A rumor spreads fast. Someone posts online that their local 24 Hour Fitness is closing, and within hours, people assume the whole chain is done. It’s an easy conclusion to jump to — but it’s not accurate.
This article gives you a direct answer: what actually happened in 2020, where the company stands today, and what you should know before making any decisions about your membership.
The Short Answer: No, 24 Hour Fitness Is Not Going Out of Business
24 Hour Fitness is not liquidating. It is not ceasing nationwide operations. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2020, closed over 130 locations, restructured its finances, and kept going.
As of October 2025, 24 Hour Fitness operates 244 clubs across nine states — California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Washington — with more than 7,500 employees. It is still the second-largest fitness chain in the U.S. by revenue.
Some individual clubs have closed. That is not the same as the company shutting down. Those are two very different things.
What the 2020 Bankruptcy Actually Meant
In June 2020, 24 Hour Fitness filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware. The reason was straightforward: COVID-19 shutdowns wiped out gym revenue while fixed costs — rent, leases, staff — kept piling up.
Here’s the distinction most people miss: Chapter 11 is restructuring, not closure. A company under Chapter 11 continues to operate while working out a plan to reorganize its debts under court supervision. Chapter 7 is liquidation — that’s when a business actually shuts down for good. 24 Hour Fitness filed Chapter 11, not Chapter 7.
To keep operating during the process, the company secured $250 million in debtor-in-possession financing. That’s a specific type of loan available to businesses in bankruptcy — lenders only provide it when they believe the business can survive.
As part of the restructuring, 24 Hour Fitness permanently closed roughly 130 to 132 gyms — about one-quarter to one-third of its locations at the time. That included 41 clubs in California and 26 in Texas. The remaining locations reopened, and the company moved forward with a smaller but more manageable footprint.
This is not unusual. Gold’s Gym took the same approach during the pandemic — used Chapter 11 to close underperforming locations, renegotiate debts, and keep the brand running. Closing weak locations to protect the rest of the business is a standard restructuring move, not a sign of total collapse.
Where 24 Hour Fitness Stands Right Now
The company’s current position is notably stronger than it was in 2020. Here are the facts:
- 244 clubs in nine states as of October 2025 — a smaller footprint than before the bankruptcy, but still a major national operator, particularly in the Western U.S.
- In May 2025, 24 Hour Fitness closed on a $305 million senior secured credit facility provided by affiliates of The TCW Group. Lenders don’t hand out $305 million to businesses they think are heading toward collapse.
- The company has been reopening and modernizing clubs, investing in updated training and recovery spaces.
- There are no public reports of a new bankruptcy filing or any plans to wind down the business.
The company describes itself as a 40-year leader in the fitness industry, and the financing activity backs up that positioning. This is a business working to grow, not one preparing to close.
The Founder Just Bought It Back — What That Signals
In early 2026, founder Mark Mastrov and private equity firm LongRange Capital agreed to purchase 24 Hour Fitness from its post-bankruptcy majority stakeholders — Monarch Alternative Capital, Sculptor Capital, and Keyframe Capital Partners.
Mastrov originally founded 24 Hour Fitness and sold it more than 20 years ago. His decision to come back — as executive chair, working alongside CEO Karl Sanft — is a concrete signal worth paying attention to.
Think about what it means when a founder reinvests personal capital into a business they built from the ground up. It usually means they believe the business has real upside. It doesn’t mean success is guaranteed, but it does mean someone with deep knowledge of the company’s history and potential is willing to bet on its future.
The deal price was not disclosed. What matters is the direction: this is a strategic repositioning move, not a company winding down.
Why Individual Club Closures Get Mistaken for a Company Collapse
This is worth explaining, because the confusion keeps coming up.
When a company closes hundreds of locations at once — as 24 Hour Fitness did in 2020 — it creates a lasting impression that the whole brand is in trouble. Members who lost their local gym remembered it. They talked about it. That narrative stuck around online, even after the company stabilized.
Now, whenever any individual 24 Hour Fitness closes — for lease reasons, market performance, or routine rationalization — someone posts about it and the old “they’re going out of business” story gets recycled.
Ongoing location closures are not automatically a sign of company-wide failure. National chains regularly close underperforming locations as part of normal operations. A grocery chain, a bank, a retail brand — all of them periodically close specific stores without the entire company disappearing. 24 Hour Fitness is doing the same thing.
What This Means If You’re a Current or Prospective Member
If you’re already a member or thinking about joining, here’s practical guidance:
If you’re worried your specific location might close
- Check the official 24 Hour Fitness club locator and any emails from the company.
- Watch for local news about the location’s lease or any landlord disputes.
- Call the club directly if you’re concerned — staff usually know about closures before they’re publicly announced.
If you’re deciding on a membership
- If you want flexibility, choose a month-to-month plan rather than a long-term contract. That’s solid advice for any gym, not just this one.
- Check how many 24 Hour Fitness locations are within a reasonable distance from you. If there are multiple nearby, a single closure won’t leave you stranded.
- Look for signs of investment in your local club — recent remodels, new equipment, added classes. These are indicators the location is being maintained rather than phased out.
Positive signals to watch
New financing (like the $305 million facility secured in 2025) and experienced ownership with a long-term stake in the business are constructive signs. They don’t guarantee anything, but they point away from imminent shutdown.
Risks that remain
Competition from low-cost chains like Planet Fitness, boutique studios, and home fitness options puts ongoing pressure on big-box gyms. 24 Hour Fitness has been through one major restructuring already. If economic conditions shift significantly or the fitness market keeps fragmenting, more adjustments are possible. That’s a real business risk, not a reason to panic, but worth factoring in.
For anyone running or starting a business, situations like this highlight why understanding the difference between restructuring and liquidation matters. Getting this wrong leads to bad decisions — whether you’re a consumer choosing a membership or an investor reading market signals. Resources like StartBusinessPros can help you build that kind of practical business knowledge.
The Bottom Line
24 Hour Fitness is not going out of business. It went through a significant and painful restructuring in 2020, closed over 130 clubs, and came out the other side with a smaller operation and a rebuilt financial foundation.
Today, it runs 244 clubs in nine states, closed a $305 million credit facility in 2025, and is now under new ownership led by its original founder. None of that looks like a company preparing to disappear.
Individual locations may still close as the company continues to manage its footprint. That’s normal. The brand itself, based on everything publicly reported through early 2026, is operating and moving forward — not shutting down.
If your local club closes, that’s genuinely frustrating. But it doesn’t mean 24 Hour Fitness as a company is done. Those are separate situations, and treating them the same leads to the wrong conclusions.
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