Local Fitness Start-Up Might Step into the Big Leagues

Billed as “the MoviePass of travel fitness,” a new local start-up looks to provide the convenience of your local gym while you traveling.

The story of Chapel Hill-based start-up LocalFit begins with five former college — or professional — athletes with a shared experience: they all had found it difficult to find good gym and fitness club options while traveling.

The group came together in September 2017 at Chapel Hill start-up incubator Launch, and now LocalFit is almost two month into their full production launch.

Members pay a monthly subscription of $9.95 and receive a LocalFit card in the mail that can be used at a select list of health clubs 35 miles away or farther from the user’s home. The debit card, provided through LocalFit’s partnership with MasterCard, can then be used at more than 5,000 gyms and fitness clubs in the continental US and Hawaii.

Co-founders Rob Gilliam and Andrew Carignan played professional baseball — but after suffering career-ending injuries, they returned to UNC to finish out their undergraduate careers. Classes in entrepreneurship helped them cultivate the early version of their idea, and they then connected with fellow founders Tom Sheldon, a former UNC football punter, Ian Phillips and Lee Gilliam. The group then moved into Launch as a part of the seventh iteration of start-ups accepted into the program.

That was an important step, according to the LocalFit team. According to Sheldon, the group especially benefited from the collaborative environment they found there.

“It’s a community. That’s the word that strikes me the most from going through Launch,” said Sheldon. “And it’s the EIRs and the mentors and all that stuff, but its also each companies you go through with, because their right there next to you the whole time. Growing with you and growing there own business. Everyone is very friendly and willing top help out however they can. “

Moving forward, the LocalFit team has their eye on the prize: membership numbers. According to Carignan, if LocalFit can reach 2,000 monthly subscribers before seeking substantial funding, that a good sign this idea is worth seeking investment for.

“Then at that point, we’re like ‘this isn’t just an idea.'” said Carignan. “This is a model that has some proof to it. From there we can take the gloves off, essentially.”

Local Fitness Start-Up Might Step into the Big Leagues

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