ISI Elite Training Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $397K – $682K
- Disclosed sales
- $444K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 41 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
ISI Elite Training is a boutique fitness franchise offering coached, athletic-style group training for adults. Franchisees run the studios, managing coaches, class scheduling, and membership growth.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A ISI Elite Training franchise requires a total initial investment of $397K – $682K, including a $10K – $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $444K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $397K – $682K
- 73rd pct Health & Fitn…
- Avg gross sales
- $444K
- Combined outlet types16th pct Health & Fitn…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 37th pct Health & Fitn…
- Units
- 42
- 67th pct Health & Fitn…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Health & Fitness · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Health & Fitness median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $397K – $682K including a $60K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $444K/year (combines different outlet types in one figure).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 61/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +18 franchised outlets in the latest year (18 opened, 0 closed); 23 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- FLAGItem 4 discloses a bankruptcy of an officer or of a company an officer ran, not of the franchisor. Review Item 4 for details.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- ISI Franchise International, Inc.
- Parent company
- Relentless Brands, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2024 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Adam Rice
- Incorporated in
- SC
- HQ
- 5601 77 Center Drive, Suite 215, Charlotte, North Carolina 28217
- Auditor
- Divine, Blalock, Martin & Sellari, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.7M
- vs $2.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Relentless Brands
- Plunge House Franchising
- Human Nutrition
- Tattle Marketing
- Relentless Project Management
- Relentless Retail
- Relentless Marketing
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Adam Rice
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2018
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 13
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 37% above the typical health & fitness franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $40K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $297K | $572K |
| Total initial investment | $397K | $682K |
Source: ISI Elite Training 2024 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $397K – $682K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $50K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $60K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $750 |
| Training fee | $7K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $4K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the health & fitness norm.
Combines different outlet types in one figure
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for ISI Elite Training until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$584K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one ISI Elite Training unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Combines different outlet types in one figure
- Avg gross sales
- $444K
- Per unit, per year
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue by tier
- Sample size
- 27 outlets
- vs category median 11 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $191K→$824KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 75 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 173 Health & Fitness brands
Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $444K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.8x. Combines different outlet types in one figure.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% (near the Health & Fitness median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 233.3% CAGR over 3 years across 42 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Health & Fitness medians
How ISI Elite Training Compares
Category median of published Health & Fitness brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 42
- Opened
- 18
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 95%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 2
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 23
- 0.55 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 23
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 5.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 9 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).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Michigan
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
26 current owners across 9 states.
- NC 10
- SC 6
- FL 3
- MD 2
- CA 1
- GA 1
- IN 1
- TN 1
- WI 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 32 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 41
- Loan volume
- $12.1M
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 41 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 41 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 41 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 41 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 11
- Defaults
- 2
- Typical loan rate
- 9.3%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 15.8%
- n=7,965 loans
- Jobs supported
- 445
- 3.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 66%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in fitness and recreational sports centers, franchised businesses charge off at 15.8% vs 18.2% for independents — franchising is associated with 13% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing ISI Elite Training franchisees
Showing 3 of 11 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for ISI Elite Training from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 3.2%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 68%
- Avg interest rate
- 9.30%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $195K
- Lender concentration
- 65.8%
- Job velocity
- 3.7 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 12.5%
- NAICS 713940
- Jobs supported
- 445
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 66% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | 27 | $6.8M | 66.7% |
| 2 | United Community Bank | 3 | $738K | 0.0% |
| 3 | Cadence Bank | 2 | $885K | 0.0% |
| 4 | First Bank of the Lake | 2 | $532K | N/A |
| 5 | Security Federal Bank | 1 | $446K | N/A |
| 6 | First Commonwealth Bank | 1 | $356K | N/A |
| 7 | River Bank & Trust | 1 | $205K | N/A |
| 8 | Newtek Bank, National Association | 1 | $550K | N/A |
| 9 | SouthState Bank, National Association | 1 | $798K | N/A |
| 10 | Dogwood State Bank | 1 | $390K | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCNorth Carolina | 18 | 0 | 0.0% |
| SCSouth Carolina | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| TXTexas | 4 | 0 | -- |
| GAGeorgia | 3 | 0 | -- |
| FLFlorida | 2 | 0 | -- |
| OHOhio | 2 | 0 | -- |
| PAPennsylvania | 2 | 0 | -- |
| WIWisconsin | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| ALAlabama | 1 | 0 | -- |
| AZArizona | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
ISI Elite Training presents moderate-to-high risk due to undisclosed profitability data, franchisor financial concerns, and explosive growth that may outpace operational support infrastructure.
Why this reads harsher than the B grade: the grade weighs financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency across the whole filing, while this summary lists individual flags without that weighting. The flags are worth checking with current owners; neither is investment advice.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Subject: an officer. An officer’s own bankruptcy or a company an officer ran, not the franchisor’s
Cruz Parmer, Director of Real Estate and Construction for Relentless Brands LLC, filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy (Case No. 21-55237-jwc, N.D. Georgia) on July 13, 2021; discharged October 22, 2021.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Divine, Blalock, Martin & Sellari, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total revenue of $2,657,822.42 for fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, per franchisor's most recent audited financial statements (cited in Item 6). Rebates received were $110,875.12 (4.17% of total revenue); tech fees were $409,298 (16%). Audited financial statements (Exhibit H) balance-sheet detail not present in extractable text (image-based exhibit).
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 61 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed — unable to assess actual franchisee profit margins after 7% royalty + operating costs
- 02MINORHigh unit growth (81.8% YoY) may indicate aggressive recruitment over sustainable support — quality vs. quantity concern
- 03MINOR10-year term is extended lock-in with 7% royalty on gross (not net) — high ongoing cost structure
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 3 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | NC |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 119 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 39 hrs
- Training location
- Charlotte, North Carolina (corporate headquarters) and virtual
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 10 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- MindBody
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: MindBody
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
58 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a ISI Elite Training franchise?
The total investment to open a ISI Elite Training franchise ranges from $397K – $682K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do ISI Elite Training franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the ISI Elite Training FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $444K. Important context: Combines different outlet types in one figure. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns ISI Elite Training?
ISI Elite Training is franchised by ISI Franchise International, Inc.. Its parent company is Relentless Brands, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the ISI Elite Training FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the ISI Elite Training FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is ISI Elite Training's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for ISI Elite Training (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many ISI Elite Training franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, ISI Elite Training has 42 total units in the United States, including 40 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 18 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is ISI Elite Training a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates ISI Elite Training as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 61 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.