INTERVIEW
Racing ahead T
ake us back to the beginning. How did Anytime Fitness come into being?
My business partner and I were already working in the fitness sector. We had a health and
fitness group where we were working with other clubs, training their staff and so on. We’d also bought up three failing clubs, turned them around and got them up and running successfully. What we noticed, however, was that most of the members were using the same equipment every visit and other stuff was underused. We thought that because we were paying for the space to house all the equipment, on utilities, etc, if we took out what members use most and put it into a smaller and cheaper space offering 24-hour access and lower staffing, the whole thing would be so efficient!
What drew you to franchising as a way to grow your business? We knew literally nothing about franchising
to begin with. We started to read up on it, read everything we could. We knew that Gold’s (the gym brand catapulted to notoriety after Arnold Schwarzenneger’s film debut Pumping Iron) and Curves had grown through franchising and we got the impression that this would be a faster way to achieve growth. We’ve grown to 2,500 units in 12 years
– we are very fortunate! 500 of those are outside the US, which is good too! We’ve just secured our 100th franchise in the UK and we should have 40 open by the end of the year.
What is it about Anytime Fitness that makes its business owners and customers invest emotionally and passionately in the brand? is it true that at least 1,000 of them have your running man logo as a tattoo? It’s around 1,500 tattoos now! As for the passion… most come into it [investing in a franchise] thinking of Anytime Fitness as a business but, once you get involved, you fall in love with it.
Fresh from Madrid where he opened the 2,500th Anytime Fitness club, Chuck Runyon, CEO of the fastest-growing fitness chain in the world, tells Annie Blinkhorn why his franchise is at the top of its game
I give three main reasons for this passion.
Firstly, franchisees get to change people’s lives, helping others to be better by getting them healthy – it’s very gratifying. Secondly, the ‘dirty secret’ of franchising is that, particularly in the beginning, franchisees work a lot of hours, but with Anytime Fitness they will also get fit and feel much healthier. The final one is balance. Our owners have to work hard, but the model works so that the club will still operate if the franchisee is not there, so they can spend time with family or take up other pursuits. Our franchisees appreciate that. So, really it’s the three; helping others, being healthier themselves and achieving the work-life balance.
What are you looking for in your franchisee recruitment? Overall, recruits have to have emotional intelligence and people skills. They need to care about their community, be willing to listen, have empathy and the desire to help
Franchisor News | 17
Franchisor News | 19
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