Featuring Jennifer Maanavi, Co-Founder & CEO of Physique 57
If you’ve ever wondered whether you should be opening more locations, scaling faster, or growing your fitness brand beyond where it is right now — this episode of The Friday Society Podcast is for you.
I sat down with Jennifer Maanavi, co-founder and CEO of Physique 57, for one of the most honest and eye-opening conversations I’ve ever had about boutique fitness growth. Jennifer has been in this industry for twenty years. She’s opened studios in New York, Beverly Hills, Dubai, Bangkok, India, Saudi Arabia, and Manila. She’s built a digital platform, survived COVID, made intentional decisions about scaling back, and rebuilt on her own terms.
And her perspective on growing a fitness brand? It might completely change the way you think about success.
How Physique 57 Started — and What It Actually Took to Grow
Physique 57 didn’t start as a polished brand. It started as six women in a basement, a method that didn’t have a name yet, and a mailing list built from post-it notes photocopied at Kinko’s.
Jennifer and her co-founder Tanya built their initial client base before social media existed — through cold calls, personal connections, and a very deliberate decision to position Physique 57 as a fashion brand rather than a fitness brand. They targeted Vogue readers, not Shape magazine subscribers. They went after the 28-year-old Manhattan banker. And it worked.
By the time they expanded to Soho, Beverly Hills, and eventually internationally, they had built a brand with real staying power — one that attracted celebrity clients and unpaid endorsements simply because the product was that good.
But here’s what Jennifer will tell you now, twenty years in: the path to opening more fitness locations isn’t always the right path. And knowing when to scale — and when not to — is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make as a studio owner.
What COVID Taught Jennifer About Intentional Growth
Before COVID, Physique 57 had multiple locations across New York and a growing international footprint. And then everything stopped.
What Jennifer did next is what I think every boutique fitness owner needs to hear.
She didn’t just try to get back to where she was. Jennifer got intentional. She surrendered leases that no longer made sense, packed up boxes with her COO, and closed locations that weren’t working. And then she rebuilt — smaller, smarter, and completely on her own terms.
“I’ve closed a lot. I’ve started things, I’ve ended things, and everything has its time. No one’s watching, no one’s caring.”
That line hit me so hard when she said it. Because so many of us are building our businesses with an audience in mind that isn’t actually watching as closely as we think.
If you’re a boutique fitness owner wondering whether you need more locations to be successful, Jennifer’s story is the most honest answer you’re going to find.
The Truth About Opening More Fitness Locations
Here’s one of the most valuable things Jennifer shared in our conversation — and it’s something I’ve seen play out with my own clients too.
When you announce expansion, the people who are least excited? Your current clients.
Jennifer shared that every time she announced a new studio opening — Soho, Dubai, anywhere — her existing clients didn’t respond with excitement. They responded with concern. Is my favorite teacher still going to be there? Is my Saturday class going to change?
“The people who don’t want you to grow are your clients. They do not find any benefit in their life to you expanding.”
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t grow. It means growth has to be intentional, well-timed, and built on a foundation that’s actually ready for it. Jennifer talks about Gantt charts that map out hiring and training a full year in advance. About not signing a lease if your head of training is about to go on maternity leave. About making sure your team is genuinely ready before you expand — not just financially, but operationally and emotionally.
Growing a fitness brand isn’t just about having the money to open a second location. It’s about having the people, the systems, and the culture to sustain it.
Staff Retention: The Secret Weapon of a Sustainable Fitness Business
One of the things that struck me most about talking to Jennifer is the way she talks about her team.
She has teachers who have been with Physique 57 for eight, nine, twelve years. And it’s not an accident. It’s a strategy.
Jennifer creates additional roles for her instructors — AV management, facilities, community management on the digital platform, content creation. These aren’t huge time commitments, maybe five to ten hours a week. But they give teachers a deeper stake in the organization, additional income, and a reason to stay.
“Longevity comes from respect — and also recognizing that they are genuinely talented people in all areas of their life. They bring so much energy to your business.”
She also talks about how a teacher who had been with her for less than a year solved a problem in one week that the entire management team hadn’t been able to solve in ten years. Because she trusted her. Because she gave her ownership.
If you’re thinking about opening more fitness locations, your staff retention strategy is not optional. It is the foundation everything else gets built on.
Is Bigger Actually Better? Jennifer’s Answer.
After twenty years, multiple continents, a global pandemic, and a complete rebuild — here’s what Jennifer Maanavi believes about growing a fitness brand:
There are tiny local studios killing it right now because everyone in their community is deeply connected to what they’ve built. And if that studio decided to open five locations in Manhattan tomorrow, those community clients might actually be upset.
Bigger isn’t inherently better. Better is better.
The goal isn’t more locations. The goal is a business that is sustainable, that your clients love, that your staff wants to be part of, and that gives you the life you actually want to be living.
“I’ve expanded slowly and deliberately. And I’ve closed things that don’t work.”
That’s the permission slip so many of us need to hear.
Listen to the Full Episode
Episode 131 of The Friday Society Podcast — Is Bigger Better? Smart Growth Strategies from Jennifer Maanavi, Physique 57’s CEO — is out now.
Jennifer talks about all of this and so much more — including the three hats every founder wears simultaneously (founder, CEO, and owner), why she thinks the boutique fitness industry deserves to be taken seriously as a legitimate business space, and how she thinks about the future of Physique 57.
If this episode resonated with you, share it to your stories or send it to a studio owner friend who needs to hear it. And if you want to keep the conversation going, come find me on Instagram at @alexagrowmybusiness.
About The Friday Society Podcast
The Friday Society is a top 1.5% global podcast hosted by Alexa Cawley, marketing strategist and founder of Forever Friday Co. Every week, Alexa brings you honest conversations about marketing, business growth, and building a business that actually feels good to run — for wellness and fitness studio owners and instructors who are ready to stop winging it and start building something sustainable.
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