Kline Will Focus on the Fitness Franchisor’s Growth and Outreach
Burn Boot Camp co-founder Morgan Kline has taken the reins as CEO of the boutique fitness franchise. The community-based brand strives to increase women’s confidence through its empowerment philosophy. Kline’s husband Devan is the outgoing CEO and co-founder. With this leadership team restructuring, Devan will be in a new visionary role to execute Burn Boot Camp’s next evolution while Morgan focuses on its growth and outreach. Morgan recently served as the fitness franchisor’s CFO and COO.
In a statement, Morgan said, “Nothing is more empowering than having self-confidence. Being proud of the woman you see in the mirror every morning is a feat many try hard to attain but few experience. From its inception, Burn Boot Camp entered the market as a female-focused boutique gym franchise built for her and her family.”
As Burn Boot Camp turns 10 this year, Kline is “incredibly inspired and fueled to embark on this next chapter of Burn’s legacy serving as its CEO, with our ‘Burn Nation’ dedicated to giving women the self-assurance they deserve in a world that is so connected to social media and unrealistic body image messaging.”
Morgan’s elevation to CEO was the perfect fit for the fitness brand, in Devan’s view. “I always felt that Morgan would be the natural CEO for long-term growth before she even considered it. I knew that once we realized unit profitability, a strong leadership team, and world-class operational infrastructure, my job of building the foundation as CEO was done,” he said. Devan praises his wife’s “eclectic energy and sales and marketing prowess,” which “brings a next-level sophistication to our operation, motivated to drive new growth, and develop new opportunities for franchise partners.”
As Burn’s first female CEO, Morgan believes that equal opportunity and seeing each person for who they are ensures women get leadership positions. “At Burn Boot Camp, we value everyone’s voices, listen to all ideas, and reward hard work regardless of gender. As a company that is women-centric, it’s in our DNA to amplify women’s voices and always seek perspectives that will bring us closer to global health transformations,” she adds.
Her goal at Burn Boot Camp is to support its members, debunk the weight-loss narrative that permeates the fitness industry, and promote self-confidence. “You can still have goals to lose weight or goals to be healthier in other areas of your life, but we want to instill confidence first,” she adds.
A Franchising Couple
When Burn Boot Camp first started, Morgan worked full-time at the Kellogg Company while simultaneously assisting Devan with the business. “I found fulfillment in seeing people smile, making people feel happier when they walked out than when they walked in and realized I wanted to start impacting people more — full-time, all the time, because it was impacting me more, too. At this point, I went through my own transformation by quitting my job and committing myself to fitness full-time,” Morgan said. For couples considering franchising together, Morgan suggests understanding the importance of communication, maintaining cohesiveness, having realistic expectations, and making time for each other outside of work to ensure business success.
She advises entrepreneurs who want to get into franchising to be the best version of themselves. “There will always be problems and setbacks: in life, in business, and in fitness. My younger self may have thought that these problems would go away, but in reality, problems will always be there and there will always be challenges,” she said. While problems may never go away, Kline urges entrepreneurs to have a mindset shift in order “to find solutions to create for yourself and people around you.”
More Behind Burn Boot Camp
The Klines founded Burn Boot Camp in 2012. While it began as a boutique fitness brand for women, Burn has gained a following of both men and women who want to workout together and take advantage of its complimentary childwatch services. Burn is making leadership changes as it looks to expand to 10,000 locations globally. To voice their thoughts on family, fitness, and more, the Klines host The Burn Boot Camp Podcast.