GymNation is a chain of

fitness center A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health ser ...

s based in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

History

GymNation was established by Loren Holland, Frank Afeaki and Ant Martland in 2018. The first GymNation gym opened in June 2018 in

Al Quoz Al Quoz ( ar, القوز), or "El Goze" in Emirati Arabic is a locality / town in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Al Quoz is located in western Dubai. It is bordered to the north by Al Wasl and to the west by Umm Al Sheif, Al Manara and Al ...

, Dubai. As of December 2023, GymNation has 11 gyms in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

with another five coming soon to the nation, along with multiple locations throughout Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar. From March to late May 2020, all GymNation gyms were closed due to

COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

. By mid 2021, GymNation became one of the largest chains of

s in the

. In May 2021, GymNation signed a contract with the

United Arab Emirates Rugby Federation The United Arab Emirates Rugby Federation, or UAE Rugby, is the sports governing body, governing body for rugby union in United Arab Emirates. It organises and oversees local rugby, including the annual Dubai Sevens and Dubai Women's Sevens. It bec ...

and became the sponsor of the

United Arab Emirates National Rugby Union Team The United Arab Emirates national rugby union team competes in the annual Asia Rugby competitions. They were once part of the Arabian Gulf team which consisted of players from the Gulf Cooperation Countries on the Arabian Peninsula. In 2011 t ...

. Also in 2021, Amir Khan, the British boxing champ, launched his first boxing academy in the Middle East in partnership with GymNation.

Investment

In February 2022, JD Sports Gyms, part of FTSE 100 listed group

JD Sports JD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as JD Sports or JD, is a British sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Pentlan ...

announced an investment into GymNation in its bid to expand within the

Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...

(GCC) region. In November 2023, GymNation announced a management buyout of all equity held by previous investor

. Gulf Business,

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:GymNation Gyms Health clubs Emirati companies established in 2018