From Multi-Unit Fitness Portfolio to KidStrong Franchising: Manuel Torres’ Journey Across Seattle, Indianapolis and Texas

For Manuel Torres, franchising has never been about chasing trends. It has been about finding systems that work, building strong teams and scaling with discipline.

“I’ve always been an entrepreneur,” Torres said. “I looked at different businesses and, at some point, did a restaurant. I discovered that it’s very hard to do your own thing. When I found Orangetheory, I saw that it was so much easier to follow the processes and the proven concept that, obviously, the franchisor has put together.”

That lesson — trust the system, execute with consistency — became the foundation of his multi-unit approach. After building within Orangetheory Fitness, Torres began looking for his next scalable opportunity. He found it in KidStrong, a children’s fitness and enrichment concept that blends physical activity with brain and character development.

“I was very impressed with the purpose of it,” Torres said. “What resonated the most for me, similar to Orangetheory, is that it is a purposeful concept, meaning that it has substance, a benefit, a nice outcome that helps people.”

The concept hit home personally. At the time, his children were squarely in KidStrong’s target age range.

“The concept spoke to me loudly in terms of what it was intended to do,” he said. “Obviously, kids want physical activity, and there are other places they can do that. But I think combining the brain and character development component, I felt that was not only beneficial to an individual family, but truly — and this is not exaggerating — it’s beneficial for communities.”

Scaling Across Markets

Today, Torres operates KidStrong locations in Indianapolis and Seattle, with development underway in Texas. His expansion model mirrors his fitness playbook: leverage trusted leadership, empower operating partners and select markets with precision.

One of his first KidStrong opportunities came in Indianapolis, where a longtime team member relocated to launch the brand. Soon after, he repeated the model in Seattle.

“Similarly to Indianapolis, I had people who had worked with me for a long time who were from Seattle,” Torres said. “I made them the same deal, it worked, and they moved. Now we have three locations there, and those three locations are exploding.”

Geography matters, but demographics matter more. Torres relies heavily on data and disciplined site selection.

“With my experience in the other concepts, I know demographic information is the key,” he said. “You have to make sure it has the household income that would be conducive to spending the money that is needed for kids … and it has to be a location that has families with certain niche groups.”

He also weighs growth patterns and future trends. “You want to see that young families are moving to the area and it’s not going to be something more for retirement,” he said.

Real estate discipline remains central to his philosophy. “The most essential, important thing is to find the right location,” Torres said. “You want to grow, but it has to be the right location, not just open because you want more. You have to open because it’s the prime location.”

Why Kids Fitness, Why Now

Torres believes the children’s fitness category is positioned for long-term growth, driven by cultural shifts around screen time and structured development.

“Nowadays, people are in electronics and not very active, with the sedentary aspect of our lives,” he said. “With electronics and how things are, it’s kind of coming back to the basics of physical activity — get active. People want that. It’s coming back full circle.”

KidStrong’s structured programming fills a gap many parents feel but struggle to address on their own.

“I think activity and development and learning outside of the household is indirectly in parents’ brains,” Torres said. “They’re thinking, ‘I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what my kid can do that is different.’”

For Torres, the opportunity is both scalable and meaningful. As he continues to expand in Seattle and evaluate additional growth in Texas, his strategy remains clear: disciplined development, strong operators and a concept with purpose.

“This concept, in my view, has been very rewarding,” he said. “I strongly believe it benefits communities, not just a few families.”

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/kidstrong.