MADabolic Names Franchisee Brand President, Bets on AI

MADabolic just handed day-to-day control of its 44-unit strength-training system to a franchisee who has run studios inside it for nearly a decade. Corbin Jennings takes over as brand president as co-founders Brandon Cullen and Kirk Dewaele step back from operational control, a leadership swap the company is pairing with a wave of AI investment as it pushes toward 50 studios by early 2027, shortly after its 15th anniversary.

An Operator Runs the System Now

Jennings built a five-unit MADabolic portfolio across Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia before stepping into the corporate role, and the company has also hired a vice president of marketing and revenue growth and an in-house recruiter. That background matters for existing franchisees: a president who has managed real estate, staffing and P&L inside the same system tends to make different calls than a founder running things from a distance.

AI Enters the Franchisee Toolkit

The brand has built AI-based assessments for general manager candidates, an AI-powered knowledge base inside its franchisee onboarding platform, and an AI CRM aimed at converting leads faster. A new KPI dashboard gives franchisees and corporate the same real-time view of studio performance, closing a visibility gap that typically widens once a system scales past 40 units and adding consistency to how each location tracks its numbers.

Cheaper Entry for Multi-Unit Deals

Through the end of 2026, MADabolic is discounting initial franchise fees for multi-unit signings and contributing $10,000 toward pre-opening marketing per location. Pairing a fee discount with leadership that understands unit economics from the inside is a direct pitch to the operators MADabolic needs to clear 50 studios, and it signals the brand wants growth to come from proven multi-unit operators rather than first-time owners.