Mark Mastrov buys back 24 Hour Fitness — and says the playbook is "simplification".
In the most-watched deal of the quarter, Mark Mastrov has reacquired the brand he founded in 1983 as 24-Hour Nautilus, partnering with LongRange Capital to take control of a portfolio of 40,000 sq ft-plus clubs averaging US$1-a-day memberships and 2,000–3,000 daily workouts per site. For GCC operators, every lever Mastrov intends to pull — recovery zones, Pilates, ancillary spend, staff investment, GX24 class variety — is a lever GymNation has already identified.
What Mastrov actually said
Mastrov describes the post-bankruptcy, Carl Samson-stabilised business he bought back as "a really nice portfolio of clubs that are performing well" — clubs that "just need to improve and enhance them and then infill around them a little." He is explicit that pricing will move up, not down: "Our pricing is solid. We're not planning to reduce prices — we're more likely to increase them."
He frames the industry's tailwind as a mix of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs — "ordinary people are gravitating to us, whether because of GLP-1s, where they need to do resistance training as they lose weight" — and longevity culture among younger members who "understand that longevity has to be built through health and fitness early on."
I've built and developed in close to 60 countries and if a deal sounds interesting, we'll listen. — Mark Mastrov, CEO, 24 Hour Fitness (HCM Issue 3 2026, p55)
What he'll add: recovery, Pilates, community
"We'll add additional amenities, mostly around recovery, to enhance the member experience. This is the one area the team hasn't been able to invest in as aggressively as they wanted," Mastrov told Terry. On Pilates: "Yes, we plan to. There are a lot of Pilates studios around, so while consumers may want to come into the gym and take Pilates, they also want the full boutique experience." On equipment, he name-checks Core, Johnson/Matrix, Panatta, Gym80 and Skelcore as favoured commercial-grade partners.
His community thesis is the strongest strategic statement in the interview: "Fitness is the third place. You've got home, work and the gym. Howard Schultz would say it's Starbucks, but these days the third place is fitness. People come to the gym before Starbucks." That reframing — gym as civic infrastructure, not discretionary spend — anchors every Gulf market GymNation operates in.
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