Fitness AI is Flexing Some Serious Franchise Muscle

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According to U.S. News and World Report, more than 80% of people break their New Year’s resolution by mid-February. And it’s no surprise that health goals are at the top of the list. But if there’s one thing I’m excited about in 2024, it’s the groundbreaking arrival of AI in a fitness franchise that is sure to change those odds.

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A year ago, I was at the International Franchise Association convention in Vegas when I ran into my friend Brandon Bean . A longtime and trusted client during his tenure as CEO of Gold’s Gym, I secretly knew what he had been up to since then and why he was at the show. He was preparing to change the entire fitness (and fitness franchising) landscape in a major way. And this was going to be big.

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I don’t say that lightly about a seasoned exec who ran one of the most famous chains with a flag on every continent and more than 3 million members. Brandon had one of the best resumes for big box, big brand, serious fitness careers on the planet. That meant he also had opinions about what the industry was missing in an evolving landscape both for investors [a.k.a. franchisees] and gym-goers.

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After spending the better part of the pandemic years perfecting an AI environment alongside a hyper-focused user-experience, he was about to unveil his new concept Lumin Fitness . The company motto? …“The World’s Smartest Fitness Studio.”

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As a PR agency that loves telling a groundbreaking story, BizCom Associates wanted in on this launch!

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A Personal Invite, a Dark Warehouse, Guarded Technology, and a Killer Demo

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When I got back from Vegas, I got a behind-the-scenes demo at their test facility. Think discreet warehouse by Love Field in Dallas with no flashy sign and a “we’ll let you in” invitation.

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After meeting with the headquarters team, they led me through a back door. I entered an all-black room with no windows, walked among precisely-spaced equipment facing a wall and was handed some ear buds. They asked me what accent I wanted to hear from the AI trainer in my ears and what kind of music I preferred for a workout. As soon as the simulation started, life as I knew it for workouts changed forever.

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The floor-to-ceiling LED screen flashed bright graphics and recorded movements in real time. The technology behind the wall calculated the weights in one’s hands, tallied the reps of an exercise at the exact speed someone was doing it, and gamified workouts between participants to flash the completed goal. How each person heard it and to what kind of beat might be completely different. And everyone’s smartphone could be synced to show his or her individual workout on the app as it happened. ?

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Mind-blowing.

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"From day one, the Lumin Fitness concept was designed with two primary customers in mind: the end user, who deserves a fun and motivating fitness experience, and the franchise owner, who wants to play a pivotal role in transforming how fitness and technology coexist.” -Brandon Bean.

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The whole thing felt other-worldly. A complete immersion in a boutique space for up to 14 people. It was both personalized and non-threatening or like a group activity at the very same time. Plus, the LED walls would change every 6-8 weeks to offer a totally new workout, a different-looking space, and a constantly fresh experience beyond the sameness of other gyms. Talk about a game-changing demonstration. The only question left was: How soon could this take off?

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Enter Lumin’s Chief Development Officer Craig Sherwood , who previously served as Chief Development Officer at Gold’s Gym. With additional development roles at Little Caesars, Wingstop and Sonic on his resume, Lumin's growth goals were packing some serious power.

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A Flagship Prototype, the Grandest of Openings and (Dare, I Say) Huge Headlines

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On September 9, the doors opened to the first Lumin Fitness studio in Las Colinas and it was game on. Consumers’ reactions to the flagship location were a sweat-fest of approval. Sherwood and his meetings with interested investors soon followed. The prototype was a sensation and the PR machine went into overdrive.

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For a new concept with one boutique studio and a fitness format that had never existed, these were uncharted waters. And, boy, did it make a splash.

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"Thanks to recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the fitness world is doubling down on personalized fitness - creating...easier access to more effective, goal-oriented workouts that people are more likely to actually do." – Well+Good

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Brand awareness for the brand new franchise opportunity was on the map. We’re talking local media - Dallas Business Journal, D CEO, KRLD, CW33, KTVT [Watch HERE]. We’re talking trade outlets - Franchise Times, FITT Insider. We’re talking the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Tech Review [“Welcome to the AI gym staff by virtual trainers”]. Even the BBC!

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The official launch of Lumin Fitness and the resulting press coverage was everything an emerging brand only dreams about. Then again, emerging brands don’t usually have this pedigree of leadership, this kind of hands-on experience growing another fitness giant around the world, and (best of all) one of the most attractive advantages to the business model in existence today… AI technology that trumps the human labor shortage needed to staff so many other gyms and studios. ?

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Welcome to the future.

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Now be on the lookout for a Lumin Fitness franchise coming your way.

For franchising info visit https://lumin.fitness/franchising/.

[Note: Lumin Fitness is a client of BizCom Associates.]

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