Florida-based exercise franchise Orangetheory Fitness has expanded into Connecticut, opening the state”™s first studio in Fairfield with a lawyer/first-time franchisee at the helm.
Orangetheory now has a presence in 26 states.
The new studio at 525 Tunxis Hill Cut-Off is owned and operated by first-time franchisee Mark Molina. The facility opened Oct. 24 with 5:30 a.m. classes.
“I”™m thrilled to be opening the very first Orangetheory Fitness studio in Connecticut,” Molina said in a statement. “OTF gives me the opportunity to positively affect people”™s lives through fitness ”“ the results of this workout across the country are astonishing. I am excited to get up every day and get to work and am so proud of my new studio and the product we offer.”
Molina spent 20 years as a corporate and business lawyer working principally as the chief legal officer for a number of private and publically traded high-tech companies nationally. He became intrigued with Orangetheory after trying a workout at the franchise”™s Denver facility, according to an Orangetheory press release.
Molina signed his franchisee agreement in April and began construction on the Fairfield location in August. The studio was completed after six weeks of construction and build-out.
The company said in the press release, “Backed by the science of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, Orangetheory”™s heart-rate-monitored training is designed to maintain a target zone that stimulates metabolism and increases energy.” It is billed as high-intensity, interval fitness training.
Orangetheory Fitness has plans to continue expansion regionally with additional openings planned for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. There are now more than 130 Orangetheory franchises with a business plan for 500 by 2017, the company reported.
