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BUILD YOUR FUTURE ON OUR STRENGTH

From humble beginnings in a Minnesota small town to more than 5,200+ locations on all seven continents, relentless innovation made Anytime Fitness a household name and industry phenomena. With over 20 years of category experience, we’re still growing strong and using our history to help Franchise Owners create the future they’ve always wanted.

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THE HEART OF SELF ESTEEM BRANDS

PURPOSE

Self Esteem Brands exists to improve the self-esteem of the world.

MISSION

We enrich the health, wealth and wellbeing of franchisees, consumers and employees through purpose-driven wellness franchises and services.

VISION

Our Self Esteem Brands vision is fueled by an outcome obsession. To deliver better health to our consumers, financial success to franchisees and whole growth development to employees.

CREATING COMMUNITY THROUGH OWNERSHIP

Vincent Gibbs, Franchise Co-Owner
Video transcript

THE STRENGTH BEHIND OUR BRAND

Our leadership team provides a stable foundation and keeps us growing.

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Chuck Runyon

CEO and Co-Founder of Self Esteem Brands

As the CEO and Co-founder of Self Esteem Brands—parent company to Anytime Fitness, Waxing the City, The Bar Method, Basecamp Fitness, and Stronger U—Chuck Runyon leads the largest franchise fitness operating company in the world with a growing global portfolio of brands that provides fitness, nutrition and wellness services that help millions of people worldwide improve their health and wellbeing. Runyon revolutionized the fitness industry in 2002, when he and David Mortensen co-founded Anytime Fitness. Today, with more than 5,000 franchise locations on all seven continents—more than half outside the U.S. in more than 30 countries—Anytime Fitness is the #1 fitness franchise in the world. Chuck and Dave were named the “2020 Entrepreneurs of the Year” by the International Franchise Association (IFA). Chuck is also a vocal advocate and lobbyist for fitness industry, which faced permanent closure rates in 2020 five times higher than the restaurant industry. He ensured the brands were leading voices through IHRSA, Fitness Industry Council of Canada, Community Gyms Coalition and more for standard health club safety and sanitation protocols as well as state, provincial and federal stimulus relief for owners. Central to Chuck’s leadership philosophy is the concept of ROEI –the return on emotional investment. He’s the co-author of Love Work: Inspire a high-performing work culture at the center of People, Purpose, Profits and Play®. He’s chair of the Runyon Family Foundation, as well as a member of the HeartFirst Charitable Foundation and the Hill Murray Foundation Board.

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Dave Mortensen

President and Co-founder of Self Esteem Brands

Dave Mortensen has done just about everything to be done in the fitness industry – including disrupting it. Today, as the president and co-founder of Self Esteem Brands—parent company to Anytime Fitness, Waxing the City, The Bar Method, Basecamp Fitness, and Stronger U —Dave leads a global collection of health and wellness brands intent upon improving the self-esteem and lives of millions of people worldwide. Dave has helped spur the company’s growth by overseeing the development and implementation of its integrated security, surveillance, usage-tracking and reciprocity systems. Today, he’s heavily involved in the evolution of the brands, utilizing the latest technology to provide members with support, nutritional information, and a wide array of coaching and training programs. He also oversees the expansion of the portfolio of brands worldwide. His heartfelt practice of emotional intelligence has earned Dave a reputation, amongst his co-workers and throughout the entire fitness industry, as a thoughtful and generous leader. He was named an Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and currently serves on the International Franchise Association (IFA) board of directors. He is also chair of the Mortensen Family Foundation, a member of the HeartFirst Charitable Foundation, and chairs the board of Treehouse Hope, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that serves teens and communities across the U.S.

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Stacy Anderson

Anytime Fitness Brand President

Stacy Anderson is responsible for the growth of key brands in the Self Esteem Brands portfolio that help people on their health and wellness journeys, in three ways: through personalized training and coaching via Anytime Fitness; through nutrition coaching and tracking via Stronger U Nutrition; and through their employer and insurer programs via Healthy Contributions. She has steered the growth and expansion of Anytime Fitness since 2016into the world’s largest fitness franchise brand, which serves more than 5million members at gyms across more than42 countries and territories and on all seven continents. She’s currently leading the evolution of Anytime Fitness from its pioneering 24/7 convenience model to a more personalized coaching approach, featuring new digital technologies and a broader selection of training programs and holistic health offerings. Stacy first joined Self Esteem Brands in 2012 as Chief Marketing Officer. In that role, Stacy oversaw all marketing functions for the Anytime Fitness and Waxing the City brands and quickly earned a reputation for moving big projects forward. Prior to Self Esteem Brands, Anderson held executive marketing positions at Best Buy and Geek Squad. Stacy is a member of the IHRSA board of directors, the world’s largest fitness industry association. She holds an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Her most notable accomplishment is raising two happy, outgoing teenagers –Noah and Aiden –with her husband, Trever.

