Gym World Worldwide

🌎 Ben Pickard, owner of Lean Strong Fitness in Ontario and COO of Business for Unicorns, joins Mateo to break down how he went from doing everything himself to trusting a general manager to run his gym, why you have to let good people make mistakes, and how to turn the systems in your head into ones your whole team can follow.

P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry. Subscribe here (https://usekilo.com/gym-world/) so you don't miss out.

📱 Socials:

Ben Pickard (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/benjamin__pickard/

Lean Strong Fitness (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/leanstrongfitness/

Lean Strong Fitness (Website): https://lsfit.ca/

Business for Unicorns (Website): https://www.businessforunicorns.com

🔥Show Notes

• 0:00 — Intro & meet Ben Pickard, who started his gym with two polos, a laptop, and a $667 first month
• 0:58 — The niche: a 55-year-old with two kids, a bad knee, and no love for the gym
• 2:13 — Why Ben stopped chasing pro athletes and found the clients who light him up
• 5:16 — Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/gw)
• 5:48 — Why Ben hired a general manager after hating the day-to-day
• 7:17 — Trust your GM, then get out of their way
• 8:18 — Why you have to let them burn a few sales
• 10:56 — How long to let a team member struggle before you step in
• 12:11 — Scaling without systems: when your brain is the handbook
• 13:26 — Systems made simple: "if this, then that"
• 15:24 — Advice for his 2015 self: put the team first
• 17:08 — Why he'd stop running the business like it might disappear tomorrow
• 19:35 — One thing to do next week: pick 3 to 5 projects and chip away
• 21:00 — Why a 1,100-client gym runs its lead follow-up on spreadsheets
• 25:13 — Outro: where to find Ben
• 27:02 — Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/gw)

🌎 Ben Supik, owner of Activate Body Personal Training in Baltimore, returns to give Mateo an update on his expansion — going from a one-location-per-quarter goal to two locations opened in six months, and the systems, staffing lessons, and financial guardrails that made it possible.

P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry. Subscribe here (https://usekilo.com/gym-world/) so you don't miss out.

📱 Socials:

Activate Body Personal Training (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/activate_body/

Activate Body Personal Training (Website): https://activatebody.com/start-here/

📺 Watch On:

https://www.youtube.com/@GymWorldWorldwide

🔥Show Notes

• 0:00 — Intro: Ben's promised one-location-per-quarter pace, six months later
• 1:04 — Recap: Activate Body's small group, double-pod model for Gen Pop clients
• 2:13 — Why Ben runs two separate 6-person pods instead of staggered sessions
• 2:49 — The minimalist equipment strategy, and why it's intentional
• 3:53 — The centralized "HQ" structure that made scaling possible
• 5:28 — How one centralized sales hire outperforms four location-level hires
• 6:03 — Staffing as the single biggest risk to the expansion timeline
• 7:01 — Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/gw)
• 7:48 — Two locations opened in two quarters — but Q4 is getting skipped
• 8:52 — Lesson one: landlords set the pace, not you
• 9:29 — Cutting an 8-week onboarding program down to 4-6 weeks without losing quality
• 10:33 — Lesson two: the same pre-sale strategy failed in two nearby markets
• 13:56 — Financial planning: why Ben budgets 6 months of opex per new location
• 16:05 — Does the current HQ team scale to 10 locations? Not quite
• 17:11 — The upcoming hires: a district manager and a fractional CFO
• 18:12 — Why Ben is deliberately hiring people from outside the fitness industry
• 19:46 — What's next: tapping out the Baltimore market and eyeing 2027
• 20:39 — The new plan — opening a "cluster" of locations at once instead of one at a time
• 22:20 — Outro — where to find Ben and Activate Body

