TAPOUT FITNESS tapoutfitness.com / HQ: Marietta, Ga. / Rick Bouza, president: “As an emerging fran- chisor, we are investing resources to help each franchisee on a more personal level.” Tapping Into Growth Tapout Fitness infuses martial arts programming into traditional fitness training to provide a strong competitive advantage for its franchisees. BY BIANCA HERRON

Seth Rollins is one of the WWE stars who is committed to the Tapout Fitness combination of strength training, cardio fitness and martial arts.

In order to secure the exclu- extended reach and exposure,” CEO International, Crunch and American sive global rights to the Tapout brand Ben Crosbie says. Leisure; and Chief Marketing Officer for use in the health and fitness gym Industry veterans with well more David Geller, former head of market- sector, Tapout Fitness was formed than 100 years of combined expe- ing for Equinox, Blink Fitness, Pure by Ben Crosbie. In November 2014, rience creating and operating the Yoga, among others. he launched the Tapout Fitness fran- world’s top fitness club brands have chise program, designed to create rounded out the company’s man- Tapout Fitness a chain of studios and fitness clubs, agement team, including Executive Tapout Fitness is martial arts infused adapting highly effective, time-tested Chairman Marc Tascher, Founder, fitness for all ages and fitness levels. It martial arts training and condition- Chairman/CEO/CFO of Town Sports encompasses immersive fitness pro- ing programs. International, (NASDAQ Club), for- gramming and signature classes that “Tapout is WWE’s official fitness mer CEO Crunch, Bally among oth- evolve ’s most time-tested and training partner, so this gives ers; President Rick Bouza, former and effective conditioning programs. Tapout Fitness built-in credibility, senior executive at Towns Sports Classes incorporate cutting-edge

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strength and cardio equipment, such crowd control. How many other fit- as Tapout Martial Arts, Tapout Fit, ness brands can match this?” Tapout Strike, Tapout 20 and Yoga. Tapout Fitness creates an inclusive Tapout 20, one of the company’s most community of members who support innovative offerings, is a 20-minute each other as their fitness improves. HIIT workout that incorporates the “While the traditional core adult de- basics of martial arts conditioning in a mographic has been 60 percent women non-intimidating way. and 40 percent men between the ages of Greg Jackson, the world’s pre-em- 18 and 50, the new programming offers inent Mixed Martial Arts coach and beginner’s programs and children’s instructor whose MMA Fight Team classes, so we are the perfect choice for has an incredible 85 percent winning people new to fitness,” Bouza explains. percentage in competitions at every “Our members define quality by the level, is a partner in the business and strength and expertise of our program- oversees the training of all Tapout Fit- ming and instructors. That’s what sets ness coaches. us apart from our competitors.” The Tapout brand is a joint own- Bouza also emphasizes Tapout Fit- ership by ness’ strong family element, offering (ABG) and World Wresting Entertain- programming for children between the ment (WWE), which provides Tapout ages of four and 18. “Tapout Fitness in- Fitness with access to extraordinary cludes time-honored children’s class- brand marketing and assets. Every es, including Karate, Taekwondo and franchisee benefits from unprecedent- Tapout Martial Arts,” he says. “We wel- ed endorsement and support, accord- come entire families to join, but chil- ing to the company. dren are welcome on their own. Tapout ABG and WWE are deeply commit- Martial Arts is not only a good workout ted to the development of Tapout Fit- for children, it also teaches them life ness into a major fitness chain, giving skills such as focus, mindfulness, disci- it unmatched resources, Tascher says. pline, respect and coordination.” “For example, for the rebranding of one of our Manhattan clubs, Tapout Building the Franchise Fitness hosted a grand opening work- Tapout Fitness has an adaptable box out event with WWE Superstars Alicia model to fit franchisee’s market de- Fox, Lana, Summer Rae, Natalya, Alexa mographic and best fit into the com- Bliss and Naomi, E! News host Maria petitive climate in the area, according Menounos and in collaboration with to Crosbie. “The best offering may be Amy Dixon, celebrity trainer and fit- a smaller boutique-type studio model, ness instructor. or a larger studio with a broader fit- “The gym takeover event included ness offering.” strength training and cardio workout Tapout Fitness also offers a “conver- sessions, as well as Q&A with the stars, sion box model” for gyms that have ge- providing guests and fans insight into neric programming and are struggling what goes into the workout of a WWE in the face of increasing competition. Superstar,” Tascher continues. “The “This already includes two Manhat- event streamed live and was filmed for tan clubs, a 26,000 square foot and future airing. There was a line around 44,000 square foot location,” Crosbie the block of people hoping to get in, continues. “The Tapout Fitness brand, and special security was needed for programming and classes caused an

