Stride

The question every serious fitness franchise investor is asking right now is deceptively simple: which boutique fitness concept has the unit economics, the brand infrastructure, and the market timing to justify a six-figure capital commitment? STRIDE Fitness answers that question with a treadmill-based interval training model built for the 60 million runners and 110 million walkers that already exist as an addressable customer base inside the United States alone. Founded in 2017 in Pasadena, California, by Katie Ownbey and Misa Dugally, Stride launched at a moment when boutique fitness was fragmenting away from big-box gym memberships and toward experience-driven, results-oriented studio concepts. The brand began franchising in 2019, a disciplined two-year incubation period that allowed the founders to prove the model before scaling it. Today, Stride operates 32 studios across the United States, has awarded 80 territories to franchisees, and carries more than 50 locations in active development, averaging two new studio openings every month as of February 2026. Headquartered most recently out of Huntington Beach, California, where the company opened a new corporate headquarters and flagship studio in February 2026, Stride is backed by Xponential Fitness, one of the most recognized parent companies in the boutique fitness sector with a portfolio of brands spanning cycling, yoga, Pilates, barre, rowing, and now treadmill-based running. CEO Shaun Grove has led the brand since at least June 2024, steering a franchise system that debuted at No. 144 on Entrepreneur Magazine's Top New Franchises list in April 2022, a meaningful external validation signal for a concept that was barely three years into franchising at the time. For the franchise investor evaluating the Stride franchise opportunity, this report provides fully independent analysis grounded in Franchise Disclosure Document data, industry benchmarks, and market-level competitive positioning — not promotional copy from the brand itself.

The fitness and recreational sports center industry represents one of the most durable secular growth categories in consumer services, and the macroeconomic data supports sustained investment in this space for the foreseeable future. The global fitness market was valued at approximately USD 123.77 billion in 2024 by one major research firm, while a parallel report pegged the same year's market at USD 254.20 billion depending on the scope of the measurement methodology — figures that converge around a clear consensus: this is a massive, multi-hundred-billion-dollar global industry. Projections range from USD 180.44 billion by 2033 at a CAGR of 4.06 percent, to USD 367.07 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 4.70 percent, to a more aggressive estimate of USD 324.05 billion by 2035 growing at a CAGR of 8.15 percent from 2026 onward. North America currently holds a dominant 37.5 to 39.36 percent share of the global fitness market in 2024, fueled by strong consumer spending power, high health awareness, and a developed fitness infrastructure that actively supports boutique studio concepts. Key consumer trends driving demand for brands like Stride include the surging awareness of physical and mental health benefits from regular exercise, the growing preference for customized and time-efficient workout formats over generic gym memberships, and the documented 30 percent higher retention rate seen in fitness centers that offer diverse, specialized program formats. The Women's segment commanded 54.1 percent of market revenue share in 2024, fueled specifically by strong participation in group-based fitness formats — exactly the class-driven model that Stride operates. Technology integration is accelerating across the sector, with wearables, virtual fitness classes, in-studio leaderboards, and proprietary performance tracking becoming baseline consumer expectations rather than premium differentiators. For the franchise investor, these macro tailwinds translate into a structural demand environment that rewards well-positioned boutique brands with defined programming, loyal membership bases, and recurring revenue models.

