A NEW app that champions independent gyms above franchises and chains has arrived on the Sunshine Coast.

The mobile phone app, Fit Exchange, is run by a fitness network of the same name that provides perks such as bulk-buying of gym equipment and insurance for the gyms in exchange for gyms welcoming members of the network when they're in town.

Founder Mitch Grayson says the app allows users to find a gym they can use wherever they are, helping small businesses meet the growing expectation of access in any location nation-wide.

Mr Grayson said he'd always preferred local gyms, where he met the owners and felt part of a community.

The idea for Fit Exchange came to him after frustration in finding independent gyms at various towns and cities he travelled to as a consultant, he explained.

The casual visit rates "really stacked up” so he tried a "big corporate” option, where membership is recognised at any of the franchises around the country.

"It was the worst (gym) experience of my life,” he said.

"I was greeted by a 12-year-old asking for my membership at the door, and it was so sterile.”

He had a hunch that a network of independent gyms would be popular, but for it to work it had to help gyms succeed, not exploit them, he said.

He devised a free mobile app which makes it easy for anyone to sign up, find their gym and elect to pay $2 on top of their existing monthly membership for the ability to access other gyms in the network.

Two Sunshine Coast gyms, in Warana and Maroochydore, became the first to join the network this week, and Mr Grayson aims to recruit dozens.

After launching in December last year, Fitness Exchange includes gyms in Brisbane and most major cities, and now has 11 gyms in Queensland.