How IGNITE Fitness Holdings Built One of the Largest Planet Fitness Franchise Networks in North America

If you're a multi-unit operator, franchisor executive, or investor trying to figure out what disciplined, PE-backed growth actually looks like inside a franchise system, this conversation is a playbook. Pete Moore sits down with Joe Pepe Jr., CEO of IGNITE Fitness Holdings, one of the largest Planet Fitness franchisees in North America, for his first appearance on HALO Talks.

Pepe walks through three generations of decision-making: His father's leap from independent gym owner to one of Planet Fitness's earliest franchisees, his own path from GM to operator, and the operational rigor that comes with being a private-equity-backed platform today.

Who Is Joe Pepe Jr.?

Joe was named Chief Executive Officer of IGNITE Fitness Holdings in October 2025, after serving as the company's Chief Operating Officer since 2019. He joined the business in 2007, learning the operator side of Planet Fitness under CJ Bouchard (now CEO of Excel Fitness) in Raleigh, North Carolina, before returning to Connecticut to help grow his family's business. He holds an Executive MBA from Columbia Business School (2014-2016).

IGNITE's roots trace back to Joseph Pepe Sr., who spent more than four decades in the health club industry, including ownership of World Gym and Gold's Gym locations, before becoming one of Planet Fitness's first franchisees in 2003. IGNITE is headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, and today operates more than 140 Planet Fitness clubs across Connecticut, upstate New York, Tennessee, New Mexico, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.

The company was majority-acquired by Exaltare Capital Partners in 2012 and by TowerBrook Capital Partners in 2021.

From Family Business to Private Equity Platform

Pepe's father converted three Connecticut clubs to Planet Fitness in 2003, making the family's Norwalk location the eighth Planet Fitness in the brand's history. That early bet on a then-unproven, low-price, high-volume model set the tone for everything that followed.

Joe Jr. didn't start out planning to join the family business. After graduating college as an economics major in 2007, he was recruited by CJ Bouchard, a longtime family friend, to help open Planet Fitness locations in North Carolina. He worked as a general manager there before returning to Connecticut, where the company grew to 15 locations by 2012, the year it took on its first institutional capital from Exaltare Capital Partners.

"I think . . .you surround yourself with good people. You learn along the way," Pepe said of what made Planet Fitness a career rather than a job. "It's a resilient brand that I'm really proud to be a part of."

From 15 locations in 2012, the company grew to roughly 108 by the time TowerBrook Capital Partners acquired it in 2021, split roughly evenly between acquisitions and new construction. Today the count is more than 140.

Key Takeaways for Operators and Investors

1. Capital is an accelerant, not a strategy. Pepe is clear that private equity ownership didn't change the underlying question every operator has to answer: Where does capital generate the best return? What changes is the speed and the governance around that decision, with a board, defined return timelines, and a "test and learn" approach where the best idea wins.
2. The franchisee network is a genuine competitive advantage. IGNITE leans heavily on Planet Fitness's independent franchisee council and franchisor-led committees on marketing, real estate, site selection, and human capital. Pepe credits that peer network, not just corporate support, for a lot of the system's collective evolution.
3. Local marketing spend doesn't get cut after the grand opening. IGNITE continues to invest in local marketing year-round rather than front-loading it around a launch. The company has also built a marketing mix model to get smarter about where local dollars are allocated, without pulling back overall spend.
4. Acquisitions are becoming a real growth lever, not just greenfield. Pepe describes a shift in how Planet Fitness corporate views franchisee-to-franchisee acquisitions: increasingly encouraged, where a few years ago they were more the exception. IGNITE evaluates acquisitions on membership overlap, real estate quality, and whether consolidating locations in a market makes more sense than a new build.
5. Selling to a buyer who understands what you built matters. Having been on the seller side of a transaction himself in 2012, Pepe says trust and integrity carry as much weight as price for owners considering a sale, particularly when employees who've been there for decades are part of the equation.
6. Internal promotion is treated as core infrastructure, not a nice-to-have. IGNITE has built a defined path from front desk to GM to district manager to regional director, with dedicated investment from its operations and human capital teams, plus system-wide town halls to keep 140-plus locations connected to one culture.
7. The fundamentals still decide outcomes. Pepe points to a short list of "non-negotiables" that IGNITE holds every club to regardless of scale: A genuine hello and goodbye, learning members' names, store cleanliness, and functioning equipment.

Marketing at Scale: Why IGNITE Doesn't Pull Back

A theme Pete presses on is how much Planet Fitness invests locally, beyond the national ad fund tied to moments like the Times Square New Year's Eve broadcast. Pepe frames continuous local marketing as core to Planet Fitness's brand promise as "the gym for the first-time gym-goer," a segment he believes is still underserved.

He also points to tailwinds he's watching in the category, including GLP-1 medications and growing consumer interest in recovery and wellness technology, as reasons awareness of fitness is rising, even though he's careful to note that awareness alone doesn't replace the work members still have to do.

The Shift Toward M&A in the Planet Fitness System

Pete and Pepe discuss a trend other HALO Talks guests have touched on: Independent operators, often without a succession plan, increasingly selling to scaled area developers rather than continuing to invest in aging clubs or facing new competition. Pepe describes IGNITE's M&A approach as low-pressure and relationship-driven, built on conversations at industry panels and with competitors IGNITE already knows. He points to lease expirations, owner liquidity needs, and competitive site consolidation as the situations that most often lead to a deal.

Two recent examples came up in the conversation from elsewhere in the Planet Fitness system: A 2025 acquisition of five former Gold's Gym locations (rebranded Fitness Projects) in Houston, and Excel Fitness's acquisition of Texas Family Fitness in the Dallas market, led by CJ Bouchard.

"You want to sell to somebody who's going to take your baby and do good things with it," Pepe said, describing what he believes sellers are really looking for in a buyer.

Where IGNITE Operates

IGNITE's footprint is concentrated in the Northeast, with roughly 80 locations across Connecticut and upstate New York (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany.) The company also operates in Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee; the Albuquerque, New Mexico area; and roughly 25 locations across the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, with additional clubs in other U.S. markets.

Chapter Timestamps

• 00:00 - Introduction: Joe Pepe Jr.'s first HALO Talks appearance
• 00:55 - The Pepe family's roots in the health club industry
• 03:43 - Joe Jr.'s path into the business, starting in Raleigh, NC
• 07:27 - What made Planet Fitness a career, not just a job
• 10:32 - Independent operator mindset vs. private-equity-backed growth
• 12:41 - Sharing best practices across the Planet Fitness franchisee network
• 14:22 - Why IGNITE keeps investing in local marketing year-round
• 16:44 - Building an internal talent pipeline and promoting from within
• 19:38 - The shift toward M&A vs. greenfield growth in the Planet Fitness system
• 23:28 - IGNITE's footprint: Northeast, Tennessee, New Mexico, and Western Canada
• 25:07 - What it takes to earn a seller's trust
• 27:16 - Growing leaders across the IGNITE organization

Resources

• IGNITE Fitness Holdings
• Planet Fitness Independent Franchisee Council
• More HALO Talks conversations with Planet Fitness operators: CJ Bouchard, CEO of Excel Fitness
• Omar Simmons, Exaltare Capital Partners, HALO Talks Episode #190

Curious how private equity can accelerate growth in your own health, active lifestyle, or outdoor business? Talk to Integrity Square about what institutional capital could mean for your next stage of growth.