Crunch Fitness Appoints John Kersh as Managing Director of International Development

Kersh brings to Crunch over 25 years of experience, strategy, and international development in fitness and franchising

NEW YORK, May 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Crunch Fitness, a leading high-value, low-price gym, today announces the appointment of John Kersh as the company’s Managing Director of International Development. The addition comes as Crunch Fitness emphasizes global expansion, and Kersh will be integral to opening more Crunch gyms across the globe.

Kersh brings over 25 years of experience in the fitness and franchising business and has previously held the Chief International Development Officer role at Xponential Fitness. In this role, he was responsible for the global expansion of all Xponential Fitness brands like Pure Barre, Club Pilates, CycleBar, StretchLab, Row House, and Rumble. Before Xponential, John held executive development roles for Self-Esteem Brands, franchisor of Anytime Fitness, and IHRSA, the health and fitness industry’s trade association. At Crunch, Kersh will be responsible for the brand’s international expansion strategy, identifying global growth franchise partners, and ultimately bringing Crunch’s legendary brand experience to new markets worldwide.

“With John’s exceptional background in the fitness industry, his addition to Crunch opens the door for even more opportunity when it comes to growing our brand on a global scale, which is something we are highly focused on,” says Jim Rowley, CEO of Crunch Worldwide. “With a proven track record of great success, we’re looking forward to seeing John set new standards for growth and drive Crunch forward globally in his new role.”

“In terms of expansion, Crunch has been crushing it over the past 12 months, with the company set up for even more success and growth through 2024,” said Chequan Lewis, President of Crunch. “Having John join our team is another step in the right direction.  We’re keeping a foot on the gas pedal as we look to drive new openings, both domestically and internationally. John is highly qualified to direct Crunch’s international expansion and grow our global reach.”

Crunch has long been a global brand, with gyms in Canada, Spain, Portugal, Australia, and more. Uniquely positioned to experience significant growth in the industry and now led by Kersh’s deep knowledge of global markets, Crunch will expand into new markets around the world.

Crunch is experiencing a milestone year in 2024, ranking first in fitness and #29 overall in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500®, celebrating its 35^th anniversary, and pushing towards 3 million members and over 500 club locations in 2024.

Crunch is currently evaluating several franchisee partners globally. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to [email protected]. 

Crunch is a gym that believes in making serious exercise fun by fusing fitness and entertainment and pioneering a philosophy of ‘No Judgments.’ Crunch serves a fitness community for all kinds of people with all types of goals, exercising all different ways, working it out at the same place together. Today, we are renowned for creating one-of-a-kind group fitness classes and unique programming for our wildly diverse members. Headquartered in New York City, Crunch serves 2.5 million members with over 460 gyms worldwide in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and Spain. Crunch is rapidly expanding across the U.S. and around the globe.

SOURCE Crunch Fitness