People have mistaken Hailee Bland-Walsh’s new fitness truck as a party bus. In a way, it is.
“We’re like, ‘It’s a fitness party bus. That’s exactly what it is,’” said Fit Truk co-founder Bland-Walsh, who also owns Kansas City-based City Gym. “It has this edgy, cool, fun outside-the-box feeling that’s different than just going into the gym and getting a class or doing a workout.”
The converted ambulance is gray with lime green accents and features two flat screen LED displays, a solar panel system, weather-proof sound system and app-controlled LED lights to set the mood for outdoor workouts.
A variety of strength-training equipment is attached to the exterior and includes dip bars, a squat rack, a commercial cable station, pull-up bars and more. Small group classes are led by a certified personal trainer, and workouts can be modified based on an individual’s fitness level and experience. Co-founders Josh Guffey and Bland-Walsh already are building out a franchise model.
Dreaming up the idea
Guffey, a friend and personal trainer at City Gym, pitched the Fit Truk idea to Bland-Walsh about six years ago. He envisioned using the mobile gym to train firefighters and EMS personnel, but it wasn’t the right fit for Bland-Walsh. When the Covid-19 pandemic temporarily shut-down City Gym, the two began mulling the idea again.
“I was thinking creatively about ways to pivot the business and ways to disrupt the fitness industry, since I was pretty sure we were going to come back, but it was going to look very different,” she said.
Fit Truk, which debuted Aug. 20, offers small group classes and can be booked for private events, which have included bachelorette parties. The startup also is collaborating with Olathe-based Garmin Ltd. on workouts for employees and health fairs.
Designing the right outdoor fitness experience
Guffey and Bland-Walsh worked with a local fabricator and used their fitness industry experience to design an equipment storage system that offers easy set-up for personal trainers. The truck takes about 10 minutes to set up and five minutes to pack away.
“There’s nothing on the truck that the average, small-framed human being can’t set up,” she said. “If you have to have two guys unloading equipment off the truck, it’s not plausible to be running a business off of.”
Instead of heading to a coffee shop, franchisees can use the truck’s interior temperature-controlled office to respond to emails and schedule appointments.
Bland-Walsh views Fit Truk as a path to remove barriers in starting a fitness industry business. A row of eight treadmills in a typical gym can cost $80,000. Factor in long-term leases and utilities, and it becomes even tougher to break into the industry. She wants to give aspiring entrepreneurs greater opportunity to compete against the mega gyms.
“I do see this as the wave of the future of fitness, because people’s thresholds for being outside is higher than it’s ever been,” Bland-Walsh said.
Fit Truk can provide stability to gyms like Bland-Walsh’s that are navigating a pandemic that could easily shut them down again or make people hesitant to do indoor workouts.
“I have no idea what is next,” she said of Covid-19. “This gives me a way to solve some of these problems that I don’t even know are question marks yet. Who knows if we will get shut down again? If we do, we’ve got an answer for that. … This is just a way for small businesses to expand their footprint in the community. Instead of opening a second location, get a truck.”
