In this FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:

• Section I – Background information on the GymGuyz franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates

• Section II – Estimated initial investment for a GymGuyz franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2019 FDD

• Section III – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees for a GymGuyz franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2019 FDD

• Section IV – Number of franchised and company-owned GymGuyz outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2016, 2017, and 2018, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2019 FDD

• Section V – Presentation and analysis of GymGuyz’ financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2019 FDD, including information on the:

• 2018 average, median, high, and low gross sales for the 12 GymGuyz franchisees, operating 27 locations that have been open for 24 months as of December 31, 2018 and were in continuous operation for the full 12 months of 2018 under the same ownership, grouped according to population size (300,000 and above, 150,000 to 299,999, and 149,999 and below)

Section I – Background Information

19 Things You Need to Know About the GymGuyz Franchise

Launches ‘Opportunity October’ Campaign With Goal of Hiring 200 New Personal Trainers by End of This Year

1.  At the beginning of October 2019, GymGuyz announced its Opportunity October hiring campaign, which seeks to aggregate 2,000 new applications. This translates to the hiring of another 200 personal fitness trainers before the end of 2020. In addition to helping meet the company’s growth plan of opening 100 new locations by the end of 2020, the Opportunity October campaign is meant to aid in the fitness industry’s pressing need for quality personal trainers.

2.  At the time of the announcement, GymGuyz had over 250 locations across the globe serving over 575 cities, and continues to eye national and international expansion as it seeks out territories that show a demand for its in-home personal training services. This year, GymGuyz has successfully added new locations to several states including California, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, Oklahoma, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom, with additional territories expected to open before the end of the year.

3.  The Opportunity October hiring campaign is part of GymGuyz’ plan to aggressively increase hiring efforts to help support its growth strategy. According to Josh York, founder and CEO of GymGuyz, “GymGuyz offers personal trainers the opportunity to be a part of a team that is changing the fitness industry. We are extremely proud of our team and are excited to hire more highly-skilled, energetic and driven individuals to provide convenient, customized and creative workouts in the setting of our clients’ choice.”

4.  York added, “Before starting GymGuyz, I worked as a personal trainer and I recognize how important it is to pair our clients with the best trainers possible. The incredible culture of the fitness industry has allowed me to work my way up from being a personal trainer to opening my own mobile personal training business.”

5.  The fitness industry suffers from an annual trainer turnover rate of 80%, according to a study done by W.I.T.S. GymGuyz combats this turnover rate by offering trainers the opportunity to “bust out of the gym” and take their training to the client. GymGuyz also stresses a uniquely personalized training approach, creating a high level of trust and collaboration between trainers and clients.

6.  The brand’s coaches, who must be nationally-certified personal trainers and pass a rigorous background check to be considered for employment, are trained using GymGuyz methodologies and employ various techniques and tools to ensure that no two workouts are ever the same and that clients are always having fun and being challenged.

Recruits Seasoned Fitness Industry Expert as Chief Growth Officer

7.  In mid-August 2019, GymGuyz announced that it had taken a big step forward in its plans for expansion with the hiring of business development veteran Ed Ruane as its new chief growth officer. Ruane joins GymGuyz with an extensive background in multi-unit scaling and strategic planning with over 25 years in the health and fitness industry.

8.  From New York, where GymGuyz is headquartered, Ruane started his career early on in the airline industry, servicing jets after earning his FAA licenses. Ruane left the airline industry to pursue his passion for personal training and went on to be certified by The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and American Council on Exercise (ACE).

9.  Within the personal fitness industry, becoming a trainer more than 25 years ago was just the start for Ruane. He would later find himself in many roles, including serving as the co-founder of The New York Metropolitan Club Association (NYMCA), a sub-chapter of the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association). He even worked with owners of fitness clubs across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to lobby against the state of New York for taxation on health club dues – and won.

10.  One of the bigger opportunities in Ruane’s career came when he was brought on by Equinox Holdings to help grow the company’s footprint. Within one year, he received the award of “General Manager of the Year” and became Equinox’s first regional director, ultimately growing with the chain from four locations to over 50 clubs.

