From home-business to billion-dollar fitness empire | Orangetheory Fitness’ meteoric rise to the top

Life-changing. Addicting. Intense. These are just a few words that have been used to describe Orangetheory – the fitness studio known for its science-backed, technology-tracked, coach-inspired workouts. The franchise has taken the world by storm – in just eight years, it has amassed a million members, expanded to over 1,100 locations around the world, and has crossed a threshold that very few businesses manage to reach: exceeding $1 billion in revenue in a single year. But what is it that fueled Orangetheory’s rise to the top of an industry that is so full of competition?

In this episode of the peak performance season, we are bringing you to Business Mastery – where you have a front-row seat at the Masters of Disruption panel. At this panel, Tony spoke with Ellen Latham, the creator and co-founder of Orangetheory Fitness. You’ll also hear a bit from Danny Meyer, founder of Union Square Hospitality Group and creator of Shake Shack, as he participates in the panel, and even asks Ellen a question toward the end.

As you'll soon find out, Ellen’s energy is boundless, and certainly infectious. And it was this very energy, in combination with her creativity, determination and pure grit, that got her through the most difficult time of her life – a time when she was laid off her job, out of work and a single mother to her 9-year old son. She tells Tony about her bulletproof mindset during that time, and the sports psychology technique she used to turn what could have been a massive break-down – into the massive break-through that led her to create Orangetheory fitness.

Orangetheory offers heart rate-based workouts, built around the physiological concept of excess-post-exercise oxygen consumption, or E.P.O.C., where the body continues to burn calories at a higher rate even after the workout is over. But behind the science of Orangetheory is something far less measurable, but just as powerful: its raving fan culture. Ellen reveals to Tony how she and her partners have strategically built an army of fiercely loyal clients – and what they’ve done to scale this culture across the globe.