Blink Fitness Opens First Franchisee-Owned Club

Two months after announcing its first wave of franchisee-owned health clubs, Blink Fitness' first-ever such facility recently opened in Long Island, New York.

The 16,000-square-foot Lindenhurst club, located at 600 N. Wellwood Ave., is the first of six clubs across Long Island, central New Jersey and Westchester County, New York, that will be co-owned by Allen Pinero. 

“After years of perfecting our systems and building our franchise support team, we are thrilled to open our first franchisee-owned gym,” Blink Fitness CEO Todd Magazine said in a media release. “Allen and the Eclipse Capital team are great representatives of the Blink brand, and we are pleased to see them lead the way for our franchise program and our expansion in Long Island.”

According to the release, Pinero left a career in private equity "to satisfy his entrepreneurial bug in the fitness field."

“Blink Fitness has a really great growth trajectory,” Pinero said. “It’s a total 180 from finance, but I felt this is a great business to be in. Blink really stood out, and I’m honored to be the brand’s first franchisee and bring its high-quality, value-based gym to our local community in Lindenhurst."

Blink Fitness launched its national franchise program in June 2015.

In January, Blink Fitness announced its intention to expand by 26 locations in 2018, a handful of which would be franchisee-owned. The brand is currently growing its core New Jersey and New York markets, as well as making forays into the Philadelphia and Los Angeles markets.

“Blink’s focus on how exercise makes you feel is a game-changer in an industry that has always emphasized bulging biceps and washboard abs,” Pinero said in the release. “Blink’s unique Mood Above Muscle philosophy is far more aspirational to the majority of Americans who have been disenfranchised by the typical images of body perfection espoused by other fitness concepts."

In other news, Blink Fitness recently struck a franchise development deal with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green to open 20 health clubs in Michigan and Illinois.