Anytime Fitness has quietly become the biggest name in Australian gyms, and the number behind that claim just got bigger again. The brand’s national network has grown to 630 clubs across the country, supporting more than 780,000 members from regional towns to capital city CBDs. For a business that started with a single club, that is not a small achievement.
If you have ever walked past an Anytime Fitness at midnight and noticed the lights still on and someone still on the treadmill, you already understand the appeal. No opening hours, no closing time, just a keycard and a door that never locks. That simple idea, repeated across 630 locations, has reshaped how a huge slice of the country trains.
How Anytime Fitness Got to 630 Clubs
The Anytime Fitness story in Australia began modestly. The brand secured its first Australian master franchise and opened its debut club in Gunnedah, a regional town in New South Wales, in May. The original business plan was cautious by today’s standards: a 15-year target of 350 clubs across the country.
That target did not last long. Anytime Fitness blew past the 350-club goal in just six years, roughly nine years ahead of schedule. From there, growth became something closer to routine. The network passed 500 clubs, then pushed through 600 in a Gold Coast opening, and has now reached 630, arriving alongside the brand’s 18th year of operating in Australia.
Two names sit behind almost every stage of that growth: co-founders Justin McDonell and Richard Peil. Their company, Collective Wellness Group, now owns and operates the Anytime Fitness master franchise locally, alongside other fitness brands. Under their model, individual clubs are run by local franchisees, which is part of why growth has been so consistent — more than half of the network’s franchisees now own multiple sites, reinvesting in new locations rather than starting from scratch elsewhere.
The Numbers Behind the Milestone
Raw club counts only tell part of the story. Market share is where the scale of Anytime Fitness Australia really shows. The brand now holds an estimated 21.4 percent share of the Australian fitness market, making it the single largest player in a category that includes everything from boutique studios to big-box gyms.
Membership growth has tracked right alongside the club count. More than 780,000 Australians currently hold an Anytime Fitness membership, and the company has set a public target of reaching 800 clubs and one million members by 2030. If that pace continues, the jump from 630 to 800 clubs could happen faster than the last 130 did.
| Milestone | Club Count | Approx. Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Australian launch (Gunnedah, NSW) | 1 club | Year of entry |
| Original 15-year target reached | 350 clubs | 6 years in |
| Network expansion | 500 clubs | Mid-growth phase |
| Gold Coast milestone opening | 600 clubs | Recent |
| Current national network | 630 clubs | 18th year milestone |
| Stated 2030 target | 800 clubs | Future goal |
Club Growth at a Glance
1 club |
350 clubs |■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
500 clubs |■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
600 clubs |■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
630 clubs |■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ (Current)
800 clubs |■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ (target)Why the 24/7 Model Keeps Winning
Australians work irregular hours more than most people realise — shift workers, tradies starting before sunrise, parents squeezing in a session after the kids are asleep. A traditional gym with a 6am to 9pm roster simply does not fit that rhythm. Anytime Fitness built its entire proposition around removing that barrier, and the model has proven durable enough to survive economic downturns, a pandemic, and the rise of budget gym competitors.
Membership also unlocks more than just a home club. With more than 6,000 Anytime Fitness locations worldwide, a member based in Perth can swipe into a club in Auckland, London, or anywhere else the brand operates, using the same key fob. For anyone who travels for work or takes regular trips interstate, that reciprocal access is a genuine point of difference over gyms tied to a single site.
The brand has also leaned into digital coaching in recent years, pairing physical clubs with an app-based program and a partnership that gives members access to guided workout content. It is a hybrid approach that suits people who want structure without committing to expensive personal training every week.
Community, Not Just Clubs
Anytime Fitness has tried to build a culture around consistency rather than intensity, and the numbers back that up in unusual ways. A dozen members have trained with the brand continuously since its very first Australian club opened. One especially well-travelled member has checked into 201 different Anytime Fitness locations around the country — effectively a national tour of the gym network. Another group of 18 members logged more than 350 individual workouts in the past year alone, which works out to almost one session every single day.
The brand has also used its scale for fundraising, partnering with mental health charity R U OK? and raising well over $1.9 million for community causes to date. For a 24/7 access model that could easily feel impersonal, that community layer is doing a lot of work to keep members loyal.
