Anytime Fitness is headed to Dubai, opening its first club in the Middle East hotspot later this year. It will be the first of many Anytime Fitness clubs opening in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the next eight years following a master franchise agreement signed in the region.

It’s more good news for the gym franchise, which earned bragging rights after securing a deal with Apple, making Anytime the tech giant’s first gym partner.

Behind the gym’s upcoming growth in the region is an investment group led by Dr. Mark Mobius, a new master franchisee announced by Self Esteem Brands, Anytime’s parent company, which recently announced plans to merge with Orangetheory Fitness.

“Being a long-time member of Anytime Fitness and having used the clubs around the world makes this investment a natural for me,” Mobius said. 

He will be joined by fellow investor John Ninia to grow Anytime Fitness, along with Ben Matute and Richmond Sy, two Anytime Fitness Philippines franchise operators. Matute and Sy will relocate to Dubai to launch Anytime Fitness UAE and open clubs across the country over the next eight years.

Anytime’s Global Push

Sander van den Born, Self Esteem Brands’ executive vice president of international, remarked that the UAE is at the “top of the list” when the health and wellness-focused company looks at regions that can capture strong growth.

The Self Esteem Brands executive also noted the “wider recognition of health and wellness initiatives” across the Middle East region, making the fitness operator’s entry into the market ideal.

With the addition of the UAE, Anytime Fitness will operate in more than 40 countries and territories. The gym franchise recently announced plans to enter France, among other international moves.

In the U.S., Anytime Fitness will scale its footprint with the help of Omega Fitness, which was acquired by Seattle-based private equity firm Rainier Partners last year.

Dubai Emerges as ‘Fitness Capital‘

If it seems there’s been an advanced push for fitness and wellness in the UAE recently, there has. Dubai, in particular, has been called the “fitness capital” of the region by fitness industry veteran Jack Thomas, co-founder of The Fit Guide, an international rating system that anonymously evaluates fitness and health clubs.

Dubai’s cosmopolitan vibe has anchored the UAE city’s fitness services market with a $700 million value, and it is on track to cross the billion-dollar mark, according to Ken Research’s findings last month.

Ahead of the curve, Barry’s opened a studio in the business district of Dubai in 2017, while F45 Training and Mayweather Boxing, among other fitness concepts, have also settled into the city. 

For its part, the UAE issued a ‘National Strategy for Well-Being 2031’ as it plans to make the region a “world leader in quality of life” by promoting healthy and active lifestyles and positive mental health. 

Dubai’s wellness retreats are second to none; the city is gearing up for a tourism boom this year, with rejuvenation seekers flocking to the lavish region and its high-end “healing hotels” offering an abundance of therapies and services, such as IV drips, salt caves, saunas and more.

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Orangetheory Fitness is merging with Self Esteem Brands, the parent company of Anytime Fitness, in an all-stock transaction, the sides announced Thursday. 

The “merger-of-equals” deal represents one of the biggest fitness industry consolidations in recent memory as Orangetheory, a highly popular boutique fitness brand, joins forces with Anytime Fitness, a big-box gym powerhouse with a presence across the globe.

The new, combined company will represent $3.5 billion in systemwide sales and around 7,000 franchise locations across 50 countries and territories spanning seven continents, the sides said. 

“From our simple beginnings in 2002 with the first Anytime Fitness club, we’ve enjoyed rapid growth worldwide thanks to both the power of small-business franchising and our mix of brands that meet ever-increasing demand for more holistic and personalized health and wellness services,” said Chuck Runyon, co-founder of Anytime Fitness and CEO of Self Esteem Brands.

“With this merger, we will enrich even more people around the world through franchising, community and the services they need – now and in the future – on their personal health and wellness journeys,” Runyon added.

Self Esteem Brands recently reported strong revenue growth and franchise sales for its 2023 fiscal year, led by Anytime Fitness, which counts over 5,000 global gym locations. SEB’s portfolio also includes boutique brands like Waxing the City, The Bar Method, Basecamp Fitness and Summit Fitness. 

For its part, Orangetheory has continued to expand nationwide and overseas, amassing over 1,500 franchised studios with a presence in all 50 states and 24 countries. The fitness franchise, which offers heart-rated-based group workouts spanning cardio and strength training, has become a cult favorite among boutique fitness enthusiasts. 

Both Orangetheory and Self Esteem Brands touted the deal’s ability to lead to “significant international scale” for their brands. Orangetheory recently announced significant expansion plans in London, while Self Esteem Brands is bringing Anytime Fitness locations to France and Austria.

“As we start a new chapter, Orangetheory will continue to build on our legacy of innovation and transformation,” said Dave Long, co-founder and CEO of Orangetheory. “Today, with this groundbreaking agreement, we are one step closer to setting a new benchmark for what it means to be a global leader in fitness, health and wellness.

No timeline was given for when the merger is expected to close.

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Anytime Fitness owner Self Esteem Brands (SEB), a portfolio of fitness and personal care franchises, has closed out a solid 2023 with system-wide revenues up 12.3% compared to 2022. Combined franchise sales also grew by more than 500 units, which included 284 new non-U.S. locations.

The Minnesota-based company’s portfolio includes Basecamp Fitness, Sumhiit Fitness, The Bar Method and Waxing the City. 

“Franchising is a proven model that empowers franchisees to be in business for themselves – but not by themselves – and receive the ongoing support from the franchisor,” said Dave Mortensen, president at Self Esteem Brands. “We are encouraged by the 2023 growth across our portfolio of brands and system and see strong gains to be made both in the U.S. and in new countries and regions worldwide.”

Apple’s Favorite Fitness Brand

Anytime Fitness, the rockstar brand of the SEB portfolio, inked a deal last fall with Apple Fitness+ so its U.S. and Canada-based members can access an Apple Fitness+ subscription as part of their membership.

Not only does the partnership with the tech giant support Anytime Fitness members, it also gives the fitness brand bragging rights for landing the first-ever collaboration Apple has had with a gym or health club. The fitness franchise has grown to over 5,000 locations and in 2023, saw a 6.7% year-over-year increase in coaching and personal training services. 

