REGYMEN Fitness Franchisees Work Closely with Corporate Support Team and Local Communities to Navigate this Difficult Time

Jedd Soto is no stranger to health and wellness: Before deciding to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions, he spent 18 years as a head coach for college baseball teams. However, after realizing that he wanted to spend more time at home with his family instead of being on the road recruiting, he decided to move his family from San Francisco, California to Austin, Texas. 

At the time, REGYMEN Fitness wasn’t a franchise yet. But when the brand reached out to see if he wanted to try out their workouts, Soto jumped at the chance.

“When I first moved to Texas, I paid a lot of money to be a member of four different gyms seeking a new kind of workout. I couldn’t find it all in one studio. Luckily, the folks at REGYMEN reached out while it was still just a concept. They told me that they had a new, innovative workout program, and they were interested in my feedback,” said Soto. “I went to the REGYMEN franchise in Pensacola and did five days of workouts. That week, I lost 7 pounds without even trying. I absolutely loved the workouts and was totally blown away with the entire process. When I came back to Texas, I told my wife that this was the next big thing and I wanted to be involved.”

Soto signed on to become the regional developer in Austin, and immediately got to work in order to bring the brand to the Lone Star State. The first thing he did was build a strong team, including Davis Gilmer, an owner alongside Soto who also specialized in business development and law; Aaron Keiser, another owner who also serves as the regional fitness director; Tyson Brower, an owner and the regional director of operations; Nathallie Brower, an owner as well as the regional director of sales; Nicole Angelica, an owner and the regional director of communications and marketing; Ashley Fox, studio director for the Arbor Walk location; and Colleen Wright, who is the assistant studio director at the Arbor Walk location.

Together with this team, Soto is planning to build 10 REGYMEN Fitness studios across Austin. The first location, which was also REGYMEN’s first franchise, opened up in November 2018. Another two units are also in development, with one set to open in 2020 and another one expected to make its debut in 2022.

While it’s possible that the current COVID-19 crisis may delay those openings a bit, Soto and his team are continuing to move forward with their expansion plans. He said, “My role as the regional developer hasn’t changed. I haven’t stopped with plans, leases or drawings for studios. It’s still been full speed ahead for us on the development side. For our fitness team, on the other hand, things have changed quite a bit. We’re focusing hard on connecting with members, and I think we’ve done a really good job with that. We’ve even been delivering t-shirts to our members, and we partnered with a supplement company to deliver products to our members to help them recover from our virtual workouts. Our members are at the center of what we do, and we truly care about the fitness community. We’re humbled and grateful for the support that they’ve shown us during this time, and we’re proud to be a part of our local Austin community.”

In order to continue serving the Austin community, Soto and his team have been relying on support from REGYMEN Fitness’ corporate support team. According to Soto, their guidance has been invaluable during this time.

“We’ve been working closely with the corporate team. The leadership has been fantastic throughout the entire COVID-19 crisis,” said Soto. “REGYMEN’s corporate team has been helping negotiate leases and developing the strategy for online and at-home workouts, and they’ve even been setting up deals to purchase equipment. They have been on the front lines of that and execute very strong communication to help us reach out to members however we can during the crisis. It’s really been exceptional.”

While the past few months have been challenging, Soto and his team haven’t had to lay off or furlough any team member in the Austin region, and they even made the decision to close their doors before the Governor mandated it. Soto also says that REGYMEN’s response to the current situation has only solidified his belief in the franchise and made him more optimistic for the future.

“The leadership that we’ve seen during this crisis is something that I have not seen anywhere else. REGYMEN is making sure that we’re taking care of our members, and they’ve gone above and beyond to make sure we’re taken care of as business owners by providing us with the necessary support,” said Soto. “In addition to that, the brand has redefined its own internal system during this time. I’ve really seen them work hard, and they’ve been incredibly supportive of everything that we’re doing on the local level.”

Start-up costs to open a REGYMEN Fitness franchise range from $299,500 to $770,500 in addition to a $49,500 franchise fee. To learn more about franchise opportunities with REGYMEN Fitness, visit https://regymenfitnessfranchise.com/.