Inside lavish life of fitness empire F45’s ex-CEO Adam Gilchrist as stock price plunges
A deal with Mark Wahlberg netted F45’s co-founders $64 million in cash each in just one day. But now the Aussie fitness empire is falling apart.
Companies
Don't miss out on the headlines from Companies. Followed categories will be added to My News.
While F45 shareholders continue to reel from the sudden stock price plunge on the New York Stock Exchange, the lavish lifestyle of the Aussie-grown company’s co-founder has been revealed.
Adam Gilchrist, who founded the fitness empire in 2013 with Rob Deutsch, recently announced he was stepping down as CEO and chairman of the company’s board of directors.
In the same statement, the company revealed it would be laying off 110 staff and slashing operational expenses.
The moment felt a world away from one heady day just over a year ago, where the pair made $64 million each in cash as part of a deal with actor Mark Wahlberg, who became an investor in the gym franchise.
Details of Wahlberg’s investment became public when F45 was listed on the New York stock exchange in July 2021, a move that netted Mr Gilchrist $500 million overnight, and played a crucial role in pushing the businessman onto the Australian Financial Review’s Rich List.
This week’s statement sent F45’s share price into free fall, plunging more than 60 per cent to $US1.31 ($A1.87) on Wednesday (US time).
At the time of publishing the share price had increased slightly to $US1.79 ($A2.56), according to Market Watch.
Over the years, Mr Gilchrist has used his wealth to amass a vast property profile across Australia, with the business mogul making some truly outlandish offers along the way.
Stream more business news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >
$14m sale after neighbourhood dispute
Mr Gilchrist caused a stir among his neighbours in Freshwater in Sydney’s Northern Beaches back in 2018 after offering up $14 million for his neighbour’s home to settle a minor dispute.
The F45 founder and his wife paid $5.4 million for a three-bedroom cottage on Ocean View Rd in 2017 but soon ran into problems with their neighbours after trying to develop the property.
Several neighbours objected to the $2.5 million development plans, claiming it did not comply with building height or boundary controls.
This led to the proposal being withdrawn, despite Mr Gilchrist claiming he would have been victorious in court.
“If we went to court to fight for it, we would have won and crushed everyone,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald at the time.
He instead chose to buy his neighbour’s much bigger home, offering a gobsmacking $14 million for the 440sqm property.
The 2018 sale was a record for the suburb, smashing the previous sale price of $800,000 in 2003.
Mr Gilchrist’s property ambitions haven’t just been focused on Sydney, with the former CEO buying up an entire apartment block in the seaside village of Lennox Head in NSW’s Northern Rivers region.
Over a period of two years, he managed to snap up all four beachfront units, built in the mid-1970s, for a total of $6.2 million.
The apartment was bought in November, 2018 for $1.05 million, with the two street-front units at the rear of the block being bought a few months later in February 2019 for a total of $1.95 million.
The fourth block proved to be the most difficult to purchase, with the homeowner previously saying “not everything in this world is for sale” and saying his reluctance to sell “isn’t about money”.
Eventually, Mr Gilchrist snapped up the final apartment for a massive $3.2 million in November 2020, with the previous owner paying $622,500 in 2004.
One of the F45 founder’s biggest purchases was a sprawling beach pad in Byron Bay which opens up onto Wategos Beach.
The six bedroom, four bathroom home was bough in March 2019 for an eye-watering $18.8 million.
The colonial-style home boasts beachfront views, a swimming pool, big kitchen and open plan living area.
Mr Gilchrist said the property would be used as a holiday home for his family.
‘Enormous issues’ behind F45’s downfall
F45 co-founder Rob Deutsch says “never in his wildest dreams” could he have imagined the sudden downfall of the fitness empire he started in 2013.
Mr Deutsch, who stepped down as the company’s CEO and sold his shares in 2020, was stunned by the recent developments within the company.
“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this,” he wrote on Instagram.
“When I exited, and sold out of F45, I left a healthy, phenomenal, beast of a business. All the way from the company culture to the heart beat of the business … The workouts. F45 was special.
“I genuinely hope all of the 110 laid-off staff, find happiness and opportunities elsewhere.”
Mr Deutsch’s post received dozens of comments from F45 franchisees and the gym’s devoted attendees which provided some insight in to what’s contributed to the company’s collapse.
The former Sydney banker declared there were “enormous issues needing fixing” when asked if F45 could bounce back and appeared to agree with a Hawaiian F45 coach who suggested the decision to take the company public was a mistake.
The account of an F45 franchise in Canada also appeared to claim there were decisions made by the company during Covid lockdowns that were “crushing”.
“We wish you were still involved,” F45 Training Doon commented.
“The decisions they made during detrimental lockdowns was crushing to franchises. It’s mind blowing what the last 2 years have been like, especially if you opened during the pandemic. Just absolute hell in Canada … I’m hopeful there’s a positive turn.”
Mr Deutsch replied: “I hope so too.”
Originally published as Inside lavish life of fitness empire F45’s ex-CEO Adam Gilchrist as stock price plunges
Revealed: Which frequent flyer program offers the best value?
New analysis aims to throw some light on one of the murkiest areas of airline loyalty schemes.
Pig farm horror ‘on another level’
A pig farm is staring down the barrel of “potential legal action” after pigs were put down on the orders of the RSPCA.