How Burn Boot Camp's founders are building a fitness empire - Charlotte Business Journal (2024)

Burn Boot Camp started in a Huntersville parking lot in April 2012.

The first week, 10 people showed up for class on a Monday. By that Thursday, the number had dwindled to zero.

“I’ll never forget it. It’s a fundamental fork in the road. It was like, you do one of two things,” says Devan Kline, who co-founded the company with wife Morgan. “You pack it in and decide you’re not good at this or you find the underlying problem. So, I did my own workout. I realized that we needed to become a marketing company whose product was to sell confidence, not a fitness company whose product was memberships.”

Today, the couple has built Burn Boot Camp into a privately held fitness empire, with 354 locations in 42 states serving 120,000 members.

Devan Kline says the company is valued at between $400 million and $500 million. Burn Boot Camp was No. 319 on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list for 2024 — its fifth consecutive year making the cut.

The company’s quick rise may have the appearance of an overnight sensation. But that success has been built on two decades of hard work and gritty determination.

Devan and Morgan met in sixth grade in Battle Creek, Michigan. They would become best friends and started dating in high school.

For Devan, the relationship was a refuge from his impoverished upbringing — his father was in prison; his mother abandoned the family, he says.

Growing up on welfare spurred his love for entrepreneurship. His first business was shoveling snow at age 12. He’d later go on to build and flip cars on eBay.

“Business was about freedom for me,” he says.

He turned his attention to sports. He learned about fitness and nutrition to pack on muscle, helping the baseball player earn a scholarship at Central Michigan University. He earned a trip to the minor leagues after his junior year. He was released after three seasons in the San Francisco Giants farm system.

Morgan studied food marketing, a path that led to a career with Kellogg’s — a natural fit for one growing up in “Cereal City.” She took a position in Naples, Florida.

Devan joined her there after his baseball career ended. He took a job as a personal trainer in a big-box gym.

“I think he learned all the things he didn’t love about personal training and just the fitness atmosphere of a big-box gym,” she says.

He launched a small bootcamp program on the side in 2011. It was gaining traction when Morgan’s job was transferred to North Carolina.

He followed her and began mapping out the framework for Burn.

Building the Burn Boot Camp brand

The duo didn’t have enough money for a lease. Classes started in that Huntersville parking lot and at a handful of other locations across the community.

A well-timed newspaper article — touting a class by the ex-professional baseball player — helped raise awareness. They landed 21 official members after a 30-day free trial.

One Saturday, they had 100-plus at class. Devan asked Morgan to take a leap of faith to help build the brand. She soon left her full-time job.

Morgan started on the path to become a physical trainer, stumbling with the societal expectations of fitness — ripped biceps, perfect abs. “It looks like just this perfect picture of health,” she says. “I tried to do that, and I hated myself more and more in the moment.”

It turned out to be a foundational moment for Burn Boot Camp’s culture. A core philosophy is teaching people to love themselves and not being afraid to take the first step because fitness is a journey.

“When we overcome the doubt together, you’re going to walk away from this one workout with our only singular outcome that we care about, which is your confidence level,” Devan says.

That momentum carried Burn to its first brick-and-mortar gym in 2013 in Huntersville. Others would follow.

Burn Boot Camp started franchising in 2015. In the first 18 months, it sold 200 units — 98% of those franchise owners came from its own membership base.

“We really just had aspirations to grow in the Charlotte community. Then people started approaching us and wanting to build the community they experienced in other places,” Morgan says. “That’s the message we continue to hear still to this day when we get franchise leads. They just feel like it’s a calling in their life.”

Today, there are 354 locations, including 16 gyms in the Charlotte market. The brand averages 346 members across its gyms.

Burn Boot Camp is targeting 30% year-over-year membership growth. Average monthly membership dues are $135.

Its footprint includes nine corporate-owned stores, with plans for additional sites in the future.

Roughly 170 gyms are in the pipeline across 43 states. The goal is to award 70 franchise units in 2024 — representing 100% year-over-year growth across the United States. It aims to open 39 gyms this year, for 25% growth.

The initial investment ranges from $249,375 to $573,679, according to Franchise Disclosure Documents.

Burn has released average unit profitability statistics for the first time. Gyms had an average annual gross operating income of $524,334 for locations open one year versus $624,125 for gyms open more than three years. It reported that gyms with more than 500 members had average annual gross operating income of $1.35 million compared to $304,213 for gyms with fewer than 200 members.

Devan thinks the company is poised for another big jump because profitability numbers are there. Franchise partners are making money and have more to reinvest, he adds.

