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Run a Profitable Gym is packed with business tools for gym owners and CrossFit affiliates. This is actionable, data-backed business advice for all gym owners, including those who own personal training studios, fitness franchises, and strength and conditioning gyms. Broke gym owner Chris Cooper turned a struggling gym into an asset, then built a multi-million-dollar mentoring company to help other fitness entrepreneurs do the same thing. Every week, Chris presents the top tactics for building a profitable gym, as well as real success stories from gym owners who have found incredible success through Two-Brain Business mentorship. Chris’s goal is to create millionaire gym owners. Subscribe to Run a Profitable Gym and you could be one of them.
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Colby Knepp's gym revenue more than doubled in fewer than 12 months. In this video, he explains exactly how he did it. So how did he generate incredible growth at his PT studio in Colorado? According to Colby, Step 1 was hiring a mentor, and Step 2 was doing everything she told him to do. Of particular note, Colby researched mentorship as part of his business plan to open a gym. Instead of flying solo and making mistakes, he used Two-Brain's data, resources and tactics to open with members...
Can a gym be profitable with just 15 to 20 members? The answer is yes—and Oskar Johed is proving it. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Oskar, co-owner of two thriving CrossFit facilities in Sweden, to talk about why he chose a different path for his third gym: a small-group training model. Oskar breaks down the advantages of small-group training, from lower overhead and reduced staff burnout to higher client retention and stronger profitability. ...
If you try to scale your gym the wrong way, you might kill it. In this episode, Two-Brain founder and gym owner Chris Cooper shares how his first attempt at scaling nearly bankrupted his family. But you don’t have to guess like he did. Today, Coop walks you through safe, profitable scaling using small-group and semi-private training. He explains the difference between the two services and how to transition existing clients into them, whether they’re coming from one-on-one or big-group trai...
1Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks with attorney and former gym owner Matthew Becker of Gym Lawyers PLLC about how to use AI safely in your business without creating massive liability. Matthew breaks down the legal risks gym owners face when using AI tools, including operating outside their scope of practice, violating privacy laws and infringing on copyright. Improper AI use can even increase exposure to lawsuits and eliminate liability protection. So how can gym o...
CrossFit changed the fitness industry forever—but with affiliate numbers declining, gym owners are asking, “What’s next?” In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper digs into why affiliate numbers keep shrinking, where former CrossFit gyms are going and what gym owners can do right now to stay competitive. He explains how novelty-driven methods such as Hyrox are pulling attention and why the lack of clarity from CrossFit HQ has created uncertainty for affiliate owners. Coop la...
The key to steady gym growth and stronger retention? Turning your best members into your best recruiters. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper explains how to use affinity marketing to strengthen your community, keep members longer and bring in more people just like your favorite clients. Passive referral programs rarely work, so Chris shows you how to actively connect your clients’ families, coworkers and friends to your gym. He even provides an inside look at Two-Brai...
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper presents hard numbers and explains why the gap between 3% and 5% churn can be the difference between stability and collapse. He shares lessons from two decades of studying the science of retention, showing how most gyms don’t fail because they need more leads but because they can’t keep the people they already have. Coop explains why contracts aren’t the answer, why chasing Facebook leads and six-week challenges can actually erode your...
Kevin Munoz gives his training plans away for free—and still closes 80% of sales! Find out how he does it in this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym.” Today, host Mike Warkentin talks with Munoz about how he built $500+ average revenue per member (ARM) at his gym, Peak PT. Kevin shares the exact strategies that helped him land on Two-Brain's Top 10 ARM leaderboard, which runs from $502 to $854. At Peak PT, Kevin uses Two-Brain's Prescriptive Model to sell, and he'll give prospective clients ...
Ready to find out how the top gyms in the world earn between $500 and $850 per member each month? Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper reveals the latest leaderboard for average revenue per member per month (ARM) and explains exactly how the Top 10 gym owners earned their spots. You’ll hear about 10 proven tactics used by the leaders, including bundling services, offering semi-private training, selling with the Prescriptive Model and using simple billing changes to boost revenue. ...
Gym growth is simple when you understand the only six metrics that really matter in fitness businesses. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper breaks them down so you can improve your gym: Average revenue per member (ARM)Length of engagement (LEG)Return on investment (ROI)Effective hourly rate (EHR)Net owner benefit (NOB)Client headcountUsing data from over 15,000 gym owners who contributed to Two-Brain’s 2024 “State of the Industry” guide, Coop presents the industry average...