11.  After 10 years on the management team, Ruane moved on to his next venture, taking over the former Hollywood Atrium Club and turning it into Life Clubs of Lawrence. Ruane reversed losses, spearheaded a complete renovation, and positioned Life Clubs as the number one fitness choice of The Five Towns in New York.

12.  Josh York, founder and CEO of GymGuyz, said, “Assembling a leadership team with strong knowledge of the challenges and opportunities involved in rapid growth is critical to the long-term success we have as a brand. Ed has a proven reputation for being able to grow businesses and bring them to the next level. We know that he will bring this same passion to GymGuyz and are excited to have him on board as we look toward our most successful year yet.”

13.  As the newest member of the GymGuyz leadership team, Ruane will be responsible for similar roles in growing the company, creating universal efficiencies and expanding the GymGuyz franchise presence internationally.

14.  Ruane added, “It’s clear that GymGuyz, as a franchise system, has grown quickly over the years. My main goal is to work closely with the team to make GymGuyz the best possible version of itself that it can be – all with our number one priority in mind, which is putting franchisees first. Without franchisees, we simply do not exist. My passion lies with creating those new relationships as well as building on current ones across the network.”

Company History

15.  GymGuyz was founded in 2008 by Josh York in Long Island, New York. York has always had a passion for fitness and while attending college he worked as a personal trainer. After graduating, York worked during the day for a marketing firm, but continued to train clients at night. York didn’t like the negative work environment of the marketing firm and took his entire savings and invested it into his new fitness venture.

16.  Operating from his parents’ home, York filled a van with gym equipment and developed the GymGuyz concept, which brings the workout directly to clients at any location. To promote GymGuyz, York drove his van up and down the Long Island Expressway and he soon had hundreds of clients.

17.  As demand for York’s services grew, he hired certified personal trainers, support staff, and purchased two additional GymGuyz vans to keep up with the demand of over 1,000 clients in 2010. Over the next few years, GymGuyz continued to grow and York began franchising in 2014. The following year, GymGuyz moved its headquarters into a larger building and in 2017, the first international franchise opened in Canada.

18.  By the end of 2018, GymGuyz had grown to 184 locations and announced that it was expanding to the United Kingdom in 2019.

Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500

19.  GymGuyz ranked No. 231 on Entrepreneur’s 2019 Franchise 500 list.

Section II – Estimated Costs

• Please click here for detailed estimates of GymGuyz franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2019 FDD.

Section III – Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, Marketing Fee, and Other Fees

• Please click here for detailed information on GymGuyz’ initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2019 FDD.

Section IV – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Outlets

Franchised

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  28
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  63
• Net Change:  +35

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  63
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  125
• Net Change:  +62

2018

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  125
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  146
• Net Change:  +21

Company-Owned

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  1
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  1
• Net Change:  0

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  1
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  6
• Net Change:  +5

2018

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  6
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  22
• Net Change:  +16

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2019 FDD) and Analysis

• As of December 31, 2018, GymGuyz had 145 franchised locations. These franchises were operated by 50 franchisees.

• Based on the franchisor’s experience, the franchisor believes it takes 24 months for a Franchised Business to reach maturity and for its Gross Sales results to be representative, since during the first year a Franchised Business is developing and growing its client base.

• Of the 145 franchised locations, 27 locations had been open for 24 months as of December 31, 2018 and were in continuous operation for the full 12 months of 2018 under the same ownership. These 27 franchised locations were operated by 12 franchisees.

• Because these franchisees operated multiple locations, the franchisor did not require them to obtain a separate van for each location, pay minimum royalty fees for each location, pay separate brand fund and tech fees for each location, and in certain cases, did not require them to maintain separate books and records for each location.

• As a result, the franchisor has provided information about their Gross Sales based on the combined territory population for each franchisee. The Gross Sales results of these 12 franchise operators (who collectively operate 27 franchised locations) for the year 2018 are summarized below:

Units Open 24 Months or Longer as of December 31, 2018

Population Size:  300,000 and Above