Trendy boutique fitness brand Barry’s Bootcamp is planning to harness the power of its new backer to speed up growth across the US and Europe, as well as blaze a trail through Asia.

According to Barry’s CEO Joey Gonzalez, the chain has a “fully-baked strategy” on which markets to enter at what time and plans to stick to its model of opening in big metropolitan cities.

Barry’s Bootcamp currently operates 17 clubs – predominantly in the US, where there are 13 studios, as well as two in Norway and two in London, UK. Another four clubs are to open in the US before the end of Q1 2016: Miami, San Francisco, Hollywood and Manhattan.

Now, the company is poised to turbocharge its growth, having recently gained strategic investment from North Castle Partners – a private equity firm that has previously been involved with fitness brands including Equinox and Curves International.

In an interview with Health Club Management, Gonzalez said Barry’s would like to reach 50 US sites over the next four or five years, while at the same time making its mark in Europe and Asia.

“Dubai and Hong Kong are high up the list – in fact Dubai is actually already happening,” said Gonzalez. “It’s going to be our first store in the Middle East and I’d be disappointed if it didn’t open before the end of 2016.

“Everything domestic (in the US) will be corporately owned and operated, and everything international will most likely be a combination of both joint venture and corporate.”

And while working with an investor like North Castle brings an enviable array of experience, resources and contacts, Gonzalez says there is no danger of the brand’s values being compromised by the need for a return-on-investment.

“A big part of my role is acting as a cultural compass, making sure employees and customers feel that, as Barry’s scales up, it retains the sense of close-knit community that we’ve worked so hard to preserve,” he added.

“North Castle Partners gets that: it fundamentally believes in building value with values. There have been moments where I’ve said ‘I don’t always make decisions based on the bottom line. I make decisions based on the culture, how it’s going to affect my employees and my consumers’ – and time and again they reassure me that this is exactly why they chose me to lead the way.”

To read the full interview with Gonzalez, from the November/December 2015 issue of Health Club Management. click here.