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“Why have you only got five locations?”

That’s what Michael Jackson asked Matt Fiddes, and what happened next turned into a global scaling lesson.

In this episode, Matt Haycox sits down with Matt Fiddes, founder of a worldwide martial arts franchise network, to break down how he scaled from local studios into thousands of locations by doing what most business owners avoid: relentless front-end marketing, tight systems, and brand-building that creates trust at scale. 

But this isn’t just business. Matt also opens up about his decade-long relationship with Michael Jackson, what it was like being around that level of fame, how the media fallout changed his life after Michael died, and his perspective on the child abuse allegations, including the documentaries he points people towards. 

You’ll hear Matt and Matt talk about:

• The “napkin blueprint” moment with Michael Jackson, and the scaling lesson behind it. 
• Why most founders fail: they over-focus on the service and ignore marketing + sales. 
• The “15 marketing ideas by the 5th of every month” rule (and why it forces execution). 
• How brand + social proof beats copycats (and why people buy the name, not the tactics). 
• What it was like after Michael’s death: paparazzi, grief, and mental health. 
• Matt’s perspective on the abuse allegations, and why he says people should look deeper. 

Timestamps
0:00 – Intro
3:15 – Bullied as a kid, leaving school with no qualifications
11:03 – The first studio: how he got to 700 members fast
17:50 – The real growth lever: marketing > “being good”
27:04 – “Hi, I’m Michael Jackson…” and the napkin blueprint
35:05 – What life with Michael was actually like
46:53 – Being around global fame (and why he did it for free) 
57:02 – The abuse allegations: Matt’s perspective + documentaries he recommends
1:08:47 – The MF legacy, Money Freedom Club + what’s next

Follow Matt Fiddes:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialmattfiddes/
Website: https://mattfiddes.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattfiddes1/

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