

The clubs offer an array of group fitness classes, including stationary bike workouts, Pilates, Ride, TRX, Yoga, and Zumba. During this partnership, Crunch set a Guinness World Record for the most people simultaneously performing lying lateral leg raises. Īlso in 2021, Crunch partnered with Olivia Newton-John to raise money for Cancer treatment research. On August 25, 2021, Pegula Sports & Entertainment announced a multi-year extension with Crunch Fitness as an Official Partner of the Buffalo Bills. Crunch will assist franchisee owners in finding a site, financing, club design, and construction, public relations and marketing, operations, infrastructure, and training.Ĭrunch is led by Worldwide CEO Jim Rowley and Ben Midgley is CEO of Crunch Franchise. Of Crunch Fitness’ 405 clubs in the United States and five other countries, 92% are franchises. On July 1, 2019, it was announced that private-equity firm TPG was acquiring Crunch Fitness through its growth-equity unit. In 2005 Angelo, Gordon & Co., a private equity firm, purchased Crunch from Ballys for $45 million, and in 2009 added New Evolution Fitness Company ("NEFC"/New Evolution Ventures), a company founded by Mark Mastrov (founder of 24 hour fitness) and fitness Veteran Jim Rowley, as an equity and operating partner. Ownership īally Total Fitness acquired Crunch in 2001 for $90 million in cash and stock, holding the brand for four years. In June 2022, Crunch celebrated reaching the 2 million member mark. Also in February, Crunch launched “Strengthened by Heroes”, a military-based employment initiative. In February 2022, Crunch opened its 400th location in San Angelo, Texas. The chain opened 40 clubs during the pandemic, including two Long Island sites, and systemwide membership was up 31% compared to pre-pandemic levels in February 2020. When clubs started to reopen, that number declined. Participation jumped 150% to about 100,000 workouts daily by July 2020. Before the pandemic, he said that Crunch Live was available only to top-tier members, but it was rolled out to all members during the health crisis. While many chains struggled during the pandemic, Crunch Fitness held its footing by offering virtual classes via Crunch Live, said CEO Ben Midgley. In 2019, Crunch had 1.5 million members across 325 gyms in 30 States, Puerto Rico, Australia, Spain, and Canada. The first franchise location was Crunch Norwalk (Connecticut). The gym’s model began as a welcoming place for diverse groups of people to get fit, focusing on group workouts and combining entertainment with exercise. On May 6, 2009, Crunch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States. The clubs became successful by appealing to young upscale members and by selling logo merchandise. Levine came up with the “No Judgments” philosophy to remove the intimidation factor from going to the gym as well as combining this model with entertainment and diverse offerings, keeping members inspired to work out. Crunch began as a fitness studio in a small basement. Crunch was founded in NYC’s Greenwich Village in 1989 by Doug Levine, a former stockbroker.
