Planet Fitness has been a game-changer in the fitness world since the company was founded in the 1990s. Early on, owners realized there was a substantial market to be made catering to people who didn’t identify as gym rats or necessarily feel comfortable in a “look at me” gym. They also saw an opportunity to serve consumers who didn’t want to pay a premium for a gym they might use more casually.

So the company reinvented the gym as a welcoming “Judgement Free Zone” and pioneered a low-cost model to entice folks.

Today Planet Fitness, with over 2,400 locations, is one of the largest and fastest growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers in the U.S.

In the Midwest, two Planet Fitness franchisees, Baseline Fitness and Black Duck Partners, rely considerably on Mid-America teams in Minnesota and Wisconsin for muscle to support their aggressive growth plans.

Baseline Fitness controls territory in several states, including Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, California and Colorado. They’ll have about 100 clubs by year-end. They’re also in Wisconsin, with the other territories in that state owned by Black Duck.

In Minnesota, Planet Fitness is targeting 75 markets for potential locations. Currently, there are 35 clubs in the state. Mid-America has helped Baseline negotiate and execute 20 leases. Two other Minnesota locations are close to fruition, and there are active negotiations on four other locations in three states.

In addition to facilitating leases of existing properties, Mid-America assists Baseline by identifying new development locations and brokering acquisition transactions. We also support the franchisee’s strategy with competitive analysis to help prioritize markets and minimize cannibalization. Mid-America’s work for Baseline goes back to about 2009.

“We are a growth business,” says Scott Bernstein, Vice President of Development for Baseline Fitness. “We want to open as many locations as we can strategically and thoughtfully. There’s zero chance we could be doing that without our partnership with Mid-America.”

“We often talk three or four times a week, and can be together in a car for days at a time. They’re good people. They care that we get deals done right and make the right real estate decisions.”

Mid-America’s Wisconsin office has put even bigger numbers on the board for Planet Fitness. As an advisor to franchisee Black Duck Partners, Mid-America provides new site selection, relocation, lease restructures, strategic market planning and trade area analysis throughout the Midwest. The team has helped facilitate over 80 real estate transactions for Black Duck Partners, which will own 125 Planet Fitness locations by year-end. Black Duck Partners operates clubs in over 10 states including Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa as well as Canada.

“Mid-America’s Wisconsin team has been instrumental in our growth initiatives in many states for over 10 years,” says Dominic DeCoux, CFO of Black Duck Partners. “Their retail real estate acumen, market analysis and industry leading market research have allowed us to continually reach and exceed our year-over-year growth plans. Engaging Mid-America was one of the best decisions we made early on in our growth. We are grateful to Mid-America for being a partner of ours.”

Supporting Planet Fitness on the Mid-America team are Tony Colvin and Adam Dreier in Wisconsin, and Johnny Reimann and Stefanie Meyer in Minnesota.