Cameron Falloon, Founder of BFT

A sports performance expert and personal trainer to celebs, Cameron Falloon saw a gap in progressive, sustainable strength training for every body — a vision culminating in Body Fit Training (BFT).

Since 2017, BFT has expanded beyond its native Australia, reaching over 270 franchises in seven countries. Purposeful in its rollout, Cameron discusses the expectations for upcoming openings as well as developments in recovery and fitness racing.

Get us up to date with BFT.

Cameron Falloon: BFT currently has more than 270+ group strength training studios open across seven countries: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, UK, Hong Kong, USA and Canada.

In the works, we have three new market launches in early 2024, with Spain, Malaysia and Scotland joining our network. We also have 370 territories sold in APAC, plus another 250+ in the States.

How are you aligning with a more holistic-minded consumer?

CF: The BFT training model is built around progressive training blocks, with each week targeting all muscle fibre types, all fascial planes and all energy systems.

We want our members to be able to train every day if they want to, so each day alternates between cardio and strength bias, with an upper/lower or mixed split.

With expert coaches guiding members through each session and challenging them with different key movements in each training block, our training serves as part of their regular wellness routine.

We also align sustainable training habits and principles of longevity closely with our programming thesis in order to keep members moving at BFT in the long run. Our 8 Week Challenge embodies this, building solid foundations instead of quick fixes.

How do you reach new members? What keeps them coming back?

CF: Our members come for the results and stay for the community.

The initial attraction is our progressive programming, our heart rate tech, and our inclusivity and approachability as opposed to other brands in the space. We pride ourselves on the ability to cater for all ranges of fitness – from your first-ever gym session to someone who has trained consistently for years.

It’s the community and connections fostered at our studios that keeps members coming back. We’ve just wrapped up another 8 Week Challenge for 2023, and it has been incredible to see all the social content shared from all our studios’ wrap parties.

How are you approaching expansion? What’s the criteria for entering new territory or finding new partners?

CF: Expansion is exciting and very much the plan for BFT, but we are also very conscious of the pitfalls of our competitors and expanding too quickly.

The process usually starts with discussions with industry experts. If the feedback we are receiving about the region’s fitness industry (particularly in the context of boutique fitness studios) is positive, we will organise an in-person due diligence trip.

In broad terms, the focus of the due diligence report is on the existing fitness industry (i.e. what is its size, how is it trending, etc.), general market demographics (population analysis, economical and political considerations, etc.), operational considerations like competitors and availability of equipment and premises, as well as general feasibility of our model.

We also look at how laws and regulations affect franchise businesses and other cross-border considerations like how easy investments are made.

Bottom line, if the report is positive, we will start the process of establishing BFT in the country.

What developments are on the roadmap for the next six months?

CF: We are very excited for our members to see the latest version of our BFT App, which has been in the works for the last six months and will launch in Q1 of 2024.

Our programming team is always innovating – and we’ve just launched a new program called CrewFit, which is all about teamwork. 2024 will see the next iterations of this new program.

Plus, we are launching into multiple new markets in the first half of 2024, bringing BFT to more people around the globe.

What consumer trends are you most excited about in 2024 & beyond?

CF: It’s great to see a shift towards a more holistic and well-rounded training approach, and the focus on recovery in particular. We’ve been working on a recovery concept for BFT studios where space allows it – a move that will further level up our member experience.

Also top of mind, “hybrid training”, the combo of strength training and cardiovascular intervals, is getting thrown around a lot with the popularity of events like HYROX. We are excited to be the official training partner for HYROX in APAC and utilising hybrid training methods in a third of our programs already.

Finally, wearable technology and gamification have been on the rise for years and are not going anywhere. Consumers are now expecting real-time feedback and instant gratification, as well as additional features that act as rewards from their products. There’s no downside in creating that sort of engagement!

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