Viva Leisure’s Gordon Martin Named #6 in Top 30 Franchise Executives 2026

Viva Leisure is proud to recognise Gordon Martin, Global General Manager of Franchising for Plus Fitness, on being named #6 in the Top 30 Franchise Executives 2026 — a national honour recognising outstanding leadership, commercial performance and innovation across the Australian franchising sector.

A Year of Measurable Impact

The recognition reflects a year of significant achievement across the Plus Fitness network. Under Gordon’s leadership, Plus Fitness grew its domestic footprint with 21 new territories sold, 12 new club openings and a further 31 locations in the pipeline. Membership increased across the network, and franchisee cashflow and recurring revenue were meaningfully strengthened.

On the international front, Gordon secured master franchise agreements across the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines, and obtained a 10-year renewal in India — cementing Plus Fitness as a globally scalable franchise system.

Technology Transformation at Scale

Among Gordon’s most significant contributions in the past 12 months was the development and rollout of a proprietary digital wallet and member access platform, now integrated directly with Apple and Google Wallet. Deployed across the network in five phases, the platform recorded more than 25,000 downloads in its first week.

The platform enables digital guest passes, casual visit revenue, tiered access and reciprocal global entry — all operable outside staffed hours. Critically, these innovations were delivered at no cost to franchisees, while generating new revenue opportunities and improving the member experience.

Gordon also led Plus Fitness’s transition onto the Ideagen platform, consolidating all standard operating procedure documentation, education materials and franchisee communications into a single, purpose-built system.

Franchisee Profitability as the Primary Metric

With franchisee profitability as his north star, Gordon reset the network’s business performance support model — shifting from reactive assistance to data-led, proactive commercial coaching. Two franchisee calculator tools were developed: one to project future revenue growth, the other to forecast ROI from refit completion. The results are reflected in 145 Australian clubs now operating as multi-site businesses, with refitted clubs delivering measurable yield, membership and revenue growth.

Governance, Community and Long-Term Vision

Beyond commercial performance, Gordon has strengthened governance maturity across the network through Franchise Advisory Council meetings, independent franchisee surveys and rigorous master franchise selection criteria. He has also championed Plus Fitness’s national partnership with ReKnight, a program supporting boys’ mental wellbeing through physical health and education. The initiative now reaches approximately 1,000 boys monthly through club access, with digital education extended to more than 10,000 teachers nationally.

Gordon brings more than 25 years of experience in the fitness industry and 15 years in franchising, having progressed from frontline operations to leading one of Australia’s largest and most internationally active franchise networks.

A Reflection of the Viva Leisure Standard

At Viva Leisure, we are committed to building brands and systems that deliver for franchisees, members and partners alike. Gordon’s recognition in the Top 30 Franchise Executives 2026 is a testament to that commitment — and to the calibre of leadership driving Plus Fitness forward.

Congratulations, Gordon.