Q: Who is the typical Fitness Together client?
A: The typical client for Fitness Together has an average household income of $100,000-plus – a woman who has two or three children and wants to get her body back in shape after the kids are in school and she has some time for herself. Or, the busy male or female executive who does not want to go into a public gym and fight the crowds. Most clients train three days each week. The cost is between $50 a session and $85 a session, depending on what part of the world we’re in.
Q: How has the business grown since opening as one studio in Arizona in 1983?
A: We’re in five different countries, and we have over 550 locations. In 2007, our company collectively – all franchisees – will bring in between $96 million and $98 million in personal training revenue worldwide. It took five years to get to 19 locations, which is not very good. Today, we’re opening 10 new locations every month. In addition, nine months ago we launched a new business model, which is Elements Therapeutic Massage.
Q: Why did you launch the new franchise concept?
A: We realized two-and-a-half years ago that Fitness Together would have approximately 1,600 units, because by then we would have reached our capacity in the world. The reason we felt that way is because our model has to be in wealthy pockets – it can’t be everywhere. We don’t want to run hard to the finish line, and then have no way to grow.
Q: So how did you, as someone with a psychology degree, decide to open a private gym 24 years ago?
A: I was training at public gyms all the time. I made friends with a manager of a public gym. He and I talked often about how this public gym model was built around people signing up and not coming. That’s when I realized it was a broken model. I felt there must be a better way to get people to start a program, but also continue to try to get results from the program.
Q: So what did you do differently from public gyms?
A: The most important thing is, we created a private environment. Even though my facilities are not the biggest – our studios are 1,500 to 1,800 square feet – each client gets to work in a private room. Knowing that a lot of people feel self-conscious, privacy is the No. 1 thing. Second is accountability. By accountability, I mean that we care whether or not the client is there and whether or not they’re making an effort toward nutrition and cardiovascular training.
Q: What was the first year like when you were trying to get the business off the ground?
A: The first year was very difficult. I did not have enough money to rent an apartment, so I slept in my studio for the first year. At the end of the day, I would lock the doors and pull out a sleeping bag. I had no money for marketing, so I would print fliers and then walk all over the neighborhoods and hand out the fliers and talk to people to promote my company. The second year was better because I had 30 clients and things started to pick up.
Q: What are your goals now for your company?
A: Our goal is, in the next five years, to have four franchised models under one company. We have two now; the goal is to have two more in the wellness field. We’re considering ideas. We want to launch the next one in approximately 20 months.
Edited for space and clarity from an interview by staff writer A.J. Miranda.
