For decades, Bowflex was the brand that dominated late-night television infomercials and American garage gyms. The promise was simple — get a complete home gym without leaving your living room. It worked. Millions of Bowflex machines sold. The brand became synonymous with home fitness in America.
Then came the pandemic boom, the bust, the bankruptcy — and a quiet $37.5 million acquisition by a Taiwanese company that most Americans have never heard of. Today, Bowflex is owned by Johnson Health Tech — and understanding that story tells you everything about where home fitness is headed.
Who Owns Bowflex Right Now in 2026?
The direct answer: Bowflex is owned by Johnson Health Tech Co., Ltd. — a Taiwan-based global fitness equipment manufacturer headquartered in Taichung, Taiwan, and listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TPE: 1736).
Johnson Health Tech Retail, Inc., the U.S.-based retail subsidiary of Johnson Health Tech, Co., Ltd., completed the acquisition of BowFlex for $37.5 million, as adjusted under the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The sale was officially approved by bankruptcy court on April 15, 2024, and closed on April 22, 2024.
Johnson Health Tech Retail purchased substantially all the assets of Bowflex in a bankruptcy auction, including the BowFlex, Schwinn, and JRNY brands, along with existing finished goods and parts inventory.
Ownership and Key Stakeholders Table
| Owner / Party | Role | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson Health Tech Co., Ltd. | Current Owner | Taiwan-based; TPE: 1736; acquired Bowflex April 2024 |
| Peter Lo | Founder of Johnson Health Tech | Founded JHT in 1975 in Taichung, Taiwan |
| Jason Lo | CEO of Johnson Health Tech | Son of founder Peter Lo; led the Bowflex acquisition |
| Johnson Health Tech Retail, Inc. | U.S. Subsidiary | Manages Bowflex, Schwinn, JRNY operations in North America |
| BowFlex, Inc. (formerly Nautilus) | Former Owner (bankrupt) | Filed Chapter 11 March 2024; assets sold to JHT |
| Nautilus, Inc. | Prior Owner (2002–2023) | Publicly traded on NYSE as NLS; rebranded to BowFlex Inc. in 2023 |
The Origin Story: How Bowflex Was Born
The first Bowflex product — the BowFlex 2000X home gym — was created in 1986. The product was unlike anything the fitness market had seen. Instead of traditional weight stacks or dumbbells, it used flexible Power Rods that provided resistance through bending — a compact, space-saving design that could deliver a full-body workout in a small apartment or spare bedroom.
The brand took off through direct-response television marketing in the 1990s and early 2000s. Those infomercials — featuring dramatically transformed before-and-after bodies — became cultural fixtures. With the success of BowFlex, the company bought Nautilus International, Schwinn Fitness, and Stairmaster. In 2002, the company moved to the NYSE and renamed itself The Nautilus Group, then Nautilus, Inc.
At its peak, Nautilus/Bowflex was one of the most recognized names in American fitness. Its stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It owned multiple beloved fitness brands. And then the pandemic came — and everything changed in ways nobody anticipated.
The Fall: Pandemic Boom, Post-COVID Bust, and Bankruptcy
COVID-19 initially looked like a gift for home fitness brands. Gyms closed. People needed equipment at home. Bowflex sales surged to record levels. The stock skyrocketed. But the brand made a critical error: it scaled up inventory and production assuming the pandemic demand was the new normal.
It was not. By 2023, BowFlex’s parent company, Nautilus, Inc., was in trouble. Sales plunged, supply chains faltered, and the market was flooded with new competitors offering AI-driven, app-connected fitness machines.
The company changed its name from Nautilus, Inc. to BowFlex Inc. and refreshed the BowFlex brand identity in 2023. The rebrand was an attempt to revitalize the business — but it was too late. Mass layoffs followed. The company delisted from the New York Stock Exchange due to low market capitalization. And on March 5, 2024, BowFlex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing poor post-COVID sales for its collapse.
Johnson Health Tech: The New Owner
When BowFlex went into bankruptcy, Johnson Health Tech stepped in quickly and decisively with a $37.5 million offer that nobody topped.