🌎 Jen Cho, co-owner of Tidal CrossFit in Toronto, walks Mateo and Kilo CEO Kaleda Connell through her 6,000-square-foot space (an old converted theater) and breaks down how she rebuilt the gym around fewer members and more value, plus how she structured the buyout that made her a co-owner.P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry. Subscribe here (https://usekilo.com/gym-world/) so you don't miss out.📱 Socials:Tidal CrossFit (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/tidalfitnessdanforth/Tidal CrossFit (Website): https://tidalfitness.ca/🔥Show Notes- 0:01 — Intro & gym tour begins with Jen Cho, co-owner of Tidal CrossFit- 1:00 — What is a "focus program"? A second income stream for coaches- 3:01 — Inside the space: 6,000 sq ft in a converted theater- 5:29 — The pandemic pivot: shrinking from 300 members to a higher-value model- 7:08 — Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/gw)- 8:12 — How focus programs get built (and why they have to be coach-led, not forced)- 10:12 — The math behind pricing a focus program so coaches make real money- 12:06 — Jen's marketing strategy: referrals, friends & family weeks, and why it works- 17:44 — How Jen went from GM to minority shareholder to full co-owner- 19:34 — The real lesson: understand your finances before you buy in- 22:04 — What Jen believes her real job is: keeping her coaches happy and paid- 23:19 — Outro — where to find Tidal CrossFit

🌎 Will Harrison, co-owner of CrossFit Bath and founder of The Fitness Flywheel, joins Mateo to break down his journey from member to co-owner, and how he helped the gym build a sales process that took it from 8-10 new members a month to nearly 50.

P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry. Subscribe here (https://usekilo.com/gym-world/) so you don't miss out.

📱 Socials:

Will Harrison (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/willjar58/

CrossFit Bath (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/crossfitbathbox/

CrossFit Bath (Website): https://crossfitbath.com/

The Fitness Flywheel (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/thefitnessflywheel/

The Fitness Flywheel (Website): https://www.thefitnessflywheel.com/

📺 Watch On:

https://www.youtube.com/@GymWorldWorldwide

🔥Show Notes

• 0:00 — Intro & meet Will Harrison, co-owner of CrossFit Bath
• 2:04 — From member to co-owner: how most people get into this business (and how Will didn't)
• 6:55 — Starting as CrossFit Bath's first-ever commercial hire, mid-COVID, with 142 members
• 7:09 — Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/gw)
• 8:34 — The result of just having someone focused on sales: 8-10 new members/month to 48-49
• 11:37 — Will's core sales philosophy: "sales is the transfer of enthusiasm"
• 14:34 — "No one cares about your gym" — why features don't sell, outcomes do
• 15:02 — The "writing reflex": why jumping to solutions too fast kills the sale
• 16:16 — The real reason gym owners lose the sale after presenting the price
• 22:56 — How The Fitness Flywheel started as a side hustle helping other box owners
• 24:56 — Real client results: 34 members to 36% growth in a month, and 2 gyms to 3
• 26:42 — How Will and his partners structured the buy-in and valued the business
• 30:36 — Will's advice for anyone stuck growing their gym
• 32:37 — Outro — where to find Will, CrossFit Bath, and The Fitness Flywheel

🌎 Mark Fisher, former owner of Mark Fisher Fitness, now a gym business coach and partner at Business for Unicorns, joins Mateo to break down how to think about pricing and—even more importantly—how and when to raise your rates.P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry. Subscribe here (https://usekilo.com/gym-world/) so you don't miss out.📱 Socials:Mark Fisher (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/markfisherhumanbeing/Mark Fisher (Website): https://www.businessforunicorns.com🔥Show Notes0:00 — Cold open: rent, payroll, and insurance are up — are your prices?2:26 — Today's topic: how to think about pricing (and when to raise it)3:18 — Mark's framework: start with your coach-to-client ratio5:48 — Crude benchmarks: ~$350/mo for 6-on-1, ~$185/mo for large group8:26 — The "no man's land" of averaging 8–10 people per class11:34 — What to do with underperforming class times: cut, don't hope22:34 — Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/gw)24:52 — The "sold out" exercise — finding your true capacity and topline27:56 — Why 80% (not 100%) should be your planning assumption32:17 — Price increase vs. price correction: how Mark tells the difference34:01 — The crude rule: $60 or more means it's a correction, not an increase39:19 — What to expect in reality: 1-2% cancel, 3-5% complain to your face40:00 — The two comms mistakes: over-apologizing and overselling the upside41:16 — Mark's short, no-frills price-increase email template43:16 — The "Red Wedding" — the time MFF let every member out of their contract45:47 — Training your clients to expect an annual price increase48:52 — Outro — where to find Mark and Business For Unicorns49:33 — Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/gw)

