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2020 was year that made it difficult enough for established, successful microgyms to survive...but to invest and startup a franchise location is a whole different challenge.⁠ ⁠ Sure, franchises have the added benefit of providing you guidance, proven system and business support...but no one in the fitness industry fully understood how the pandemic would challenge our business model.⁠ ⁠ However, Cindy Bickman braved the storm and continued moving forward as she opened the first Row House location within Charlotte, North Carolina.  ⁠ ⁠ We sat down and discussed the challenges she faced and talked about the Row House franchise model at length.⁠ Check out rowhouse.com for more details about this awesome brand. 

CrossFit showed up on the fitness scene and completely transformed the industry. Even if you've never worked out at a CrossFit facility, wherever you do train - has probably been very influenced by the CrossFit training methodology. However, along the journey there were instances where individuals created a unique belief in fitness that moved beyond CrossFit. While this was sacrilege to the CrossFit purist, it was a breath of fresh for those of us who believed in creating new recipes with common ingredients. Marcus Filly is an amazing example of somebody who saw fitness through a different lens and acted upon it. https://revival-strength.com/

Paul Jarvis is the author of one of my top 3 business books: Company of One.   The concept is simple:  Resist growth in your business when there are smarter ways to increase revenue, without increasing overhead + complexity. Seems simple right?  Well, my guess is that your current business aspirations + actions probably look great on paper, but when you peel back the layers of added expenses, liability and complexity...you'd probably find that you could be making MORE money, by doing LESS. Honored to have the privilege to jam with Paul on his last podcast interview (at least for a while). 

Craig Howard is the owner of Diablo CrossFit in California.   He's been a gym owner for over a decade and while I could probably fill multiple podcast interviews on his experiences as a business owner, this conversation was specifically geared towards one thing:  Craig's effort to keep his business alive during the pandemic, even if it meant defying government orders. In this conversation, Craig shares his story in dealing with his local government, being fined and consistently pivoting to ensure that his business stays open + his members stay safe.  To learn more about Craig's GoFundMe page and what Diablo CrossFit is up to - follow him on Instagram @craighhoward_diablo 

In another segment with the HBIC (Head Bitch In Charge) at Urban MVMNT - Sarah Isaac (aka. Isaac)...we give a very transparent look at how Urban MVMNT handles one of the five functions of our business: ATTRACTING NEW BUSINESS. We share the guerrilla marketing strategies that have worked, those that failed and what we learned along the way.  Lots of great pieces here for you to steal and install at your own microgym. Also, if you're liking what your hearing from the Urban MVMNT team and you'd like to own an Urban MVMNT in your city - please check out licensing model and submit your interest!  https://www.urbanmvmnt.com/licensing

Just a quick proposal to my audience to see if you'd be interested in a long-form podcast segment. The idea is simple, I'd travel to meet figureheads in the fitness industry and have lengthy, all-inclusive conversations about business, life, relationships, vices, secrets, gossip, etc.  Think of this as me channeling my inner Joe Rogan or Tim Ferris.   Is this something you'd be interested in? If so, who would you want me to interview? Shoot me a DM on Instagram or send an email to stu@wtfgymtalk.com 

Every great microgym has a unique belief in fitness. It's not the ingredients that are unique, but the recipe. In this episode, Deuce (Head Coach at Urban MVMNT) and I jam on why we chose tempo training as the foundation for our entire training methodology.

Brie Hollingsworth is an accredited human within the fitness industry. She was a customer turned instructor at Flywheel (prior to bankruptcy, was one of the largest indoor cycling brands in the world) and quickly ascended to the highest tier possible - Master Instructor and Director of Talent Development.   After achieving what most trainers in the fitness industry aim for - making a salary + benefits, $150 per class taught, seniority and local fitness celebrity status  - she decided she wanted to create something new...she realized she had a unique belief in fitness that needed to be scratched.  This is that story, which ultimately leads to her creation of BaseMethod and I greatly appreciate Brie's willingness to share it. @brie_hollingsworth

In a world where everywhere fuckface-marketing-guru wants to sell you a system or PDF full of ways for you to run your business, I'm here to tell you that it won't work long term. Hell, it probably won't work short term. The only way for your business to grow and thrive is to be able to come up with specific solutions to specific problems.  Not some generalized, spray-and-pray strategy. And that's what today's podcast is all about. 

