A FitLab-operated Nike Studios location in Culver City, California, closed Friday after a short-lived handoff to a new operator, leaving coaches waiting for wages they say were due before the closure.

In emails reviewed by Hybrid Fitness Media, VM Fitness told employees on Aug. 20 that it would permanently close Racked Culver City, the former Nike Strength Studio, at the end of business the following day. The company cited “landlord disputes and past challenges from previous ownership.”

Two days later, after employees asked about missing paychecks, Trey Moser of VM Fitness wrote that “the business is unwound/closed” and that the ownership group would begin contacting workers Monday to discuss paychecks.

Eviction Case at Culver City

The closure followed months of legal trouble tied to the Culver City property. Court records show CP V Cumulus LLC, the property owner, filed an eviction case in Los Angeles Superior Court on April 24 against FitLab Inc. and FL Victory LLC, doing business as Nike Running Studio and Nike Strength Studio.

Simone Berry, a coach at the Culver City location, said she was working when the eviction summons was served at the studio in May. “This is above my pay grade,” she recalled thinking. “I’m not the proper person to get this to.” Berry said she photographed the documents and forwarded them to her manager.

The Culver City property had already appeared in another dispute involving FitLab. As Hybrid Fitness Media previously reported, Hughes-Nelson Painting Inc., doing business as Apex Imaging Services, sued FitLab in April over nearly $904,000 in alleged unpaid construction work at multiple Nike Studios locations, including Culver City.

Apex also recorded a mechanic’s lien against the Culver City property. CP V Cumulus LLC, the owner that later filed the eviction case against FitLab and FL Victory, was named in the lien-related portion of that lawsuit. The claims against FitLab remain active.

Berry said staff were told the outstanding rent and construction issues would be resolved. “They were assuring us everything’s good,” she said. “We’re going to pay all these bills.”

Nike Studios Begin To Unravel

Cory Booker, a founding coach at FitLab’s Nike Training Studio in West Hollywood, said the studio, which he said opened in 2023, had built a loyal membership base.

But he said FitLab later eliminated general manager, front-desk, and head-trainer roles, leaving coaches to take on responsibilities previously handled by management.

Around December, water damage forced the West Hollywood studio to close, he said. What staff were initially told would be a two-week repair stretched into a month, then a promised February reopening, before the location was permanently closed.

In a later company-wide call, FitLab said its Nike partnership had ended and that remaining studios would close or transition into other concepts, Booker said. West Hollywood and the Nike Running Studio in Santa Monica closed, while Culver City became Racked.

VM Fitness Takes Over

FitLab formally ended its employment relationship with workers at Racked Culver City, Racked Newport Beach, and Mile High Run Club Nomad on May 29. In an email sent the day before, PJ Nestler, FitLab’s general manager of studios and vice president of performance, told staff that VM Fitness would assume “full operational management” of Racked Culver City, Racked Newport Beach, and Mile High Run Club Nomad in New York.

The email said employees’ jobs with FitLab would conclude May 29 and instructed those who wanted to remain at the studios to apply with VM Fitness.

Berry and Booker both said the transition left the operation without key FitLab support. Berry said FitLab laid off staff responsible for programming, marketing, and talent management in early July. Booker said two FitLab corporate employees he had worked closely with were also let go around that period.

Berry said attendance and sales had begun to improve under VM Fitness. But on Aug. 20, less than three months after the formal handoff, Moser told the Culver City team that the studio would permanently close the next day.

“We could not overcome landlord disputes and past challenges from previous ownership,” Moser wrote.

Berry said she had not received her regularly scheduled paycheck for wages earned between Aug. 1 and Aug. 15 when the closure was announced. In an email sent that evening, she asked VM Fitness to confirm when that payment and her final wages would be issued.

Moser replied early Aug. 22 by copying Vincent Miceli, the owner of VM Fitness, but did not answer those questions. Later that morning, Moser wrote to the Culver City team that “the business is unwound/closed” and that the ownership group would begin reaching out Monday to discuss paychecks.

Berry said she and other coaches had filed wage claims and that employees were still waiting for payment. “They currently owe all coaches and people at the office,” she said. “We have not been paid.”

The Culver City closure adds to a series of problems involving FitLab’s portfolio. Hybrid Fitness Media has previously reported on the Nike Studios construction lawsuit, delayed payments and cancellations involving Ragnar, equipment-order complaints involving Assault Fitness, and Fitplan’s financial troubles.

Hybrid Fitness Media has emailed Miceli with questions about the closure, employee pay, the ownership group, and VM Fitness’s relationship with FitLab. The publication also asked why Racked and XPT appear on both VM Fitness’s website and FitLab’s website.

Update, August 23, 2026: The morning after this article was originally published, VM Fitness’s website went offline. The site had described the company as ‘a holding company that grows premium fitness brands throughout the United States.’ The domain vmfitness.com is now listed for sale.

Hybrid Fitness Media will update this story and related VM Fitness coverage with any response.