Economy Not a Problem for MMA Gyms
October 8, 2008
MMAPayout.com did a piece back in July that mentioned the strength that MMA gyms where showing in a weakening economy. What may have been written off as anecdotal anomaly may be gradually showing to be a trend as TheStreet.com details the continued growth of membership for MMA Instructor Colin Oyama’s gym during a bleak economic back drop:
Like savvy investors recognizing a booming opportunity, Karen Santaniello, 58, and husband James, 61, partnered with Brazilian jiu jitsu instructor Juliano Prado and MMA instructor Colin Oyama, both 35, to open No Limits, a 15,000-square-foot mixed martial arts gym and workout facility in 2004. By 2006, No Limits was busting at the seams and moved to a 26,000-square-foot building in Irvine, Calif., becoming the largest MMA facility in North America.
But that was when the economy was good. Now, with the country in a financial crisis, a gym membership offering Muay Thai classes and jiu jitsu instruction is probably a luxury most can’t afford, right? Wrong. No Limits has had membership growth of about 3% each month this year and currently counts over 1,500 members.
Some may be surprised to learn that their biggest growth in clientele has been kids starting as young as age 5 and women between the ages of 18 and 35.
Interesting note on the growth areas for the gym. I’ve seen the children’s market mentioned previously as a high growth sector but this is the first to detail the female sector as a driver of clientele.