In this episode I break down one of the three unique workout style we offer at Urban MVMNT - SPRINTS. I talk about the origins of this workout, how we think about the dose response + client experience and more. Remember - Urban MVMNT is now accepting applications for our license model here.

Most people know Kelly Starrett, founder of the The Ready State, for his amazing work in the world of mobility and bringing that entire frontier to the mainstream fitness consumer. ⁠ ⁠ However, my admiration of this individual is centered around the catalyst that really give his empire it's genesis...he committed to 365 daily, unique pieces of content and uploaded to YouTube.⁠ ⁠ He was educational + entertaining.⁠ ⁠ The videos were shit quality, but profound with knowledge on improving human movement.⁠ ⁠ Being a pioneer in fitness-based content creation game allowed him to build an empire with @sfcf, from humble beginning to a successful brick + mortar microgym.⁠ ⁠ However, COVID changed all that.⁠ ⁠ Kelly and I jam on all this in today's episode.  I hope you enjoy the interview. ⁠ Follow The Ready State on IG @thereadystate 

Matt Simpson is an accomplished trainer out of the UK who has garnished the spotlight in primetime documentaries and most recently by the masses of social media after he made a misguided post for his current gym employer.  Matt and I jam on the delicate nature of social media and humans these days, where we get deep into the psychoanalysis of what causes the rage we see on in the comments section far too often.  I'm beyond impressed with how Matt handled this situation and hope you enjoy our jam sesh. @mattsimpt

On this episode, I sit down with Emily Lasko who has lived multiple careers in the fitness industry during her short tenure. She worked her way through the Orangetheory corporate ladder to become a leading Studio Manager, learning the in's & out's of a polished franchise business. Then she would take a marketing & brand developing role with her home gym, CrossFit Grandview, to help them launch their online fitness service. And now her career has taken her to an emerging market, the rise of high-end fitness facilities within residential communities & apartments. Emily is legit AF and I think she's got a ton of experience and insider tips that could help you - Enjoy! You can reach Emily at @coachlasko and www.coachlasko.com

This is a big day for me. I evolved from a successful CrossFit affiliate back in 2017 and created something unique in the market place. Microgym owners have come from all over the world to see how we were taking advantage of the 'white space' in the market and filling a huge gap in between the Orangetheory Fitness models and CrossFit.  Well, we were well underway into our franchise journey with COVID-palooza hit.  So now, we have to pivot. What would have cost you $250,000 previously as a franchisee is now available for a fraction of the cost as a licensee. Head over to our licensing page to learn more and apply.

In this limited series segment of the podcast, I interview former gym owners who have transitioned from owning brick & mortar gyms, to now becoming online digital marketing gurus. You know the ads - the ones where a guy is standing on stage with a golden plaque, with gimmicky ad copy that brags about their ability to give your gym "superpower" and "fill your gym with 349 leads by lunch!". Well, I wanted to know what caused that transition? If you were so successful as a gym owner, why move onto the digital business coach world? What makes your guru skillset any different form the hundreds of other guys in our newsfeed? So please, take these conversations with an open-mind and I just want to give props to guys who accepted my invitation to be on the show and answer the hard questions. 

In the next several months, you'll be hearing a lot of content from me that goes beyond the scope I typically discuss - fitness programming & design. Don't worry, the business content isn't going anywhere - but I'm looking to get the conversation started for a better way for barbell-biased gyms to train their clients, run a group fitness class with high operational capacity and even higher profitability.  Please let me know your thoughts and thank you for listening. 

On this segment of How I Broke This, I interview Chad Curtis - the co-owner (with his awesome wife Melissa) of Kinetix. Chad shares his failure as a microgym owner who has been through it all since 2010, when he left his teaching job to open up his gym.  From getting into shitty lease situations, developing a "clubhouse" style gym in the early days and a bit-too-fast-paced rebranding scenario has taught him many lessons...and hopefully you can too.  Big props to my man Chad for coming on the podcast and being open, raw and real.  

In the final installment of this five part series, I'll be reviewing (at a high level) a 5 point model that I teach within Microgym University. Today's episode with focus on CONNECTING with your members in ways beyond what we've traditionally done pre-COVID.   Want to level up your education as a business owner in this industry? Interested in working smarter, not harder?  Then enroll in Microgym University - the only online business school for microgym owners. 

Looking at how I think of my own content evolution within WTF, I'm going to share some insights regarding how you need to be thinking about your content for your microgym. 

And I know how to do it....listen up.