Fahad Alhagbani: The Visionary Behind Fitness Time, Optimo, and B_FIT

Saudi Arabia’s sports economy is changing fast. Gyms are no longer just places to lift weights. They’re hubs for community, technology, and national transformation. Few people embody that shift better than Fahad Alhagbani, a founder who grew a family business into one of the world’s largest fitness chains, led two IPOs, and is now building smart clubs that speak directly to Vision 2030.

This is the story behind the numbers: family dynamics, governance, long nights, and the courage to walk away and start again.

Early Roots: From Reception Desk to 13 Clubs

Fahad did not enter fitness through a boardroom. He entered through a reception desk. In 1994, his older brother launched Body Masters, one of the earliest modern fitness clubs in Riyadh. Fahad was still in high school when he joined as a receptionist, gradually working his way into operations and helping grow the business to 13 clubs.

From the beginning, family was at the center of the story. Fahad comes from a big family: 10 brothers and sisters. The fitness business, however, was driven mainly by three brothers. What made it work was not just effort, but structure and trust. He describes the first key ingredient of their success very simply:

“The key thing actually was the trust that the rest of the brothers and sisters put in us.”

Trust, Roles, and Governance

From day one, family dynamics could have complicated the business. Instead, they became an asset because of how the brothers managed trust and structure. That trust was strengthened by clear roles and a conscious move away from informal, emotional decision-making:

• Initially, centralisation was the “norm” in the family business.
• With the entry of private equity (Investcorp) and more exposure, the brothers deliberately moved to decentralisation.
• They learned that documentation, defined roles, and non-interference were critical to protecting both the business and family relationships.

His first advice to anyone in a family business is surprisingly practical:

“Documentation is very important and identifying roles and responsibilities is also important. Interference can cause… a lot of issues.”

These lessons would later become the backbone of their governance journey from a family-run cluster of clubs to a publicly listed company.

Building Fitness Time: From One Club to 150

After selling their shares in Body Masters around 2004-2005, Fahad and his brother did something unusual for entrepreneurs: they paused.

Designing the Model Before Opening the Doors

For about 18 months, they focused only on design and strategy:

• Visiting global fitness exhibitions
• Talking to industry experts
• Studying concepts and trends
• Crafting a new brand and business model

That work became Fitness Time, which launched its first fully branded club in 2007.

“Usually entrepreneurs are very excited to kick off their idea. But… taking a moment between the two businesses was very good for us… we sat down and thought strategically what we want to do, how we want to do it, what the market needs.”

The initial plan: just four clubs, limited capital, and only siblings as shareholders. But the response was huge. Young Saudis loved the design and experience so much they thought it was an international franchise. The team had to keep explaining it was 100% Saudi-made. Growth followed quickly:

• 1 club became 4
• 4 became dozens
• By 2018, Fitness Time had around 150 clubs, 23 formats, and 3,500 employees.

Segmenting the Market and Serving Families

As the market evolved, they moved beyond “one size fits all” and created formats for different segments:

• Fitness Time Pro – budget
• Fitness Time Plus – high-end
• Fitness Time Junior – for ages 6-17, with pools, football, basketball, martial arts, and outdoor activities

This allowed them to reach multiple income levels and full families, while respecting Saudi norms with private and separate facilities. It was also about impact. Through a sponsorship partnership with FC Barcelona:

• Co-branding and player image rights elevated the brand.
• The FCB Escola Academy in Saudi trained thousands of children, focusing on values like respect and sportsmanship, not just football.

It was social responsibility through sport before that language became trendy.

From Family Business to Corporate Governance

A major turning point came in 2013 when Investcorp acquired 25% of Fitness Time. The goal wasn’t only capital, it was transformation. With their support, the company:

• Hired an international consulting firm
• Shifted from a centralised family business to a professional corporate
• Over 18 months, redrew the org chart, installed policies and authorization matrices, and rebuilt the management structure. Fahad was clear: this could not be a theoretical exercise.

“I didn’t want a consultation project with paperwork you keep in the drawer. We implemented it as we go… and restructured the whole management team.”

By early 2016, he felt genuinely confident in the leadership team, just in time for the next big test: taking Fitness Time to the public markets.

IPO, Letting Go, and Starting Again

The IPO of Fitness Time in 2018 was the major milestone. It took roughly a year and a half of preparation. It demanded enormous time and focus from the management team. But going public also meant one hard reality: giving up some control. Pre-IPO, the board structure changed again:

• Non-executive directors joined under Capital Market Authority regulations.
• Independent committees were formed (Audit, Remuneration, etc.)
• External voices and priorities became more influential.

Fahad describes a key lesson bluntly:

“You have to be prepared in the pre-IPO phase that you will give up some control on your company.”

For a founder deeply attached to the sector and to a specific vision of fitness in Saudi, that was difficult. Over time, strategic differences emerged between the family and the board. They had already:

• Spent 13–14 years building Fitness Time
• Taken the valuation to roughly the hundreds of millions of euros
• Put 3,500 people into stable employment
• Built a system that was “working like a machine”

At that point, the brothers made a decision many founders avoid, they chose to walk away. He describes the moment not as defeat, but as a reset: they had given all they could to that chapter. It was time to protect their passion and start something new.

Armah Sports: Smart Clubs and a Second Act

After leaving Fitness Time, the brothers did something familiar: they paused, reflected, then designed again. In 2019, Fahad co-founded Armah Sports Company and became its Vice Chairman and CEO. If Fitness Time was about scale, Armah is about precision and intelligence. The concept: smart clubs built around technology, data, and member experience, with brands like:

• OPTIMO: a premium, hospitality-style club
• B_FIT: a “business class” experience for the broader market

Armah has already achieved its own listing on the Nomu (parallel) market, giving Fahad the rare distinction of leading two fitness companies from founding to IPO within about five years.

Leadership Philosophy: Humility, Teams, and Succession

1. You don’t win alone – ever

Fahad is very clear that leadership is not about having all the answers, but about recognising that you never succeed by yourself. His mindset is built on humility and partnership, whether with brothers, management, or external experts.

“If I tell you today I know all the answers and I can do everything myself, I’d be lying… One hand doesn’t clap. You need the other hand to go.”

2. Plan succession before you need it

At Fitness Time, his older brother deliberately prepared him to step into the CEO role, separating Chairman (non-executive) and CEO (executive) responsibilities. That intentional grooming turned what could have been a risky power shift into a structured learning curve and gave the new venture a stronger leadership foundation.

“Because he focused on the succession plan… it was a learning curve for me… Today in the new venture, I lead the family business.”

3. When passion burns out, have the courage to reset

Walking away from Fitness Time after building it for 13-14 years wasn’t a failure, but a conscious decision to protect his energy and creativity. For Fahad, real leadership includes knowing when to step out, recharge, and build again with fresh passion, which is exactly what he did with Armah Sports.

“Sometimes you give a lot, you feel that you are burned in this area and you need to really jump and do something else… so you revive your passion, you revive your innovations.”

Final Thoughts

The next chapter belongs to you and your generation. If Fahad Alhagbani's journey shows anything, it’s that you don’t need a perfect start. You need commitment, learning, and the courage to begin. Vision 2030 is not a backdrop; it’s an open invitation. The question is no longer “Will sports matter in Saudi’s future?” The question is: what are you going to build inside it?

Follow Founder’s Tale for more stories of the visionaries shaping Saudi Arabia’s future.