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April Anslinger

CMO, Self Esteem Brands

As Chief Marketing Officer for Self Esteem Brands, April is more than a brand builder. She transforms and grows brands and the people behind them —keeping businesses and products globally relevant in ways that produce top-and bottom-line growth. She also masterfully builds highly efficient and effective marketing capabilities (including CRO, CRM, digital, branding, brand expression, strategy partnerships, public relations, and communications), setting her organizations apart from the competition. In 2023, her marketing and product teams earned globally-recognized creative honors, including a Cannes Bronze LION, for the “Anytime, Anytime” Super Bowl campaign for the Anytime Fitness brand. Prior to Self Esteem Brands, April was Senior Vice President and General Manager, North America Aveda at the Esteé Lauder Companies. She also has served as Chief Growth Officer at Schwan’s Foods and the Herbal Essences Global Brand Leader at Procter & Gamble(P&G). April prioritizes connecting with and mentoring other rising leaders (including her involvement in Executive Springboard and Chief) to help others build their confidence and forge their own fulfilling career paths. Her passion has been recognized by an award from Catalyst for her work with female retention and diversity leadership efforts during her time at Procter and Gamble. She also serves on the leadership council for Brand Innovators and has been recognized by the Minnesota 500, honoring the top business executives in the state. She holds an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and a BS from the University of Southern California.

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Jim Goniea

General Counsel, Self Esteem Brands

As General Counsel of Self Esteem Brands—parent company to Anytime Fitness, Waxing the City, The Bar Method, Basecamp Fitness, and Stronger U—Jim Goniea leads the team that helps the company and its brands navigate the wide range of domestic and international franchise and corporate laws that impact their collective license to operate.Jim, who joined Self Esteem Brands in 2017, has been practicing franchise law for more than three decades, largely in private practice representing some of the most prominent brands in franchising. He served as General Counsel for American Driveline Systems, Inc. from 2006 to 2012.He has been repeatedly recognized as a leader in the field of franchise law. Jim previously served on the governing committee of the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising and is a member of Franchise Times Magazine’s “Legal Eagle Hall of Fame.” He has published numerous articles and papers on the subject of franchise law, as well as two books: The Franchise Law Compliance Manual, 3d Ed. (co-editor) and Annual Franchise and Distribution Law Developments, 2012 (co-author). Jim received a J.D. with high honors in 1990 from Rutgers Law School and a B.F.A. with honors in 1985 from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

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John Pindred

CFO, Self Esteem Brands

As Chief Financial Officer of Self Esteem Brands, John Pindred leads the finance [“FUNance”] team that ensures the company’s portfolio of both consumer-facing brands and B2B businesses are well supported with accounting and finance talent, financial data, and business insights. He enjoys serving the company’s stakeholders –franchisees, master franchise partners, employees, suppliers, and shareholders –in the pursuit of its mission to improve the self-esteem of the world. John’s early career included experience turning “dirt to money” in the mining industry, first as a process engineer and later in treasury management and derivatives trading. Subsequent roles broadened his experience in consumer retail, with responsibilities including finance, supply chain, business development, financial planning and analysis, real estate, and capital markets. He has been recognized twice with CFO of the Year honors, first in 2013 by MBizin Michigan and again in 2019 by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. John previously served as the Treasurer of The James Fund, a non-profit serving orphan care needs and adoption support. He earned a Bachelor of Applied Science from Queen’s University in Canada, an MBA from the University of Arizona, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

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Matt Stanton

CDO, Self Esteem Brands

Matt Stanton leads franchise sales and development for Self Esteem Brands, which aims to reach 10,000 clubs and studios worldwide by 2030 for its fitness, health and wellness brands: Anytime Fitness, Basecamp Fitness, The Bar Method and Waxing the City. He leads the development team efforts to accelerate new franchise agreements and openings, grow existing markets, implement modernization and real estate optimization across operations, and grow multi-branded unit sales to diversify and strengthen SEB’s footprint. Prior to joining SEB in 2021, Matt was partner and chief growth officer at Mici Italian, leading the company’s corporate and franchise growth throughout the U.S. Prior to Mici, he led the growth efforts for WellBiz Brands, Inc. and their 800-plus unit portfolio of brands, including Drybar, Elements Massage, Amazing Lash, Radiant Wax, and Fitness Together. Matt also led the growth efforts for Smashburger, where he played a vital role in building the chain from less than 100 units in 2011 to more than 350 units by 2016 in 36 states and eight countries. He started his career as a growth strategy consultant with Bain & Company. Matt earned a B.A. from Bowdoin College, an M.A. in Analytical Chemistry from The University of Texas at Austin, and his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Matt enjoys Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training and mountain biking.

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FROM ONE CLUB IN MINNESOTA TO 5,000 GLOBAL LOCATIONS

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2002

First Anytime Fitness opens in Cambridge, Minnesota

2005

Halifax, Nova Scotia becomes the first Anytime Fitness outside of the United States

2009

1,000th AF location opened in Wake Village, Texas

2010

First Anytime Fitness opens in Japan. Today Japan is home to over 1,000 AF locations

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2012

After purchasing Waxing the City, Self Esteem Brands is formed, with a mission to “improve the self-esteem of the world”

2015

AF is ranked the #1 Overall Franchise on Entrepreneur Franchise 500

2019

Anytime Fitness opened on its seventh continent as an Antarctica location opens on the cruise ship Magellan Explorer

2020

Co-Founders Chuck Runyon and Dave Mortensen are awarded IFA Entrepreneurs of the Year Award

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2021

Self Esteem Brands acquire Stronger U Nutrition, a digital, personalized, nutrition-based health coaching services brand

2022

Anytime Fitness passes the four million member mark

2023

Anytime Fitness and Apple Fitness+ team up to create an unmatched personalized wellness experience

BUILD A STRONG FUTURE WITH US

Create your financial legacy with the world’s largest fitness franchise.

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