credit ZAXFIT
The first Zaxfit Owners Summit will bring 40 boutique studio leaders to Cleveland this October, focusing on strategy, clarity and connection

Boutique fitness owners and operators will gather in Ohio this fall for the first Zaxfit Owners Summit, a new event designed to connect industry leaders around strategy and community building.

Set for October 20–23 at the Gordon Green in Cleveland, the summit will host boutique studio owners alongside nine speakers who have been part of Zaxfit’s journey. The event was created as a counterpoint to larger, sales-driven conferences, intending to provide space for candid conversations about the challenges owners face inside their studios.

credit: ZAXFIT

The summit is the culmination of founder Zack Schares’ 15 years in the fitness industry, including two years spent touring nearly 80 cities across the U.S. to meet directly with studio owners. Those tours revealed a common thread: many leaders felt isolated, disconnected from their teams and pressured by the comparisons of online success stories rather than grounded in the realities of their own communities.

Building on that work, the Cleveland gathering will focus on three themes: strategy, clarity and connection. Sessions will explore financial sustainability, team accountability, studio design and client experience, while also encouraging owners to re-ground themselves in the reasons they launched their businesses in the first place. 

Speakers include Megan Dolce and Eric Posner of Ripe, Anne Hartnett and Andria Loczi of HCO Partners, Lauren Bowman of City Cycle, Jessica Fracalossi of The Handle Bar, Allison Robbins of The Grind MPLS, Laura Cieplik of Studio Three and fitness and education leader Forest Clayton.

The event comes as boutique fitness is entering a new phase of growth, wrote Shannon Tracey of Xplor Mariana Tek in a recent Athletech News op-ed, noting that attendance is climbing back to pre-COVID levels and 2025 is on track to surpass 2019 numbers.

Registration is available here. 

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