Xponential Fitness Snaps Up US Boxing Boutique Rumble

IRVINE, United States — US boxing boutique Rumble is the latest company to be acquired by Xponential Fitness as it adds to its rapidly growing portfolio of fitness brands.

It joins the likes of Pure Barre, Club Pilates, CycleBar, YogaSix, StretchLab, Row House, AKT and STRIDE under the Xponential Fitness umbrella, which has experienced explosive growth over the past few years. The curator of boutique fitness brands opened 240 new studios in 2020 alone, with notable recent international debuts including Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea. 

For Rumble, meanwhile, the acquisition follows a challenging period for the brand which has been forced to pivot online due to the coronavirus pandemic. The boutique, which launched in 2017, securing investment from Equinox Holdings and capturing the attention of celebrities including Justin Bieber and Kevin Hart, had also been enjoying a period of fast growth. 

Starting in New York, it quickly expanded into Los Angeles, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Palo Alto and San Francisco before the pandemic hit. Since then it has launched Rumble TV, a live and on-demand workout platform, to bring the Rumble experience home with an extensive collection of boxing, HIIT, strength, and running workouts.

However, with the fitness market now opening back up, Xponential Fitness plans to start franchising the concept quickly to expand the Rumble experience across the globe.

“By adding Rumble to the Xponential portfolio, we’re opening up another core modality for our members to help them reach their health and fitness goals within our family of brands, as well as creating opportunity for entrepreneurs to bring this engaging workout to their market,” commented Anthony Geisler, CEO of Xponential Fitness.

As with all of its brands, Xponential Fitness will leverage its seasoned team of fitness and franchising experts to helm the franchise rollout. In the case of Rumble, Shaun Grove, who Geisler brought in as Club Pilates’ brand president after working with him at LA Boxing, will lead the charge as Rumble’s President.

And Geisler is optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead for the boutique fitness industry. During an interview at the Fitness & Wellness Leadership Summit on 9th December 2020, he commented:

“I think this industry will bounce back. It’s the only industry that grew during the recession.” 

Adding: “We don’t view this as an economic recession like 2008. Although there are some similarities…….I believe this is a downward spike and a recovery due to a pandemic, so vaccines will help, time will help — anything that begins to remove the fear.”

He also revealed that Xponential is set to acquire a tenth fitness brand, which he said would complete the company’s footprint across ten different fitness modalities.