Q&A with Shaun Grove, CEO of STRIDE Fitness

Original article published on City Biz

Shaun Grove is CEO of STRIDE Fitness and a seasoned boutique fitness executive known for transforming emerging studio concepts into nationally scalable franchise brands. Over the course of his career, he has uniquely served as a franchise attorney, franchisor, franchisee, and corporate executive, giving him a comprehensive understanding of what drives sustainable growth in the fitness industry. He is widely recognized for leading the rapid expansion of Club Pilates from 25 locations to more than 700 studios worldwide, helping establish it as one of the largest Pilates franchises globally.

Prior to acquiring STRIDE Fitness in 2024, Grove served as President of Rumble Boxing and played a key role in the creation and expansion of Xponential Fitness. Today, he is leading STRIDE through its next phase of national growth, anchored by the opening of its corporate headquarters and flagship studio in Huntington Beach. With nearly two decades of experience in franchise leadership, operations, and brand development, Grove is focused on building a premium, performance-driven fitness concept designed for long-term scalability and impact.

Tell us about your professional background and what ultimately led you to take the helm at STRIDE Fitness?

I began my career as a franchise law attorney, assisting companies with starting up their franchise businesses. I took a short detour in my 30s to pursue a dream of becoming an FBI Agent – which was the reason I went to law school in the first place. The FBI decided to move me from Southern California to Boston and that ended my FBI journey, but brought me to a company called LA Boxing, where I became the in-house General Counsel. After a year at LA Boxing, I became a franchisee of the brand and opened 4 studio locations over a 3 year period. LA Boxing was sold to UFC Gym and I left my position as General Counsel and was enjoying life as a multi-unit franchisee.

About a year later, I was invited to join Anthony Geisler, who previously owned LA Boxing, as President of a new company he acquired called Club Pilates. We built the Club Pilates brand from 25 locations to over 475 locations in two years and then partnered with a private equity company to form an umbrella holding company called Xponential Fitness. For several years, Xponential Fitness acquired new boutique fitness brands and I remained the President of Club Pilates, driving that brand to over 700 locations open worldwide. In 2021, Xponential Fitness acquired the Rumble Boxing brand and I moved over to run that brand. We grew the Rumble Boxing brand to over 350 locations sold before I left Xponential Fitness in 2024 and acquired the STRIDE Fitness brand. 

While with Xponential Fitness, I’d been watching the STRIDE Fitness brand for years and saw a distinct hole in that treadmill-based HIIT and strength training space overall – looking at similar concepts like Orange Theory Fitness, F45 and Barrys – that I knew STRIDE Fitness could fill if the concept was modified and rebranded. Over the past two years, that is exactly what I have done. I brought on a very experienced and talented team, many with Club Pilates DNA, to help bring my vision to life – and the end result is an amazing concept that is going to redefine the boutique fitness landscape for many years to come.      

You began your career as an attorney and even trained briefly with the FBI before entering fitness. How did that unconventional path shape your approach to leadership and franchising?

There is no doubt that the critical thinking skills, the discipline, the self-confidence, self-trust and integrity developed from my legal training and my FBI experience have played a tremendous role in my approach to leadership and franchising overall, but I think it goes even further back to my years of playing and leading team sports. I have played organized team sports since I was 5 years old. I played football in high school, college and professionally for a few years in Europe.

I believe that it was really those early years of being a part of a team and learning when to take control, when to compromise and how to win as a collective unit that really forged my approach and attitude towards leadership and franchising. With that said, my experiences as an attorney and in the FBI definitely helped to hone and refine those skills, which today lead to a pretty simple approach – I give my team the autonomy to make well-informed decisions and run their departments, but provide enough oversight and support to ensure that they never feel alone on an island or make catastrophic mistakes.

I treat my franchisees like partners and create a culture of support within my corporate team – understanding that everything we do must be “franchisee-first” focused in order for the overall system to be successful. 

You played a key role in scaling Club Pilates from 25 locations to more than 700 worldwide. What were the most important lessons you learned during that period of hypergrowth?

In retrospect, I think one of the most important things I learned from that experience was that scaling a franchise system to that level was less about actual growth and territory sales tactics and more about institutionalizing consistency, repeatability, discipline, control and capital efficiency. Developing a strong and dedicated corporate team and rock solid processes and procedures was critical to reaching that level of success.

There are franchise systems out there that sell hundreds of franchise territories but never successfully get the units open, or fail to manage to keep them open – primarily because they didn’t create the infrastructure needed to adequately support the growth. I learned that if the franchisees don’t trust that the franchisor is looking out for their best interests, then there will be no validation, no franchisees buying additional territories and the system will stop growing – and in all likelihood begin shrinking.

We recognized these growing pains early on in our development phase and were able to create a strong franchise engine that supported our franchise partners through this period of hypergrowth and nourished that franchisor/franchisee relationship.  

As someone who has been a franchise attorney, franchisor, and franchisee, how does that multi-perspective experience influence how you support STRIDE’s franchise partners today? 