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Tapout Fitness plans to add more than 14 locations to its brand in 2017, or more if it can convert existing clubs to the Tapout brand.

immediate lift in sales, leads, dues 1. Challenging accepted wisdom. ourselves as having almost no com- rates and program sign-ups. We are 2. Staying fresh, ever changing, and petition and huge global growth po- starting to attract other owners of looking for new ways to attract tential. No one has effectively adapt- traditional ‘generic’ gyms like Bally and retain members. ed martial arts, the most respected and Gold’s, who see Tapout as a way 3. Mining data to increase precision training programs in the world, to the to differentiate, increase sales, reten- and take the guesswork out. general fitness market. Our category tion and revenue per member.” 4. Focusing on building engagement, has millions of devotees and expert While most new franchises must community and enjoyment. instructors, and no major competi- invest in training facilities, Tapout 5. Building the best team of talent, tion. Every colleague I’ve talked to Fitness already has deep resources selflessness and compatibility. immediately ‘gets it.’ Sometimes the for franchisee training: Its Manhat- 6. Creating businesses that serve best ideas are the most simple, and we tan clubs, senior team, its partner’s all stakeholders, including mem- feel this way about Tapout Fitness. facility – the Jackson-Wink Training bers, staff, owners and our com- “I’ve been in this industry since the Academy – and the team in Albuquer- munity. This is one business 1970s, have seen almost everything que, N.M. The first three-day training where everyone can win, which is and been fortunate to be part of our in- occurred in New York in November why we love it and why it attracts dustry’s growth and success,” Tascher with success, and franchisees have the best people. adds. “However, when I walked out of given outstanding reviews about Greg our first meeting with ABG, I turned Jackson’s certification program. “When Ben approached us, we imme- to Ben, Rick and David and said, ‘I’ve “My career and success has been de- diately saw the ‘white space’ opportu- never seen an opportunity like this fined by the following key principles, nity,” Tascher says. “While everyone before. Not only a great idea ready Tascher says. He notes they are: else is competing in one arena, we see for explosive growth, but access to an

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iconic brand and incredibly strong and supportive partners who are in this for the long term.’ I was even more excited when I met our partners, investors and franchisees. This is a smart and successful group who understands exactly what it takes to succeed. Since then, working with ABG and WWE has been like a dream. In less than six months we’ve added franchisees and area reps that increase our potential size from 30 to almost 400. Has this ever happened before?”

Seeing Growth Tapout Fitness plans to add more than 14 locations to its brand in 2017, but this could accelerate with conversions. “Opening new locations takes time. It requires careful site selection, patient lease negotiations, design and construc- tion and a strong presale,” Crosbie explains. “However, the club industry has thousands of existing clubs looking for a change. I doubt there’s a more experienced team in the in- dustry for repurposing, repositioning, rebranding and turn- around management, and we love the idea of finding these types of opportunities. Four hundred locations in a few years feels very achievable.” Crosbie added that Tapout Fitness requires potential franchisees to have relevant business experience, be finan- cially capable and be good communicators as well. “All of the franchisees are fully appraised as to what to expect and they are interviewed by several members of our team,” he explains. “We recognize that this is not simply a franchise sale, but we are creating a partnership – and relationship – for the next 10-plus years.” According to Bouza, beyond being a tremendous brand with phenomenal backing, and a truly differentiated fitness approach, a large reason potential franchisees should invest in Tapout Fitness is because of its team and the company’s commitment to supporting franchisees. “As an emerging franchisor we are investing resources to help each fran- chisee on a more personal level,” he says. “We support our franchisees, whether it’s prior to opening a studio or after they have opened, with marketing or operational help. We believe martial arts, as a category is not just a trend, but also a long-term way to engage in fitness. It has not been devel- oped and professionalized in the way that Tapout Fitness is going to do it.”

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