Hot Ground Gym Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Hot Ground Gym franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Hot Ground Gym discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it D.
What their own earnings claim actually says
2 affiliate-owned locations show $422k-$436k (2023) and $422k-$423k (2024) gross revenues. 1 franchised location (3 months) earned $29.8k. Does not reflect operating costs; past performance only.
What a Hot Ground Gym franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 8% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $163,000 – $317,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
6% royalty; 2% marketing fund; $900-$1,500/month local marketing; technology $100-$250/month plus $500-$2,500 annual maintenance.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Hot Ground Gym system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 3 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
Only 1 franchised outlet opened; minimal franchise system history; heavily affiliate-dependent data.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Hot Ground Gym worth it? — how it compares to 71 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8% of sales | lower than most (median 9%) |
| Startup cost | from $163,000 | cheaper than most (median $295,540) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade D | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 0.1%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every fitness & gyms franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Hot Ground Gym
The franchisor's framing: 2 affiliate-owned locations show $422k-$436k (2023) and $422k-$423k (2024) gross revenues.… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Hot Ground Gym franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Hot Ground Gym franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $163,000–$317,000, including a $40,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Hot Ground Gym franchise owners make?
- 2 affiliate-owned locations show $422k-$436k (2023) and $422k-$423k (2024) gross revenues. 1 franchised location (3 months) earned $29.8k. Does not reflect operating costs; past performance only. We grade this disclosure D for honesty.
- What are the Hot Ground Gym franchise fees?
- Hot Ground Gym's FDD discloses a $40,000 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 6% royalty; 2% marketing fund; $900-$1,500/month local marketing; technology $100-$250/month plus $500-$2,500 annual maintenance.
- What is the Hot Ground Gym franchise profit margin?
- Hot Ground Gym does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: 2 affiliate-owned locations show $422k-$436k (2023) and $422k-$423k (2024) gross revenues. 1 franchised location (3 months) earned $29.8k. Does not reflect operating costs; past performance only. Recurring fees alone take about 8% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Hot Ground Gym franchise failure rate?
- Only 1 franchised outlet opened; minimal franchise system history; heavily affiliate-dependent data.
- How many Hot Ground Gym locations are there?
- Hot Ground Gym's FDD reports 3 total outlets, with 0 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Hot Ground Gym have complaints or lawsuits?
- Hot Ground Gym discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Hot Ground Gym franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Hot Ground Gym scores D on disclosure honesty, carries about 8% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Hot Ground Gym to similar franchises
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Hot Ground Gym or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.