CEO Corner: Jazzercise’s Shanna Missett Nelson on Adapting in Boutique Fitness

Jazzercise’s chief executive since 2022, Shanna Missett Nelson is leading the dance-fitness giant into a new era post-pandemic

Shanna Missett Nelson’s whole life has been Jazzercise. Now, she’s calling the shots. 

Her mother, Judi Sheppard Missett, founded the iconic dance-fitness brand back in 1969, one year before Missett Nelson was born. That was before the fitness industry itself existed, and when the landscape for female entrepreneurs was challenging, to say the least. 

Today, Jazzercise operates more than 2,100 locations across 16 countries, with more than 6,000 franchisees and 7,000 instructors, according to the brand. That said, the dance-fitness giant is grappling with increased competition in the boutique fitness sector, and many female consumers aren’t as familiar with Jazzercise as those in past generations. 

Missett Nelson, who has served as Jazzercise’s CEO since 2022, sat down with Athletech News to discuss her early experiences with the brand, what she’s prioritizing as chief executive, and how Jazzercise is working to stay culturally relevant in a highly competitive boutique fitness market. 

The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Athletech News: You have a unique relationship with Jazzercise, given that your mother founded the brand. What were your early experiences like, and how have things changed over time as you’ve been an executive?

Shanna Missett Nelson: This is our 56th year — we’re the oldest fitness company in the industry, I believe — and I’m 57 years old, so I’ve literally grown up with the business, and I’ve experienced every part of it. 

What’s unique about Jazzercise is that my mom didn’t set out to start a fitness company — there weren’t any fitness companies. She just did what she loved, and it ended up turning into this business. So I experienced it from the choreography and the programming side, to being the original kid in the babysitting room, to watching it grow and turn into the business it is today. 

What stands out is that business is complicated now. It used to be much easier. I remember as a kid, my mom would literally put a paper grocery bag out for everybody to put their money in as they came in the door. Some months we’d have more money, and some months it wouldn’t equal out. But we made up for it the next month. Everything’s more complicated, and more technical, in business today. A lot of those technical advancements have helped us grow the business. And certainly now, there’s more competition, which has changed the landscape for us. 

ATN: Since taking over as CEO in 2022, what have your priorities been to continue growing the brand? 

SMN: My focus has been on the quality of our programming, making sure our pricing is competitive with other boutique fitness programs and getting more brick-and-mortar locations up and running. 

Brick-and-mortar is what today’s consumer is looking for. Jazzercise was built mainly through what we called satellite locations  — inside churches, schools and rec centers. In the early ‘90s, it started to morph into us having our own studios. Right now, I’d say 70% of our locations are still satellite locations, although some of them offer 25 Jazzercise classes a week, so they function like a brick-and-mortar. 

ATN: Jazzercise is an OG in boutique fitness, founded in 1969 before the fitness industry even existed, as you mentioned. What misconceptions do consumers have today about Jazzercise? 

SMN: It’s an asset and a liability that we’re over 50 years old. The fitness industry is very trendy and fickle. 

I think the biggest misconceptions are that we don’t exist or that we’re only for an older market — or that we’re not modern and relevant. Those are huge misconceptions, but I understand why they exist. We’re in a much more competitive landscape than we’ve ever been in before in the industry, so we have to not only promote who we are today, but also educate and help consumers understand why they should still very much consider us. 

ATN: How do you drive more awareness of the Jazzercise brand in what’s become a highly competitive boutique fitness market? 

SMN: The key is getting involved in your community, and this is what we tell our franchisees. Word of mouth is still our number one resource to accumulate new members, so it’s about getting out there, including cross-promoting with other businesses and having an (active) instructor team. We have two corporate-owned studios, and my instructors are like my own brand ambassadors in the community. Everyone knows they teach Jazzercise. 

Of course, social media, advertising, all of that (is important), but really it’s that community touch-point that makes the difference. 

ATN: How have you gone about adapting Jazzercise’s fitness programming to account for modern trends while staying true to the brand’s dance-fitness roots?  

SMN: We very much stay true to who we are, and we’re rooted in dance. We’re always going to be dance fitness. We’re not a brand that hops on trends; we’re a little trend-adverse.

Of course, we’ve adapted and changed, as science has told us that we needed to, especially over the past two years with all of the great research that’s come out in women’s fitness and exercise science. At the end of 2024, we launched a new format called Vital Sculpt that has three pillars: heavier strength training, HIIT training and jumping, which we put within our Jazzercise framework so it makes sense to our members. This class has been a huge success for us.

ATN: What’s your experience been like as a female executive in fitness, especially now that you’re a CEO?

SMN: I’m in a primarily women-run business, so I’ve been lucky enough to have these amazing women role models ahead of me who showed me you can do anything. I never saw anything but successful women, whether it was my mom or all of the women who came before me in Jazzercise. So I never believed I could do anything (other) than be successful as a woman.

I do feel like there’s a benefit to being a woman CEO in that I don’t feel the need to posture the way men sometimes do. When I find myself in those situations, I just slow down and let everybody do their posturing, and then speak up when I feel like, “Okay, you guys have got that over with, now let’s do the work.”

ATN: Looking ahead, what are your key goals from Jazzercise over the next few years?

SMN: Profitability for our franchisees is number one. We want franchisees to be as successful as possible and provide them with all the tools necessary for that to happen. 

Then I’d say maximizing our locations (by) creating more brick and mortar, and helping those to be as successful and more visible in the company. 

Third is quality programming. I believe we’re the best dance fitness program out there, and we create the best programming. It’s really important to us that our programming is effective, that it brings people benefits and that it’s fun.