Planet Fitness to offer free memberships all summer for teens

Planet Fitness is hoping to see less high schoolers playing Fortnite and more hitting the weights this summer.

The 24-hour gym announced this week it will be offering teens ages 15-18 free memberships from May 15 through Sept. 1 at locations nationwide, including at its 14 in the Tampa Bay area.

To register, teens just have to visit a Planet Fitness near them with a parent or guardian to sign a gym waiver.

While freebies can sometimes show desperation in a company, Planet Fitness' announcement comes as its stock finished its 48th consecutive quarter with positive comps. Last summer, the New Hampshire-based company hosted a similar "summer challenge" at locations in its home state, where 2,500 teens registered and participated.

In addition to free workouts, the gym also said it will give away $30,500 in scholarship money to high schoolers. More than 50 teens will be randomly selected to receive a $500 scholarship and one grand prize winner will be randomly selected to receive a $5,000 scholarship. More information on registering can be found here.

Contact Josh Fiallo at jfiallo@tampabay.com. Follow @ByJoshFiallo.