Jan Westrik went from running a 200-member CrossFit gym to building a premium small-group personal training facility — losing around two-thirds of his existing members during the transition.

In this episode, we talk about why a busy gym isn't necessarily a successful business, making difficult decisions that upset members, charging enough to build a great team, and why Jan believes gym owners need to build the business around the life they actually want.

We also get into how gym marketing is changing, why the old Facebook ad → sales call model isn't as reliable as it once was, and what gym owners need to do instead.

Find out more about Jan:

• Instagram
• His Gym

James Pratt has built one of the most unusual small-group PT models I've come across.

His 7,200 sq ft headquarters has around 950 members, can coach 30 people an hour and still gives every member individualised programming.

We get into the systems that make it possible, why Pratt Personal Training only offers ONE service, how they generate around 50 referrals a month, why their free trials convert at 83%, and James' obsession with creating an "unreasonable amount of customer satisfaction."

An absolutely fascinating look inside a small-group gym operating at serious scale.

Find out more about James:

• Instagram
• His Gym

Nick Winkleman's Sept 26th Edinburgh Seminar Details (4 spots left)

Most gyms barely use email.

And the ones that do often send stuff nobody particularly wants to read.

In this episode, copywriter and marketer Mike Samuels explains how gym owners can use better stories, stronger messaging and simple emails to build relationships and ultimately bring in more members.

We get into:

• Why your message matters more than the marketing platform
• How to write emails people actually want to open
• Why you should write to ONE ideal member
• How often your gym should email
• Where your offers should fit
• Why storytelling is such a powerful marketing skill
• How Mike uses AI without letting it write his content
• Why your email list should get your best content first

If your gym has an email list gathering dust, start here.

Find out more about Mike:

• Instagram

Nick Winkleman's Sept 26th Edinburgh Seminar Details (8 spots left)

Tom Buckle thinks about his gym a little differently from most gym owners.

Within a year of opening TBH, he'd fired himself from coaching.

Now, he tries to fire himself from another role every three months.

The result is a 183-member group training gym that can run without him - and Tom has just secured funding to open another three locations.

In this episode, we get into:

• Why TBH runs sessions with up to 24 members
• Why your coach-to-member ratio shouldn't necessarily be your USP
• How Tom reduced churn from around 9% to 5.5%
• The 180-day system TBH uses to catch members before they leave
• Why they film and review entire coaching sessions as a team
• What Tom looks for in the "modern coach"
• How their latest referral campaign turned 15 trials into 13 members
• Why Tom deliberately tries to make himself redundant from his own gym
• The lessons he's learned turning TBH from a gym into a scalable business

Find out more about Tom:

• Instagram
• His Gym

Nick's Sept 26th Edinburgh Seminar Details

Nick Winkelman is one of the world's leading experts on coaching communication and the author of The Language of Coaching.

In this episode, we explore his work through a very specific lens:

How can group training gym owners help their coaches become better at the actual craft of coaching?

We talk about why coaching quality isn't separate from retention and business performance, how the language your coaches use shapes the experience members have in your gym, and why great coaching shouldn't simply be left to chance.

Nick explains how to spot the subtle "echoes of understanding" that tell you when a cue has landed, why different clients respond to different types of language, and how coaches can move between managing the energy of an entire group and giving one individual exactly what they need.

We also cover:

• Why "if they're laughing, they're listening"
• How to create better and more personalised coaching cues
• The difference between global and local communication
• Why asking more questions can improve your coaching
• A simple way to discover how your clients prefer to be coached
• Why filming one session could dramatically improve a coach
• The one question every coach should ask when watching themselves back
• How gym owners can build coach development into their business
• How AI could eventually provide coaches with personalised feedback on how they communicate
• If you own a small-group gym and care about making the coaching inside it genuinely world-class, you'll get a lot from this one.

Find out more about Nick:

• Instagram
• His Book
• Edinburgh Seminar

Most gym owners think getting from 100 members to 200 is about finding a better marketing strategy.

Sean McKirdy disagrees.

In this episode, Sean breaks down the lessons he's learned from growing Elevate 98 in Edinburgh from a one-man PT business into a 220-member small group personal training gym with seven staff.

