An Anytime Fitness centre located in a shophouse in Choa Chu Kang / Image Credit: Anytime Fitness CCKĪnd that’s what Anytime Fitness offered – a reprieve from the busy gyms located in crowded city centres that can cost a chunk of your salary. They observed and surveyed regular members of big-box gyms on what they would like in their ideal gym and found three common things: convenience, affordability, and a non-intimidating environment. In those seven years, Runyon and Mortensen worked for a consulting firm that helped improve failing gyms across America. Well, they may think they’re dumb but it was their savviness and perhaps keen business acumen that make them wealthy entrepreneurs. Together they bought and ran a local gym that had about 500 members in 1995 and seven years later, they sold the gym that had about 4,000 members.īoth of them are school dropouts, Runyon dropped out of high school and Mortensen from university, and joked that they “might be the two dumbest wealthy entrepreneurs ever know”.

They met at a fitness club in the early 90’s, according to this extensive interview in 2012. Fit To Meet The Needs Of Gym-Goers Founders Chuck Runyon (left) and Dave Mortensen (right) / Image Credit: Franchise ChatterĪnytime Fitness was founded by Chuck Runyon and Dave Mortensen in Minnesota, USA, in 2002. It seems like Anytime Fitness here became the essentialists’ gym, an oasis for the nocturnal gym rats, and the perfect option for people who want to fit in a workout quickie amidst their busy schedule. “Well, I prefer to get my workout in before I start my day or head to work,” he added. Teivian told me that he usually starts working out at three or four in the morning until 6am because that’s when it’s quiet. He told me that he had tried a number of gyms such as EnergyOne, ClubFITT, California Fitness, and more, but stuck with Anytime because the ones he tried did not offer “all-day 24-hour access” which meant the “gym was always crowded”. “There were two things that were attractive to me: 24 hours access, and a large number of outlets across Singapore and overseas.” I asked my friend, 28-year old Teivian, a project manager at a consulting firm and an Anytime Fitness member what made him sign up, he replied, “I signed up for Anytime Fitness about three years ago, when they had an opening sale for their outlet at Valley Point.” An Anytime Fitness booth / Image Credit: Anytime Fitness CCKīased on what I’ve heard from friends and seen from their marketing, Anytime Fitness offers convenience and unlimited access 24 hours a day at rather affordable prices. It was boring running on the same spot and I could feel people staring at me as I try to do one more rep or just one more minute. I once tried working out at the public gym near my place – and I never went back after that. In short, California Fitness was not prudent, did not stand out from competitors – yes, ActiveSG gyms included – and were subsequently eliminated by the new kids on the block.

When boutique gyms popped up, like CrossFit, the mega gym lost the fight. To put it succinctly, the reason most former California Fitness members gave when asked why they chose not to renew their membership was that it was just a glorified premium gym with facilities. Survival Of The FittestĪs this article pointed out, California Fitness failed because it wasn’t sustainable, creating exorbitant gym packages that required potential members to pay upfront thereby only ensuring cash flow at the start of the business.

I was surprised when they’ve managed to be around for so long, so I sought to find out why and how. Purple-coloured booths replaced insurance companies’ booths at MRT stations, and where insurance agents were became fitness buffs in their purple dry-fit uniforms.Ĭan’t blame me for thinking they operated like a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme. Then, 24-hour fitness chain, Anytime Fitness opened its first outlet in Woodlands in 2013. While I felt a little sorry for these customers, I had always thought they were foolish to spend so much on something that could be done at home or at a public gym.

When news of mega gym California Fitness’ sudden mass closure came out in 2016, there was some chaos similar to when travel agencies unexpectedly dissolve and customers couldn’t retrieve the money they had paid in advance.

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