Gyms like Anytime Fitness, Snap Fitness and Life Time attract more exercisers than before pandemic

A resounding wave of exercise-conscious individuals — perhaps some upholding their New Year's resolutions to join a gym — is boosting memberships for Minnesota-based fitness franchises.

After temporary closures, social distancing rules and mask mandates, many major gyms have fully turned the corner on the pandemic. That includes Woodbury-based Self Esteem Brands, the parent company of Anytime Fitness, which in 2022 had more new member sign-up in the U.S. than ever before.

The company, which also operates barre studio Bar Method and high-intensity gym Basecamp Fitness, generated systemwide revenue of $2.5 billion last year up from $2.2 billion in annual revenue before the pandemic.

"We are seeing a nice bounce back to the gym," said Chuck Runyon, chief executive of Self Esteem Brands. "I think people are coming back for the strength training, the variety, the coaching, the community — things that they missed and needed during COVID."

Fitness centers that survived the pandemic gained market share after about a quarter of health clubs closed permanently in the past few years, experts said. Fitness leaders also say consumers are more passionate about wellness.

Chris Damian tried to work out from home during the pandemic, but his full-body exercise machine just didn't cut it. He ended up selling his equipment and now goes to a gym close to his St. Paul home four to five times a week.

"It's really to get out of the house," said Damian, 31, as he exercised over lunch hour at Anytime Fitness in Roseville. "I work from home. ... It's nice to be around people."

According to a report released last week by foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai, visits to the leading U.S. fitness chains increased more than 23% year-over-year in the last week of January and were up 8% compared with early 2020 right before the pandemic caused retail shutdowns across the country. In November, Placer.ai found that the length of time people stayed at gyms has been on the rise compared to 2019.

"There's never been a better time to be a fitness consumer," Runyon said. "There are cheap options. There are free options. There are specialized options. We can help you get in shape at home. We can help you visit the club more often. ... We are in the Roaring Twenties for personal preventive health."

Stronger U, the digital nutrition coaching business that Self Esteem Brands acquired in 2021, has seen a recent jump in memberships. Self Esteem Brands' hair waxing company, Wax the City, also is enjoying its best numbers in terms of visits, clients and number of services as more consumers focus on self-care.

Other Minnesota fitness centers are keeping busy as well.

For 24-hour fitness provider Snap Fitness, this past January was "a stellar month" with more new members and higher gym attendance than what the chain had in 2019 and the years since, said Brian Tietz, president of franchise operations in the Americas for Snap Fitness.

"Our industry was heavily impacted by COVID-19 over the last two years," said Tietz, who was appointed to his new role last month. "The good news is that we came out the other side and the business is recovering nicely."

Snap Fitness, a part of Chanhassen-based Lift Brands, has refreshed its brand and redesigned its gyms with murals and color palettes that highlight positivity, adding clearly designated areas to guide members from warm-ups all the way to recovery.

At Life Time fitness, which is headquartered not far from Snap Fitness, founder and CEO Bahram Akradi says business is on the upswing. Total membership dues this January were more than in January 2019, Akradi said.

In the past year, Life Time has seen huge increases in usage in several programs including about a 600% increase in new pickleball participants, a 150% increase in people engaging in group training and a nearly 170% jump in partakers of ARORA programming for elderly members.

"We expect to deliver record-setting performance in fiscal year 2023," Akradi said.

The recovery is spreading to independent gyms.

Ludy Webster opened Ludy's Boxing Gym in south Minneapolis in spring 2021 with a goal to have 20 members. He attracted 60 members in the early stages of the gym, and now boasts about 130 members.

With a surplus of members, Webster needs to expand his 3,000-square-foot site to accommodate more people. He's now looking for a new place to lease close to his current gym.

"I'm losing people because I don't have enough space," Webster said. "I can't have a class and then have my [boxers] come in there at the same time."

Despite new memberships, the fitness industry continues to face hurdles.

It is more expensive to open a gym with growing construction and labor costs and higher interest rates for loans, said Runyon at Self Esteem Brands. Meanwhile, a 2022 report from analytics platform First Insight estimated 44% of consumers were cutting back on gym memberships to save money.

"At this point, the challenges are balancing club offerings with the rising cost of business," said Mizuho Securities analyst John Baumgartner. "How can clubs design and offer diverse and popular classes, feature personal trainers that can drive and maintain traffic in clubs, integrate in-person and digital offerings, etc., and do so in a cost-effective manner."

For Welby Smith, 72, his time at the gym is priceless. He likes being around people and feels more motivated at the gym.

"My home life is my home life," Smith said, as he took a break from lifting weights at the Anytime Fitness in Roseville. "It's easier to come here and leave everything behind. ... It's an important part of my life."