Braeden Cordts bought a struggling gym with $300,000 in debt, no marketing knowledge and everyone telling him it wouldn’t work.

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin sits down with Braeden, who was just certified as a net-worth millionaire.

They talk about Braeden’s five-year journey from a 28-member gym losing money to a 230-member gym generating over $55,000 every month.

Braden opens up about a rough stretch in college and how finding CrossFit—and eventually buying a gym—changed his trajectory.

He breaks down the order of operations that got his gym to where it is today:

- A year of consuming free content before he could afford mentorship
- Putting real systems in place
- Pouring into his team and promoting his first full-time coach
- Building out personal training and semi-private as major revenue streams

He also opens up about how mentorship gave him clarity on his finances outside the gym—turning two accidental rental properties into a real wealth-building strategy, diversifying into syndications and buying into another gym.

If you’re a gym owner in the thick of it right now wondering if any of this is actually possible, Braeden’s story is proof that it is.

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0:00 - They Told Him Not to Buy This Gym

1:09 - From Train Wreck to Gym Owner

5:37 - The Risk That Changed Everything

8:18 - The First Breakthrough

9:38 - The Difference a Mentor Made

11:31 - The Systems That Fueled Growth

13:21 - The Move That Changed the Business

17:39 - The Revenue Stream Most Gym Owners Miss

21:34 - How Gym Owners Build Real Wealth

24:05 - The Growth Formula Most Owners Ignore

27:26 - The Question Every Gym Owner Must Answer

29:28 - His Message to Struggling Gym Owners

Learn how to build all four marketing funnels with our Never-Ending Leads training for gym owners, linked below. 
 
Nearly 15% of gym owners don’t contact their leads at all. The interest is there. The hands are raised. But nobody sends the message.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper explains why your DMs might be the most underused sales channel your gym has, and how to use them without sounding pushy or salesy.

He shares a real story of how a comment on an old photo turned into a member walking back through his doors, and one about a post that didn’t land as intended and how he fixed things with a simple conversation.

Chris introduces a simple eight-step framework for turning casual DM conversations into booked consultation, and also gets into why the slowest leads sometimes become the most loyal clients and how to keep warm leads from going cold without a fancy system.

Tune in to turn your next follower, like or comment into a real gym lead.

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00:00 - Why Your Gym’s Social Media Isn’t Turning Into Members

01:06 - How One Instagram Comment Brought Back a Former Client

03:28 - The Missing Link Between Social Media and New Members

05:46 - The DM Framework That Builds Trust (Without Being Salesy)

08:08 - The 8-Step Process for Turning Followers Into Clients

10:01 - How to Nurture Warm Leads Who Aren’t Ready to Buy

11:59 - The Post That Almost Cost Chris a Client

This episode contains several visual examples. For the best experience, head to our YouTube channel "Run a Profitable Gym."

Get a comprehensive, AI-powered audit of your gym’s Instagram at GymIG.com.

Joe Strada just won Two-Brain Business Gym of the Year. Here’s exactly how he built one of the best content strategies in the gym industry.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin sits down with Joe Strada of Unleash’d Strength to break down his content playbook.

They cover everything from his early TikTok trend-hopping days to the storytelling and conversion-focused content that’s growing his gym today.

Joe walks through real examples from his own feed, including the meme-style video that got him five million views but zero followers and the carousel that finally broke his streak of flops and brought in nearly 200 new followers.

He also shares his exact process for using AI to script and edit videos for his gym based on viral videos he admires.

John and Joe dig into the difference between content that goes viral and content that actually converts, why getting your community involved in your videos pays off in ways views never will, and why finding the content style you genuinely enjoy making is the only sustainable way to stay consistent.

Tune in, steal Joe’s best ideas and adapt them for your own gym.

