Stretching out for kids

A self-described fitness fanatic, Holly Bond barely has a minute to work out these days. That's because the energetic mother of two teenagers is busy building a kids' fitness empire. "We want to be the Curves of kids' fitness," says Bond, 40, the founder of Bulldog Interactive Fitness (www.bulldoginteractivefitness.com), North America's first kids-only gym chain that uses interactive equipment and one of seven winners at the 2007 Nova Scotia Export Achievement Awards (for more information about the Awards, visit www.exportachievementawards.com). At Bulldog, kids can get fit while pedalling on stationary bikes and simultaneously playing on a Sony PlayStation or by jumping on a dance pad in front of a TV, mimicking the moves of the dancer onscreen.

There are currently five locations—the original one in Dartmouth, another in Truro, and three in Ontario (in Barrie, Thornhill, and the family-friendly Leaside neighbourhood of Toronto)— but the brand is about to explode. Bond expects that 10 locations across the country will be open by late fall, and she has an ambitious goal of opening 400 franchises worldwide by 2011. “We’re all exhausted,” says the Dartmouth native, “but it’s an exciting exhausted.”

Holly Bond, founder of North America’s first kids-only fitness chain.

With an initial investment of roughly $160,000, Bulldog opened on Portland Street in Dartmouth in February of 2005, targeting kids from age three through to teenagers in an effort to reverse the disturbing statistics of childhood obesity. Inactivity among Canadian children is reaching epidemic levels; studies show that more than half of Canadian youth aren’t active enough for optimal growth and development.

Bond’s initial goal was to open Bulldog locations in the region’s main cities and then franchise in two or three years. But with franchise requests streaming in, plus a $240,000 loan from a group of angel investors in Halifax to bankroll the franchising process, Bond, a former pharmaceutical sales rep, and her husband and business partner, James, decided to push their plans forward. Since then, success. “It has been staggering,” she admits.

In addition to opening more franchises, Bond is building the company’s brand and considering developing exercise DVDs, cookbooks, and other related merchandise. She loves Halifax and has no plans to relocate. “Great things come out of here [Nova Scotia]. Let’s stay here. Let them come to us. We have so much to offer.”

— Allison Lawlor