Former Barry’s Exec Has Big Plans For Yoga Joint

Adam Shane, the former chief development officer of Barry’s, is opening two Yoga Joint studios in NYC this year, with plans for 15-plus locations across the New York metro area

Adam Shane has traded the glow of Barry’s famous red lights for Yoga Joint’s blue, but don’t mistake the color change for a cooldown.

Shane, the former chief development officer and executive vice president of operations at Barry’s, has acquired the New York territory franchising rights to the Florida-born infrared heated fitness brand, with the first two studios set to open in fall 2026 — one at 470 Park Ave. South in Midtown Manhattan and another at 267 Kent Ave. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

His longer-range plan calls for 15-plus locations across New York City and surrounding markets, including Westchester, Long Island, Greenwich, C.T., Hoboken and Jersey City by 2030.

Shane found Barry’s as a client in 2011, fell for the workout and eventually spent 13-plus years scaling the brand. His chapter with Yoga Joint began the same way; Shane discovered the boutique fitness around 2021 while looking for somewhere to sweat after COVID scrambled his routine.

What got him through the door (and kept him coming back) was programming. The brand runs two core class formats: Flow, a 60-minute vinyasa-style yoga class, and FIIT, a 45-minute strength and cardio conditioning class using free weights and resistance bands, all inside infrared-heated studios that are suitable for all.

“You can be advanced, you can be a beginner,” Shane told Athletech News. “I think the beauty of Yoga Joint is that it’s for everyone. You can always lift heavier. You can always lift lighter.”

Notably, he’s bringing something New York hasn’t seen much of lately: a fitness concept that isn’t Pilates. In a city where Pilates studios are seemingly multiplying by the block, Shane is going a different direction, but he’s happy to cheer on those in a different category.

“Pilates is having a sort of fitness moment, and it’s great,” he said. “There’s room for a lot of different things in fitness.”

The timing is key. The global Pilates and yoga studio market was valued at $120 billion in 2025 and is projected to hit $521 billion by 2035, according to a report from Allied Market Research.

But the finer details still matter, and Yoga Joint has the on-point aesthetics that consumers now expect from boutique fitness, plus a spot-booking system that lets members reserve specific spots in the studio ahead of class.

“When you go into the room, it’s a dark room,” Shane explained. “It’s got really cool lighting that changes with the workout. You’ve got an instructor guiding. It really has that high energy, which I loved about Barry’s, frankly. So this has that element of high energy, fun music, all incorporated into what I call a fully immersive experience.”

The concept, founded in 2010 by Paige Held in South Florida, has grown to 17 locations across the state, with national expansion now underway.

Shane spent several years getting to know Held and the brand’s parent company leadership before pulling the trigger on the New York territory deal in late 2024.

The New York build-out is backed by a group of investors spanning fitness, real estate, finance and entertainment. The Park Avenue South studio will span 6,300 square feet across ground-floor and basement space, while the Williamsburg location will cover 4,500 square feet on the ground floor. After the first two studios open, Shane plans to add four to five locations per year.

Before the studios open, Yoga Joint New York will begin making noise this summer through pop-up events in the city and in the Hamptons, as well as a confirmed teaching slot at Bryant Park Yoga.

“What’s really important to me is building a team-first culture that truly takes care of its clients and its community with hospitality and service,” Shane said.

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