Listing Information:
9Round started from a place that many businesses do, a desire to change people's lives. Busy parents, owning and running a karate school, Shannon “The Cannon” Hudson, an IKF Light Middleweight Kickboxing World Champion, and his wife, Heather, had a vision. They wanted to create a place where busy people, not unlike themselves, could go to get a killer workout without planning their whole lives around making a class time, or spending hours at the gym. Shannon's martial arts and kickboxing training, and Heather's own passion for fitness were the foundation that the 9Round Franchising empire would be built upon. After more than 70 bouts inside the ring, Hudson found there was not a place where the average person could be exposed to the "top secret" training of some of the best fighters in the world. That is where the vision for 9Round began. He knew that if he could take the grueling workouts he did in the ring, and create a non-intimidating, convenient circuit workout format, the average person could enjoy the benefits of boxing and kickboxing without getting hit. The year was 2008, the economy had taken a turn for the worse, and with two young children, and a karate school, it seemed like the most unlikely time to launch a new business, but the Hudsons had big ideas and even bigger dreams. They knew that keeping the workout short, but still effective, was key when creating the 9Round concept. The company was founded on the idea that people do not need to spend more time in a gym, they just need more focus and intensity. In July 2008, the first 9Round location opened on Butler Road, in Greenville, SC. This location was both the testing and proving ground for the concept of the 30-minute, kickboxing circuit workout. As the only two employees, Shannon and Heather personally implemented, tested, and revised every process and piece of equipment, from the gloves and heavy bags that would be used, to pad drills and the music that was played. And, after only one year in that first location - albeit a very grueling and unpredictable one - the first 9Round franchise was sold to a member of the gym, and by 2012, the company had grown to 100 locations. As the brand grew, it became known as a place where you could get a high-intensity workout at an affordable price, on your schedule. As the company grew, Shannon and Heather continued to focus on improving, refining, and scaling processes to pass on to franchisees. Their belief that each and every person deserves world-championship-quality training, in the most convenient way, was the driving force behind the continued growth of the brand. They were not only changing the lives of thousands of members with the 9Round workout, but of each and every franchisee that joined the 9Round system, by helping them own their own businesses. After its humble beginnings, with that single location in Greenville, SC, there are now over 700 9Round clubs open and operating throughout 45 states and 18 countries, with over 500 more in various stages of development. All of them delivering on the promise of making members stronger in 30 minutes, physically and mentally!
