Former Anytime Fitness Franchisee Joins the WORKOUT ANYTIME System

Six years ago, Todd Devine first spoke with the team at WORKOUT ANYTIME*. At the time, Devine was a franchisee with Anytime Fitness in the Atlanta area. But when he looked towards the future, he saw success in the industry taking on another form.

“I like the WORKOUT ANYTIME business model of memberships for 15 dollars a month,” said Devine. “We can cater to a lager customer base that way. There are also no long term contracts, which I saw that many people had started to shy away from. Their growth in the industry seemed to offer an easy transition from Anytime Fitness.”

Randy Trotter is the Senior Vice President for WORKOUT ANYTIME and spoke with Devine back when he first inquired about the brand. The two reconnected recently when Devine was looking for the next step.

“They couldn't compete with the fastest growing segment of our industry, which is the value-priced model. At WORKOUT ANYTIME, we aren't bait and switch like some of the other guys. It says $15 on our door, our windows, and on our website. If you go around the country, you can see that other concepts are charging $50-75 a month and it’s just not going to work long term. Our model is built for longevity. At that price point, anyone charging more just can't compete,” said Trotter. 

So, six years after first contact, Devine is teaming up with another Anytime Fitness alum, Chelsea Boswell, to open their first location in Clinton, North Carolina. The team already has their eyes on a second location, scouting real estate options within 15 minutes of their first club.

“The Clinton market isn't overly saturated. There was a need for a 24-hour high quality fitness center in the area. There's nothing like it for about 40 minutes around. It's a good fit for all. We are already looking at more locations. The next one won't be directly in Clinton but within 15 miles. There are a lot of open territories, but we want to be close to the other gym so Chelsea can manage both of them,” said Devine.

Devine and Boswell had decided to work together in the next venture after Devine sold his Anytime Fitness. After Boswell’s husband, who serves in the Army, was stationed at Fort Bragg, opening a WORKOUT ANYTIME in nearby Clinton made sense. Boswell previously worked at an Anytime Fitness in Alabama and will assume the day-to-day operations of the club--something she is passionate about.

“We wanted to open something that I could get my hands into,” said Boswell. “I started at Anytime Fitness just as a job but I soon realized that I could help change people’s lives in a gym. Everyone is looking for something different in their gym experience. People are coming from all different elements. They’re getting ready for a wedding, maybe have a fitness competition coming up, are battling depression, or putting their lives back together after a divorce. I still have great relationships with a lot of people who were in my previous gym. You have an amazing opportunity to service the community in a very powerful way.”

Boswell was also attracted to the fact that WORKOUT ANYTIME does not require contracts and memberships start at 15 dollars a month.

“It’s less than a dollar a day which makes it easier to sell to people. I tell people that they could be spending that on soft drinks each month already, and instead could be getting into the gym,” said Boswell.

Now, as he enters the next chapter in his franchising career, Devine is excited about the possibilities to grow with the WORKOUT ANYTIME brand.

“I originally was going to go with WORKOUT ANYTIME and decided on Anytime Fitness since they were established in the industry. WORKOUT ANYTIME only had 20 gyms at the time. Looking back, I wish I would have gone with WORKOUT ANYTIME because people just don't like contracts. We have a large customer base already so we'll open strong with this Clinton location,” said Devine.

Devine’s excitement seemed warranted, too. Before he and Boswell even opened the doors to the Clinton gym, they had already pre-sold more than 1,000 memberships.