---
title: "How Fitstop Incubated Their Franchise Offering in Australia"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/1acf2b2e-714a-4eae-bf1c-67e8d5d0b7cf
source: "Franchise Magazine USA"
original_url: https://franchisemagazineusa.com/fitstop-us-expansion-pete-hull/
author: "David Gibb"
category: "Fitness"
industry: "Fitness"
published: 2026-06-16T12:12:35.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T00:53:00.603Z
image: https://franchisemagazineusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Fitstop-featured.png
---

# How Fitstop Incubated Their Franchise Offering in Australia

**TL;DR:** Fitstop, a global functional strength franchise, incubated its franchise offering in Australia before expanding to other countries, including the US. The brand has over 170 locations across four countries and completed 2.7 million training sessions in 2025.

*By David Gibb, originally published in Franchise Magazine USA on 2026-06-16. [Read the original](https://franchisemagazineusa.com/fitstop-us-expansion-pete-hull/).*

## Key facts

- Fitstop has 170+ locations across 4 countries
- 2.7 million training sessions completed in 2025
- Franchisees deliver structured, coach-led strength training

## Story

Pete Hull’s career journey started as a motocross athlete who nearly went pro before two serious accidents changed the direction of his life. As he recovered from his injuries, he saw firsthand how powerful the right training environment could be, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

After that, Pete started training athletes out of his parents’ garage, and over time, that effort evolved into Fitstop. The idea was to take the way professional athletes train and make it accessible to everyday people in a team environment.

## Global expansion

Since then, Fitstop has grown into a global functional strength franchise with more than 170 locations across four countries. As the brand continues to scale in the U.S. after developing a proven concept and successful franchise system in Australia, we chatted with Pete via email to learn more about Fitstop’s brand, mission, and development plans.

Fitstop was built around a very clear gap in the market. We wanted to take the way performance athletes train, with structured programming, progressive loading, real coaching and accountability, and make that accessible to everyday people in a team environment.

That is what gave Fitstop its identity in Australia. We were never trying to be another bootcamp, HIIT class or traditional gym. We were building a functional strength brand with a system behind it. Members do not just come in for a random workout. They follow a structured training model designed to help them build strength, improve conditioning and see measurable progress over time.

In practice, that comes to life through our four session types: Lift, Perform, Condition and Sweat. Each one has a clear role in the member experience, balancing strength, power, endurance and community. Those sessions sit within our four-phase training cycle: Base, Build, Performance and Peak. Every block has a purpose, every phase builds on the last, and members can test their progress through Game Day and track their results over time.

That combination of structure, progression and community is what makes the product powerful for members. They know why they are training, what they are working toward and how they are improving. That is the difference between a workout people attend and a training system people commit to. It creates a level of accountability and connection that keeps people coming back.

For franchisees, that same system is the foundation of the business model. The programming is developed and refined centrally by our Athletics Team, which means owners are not left to create the product themselves. A Fitstop franchisee in Houston is delivering the same intelligent, evolving training system as an owner in Brisbane or Singapore. That consistency protects the member experience while allowing franchisees to focus on building their team, their culture and their local community.

## Franchise model

Today, Fitstop has more than 170 locations across four countries, and 2.7 million training sessions were completed across the network in 2025. That scale matters because it shows the model is not just a strong idea. It is a proven system that members respond to and franchisees can build around.

It was not one single moment. It was a build over time. When you see the same thing happen across locations in different markets, with different demographics and cultures, you start to realize the model is not tied to one place. The training works, the community builds and people show up for it in the same way whether they are in Brisbane, Auckland, Singapore or Hermosa Beach. That gave us real conviction that Fitstop could travel.

We were also very intentional about when and how we entered the U.S. We knew what was at stake, so we did not want to arrive simply because we were eager to expand. We wanted to arrive ready. That meant refining the training model, strengthening our franchise support infrastructure, investing in technology and continuing to raise our coaching standards.

What excites me about the American market is how strongly performance, competition and community are already embedded in the fitness culture. People want to train with purpose, compete, measure progress and be part of something with standards. That is exactly where Fitstop sits. We are not built around a fitness trend. We are built around structured, coach-led strength and conditioning training that gives people a reason to keep showing up.

California was the right entry point because communities like Hermosa Beach and Playa del Rey have a strong performance lifestyle culture. We have also established a presence in Philadelphia, and Houston is the next major step. It is our largest single-market commitment in the U.S. to date, with four studios planned in one of the country’s most competitive, sports-driven cities.

That momentum is why this feels like the right time to push forward. The demand in the U.S. for structured, coach-led strength training is real and growing. People have moved past the trend cycle. They want training that works, a community that holds them accountable and a brand with a system behind it. That is the market Fitstop has always been built for.

## Fitness industry trends

The most exciting thing happening in fitness franchising right now is the shift in the consumer. People are becoming much more intentional about how they train. The era of chasing calorie burn or jumping into whatever class is trending is giving way to a real demand for training that builds something: strength, endurance, confidence and measurable progression. People want to show up six months from now and know they are fitter, stronger and more capable than when they started. That mindset is exactly what Fitstop has been built around since day one.

The rise of strength training as a mainstream category is something I feel personally. Strength has always been the backbone of what we do, through our Lift sessions, structured loading and Base, Build, Performance and Peak training cycle. For us, this is not a trend to chase. It is validation of a philosophy we have believed in for more than a decade.