We discuss why every gym seems to hit "sticky points" at certain membership numbers, how Sean gradually removed himself from the day-to-day coaching, why he believes investing in staff beats investing in equipment, and the marketing system that's helped them grow consistently for five years.

You'll learn:

• Why 50, 75 and 100 members often become growth plateaus.
• The mistake gym owners make when trying to push through those plateaus.
• How Sean built a gym that continued running while he disappeared for a three-week honeymoon.
• Why your marketing channels should work together rather than in isolation.
• How to make your messaging resonate with everyday people—not other coaches.
• The surprising reason Sean keeps doing every new member consultation himself.
• How case studies outperform generic testimonials.
• Why consistency beats novelty when competing against bigger gyms.

Find out more about Sean:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmckirdy98/
• His Gym: https://elevate98.co.uk/

How does a gym survive, and thrive, for more than 25 years?

Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California, has been one of the most respected gyms in the world since 2000.

In this episode, I sit down with Alwyn Cosgrove to unpack what has allowed Results to keep growing while so many gyms have come and gone.

We discuss the three pillars every successful gym needs, the KPIs every owner should know, why "price objections" are usually value objections, how to evolve your business without losing your identity, and why the future of fitness marketing may have far less to do with fat loss than many coaches realise.

We also cover:

• The People, Process, Product framework
• The three KPIs every gym owner should track
• Why most coaches are white belts at business
• Sales, guarantees and overcoming objections
• Marketing in a GLP-1 world
• Reinventing your gym without chasing trends
• Why systems make average coaches great
• The importance of hiring your own coach

Find out more about Alwyn:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwyncosgrove/

This week I'm joined by Krista Scott-Dixon, one of the most respected coaching educators in the world and author of Applied Nutrition and Coaching: Counselling.

Rather than talking about programming or nutrition, we explore something that's arguably far more important: the coaching relationship.

We discuss what PTs & in-person coaches can learn from counselling, why remembering the little things can transform client retention, how to repair fractured coaching relationships, and why trying to "fix" clients is often the wrong approach.

• Why the coach-client relationship matters more than technical knowledge.
• The simple behaviours that make clients feel genuinely cared for.
• The biggest mistakes that quietly damage coaching relationships.
• Why behaviour always serves a purpose (even unhealthy habits).
• How to help clients create better habits without relying on willpower.
• Why experiments beat advice.
• How to stop caring more about your client's goals than they do.
• Practical lessons from counselling that every PT can use immediately.

Find out more about KSD:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stumptuous/
• Website: https://kristascottdixon.com/
• Her new book (Applied Nutrition Coaching Counselling Practice): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Applied-Nutrition-Coaching-Counseling-Practice/dp/B0GYQM4SP1/

This week I'm joined once again by Lisa Jarratt from Downham Ladies Fitness, just weeks after opening the doors to her brand-new facility.

We discuss why she decided to move gyms, how she generated 70 new trial members before the doors even opened, the systems she's put in place to protect the coaching experience as the business grows, and why she's chosen retention over squeezing every last penny out of the gym.

You'll learn:

• How Lisa signed up 70 new trial members before opening her new facility
• The Meta ad strategy generating a strong return without a complicated funnel
• How to create marketing that answers your clients' biggest objections
• Why one-to-one inductions have helped her onboard dozens of new members successfully
• The programming system allowing clients of all abilities to train together
• Why she believes protecting service and retention is more valuable than increasing coaching ratios
• The biggest lessons she learned from investing nearly £50,000 into a new gym space

Find out more about Lisa:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/downhamladiesfitness/

This week I'm joined once again by George Branford from Intent 91 to discuss what's working inside one of the UK's fastest-growing gym businesses.

We dive into the marketing strategies bringing in members today, how George uses AI and sales-call transcripts to create better content, the retention systems keeping clients for nearly two years on average, and the hiring process that's helped build a strong team across five locations.

If you run a personal training business or small-group gym, this episode is packed with practical ideas you can implement immediately.

You'll learn:

• How to create marketing that actually sounds like your ideal clients
• Why recording sales calls is one of the best business decisions you can make
• The retention system that's keeping members for 18–20 months
• How to personalise coaching inside a group setting
• George's hiring process for finding coaches who genuinely fit the culture
• The biggest lessons he's learned from scaling to five gyms

Find out more about George:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgebranford/