Body Fit Training: Fitness brand’s major plans to expand across Australia and the world
It’s the multimillion-dollar Aussie fitness empire with sports stars splashing big bucks to open local studios, and it wants The Rock to join the ranks as it expands across the world.
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It’s the cult Australian training regime that has the global fitness industry transfixed.
In three short years, Body Fit Training (BFT) has gone from a four-studio operation in Melbourne to an international juggernaut, eyeing off 500 new franchises in America alone.
Star-power has helped propel the concept — a fusion between strength and conditioning training — at a time where many gyms have struggled through Covid-19 lockdowns.
At least 12 well-known Australian sporting figures are among the Australian franchise owners.
They include retired St Kilda star Nick Riewoldt, along with ex-cricketer George Bailey and current Test captain Tim Paine, who have joined forces to open clubs across Tasmania.
Former NRL players and brothers, James and Mitch Aubusson, own BFT Ballina in NSW, while 25-year-old Essendon midfielder Zach Merrett owns studios in Southbank, Collingwood, and Preston in Melbourne.
Mr Paine said the trio had invested in BFT over other fitness brand because it gave “punters access to the elite training programs we’ve experienced.”
For all the big names who have bought franchises, the company’s joint CEO, Cameron Falloon — who was once Princess Diana’s personal trainer — wishes one international heavyweight would join the ranks.
“We’d love The Rock to buy a franchise,” Mr Falloon said, referring to retired professional wrestler and Fast & Furious star, Dwayne Johnson.
“He’s one of the hottest properties in the world right now … it’d be pretty handy to have him posting about the BFT on social media.”
The chain is not exclusive to celebrities.
Mum and dad investors are also buying in, with a studio typically costing $180,000 to $250,000 to set up.
“Most sites are operational break even in the first few months, if not on opening day” Mr Falloon said.
In a report in April, Research firm IBISWorld forecast the fitness industry — hammered by the pandemic — would decline at an annualised 4 per cent in the five years from 2020-2021.
But BFT appears to be bucking the trend, claiming a turnover of more than $15 million last financial year and a 100 per cent revenue and profit growth each year since its inception.
Hot on the heels of its rival F45, another Australian-born company that has solidified its position on the international stage after listing on the New York Stock Exchange last year, BFT is expanding its overseas presence.
It is set to open its first site in Toronto, Canada, and in the UK city of Leicester in the country’s East Midlands region.
The number of studios in Singapore are set to ramp up from seven to 15 across the next six months, and from seven to 22 in New Zealand.
Mr Falloon’s most ambitious plan however centres on the US, where he hopes to expand BFT’s presence from the current two sites — in Santa Monica, California, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida — to 500 studios over the coming years.
“Our model really resonates in America,” Mr Falloon said. “The clubs we’ve launched there have been really successful.”
He believed this was in part because the US college and high school systems show a “real commitment” to strength and conditioning training.
“In the marketplace you’ve got extremes, like CrossFit at one end where you use heavy kettlebells and barbells … and a whole lot of brands like Barry’s Bootcamp, Orangetheory Fitness, and F45, are playing in the aerobic space,” he said.
“Body Fit Training is right in between that.”
BFT workouts run for 50 minutes and are made up of strength, functional, and core stability among other elements.
Mr Falloon personally designs BFT’s workout programs, asserting what makes them unique is their focus on training “all of the body’s energy systems”, and the “progressive training model”.
There are 105 BFT studios across Australia, with plans to open 60 more in the next six months despite the pressures of Covid and lockdowns.
Former rugby league stars, the Aubusson brothers, opened their BFT studio in Ballina three months ago.
James, who was involved in his father’s car dealership in Goulburn before his unexpected death last year, decided to relocate to his home town.
“We wanted to try and help as many people across a broad spectrum,” James said.
When not in lockdown, James is in the studio almost every day training with members and running workouts, though he would eventually like to step away from the floor.
Mitch does not play an active day-to-day role as he is living in Sydney.
Paine, Riewoldt, and Bailey, who were all born in Tasmania, have opened two studios in Hobart and Devonport and have plans to open six more.
While the Apple Isle is currently their priority, they haven’t ruled out tackling the overseas market.
“We want to make sure we nail Tasmania, but that’s not to say there hasn’t been mention of a few international locations,” Mr Paine said.
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