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Crunch Fitness has announced the upcoming opening of Crunch New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas, marking a $6 million investment to convert a former Gold’s Gym into a 45,000-square-foot state-of-the-art fitness facility featuring the brand’s latest Crunch 3.0 design. Operated by franchisee The Undefeated Tribe, one of the fastest-growing operators in the Crunch system, the gym will open its doors in the fall of 2026 at 651 N. Business I-35, bringing the operator’s network to more than 60 locations open and in development across five states.
The New Braunfels project is notable not just for its scale but for what it represents: a direct conversion of a Gold’s Gym property into the Crunch ecosystem. The facility will undergo a full-scale renovation to introduce Crunch’s 3.0 design standard, which pairs modern aesthetics with enhanced functional training zones, premium recovery amenities and the brand’s signature entertainment-driven atmosphere. For a market that was previously served by Gold’s, the switch signals how aggressively Crunch is absorbing territory from legacy fitness brands as it targets 1,000 gyms under new ownership from Leonard Green & Partners.
The upgraded facility will bring a notably broad amenity set to the New Braunfels community, including features that position the gym at the premium end of the value-fitness spectrum despite memberships starting at just $9.99 per month. Key offerings include:
The Undefeated Tribe, founded by CEO Tony Hartl, now has 60 locations open and in development across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Missouri and Minnesota, with plans to exceed 100 locations by 2028. The franchise group earned Crunch Franchise of the Year honours in both 2021 and 2023, recognition that reflects consistent performance in business operations, community engagement and brand standards. Among multiple Crunch franchisee groups scaling aggressively in 2026, The Undefeated Tribe stands out for the geographic breadth of its portfolio.
“We are so excited to bring the Crunch Fitness brand to New Braunfels and offer outstanding and affordable fitness.” — Tony Hartl, Founder and CEO, The Undefeated Tribe
Crunch Fitness now serves 3.5 million members across more than 550 gyms worldwide in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and India. The brand was ranked No. 2 in the fitness category and No. 20 overall in the 2026 Entrepreneur Franchise 500, climbing from No. 32 the previous year. It was also recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing companies, a testament to the acceleration that has followed major institutional capital entering the system.
The Gold’s Gym conversion model that The Undefeated Tribe is executing in New Braunfels offers a case study in how value-fitness franchisees are acquiring distressed or underperforming real estate from older gym brands and rebranding them under more modern, amenity-rich concepts. For international franchise investors evaluating fitness brands for Asia and MENA markets, Crunch’s ability to deliver reformer Pilates, contrast therapy and hot yoga at a sub-$10 entry price point demonstrates the unit economics that have attracted private equity interest across the sector. The Undefeated Tribe’s trajectory from zero to 100-plus locations in under a decade also illustrates the scale that well-capitalised multi-unit operators can achieve when paired with a franchise system designed for rapid replication.
Source: PRNewswire — Crunch Franchise Brings State-of-the-Art Crunch 3.0 Gym to New Braunfels, Texas
