Yoga Joint Raises $5.5M to Expand Infrared Fitness Franchise Across Northeast

In a funding landscape that can’t get enough of Pilates, Yoga Joint, a Florida-founded infrared fitness franchise, just made a case for a concept that doesn’t require a reformer.

The concept has grown to 17 locations in the Sunshine State, offering the elements boutique fitness fans have come to expect: ambient lighting, guided instruction and high-energy music for an immersive experience.

Now it’s headed to New York, with plans to double its footprint by 2027. Former Barry’s executive Adam Shane — now Yoga Joint’s franchise owner and managing director — is spearheading the expansion, backed by $5.5 million in growth capital.

Private investment firm Port Street Ventures, whose portfolio includes OneLife Fitness, Crunch Fitness, Barry’s Bootcamp and UFC GYM, led the raise alongside North Castle Partners managing director Jon Canarick, who also serves on the boards of Crunch Fitness, SLT and Therabody.

Canarick is an investor in both Yoga Joint’s corporate entity and Shane’s New York portfolio.

Additional investors include Alex Alimanestianu, angel investor and former CEO of Town Sports International, Anthony DiMaggio, vice president of Retail Development at Vuori with prior leadership roles at SoulCycle and Equinox, Isaac Chera, co-founder and partner at Crown Acquisitions and Jared Solomon, co-founder and CEO of Five Iron Golf.

The brand offers two class formats in infrared-heated studios: Flow, a 60-minute vinyasa-style yoga class and FIIT, a 45-minute strength and cardio conditioning class using free weights and resistance bands.

“You can be advanced, you can be a beginner,” Shane told Athletech News last month. “I think the beauty of Yoga Joint is that it’s for everyone. You can always lift heavier. You can always lift lighter.”

The brand has tapped marketing firm Farrynheight and comms agency AIIR ahead of its first two openings this fall at 470 Park Avenue South in Manhattan and 267 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with Westchester, Long Island, Greenwich, Jersey City and Hoboken on deck after that.