating officer of GoSaga, remarked. “As our portfolio of partnerships continues to expand, it feels crucial to formalize a group of trusted advisors. Expertise is a differentiator for us, and this Advisory Board adds even more fuel to our leadership firepower.”

Boutique Studios Poised for Growth

The investment firm’s portfolio currently includes the personalized stretching company Lymbr, wholly owned by GoSaga and launched by the firm’s founders. 

Created to support effective recovery in the fitness journey, Lymbr incorporates “progressive emphasis stretching,” focusing on continuous movement and myofascial pathways for increased flexibility and blood flow for fast results. 

With assisted stretching emerging as one of the hottest up-and-coming wellness trends, GoSaga scored a major corporate wellness win by becoming Google’s exclusive stretch partner. The stretching brand has studios in NYC, the Hamptons, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

GoSaga also has the rights to build out territories of VIO Med Spa and FitLab brands, a boutique fitness holding company.

Last month, VIO Med Spa announced a partnership with GoSaga as it enters the Connecticut market with plans to expand.

FitLab, which consists of eight fitness studio brands including the new Nike Studios, Racked, XPT by Laird Hamilton and Gabrielle Reese, and Fast by Conor McGregor, inked a deal with GoSaga last fall to scale in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions with a minimum of 250 fitness studios across twelve states.

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GoSaga, a company that invests in and scales next-gen lifestyle brands across health, wellness, fitness and beauty, has partnered with FitLab. The partnership and resulting Master Territory Agreement will cover the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. across twelve states and see the launch of a minimum of 250 fitness studios.

The new studios will include eight emerging fitness concepts under FitLab, a boutique fitness holding company featuring celebrity and athlete-led brands, including Fast by Conor McGregor.

According to Geoff Schneider, GoSaga’s co-founder and CEO, scaling in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions is pivotal and signifies a strategic move for both GoSaga and FitLab. 

“This partnership is not just a business move; it’s a testament to our shared commitment to revolutionize the fitness industry,” Schneider said. “Our intertwined history with FitLab provides us a unique edge in executing this massive rollout. We are insiders. We know the game, and together, we are poised to elevate the fitness experience for countless individuals.”

In the coming months, GoSaga and FitLab will unveil a comprehensive rollout plan detailing its joint venture’s specifics. The first state-of-the-art fitness studios are expected to debut in the northeast by Q1 of 2024.

Last month, FitLab announced a collaboration with Nike to open group fitness studios in LA and other areas in California. 

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Nike is capitalizing on the growing boutique and group fitness trend, announcing the opening of Nike Studios.

In partnership with FitLab, Nike Studios will offer a network of boutique fitness studios, including Nike Training Studios and Nike Running Studios, offering functional training and endurance workouts.

The first Nike Studios location will open this year on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, with additional locations slated to open in the LA area and in other parts of the U.S. A second location on Nike’s website lists a Newport Beach location in Costa Mesa, Calif.

According to Nike, the company plans to evaluate locations with opportunities to connect with consumers through premium services, experiences and products. 

The Nike Training and Running Studios workouts are designed for members to go at their own pace, inclusive of all fitness levels and offer workout schedules rotating through three workout types: Impactor, Ignition and Inferno. Impactor features dynamic exercises, including the deadlift and bench press, while Ignition offers squats and lunges. Inferno includes conditioning and core-focused programming. Every class uses a mix of weights, sandbags, kettlebells, sleds and plyometrics with periodized training blocks to hit fitness goals efficiently.  

The new concept will also use a digital app for at-home fitness and feature fun and motivating social fitness events, so members can forge a sense of community.

Earlier this year, FitLab introduced Jared LaMantia as its new CMO and Beth Gold as its director of talent, additions meant to bolster the fit tech company’s next growth phase. FitLab has been actively recruiting certified group fitness instructors for a location in Costa Mesa. The search for applicants was shared on LinkedIn by FitLab’s co-founder and co-CEO Brian Kirkbride three months ago, and his post may have alluded to the Nike Studios x FitLab collaboration, as Nike Studios has a location planned for Costa Mesa.

“We have to keep it a secret for now, so you have to talk to Beth Gold to hear what it is – but so worth it. Will be the biggest news in fitness,” he wrote. 

Nike Studios is offering a founding member special for $49, which will lock in unlimited workouts at $99 a month. Founding members will also receive a special bundle package that includes a home studio t-shirt, a $25 Nike gift card, a drawstring bag and a water bottle. Membership options include drop-in classes and unlimited monthly workouts with tiered pricing based on location.

The opening of Nike Studios comes as the Swoosh continues its push into fitness and wellness. In June, Nike announced the Well Collective, an initiative inspired by the insights of women but designed to support the wellness journey of everyone. As part of the Well Collective launch, Nike said it would be hiring 1,000 global fitness trainers to lend expertise in creating holistic fitness content.

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FitLab believes that hybrid fitness is the way of the future. The fitness platform has announced the completion of its Series A funding round, which raised more than $15 million, as well as the acquisition of Electric, Fitplan, and Ragnar. FitLab aims to connect studios, connected at-home experiences, and participation events.

FitLab intends to launch its first wave of connected fitness studios this year, with plans to expand to over 500 locations by 2025. The connected fitness studios will include at-home offerings as well as event series and FitLab says partnerships are in place for 250 locations in the United States with plans to expand internationally.

FitLab, based in California, plans to use the money to expand its global brands, accelerate the opening of boutique fitness studios, launch mass-participation events, and develop new fitness technologies. Investors in FitLab include Two Styx Capital, CAVA Capital, Snoop Ventures, Audie Attar of Paradigm Sports Management, and Courtney Reum of M13. 

Founded by Brian Kirkbride and Mike Melby in 2019, FitLab recently introduced Conor McGregor’s FightLab.

“We saw a failure from the fitness industry to put the needs of members first,” said Kirkbride. “Even before the pandemic, the data showed that the future of fitness is clearly hybrid, and that has only accelerated. Consumers don’t want to look for a world-class, at-home offering, and find a studio or gym that they love, and then try to track down a challenge or event to motivate them to train – let alone pay separately for all of them. They’re forced to do that today, because that’s how the industry is set up. Until FitLab, nothing was built from the ground up to provide truly holistic, immersive, connected experiences across the fitness continuum.”

With the acquisitions of Fitplan and Ragnar, FitLab says it will bolster its fitness integration presence in the industry.

Fitplan, a fitness app that offers training, workout routines, recipes, nutrition, and advice, has more than 3.4 million users from around the globe.

“We are constantly searching for innovative companies that we believe add new strengths and capabilities to FitLab’s integrated platform,” Melby said. “Fitplan paved the way for the fitness creator boom we see today, and its roster of world-class trainers provides athletes around the world with democratized access to the biggest names in the game. Along with Electric, Ragnar, and the rest of our brands, Fitplan will leverage FitLab’s omnichannel strategy to better serve its users in more places and across an increasing number of training modalities.”

Ragnar, co-founded in 2004 by Tanner Bell, is an overnight running relay series with 100,000+ runners participating annually. FitLab says Ragnar’s expertise in mass participation events will help round out its vision.

“I am thrilled that Ragnar is joining the FitLab portfolio,” Bell said in a press release. “This union will accelerate Ragnar’s quest to bring moments of accomplishment and connection to athletes around the globe, no matter what their fitness interest. The best-in-class FitLab platform serves the needs of every athlete on their path to greatness.”

According to a recent report by TeamUp, hybrid and creative fitness solutions are two of the top trends for 2022.

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