July 26, 2018

As a Division I athlete who had a brief professional baseball career, Josh Schneider spent his share of time in the gym.

He and his wife, Danelle, are still fitness-minded and wanted to have their own business, which led them to franchise Burn Boot Camp.

“It’s a very fast-growing fitness franchise,” he said.

They found it while living in Minnesota and decided to open in Sioux Falls to be closer to Danelle’s family.

“We’d always talked about doing our own thing, and we’re very conscious of nutrition and just trying to live a well-balanced life through fitness and whole-food nutrition,” he said.

Burn Boot Camp offers memberships starting with as little as a one-month commitment and including unlimited 45-minute classes. The focus is on high-intensity interval training.

“We have a proprietary floating floor that’s really cool,” Schneider said. “It reduces injuries and impact of our exercises and that’s where our clients do most of their workouts. We have a rig for pull-ups, and it’s a lot of body-weight exercises and high-intensity interval training.”

They’re leasing about 6,000 square feet in a new retail center under construction on the northeast corner of 85th Street and Louise Avenue. The hope is to open in early October.

“We really like that location because of the growth on the south edge of Sioux Falls and all the residential nearby,” Schneider said. “We feel very lucky to be in a new building where we can use our experiences from different Burn locations.”

The couple has committed to opening three locations in the market.

He will serve as head trainer and plans to hire about five people for the first one.

Burn Boot Camp primarily attracts women, although there is one co-ed class offered daily, Schneider said.

It offers free child care, individualized nutrition guidance and hours that go from about 5 a.m. into the evening. Members don’t need to sign up for classes.

“We change the workouts constantly and keep things fresh,” he said.

Burn Boot Camp has more than 150 locations in 37 states.