Visit to Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC

I met Mark Fisher at a birthday party recently. His company sounded cool, so I went to visit.

When you call Mark Fisher Fitness late at night and nobody answers the phone, you’re presented with a standard menu tree:

• Press 1 for Sales,
• Press 2 for Membership,
• Press 8 to enter a magical world where cookies have no calories.

Counter-culture audience marketing is strong here! I love it

I visited the studios for a free tour, which you can book online. I saw three connected fitness spaces that they occupy in Midtown West: the main area, the Dragon’s Den, and Snatch Studios.

Window displays at 411 W 39th Street, New York, NY 10018

Snatch is the most popular program offered by Mark Fisher Fitness, and this is where it all began. (Could perhaps be compared to Museum Hack‘s VIP Night tours?) This program costs $279 x3 and is a 6 week ass-kicking fitness program.

Mark Fisher Fitness office decor features two strong colors: Neon Green and Hot Pink

I’m interested in Mark’s company because:

• Similar marketing as Museum Hack. Where Museum Hack’s tagline is “Not your Grandma’s museum tour,” Mark Fisher Fitness says, “Hate going to the gym? Check us out.”
• Profitable bootstrapped business. Mark and his partner haven’t taken outside funding. They’re profitable and growing.
• Consulting services: their new focus on Business For Unicorns is extremely interesting and I think it can be a “big fucking deal” for them.

Customers signed this wall after they completed an intensive workout program

Company Facts

Founder: Mark Fisher
Founded in: 2011
Number of employees: 33 (maybe? as of late 2015)
Annual revenue: $3.3 million in 2014

• 2013: Mark Fisher Fitness Celebrates Two Years of Unicorn Glory, Mark is a great writer and this random post I stumbled upon distills some of their early success secrets.

Fun Facts

• Tagline: “Ridiculous Humans. Serious Fitness.”
• Mark Fisher began by training people in the entertainment industry, such as broadway actors, to help them prepare for the physical demands of roles they’d be playing.
• Customers are called ninjas.
• It’s not called a gym. It is an “Enchanted Ninja Clubhouse of Glory and Dreams!”
• This establishment has an official mascot, and it is a unicorn.

More Links

• HOME PAGE: Mark Fisher Fitness, possibly NSFW
• Business For Unicorns, a Service Culture consulting arm of Mark Fisher Fitness
• INSTAGRAM: @mffclubhouse
• INC 500 Feature: How Unicorns, Glitter, and an Army of Ninjas Are Changing the Gym Experience

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