Member News

Grand Fitness shot a slam dunk by hosting an exciting meet and greet event with Virginia Commonwealth University basketball player Joe Bamisile. The event was part of Grand Fitness’ NIL deal with the basketball player.

The event was held at the franchise’s location in Midlothian, Virginia, on April 8 from 6-7 p.m. Senior basketball player Bamisile engaged with attendees by taking photos, signing autographs and talking with local fans. Grand Fitness provided items for fans to give to Bamisile to autograph. The franchise also raffled off a free one-year Planet Fitness^® Black Card membership and a gym essentials kit that included a VCU jersey.

Bamisile is a huge proponent of fitness and Planet Fitness, as both have helped him get through difficult times. When he received the news of his father’s heart surgery, fitness helped him.

“Fitness was a huge part of my mental health journey during a challenging circumstance. I am excited to partner with Planet Fitness, a place where I found support, to share my story and show others the accessibility and affordability of fitness, and its impact on mental and physical health,” said Bamisile.

Bamisile grew up in Chesterfield, Virginia, making him a huge inspiration to the local kids in the community, who want to grow up and play college sports like him. Many local kids were huge fans of Bamisile and asked him to sign the provided Hero cards and custom mini–PF^® basketball stress balls, as well as personal items such as basketballs, jerseys and even their own sneakers.

Bamisile, a skilled guard on the VCU men’s team, has gotten a lot of positive attention for his talented skills on and off the court. On social media and during interviews, he is a big advocate for both mental and physical health, and he will continue to advocate for both through the partnership with Grand Fitness.

“While Joe is a student-athlete at VCU, he is also a Richmond native and well-connected to the community. Through this partnership, Joe can inspire and motivate locals to embark on their fitness journey to improve their physical and mental health at one of our six locations in the area,” said Vice President of Marketing at Grand Fitness Shannon Meyers.

EPIC Fitness and Impact Fitness were once again the presenting sponsors for Walk for Wishes in Detroit, Michigan on May 4. The event benefited Make-A-Wish Michigan, which provides life-changing “wishes” for kids with critical illnesses.

The franchises worked hard to raise money for the cause, and the hard work paid off, as the groups surpassed their fundraising goals this year and raised the largest amount of money collected in all nine years of their sponsorship. Including the groups’ sponsorship fee, they were able to raise over $130,000. This greatly surpassed their fundraising goal of $125,000. Additionally, the total raised was more than last year’s amount raised at around $75,000. EPIC’s Utica, Michigan, club raised the most money out of all its locations, with over $4,300 in donations.

This was the two franchises’ ninth year as presenting sponsor. Over the years, the franchises have raised more than $730,000 for Make-A-Wish. Each wish is, on average, around $10,000, so at least 73 children in Michigan have had a wish granted, thanks to the franchise groups’ efforts. The list of children still waiting for a wish has nearly 600 names. The groups plan to continue to partner with Make-A-Wish, so they can give as many kids as possible the chance at gaining a wish.

“Each year, this event gets bigger and better. It was inspiring to see so many people gather to participate in support of this worthy cause. The best part is meeting the children and families impacted by a wish; there aren’t words to describe what a wish means to them,” said Mary Scott, vice president of marketing for EPIC Fitness Group.

Easy Mile Fitness stepped up to benefit a good cause by volunteering at the Puerto Rico 10K Run, also known as the Puerto Rico 10K Run La Carrera del Puente Teodoro Moscoso, on May 5. The race benefitted the Pediatric Hospital Foundation and the Trauma Center Assistance Foundation.

The group’s volunteers led the warmup before the race, pumping up runners before the start. Charlie Santiago, a Planet Fitness^® certified trainer with Easy Mile, led the session to loosen up participants.

“l felt grateful and honored to represent Planet Fitness in this sport event in front of Puerto Rico. I have done warm-ups but never to a crowd like this one where you feel the excitement, the energy and the emotions minutes before the race started,” said Santiago.

As part of the sponsorship, not only did Easy Mile Fitness lead the race preparations, but it also gave all runners a purple waist bag, branded with the Planet Fitness logo. The group was also able to negotiate a $10 discount code for members to enroll via the website. During the race, the group hosted the official race timing team at the finishing point in a PF^® tent.

This year was the third time the race has been held, and Easy Mile’s second time sponsoring it. The race did not disappoint! There was a record number of 6,250 runners gathered for the race, an increase of 1,000 runners from the previous year. Additionally, Easy Mile Fitness had 45 employees who participated in the race.

For the first time, the group will be sponsoring the Susan G. Komen 5K in October, and after that, they plan on sponsoring more races in the future. Easy Mile Fitness has 17 clubs in Puerto Rico and is adding two new clubs before the end of 2024.