International Expansion & More

Basecamp Fitness, a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) studio concept, is in “growth mode,” and plans to expand globally this year with its signature brand in the U.S. and the Sumhiit Fitness brand overseas. Self Esteem Brands recently introduced the intense 35-minute interval training concept Sumhiit Fitness to Sydney, Australia, and will soon open two locations in Singapore.

Continuing on the international front, Anytime Fitness made headway in France and Austria, signing master franchise agreements in those countries.

The Bar Method, SEB’s barre brand, grew to 1.6 million class attendees last year, 14% higher than in 2022, and will announce its international franchise expansion in Q1 of this year. 

As the company makes further advances in 2024, Stacy Anderson, Anytime Fitness global brand president, indicated that more is in the pipeline as SEB continues to stay ahead of the fitness and wellness trends. 

“We’re working on training programming that’s expanded to different populations. We’re working on recovery programming. We’re even getting into the mental health side of things, knowing that so much of your health has to do with your headspace and where you’re at there,” Anderson said. “I think as we go forward, you’re going to see a lot more partnerships.”

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In the fitness space, there’s always a new trend. Whether it’s novel workouts, new medications or updated technology, each threatens to make existing brands stale, or worse, obsolete.

This is not news to Self Esteem Brands. As its studio and gym franchises continue to grow, the leadership team remains focused on evolving the brands to meet the ever-changing needs of its fitness-conscious consumers. And that’s good news for the many franchisees with Anytime Fitness, Basecamp Fitness, The Bar Method and Waxing the City locations—as well as other entrepreneurs who may have designs on joining the fold.

With more than 5,000 Anytime Fitness locations alone, the company is unique in the fitness franchise space. The sheer number of users across brands translates into a constant flow of customer feedback and insights, which the team uses to evolve their concepts and bring new ideas online. 

Here, Stacy Anderson, global brand president, Anytime Fitness, and Nick Herrild, president – studio division/Waxing the City, share how Self Esteem Brands leverages its size and scale to keep its franchise brands relevant and its franchisees profitable.

Athletech News: The conversation around fitness changes a lot. How does Self Esteem Brands evolve its studio concepts to keep them relevant for your franchisees?

Nick Herrild: It’s absolutely something that we try to keep track of. And we do look at trends in the fitness industry and beyond to understand what’s happening and how can we stay ahead of it, but we adapt along the way. We often talk about how a concept will have a core essence that will be true for a long time, but the brand will evolve over the next three to five years so the brands will look different. 

I’ll use The Bar Method as an example. There’s a lot of focus on strength right now. And I think that at the baseline, The Bar Method does have a strength focus, but we’ve been able to make fitness modalities that really focus on the strength essence of getting into the trends that consumers are looking for. We try to evolve over time to match up with what consumers need without losing the essence of the brand.

ATN: How do you determine what consumers at each of your concepts will want next?

NH: The fact that Anytime Fitness is so big and has been able to guide us in building capabilities has given us more access to resources we wouldn’t have in our small brands. It gives us really two things: not only resourcing but also data and thought around the consumer in order to match up the right concept with what we’re trying to do in the marketplace. 

When we think about SEB [Self Esteem Brands] as a shared service matrix, that means that if you’re working in marketing for any one of our brands, you’re still laddering up to the capability that we’re building at the SEB level of stronger marketing function. That helps us evolve. So, we know what they’re looking for. We understand what the trends are in the marketplace. We think of ways to apply those trends to the work that we’re doing within the brand as well as what we believe is core to each brand.

ATN: For a concept like Basecamp Fitness, which is in growth mode, what’s the difference between a concept that has 10 locations versus one with 100 locations from the franchisees’ perspective?

NH: We’ve got 10-20 locations, when you think about the idea of the work that you need to go into the brand at this point at 22 locations for Basecamp, you’re very involved. You’re in the studio. We’re working through details with the franchisees that are out there. They understand that when a brand is young like that, we’re going to be really good at some things, and we have to figure out some other things.

When you get out to 40 to 60 locations, you’re getting to a place where you’re really thinking ‘Okay, we need to make decisions that help us scale.’ So, we can’t do any one-off things. And then as you move towards 100 locations, everything needs to scale, and you’ve got a lot more of the system and process put into place in a way that’s replicable and then that gives you the chance to unlock. It is very hard in those early stages. But you gradually get to a place where you’re thinking more and more about scale and success metrics.

ATN: Consumers now have a lot of fitness options, including working out at home. How does Self Esteem differentiate its brands from competitors?

Stacy Anderson: The reality is, the community you create in your club environment is probably the stickiest thing you can do in terms of customer loyalty. And the good news is [mobile phones are] probably your most important piece of workout equipment. It’s also the hub of your connection to your clubs, and your connection to your members.

We talk about care coaching and connecting at this company quite a bit, and that is really the secret sauce for creating community that drives business results and loyalty or I always say irrational loyalty. You might always have a cheaper concept come into the market, but the relationships you have are that thing that really binds both your staff and your membership together in a way that creates insulation around your business.

ATN: Where do you see the fitness industry heading over the next five years?

NH: It’s only going to become more important to people to have a full, holistic outlook on their health and wellbeing. That’s probably an advantage or tailwind for us. We’re thinking about different ways to give them more out of their memberships or their experiences in the studio or the club to be able, to find coaching if they need that, to be able to have in Waxing the City more holistic beauty services to think about their healthy skin versus just hair removal.

We’re using technology a lot because regardless of what product we’re offering and how we think about how our brands or our workouts or our services come be life, the technology piece of it is going to become more and more important to our consumers. And so, we’re using technology to reduce friction points for them. Your phone is a great avenue to get people to connect with brands in an efficient way.

ATN: How do fitness and wellness fit together, and how is Self Esteem pursuing opportunities at this convergence?

SA: Everybody’s talking about Wegovy and Ozempic, and clearly all those medications have an impact on people’s jumpstart to their wellness journey. I think personally that that’s a great thing. Whatever you need to get started to be able to move yourself forward is really incredible. The reality is the side effect of some of those drugs is that you’re losing some of your strength and you’re losing some of your muscle, and I think gyms and wellness services are going to play a really big part. That’s just another tailwind that’s going to be behind us as a larger population is going to feel like, “Oh gosh I can do this.”

