What makes AWATfit unique within the fitness industry?

Just about everything. I’ve been in this industry for more than 30 years, and in that time, almost nothing has changed. Some gyms have added some technology or classes, but the basic experience is the same. AWATfit was designed not just to disrupt that, but to reach a wider audience of customers who are eager for a better, more accessible workout experience. 

The biggest point of differentiation is that we are not a brick-and-mortar gym. That provides a number of benefits for franchisees, but for customers it has two big ones: We can come to them, wherever they are, and they can work out outside, in any weather. Whether you’re a professional athlete or just trying to get some exercise in after work, the one thing that everyone hates about going to the gym is the environment — running in place, staring at walls, and now germs. When you exercise outdoors, your energy and mood increase automatically, but most people don’t have access to a full set of gym equipment outside. So we stepped in to fill that gap.

What are the benefits of franchising with AWATfit? 

For an entrepreneur who is passionate about physical fitness, the benefits are endless. We’ve developed a program that is easy to learn and easy to operate, so it doesn’t require a ton of business experience or knowledge. And it’s really inexpensive to get started. That’s one of the big benefits of not having a brick-and-mortar gym: You pay for the truck, and you are up and running with very little overhead. 

And then there are all sorts of smaller benefits that come along with that model. For one, our franchisees aren’t stuck inside of a gym all day — they get to move around and meet their clients at different locations. And the truck itself, which is really unique and eye-catching, is a great marketing tool, allowing franchisees to organically spread the word about their business without spending a single ad dollar.

Tell us about the history/founding of the brand.

I had worked in brick-and-mortar gyms for many years, and in that time I saw the customer base expand to the point where it includes just about every type of person, but the industry was not changing along with that customer base. I knew that there were so many people who were eager for high-quality exercise options who either wouldn’t or couldn’t get out to a gym. So I built AWATfit specifically to reach those customers. What I quickly found was not only was the demand among those customers even higher than I thought, but even customers who did regularly attend gyms were looking for other options. So the business took off very quickly. In the first year, we netted $200,000 in sales. In the second, I was taking home between $7,000 and $10,000 per week. It was growing so fast, I knew I had to franchise to maintain that growth.

What does your ideal franchisee look like?

The ideal AWATfit franchisee is anybody who loves fitness and being around people. There’s not much else to it. That could mean a trainer who wants to start their own business but doesn’t have much experience with business management, or it could be someone who owns a brick-and-mortar location and wants to move away from that model after COVID-19. If you know your way around exercise equipment and you like to work with people, this is your shot at being successful doing what you love to do.

There are a lot of fantastic trainers out there who don’t have a lot of management experience, and we’ve essentially packaged up a business for them so they can hit the ground running without taking a million classes or going through a giant learning curve.

What growth plans does the brand have in coming years?

We’ve seen tremendous growth already, and we have no plans to slow down. My goal is to open 1,000 franchise locations in markets across the country. We’re specifically targeting Colorado, Florida, California — anywhere where fitness and health are top of mind.