Y7 Studio founder Sarah Larson Levey says she was left out of decisions affecting the yoga brand she built for more than a decade as FitLab moved operations to VM Fitness this summer.
FitLab publicly announced its acquisition of Y7 in February 2025, describing the company as a nine-studio yoga chain operating in New York, Los Angeles and Austin. Larson Levey told Hybrid Fitness Media FitLab first approached her about acquiring Y7 in the spring of 2024.
“It was putting together a flywheel of studios, product and health and lifestyle experience brands,” she said of the pitch.
FitLab said Y7 would be part of a broader portfolio that included Racked, Nike Fitness Studios, Sanctuary Fitness, Mile High Run Club, Ragnar, Assault Fitness and RPM Training. The plan, Larson Levey said, was for FitLab to support Y7’s marketing, finance, human resources and operations while preparing the brand for franchise expansion.
Hybrid Fitness Media has reported extensively during the past six weeks on the closures, missed payroll and other issues affecting several of those brands.
“They were going to spend the time and the resources to get us set up for franchise to expand the business,” she said.
Y7 had nine locations at the time of the acquisition and more than 200 total employees, according to Larson Levey. She said FitLab had discussed a potential master-franchise model that could include multiple studio brands in a market.
But she said the situation changed in mid-2025. In April 2026, Larson Levey learned that VM Fitness would take over operations for Racked and Mile High Run Club. Then, in mid-July, she received a text asking to talk and was told VM would take over Y7’s operations as well.
“It was the first I’d heard of it,” she said.
Larson Levey said she contacted FitLab’s C-suite to ask whether VM was in fact taking over Y7 operations. She said FitLab confirmed that it was, and said payroll would transfer the following week.
On July 22, she said, the Y7 team received termination notices from FitLab and was told they would move to VM Fitness payroll.
“I didn’t actually receive an email from anyone on the team,” Larson Levey said. “I just got a DocuSign termination from FitLab and kind of got more details as I acquired through Slack.”
She said she was not added to the new payroll system even as she was still working during the transition.
Larson Levey said FitLab’s acquisition of Y7 was an all-stock deal and that she has not received cash from the transaction. She said she has repeatedly sought information from FitLab about her current equity position without receiving a response.
“I have not received any communication despite efforts from anyone at the C-suite level at FitLab regarding what my equity position is currently at FitLab,” she said.
She said she considered continuing under VM Fitness during a short period between late July and early August, but declined after concluding she was not aligned with its leadership.
“It wasn’t something that I wanted to be a part of or work with people like that,” she said, citing what she described as “the lack of communication and care.”
Larson Levey said she had run Y7 for 11 years before the FitLab acquisition and had no reason to expect the transition that followed.
“To not even get an email from either of them … just some kind of courtesy before just a DocuSign, the termination notice was incredibly hard to just fathom that that’s a real thing,” she said.
The comments come after Y7’s current studios shut down and multiple coaches told Hybrid Fitness Media they are still owed wages. In an email to staff, Vin Miceli of GetVerb said two New York studios would hold their final classes Friday and that final pay “should be complete within the next week.”
Larson Levey said staff members continue to contact her for answers despite her no longer being associated with Y7.
“My hope is just that everybody gets paid,” she said. “I wish I could do more and get them answers, but … that’s all on VM Fitness now.”
FitLab and VM Fitness have not requested to several requests for comments.