Washington Commanders’ Josh Harris-owned Onelife wants to dominate the East Coast fitness business

Interior view of Onelife fitness center.(Courtesy Onelife Fitness)

Fresh off new funding that will help fuel its expansion, the Onelife Fitness brand acquired by Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris has set its sights on dominating the East Coast gym market.

Based in McLean, Virginia, Onelife was acquired by Harris in October through his 26North Partners investment firm for an undisclosed sum. At that time, it was already embarking on its regional growth.

Onelife Fitness first opened its doors in 2011 and now boasts clubs in six states, including two dozen locations across D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

The fitness company opened its newest club in Manassas, Virginia, this week. Additional locations are expected to open at Annapolis Mall and at the Box Hill shopping center in Abingdon, Maryland.

Annapolis will mark the chain’s 62nd location.

Onelife expanded into North Carolina and South Carolina earlier this year and will open its first club in Alabama in the near future.

The Onelife chain now has more than 430,000 members. Each location typically employs about 100 staffers, including trainers and other fitness professionals. The company currently has 5,000 employees.

Onelife Fitness was founded by brothers Kirk and John Galiani, in part with money borrowed from family members and an initial lease co-signed by their grandfather.

Both remain part of the executive leadership team, along with chief executive Ori Gorfine, who says expansion won’t change the mission.

“We are a neighborhood anchor and we bring a premier club to each location so that everyone has access to the best fitness experience at a great price. That makes us both a powerful organization and a local gym that proudly reflects the different communities we are a part of,” Gorfine said.

Harris, who leads an investment group that purchased the Washington Commanders from Daniel Snyder for $6 billion in 2023, co-founded Apollo Global Management in 1990. He launched 26North Partners in 2022.

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Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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