ABOUT ANTHONY GEISLER
Anthony Geisler is a philanthropist and fitness entrepreneur, who has built many of the world’s most successful boutique fitness brands.
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Raised in a working-class family in Southern California, Geisler spent weekends working at his parents’ small businesses, where he was motivated by their tireless work ethic and determination to provide for their family. He was the first in his family to go to college, attending the University of Southern California during the 1990’s tech boom, where he put his entrepreneurial spirit to work and founded a web development startup that he went on to sell less than a year after graduating. He then co-founded a successful software company and began looking outside the tech world for his next venture.
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The next chapter in Geisler’s entrepreneurial journey was sparked when he joined a neighborhood boxing gym in Orange County. He saw value in the boutique, community-centric model of LA Boxing, and bought the gym outright. Over the next ten years, he built LA Boxing into a national brand, with more than 200 franchises in 35 states sold and in development before selling the business to UFC Gym in 2012.
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As he brought once-niche boxing workouts into the mainstream, Geisler zeroed in on what made LA Boxing so successful. He foresaw the next big trend in the fitness industry: more specialized, boutique, community-oriented fitness models. This led him to buy Club Pilates, where he brought in the loyal team he had built at LA Boxing and grew the nascent brand to over 1200 franchises.
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Geisler continued to build a portfolio of fitness brands, and in 2017 united them under the umbrella of Xponential Fitness. He rapidly built Xponential into the world’s largest curator of boutique fitness brands, acquiring fitness mainstays such as StretchLab, Pure Barre, YogaSix, Rumble Boxing, and Cycle Bar, while selling thousands of franchises across 48 states and over 20 countries.
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Geisler’s success has earned him numerous accolades. He was named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019 and is included in Goldman Sachs’ Top 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs list. He is a 2016 inductee into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame at his alma mater USC, where he has been a guest lecturer at the Marshall School of Business’s Entrepreneurship program for over 20 years and has served on its Board since 2008 when he was named its Entrepreneur of the Year.
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An avid philanthropist, Geisler’s impact is felt throughout Southern California through initiatives supporting education, healthcare, military families and survivors of mass violence. In 2024, Geisler and his family dedicated Geisler Family WINGS building, a multipurpose library and learning center at The Pegasus School in Huntington Beach. Since 2021, Geisler’s support of Thankful Giving has helped provide Thanksgiving meals to thousands of families in need. Miracles for Kids recently presented him with its prestigious Miracle Maker Award for his support of its work helping families of children with critical illnesses. He also served on the leadership committee of the Navy SEAL Foundation’s 2024 Los Angeles Gala, supporting comprehensive programs for Naval Special Warfare members and their families.
