A fitness studio backed by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is bringing its gyms to Chicago and parts of Michigan.
Blink Fitness announced it's opening 20 locations in Chicago and Michigan as part of its first Midwestern expansion. The company launched in 2011 and has about 70 locations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California.
The Midwest expansion news coincided with an announcement that Green has made an investment in Blink. The basketball star, a native of Saginaw, Michigan and a player on Michigan State's basketball team, said in a statement that he's excited about bringing the gyms to his home state.
"I think about where I grew up and the people I grew up with. We didn't have anything like Blink," Green said. "Everyone wants a cool place to get fit and workout. But lots of communities don't have any options. The places are either terrible or too expensive. We're going to change that."
No official locations have been announced, but Blink says it's been exploring parts of Detroit, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Chicago for its first Midwest gyms.
Green's investment is the latest move from a Golden State Warrior in the startup space. Andre Iguodala has been one of the NBA's most frequent tech investors, backing more than 25 companies like Casper and Nerdwallet. Stephen Curry has a stake in Pinterest and he co-founded a marketing startup called Slyce. And Kevin Durant has invested in Postmates and investing platform Acorns.
