Heather Hudson and her husband, Shannon, founded 9Round Kickboxing Fitness in 2008, turning it into a thriving franchise with hundreds of locations around the globe
For Heather Hudson, the business of fitness is personal.
Hudson met her husband and business partner, Shannon, as a student at a karate school Shannon owned with his brother at the time. After getting married and having a son together, the Hudsons decided to found 9Round Kickboxing Fitness, drawing on Shannon’s career as a professional kickboxer.
Designed to give regular people a way to get the fitness and confidence benefits of high-intensity martial arts, 9Round workouts last 30 minutes, featuring nine rounds lasting three minutes each, with 30 seconds rest in between each round.
Founded in 2008 in Greenville, South Carolina, the brand has expanded across the globe, now counting hundreds of locations in 18 countries.
In September, Heather was named as 9Round’s CEO, taking over for Shannon, who transitioned to run the iLoveKickboxing side of the business, a separate brand 9Round acquired last year.
A few months into her tenure as CEO, Hudson sat down with ATN to discuss her journey in becoming a fitness franchising entrepreneur, detail how 9Round has grown over nearly two decades and share her plans for the brand moving forward.
The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Athletech News: Can you tell us about your background and why you and Shannon decided to create 9Round Kickboxing?
Heather Hudson: I grew up working out thanks to my mom. I carried that with me into my adult life, but in my early 20s, fitness really showed up for me as an outlet for some really tough times I was going through. I got divorced when my daughter was four. I needed fitness more than ever, so I started working out again; it reminded me of my inner power.
Fast forward a bit, I’m a single mom in my own apartment, and I thought, “I should probably try self-defense, just in case.” So I went to a karate school near me. I ended up meeting the owners, one of them is my now-husband. I started taking lessons there, and eventually we started dating and got married. We have a son together, so now we’re a family of four.
A year after we were married, he thought of this idea to do a 30-minute circuit format for kickboxing — he was a professional kickboxer. So in 2008, during a recession, we opened. We were so broke we didn’t have enough money for a sign on the building. We didn’t have a website — in 2008, social media was new, so we weren’t doing anything there. Everything was just walk-by traffic. In our first month, we literally had flyers that I printed from my own house and we were handing them out. We had 78 members, I think, sign up in the first month. They told their friends, who told their friends. Word of mouth helped us out a lot (in the beginning), and we grew from there.
ATN: What’s a 9Round workout like?
HH: It’s nine different stations, three minutes each with 30 seconds in between. That’s a very similar timing to real boxing rounds, although they have one minute in between. The order of those rounds has never changed — it’s still the same as 2008 — although what we do in each of the rounds has evolved.
It’s a full-body kickboxing workout. You’re in and out quickly and you’re on with your life, but you can’t believe how much you’re sweating and how many calories you burn in 30 minutes.
ATN: Today, you have over 350 locations. What was your growth trajectory like through franchising?
HH: Our original goal was to franchise. We opened up to franchise a year after starting, which was extremely fast. It was a little before we were ready, but sometimes you build the plane as you go.
It exploded, and I think the main reason is that most of our owners in those early years came from being a member first, and it was organic growth. That’s still my favorite type of growth because they fell in love with the product first as a member, and they said, “I have to bring this to my town.”
ATN: Why did you decide to acquire iLoveKickboxing in 2024?
HH: It was for sale, and we thought it’d be great to own both so they don’t cannibalize one another. We’re keeping the two brands separate from one another — there’s no overlap or competition. We didn’t want someone buying it and putting an iLove Kickboxing on every corner there’s a 9Round, like Burger King does to McDonald’s.
But synergies do exist. Every one of our team members, pretty much, works on both brands. A year and a half ago or so, we did a world convention and we invited both brands.
ATN: You were named the new CEO of 9Round Kickboxing in September, which came a little over a year after you took a brief departure after serving as longtime COO. What have your early priorities been in the new role?
HH: Right now, I’m still finding my feet. The way you run this business is still the same as it’s always been — the foundational basics. However, we implemented a lot of new software and tech in the 15 months I was gone, so I’m learning and getting up to speed on that.
Next year, in 2026, I really want to get back to basics with our owners. I want to get the owners to remember why they purchased, feel that old nostalgic feeling again and connect back with that passion that brought them into the system. It’s keeping the workout so fun (that) people leave practically crawling out the door they’re so tired, in a good way. We can’t neglect doing that. That’s our job.
It doesn’t sound sexy, but it’s necessary, and 99% of our success depends on it.
ATN: What does it mean for you to be a female CEO in the fitness and wellness industry?
HH: My personal (journey) probably helps me be the CEO of this brand because I can truly relate. When I kicked and punched for the first time, I felt a power I’d never felt inside myself before, physically, and it mentally affected me in a parallel, positive way. And every woman I’ve ever asked about how 9Round makes them feel says the same thing: “empowered.”
I want to see more women in these positions. I just think the opportunities haven’t been abundant for female entrepreneurs and female leaders. I don’t know how many people know this, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that a woman could own a business solo in the United States, without a male counter-signer (Editor’s note: the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 prohibited state laws that required males to co-sign business loans for women).
But it’s also a question that makes me go, “Oh, this question again.” It’s just the same as if I were a man running it — it’s just as hard and draining.
ATN: 9Round already has 350-plus global locations, but you’re still looking to grow. Moving forward, what are your expansion goals in the U.S. and internationally?
HH: I’d say there’s no limit to how big we become in the U.S., as long as the locations aren’t too close to one another. We have a mapping software that’s done some territorial searches for us and, there are hundreds more we can fit in the U.S.
And the sky’s the limit, internationally. We look at opening a new country or two every year or so and trying to find new master developers. We just opened in our 15th country recently, in Iraq. Our Saudi Arabia master (franchisee) is our largest besides the U.S, with over 70 locations. Japan is opening their 17th location soon. This fitness language has no borders, I like to say.
ATN: As someone who’s been in the industry for nearly two decades now, how do you view the boutique fitness landscape in 2025, and how does it compare to previous years?
HH: Ten or 15 years ago, there weren’t very many boutique fitness options, so it was a little more blue sky. Now, there’s also a lot more boutique fitness to stand out from.
This is why I’m so laser-beam focused with my owners on keeping our focus on the main thing. We’re the largest kickboxing franchise in the world, and we’re the only one that’s a circuit. The convenience factor of that is unparalleled. We need to stay super tightly in love and passionate about delivering that, because that’s our biggest differentiator, and that’s how you stand out.