The challenge is that fitness franchising is crowded, and consumers have more choice than ever. What separates brands now is whether the product genuinely works. The brands that will win are the ones that can prove outcomes, not just create energy in a room. Are members getting fitter? Are they staying? Are they bringing people with them? Retention is the scorecard that matters in this industry because a business where members stay is a business where franchisees can succeed.

I also think the relationship between franchisors and franchisees is being held to a higher standard, and that is a positive thing. Prospective owners are asking better questions about what support looks like after opening, how the brand helps them grow and how corporate shows up when something goes wrong. Those questions separate brands that are genuinely invested in their operators from brands that are simply expanding. We welcome that scrutiny because our focus is on building a system where franchisees are supported long after launch.

The best Fitstop franchisees do not have to come from fitness backgrounds, although we have incredible franchisees who do. What makes someone great in our system has more to do with who they are than what is on their resume.

The first thing I look for is someone who knows how to build community. Running a Fitstop is not just about managing a facility. It is about creating an environment where people feel like they belong to something real. Members stay for years, bring their friends and show up on the hardest days because of the people they train with and the coaches who genuinely show up for them. Franchisees who invest in the human side of the business as deeply as the operational side are the ones who build locations that perform and grow.

The second quality is coachability. The operators who do best in our system are the ones who commit to the model. They understand that what we have built across four countries over more than a decade, including the programming structure, coaching standards and member experience, works when it is followed. They adapt it locally and bring their own energy to it, but they trust the foundation. That combination of conviction and coachability is incredibly valuable in franchising.

The third is genuine belief in the product. Our newest U.S. franchisee, Victor Guo in Houston, evaluated a lot of boutique fitness concepts before he found Fitstop. When he trained with us, he experienced the combination of smart programming, real coaching and a team environment that reminded him of team sports. That personal belief in what you are bringing to your community changes how you lead, hire and connect with members.

Beyond that, I look for partners who are thinking long term. We want to work with people who see the opportunity in their market and want to build something meaningful for their communities. Ambition matters, but it has to be backed by character, commitment and a genuine desire to help people. That is what the best Fitstop operators are made of.

## Franchisee support

Support has to mean something real. A lot of franchise systems describe support in terms of the basics: a manual, a training program or launch marketing. Those things matter, and we provide them, but the support that determines whether a franchisee thrives long term is what happens after opening, especially in the hard moments.

When something breaks, a coach leaves, a competitor opens nearby or a franchisee needs help solving a local challenge, that is when real partnership shows up. That is the standard we hold ourselves to. Our franchisees are in business for themselves, but not by themselves.

Practically, that support starts with the product. Every week, a Fitstop owner delivers training developed and continuously refined by our Athletics Team. Our Lift, Perform, Condition, and Sweat sessions sit inside the Base, Build, Performance and Peak training cycle, creating a consistent member experience across the network. A franchisee does not have to build the programming from scratch, which removes a major operational burden and protects the quality of the product in every location.

Beyond programming, we have invested heavily in coaching standards, technology, marketing and operational support.

The Fitstop app gives members visibility into their own progress through session data, lift benchmarks and performance tracking over time. That accountability helps drive retention, and retention is what makes a franchise financially sustainable. When members can see they are getting stronger, fitter and more capable, they stay. When members stay, the business works.

The case for Fitstop as a partner ultimately comes back to track record and alignment. We have more than 170 locations across four countries, 2.7 million training sessions completed across the network in 2025 and franchisees who have grown with us over time. We have seen many of the challenges an owner can face and built systems to help solve them. For entrepreneurs, that means they are joining a proven model with a clear product, a strong member proposition and a support structure designed to help them build something sustainable in their market.

The immediate priority is the U.S. and doing it right. California is building momentum, we have a presence in Philadelphia, and Houston is the next major step. It is our largest single-market commitment in the U.S. to date and an important proof point for Fitstop in a large, competitive, sports-driven market.

We are not rushing to scale for the sake of scale. The goal is to open the right locations with the right partners in the right communities, then let those locations perform and earn credibility. Every strong location makes the next conversation easier, and that is how we want to build in the U.S.

In the next few years, I want Fitstop to establish a clear position in the American fitness market. We do not need to be the biggest. We want to be the best in our category. When someone in the U.S. is looking for structured, coach-led functional strength training with real programming, real community, and measurable progress, I want Fitstop to be the answer they find.

We also have Global Games coming to Los Angeles this July, our first time bringing the event to the U.S., which is a strong expression of Fitstop’s performance culture and community. It shows what our brand is really about: people training with purpose, testing themselves, and doing it together.

On the product side, we will continue to evolve. Our training blocks get stronger each cycle, our technology continues to improve, and we are investing in tools that help members better understand their performance, progress and nutrition. We have already made significant app upgrades to support performance tracking and launched FUELLED as a nutrition platform, and that focus on continuous improvement will keep shaping the member experience as we grow.

The opportunity in front of us is significant, but we know we have to earn our position in this market. That is how we have built Fitstop from the beginning, and it is how we will keep growing. Stop at Nothing is not just a tagline for us. It is how we operate.

## Entities

- Fitness (sector)
- Franchise Magazine USA (publication)
- franchise model (topic)
- California (location)
- houston (location)
- global expansion (topic)
- Australia (location)
- Philadelphia (location)
- David Gibb (person)
- US (location)
- Fitstop (company)
- fitness industry trends (topic)

---
Originally reported by David Gibb, Franchise Magazine USA (https://franchisemagazineusa.com/fitstop-us-expansion-pete-hull/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/1acf2b2e-714a-4eae-bf1c-67e8d5d0b7cf).