How FS8’s 3-in-1 Workout Promotes Longevity

FIT House of Brands’ newest concept takes a holistic approach to health that leverages the benefits of Pilates, tone, and yoga.

As gymgoers become more informed about the science behind health and wellness, they’re looking for proven workouts that provide long-lasting results. With this in mind, F45’s parent company, FIT House of Brands, has developed a new concept that delivers benefits that are greater than the sum of its parts.

With FS8, the company offers a unique three-in-one training approach that combines the best of Pilates, strength, and yoga to deliver outcomes that resonate most with their target clients. 

“We have really done a good job of narrowing down our core target audience, which for us is 20-to-40-year-old women, and then we scale a little bit up from there too,” said Jo Gomez, director of athletics, Pilates for FIT House of Brands. “While women remain our primary audience, we also see strong engagement from men who share the same goals.” Zeroing in on this demographic has helped the company identify what their clients want from a workout and studio environment. “They’re looking for longevity, quality of movement, and community.”

With these attributes as its north star, FS8 has tailored programming to these specific needs. It offers a low impact workout that combines all of the benefits of a reformer with the mindfulness, flexibility and balance benefits of yoga. Toning rounds it all out for a strength component.

As more people have become aware of the benefits of strength training, the demand has grown. Still, for some the idea of this type of workout can be intimidating. FS8’s approach is anything but. “Some of the misconceptions about strength training is you have to lift heavy dumbbells, the workout has to be high impact and it’s not accessible to everybody,” Gomez said, adding that couldn’t be further from the truth. “Strength training should be for everybody, all the way up into your 70s. Science shows that low impact exercise that combines strength with flexibility and balance promotes good, healthy aging.”

FS8 classes concentrate on building and maintaining mobility and the quality and purpose of movement, not just how much an individual can lift. And physical strength is just one piece of the puzzle. The FS8 tagline, Strength Reimagined, represents a holistic approach to strength.

“We’re looking to be a lifestyle brand, so we’re addressing more than just physical strength, but also mental well-being and your emotional strength,” Gomez said.

To that end, FS8 emphasizes community as a way to foster emotional well-being, while the stress relief aspect of the workouts supports mental strength as well.

This focus on all aspects of their clients’ wellbeing starts at the front door. 

FS8 facilities are designed to be welcoming and accessible. “If you walk into the studio, it is a very clean and modern look, which is different from a lot of other brands. Again, there’s a big focus on community,” Gomez said. “Clients love that they’re being greeted by the front desk and the trainers know their names.”

FS8 has created an environment in which instructors can provide this personal touch. Like F45, FS8 studios feature TVs around the room where clients can see the movements during each class. “Visual cues obviously are very helpful for clients to get form and they make it a little bit more accessible,” Gomez said. The classes are also preprogrammed, which gives the brand quality control and the ability to ensure that each workout is effective and creative. For trainers, this means they can keep their attention on the clients, providing corrections and connection throughout each workout.

Managing Demand 

Based on FS8’s brand NPS score of 81, which speaks to how much clients are loving not only the classes but the studios themselves, FIT House of Brands believes that the FS8 formula is clearly working.

That positive reaction is helping to propel the FS8 brand forward.

There are 50 FS8 locations currently open and operating, and FS8 continues to expand across the U.S. and internationally. Among the first in line to open new doors have been current FIT House Brands franchisees, who see the value in the three-in-one concept. “It’s appealing to have a brand that is based on longevity and low impact. It complements the F45 model, which is high intensity functional training. The two pair well together, so we’re seeing a lot of F45 franchisees jump on board with not only FS8, but also our sister brand, VAURA,” Gomez said.

FS8’s master franchisees around the globe are helping the brand expand overseas. Through these partnerships, the company can quickly adapt the workouts, advertising and marketing to local cultures. Currently, FS8 has studios in Canada, Luxembourg and Spain with locations opening in Singapore in the fall. 

Gomez hopes the number of locations triples in the next year, but she said, it’s a controlled growth with the U.S. market as the focus. “We want to scale quickly, but we want to make sure we’re doing it in a way that we’re still able to support our network as we go,” she said.

Communicating the Benefits

Part of that controlled growth is a strategic marketing plan. 

To support the rollout of its new concept, FS8 recently hosted a class at Kourtney Kardashian’s Camp Poosh, where the influencer participated in the workout, resulting in some exciting buzz. While major social media moments like that are important from a branding standpoint, Gomez said the FS8 marketing team also prioritizes in-studio content for authentic brand moments. The company uses any opportunity it can to highlight the three-in-one aspect of its workouts. 

FS8 builds on familiar workouts like Pilates and Yoga, giving clients an instant sense of what to expect. That instant familiarity has made it easier to introduce this new concept into the crowded fitness space. “We say Pilates-inspired and yoga-inspired because people are familiar with traditional Pilates and they’re familiar with yoga,” Gomez explained. “The storytelling is about relatability, connection, and community, which are our pillars.”