Chuck Runyon co-founded the world’s first 24-hour fitness club franchise for men and women, Anytime Fitness, in 2002 as an alternative to larger and more expensive health clubs. Visiting from the US, Runyon shared his views on the business at the Australia/New Zealand annual conference…

How did Anytime Fitness come about? Through our experience in the fitness industry, we noticed that the majority of gym members predominantly used the cardiovascular and strength equipment versus the pools, aerobic classes, saunas and racquet sports. So we decided to take those primary services and bundle it with a 24-hour access system which is where the Anytime Fitness concept came from. The idea was to offer members and franchisees a gym that would provide them with real convenience where they could work out anytime and anywhere.

What are the differences between the health and fitness industries in Australia and the US? The health and fitness industry in the US is similar to that of Australia. In the US, 62 percent of adults take part in some sort of physical activity but only three of 10 exercise regularly. Fifty seven percent of Australians perform enough exercise to gain health benefits.

The fitness industry in the US is highly competitive, with a number of big box health clubs as well as smaller and independent clubs. In many ways, Anytime Fitness offers the convenience other fitness clubs don’t offer along with a non-intimidating atmosphere.

Similarly to Australia, a growing trend in the US is employee wellness programs as organisations become more aware of the benefits of health on employees’ productivity.

What impact did the economic crisis have on franchise brands? During the last two years in the US, most franchise brands have experienced negative growth. Their main priority was to try and weather the storm. However, Anytime Fitness, being a low-cost franchise opportunity offering franchisees work/life balance, continued to grow.

An interesting fact about our growth is that nearly 50 per cent of it comes from Anytime Fitness members who loved the concept so much that they decided to purchase their own Anytime Fitness franchise. In addition, four out of five franchisees are now looking to purchase more clubs.

What would you say to those who argue against the idea of gym contracts? Working out is a lifelong commitment – you canÕt just do it for 30 days and feel the benefits for ever. Unfortunately, you have to always keep at it. Through gym contracts, members show the commitment and motivation to keep working out on an ongoing basis and therefore gain ongoing benefits.

Through our contracts with members, our Anytime Fitness franchisees are also making the commitment that they will provide members with a safe, clean and accessible environment 24/7. We give our members the key to our business, allowing them to own part of the brand. We ensure that by committing to a membership, the service that was initially purchased is the same 12 months down the track.

Where do you see Anytime Fitness in the future? At Anytime Fitness, we want to continue to empower our franchisees by offering a bit more than the average franchise system. We will continue to be top notch and the most convenient brand. One of our newest offerings is a website called Anytime Health (www.anytimehealth.com). It includes a whole range of fitness, nutrition, health and wellbeing tips including a workout planner, exercise videos, a diet tracker and so on. Members and non-members can also access the site and get involved in discussions. Through Anytime Health, we’re offering a comprehensive resource on wellbeing that can be accessed at any time, by anyone and anywhere — we’re really embracing the concept of convenience.