Planet Fitness opens Hampton HQ

Planet Fitness has opened its new world headquarters in Hampton. The 70,000-square-foot facility on Liberty Lane West features a 4,000-square-foot private fitness center and a cafeteria for the 200 employees who work there.

CEO Chris Rondeau said that when the first Planet Fitness opened in Dover in 1992, 85 percent of people did not have a gym membership. The company decided to drop the price for memberships, and refined the traditional health club business model, creating the “Judgment Free Zone.” In 2003, company leaders decided to franchise.