FranchiseVerdict
FS8 logo
FV-01015·MODERATEExcellent95

Fs8

Formerly known as F45 Training

Health & FitnessFranchising since 2021Website
Investment
$349K – $841K
62nd pct Health & Fitn…
Avg revenue
$389K
17th pct Health & Fitn…
Royalty
7.0%
27th pct Health & Fitn…
Units
31
63rd pct Health & Fitn…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $349K – $841K including a $60K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $389K/year (median $389K).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 62/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 8 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 900.0% CAGR over 3 years with 31 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
FS8, Inc.
Parent company
FS8 Holdings Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
3601 South Congress Avenue, Building E, Austin, TX 78704
Auditor
Grant Thornton LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$456K
vs $497K prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one FS8 unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $388,541
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: fitness
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $349K–$841K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $60K–$100K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

17%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$113K
EBITDA margin
29.0%
Total invested
$675K
Payback
72 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 FS8 units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$1.7M

on $8.5M purchase

Total debt

$6.8M

SBA $4.3M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

FS8 franchisees operate boutique fitness studios offering group training classes and personalized coaching. Day-to-day operations include managing class schedules, instructor staff, member retention, facility maintenance, and driving local marketing and membership sales to meet revenue targets.

CEO
Thomas Dowd
Founded
2020
FDD year
2026
States available
8

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$349K – $841K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$60K – $100K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$60K
Royalty
7.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$389K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$389K
Item 19 type
Historic
Sample size
7 units
vs category median 12
Range (low → high)
$292K$1.2M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank17th
vs Health & Fitness peers
Investment cost rank62th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank27th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank63th
vs Health & Fitness peers
Risk score rank53th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
31
Opened
24
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
97%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
Outlier (see FDD)
Likely small-sample artifact
3-yr CAGR
Outlier (see FDD)
Likely small-sample artifact
2024
30+25
Franchised units
2025
5
Franchised units
2026
3
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 14 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 14 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
8
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

62
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE62 / 100

FS8 presents elevated risk due to explosive unproven growth, non-disclosure of net income, litigation history tied to disclosure failures, and unclear unit-level profitability relative to high capital requirements.

Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to assess actual profitability despite $388K avg revenue
  2. 02MINORExplosive unit growth (500% YoY) suggests rapid expansion without proven unit economics or stability
  3. 03HIGHMultiple litigation matters and consent orders involving F45 affiliates indicate franchise disclosure/compliance issues
  4. 04MINOROfficer (Luke Armstrong) confidential settlement raises governance and transparency concerns
  5. 05MEDHigh initial investment ($349K–$840K) paired with undisclosed profitability creates misaligned risk/reward
  6. 06MINOR7% royalty on gross sales (not net) compounds pressure on thin fitness studio margins

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population-based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
5
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Texas

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
110 hrs
On-the-job training
10 hrs
POS system
MindBody
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

15 numbers

Locked
(401) 462-••••
RI
(317) 232-••••
IN
(518) 473-••••
NY

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

FS8 · FDD (2026) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above