Joakim Noah, center with the Chicago Bulls, has just opened the first two of many planned Crunch Fitness locations in the Chicago area. While the franchise business has not disclosed exactly how many locations Noah has agreed to develop, they did announce in 2015 that he would open five new gyms.
Noah is the majority owner of both Crunch Mount Prospect and Crunch Aurora. David Harman, a veteran of the fitness industry who owns 14 Crunch locations himself and has managed clubs for over two decades, has appointed Tom Ostrander to oversee the two new locations and the ones planned for the future.
Crunch CEO Ben Midgley said the company is looking forward to bringing Crunch into the Chicago market and is happy to have Noah alongside one of its top franchisees. Midgley points out that Crunch caters to clients at all fitness levels, and the combination of Noah and Harman is perfect for bringing the brand's "No Judgments" philosophy to the Chicago area.
Noah is with the sports management agency BDA Sports Management, which launched a partnership with Crunch Fitness and BDA clients Chase Budinger of the Phoenix Suns and Darren Collison of the Sacramento Kings back in 2014. This partnership is aimed at developing and operating franchise opportunities with NBA athletes worldwide. While exact unit numbers have not been released by Crunch, there are reportedly several new Crunch locations now operating and plans for more development as a result of the partnership.
The Crunch Climb
Founded in 2008 by Mark Mastrov, Crunch Fitness franchise has since expanded to 150 gyms across the world and 120 franchised units in Puerto Rico, the United States and Australia. Currently, the chain is looking for franchisees in many areas. Applicants who qualify for Crunch franchise opportunities will have a net worth of at least $1 million and liquid capital of $300,000 or more. The initial franchise fee is $25,000, with the total investment ranging from $1.2 million to $1.7 million.
