Fit Academy Is Opening a Second Location — And It’ll Include a Co-Working Space for Trainers

Osayi Osunde (pictured above) is looking to open Fit Academy Rittenhouse in early 2019. Photograph by Jared Piper Photo

Brewerytown’s Fit Academy is getting a second home in Rittenhouse, and it’s new location will be pretty familiar to Philly fitness lovers. The gym, owned by NFL alum and trainer Osayi Osunde, is currently in the process of building out a new studio on Chestnut Street — a space previously occupied by Body Cycle Studio.

While Fit Academy has long been known for their bodyweight-focused boot camps, silent boot camps, and personal training, Osunde is looking to bring a slightly different offering to this new location. After studying the industry and how fitness as a whole is changing in Philly, Osunde has adapted the business plan for Fit Academy’s second location in response to the market demands.

While the gym will still serve up killer bodyweight workouts in a third floor studio, the class sizes will be smaller — limited to 16 participants at a time. Meanwhile, personal training and semi-private training will be available in a second fitness space on the second floor of the new location.

But the biggest difference between the two Fit Academy locations will be the addition of a small co-working space at the new Fit Academy Rittenhouse. And before you start Googling membership rates, you should know this: Osunde plans to target the work space at trainers, to be a kind of “WeWork of fitness” he says.

The idea for the co-working space was inspired by the fact that Philly is now fully immersed in the gig economy, which means many trainers hop from studio to studio and client to client. And, seeing as Rittenhouse happens to be a hot spot for boutique fitness in Philly, Osunde wants to provide trainers a convenient place to stop, recharge for their next session, check emails, and collaborate with other like-minded fitness lovers. Plus, members of the Fit Academy co-working space will also have the option to meet and train clients in the brand-new gym.

The space is currently under renovation — Osunde says that though they’re taking over the Body Cycle Studio space, it’ll “feel different…There’s so much renovation that when we’re done, you’ll be like, Wait, is this Body Cycle?” But if all goes as planned, Osunde plans to have the new Fit Academy Rittenhouse up and running in the first quarter of 2019. 

Fit Academy Rittenhouse will be located at 1923 Chestnut Street. 

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