Mateo Lopez and Kaleda Connell tour Dan Visentin's 416 Fitness Club in Toronto, covering how he survived 450 days closed during COVID, the "red shirt" trick he uses to sell personal training, and the mistakes he says he'd never make again.P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry. Subscribe here (https://usekilo.com/gym-world/) so you don't miss out.📱 Socials:Kilo (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/kilogyms/Kilo (Website): https://www.usekilo.com/gw/416 Fitness Club (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/416fitnessclub/416 Fitness Club (Website): https://www.416fitnessclub.com📺 Watch On:https://www.youtube.com/@GymWorldWorldwide🔥 Show Notes:0:00 — On the road in Toronto with Dan Visentin of 416 Fitness Club0:56 — Front desk, lounge, and equipment layout walkthrough4:52 — Capping classes at 18: a COVID-era decision that stuck8:56 — The red shirt trick: selling personal training without a pitch11:48 — Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/gw/)12:18 — What 416 means to Dan, and its evolution from CrossFit-only to HYROX14:18 — The real turning point: 450 days closed during COVID16:17 — The rack-per-person layout that outlasted the pandemic19:53 — Giving staff freedom without losing consistency22:36 — Three mistakes Dan won't make again27:54 — Retention in a transient city30:38 — Becoming a dad and how it reshaped the business31:51 — Going HYROX: building a class that teaches the skills36:58 — Dan's unscripted Kilo shoutout37:14 — Wrap-up and sign-off

Kilo co-founder Mateo Lopez is joined by Chris McMahon “Kilo Chris” for a Q&A episode of Gym World, taking questions straight from the Kilo Crew Facebook group, covering why acting technique quietly shows up in coaching, sales, and short-form video content, the moment "growth" can turn into "distraction" once you start chasing a second or third location, and the gut-check test for expansion offers that look great on paper but feel wrong in your stomach.

P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry. Subscribe here (https://usekilo.com/gym-world/) so you don't miss out.

📱 Socials:

Kilo (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/kilogyms/

Kilo (Website): https://www.usekilo.com/gw/

Chris McMahon (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/coach.chrismcmahon/

Chris McMahon (Website): https://www.chris-mcmahon.com

📺 Watch On:

https://www.youtube.com/@GymWorldWorldwide

🔥 Show Notes:

• 0:00 — Kicking off with the Kilo Crew Facebook group Q&A
• 1:56 — First question: favorite ice cream flavors
• 4:56 — The one skill with the best ROI that gym owners keep avoiding
• 5:09 — Why improv class builds better coaches
• 6:36 — Short-form video, authenticity, and building a brand voice
• 9:58 — Discovering your authentic self by "playing pretend"
• 11:45 — Real example: a niche gym that found its voice and grew from it
• 13:14 — Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/gw/)
• 13:51 — Next question: when does adding more members, services, or locations start hurting your business
• 15:04 — The "ducks in a row" problem: replicating growth before systems are ready
• 17:24 — Case study: a cross-country expansion deal that looked good on paper
• 20:49 — Gut-check moment: ignoring your instincts under pressure to grow
• 22:28 — Knowing which unsustainable moves are okay short-term
• 24:36 — Accepting that growth always has an unsustainable phase
• 25:54 — Wrap-up and where to find more Gym World

Kilo co-founder Mateo Lopez and CEO Kaleda Connell are joined by All Day Fit's Cassie Day, as they take listeners on a construction tour of Cassie's brand-new standalone gym space in Toronto — covering the lease negotiation that almost didn't happen, the front-desk debate every gym owner has, why she's building a member lounge instead of maximizing square footage, and how the All Day Fit brand is evolving as she moves out of a shared space for the first time in a decade.

P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry. Subscribe here (https://usekilo.com/gym-world/) so you don't miss out.

📱 Socials:

Cassie Day (Website): https://alldayfit.com/about/cassie-day/

Cassie Day (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/cassiedayyy/

All Day Fit (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/alldayfit.co/

📺 Watch On:

https://www.youtube.com/@GymWorldWorldwide

🔥 Show Notes

• 0:00 — Welcome to the All Day Fit construction tour
• 1:39 — Negotiating the shared back space with the landlord
• 3:00 — The great front-desk debate: staffed vs. unstaffed
• 6:14 — Why the community lounge is worth the square footage
• 10:53 — Walking the main training floor and equipment setup
• 14:00 — What Cassie would do differently: lawyers, realtors, and lease red flags
• 15:56 — Why she left a shared space after a decade
• 17:39 — Space-hunting for two years and keeping rent at 20% of revenue
• 18:56 — Building sustainable coach careers with the "Strong Academy" model
• 20:04 — New hires and org structure
• 24:52 — Paternity leave in Canada and folding a partner into the business
• 26:32 — Rebranding from anti-diet-culture messaging toward "capability"
• 29:11 — The content strategy experiment: cutting all content for two years
• 30:29 — A Romania trip sparks the idea for parent-and-child classes
• 33:13 — Final thoughts and where to find Cassie and Kilo

🌎 Centr CEO Andrew Sugerman joins Mateo Lopez to talk about his jump from running Marvel comics and Disney's social channels to building the equipment behind Hyrox, why 92% of Hyrox finishers are already gym members, and what it actually takes to build a brand gym owners can be proud of.

P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry. Subscribe here (https://usekilo.com/gym-world/) so you don't miss out.

For gym owners and operators interested in Centr x HYROX commercial opportunities

Try the Centr App (includes the only HYROX-certified digital training programs)

📱 Socials:
Centr (Website): https://shop.centr.com/
Centr (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/centrfit/

🎙️ Listen On:
Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/gym-world-worldwide/id1659702465
Spotify - https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/gymworld

📺 Watch On:
https://www.youtube.com/@GymWorldWorldwide

🔥Show Notes

• 0:37 — Mateo introduces Andrew Sugerman, CEO of Center
• 1:39 — Andrew's 12 years at Disney, running Marvel comics and digital/social
• 2:43 — Why he left Disney for health and fitness
• 7:11— Run a successful gym with Kilo (visit https://usekilo.com/gw)
• 9:16 — The identity and community hook that keeps Hyrox athletes coming back
• 13:37 — Center's equipment now inside 4,000+ gyms
• 15:04 — How the Hyrox partnership started at a 2023 race in Anaheim
• 18:43 — How gym owners can bring Hyrox in, even non-competitors
• 24:00 — The growth numbers: 2.5M athletes and US cities doubling in 2026
• 26:26 — What actually makes a brand partnership work
• 29:37 — Brand advice for gym owners without a Disney budget
• 33:19 — Where AI fits into coaching, and where it doesn't

🌎 Kilo co-founder Mateo Lopez and Kilo Chris, take listeners behind the scenes of Kilo while at the Two-Brain Business Summit, the customer-care culture that keeps gym owners coming back, and the people on the team who make it happen.

P.S. If you like the show, then you'll love the Gym World newsletter. Every Friday, John Franklin breaks down the possibilities of making money in the fitness industry.

Subscribe here so you don't miss out.

📱 Socials:

Kilo (Website): https://usekilo.com/gw/

Kilo (Instagram): https://usekilo.com/kilogyms/

Book a Demo: https://usekilo.com/book-call

📺 Watch On:

https://www.youtube.com/@GymWorldWorldwide\

🔥Show Notes

• 0:00 — Kilo's female-led company culture and team vibe
• 0:38 — Mateo Lopez introduces Kilo and the Summit
• 1:14 — First-time Summit impressions and gym-world perspectives
• 2:10 — Why Kilo's booth is so packed
• 3:37 — Customer care as Kilo's biggest differentiator
• 5:04 — Shout-outs to standout team members
• 6:03 — Chris on joining the Kilo team
• 7:29 — Elsie's impact on marketing and onboarding
• 8:55 — Team goal for the Summit
• 9:51 — Background in coaching, CrossFit, and gym ownership
• 12:02 — Listening to users and building better features
• 13:16 — Final messages to the team and the Kilo crew