Understanding the Stride franchise cost requires examining both the headline investment numbers and the contextual benchmarks that determine whether those numbers represent good value relative to alternatives in the fitness studio category. The initial franchise fee for a Stride Fitness location is $60,000, a figure that reflects the brand's positioning in the premium tier of boutique fitness franchises. The total investment necessary to open and operate a Stride Fitness franchise ranges from approximately $372,412 to $554,690 according to the most current Franchise Disclosure Document data, with slightly varied ranges reported across different disclosure periods, including a range of $379,900 to $554,690 cited in parallel sources and an older 2020 range of $233,900 to $493,000 that reflects both the brand's earlier development stage and shifting real estate and equipment costs over time. To put the current investment range in category context: the fitness studio sub-sector average minimum investment is $282,119, meaning the Stride franchise investment entry point exceeds the category floor by approximately $98,000 — positioning it squarely in the premium tier. However, the current high-end investment of approximately $554,690 aligns closely with the category average maximum of $557,302, meaning Stride is priced at the top of the normal range rather than an outlier above it. The total investment covers the $60,000 franchise fee, real estate and leasehold improvements, state-of-the-art Woodway treadmill equipment, heart rate monitoring technology, in-studio leaderboard systems, business licensing, supplies, and working capital reserves. Prospective franchisees need to demonstrate a net worth of approximately $500,000 and a minimum liquid capital position of $100,000 to qualify for the program. Ongoing fees include a royalty of 7 percent of gross revenue and an advertising fund contribution of 2 percent, bringing total ongoing fees to 9 percent of the top line — a figure that is consistent with premium boutique fitness franchise structures. The standard franchise agreement runs 10 years with a 5-year renewal option. Stride does not offer in-house financing, but maintains active relationships with third-party lenders that can assist with financing across the franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, and payroll categories. The brand's backing by Xponential Fitness strengthens the institutional credibility of the financing process and supports vendor relationships that can moderate equipment costs across the system.

Daily operations at a Stride Fitness studio center on delivering three proprietary class formats — interval training, endurance-based running, and strength training — using Woodway treadmills, heart rate monitors, and in-studio leaderboard technology that gamifies the workout experience and drives member engagement. An average Stride Fitness studio employs between 8 and 10 individuals, a lean labor model that keeps overhead manageable relative to larger gym-format concepts. Classes are led by certified Run Coaches who complete the Stride Certified Run Program, a credential covering dynamic class leadership, safety protocols, biomechanical form correction, and the ability to coach clients across all fitness levels from casual walkers to experienced competitive runners. This coach certification infrastructure is operationally significant because it standardizes the member experience across all franchise locations, a quality control mechanism that directly supports retention and referral rates. The franchise model is explicitly structured as an executive or semi-absentee model, meaning franchisees are expected to operate as businesspeople and managers rather than personally instructing classes — a structural distinction that broadens the ideal operator profile beyond fitness industry veterans to include any motivated entrepreneur with management experience. Stride's corporate support begins the moment a lease is signed: the brand team activates a personalized marketing program designed to generate pre-opening website traffic and memberships before the first class is ever taught. Franchisees undergo an initial three-day intensive training at STRIDE University, the brand's corporate training program headquartered in Southern California, covering all aspects of studio operations, sales, marketing, and technology. Ongoing support includes weekly and monthly update webinars, one-on-one business coaching as studios mature, annual franchise convention participation, site selection assistance based on proprietary market research, lease negotiation support, and construction management. Territory structure provides geographic exclusivity in defined markets, with ideal locations targeting areas with median household incomes above $75,000, strong daytime population density, and limited existing boutique fitness competition.

Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Franchise Disclosure Document for the Stride franchise system, which means prospective investors must rely on publicly available performance data, industry benchmarks, and observable system-level signals to build their unit economics model. One source reported average gross revenue per Stride Fitness unit of $309,222, while another source referencing the brand's early 2019 performance cited average unit volume sales of $397,314 for the first six months of that year on an annualized basis. The reported average of $309,222 falls below the boutique fitness sub-sector benchmark of $392,853, a gap that the brand itself attributes to its relative youth and the time required for newer studios to develop mature, loyal membership bases rather than any structural weakness in the model. The business model is built around recurring membership revenue, which creates predictable monthly cash flow and reduces the revenue volatility that afflicts transaction-based retail and food service concepts. Stride's corporate communications note the brand offers good EBITDA margins, though specific percentage figures have not been publicly disclosed. Applying the industry-standard operating cost framework for boutique fitness studios — where labor, occupancy, and royalties typically consume 65 to 75 percent of revenue — to the reported average gross revenue of $309,222 would imply a pre-owner-compensation EBITDA range of roughly $77,000 to $108,000 at a mature studio, though investors must independently validate these estimates through the FDD process and franchisee validation calls. The total investment range of $372,412 to $554,690 suggests a payback period in the 4-to-7-year range at these revenue levels, with top-performing studios in high-income, high-density markets likely compressing that timeline meaningfully. The absence of Item 19 disclosure means that franchisees bear greater due diligence responsibility, and direct conversation with existing franchisees is an essential step before committing capital to the Stride franchise investment.