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00:00 - Why Most Gym Owners Never Post Content

00:51 - Meet the Viral Gym Owner of the Year

02:50 - How Joe Started Creating Content Before Opening His Gym

05:08 - The Trend-Hopping Strategy That Got Millions of Views

07:54 - Brand Positioning: Why "Strength Is for Everyone" Works

09:14 - Top-of-Funnel Content vs. Content That Sells

11:31 - Meme Content: Turning Members Into Creators

12:47 - Viral Content: How to Repeat a Winning Format

16:27 - Educational Content: Build Authority With Simple Tips

18:22 - Community Content: Show the Personality Behind Your Gym

21:18 - Content Planning: Never Run Out of Ideas Again

24:23 - AI Content: Adapting Trends for Your Audience

28:49 - Interview Content: Let Your Members Tell the Story

31:20 - Conversion Content: The Carousel That Added 200 Followers

36:44 - Storytelling Content: Create a Pin Post That Converts

42:26 - How to Start Creating Content Consistently

Before you spend another dollar on ads, listen to this episode. Chris Cooper is getting more leads from free Facebook posts than almost any other marketing channel.

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Coop shares how he writes Facebook posts that start real conversations, bring back lapsed members and attract new clients.

The core idea is simple: Start capturing what’s already happening in your gym. The breakthroughs, the mistakes, the 6 a.m. class where only three people showed up and everyone crushed it anyway.

Chris also challenges you to make your clients the star of your content—just a good photo and two to four sentences that make everyone who knows them stop scrolling. These posts cost nothing and don’t require a social media manager or a fancy content strategy.

You’ll also hear about the posts that kill organic reach (like unfiltered rants) and why protecting your reach matters more than making a point.

Your gym’s best Facebook content is already happening in front of you every day. It’s time to start capturing it.

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0:00 - Intro

0:50 - Why organic Facebook still works

4:04 - Capture, don’t create

5:57 - The posts that perform best

6:45 - What kills your organic reach

7:20 - Make your clients famous

9:40 - How personal posts juice the algorithm

This episode contains several visual examples. For the best experience, head to our YouTube channel "Run a Profitable Gym."

Is your gym’s Instagram converting members? Audit it with our custom AI tool: https://GymIG.com/

If you stripped your gym’s name and logo from your website and social media, would anyone know what makes you different? For most gym owners, the honest answer is no.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin lays out the five steps gym owners need to take to become the obvious choice online in 2026

He walks through real-world examples of gyms that have nailed their online positioning, including a gym serving underrepresented women in fitness, a bodybuilding facility that hunts down and restores rare equipment, a performance center that built its reputation entirely around baseball players with shoulder injuries and a personal training gym that targets exclusively the 50-plus crowd.

Each example illustrates the same core principle: a specific promise to a specific type of person beats generic messaging every time.

John also explains why simplifying your service offering is just as important as clarifying who you serve, and he outlines how your Google Business Profile, website and Instagram should all tell the same consistent story to turn curious searchers into booked consultations.

Tune in to learn how to make your gym impossible to ignore online.

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0:00 - Intro

0:38 - Be the "obvious choice" online

1:00 - Real gym example—underrepresented women

2:19 - Real gym example—world-class equipment

4:35 - Real gym example—baseball niche

6:04 - Real gym example—personal training

7:51 - Get clear on who you serve

9:55 - Simplify your service offering

11:50 - GBP, website and Instagram consistency

13:49 - Show undeniable proof

Big news: CrossFit is not for sale. Bruce Edwards, the new CEO made that a condition of taking the job.

At the 2026 Two-Brain Summit in Chicago, Chris Cooper sat down live on stage with Bruce for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of CrossFit.

Bruce isn’t a newcomer to CrossFit. He was an original client of Greg Glassman in the late 1990s, one of the early guinea pigs who helped shape the methodology. He later owned CrossFit Aptos, served as COO of CrossFit and has now returned as CEO with a clear mandate: Fix the perception problem, rebuild affiliate value and bring the movement back to its roots.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris asks the big questions affiliate owners are asking, and Bruce shares his honest vision for what comes next for CrossFit.

Tune in to hear a candid conversation about CrossFit’s future under Bruce’s leadership.

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0:00 - Intro

0:20 - Why Bruce almost said no to the CEO role

6:43 - CrossFit’s North Star

8:46 - The Games vs. the affiliate story

13:22 - The future of CrossFit media

15:00 - Do GLP-1s have a place in fitness?

20:25 - Bruce's stance on partnerships

28:15 - A message to de-affiliated owners

30:07 - What affiliates should do right now

This episode contains several visual examples. For the best experience, head to our YouTube channel "Run a Profitable Gym."

Get a free audit of your gym’s Instagram with our custom GPT tool: GymIG.com

If you’re a gym owner who wants to post more content but doesn’t know where to start, this episode is for you.

