When Antonio Compton and partner Blake Baskin opened their Rumble boxing studio in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, last year, it marked the brand’s debut in the state and also was a full circle moment of sorts for Compton.
Not only did Compton work out with Rumble co-founder Noah Neiman in Neiman’s first-ever Barry’s Bootcamp class in New York City, he was also the first franchisee for Barry’s in the entire country. As someone with a passion for fitness who left the banking sector to pursue his own business goals, Compton brought high intensity interval training concept Barry’s to Nashville in 2011 and ran his studio until 2018, when it was bought out by corporate.
After Xponential Fitness acquired Rumble in 2021 and moved to accelerate franchise development, Compton tapped into his connections with the brand, and he and Baskin signed a multi-unit agreement to open six studios in Tennessee and one in Evansville, Indiana. Rumble, which as 64 locations open, offers full-body boxing and strength training group fitness classes.
Rumble franchisees Antonio Compton, left, and Blake Baskin are expanding the brand in Tennessee and have one studio open, in Nashville, as part of a multi-unit deal.
Compton and Baskin, who are “partners in business and in life,” said Compton, introduced Rumble to the Nashville area in June 2022, tying their opening in with Pride Month and hosting classes to benefit the Trevor Project, an organization supporting the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth.
“Rumble in general is a little out of the box in its way of building community. It’s this ‘we’ve got you’ mentality,” said Compton. “For us, specifically, we really invest in our members’ lives.
“I’m a Black man, Blake is a white man and being gay, we’re creating this environment where people feel safe and can be seen,” he continued. “Regardless of age, color, religion, your sex, who you vote for, whatever—I want our community to feel really inclusive.”
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Compton and Baskin pushed an aggressive membership pre-sale campaign for about 20 weeks before the studio opening, which Compton said was “really impactful.” They’ve also continued to host their own events, such as Punch & Brunch, while participating in community activities to keep the brand visible and attract members.
The efforts are paying off. The couple’s studio had sales of $850,000 in its first year and has consistently sustained about 500 members.
“People leave gyms all the time, but they don’t leave relationships,” said Compton, adding recruitment efforts are ongoing. “We’ve had more people embrace us because they want to join a community like ours.
On the development front, their studio in Franklin, Tennessee, is under construction, and the location in Evansville is slated to open this month.
In addition to Rumble, Xponential Fitness is the parent company of AKT, BFT, Club Pilates, CycleBar, Pure Barre, Row House, Stretch Lab, Stride and Yoga Six.