LA Fitness

{{Short description|Health club chain in the United States and Canada}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Fitness International LLC

| trade_name = LA Fitness

| logo = LA Fitness logo.svg

| image = LA Fitness building.jpg

| image_caption =

| foundation = {{start date and age|1984|11|1}}
Covina, California, U.S.

| type = Private

| location = Irvine, California

| area_served = United States
Canada

|brands = LA Fitness
City Sports Club
Club Studio Fitness

| industry = Health Clubs, Exercise

| homepage = {{URL|http://www.lafitness.com/}}

}}

Fitness International LLC is a North American gym chain with over 700 clubs across the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Irvine, California.

History

File:LAFitness8555Woodbine5.jpg, Canada]]

In 1984, the first LA Fitness was founded by founder Chinyol Yi and Louis Welch in Covina, California.{{Cite news| url = http://corporateofficehq.com/la-fitness-corporate-office/ |title=LA Fitness History|publisher=Corporate Offices & Headquarters|access-date = May 28, 2015}}

In the mid-1990s, the company expanded by acquiring underperforming fitness clubs in Southern California, and by developing, opening, and operating newly constructed properties.{{Cn|date=May 2022}}

In 2012, Fitness International LLC launched its City Sports Club brand exclusively in Northern California. The City Sports Club brand was launched by rebranding a dozen former LA Fitness locations as City Sports Club, within the greater San Francisco Bay Area and the greater Sacramento metropolitan area. Initially launched with a dozen locations, City Sports Club, has since grown to twenty locations.

In 2020, Fitness International LLC launched its Esporta Fitness brand. The Esporta Fitness brand was launched by rebranding seventeen former LA Fitness locations as Esporta Fitness within the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. The Esporta Fitness brand quickly grew through 2023 by rebranding former LA Fitness locations throughout the United States. At its peak, Esporta Fitness operated over 100 locations within the United States.

In 2022, Fitness International LLC launched its Club Studio Fitness brand. The Club Studio Fitness brand operates as a cutting-edge fitness experience that brings together boutique fitness classes and luxury amenities into one gym. This brand is marketed as a competitor to other luxury fitness brands such as Equinox and Life Time Fitness. Club Studio Fitness currently operates within nine states including California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Virginia. As of April 2025, ten locations are in operation, with five listed as presale and three more listed as coming soon.

In 2024, Fitness International LLC began aggressively winding down the Esporta Fitness brand. Most Esporta Fitness locations were rebranded back to LA Fitness, while the underperforming locations were permanently closed.

In 2025, Fitness International LLC shuttered the Esporta Fitness brand entirely. On February 27, 2025, with the sale of eight Esporta Fitness locations to Genesis Health Clubs located in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana, only three Esporta locations remained in operation. On April 1, 2025, the three remaining Esporta Fitness locations, located in California, Illinois, and Massachusetts, were rebranded back to LA Fitness, making the Esporta Fitness brand defunct. The Esporta Fitness website now redirects all visitors to the LA Fitness website.{{cite web|url=https://www.lafitness.com/Pages/EsportaFitness.aspx|title=Esporta Fitness|website=www.lafitness.com}}

Operations

As of April 2025, Fitness International LLC operates LA Fitness in 672 locations in twenty-five U.S. states (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington) and two Canadian provinces (Alberta and Ontario).{{cite web | url=https://www.lafitness.com/Pages/FindClub.aspx | title=LA Fitness | Find a Club }}

Furthermore, Fitness International LLC operates City Sports Club in 20 locations in Northern California.

Finally, Fitness International LLC operates Club Studio Fitness in ten locations, with five more locations listed as presale, and another three locations listed as coming soon.

Acquisitions

In 2007, the company expanded outside of the United States by acquiring six fitness clubs in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, the company acquired ten locations in Phoenix from Pure Fitness Arizona.{{cite web |title=LA Fitness acquires Pure Fitness gyms |url=http://www.azcentral.com/business/consumer/articles/2010/11/17/20101117biz-pure-fitness-sold17-ON.html |website=azcentral.com}} Within a year, all but one of the former Pure Fitness clubs were closed. {{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

On November 30, 2011, the company significantly expanded its portfolio by acquiring 171 clubs for $153M, from Bally Total Fitness.{{Cite web |last=Goldman |first=Stuart |date=18 November 2011 |title=LA Fitness Acquires 171 Bally Total Fitness Clubs |url=https://www.americanspa.com/commercial-clubs/la-fitness-acquires-171-bally-total-fitness-clubs |access-date=18 September 2024 |website=American Spa}}{{cite web |last=Quinn |first=Dale |date=November 29, 2011 |title=LA Fitness buys Bally's locations in Tucson, elsewhere |url=http://azstarnet.com/business/local/l-a-fitness-buys-bally-s-locations-in-tucson-elsewhere/article_f2b0fae2-1ae0-11e1-87c5-001cc4c03286.html |access-date=January 4, 2014 |publisher=Azstarnet.com}}

On July 2, 2012, the company completed the acquisition of all 33 Lifestyle Family Fitness Clubs in Florida.{{Cite web |title=Lifestyle Family Fitness members left without answers as LA Fitness takes over |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/lifestyle-family-fitness-members-left-without-answers-as-la-fitness-takes/1236080/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=Tampa Bay Times |language=en}}

In October 2012, LA Fitness acquired 36 Urban Active clubs in multiple states.{{Cite web |last=Goldman |first=Stuart |date=25 October 2012 |title=LA Fitness Completes Acquisition of Urban Active |url=https://www.americanspa.com/commercial-clubs/la-fitness-completes-acquisition-urban-active |access-date=18 September 2024 |website=American Spa}}{{Cite web |last=Dispatch |first=Tim Feran, The Columbus |title=LA Fitness acquires Urban Active |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2012/10/27/la-fitness-acquires-urban-active/23707482007/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=The Columbus Dispatch |language=en-US}}

On December 23, 2013, LA Fitness announced the acquisition of The Buffalo and Rochester Athletic Clubs in Western New York.{{Cite web |last=Tobin |first=Tom |title=LA Fitness buys 2 Rochester Athletic Club sites |url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/business/2013/12/20/la-fitness-buys-2-rochester-athletic-club-sites/4146947/ |access-date=2024-08-26 |website=Democrat and Chronicle |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Goldman |first=Stuart |date=20 December 2013 |title=LA Fitness Acquires Buffalo, Rochester Athletic Clubs |url=https://www.americanspa.com/commercial-clubs/la-fitness-acquires-buffalo-rochester-athletic-clubs |access-date=26 August 2024 |website=American Spa}}

On December 30, 2013, they completed the acquisition of all 10 Vision Quest Sport and Fitness clubs in the greater Seattle metropolitan area.{{Cite web |date=2014-01-02 |title=Fitness International purchases Vision Quest Sport and Fitness clubs |url=https://www.kirklandreporter.com/business/fitness-international-purchases-vision-quest-sport-and-fitness-clubs/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=Kirkland Reporter |language=en-US}}

In 2024, LA Fitness acquired XSport Fitness.{{Cite web |last=Rehfeldt |first=Courtney |date=2024-07-16 |title=LA Fitness Acquires XSport Gyms, Expanding in NY, Chicago |url=https://athletechnews.com/la-fitness-xsport-gym-acquisition/ |access-date=2024-08-26 |website=Athletech News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Payne |first=Will |date=2024-07-15 |title=XSport Fitness acquired by LA Fitness |url=https://www.nctv17.org/news/xsport-fitness-acquired-by-la-fitness/ |access-date=2024-08-26 |website=NCTV17 |language=en-US}}