Forty Under 40: Brandon Sebald

Brandon Sebald moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2012 to open area Planet Fitness locations. Initially, he intended the move to be temporary but decided to stay.

Over the past decade, he grew four businesses to about 100 employees in Northwest Arkansas and 1,500 across the United States. He recently exited a Planet Fitness franchise group after a deal to sell its 92 locations across six states. That allows him to focus on his other businesses.

In 2021, he became the first franchisee for 7 Brew and can open nearly 100 stores in Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana and Texas. He opened the first three stores in Springfield, Mo., and plans to have eight by the end of the year. He expects to open 12 stores annually.

Sebald is also a co-owner of Fayetteville-based Rare Bird Builders, which is focused on building $1 million to $2 million homes in Northwest Arkansas. The three-year-old company is building 4,000- to 7,000-square-foot homes, mainly in Washington County.

He’s also a Buff City Soap franchisee, with six New York stores and territory to build up to 40 locations. He started opening the stores in 2021.

In June, a private equity group closed the deal to acquire the Planet Fitness franchise that had grown to more than 650,000 members. Its six Northwest Arkansas locations had more than 35,000 members.

In 2010, Sebald opened his first Planet Fitness in Miami after he began training athletes in south Florida and wanted to reach more people.

Previously, he played football for the University of Miami and Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. In 2006, he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Hofstra.

Sebald supports area military veterans programs, including Sheep Dog Impact Assistance. He enjoys fitness, hiking, mountain biking and fishing.