“Our goal is to put our franchise partners in a successful position and give them the tools to succeed and to execute that playbook,” he says.

The goal is to grow to 1,500 locations in the United States and 10,000 globally over the next 10 years, he says.

There’s been an explosion in boutique fitness over the last decade, says David Busker, founder and principal of Franchise Vision. Busker — a former Cyclebar franchisee — says Covid thinned out fitness offerings with only the strong players surviving. Business model, operation and execution, and site selection have been key to growth since then.

“I think the ones that survived have come out stronger,” he says.

The catch? Brands with strong growth potential need to balance challenges associated with rapid growth. That requires strong management and enough capital or a willingness to bring on private equity.

The franchise consultant has hundreds of brands in his portfolio. He says he recommends Burn Boot Camp to his clients because of its solid ownership team, lower equipment costs and loyal following.

“People that go to Burn are very dedicated to the brand,” Busker says. “They have a unique model that really seems to resonate and have created a strong community.”

That sense of community drew Andrea and Mike Hartshorne — both educators — to open the first Burn franchise.

“People come for a workout, but they stay for the community,” says Andrea Hartshorne.

Adds Mike: “You leave feeling accomplished knowing you just went through trenches together.”

Mike, whose background was in physical education and coaching, became Burn Boot Camp’s first trainer after Devan.

Before long, the couple was striking a deal for a Burn Boot Camp in Concord. They invested $20,000 into a roughly 3,200-square-foot space in 2014 — a footprint that has more than doubled now.

The couple had 77 members after a 30-day free trial offer. Today, there are 575 members and overall gross revenue is up 50% over the past five years.

They’ve also added a second gym in Harrisburg that has 400 members.

“It’s changed our life in every way possible,” Andrea says. “It’s amazing to see it grow and evolve.”

Transforming lives through fitness, franchising

The Klines have carved out a niche in an increasingly crowded fitness industry by putting the focus on women and families.

Burn’s first tag line was, “Charlotte’s Community for Fit Moms.” It aims to empower women and impact generations and families. “(Women) have such influence in the home, and we felt like they’re also the most underserved population when it comes to fitness,” Morgan says.

Burn has created a community and culture for its members that sets it apart, she says. It’s a place where personal accomplishments and milestones are celebrated with like-minded people.

Burn Boot Camp never offers the same workout twice. Classes run 45 minutes, with alternating strength and conditioning days focusing on different areas of the body. Each exercise is designed with modifications to accommodate all fitness levels. That eliminates boredom and keeps the body constantly challenged, Devan says.

“We want to encourage people to do hard things. To step into things that are scary,” Morgan says. “We like to say we’re going to meet you where you’re at.”

Burn Boot Camp’s floating floor helps protect joints from impact-related injuries. Trainers provide personal training in a group setting. There are complementary focus meetings for goals and nutritional advice as well.

Burn’s free child-watch program is another point of differentiation. It breaks down barriers allowing women and mothers to prioritize themselves, Morgan says.

Shaping the future: Merch, meals and more

In 2022, Morgan and Devan made a strategic decision to shake up their executive roles. She stepped into the role of CEO, while Devan took on the role of Visionary. It is a move that aligns with their individual strengths while addressing the evolving needs of the fitness franchise in an increasingly competitive environment.

“We listen to what the market needs. We listen to what our members need, and if it’s within our wheelhouse, we want to solve those problems for members,” Morgan says.

Her corporate background helps her guide the company through operational challenges. Devan focuses on pioneering new ideas, while building momentum and driving innovation.

Part of those efforts are reflected in Burn Boot Camp’s affiliates — Burn Retail and Burn On-Demand. Burn Retail handles merchandising including activewear, equipment and supplements, from collagen and creatine to protein powders and bars. Retail and nutrition total 10% of Burn Boot Camp’s sales.

Plans call for a meal program to be added this fall, which is expected to contribute another 3% to 5% to sales in the startup phase. A smoothie bar is in the testing phase at about 10 gyms across the country as well.

The company now has 91 employees working from its Cornelius corporate office.

Burn On-Demand is behind the fitness concept’s app and on-demand library of workouts and content. It provides another way to grow the membership base in areas that don’t have the demographics to support a Burn location yet.

A separate entity, Burn Media, services local franchisees’ and business owners’ marketing needs and is a preferred vendor.

And the duo recently released a book, Burn: The Burn Boot Camp 5-Step Strategy for Inner and Outer Strength. It explores Burn’s five-pillar approach — burn, believe, nourish, achieve and connect — incorporating stories from members and providing strategies to overcome physical and mental barriers.