Discover Strength Enters Boston, Eyes 250 US Studios

The strength training franchise built on 30-minute workouts is expanding into Massachusetts as founder Luke Carlson looks to build a 250-studio national footprint

Discover Strength is entering the Boston market as the strength training franchise maps out a path to roughly 250 locations across the U.S.

The Minnesota-based brand will open its first Massachusetts studio in Wellesley in early November, with plans to pursue additional locations throughout Greater Boston. The expansion comes as Discover Strength founder and CEO Luke Carlson tells Athletech News the company has settled on a long-term target of approximately 250 U.S. studios, up from 43 locations today.

“Boston is an important market for Discover Strength, and we believe there is a tremendous opportunity to continue building our presence in Boston and the surrounding communities,” Carlson told ATN. “We want to open additional studios with the right franchise partners and the right people who can deliver the Discover Strength experience at a very high level.”

Located at 55 Central St. in Wellesley Square, the new studio is owned by local entrepreneur Alexei Erchak. It will offer Discover Strength’s signature 30-minute strength training workouts, programmed twice per week and supervised by exercise physiologists, along with small-group training.

Discover Strength is already evaluating additional sites across Greater Boston as it looks to establish a multi-studio presence in the region.

Carlson said the market’s health-conscious population and emphasis on expertise make Boston a natural fit for the concept. Boston ranked No. 10 among the 100 largest U.S. cities in the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2026 American Fitness Index, up from No. 13 last year.

Discover Strength Maps Out National Growth

Founded by Carlson in 2006, Discover Strength has built its model around evidence-based, time-efficient strength training. The company began franchising in 2019 and has since expanded into markets across the country.

Now, Carlson has a clearer picture of how large he wants the brand to become.

“We have a very clear vision for Discover Strength: to grow from 43 locations today to approximately 250 locations across the United States,” he said. “That is a significant amount of growth, but it is also a very intentional number.”

The target represents an evolution from Carlson’s earlier outlook. In 2024, he told ATN that 500 to 1,000 U.S. locations was feasible, while stressing that size wasn’t the company’s primary goal.

Carlson now says Discover Strength isn’t interested in reaching 1,000 locations simply for the sake of scale.

“We want fewer locations, relatively speaking, and more focus on making every one of those locations exceptional,” he said. “Our goal is to grow from 43 to 250 locations while protecting the integrity of the workout and the quality of the customer experience.”

Carlson pointed to Discover Strength’s systemwide Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 94 as a benchmark he wants the company to maintain during that expansion.

“Scale can be a double-edged sword,” he said. “The bigger you get, the harder it becomes to protect the things that made you successful in the first place.”

Discover Strength is seeking both single- and multi-unit franchisees as it expands, including additional partners in Greater Boston. The company lists an initial franchise fee of $52,000 and an estimated total investment of $463,000 to $877,000.