24 Hour Fitness is ready for a new heyday.
What’s happening: Mark Mastrov, founder of the HVLP gym chain, teamed with LongRange Capital to reacquire the brand, assuming the executive chair role to lead new initiatives, partnerships, and global expansion.
Time to build. Scaling 24 Hour Fitness from a single location to 400+, Mastrov sold the company in 2005. In 2009, he joined Jim Rowley in buying Crunch Fitness, credited with overseeing its franchise rollout before exiting.
With fresh capital, Mastrov will double down on 24H’s recent growth — renovating existing clubs for strength and recovery, building on partnerships with the NBA and NWSL, and preparing for international expansion.
High-value. Gym membership is at an all-time high, and HVLP operators are in a sweet spot. While fitness is a nonnegotiable for many consumers, economic pressures are steering a new generation to budget gyms.
Bucking historic churn, operators are competing on value more than price to keep them for the long run, adding reformer Pilates, high-end equipment, and more.
Bullish, EōS Fitness and Crunch Fitness changed PE owners last year, with top Crunch franchisee CR Fitness Holdings securing $350M to lead its 3.0 club redesign. Meanwhile, Planet Fitness same-store sales jumped 13% YoY, with a revamped premium membership incoming.
Punchline: Credited with fostering gym culture through the early 2000s, Mark Mastrov is making a bet he can engineer what’s next.