Having been a franchisee and knowing what it truly means to need a franchisor’s support in order to be successful – and at times not getting it – has had an incredible influence on the level of support and attention that I provide to STRIDE Fitness franchisees. I treat my franchisees like partners and make sure that my team understands that supporting them to be successful is mission critical – our success as a franchise company is directly correlated with the success of their studios. We can’t scale and grow unless we have satisfied and successful franchise partners alongside us. 

For readers who may not be familiar, what is STRIDE Fitness and what differentiates it from other boutique fitness concepts in a competitive market?

Every STRIDE Fitness class is coach-led, driven by high energy music, video guided movements and powered by performance-tracking technology. 50% of the class is spent on state-of-the-art Woodway treadmills and 50% of the class is spent on our custom-made Beaverfit weight benches that contain all of the weights, balls and bands needed for the class. As a result, you get an amazing mix of cardio and strength training in every class.

Further differentiating us, every STRIDE Fitness studio has a Recovery Zone that features self-guided stretching, myo-facial release, anti-gravity heated massage chairs, and air-compression massage technology powered by Hyperice. At STRIDE Fitness we’ve created a concept that seamlessly blends high-intensity cardio and strength training with intentional recovery. I believe it’s a truly unique concept in the market that sits at the intersection of fitness performance and health longevity.  

STRIDE recently opened its corporate headquarters and flagship studio in Huntington Beach. What does this milestone represent for the brand’s long-term vision?

Our new corporate office and flagship studio in Huntington Beach represents a foundational home for the brand. We will utilize this facility as a “showroom” for prospective franchise partners who join us for Discovery Days. We will use it as a “test kitchen” for new class formats and new equipment offerings that we might roll out to the system, and we will utilize it to welcome our new franchise partners back for training. We plan to open hundreds of new STRIDE Fitness studios over the next several years and this new facility will be the central operating homebase for the brand.   

Boutique fitness has experienced major shifts post-pandemic. What trends are you seeing in consumer behavior, and how is STRIDE positioned to meet those changes?

I think one of the most obvious things we learned from the pandemic was that fitness consumers desire the community that boutique fitness facilities provide. At-home workouts and virtual offerings worked for consumers for a short-time, but once studios and gyms were able to re-open, consumers returned in droves. In this post-pandemic environment, we’ve seen that consumers desire not just the community that is created but now expect a fun, energetic fitness “experience” from our classes.

In this world of ClassPass “snackers” it is difficult for a boutique fitness studio to attract longstanding members and if you are not at the forefront of innovation and utility, you will be tried and then left in the dust by today’s consumer. At STRIDE Fitness we engage with our members and meet them where they are in their fitness and wellness journey. We listen to their wants and needs and help them to achieve their goals in a fun, inclusive and experience-driven class environment.     

What is your strategy for balancing rapid national expansion with maintaining a consistent, high-quality member experience?

Member experience and franchise partner success will always be paramount at STRIDE Fitness. We are extremely discerning about the quality and character of the franchise partners we bring into our system and ensure that they are aligned with our mission and vision for the brand.

Additionally, we have a very robust recruiting and training program at the studio level from sales and operations to our coaches that helps to ensure that every studio and every class is conducted according to our high expectations for concierge-level member service and quality. We have a very knowledgeable and mature corporate team that has experienced rocketship type growth at other brands and understand the level of support that is required in order to achieve success. Nevertheless, we will never sacrifice high-quality member experience for rapid growth.   

What qualities do you look for in prospective franchise partners as STRIDE continues to grow?

I’ve had the privilege of meeting thousands of franchise owners throughout my career. During that time, I’ve seen franchise partners who look great on paper and should be incredibly successful, who fail. Conversely, I’ve seen franchise partners with zero experience and no business acumen flourish. As a result, I’ve found that the qualities or characteristics that make the most successful franchise partners, and those that I look for in a prospective franchise partner, are intrinsic rather than experiential.

I look for commitment, discipline, openmindedness, ability to take direction and execute on a plan. I’ve found that the most successful franchise partner is the one who comes into the system with no ego and no preconceived notions of how the business should be operated. I look for a blank canvass that will follow my paint by numbers approach.       

Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, what are your top priorities for STRIDE Fitness?

We have lofty goals for 2026 and beyond in terms of territory growth and solid studio development. Regardless of that, our top priority for STRIDE Fitness will always be member experience – figuring out how we improve daily to make the STRIDE Fitness experience the best one-hour of our members’ day, everyday. Ruminating over ways in which we can enhance our offerings to meet our members needs and desires at every studio across the country.

We know that the boutique fitness landscape is becoming more and more competitive every year so it is our priority to remain relevant and malleable for our members. We understand the importance of fitness and recovery in our everyday lives – from the seasoned athlete to the stay at home mom. STRIDE Fitness is dedicated to providing a safe and inclusive space for everyone to achieve both and live their best life.  

Written by: Win Warfield, City Biz