Electronic muscle stimulation business Speed Fit sets sights on 250 gyms in Australia

IT’S the fitness craze that’s “definitely not like being tazered”, these uni mates reckon it will be as big as pilates, 24/7 gyms or even CrossFit.

IT’S the European fitness craze that’s “definitely not like being tazered”, and Slovakian uni mates Matej Varhalik and Roland Safar reckon it will be as big as pilates, 24/7 gyms or even CrossFit.

Even though they failed to secure an investment in their electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) workout start-up Speed Fit on Tuesday night’s episode of Shark Tank, the pair say business is booming, and they have their sights set on 250 gyms in the next seven years.

By combining EMS and guided workouts, Speed Fit claims to offer the same benefits as multiple high-intensity sessions in just one 20-minute class per week.

“It’s definitely not like being tazered, actually it feels really nice,” Mr Safar told the Sharks. “It starts off as a bit of a tickle, buzzing, pins and needles type of thing, then it gets a grip of your muscles.

“Our target market is busy professionals, time-poor parents, people working through injuries or anyone looking for an effective solution without having to spend too much time.”

Strapping themselves in to wired-up suits, Greencross founder Dr Glen Richards and Boost Juice founder Janine Allis gave it a go. “It feels like King Kong is grabbing you and giving you a bit of a squeeze,” Dr Richards said.

The pair were looking for a $280,000 investment for a 10 per cent stake in the business, valuing it at $2.8 million.

Internet entrepreneur Steve Baxter said 20 minutes once per week “sounds like garbage”, but still offered $280,000 for 40 per cent, valuing it at just $700,000. “I love the growth, I love the potential, I don’t know if I believe it yet,” he said. “There’s a bunch of risk involved in this.”

Dr Richards, investor Andrew Banks and RedBalloon founder Naomi Simson each pulled out, with Dr Richards saying he was concerned “this is a fad and you guys have a short journey”. “I’m in Glen’s camp, that it may well be a fad,” Ms Simson said.

Mr Banks said he thought the business would make money “but I do worry about your ability to execute without a lot of help”. That left Ms Allis, who offered $250,000 for 33 per cent of the business, valuing it at $848,000.

After failing to bring her down, the guys decided to walk away.

“It’s kind of so-so,” Mr Varhalik said. “We felt the valuation was too low, but on the other hand the value of her to come on and [help us] grow would have been beneficial. She has offered us some mentoring, helped us with a few ideas to scale up the business.”

Speed Fit, which will hit revenue of $2 million this financial year, has just opened its sixth studio in Perth and its first in Sydney, and has one franchise location on board with another six in the works.

Mr Varhalik said it was definitely here to stay, pointing to success in Europe where 5000 gyms have opened in the last decade. “Usain Bolt has been using this technology for five years,” he said.

“In Germany 24/7 gyms are losing revenue, EMS studios are growing. It’s [no longer] a niche market. In the last four years in Perth we grew rapidly by ourselves. It’s so convenient, that’s what people are looking for.”

He pointed to studies which showed one 20-minute EMS session compared with two to three 45-minute high-intensity sessions resulted in an equivalent outcome. “Why spend hours when you don’t need to?” he said.

“It’s like a workout but it’s actually targeting deeper muscles that you can’t hit in a standard workout. It increases your stamina by engaging 95 per cent of your muscles at the same time.”

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Shark Tank returns next on Tuesday at 7.30pm on Network Ten