At Mark Fisher Fitness, glitter, unicorns, and dildos are just as common as dumbbells, ropes, and kettlebells.

“We’re batshit crazy,” says Mark Fisher, the charmingly off-the-wall 35-year-old owner of the New York City gym. “I don’t know where a lot of the things we do come from, exactly. But I once explained ‘neutral spine’ to my ninjas by having them mentally picture an ‘elegant boner spine.’ No one wants a curvy boner spine."

True. So at the next class, one of his students gave Fisher a dildo. The collection has grown, as has an opportunity for elegant-boner-spine demonstrations.

Mark Fisher Fitness isn’t like most gyms. This, by now, is probably obvious. Actually, Fisher prefers to call his workout space an "Enchanted Ninja Clubhouse of Glory and Dreams." He calls his gymgoers ninjas, his fellow instructors wear Spandex—not the kind you’d expect—costumes, and capes, and his Clubhouse’s tagline reads: “Ridiculous Humans. Serious Fitness.”

The latter manifests itself in Fisher’s numerous fitness certifications (he has more than you can throw a unicorn at), his business- and life-coaching for ninjas (“we talk real shit here,” he says), and spot number 312 on Inc. 5000’s recent list of the fastest-growing companies in America. Fisher has even given a Ted Talk about creating a positive business environment for employees and how that dictates a company’s success. The Clubhouse earned roughly $3.3 million in 2014—about 1,500 percent growth since its doors opened in 2012.

Taking the Glitter-and-Sweat-Soaked Stage

Fisher wasn’t always a fitness guy. He was a professional actor with a degree in musical theater trying to make it big in NYC like so many other twentysomethings.

So when he started hitting the gym, he saw it as a way both to become a more marketable actor and to get more girls to talk to him. “It took me a while to get used to gym culture—I was never really into it—but I slowly started to fall more in love with fitness,” he says. The more he got into fitness, the more he started seeing an opportunity to help train people in the acting community; people who, like him, never felt comfortable in a traditional gym. “I felt like I was commissioned to bring the fullness of my eccentric weird-ass self to training,” he says.

So after a few years of training Broadway performers, he decided to turn his niche clientele (and Snatched in Six Weeks class) into an all-out business with his childhood best friend, Michael Keeler, who was then working in the nonprofit world. Three years ago, using money Fisher made from acting in an Allstate commercial, the duo opened the doors to Mark Fisher Fitness on West 39th Street in Manhattan—just a hop, skip, and a jump from Broadway’s theaters.

While a large contingent of ninjas are Broadway performers, more off-stage New Yorkers are joining Fisher’s army, and Fisher recently launched online services for ninjas on the road and outside Manhattan. The Clubhouse is currently home to more than 700 clients. “It’s like the Island of Misfit Toys here. We’re a group of people who would rather play around than work out in a traditional gym,” he says. "For us, this works.”

Becoming a Ninja: Fisher’s Tips to Achieving “Health and Hotness”

…In Fitness:“Prioritize strength training over cardio to truly make a difference in your body. It’s way more effective.”

…In Business:“Work to create a culture that’s all about a team of people on a shared mission. Once you do that, it’s game on.”

…In Nutrition:“You can’t out-train your diet. To change your physique, you’ve got to eat properly. Otherwise, you’ll work your ass off in the gym and still not see results.”

…In Life:“Don’t settle with anything you don’t like.”