The first three Michigan-based Fitwall studios, offering high-intensity interval training sessions that last just 40 minutes each, are set to open within the next six to 12 months in Ann Arbor, Brighton, and Birmingham.
Leading the way is franchisee Rodney Goble, founder of Michigan Rehabilitation Specialists, a physical therapy and athletic training group that was acquired by Bollingbrook, Ill.-based ATI Physical Therapy in 2013.
While Goble says he can’t confirm the number of Fitwall studios he and his partners, operating under the entity Kingston Fit LLC, will open in the next few years, he points to the success he had growing Michigan Rehabilitation Specialists.
“In about 15 years, we grew to more than 50 physical therapy locations,” Goble says. “I could see having a successful Fitwall studio in just about every community relationship we’ve established over the years.”
Goble also joins real estate, fitness, consumer goods, and operations experts as an investor in and adviser to Fitwall Ventures LLC. The group recently announced the launch of a franchise platform through its subsidiary Fitwall Studios Systems LLC.
The company hopes to sign deals for about 200 studios over the next 24 months. In addition to the planned Michigan studios, Fitwall also has locations in California and, as of this spring, Colorado.
“Fitwall is pleased to have Rodney on board as an advisor, investor, and franchisee,” says said Michael Webb, Fitwall’s president. “His insight into the Michigan marketplace, as well as the entire Great Lakes and Midwest region of the U.S., will serve as a meaningful competitive advantage as Fitwall continues our global expansion.”
At each Fitwall studio, members check in on an iPad and click into the Fitwall using a Bluetooth heart rate monitor known as a peanut. Fitwall utilizes a propriety metric called the FIT (Fitwall Intensity Training) Factor, a data calculation that helps clients use the technology to track progress and maximize results throughout the session.
For more information, visit fitwall.com.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 4: 58 p.m. on Jan. 23.