The growth trajectory of Stride Fitness reflects a brand that has moved from concept to credible national platform in under a decade, with acceleration in unit velocity becoming the defining narrative of the past two years. In 2022, the company opened new studios in Crown Point, Indiana; Wilmette and Oak Park, Illinois; McKinney, Austin, and Lubbock, Texas; Irvine, California; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — eight markets in a single calendar year representing diverse geographic distribution from the Midwest to the South to the West Coast. That same year, franchise agreements were signed for new studios spanning the Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego, Phoenix, Dallas, Nashville, Indianapolis, Raleigh, and Boston metro areas, signaling deep franchisee demand pipeline activity well beyond the existing open studio count. As of the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document, there were 17 franchised Stride locations operating in 9 states, with the heaviest concentration of 8 locations in the West. By June 2024, that number had grown to 20 operating studios. By February 2026, the system had scaled to 32 operating studios with 80 territories awarded and more than 50 additional locations in active development — a development pipeline that exceeds the current open studio count by more than 50 percent, a ratio that signals strong near-term unit growth velocity. The opening of a new corporate headquarters and flagship studio in Huntington Beach, California in February 2026 represents a significant infrastructure investment that signals long-term institutional commitment to scaling the franchise system. Stride's competitive moat is built on several reinforcing pillars: first-mover advantage as the only national indoor treadmill-based running franchise concept, proprietary programming updated continuously across three distinct class formats, Woodway treadmill technology that represents a premium equipment standard most competitors cannot match on cost, Xponential Fitness institutional backing that provides vendor scale and brand infrastructure, and a coach certification program that creates consistent member experience at every location regardless of ownership.

The ideal Stride franchise candidate does not need a fitness industry background, but does need genuine entrepreneurial drive and the management capacity to recruit, develop, and retain a team of certified coaches and studio staff in a service-intensive consumer environment. The executive franchise model specifically accommodates operators who intend to manage the business from an ownership perspective rather than delivering classes personally, which means experience in retail management, multi-unit food service, professional services, or any people-intensive business is directly transferable. Multi-unit development is a natural evolution for successful Stride operators, given that the franchise model is explicitly designed to be scalable, with leveraged development costs and national vendor relationships that improve unit economics at scale. Available territories span the full national map, with particularly strong opportunity in markets where the brand has already signed franchise agreements but not yet opened studios, including metro areas across Texas, Colorado, Nevada, California, Arizona, Tennessee, Indiana, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. Ideal studio locations feature median household incomes above $75,000, strong daytime population density from office workers and suburban professionals, and a boutique fitness competitive landscape that has not yet consolidated around an indoor running-specific concept. The franchise agreement runs 10 years with a 5-year renewal option, providing a long enough runway to fully amortize the startup investment and build meaningful equity value in a mature studio. From signed agreement to studio opening, prospective franchisees should plan for a development timeline that includes site selection, lease execution, construction, hiring, and pre-opening marketing — a process the corporate team actively supports through every stage.

Synthesizing all available data, the Stride franchise opportunity occupies a distinctive and defensible position within the boutique fitness franchise landscape: a first-mover concept backed by institutional infrastructure, operating in a global fitness market growing toward USD 324 billion by 2035, with a total investment range of $372,412 to $554,690 that positions it at the premium but not outlier end of the fitness studio investment spectrum. The brand's growth from zero franchised locations in 2019 to 32 open studios, 80 awarded territories, and 50-plus locations in development by February 2026 demonstrates measurable franchise system momentum that warrants serious investor attention. The recurring revenue membership model, executive operator structure, Xponential Fitness backing, and first-mover positioning in indoor treadmill running create a combination of structural advantages that differentiate Stride from the broader field of boutique fitness franchise options available to investors today. The PeerSense Franchise Performance Index score for Stride currently registers at 43, a Fair rating that appropriately reflects the brand's youth and the limited public financial performance data available at this stage of system development — and that score should be evaluated alongside the directional signals of rapid territory awards, accelerating studio openings, and corporate infrastructure investment that collectively point toward a brand building toward scale. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools that allow investors to benchmark the Stride franchise against every competing concept in the fitness studio category with precision and independence. Explore the complete Stride franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.