Planet Fitness is institutional fitness in its purest form: the founders sold to private equity in 2012, the company IPO'd in 2015, and it is now almost entirely institution-owned. The budget model that made gym memberships accessible is the same one squeezing independent and mid-priced gyms out of the market, and the labor record — wage suits across several states, low pay ratings from its own staff — runs counter to the friendly branding. Accountability sits with public shareholders and a board that has already shown it will change CEOs overnight.