TTB - General Discussion, page-605

Two things from Wiki which make this even more interesting:
1. nothing about Gilly (cricketer) and F45
2. under F45 there is an Adam Gilchrist listed as a business owner.....
DYOR but this certainly doesn't seem to be some fly by night partnership. Is F45 perhaps funding Matt Burgess in this business, or something else?
I guess the next quarterly shareholders call we can begin to ask those questions, unless something comes out in the meantime.



Charity, media, business career and political work[edit]

Adam Gilchrist speaking at the 2013 National Flag Raising and Citizenship ceremony in Canberra

Outside cricket, Gilchrist is an ambassador for the charity World Vision in India, a country in which he is popular due to his cricketing achievements,^[234] and sponsors a boy whose father has died.^[235] He was approached in early 2005 by the US baseball franchise, the Boston Red Sox, with a view to him playing for them when his cricket career ended.^[236] However, he was selected for the 2007 Cricket World Cup and announced his retirement from Test and One-Day cricket in early 2008.^[237]

In March 2008, Gilchrist joined the Nine Network.^[238] Gilchrist has appeared as one of a panel of revolving co-hosts for the revived Wide World of Sports Weekend Edition. He made his debut on the program in March 2008,^[238] and commentates on Nine's cricket coverage during the Australian summer.^[238] In 2013 Gilchrist joined Ricky Ponting and various other names in cricket to commentate for Channel Ten in the third series of the Big Bash League.^[239]

As Amway Australia Ambassador, Gilchrist has played a role in many of their charity events. In August 2010, he presented the Freedom Wheels program, an initiative to provide modified bikes to kids with disabilities, a cheque for $20,000.^[240]

Gilchrist has been the chair of the National Australia Day Council since 2008.^[241] In 2008, Gilchrist supported debate on whether Australia Day should be moved to a new date because the current date marks British settlement of New South Wales and is offensive to many Aboriginal Australians.^[242]

Gilchrist has had a number of company directorships outside of cricket. His appointment to the board of ASX listed sandalwood company TFS Corporation,^[243] committee member of Commonwealth Business Forum in Perth^[244] and director of Travelex.^[245] The appointment to TFS Corporation was not without controversy when as a board member of TFS he was named as a plaintiff suing his own TFS shareholders for defamation^[246]

Gilchrist also plays himself on the Australian comedy series, How to Stay Married.

F45

History[edit]

In 2012, the first F45 studio launched in Sydney's Paddington, New South Wales.^[6] It was here that Rob Deutsch took the time to work on the fitness model within the studio each day. After the success of its first studio, Deutsch enlisted the help of franchisee expert, Adam Gilchrist, who quickly became his business partner when they decided to franchisee the F45 business.^[7] In 2013, Gilchrist and Deutsch sold their first F45, and in 2014 they began a franchise roll-out in Sydney with 15 franchises bought by members of the original F45 studio in Sydney's Paddington, New South Wales.^[7]

Off-shore expansion[edit]

In 2015, the duo sold their first off-shore franchise in New Zealand. This marked a 2-year milestone of 250 franchises in the Oceania region. In 2015, Gilchrist and Deutsch sold their first F45 studio in the United States,^[7] sparking a rapid US expansion. That same year, F45 also launched in India, with the help of Australian cricketer Brett Lee and Indian cricket legend VVS Laxman.^[8] The first store opened in Hyderabad — the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. This triggered an expansion with many more studios opening in major Indian cities, such as Bangalore, Chennai, Raipur and Gurgaon.^[9]

In 2017, Gilchrist and Deutsch entered the United Kingdom with 50 franchises sold—35 of which opened in London, and 15 across Brighton, Bournemouth, Birmingham and Manchester.^[10]

Between 2017 and 2018, F45 launched the beginning of its European growth strategy, opening studios in Finland, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Germany. F45 simultaneously increased its US presence through its Collegiate Program, which entailed a partnership between F45 and U.S. colleges in an effort to permeate the young influential group of individuals.^[11]

In the first half of 2019, the fitness franchise secured a deal to open studios in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as in Kenya and Mauritius in Africa – taking their presence to over 40 countries.^[12] In 2019, Mark Wahlberg Investment Group and FOD Capital announced that they were buying a minority stake in the F45 business. It is reported that this investment will facilitate further global expansion for the company. The deal values the company at US$450 million (AU$672 million).^[13]