Scott Hunt accepting the award for Fitness Franchise Group of the Year.
Press Release 20th September 2023
Family-Owned Nerang Business, Fitness Enhancement Personal Training, Beats Industry Giants to Win Fitness Franchise Group of the Year.
Fitness Enhancement Personal Training has won one of the most prestigious awards in the Australian fitness industry, often described as the “Logies for the fitness industry.” The Nerang-based family-owned business surpassed international industry behemoths in the top 10 finals such as Anytime Fitness, Snap Fitness, and World Gym as well as more than 60 other fitness franchise brands around the country, comprising thousands of gyms.
Founded in 1999 by then 19-year-old Scott Hunt with a mere $400 and a fierce passion for helping those who needed to get in shape, but couldn’t or wouldn’t go to a gym, the company has come a long way. Mr. Hunt took the bold step to franchise the brand a decade ago
Spreading the word that the fitness industry is for everybody at the disability expo.
despite many warnings it would fail as no similar business had ever succeeded long-term in franchising or expanding to multiple cities. Today, with nearly 10 years in the franchise industry, Fitness Enhancement’s unique “100% private” concept has franchisees operating across 8 cities and servicing over 3000 suburbs. A major driving force behind the company’s recent growth has been its NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) registration in 2019 and the “Fit Your Ability” division. In the fitness industry first, the company also became NDIS registered in 2021 for core support, essentially also making it a disability support company to ensure they could help more people with a disability.
A David Among Many Goliaths
The company remains a family-owned franchise system built on nothing more than Mr. Hunt’s $400. Today their head office in Nerang has a team of close-knit Personal Training and NDIS experts, with team members frequently staying with the company for more than a decade, and of course a now 44-year-old Mr. Hunt still at it’s helm. Their ethos, operation and focus on their people ahead of growth, stand in sharp contrast to the former Aussie success story F45 who franchised the same year as Fitness Enhancement, listed on the stock exchange at $16.10 a share and on the day of the awards were at $0.02 a share.
When asked about the secret to their success in this David vs. many Goliaths match-up, Scott Hunt attributed it to two main reasons:
“We put our people first. While we operate as a franchise system, we’re primarily an Aussie family-owned business. Our primary goal is to empower other family-owned personal training businesses to achieve their career goals through a franchise model so that we can collectively improve the health and fitness of the people most of the fitness industry neglects.”
“We are Australia’s only NDIS-registered fitness franchise. Over the last 4 years, a large part of our business focus has been our Fit Your Ability division dedicated to helping people with disabilities achieve their health and fitness goals when most Personal Trainers and gyms, including other fitness franchises, aren’t an option. In an industry filled with gyms focusing on getting fit people fitter, we cater to the most vulnerable Australians who have .”
What This Award Means for Fitness Enhancement
When asked about his hopes for the impact of this award, Mr. Hunt said,
“I anticipate this recognition will help us grow into areas we’ve yet to touch, particularly where there’s a need to serve clients with disabilities. The lack of NDIS registration in the fitness sector means many of our vulnerable Australians lack exercise options. I also hope this award brings awareness that the fitness industry is not solely about muscles and selfies; there’s a dedicated segment of the industry focused on helping people with disabilities or any other limitations that make them feel excluded from the other fitness options.”
About the Awards
The annual awards were held on Friday night the 15th of September at Zinc Federation Square in Melbourne where 400 of the best in the industry gathered to celebrate. The awards were run by AUSactive, the association for Australia’s exercise and active health professionals. https://awards.ausactive.org.au/ and the full list of award winner is at https://ausactive.org.au/news/ausactive-awards-2023-winners-announced/
The Top 10 Finalists
The top 10 finalists for the Fitness Franchise Group of the Year were Anytime Fitness, Stepz Fitness, Vision Personal Training, Bikini Bods, Jetts Fitness, Snap Fitness, World Gym, KX Pilates, Strong Pilates, and of course us at Fitness Enhancement Personal Training. Last year’s Franchise group of the Year was Fernwood Fitness.
For media information, please contact:
Scott Hunt, CEO and founder
0411 228 240
scott@fitnessenhancement.com
www.fitnessenhancement.com
www.fityourability.com.au