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This Baltimore Fitness Group Just Closed Half Its F45 Gyms and Filed for Bankruptcy
The bankruptcy filing details a costly error that set the company back
Aug 27, 2026
F45 gym in Austin, Texas. Photo:
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Mad Fitness Group, a leading franchisee of F45 Fitness studios headquartered in the Baltimore area, has filed for bankruptcy amid a flurry of closings. The Pikesville, Maryland-based franchisee, managed by David Hurwitz and Mark Neumann, owns 31 training studios that offer high-intensity 45-minute circuit classes. The fitness model, which began in Australia, first opened in the U.S. in 2015, and gained a cult-like following in the following years.
Mad Fitness has facilities in six states, including Maryland, Georgia, Kansas, Florida, Missouri, and Virginia.
According to the Aug. 9 bankruptcy filing, the group filed for Subchapter V protection, a type of bankruptcy filing designed for qualifying small businesses. The debtor listed its assets and liabilities at $100,000 to $500,000 in assets and liabilities and attributed to aggressive expansion during F45’s rapid growth as a public company, soaring rent and necessary construction costs to accommodate its growing membership
The group also cited widespread membership-billing errors, which allowed members to continuously access introductory rates, but asserted that in 2024, a new president came on board who corrected the issue and cut payroll.
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F45 Training itself began in Sydney in 2012 and soon gained major traction globally due to its offbeat, community-minded approach. F45 founder and CEO Rob Deutsch, previously told Fast Company that the approach grew from millennials’ desire for more in-person interactions. “I’m trying to get people to actually want to attend a gym and feel like they’re part of something,” Deutsch explained
The studios also feature the popular F45 Challenge, a 45-day program gives members access to additional goal-driving coaching, tracking, and meal planning. Deutsch explained that during the challenges, the community aspect is important, too. He said, “We highly encourage all the studios before the challenge starts and after the challenge finishes to hold social gatherings.We’re big on people getting to know each other outside of the gym.”
By 2019, F45 was the fastest growing fitness chain in the world.
F45 Training, which has not filed for bankruptcy, has a network of around 2,000 franchised studios globally in at least 50 countries. Meanwhile, Mad Fitness has already closed 15 of its 31 locations, including three in Maryland. The group’s Olney, Germantown, and White Marsh studios have been shuttered. Still, the franchisee isn’t going away, but will focus on maintaining its successful locations.
The group’s F45 studios in Glen Burnie, Potomac, Gaithersburg, Frederick, Bethesda, Ellicott City, as well as two in Baltimore are listed as open on the business’s website
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