A franchising veteran who learned from the now-ubiquitous Orangetheory Fitness, European Wax Center and Massage Envy chains has launched a new venture: fitness studios that employ electrical muscle stimulation, or EMS.
OHM Fitness, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has sold the rights for franchise territories for Arizona, New Jersey, Florida and Washington, D.C., and has other deals in the works. The first flagship club, which is in Scottsdale, opened this summer. In New Jersey, there are plans to open 30 OHM centers over the next three years, with initial sites being eyed in Florham Park, Short Hills and Livingston. In Arizona, OHM sites are are being targeted for Peoria, Glendale and northern Phoenix.
OHM bills itself as the first franchise concept to offer group exercise classes that use EMS to offer low-impact workouts via wearable technology. EMS, which uses electric impulses to elicit muscle contractions, has been used for years by professional athletes to train and help recover from injuries, OHM founder and CEO Doug Payne told CoStar News. Now OHM has developed tight wireless EMS bodysuits that allow patrons to experience an intense two-hour workout in a 25-minute session with little wear and tear on muscles and joints, according to Payne.
The franchise business is competitive and littered with failures. But boutique fitness clubs, such as Orangetheory, are a growing class of tenants at shopping centers. And OHM wants to join that roster. It is seeking sites from 1,500 to 2,500 square feet typically at grocery-anchored centers or beside personal-service centers, Payne said. Gyms, like supermarkets, create repeat foot traffic at shopping centers, and therefore are much-desired occupants at such properties.
Payne is no stranger to the franchise business. He is a former European Wax and Orangetheory franchise owner and has held corporate technology executive positions at European Wax, Massage Envy and Orangetheory. Joshua Coba, a co-founder of European Wax, is now an investor in OHM as well as being an area representative holding its franchise rights for the Sunshine State.
Jake and Alyssa Kapneck, former New Jersey residents who now live in Maryland, recently secured area development rights for OHM for the northern part of the Garden State. They previously owned eight European Wax Center locations, which they sold in August. Jake Kapneck said he was looking for a new business venture and read a story about OHM. He said he already knew Payne because of his involvement in European Wax.
Jake Kapneck traveled to Scottsdale to see the OHM studio there in October.
“I was skeptical before I flew out to Arizona,” he said, but became convinced of the concept's viability after taking a class.
EMS has been around for 60 years and is one of the most studied methods of fitness out there, prevalent in Europe and Russia, according to Payne. In the United States, in the past the Federal Trade Commission has filed complaints, and consumer lawsuits have been lodged, against companies that were selling exercise belts that used EMS technology and claimed to tone users' abdominal muscles, and even give them a so-called six pack. The FTC took action against several of those device makers as part of what it dubbed "Project ABSurd." OHM isn't making any such false claims, Payne said.
"In this FTC lawsuit, [the belt makers] were basically promising you could strap it on, drink a beer on the couch and get a six-pack," he said. "We are in the process of getting our Type 2 classification for medical devices, but still, we are making no claims. We have a carefully curated curriculum that focuses on movement, mobility, and healthy movement patterns combined with the EMPower Bodysuit to help our members achieve their fitness goals. We’re not saying come in, lay down and you’ll get fit. It’s a combo of group exercises with EMS. That gets the results."
There are some people that medically speaking should not use EMS, according to Payne. They include anyone with a pacemaker, anybody who knows they are pregnant and are close to term as well as those who have surgical implants such as steel rods.
The Kapnecks are lining up franchisees for their region, who will have to commit to opening up three OHM locations.
In Arizona, Peoria residents Casey and April Meyeres and Chris and Candice Johnson will be opening the three OHM locations, with the first slated to bow next year. April and Candice will manage the franchise and retail operations of the studios. They, as well as the Kapnecks, are actively searching for retail locations for OHM studios.
Of the Arizona franchisees, Casey Meyeres was the first to come across OHM Fitness. He was interested in the new fitness concept after reading an article about its launch and the experience of its founding team.
"I was instantly addicted to the OHM Fitness experience," he said in a statement. "My family and I are avid OHMies now, driving 30 minutes to Scottsdale from Peoria to work out three times a week, and we are each seeing amazing results."
He told his friend Chris Johnson about OHM, who went to a class with his wife, Candice.
"After that first class, I began to research the science behind EMS style workouts," Chris Johnson said in a statement. "While there are other EMS workouts available, the wireless component of the suit is the difference, and the experience in a small group class with the vibe that OHM Fitness has created is unlike anything out there."
There are other players in the EMS space, such as Pulse Performance and Body20. But some of those competitors just offer one-on-one sessions, not group classes, and don't incorporate wireless technology.
At OHM, customers can either pay $299 to purchase their own EMPower bodysuits to wear for their workouts or use a suit the studio provides.
“Some people may not like that, but the suits are washed inside the studio," Kapneck said. "And they’re sanitized inside the studio. It really is super clean and super sanitary. Everything is packed in the back of the studio. And if anybody really wanted to see the process, they could.”