Blog Posts

Excel Fitness’ Raleigh location served as a sponsor of the Carolina Hurricanes Fan Fest, a free outdoor festival celebrating the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team’s 25 years in North Carolina. This year’s festival took place Feb. 17 in downtown Raleigh.

There was live music, street hockey, a beer garden and more. The night ended with a drone light and fireworks show. In addition to a host of food trucks, Excel Fitness had several team members set up a table where they spoke with members of the community. The event was a great way for the staff to do outreach and have fun while doing it!

“This event was a blast. Not only did we get to meet with a lot of other vendors and businesses of North Carolina, but we got to meet current members and spread our message to people who are interested,” said Courtney Dripps, general manager of Aberdeen, North Carolina, club.

Many children are often asked the common question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The common answers are usually teacher, firefighter or police officer – but what about a fitness instructor or a fitness club team member?

Two staff members from Excel Fitness’ Grand Prairie, Texas, club team visited the Bonham Early Education School’s career day. During the event, the franchise group’s team members were given the opportunity to teach students what it is like to work at a gym. The franchise group was able to educate children about a new career path and the importance of physical health. The team even led the students through a fun-filled workout.

The franchise group has 33 clubs in DFW, so visiting the school was a great way to get involved in the local community and be a positive influence on the youth.

“We try and get involved in any way we can, and getting to show children what it’s like to work for a gym was really special,” said General Manager of Grand Prairie Alejandro Carranza.

Excel Fitness continues to excel, especially in Texas! To celebrate the opening of its Seagoville, Texas, club, the group had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 9 and welcomed members of the Seagoville Chamber of Commerce. At the event, Excel Fitness held a Black Card raffle and handed out tons of PF^® goodies. The Seagoville club features 17,000 square feet.

“This is the second club I’ve had the opportunity to open, and it’s always so exciting to get to know members of the community. We loved having the chamber members here in club to celebrate,” General Manager Leandro Sanchez said.

The franchise group also celebrated the grand opening of its Roanoke, Texas, location. The 22,000-square-foot club officially opened in October 2022. The Roanoke Chamber of Commerce hosted the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the club on Jan. 25. The Roanoke mayor also participated in the ceremony.

“We are pumped to be able to spread our message and strengthen the roots we have in this community,” General Manager of Roanoke Brayan Avalos said.

Excel Fitness has 130 clubs located in Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.

EPIC Fitness held a “March Magic” staff contest in March for all club staff. These contests encouraged team members to drive membership upgrades. For every upgrade achieved, the team member entered a contest form with their name, club, the agreement number of the upgrade and the raffle prize they wanted the entry to be submitted toward.

EPIC Fitness Director of Continuous Improvement Jess Mace used a name randomizer to draw winners. They had a variety of different winners, company-wide, from MSRs to GMs. Available prize options included a Traverse City trip; a $100 Muse Medical Spa certificate; a $100 Visa gift card; a helicopter ride over Detroit; Ninja kitchen appliances; signed Pistons’ memorabilia; a Stanley Quencher tumbler; Tigers opening day tickets and tailgating; Woodward Sports Winners Circle; and brunch with CEO Bryan Rief.

The staff contest resulted in big wins for EPIC Fitness. The franchise group found that 32% of its membership upgrades were directly related to the contest. Compared to 2019, the group saw an increase of more than 13% in upgrades. Additionally, the year-over-year increase in upgrades was greater than 22%. It’s safe to say the March Magic contest was a huge success for the franchise.

“March Magic was made possible by the buzz out in the field, the daily updating of the leaderboard sheet to keep results real-time, a diverse array of contest prizes and unique email campaign efforts by marketing, all with some rewards sprinkled in by way of EPIC Rewards and surprise coffee deliveries from corporate staff to top performing clubs and employees. This March was ‘magic’ because everyone was involved, from corporate to MSRs,” said Mace.

Planet Fitness^® strives to be a Judgement Free Zone^®, meaning it is inclusive of everyone – especially those new to fitness. In January, Red Mountain Management Services welcomed a group of students to its Planet Fitness location in Holland, Michigan. The students were given a tour to learn about the brand, as well as how to work out safely. Then, Jake Dalziel, a PF^® trainer, led the students through a workout and taught them about the different equipment Planet Fitness offers.

The students were part of the YAS program, a program that helps transition young adults who are receiving special education services, to be independent. Through the program, the students focus on building skills such as employment, social-emotional, communication and household independence. These students were all a part of OAISD (Ottawa Area Independent School District), and their ages ranged from 18-26. The students appreciated learning about all the benefits of having a Planet Fitness gym membership.

“It was a lot of fun signing up all of the students and getting to know them. Showing them around the gym before their class with Jake, we got to see the students get excited about exercising. It was very rewarding to be able to watch them leave the week knowing how to use our equipment and excited about the thought of joining as a member. They made an average week in January a very fun and memorable one,” said Lexie Wilson, senior club manager for the Holland location.

Red Mountain Management Services has nine clubs, all located in western Michigan.