Beyond just different modalities of inside and outside the club, digital versus physical, we’re thinking about nutrition. We have Stronger U, a nutrition service that is a direct-to-consumer business of ours. We’re working on training programming that’s expanded to different populations. We’re working on recovery programming. We’re even getting into the mental health side of things, knowing that so much of your health has to do with your headspace and where you’re at there. I think as we go forward, you’re going to see a lot more partnerships. We just started one with Apple Fitness+ that allows all of our [Anytime Fitness] members to have access to Apple Fitness+ as part of their membership.

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Self Esteem Brands’ portfolio spans a wide range of fitness and wellness concepts, which include Anytime Fitness, Basecamp Fitness, The Bar Method and Waxing the City. The company attributes its continued success to the hard work of its many franchisees. 

Whether they’re part of a mega brand like the 5,000-plus Anytime Fitness locations or an emerging concept like the 22-studio Basecamp model, Self Esteem Brands is equally committed to providing these entrepreneurs with the tools and support they need to win. 

“We own some of the parts of helping them to go from never owning a business perhaps all the way to being a successful business owner in a successful franchise, regardless of which brand it is,” Nick Herrild, president – studio division, Waxing the City, told Athletech News.

Ultimately though, it’s up to the franchisees to use those resources to build their businesses. 

Here, Herrild and Stacy Anderson, global brand president, Anytime Fitness, share their tips for finding success as a fitness franchisee. 

Know Your ‘Why’

Business ownership can be challenging no matter what industry you enter and fitness is no different. What gets you through the tough times, Anderson said, is a genuine love for the space. 

“Ultimately, it comes back to a values alignment. We talk about people, purpose, profits and play here,” Anderson said. “We care about franchisees that have purpose, that care about what they’re doing. You could go into a QSR and probably make more money than you would with a fitness franchise. We care about people that want to improve the health of the community.”

In her experience, franchisees who align with this mindset are better positioned to achieve their business goals. 

Select the Right Brand

Once you’re sure a career in fitness or wellness is for you, the next step is to find the brand and leadership team that best match your working style and needs. Every franchisor operates differently and each offers a different level and type of support. Anderson advises that prospective franchisees really tune into what makes a specific franchisor tick.

“I think it’s really important to understand their relationship with the franchisor and whether or not they have open dialogue, what that culture is like, if it’s a high-performance culture. You should get a sense of who you’re working with because ultimately, you’re business partners and it’s a symbiotic relationship,” Anderson said. “You should get to know the people and feel confident in who they are. And if you don’t, that should be a warning sign that maybe that isn’t the right fit for you.” 

Look for a team that has your best interests at heart and sees you as more than a revenue generator, she added.

Be Coachable

Look for a brand that has enough experience to provide you with a playbook for success—and be prepared to follow it. 

“It’s on us as a franchisor to help a franchisee build baseline skills and to be able to figure out their financial acumen and to help them become business operators. And so, we look for owners that are willing to be coachable and follow the system, and that’s a broad diverse range of people,” Herrild said. “If we say, ‘Hey, the best way to do this is to add two cups of flour,’ and you add three, you’re making it real hard for yourself, and you don’t need to do that.”

One of the main advantages of opening a fitness franchise is there is a business model already in place. Herrild said it’s counterproductive to ignore it.

Tap Into Your Support System

The franchise business model comes with a built-in community made up of both cohorts and consultants. Herrild and Anderson said franchisees that flourish are often the ones that capitalize on the wisdom of both the franchisor and their fellow business owners. 

“When you have tough times, the great news about being in a franchise is you can look up and talk to your franchise business consultants. We’re here as kind of your support network” Anderson said.

“I also think that franchisees who become part of that franchise community in a positive way, use the resources [and] help new franchisees once they become more experienced, build a culture,” Herrild added.

Don’t forget to lean into that ecosystem when you face a challenge. Chances are it’s not unique to your location and others may have advice that can help.

Be Self Aware

It’s really important to know your strengths and the areas that might present more of a challenge for you personally. This self-awareness will help you select the right brand as well as build a team that speaks to all of the needs of your business. 

“This is a service business and if you don’t happen to be (customer service oriented) as a franchisee, then you hire somebody who is. You can teach just about anyone to run a gym or a HITT franchise, but you can’t teach them to be people people generally.” Anderson said, by way of example.

To achieve success, you’ll either need to bring or hire all of the skills, talents and traits your fitness franchise will need to excel.

The post Self Esteem Brands Shares 5 Keys to Franchise Success  appeared first on Athletech News.

Omega Fitness, the second largest Anytime Fitness franchisee in the U.S. with 70 gyms, has been acquired by Seattle-based private equity firm Rainier Partners.

The company will be led by franchise operators Andy Gundlach and Russ Allen, who formed Omega Fitness and are known as two of the top operators in the Anytime Fitness system, which has over 5,000 franchised locations in 50 countries. The franchisees will partner with Rainier to expand Omega Fitness while optimizing operations in its existing Anytime Fitness clubs across Wisconsin, California and Florida. 

Allen noted that he and fellow operator Gundlach recognized the need for a partner with deep fitness industry experience, resources and capabilities to support future growth.

“Rainier’s partnership-driven approach, coupled with enthusiasm for the future of our company and Anytime Fitness, solidified our confidence in this transformative alliance,” Allen said.

Gundlach noted Omega Fitness had an “abundance of interest” from the private equity community, but partnering with Rainer was the right decision.

“As we look to the future, acquisitions will continue to be a key element to our growth strategy, along with building new locations across the U.S. and implementing best practices in all of our gyms, drawing on my team’s experience and Russ,” Gundlach said.

Rainier co-founder and managing partner Jon Altman noted that the firm is excited to be an early investor in the Anytime Fitness system.

Anytime Fitness, under parent company Self Esteem Brands, is seeing strong demand for its fitness brand, reporting a solid third quarter with double-digit gains in same-store sales compared to the same period in 2022 and a 20% increase in daily club visits versus 2019.

The fitness franchise now projects a record-breaking one million daily member visits come January 2024 and has fortified its position in the fitness industry through a partnership with Apple — crowning Anytime as Apple’s first partner in the gym space. The deal with the tech titan supports Anytime Fitness members in sleep, meditation, recovery and nutrition. 

“This partnership with Apple is so important to us, because now outside of the gym, we can help members with meditation, we can help them with walking more…there are 12 different modalities,” Anytime Fitness CEO Chuck Runyon told Athletech News earlier this month.

Runyon also shared that Anytime Fitness has been in talks with Apple regarding HealthKit, a storage bank for health and fitness data on iPhone and Apple Watch that would allow members to become the “CEO” of their own health.

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Self Esteem Brands (SEB) is best known as the parent company of Anytime Fitness, a highly popular gym chain with over 5,000 locations worldwide, but the franchisor is also building a burgeoning portfolio of boutique fitness and wellness brands as part of an ambitious global expansion plan. 

The Chuck Runyon and Dave Mortensen-founded Self Esteem Brands has set itself the lofty goal of opening 10,000 fitness, health and wellness clubs worldwide by 2030. Part of that plan will include scaling SEB’s boutique studio brands including The Bar Method, Waxing the City and Basecamp Fitness (along with Basecamp’s Australian sister brand, Sumhiit Fitness). 

Basecamp, which offers HIIT-style group fitness classes, has 21 locations already opened along with nearly 70 franchise licenses sold in the U.S. as of August. Basecamp is in what Self Esteem Brands calls “a high-growth phase,” recently becoming the first of SEB’s studio brands to offer franchising outside of the States. The Bar Method, meanwhile, has around 80 open locations; SEB plans to restart its expansion efforts for the Barre-inspired group fitness brand, which is now fully recovered from the pandemic. 

On the wellness side, SEB had much success with Waxing the City, which offers waxing services along with skin and beauty care products. Already the second largest waxing franchise in the U.S., Waxing the City has more than 150 locations open across the U.S. and is on pace to end 2023 by opening twice as many locations as it opened the previous year. 

Still, as Self Esteem Brands looks to build its boutique brands into household names, the company will lean on the power of its already established brand: Anytime Fitness.

The SEB Franchise Network

“One of the things that’s great about being a franchisee of any of our brands at SEB is that you have access to our global franchise network, which includes many resources across all of our brands,” says Nick Herrild, president of studio brands for SEB.

While some larger boutique fitness franchisors may also have several brands under their corporate umbrella, they don’t have access to the data of Anytime Fitness, a big-box gym with thousands of locations and nearly three million members spread across the globe.

“We really are a unique platform in that way,” Herrild says. “Because of the size and scale of AF and the resources of SEB, we have a level of sophistication each of the brands couldn’t have if they stood on their own.”

Self Esteem Brands is actively investing in offering its boutique franchisees access to the same data and insights Anytime Fitness franchise owners have. For example, SEB has compiled robust consumer segmentation metrics that it uses to help inform its franchising strategy for each individual brand. That data helps SEB and its franchisees evaluate the opportunities and likelihood of success for different boutique brands in different areas. 

“Basecamp may tap into that segmentation differently than The Bar Method, but the segmentation is still consistent, so we know where there’s overlap and where there isn’t,” Herrild says.

SEB also offers “analytical scoring sites,” giving franchisees intel on how potential locations would perform based on attributes like population, income and gender distribution, among other demographics.

The advantages of franchising with a big brand like SEB extend across the board, Herrild notes, including marketing, development, real estate and even preferential access to vendors. 

“We can get better pricing and better technology opportunities because of our scale,” he says.

Brands Are Complimentary, Not Competitive

As SEB looks for ways to continue growing its boutique fitness and wellness brands, expect the company to lean on its already established network of Anytime Fitness franchisees.

SEB is starting to see interest from Anytime Fitness franchise owners who are drawn to the community-driven atmosphere of boutique studios and want to get in on the action.

“We have Anytime Fitness franchisees who are highly interested in the studio concepts for that reason,” Herrild shares. “There’s a lot of opportunity, particularly for brands like Basecamp and The Bar Method, to target sophisticated owners that want to look at a multi-unit portfolio.” 

Right now, most cross-company franchising interest is between Anytime Fitness and Basecamp, Herrild says, but he expects interest to grow among franchisees who want to try other SEB combinations.

For franchisees looking to get adventurous, there are benefits of owning two different boutique brands under the SEB umbrella, since concepts are complimentary in terms of the types of customers they attract but not competitive in the services on offer.

“A Waxing the City and Bar Method location could literally be sharing a wall yet have complete insulation from each other in terms of what they’re offering,” Herrild notes. “But they would still have access to each other’s consumers because they’re similar.”

Sharing Best Practices

Operationally, having multiple brands under the same umbrella allows SEB to test new things, finding what works for one brand to bring those learnings over to the others. 

For example, SEB has been rolling out several new tech innovations at Waxing the City, including mobile POS systems, geofencing and automated check-ins and check-outs for members. Herrild says it’s all part of the company’s overall philosophy of leveraging tech to lower labor costs and streamline operations at its studios, which makes things easier for franchisees and customers alike. 

The team at SEB chose Waxing the City to pilot those innovations because of the brand’s relatively large size with 150-plus locations, but it’s transporting those same tech learnings to Basecamp and The Bar Method. 

“Using Basecamp as an example, we’ve re-worked how we coordinate the start of the workout with the lighting, the music and the monitor, so each member knows exactly which group they’re in and which workout they’re doing,” Herrild notes.

Inter-brand collaborations are important, but the team at SEB also works hard to ensure it’s supporting its franchisees down to the individual level, including with monthly check-in conversations.

“By brand, we have franchise business consultants and franchise business coaches,” Herrild says. “They work with franchisees to help them look at their business and benchmark different pieces of their P&L to help them understand where they have the opportunity to drive profitability from the top line to the bottom.”

The robust approach to the business of franchising is likely why the team at SEB feels confident it can meet its goal of 10,000 clubs by the end of the decade. Post-pandemic, the company assures it’s doing better than ever, with a healthy franchise culture to match.

“We’re having a really great 2023, and we had a really great 2022 fiscal year,” Herrild says. “Our brands are all in the process of looking for ways to bring franchisees the best performance they can and grow, so we’re excited about where all of our brands are and where they’re going.”

The post How Self Esteem Brands Drives Boutique Studio Growth appeared first on Athletech News.

Anytime Fitness is thriving as fitness consumers return to the gym in full force, with the brand recently forging an unprecedented partnership with Apple that grants U.S. and Canadian members access to Apple Fitness+.

The fitness franchise, under parent company Self Esteem Brands, has reported a strong third quarter with double-digit gains in same-store sales compared to the same period in 2022, a 20% increase in daily club visits versus 2019, and is projecting a record-breaking one million daily member visits come January 2024. 

Chuck Runyon, co-founder and CEO of Anytime Fitness and Self Esteem Brands, spoke with Athletech News about what’s fueling the fast-growing fitness brand’s success, the deal with Apple and the impact of GLP–1 weight loss drugs.

Convenience & Coaching 

“Coming out of COVID, personal wellness has never been more top of mind for people around the world,” Runyon told ATN, adding that search data has demonstrated consumers of all ages and fitness levels are searching for wellness and strength training.

“I also think it’s the execution of our business,” he said. “People are loving the convenience of Anytime Fitness.”

Aside from the convenience factor that allows members to use any of the 5,300 clubs in 40 countries (and growing) 24/7, Anytime Fitness members enjoy the personal systems.

“We have coaching inside of our clubs,” Runyon said. “We also have virtual coaching, so we can meet the consumers where they’re at. We are broadening our services into nutritional support and recovery support — things that are more holistic, and just beyond what people might think of as a traditional gym experience.”

The wide range of support at Anytime Fitness, paired with macro tailwinds and a keen value proposition, is why Runyon believes the brand has widespread appeal among fitness consumers.

Educating Members on Strength Training

The strength training trend has also taken Anytime Fitness by storm, which Runyon identifies as the number one area of interest for club members.

“If you look at all the empirical data about the importance of strength training, as it relates to healthy aging, weight loss or just feeling stronger — we’re seeing more people inside of the area of functional (training) in our weight area, and therefore we’re tweaking our design a bit to maximize that space,” he said.

Aside from ensuring adequate space to support the strength training demand, Anytime Fitness also supports members in better understanding the benefits of strength. 

“We have personal training and coaches to answer their questions, personalize the workout and help them (maybe for the first time) really understand the benefits of strength training,” Runyon explained.

The (Many) Benefits of Apple Fitness

Anytime Fitness is leaning into its new partnership with Apple to support its members holistically in the areas of sleep, recovery and nutrition. The deal is notable, as it marks Apple’s first-ever collaboration with a gym or health club.

“We’ve known Apple for many years,” Runyon said, explaining that Anytime Fitness has had a relationship with the tech titan before COVID.

“That’s where this partnership with Apple is so important to us, because now outside of the gym, we can help members with meditation, we can help them with walking more…there are 12 different modalities,” he added.

Starting December 1, Anytime Fitness members get access to an Apple Fitness+ subscription for free.

The fitness brand had created a business model where members could access gyms 24/7/265 with global reciprocity via a key fob. Now, digital keys are available. 

“You can open every door in the world with your phone, and that digital access path is also going to go in the wallet that Apple provides,” Runyon said. “So we’ve been working closely with them. I think they’re very excited about this new digital key approach.”

Runyon also confirmed that Anytime Fitness has been in talks with Apple about HealthKit, a storage bank for health and fitness data on iPhone and Apple Watch that will allow members to become the “CEO” of their own health.

Runyon added that Apple and Anytime Fitness are aligned to create a frictionless experience and improve member engagement.

“We think this is going to, of course, bring more members in and keep them longer and, most importantly, help them achieve fitness goals,” Runyon said of the deal with Apple. “We’re going to get people healthier and help our franchisees succeed.”

While the complimentary Apple Fitness+ will first be available to Anytime Fitness members in the U.S. and Canada, Runyon said the plan is to get it in the hands of members around the world. The Apple team also attended the Anytime Fitness annual conference this month in Colorado Springs.

“I think they came away with even more admiration and more passion for our franchisees around the world,” Runyon said. “And they could not be more excited. We are locked arms here to make this a global success.”

Supporting Members on Weight Loss

On the topic of weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, which analysts predict will have a positive impact on the fitness industry, Runyon says Anytime Fitness supports their members in their personal decisions and is ready to meet them where they are with its array of member benefits.

“If they’re taking weight loss drugs, fantastic,” Runyon said, pointing to data that shows integrating strength training can be helpful if taking GLP-1s. He also sheds light on the benefits of working out for mood and mental health, which weight loss alone can’t address. 

“We have a nutrition component here with coaches — we want to meet our members where they’re at,” he noted. “So we’re supportive, and we just want to make sure (members) are living a full, healthy lifestyle.”

New Year, New Opportunities for Growth 

Runyon credits the ongoing success of Anytime Fitness to its franchisees, who he says are passionate and care deeply about the health of their members, as well as the brand’s large network of worldwide coaches and its global footprint of fitness clubs.

“If you put that all together, it’s an unmatched value proposition,” the he said. “There’s no one who can help our members achieve better health better than Anytime Fitness. We’re proud of that.”

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Back in the halcyon days of 2019, most fitness enthusiasts worked out at a gym or studio. When many gyms were forced to close in early 2020, people rushed to install home gyms, sending sales of workout equipment through the roof. People were also leaving the cities to get more space, allowing the home gyms to hold more gear.  Peloton, Hydrow, Tonal and others enjoyed meteoric growth.  

Many industry watchers thought there would be a crush of gym members returning to IRL workouts once gyms and studios reopened, reasoning that people would miss the camaraderie and intensity of working out in the same room with an instructor and other people. The general feeling was that once people returned to the office, they’d go back to their old fitness ways, and that spin bike in the home office would become little more than an overpriced clothes rack. 

Then an interesting thing happened. People decided that, just as they weren’t willing to go back to the office five days a week, they didn’t want to go back to the gym full-time either. McKinsey & Co. reports that the number of people doing hybrid fitness routines grew by 41% between 2020 and 2022, with many claiming that hybrid training returns better results than just doing in-home or in-gym workouts. And, according to research conducted by on-demand fitness leader Les Mills, almost 60% of fitness enthusiasts now prefer a 60/40 split between gym and home workouts.

Although most people admit that working out in the gym helps keep them motivated and results in longer workouts, working out at home is a great convenience tradeoff, and allows one to exercise more frequently, efficiently and cost-effectively. 

There is growing evidence that hybrid workouts remove a lot of the friction around exercising by eliminating the time to drive to the gym, find a parking spot and wait for a piece of equipment to be free. They offer flexibility and a more varied menu of workout modalities, a huge draw for the Millennial and GenZ fitness enthusiasts that comprise the majority of gym members today. Hybrid workout routines also keep that exercise bike purchased during COVID from completely going to waste!

More Gyms Offering a Branded Omnichannel Experience 

Gyms and clubs, which for years have been using tech solutions for the back end of the business to enable easier class registration and membership management, are now using more consumer-facing technologies to capitalize on the growing demand for digital fitness offerings as a complement to traditional brick-and-mortar gym membership.

Gym and studio operators are engaging their members through multiple physical and digital touchpoints to offer digital experiences that can be used alone or in combination with their physical gym memberships. Much like the retailers who offer both brick-and-mortar and online shopping to their customers, gyms are now allowing, even encouraging, their members to work out wherever, whenever, and however they choose. 

Boutique fitness brand Barry’s offers Barry’s X, a subscription-based community-driven digital fitness experience that the company calls the “first and only one of its kind.” Featuring both live and on-demand classes across web and mobile apps, Barry’s X brings the brand’s signature Red Room intimacy, atmosphere and camaraderie to its members’ screens wherever they are.

“Barry’s clients who utilize our digital product, Barry’s X, are significantly more engaged with the brand overall, said Jenna Hauca, senior vice president of digital and marketing at Barry’s. “This year, Barry’s X users have 4 times more in-studio check-ins compared to our in-person-only client base. This proof point further amplifies our belief that an omnichannel client is the most valuable to our business.”

The Barry’s X LIVE classes enable users to sign up, keep themselves accountable and join a live fitness experience with up to 200 other Barry’s members. The LIVE class experience offers users the ability to have their camera on to share their video with the instructor for real-time training. Users can also share their feed with just their friends in the class, or to the entire community – a true simulation of the IRL Red Room experience. The on-demand library offers users the opportunity to take their favorite instructor whenever, wherever they like, with different class lengths available.

The larger gym brands, many of which cater to a young, cost-conscious crowd, are also gearing up with digital. 24 Hour Fitness offers the 24hrGo app, which allows members to check into the gym with a QR code, make class reservations, track progress by connecting a wearable and stream thousands of workouts to do in gym or at home. 

According to Crunch CEO Jim Rowley, research has shown that fitness consumers will continue to take a mixed approach to their fitness routines.

“In response to this trend, we have launched Crunch+ to deliver quality on-demand and live-stream workouts to give members more options,” Rowley said.

Self Esteem Brands CEO Chuck Runyon said consumers today expect personalization.

“The smartphone is the single, most important piece of equipment in the wellness space,” Runyon said. “They might only visit your studio or gym a couple of times a week, and so our brands need a way to offer content that is compelling to the consumers we serve and keeps them engaged in our brand. Anytime Fitness can be with anyone, anytime, anywhere, and we can provide that coach in your pocket when you’re not inside the gym or club, sending you those nudges for better behaviors, and showing you your biometrics and outcomes. We’re using technology for good, not to replace people.” 

Not surprisingly, wearables are playing a role in hybrid fitness. Planet Fitness launched its fitness app long before the pandemic hit but has significantly grown its digital offerings since then. The Planet Fitness watch app allows members to “have a gym on your wrist.” Their app also offers an in-person crowd tracker, which is particularly helpful if you don’t want to wait in line for the cable towers. Life Time offers its most popular classes in video format so that members can work out at Life Time anytime and anywhere, and offers access to Apple Fitness+, which is often accessed on the Apple Watch. 

Creating an on-brand virtual experience requires investment by gym owners, who must ensure that the virtual experience is on par with the in-person workout. Zoom will no longer get the job done. As members move across the physical and digital spectrum of the gym’s offerings, they want to have a consistent, on-brand experience from start to finish. And the smart gym owner will capitalize on the opportunity to track and learn from the members’ activities.  

Some gym operators are collaborating with established online fitness brands to provide virtual workouts to their members. Fitness International, owner of the LA Fitness, Esporta Fitness and City Sports Club brands, offers its clubs’ members Les Mills+, a new streaming platform that can be added to a gym membership for on-demand workouts. Fitness tech leader ABC Fitness Solutions also recently announced a new partnership with Les Mills that makes the group fitness giant’s on-demand video classes available to ABC customers. Club operators can offer Les Mills classes such as Bodypump, Bodycombat and Les Mills Grit, among others, to their members both virtually and in-club. 

Tech Solutions Providers

A growing number of tech companies and content providers have entered the digital fitness space, offering a myriad of software solutions that add powerful digital capabilities to a gym’s list of services. 

Fitness tech leader Mindbody’s Virtual Wellness platform enables its gym and studio customers to deliver live-streamed and recorded workout classes to their members.  

Netherlands-based Funxtion helps gym operators keep their members engaged with customized digital fitness content. The company has created over 2500 exercise videos for 500 virtual classes in more than 1000 of its gym customers, including Anytime Fitness, Sportcity, Puregym, Goodlife Fitness and Kubofit.  

UK-based fitness tech brand Wexer, whose parent company  Core Health and Fitness, also owns the Schwinn, Nautilus and Stairmaster brands, acquired Intelivideo earlier this year. Wexer’s Virtual Connect platform allows its gym customers to make its content available to its gym partners, most of which are in Europe. The Intelivideo deal will expand its content-creation capabilities and presence in the U.S. market.

Eight-year-old Fortë is a subscription-based streaming platform that provides access to avant-garde boutique studio classes instructed by leading fitness experts worldwide. Fortë installs hardware and software into boutique studios, which enable the classes to be streamed live to Fortë’s platform.

The Gamification Angle

Some solutions are based on gamification to drive community and engagement. New York-based Swerve is a global fitness and competition platform that aims to turn underutilized group exercise rooms at gyms, hotels, residential buildings and schools into packed digitally-enhanced competitive fitness experiences for their communities. From its New York City studio, Swerve streams classes conducted by world-class instructors to big-screen TVs throughout the world. The company has teamed up with Marion Roaman, one of Peloton’s co-founders, to develop its Cycling product, the first sport in its collection, and expects to roll out additional fitness modalities beginning in 2024.

Swerve draws on the power of community via its team-based methodology, a gamified experience whereby each location is its own team, competing (globally) against other locations in real-time, which provides a fun, inclusive, highly immersive, and inherently community-building experience.

Swerve CEO and co-founder Eric Posner said his company “does not replace existing instructors at gyms.”

“We are a supplement to the schedule of existing classes, enabling gyms to go hybrid, offering classes on the hour, every hour, packing schedules with offerings and solving key profitability challenges for gyms due to labor shortages and the difficulties scaling top talent,” Posner said. “We work with some of the largest gym chains in the U.S., streaming into Crunch, XSport, YouFit, YMCA and Mountainside Fitness. In addition, we are in active negotiations and/or pilots with more than 15 additional brands and expect to be streaming to over 100 locations by the end of 2023.” 

Posner reports that so far this year Swerve has proven to drive up to six times more bookings and deliver four times more classes per day at its partners–at about 15% of the cost.

Swerve, whose three co-founders worked in investment banking before starting the company, was just selected to receive an investment from the Techstars Los Angeles business accelerator.  

With so much investment pouring into fitness technology, and new solutions propelling the industry into a new physical/virtual hybrid normal, a few things seem certain. First, the innovation will continue, with the companies behind each innovation strongly believing that their concept will prevail. Second, there will be a few winners but many more who don’t make it. Only time will tell how and when this shakeout will happen. And third, with all the options now available, it’s a great time to be a fitness and wellness consumer and an exciting time to be in this industry.  

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Self Esteem Brands, the parent company of Anytime Fitness among other brands, has announced Q2 2023 results demonstrating continued growth, global footprint expansion and solid franchisee performance. The growth comes as Self Esteem Brands has lofty plans to open 10,000 fitness, health and wellness clubs worldwide by 2030.

“We continue to see major whitespace growth opportunities for all of our franchise brands, both domestically and worldwide,” said Self Esteem Brands co-founder and CEO Chuck Runyon. “Our performance at midyear shows this, and we are moving with intention and purpose to expand our services to help millions more people on their personal health and wellness journeys while we help cultivate successful franchise owners.”

The company reports that the first half of this year has been a “record breaker” for Anytime Fitness, with same-store sales across franchise locations 10% higher than the first half of 2022. Self Esteem Brands notes that at the close of Q2, 60% of domestic Anytime Fitness members shared health data via the AF SmartCoaching technology platform that launched in Q1. 

As group fitness has gained steam in the industry as of late, Anytime Fitness has seen bookings for group training reaching an all-time high in Q2, with a 400% increase compared to Q1 of this year. As for its global expansion, Self Esteem Brands recently introduced Anytime France as its newest Anytime Fitness master franchisee, capitalizing on the recovering fitness market in France. With the addition of France, Self Esteem Brands now has Anytime Fitness clubs operating in over 40 countries and territories. 

Basecamp Fitness, which has nearly 70 franchises sold in the U.S., is in a high-growth phase and is now the first studio brand to offer franchising outside of the U.S. Studio locations saw a 20% increase in registrations over 2022 for its annual summer challenge, which sees Basecamp members nationwide competing for prizes. Additional Basecamp Fitness studios will open this year in new markets such as Orlando, Jacksonville, San Diego, Kansas City and Edgewater, N.J. 

As it looks ahead, Self Esteem Brands is opening its first Sumhiit Fitness location this fall in Sydney, Australia. The twin brand of Basecamp Fitness, available for franchising, is part of Self Esteem Brands’ global growth strategy. It’s also a brand addition that David Mortensen, Self Esteem Brand’s co-founder and president, says signals the company’s push to meet the growing demand for a holistic lifestyle. The 35-minute group fitness workout offers 50 minutes worth of intense calorie-burning cardio using an air bike and strength training, a concept the fitness brand says is validated by researchers and exercise physiologists at UCLA. 

Last month, Self Esteem Brands introduced Basecamp Fitness and Waxing the City to the Las Vegas strip, adding three fitness studios and one waxing location to Sin City’s vast offerings as it integrates brands for an interconnected wellness experience. Waxing the City has sold 71 new locations across the U.S. and is forecasted to open 30 more studios by the end of the year.

The parent company also reports that The Bar Method will soon surpass its pre-COVID unit-level benchmark and has recently launched new formats, Bar Method Cardio and Bar Strength, to keep clients engaged. 

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The Xponential Fitness-owned Club Pilates and Self Esteem Brands-owned Anytime Fitness have announced significant deals that will advance the fitness industry in France while also propelling their companies’ global expansion plans.

France has steadily recovered from the pandemic’s impact, and its fitness market is expected to grow rapidly. 

Trends such as boutique fitness studios, VR, fitness wearables, hybrid gym memberships and tech advancements are all credited to the projected fitness market growth in France, according to analysts at Ken Research. 

Club Pilates Continues European Expansion

Xponential Fitness has signed a master franchise agreement in France for Club Pilates after recently signing master franchise agreements for the Pilates concept in Ireland and Switzerland.

The boutique fitness franchisor says the deal represents its 19th international country outside of North America and allows the master franchisee to license a minimum of 75 Club Pilates studios in France over the next ten years.

The agreement was signed with TCMP Fitness L.P. and partners Susan and Chris Fichaud and will add to Club Pilates’ rapid expansion across Spain and Germany, where it already has studios opened. Xponential Fitness confirms that development agreements are also in place for Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal and the U.K. 

The fitness franchisor says it is encouraged by the European Pilates and yoga studio market, which it says is projected to reach $71.2 million by 2030 according to Allied Market Research.

“France is the third largest fitness market in Europe and Club Pilates is perfectly suited to appeal to discerning French consumers looking for an outstanding workout and a supportive community of like-minded customers,” said John Kersh, chief international development officer of Xponential. “We have high expectations for Club Pilates in France and we are excited to continue to support Chris and Susan on their long-term development and franchising efforts.”

While Xponential has shaken off recession fears, stating that its consumers are resilient, shares of XPOF are still recovering after a short-seller report was released last month. Xponential has denied the allegations by Fuzzy Panda Research, and Wall Street analysts are bullish on the fitness franchisor.

Anytime Fitness To Open Locations Across France

Self Esteem Brands, the parent company of a vast portfolio of fitness, health and wellness brands, announced that Anytime France SARL has joined Anytime Fitness as its latest master franchisee. 

With the addition of France, Self Esteem Brands will have Anytime Fitness clubs operating in 41 countries and territories, but by all accounts, Self Esteem Brands is just getting started with its global growth strategy. The company aspires to open 10,000 fitness, health and wellness clubs and studios worldwide by 2030.

Sander van den Born, executive vice president of international, Self Esteem Brands, said that the moment is right, noting the general recovery of the fitness market in France.

“We are well placed to bring the Anytime Fitness brand here as we accelerate our growth across the European landscape,” said van den Born. “Working with two exceptional, experienced Anytime Fitness club owners, we are proud to know the brand will play an active role in helping the people of France on their personal health and well-being journeys.”

Anytime France, owned by Benoit Hanssen and Matt Burgess, will open Anytime Fitness Clubs across Paris, Ile-de-France, Auvergne, Rhone-Alpes, Provence-Alpes and Cote d’Azur. Hanssen and Burgess also operate Anytime Fitness clubs across Italy.

The fitness company will soon announce specific locations and opening dates of the Anytime France locations.

“We’re excited to bring the biggest global fitness brand to France,” Burgess said. “Coupled with our learnings from neighboring market Italy, and the addition of the local French flavor to the U.S. model, we are confident in our plans for growth, enabling the people of France to meet their fitness and well-being goals.”

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Self Esteem Brands is taking Basecamp Fitness and Waxing the City to Las Vegas, bringing two new fitness and wellness brands to Sin City.

The move will see three Basecamp Fitness studios and one Waxing the City location in Las Vegas, led by Steve Polk, an Anytime Fitness franchisee, and business partners Nikki Huynh and Bill Hargraves.

The deal complements Self Esteem Brands’ strategy in expanding its portfolio with brands that offer an interconnected wellness experience. The company recently announced plans to open 10,000 fitness, health and wellness clubs worldwide by 2030.

“By integrating these brands, we’ve unlocked endless cross-brand opportunities for our existing franchisees, allowing them to tap into multiple revenue streams and offer customers a complete fitness, health and wellness experience,” said Chuck Runyon, co-founder and CEO of Self Esteem Brands. “We’re excited Steve has taken advantage of the opportunity to become our first-ever tri-brand franchisee.”

Basecamp Fitness will provide Las Vegas residents with a HIIT group workout concept with 50 minutes of exercise compacted into 35 minutes. Waxing the City, on the other hand, will offer waxing services and a high-quality experience along with skin and beauty care products.

“It’s an honor to pioneer a new era of franchise ownership for Self Esteem Brands as the first tri-brand franchisee,” Polk said. “Since joining the Anytime Fitness system, we’ve seen tremendous success at our clubs and we’re looking forward to that translating to Basecamp Fitness and Waxing the City.”

With a background in the automobile industry and as a co-founder of Building Blocks for Business, Polk began his franchise career with the Self Esteem Brands-owned Anytime Fitness last year and now owns and operates five locations.

“I’m eager to bring these brands to the Las Vegas community to further Self Esteem Brands’ mission to improve the self-esteem of the world,” Polk added. “With the support of Self Esteem Brands’ corporate team and its resources, we are confident that Basecamp Fitness and Waxing the City will resonate with community members and bring highly differentiated workouts and waxing services to those in Las Vegas.”

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A new studio concept has launched under Self Esteem Brands, Sumhiit Fitness, which aims to bring a group workout approach to high-intensity interval training.

The first Sumhiit Fitness location is slated to open this fall in Sydney by Collective Wellness Group, the Australia-based Anytime Fitness master franchisee. 

Self Esteem Brands co-founder and president David Mortensen says the new brand signals Self Esteem’s move to extend its health and wellness brands to meet the growing demand for a holistic lifestyle. 

Sumhiit Fitness is available for franchising and is part of Self Esteem Brands’ global growth strategy. The company aims to open 10,000 fitness, health and wellness clubs and studios worldwide by 2030.

Sumhiit Fitness provides 50 minutes of calorie-burning condensed into a 35-minute group workout setting, providing a short workout with maximum results. The coach-led format rotates between cardio using an air bike and high-intensity strength training in 60-second “bursts.” Attendees can engage in a 10-minute optional segment that follows each workout with core exercises, further rounding out their workout.

Members also have access to the Sumhiit app to monitor their workout, results and health data, as well as schedule classes and stay connected with the Sumhiit community.

The fitness brand says the action-packed workout is validated by researchers and exercise physiologists at UCLA.

The new fitness concept is the twin brand to Basecamp Fitness and follows Anytime Fitness. 

“We are thrilled to welcome HIIT enthusiasts around the world to experience Sumhiit Fitness,” said Ben Camper, president of Basecamp Fitness. “We are experiencing strong growth in franchise sales of the Basecamp studio concept across the U.S.; both franchise owners and members are feeling the difference in our format and its ability to build community and deliver real results.”

Sander van den Born, executive vice president, international, at Self Esteem Brands, believes Sumhiit is well-positioned for global growth.

“Our existing size and scale across seven continents, thanks to the Anytime Fitness footprint, creates a fantastic foundation for launching the Sumhiit Fitness brand and concept,” van den Born said. “Our franchising services platform and the proven concept in the U.S. means that we can move quickly to help new and existing master franchise owners bring this concept to their countries and communities.”

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