There's a new fitness option in town – bringing the "sense of community" that has helped them conquer Australia.
Fitstop says its brand is "taking off" in New Zealand, where it has opened three new locations – in Hamilton, New Plymouth and Christchurch – and will be opening several more over the next 12 months.
Fitstop was started in Queensland in 2013 by former motocross rider Peter Hull, impressed by a tailored exercise programme that helped him recover from injuries. He started his own gym, initially from his parents' garage, and in 2017 turned the brand into a franchise.
The business has boosted memberships by 70 per cent and expects turnover to reach $37 million in the coming financial year. It plans to open 10 new locations in the US by mid-2023 as well as adding to its existing network of more than 90 gyms across Australia and New Zealand.
Celebrations are planned for the soon-to-be day when it opens its 100th location later this year, and sign up the 20,000th active "Fitstopper".
Fitstop's sessions are 50-minute workouts, combining small group athletic and functional training principles to maximise output. Their sessions, aptly named "Lift", "Perform", "Condition" and "Sweat", take an integrated approach to fitness – appealing to people, often those who've played sport in the past, who know being active makes them feel better.
The business has scaled up by largely using an ownership model that has led to a 60 per cent growth in franchise numbers in Australia and New Zealand. Hull, a recent Brisbane Young Entrepreneur Awards finalist, says: "We have a unique combination, firstly of custom technology built for owner-operators to drive business performance and manage memberships. This has attracted passionate business owners.
"The franchise owners are equally passionate about fitness, moving more, living life and performing at your best. It is the strength behind building a dedicated community and seeing progression."
Another reason for Fitstop's anticipated success: they know a thing or two about surviving tough times. In an industry where many businesses only just survived the pandemic, Fitstop positively thrived.
"What Fitstop did that worked so well is encourage a sense of community, and that is the focus of what we are doing with the locations opening up here," says the company's recently appointed New Zealand general manager Brendan Hurrell, currently overseeing the establishment of the franchises here, including the latest in New Plymouth.
An example of their smart thinking came during lockdowns in Australia; a newly-developed app included an at-home workout regime that enabled Fitstop members to stay on track with their goals even when they couldn't go into the gym. While other gym's were losing huge numbers of members, Fitstop kept 80 per cent of theirs.
The app is still a key part of the business, allowing members to receive support as well as book sessions, keep track of their goals and achievements, and access information such as good nutrition through a huge library of nutritious recipes.
It's part of the Fitstop experience: "We want to give people a feeling of belonging to a community, where they achieve real fitness and wellbeing results long-term, and gain a sense of accomplishment," says Hurrell.
"It's not just about coming in to do a six-week programme that will help them to lose a bit of weight, it's about combining the fundamentals of strength, metabolic conditioning and endurance training to produce results, and then working to progress those. It's all done in an environment where they feel encouraged and supported."
Hurrell knows why being fit and healthy is crucial. At 19 he was struggling with his mental health: "I was overweight and when I looked in the mirror, I didn't like what I saw."
He developed a passion for exercise which completely changed his life: "The high-performance training I got, along with the support from some great mentors, made a huge difference to me," says Hurrell, whose weight dropped from 140kg to 116kg. Now 33, he started thinking about what he wanted to do next – and Fitstop seemed to be the perfect career progression.
"A lot of us Kiwis have been into sport when we were younger. Then life gets in the way and all of a sudden you are working long hours and you've got kids and you put your own health and wellbeing on the backburner," says Hurrell. "We want to empower our members to find their passion for fitness again."
Fitstop's approach often reminds members of what it is like to be part of sporting side, training together to attain a goal, and it encourages a sense of camaraderie, says Hurrell.
"We want our locations to be the kind of place you can't wait to go to train, not only because you're seeing great results but because you enjoy being there."
In a year's time, there will be at least 10 Fitstops throughout the country.
For more information go to: www.fitstop.com