Johnson Health Tech was founded in 1975 in Taichung, Taiwan, where founder Peter Lo started the company in a small workshop, writing dozens of handwritten letters daily to secure the company’s first $200 dumbbell order. Starting as an OEM manufacturer, Johnson gradually built its own brands: Vision in 1996, Horizon in 1999, and the high-end commercial brand Matrix in 2001.
Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Taichung, Taiwan, Johnson Health Tech is one of the world’s top three fitness equipment manufacturers. With operations in over 40 countries and production and R&D centers in Taiwan, the U.S., China, Vietnam, and Japan, Johnson generated over $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023 and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide.
In 2025, Johnson Health Tech’s industry-leading portfolio exceeds 600 products. In 2024, Johnson Health Tech acquired home fitness brands BowFlex, Schwinn Fitness, and JRNY to complement its existing retail portfolio. These strategic additions expand Johnson’s consumer business globally.
The CEO of Johnson Health Tech, Jason Lo — son of founder Peter Lo — summed up the acquisition directly: “The strong BowFlex consumer brands will be a fantastic complement to our existing retail portfolio. This investment will allow us to offer a more diverse, holistic product range to the consumer market.”
What Bowflex Looks Like Under Johnson Health Tech in 2026
Johnson Health Tech Retail intends to fold the existing BowFlex and Schwinn operations into its existing North American sporting goods and e-commerce group. BowFlex will complement the existing team with many subject matter experts from the BowFlex organization so it can continue to offer market-leading solutions to its at-home customers.
Johnson Health Tech’s brand family now includes some of the most respected names in the fitness and wellness industry, including Matrix, Vision, BowFlex, Schwinn, Horizon, JRNY, Fujiiryoki, and Johnson Fitness & Wellness. The company’s products are available commercially and sold direct to consumer on brand websites, through retail partners, and in more than 460 Johnson Fitness & Wellness retail locations worldwide.
BowFlex is no longer an independent American company — it is now a sub-brand in a profitable portfolio. Johnson Health Tech is a manufacturer that owns the factories, which means better quality control and the ability to apply commercial-grade Matrix research and development technology to consumer Bowflex products.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who owns Bowflex in 2026?
Bowflex is owned by Johnson Health Tech Co., Ltd., a Taiwan-based fitness equipment manufacturer that acquired it in April 2024.
Q2. How much did Johnson Health Tech pay for Bowflex?
Johnson Health Tech purchased Bowflex for $37.5 million through a U.S. Bankruptcy Court-approved sale.
Q3. Why did Bowflex go bankrupt?
Bowflex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2024 due to collapsing post-pandemic home fitness sales and a massive inventory buildup.
Q4. What brands did Johnson Health Tech acquire with Bowflex?
Along with Bowflex, Johnson Health Tech also acquired Schwinn Fitness and the JRNY digital fitness platform.
Q5. Who founded Bowflex and when?
The first Bowflex product — the BowFlex 2000X — was created in 1986 as part of what eventually became Nautilus, Inc.
Q6. What other brands does Johnson Health Tech own?
Johnson Health Tech owns Matrix, Horizon, Vision, Schwinn, BowFlex, JRNY, Fujiiryoki, and Johnson Fitness & Wellness.
Q7. Is Bowflex still operating in 2026?
Yes. Bowflex continues to operate as a brand under Johnson Health Tech, selling home gym equipment through its website and retail partners.
Q8. Where is Johnson Health Tech headquartered?
Johnson Health Tech is headquartered in Taichung, Taiwan, with North American operations based in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin.
Bowflex is owned by Johnson Health Tech Co., Ltd. — a Taiwan-based fitness equipment giant that acquired the brand on April 22, 2024 for $37.5 million through a U.S. Bankruptcy Court-approved sale. The acquisition also included the Schwinn and JRNY brands.
Bowflex started as a single innovative home gym machine in 1986, grew into a publicly traded American fitness empire under Nautilus, Inc., and collapsed under the weight of post-pandemic demand decline and mounting debt. Under Johnson Health Tech — the third-largest fitness equipment manufacturer in the world with $1.2 billion in annual revenue and 600+ products — Bowflex has a stable, well-resourced parent for the first time in years.
The infomercial era is over. The Bowflex of 2026 is a global brand backed by Taiwanese manufacturing muscle — and quietly, it is being rebuilt.
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