August 2024 Club of the Month, presented by ABC Fitness
Skyfit, São Paulo, Brazil, est. 2020
Founded in 2020, Skyfit emerged from a vision to revolutionize the fitness industry with a distinctive business model that blends a strong identity with values aimed at reaching and positively impacting many lives. Bruno Berardo, the CEO and co-founder of Skyfit, was driven by a passion for fitness and wellness. As such, he sought to create a new kind of gym experience. Despite initial challenges, Beraldo’s dedication and hard work led to a franchisable format that resonated across Brazil.
Below, Beraldo details how determination paved the way for impressive growth, solidifying Skyfit’s place in the fitness industry and confirming the success of its strategy.
How would you describe the culture in your gyms?
Our environment is based on respect, camaraderie and trust. This behavior starts with the internal team at Skyfit Franchise, is transmitted to the franchisees — who in turn pass it on to their gym staff. This spirit is intentionally applied and perceived by our clients, creating a welcoming and positive atmosphere in all our units. Additionally, we believe in the importance of family, a value strongly upheld by our partners and conveyed in all interactions, reinforcing a sense of belonging and support among everyone involved.
How has ABC Evo supported your business growth and franchising endeavors?
With a platform tailored and ready to meet our management needs, ABC Evo has provided us with accuracy and speed. Many features are already ready and don’t require additional efforts from our team. This allows our team to focus on operations, ensuring more efficient management and a focus on business growth.
What is one thing about ABC Evo that sets it apart from other management software you’ve worked with?
With experience gained from previous businesses, I realized the importance of finding established and respected partners in the market. That’s how we found ABC Evo. We identified with the company and decided to focus on what we do best: operating gyms with excellence. Since then, ABC Evo has been our only choice, providing the tools and support necessary for our success.
How do you predict the global fitness industry will evolve in the next five to 10 years?
As someone who loves to travel, I train in various gym chains in Europe, the United States and Latin American countries. This allows me to understand the behavior of each region and compare it with our reality in Brazil. One thing that always catches my attention is the “Brazilian way” our gyms have. They’re vibrant, full of joy, colors and unique details that truly stand out compared to gyms in other countries.
In Brazil, we still have enormous growth opportunities, especially considering the number of fitness enthusiasts worldwide compared to the number here. I’m sure there has been a significant awakening regarding quality of life and health care after COVID-19. This has brought renewed strength to the gym sector. Many people who previously didn’t train or saw exercise only as an aesthetic pursuit have started working out to improve their quality of life.
This is an irreversible movement, and I believe it will continue to grow over the next five years, consolidating the major players in the market. The future looks promising, and I’m excited to see how Brazilian gyms — with their uniqueness and energy — will lead this transformation. We’re on track to reach 500 gyms by 2025, and this goal reflects our confidence in continued growth and the expansion of our positive impact.
What is the mission of Skyfit?
Skyfit’s mission is to offer a unique gym experience based on three pillars: competitive cost, high quality and personalized service. Our focus is to meet the individual needs and goals of each client. At Skyfit, we want to ensure every region and every person has the opportunity to train in an excellent gym. We aim to bring quality gyms to places that have never had this opportunity before. Transforming lives is in our DNA, and this is reflected in all our locations. We believe the gym is a conducive environment for the transformation of the body, habits and behaviors. This transformation process has a positive influence on important areas such as emotional health.
How has the success of Skyfit impacted the growth of the fitness industry in Brazil?
When you enter any market and develop a new way of working, optimize results and achieve exponential growth, it sparks curiosity and moves the market in general. We entered a market with already established big players, but we weren’t intimidated and did not follow the existing model. As a result, the entire market started to move. In all aspects of life, movement generates growth.
Created in partnership with ABC Fitness. Visit abcfitness.com for more information on how they can help your fitness business.
