Chris Rondeau sees the potential for explosive growth similar to Planet Fitness for Panobianco Academia, Brazil\u2019s largest gym franchisor<\/p>\n
Former Planet Fitness CEO Chris Rondeau is looking to bring his low-price fitness philosophy to Latin America.<\/p>\n
Rondeau is now an investor-partner and strategic advisor to Panobianco Academia, Brazil\u2019s largest gym franchisor, with expansion planned across Brazil, Mexico and broader Latin America.<\/p>\n
Rondeau\u2019s foray into the new market follows the 30 years he spent at Planet Fitness, before being ousted in 2023<\/a> following allegations of fostering a toxic work environment<\/a> (Rondeau has denied the allegations, saying he was \u201cblindsided\u201d by his dismissal). <\/p>\n Rondeau is known for growing Planet Fitness from a regional operator to a global powerhouse with over 2,000 locations.<\/p>\n \u201cI see the same signals in Panobianco<\/a> today that I saw in Planet Fitness in 2010, just before our explosive growth phase,\u201d Rondeau said. <\/p>\n \u201cThey have cracked the code on high-value, low-price fitness in underserved markets,\u201d he added. \u201cThe model is highly profitable, the runway for growth in Brazil and Mexico is massive, and the brand democratizes fitness for the 80% of the population that traditional gyms ignore. This is an opportunity to help build another multi-billion-dollar legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n The Brazilian operator opened over 160 new locations in 2025 \u2014 more than double the previous year \u2014 the company will close the year with over 400 operating units, with a 2026 target of 600 locations by the end of next year.<\/p>\n To follow through on its ambitious plans, the company will implement three core strategies:<\/p>\n Financial Structuring: Through a financing fund with XP Investimentos, franchisees will have access to capital for equipment and new store setups. Additionally, an alliance with Wellhub<\/a> provides franchisees with access to capital advances to streamline cash flow for expansion.<\/p>\n Governance Changes: By establishing a board of directors and a franchisee council, Panobianco will implement international-standard auditing and a unified ERP system, preparing the corporate structure for future liquidity events.<\/p>\n Multi-Unit Revolution: Mirroring the strategy Rondeau successfully deployed in the U.S., Panobianco is shifting its focus to cultivating multi-unit operators, with a goal to transform single-unit franchisees into business groups capable of managing dozens of locations.<\/p>\n \u201cChris\u2019s arrival is a validation of our business model and a catalyst for our future,\u201d said Panobianco CEO Felipe Barth de Castro.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not just opening gyms; we are building a sophisticated, scalable corporation,\u201d de Castro added. \u201cWith Chris\u2019 mentorship, we are preparing our franchisees for a new era of professionalization and equipping Panobianco with the governance and capital structure needed for a global footprint.\u201d<\/p>\n Latin America is proving to be a fruitful market for fitness and wellness. A survey revealed last year that 61% of urban-dwelling Latin Americans exercise regularly<\/a>, and many of them belong to gyms or other fitness facilities.<\/p>\n The survey found that gyms and other fitness facilities serve as the preferred exercise location for 55% of active Latin Americans<\/p>\n Gold\u2019s Gym recognized the potential in South America, planning a 60-location rollout in Brazil starting in 2026<\/a>. Boutique fitness is expanding in the southern hemisphere as well, as barre3 revealed plans to open a location in Santiago, Chile<\/a> in February 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chris Rondeau sees the potential for explosive growth similar to Planet Fitness for Panobianco Academia, Brazil\u2019s largest gym…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[7426,49,48,407,26504,26505,84,26506,22023,19235],"class_list":{"0":"post-340501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-brazil","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-fitness","12":"tag-fitness-franchise","13":"tag-gyms","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-high-value-low-price-gyms-hvlp","16":"tag-planet-fitness","17":"tag-south-america"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}