What’s Training Like Beyond the Gym Floor
A gym membership is only one piece of a fitness routine, and plenty of members treat their local area as an extension of the workout. If you are based in Melbourne’s inner north, a solid post-workout habit is grabbing a coffee once you have cooled down — this guide to the best coffee in Collingwood covers exactly where the locals queue. Training outdoors is also part of the equation for a lot of Australians, and destinations like Anglesea on the Victorian coast offer the kind of ocean swims and coastal walks that complement a structured gym program nicely.
Nutrition matters just as much as the sessions themselves. If you are trying to hit a protein target after heavy training days, this rundown of Melbourne’s best steak restaurants is a handy reference for refuelling properly. And because balance matters too, an occasional reward run to Melbourne’s best gelato and ice cream spots is not the enemy of progress it is sometimes made out to be.
For anyone weighing up their own franchise ambitions after watching a brand like Anytime Fitness grow this fast, it is worth understanding what running a franchised business actually costs day to day — this breakdown of the Red Rooster franchise opportunity in Australia is a useful comparison point for anyone researching the franchise model generally. And once the training session wraps up and it is time to unwind socially, Melbourne’s best beer gardens are worth bookmarking for a well-earned catch-up with training partners.
The Anytime Fitness Australia Story So Far
Anytime Fitness opened its very first Australian site with a simple pitch: convenient, 24-hour access to a gym without needing a staffed reception desk or a rigid class timetable. That single club has since multiplied into the largest fitness network in the country, and Australia has gone on to become one of the strongest-performing Anytime Fitness markets anywhere in the world, measured by gyms per capita and average membership numbers.
The brand has averaged roughly one new club opening every week across its time in the Australian market, a pace few other fitness franchises here have matched. The chart below shows how the network has scaled at each major milestone.
Chart: Anytime Fitness Australia club count at each major network milestone.
How Anytime Fitness Compares to Other Australian Gym Chains
Australia’s fitness market is far from a one-horse race, and the 500-club milestone is easier to appreciate with some context on how the field is shaped.
| Gym Chain | Model | Typical Contract | Best Suited To |
| Anytime Fitness | 24/7 keycard access | Flexible, ongoing | Shift workers, commuters |
| Jetts Fitness | 24/7 keycard access | Flexible, ongoing | Budget-conscious members |
| F45 Training | Group HIIT classes | Class packages | Members who like structure |
| Fitness First | Full-service health club | Fixed-term contract | Pools, group classes, spas |
What Comes Next for Anytime Fitness Australia
Collective Wellness Group has already started looking beyond domestic borders, having taken a majority stake in Anytime Fitness’s UK operation and being recognised internally as the top-performing market globally for the brand. Locally, the next chapter includes the country’s first airport-based gym, opened inside Sydney International Airport, aimed at travellers who refuse to let a flight delay interrupt their routine.
The stated ambition of 800 clubs and one million members by 2030 is bold, but given the pace of the last 18 years, it is not an unreasonable one. If the brand keeps opening new locations at anything close to its historical rate, Australia’s most convenient gym chain is only going to get more convenient.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Anytime Fitness clubs are there in Australia right now?
Anytime Fitness currently operates 630 clubs across Australia, making it the largest fitness network in the country by both club count and membership numbers.
How many members does Anytime Fitness Australia have?
The brand supports more than 780,000 members nationally, spread across capital cities, regional centres, and now an airport location.
When did Anytime Fitness first open in Australia?
The first Australian club opened in Gunnedah, New South Wales, after the brand secured its Australian master franchise rights, marking the start of an 18-year expansion.
Who owns Anytime Fitness in Australia?
Anytime Fitness Australia is operated under the master franchise of Collective Wellness Group, co-founded by Justin McDonell and Richard Peil.
Can I use my Anytime Fitness membership at any club, anywhere in the world?
Yes. Membership grants access to any of the more than 6,000 Anytime Fitness clubs worldwide using the same keycard or app, which is one of the model’s biggest drawcards for frequent travellers.
What is Anytime Fitness’s growth target for the future?
The brand has set a public goal of reaching 800 clubs and one million members across Australia by 2030.
Is Anytime Fitness open 24 hours a day at every location?
Yes, round-the-clock access is the core feature of the brand, though staffed hours vary by club for coaching and support.
Sources & Further Reading
- Anytime Fitness — Wikipedia — background on the brand’s global founding and franchise structure.
- Franchising — Wikipedia — general explainer on how franchise business models like this one operate.
- What are the pros and cons of 24 hour gyms? — Quora — real member discussion on the upsides and trade-offs of round-the-clock gym access.
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