F45 co-founder disappears from public eye amid franchise’s epic downfall

Former CEO of F45 Adam Gilchrist has vanished from the public eye as the company he co-founded continues to plunge.

F45 co-founder Adam Gilchrist has seemingly vanished as the embattled gym franchise records an astonishing 60 per cent drop of its share price.

The man who co-founded the once-cult fitness club with Mr Gilchrist, Rob Deutsch, reportedly has no idea where he is and hasn’t spoken to him in several years.

Mr Gilchrist’s disappearance come after he left the company on a $10 million golden handshake earlier this month, offloading his $14 million Freshwater trophy home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches shortly after.

Mr Gilchrist co-founded the F45 business with Rob Deutsch in 2013 with a gym in Paddington, it grew into a global franchise and attracted high profile investors such as Mark Wahlberg.

After Mr Gilchrist stepped down as CEO, Mr Deutsch said on social media that F45 was plagued by “enormous issues”.

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F45 co-founder and former CEO Adam Gilchrist (right, pictured with Mark Wahlberg) has disappeared. Picture: Noam Galai/Getty Images

Mr Deutsch told Daily Mail Australia his former close business pal had taken steps to distance himself from the public eye.

“I am told he … changed numbers... so might be tough to get a hold of nowadays,” Mr Deutsch told the publication.

While the franchise’s share price continues to plunge, several high-profile law firms have opened investigations, Australian Financial Review reported.

The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, is investigating claims on behalf of investors of F45 Training Holdings Inc. for violations of the securities laws, Barrons reported.

The firm will investigate whether the company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors.

Major shareholder and actor Mark Wahlberg cashed out $US12.2 million ($A17.12m) in April, ahead of the company posting a massive $55 million quarterly loss and cancelling more than 300 franchise sales.

Mark Wahlberg cashed out $A17.12 million in April.

Reporting its financial results after the close of the market in the US earlier this month, F45 revealed it had made a net loss of $US34.9 million ($A50.8 million) in the three months to June with total revenue of $US30 million ($A43.7 million), some $US19.1 million ($A27.8 million) of which came from franchise fees.

Its comprehensive loss, which includes foreign currency translation adjustments, came in at just under $US38.5 million ($A54.8 million).

“I am pleased with the performance of our studios, which generated same-store sales growth of 6 per cent as well as record system-wide sales of $US127.1 million ($A185.2 million), representing year-over-year growth of 23 per cent,” F45 interim chief executive Ben Coates said in a statement.

Mr Coates said there were 92 net initial studio openings during the quarter bringing the total count to 1958.

He told investors a number of franchise sales had been cancelled after third-party financing had fallen through.

“In total franchises, sales declined by 175 in the [US] region,” he said, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.

“The franchises sold in the US will comprise of 132 gross franchise sales, less 307 terminations during the quarter. The terminations were due to the inability of franchisees to access the financing facilities, we announced that the end of [the first quarter].”

When Mr Gilchrist stepped down late last month, 110 employees were also sacked – representing nearly half of its global workforce – as expansion plans were slashed significantly “due to market conditions”.