Popular nationwide gym chain offering $40 memberships files for bankruptcy

Blink Fitness, the popular national chain of affordable gyms, has filed for bankruptcy.

Blink Fitness, owned by luxury gym chain Equinox, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District of Delaware, according to a statement. Bloomberg on Mondays.

The company, which operates 101 gyms nationwide, is seeking to be allowed to continue operating while it works out a plan to pay creditors.

In his petition, he listed assets and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million each.

Blink Fitness CEO Guy Harkless said company leaders had decided that filing for bankruptcy was the best way forward.

“Over the past several months, we have been focused on strengthening Blink’s financial foundation and positioning the business for long-term success,” Harkless said.

“We thank our entire corporate and gym team for their continued dedication to our members, as well as our suppliers and partners for their ongoing support. We look forward to emerging from this process as an even stronger company.”

Despite the move, Blink says it has seen a 40 percent increase in revenue over the past two years.

The gym reportedly has more than 300,000 members.

Blink was founded in 2011 in New York City; according to its website, its memberships range in price from $15 to $40 per month.

The gym’s parent company, Equinox, has struggled to recover since the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced several gyms into bankruptcy.

Equinox received $1.8 billion to refinance earlier this year.

Gyms and fitness studios were among the hardest-hit businesses during the pandemic, hit by closures and then limits on the number of people they could allow in for classes and workouts.

Unlike bars, restaurants and concert venues, no specific federal aid was granted to health clubs.

Twenty-five percent of U.S. health clubs and studios have closed permanently since the pandemic began, according to the National Health & Fitness Alliance, an industry group.