What’s stopping your gym from growing? In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Chris Cooper explains how gym owners accidentally limit their business growth and presents a four-level framework for leadership mastery. The progression moves from self-leadership (controlling your focus and energy) to team leadership (getting staff aligned without micromanaging), peer leadership (influencing equals without authority) and community leadership (expanding impact beyond your gym). The key insig...
Overwhelmed by conflicting business advice? Cut through the noise with Chris Cooper’s proven system for building wealth as a gym owner. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris explains how to move beyond the passion-first mentality that keeps most fitness entrepreneurs stuck and broke. He breaks down his four-phase roadmap for gym-owner wealth: Founder, Farmer, Tinker and Chief. These phases show you what to focus on right now, what to ignore and how to move toward financial freed...
After consuming free Two-Brain content for three years, gym owner Tyler Ouwendyk signed up for mentorship. Less than a year later, he earned a spot on the Top 10 leaderboard for net owner benefit (take-home pay), which ranges from US$17,000 to $45,000 per month. Tyler runs three facilities in a town of 30,000 people: two 24/7 access gyms with memberships capped at 400-500, plus a group training studio that launched with 52 members on Day 1 and hit 130 clients in eight months. In this ...
Many gym owners burn out because they reinvent everything daily. In this episode, Chris Cooper shows you how to systemize your gym without killing your creativity. He introduces the concept of “freedom within a framework”—the solution to decision fatigue, staff chaos and businesses that get stuck in the Founder Phase forever. Coop explains exactly where to systemize and where to be creative in each area of your business: MarketingSalesRetentionOperationsLeadershipYou’ll also hear how Two-Br...
Think you need a huge gym and hundreds of members to make serious money? These gym owners proved that wrong by generating $600 average revenue per member (ARM) in just 1,400 square feet. In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Mike Warkentin sits down with Jake Parton and Jenser Gomes from Evolver Fitness in Connecticut, who made Two-Brain's Top 10 leaderboard for net owner benefit (owner take-home) with only 90 members. Jake and Jenser reveal how they built a high-ticket, high-touch per...
In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Chris Cooper reveals the monthly leaderboard for net owner benefit—what gym owners actually pocket from their businesses. The top-earning fitness entrepreneur takes home over $45,000 a month! So what are our elite gym owners doing that others aren't? The Top 10 includes gyms from Belgium, Norway, Canada and Hong Kong, proving location doesn't limit earning potential. The leaders also proved small gyms can dominate: One top earner has only 90 memb...
Think you need 300+ members to run a profitable gym? The data says otherwise. In fact, the average gym can generate an extra $45,000 per year just by keeping the clients it already has for two extra months. In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Chris Cooper cuts through the noise with hard numbers from the “State of the Industry” report—the most comprehensive data set in the fitness industry. He walks through the six metrics every gym owner needs to make smart business decisions: ➡️ ...
“Get 500 members.” “Online coaching is dead.” “Don't raise your rates.” How much of the gym business advice flooding your social feeds is actually true? In this episode, Chris Cooper cuts through the BS with a crucial request for gym owners: Be part of Two-Brain's annual “State of the Industry” report. Every year, thousands of gyms worldwide contribute to the report, along with software platforms such as Wodify and Kilo, creating the largest fitness business data set in the world. The da...
Hate writing but love talking? Here's how one gym owner uses AI to create everything from SOPs to sales scripts without typing a single word. In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Mike Warkentin sits down with gym owner Ryan Webb to explore how AI tools have transformed his gym’s operations—with minimal investment of time or money. Ryan shares his workflow for using Wispr Flow and ChatGPT to save hours each week on essential business tasks. He explains how Wispr Flow transcribes and i...
Tired of wearing every hat in your gym? AI can handle repetitive tasks so you can focus on the work only you can do. Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper explains how gym owners can use artificial intelligence to automate their businesses without losing the human touch that gyms need. He walks through the three-step process of systemize, optimize, automate—explaining that many gym owners fail to use AI successfully because they’re trying to automate broken or undefined processe...
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To run a profitable gym, prioritize member satisfaction, offer diverse fitness programs, maintain top-notch equipment, and employ skilled trainers. Focus on customer retention, marketing strategies, and operational efficiency. Regularly assess and adapt offerings to meet evolving fitness trends and member needs for sustained profitability.
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Good stuff. Thank you 👍
I can totally relate. I am making the shift from trying to build my credibility by flaunting my knowledge to building an emotional connection with my clients.
Do you have any resources for how to implement Habits Based coaching for nutrition? This sounds good but I am having a hard time picturing exactly how this might look in practice.