The Boutique Industry’s Forgotten Consumer

The boutique industry is approximately 80% female, and most concepts are built to prioritize that consumer. Everything. From the workout, to the trainer, to the aesthetic, to the vibe, right down to the playlist.

Last month, ATN dropped an article titled, “Gyms Are Still Missing the Mark on Women’s Fitness, White Paper Finds.” It prompted me to respond on LinkedIn. The post generated some support and some fire.

With that, Team ATN asked if I would be willing to write an op-ed offering a counterpoint to female driven concepts. Naturally, I obliged. My only question, what is an op-ed?

This feels like one of those moments where something needs to be said, but the mechanism to say it is a bit more complicated. Well, I am happy to take the bullet.

This narrative is getting old. More importantly, it feels disconnected from what is actually happening on the ground.

Let’s start here. The boutique industry is approximately 80% female, and most concepts are built to prioritize that consumer. Everything. From the workout, to the trainer, to the aesthetic, to the vibe, right down to the playlist.

I have yet to hear a strong counterargument.

Let’s look at the landscape: Pure Barre, barre3, The Bar Method, Pvolve, Club Pilates, Solidcore, SLT, JetSet, CorePower, YogaSix, Burn Boot Camp, Orangetheory, SoulCycle, CycleBar, HOTWORX, Jazzercise, Curves, etc…all female leaning.

Let’s classify CrossFit, MADabolic, F45, ISI Elite, AlphaFit Club and Barry’s as neutral.

Now to the male leaning cohort: Zero.

Are we really supposed to believe that in 2026 gyms do not prioritize the female consumer?

Even the neutral leaning concepts skew female. CrossFit, the lone outlier, is roughly a 50/50 split at the affiliate level. From my vantage point, backed by 25 years of experience, boutique has always been built on a female majority foundation, and it is stronger than ever.

For context, at MADabolic we are 65-70% female and 30-35% male, which actually puts us in the minority at that split. And guess who we still struggle to reach? Men.

So this is not anti female. Our team, our ownership base, and our brand are all strengthened by incredible women. Our logo since inception has been a powerful female muse rooted in aspiration.

Furthermore, the two people I respect most, my rocks, my sister and my partner, are strong, realistic feminists who lead from the front and do not ask for the environment to be softened for them.

You can hold both thoughts.

But to say we need more safe spaces, more neutral tones, or more female-driven concepts in boutique is blind ignorance. Very few concepts even consider the male consumer, let alone try to appeal to him.

A common phrase in the fitness industry is, “Women aren’t small men.” It has a nice ring to it. The other side of that statement is just as true. “Men are not big women.”

Is there space for women’s-only concepts? 100%. We need more specificity in fitness. The one-size-fits-all program for everyone does not exist.

With that said, if there is an opportunity or white space to explore, especially in boutique, is it really another “come as you are” concept designed to lengthen and sculpt “her” to Beyoncé’s newest single?

In my opinion, no.

If we actually want to move the needle, the opportunity is likely the opposite.

Or we can keep building for the same 80% and call it inclusive, while quietly excluding an entire demographic.

A former athlete turned entrepreneur, Brandon Cullen brings an edgy, no-nonsense approach to business. As the co-founder and chief concept officer of MADabolic, he helped transform the brand into one of the fitness industry’s most respected strength and conditioning franchises. He also hosts the PLYN GLTY podcast, where he interviews entrepreneurs, disruptors and industry leaders to explore performance, culture, and the realities of entrepreneurship. Known for his candid and unapologetic perspective, Cullen has built a reputation for challenging conventional thinking around consumer behavior, niche positioning, scalable growth and the status quo.