Many gym owners have the misconception that they simply need to post more. But getting the right mix of content actually matters more than how often you post.

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin breaks down the three types of content every gym owner needs to be posting on Instagram.

He shares real examples from gyms who are doing this well and walks through exactly how to replicate their posts.

You’ll learn how to use your gym’s Instagram page to make people like you, trust you and move closer to doing business with you. 

Tune in and walk away with a simple three-post-a-week plan you can start this week.

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0:00 - Intro

0:55 - Why variety beats volume on social media

1:07 - Posts that get people to buy from you

2:43 - Social proof that actually works

7:30 - Building connection through Instagram

10:10 - Becoming a trusted voice

11:31 - Your exact weekly posting plan

HYROX just crossed 4,500 affiliates in North America. A year ago, that number was under 1,500.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin sits down with Eric O'Neil, Head of Affiliates for HYROX (Americas), to talk about what’s driving that growth, what the best training clubs are doing differently and what’s coming next for gym owners who want to capitalize on the HYROX opportunity.

Eric explains how the affiliate program works, including the pre-sale ticket process and how HYROX markets affiliate events through their regional newsletters.

He also shares what separates the training clubs bringing 50-plus members to race day from the ones that never quite find their footing.

The conversation covers the full picture for gym owners who want to run a profitable HYROX program:

- Running sims and camps
- Adding personal training as an upsell
- Building a 365-day HYROX calendar around local race weekends
- Tapping into the massive pool of non-members who show up to these events

Eric also addresses the elephant in the room: Is HYROX here to stay, and how should gym owners think about the investment?

If you’re HYROX-curious or already affiliated and want to get more out of it, this episode is worth your time.

Get the full toolkit for generating ROI from HYROX affiliation via the link below.

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0:00 - Intro

0:40 - HYROX affiliation growth

6:00 - HYROX trends in Europe and the Americas

12:37 - How the pre-sale ticket process works

14:32 - Sims, camps and monetizing events

21:56 - Youth HYROX

35:50 - Building a 365-day HYROX calendar

44:34 - Is HYROX here to stay?

This episode contains several visual examples. For the best experience, head to our YouTube channel "Run a Profitable Gym."

Is your gym’s Instagram actually getting you members? Or just likes?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin reveals the five Instagram mistakes gym owners make that silently kill their lead flow.

Then he shows you exactly how to fix them. And fixing just ONE can completely transform your business.

John walks through each mistake with real examples from gyms that are getting it wrong and gyms that are getting it right—including a breakdown of one of the best gym Instagram pages in the business and why it works so well.

One gym got 50 million views on a single post, but zero clients from it. Don't make the same mistake.

If your Instagram isn’t converting leads, watch this episode and then get an instant audit of your page at GymIG.com.

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0:00 - Intro

0:43 - Mistake 1: No pin post sequence

4:04 - Mistake 2: No conversion content

8:35 - Mistake 3: Only posting, never talking

13:08 - Mistake 4: No personality

16:06 - Mistake 5: Chasing vanity metrics

Struggling with paid ads for your gym? Here's what's actually working in 2026.

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin sits down with Colm O'Reilly, Two-Brain's paid ads specialist, for a tactical breakdown of everything gym owners need to know about Facebook and Instagram ads right now.

In this episode, Colm covers the real numbers behind paid gym ads: what you should expect to pay per lead, what a client actually costs to acquire and how to know if your ads are profitable.

John and Colm explain why ads amplify your other marketing funnels and how Meta's Andromeda update changed the ads game.

Colm introduces a simple “BUT” formula for writing ad copy that speaks directly to your ideal client's goals and objections and breaks down campaign structure for both beginners and advanced gym owners.

The pair also discuss what to say on that first phone call, how to handle the pricing question and how to keep cold leads warm for months after they first clicked.

Watch this episode and walk away with a clear starting point for running profitable gym ads in 2026.

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0:00 - Intro 

2:51 - Ad math and budgeting basics

7:39 - What to expect from your ad spend

10:34 - The Andromeda update and creative strategy

13:03 - The “BUT” framework for ad copy

15:57 - Campaign structure for gym owners

22:15 - Lead ads vs. landing pages

24:13 - Lead nurture and what to say on the phone

32:24 - Troubleshooting ads that aren't working

34:01 - Should you hire an ad agency?