Alloy Personal Training Business

What does it really take to be successful? In this episode, John Farkas sits down with us to talk about the habits, mindset, and strategies that separate high performers from the rest.  For John, consistency and discipline start with the product. He leads most of his weekly team meetings with an educational lesson, gives his coaches constant feedback, and expects them to keep learning on thei...

Paid media is getting more expensive and less predictable. So what do you do instead? Kaitlin Bitting just joined Alloy as Director of Marketing, and she comes with agency experience, time at Campbell's Soup, and a front-row seat inside another major fitness franchise. Rick Mayo brought her on the podcast six weeks into the job, and the conversation landed somewhere useful: three organic marketing...

If you run a premium fitness business, discounting is not a sales tool. It is a confidence problem with a price tag on it. In this episode, Rick Mayo and Matt Helland break down the psychology behind why fitness business owners discount, and why it almost never has anything to do with what the customer actually needs. They cover the five reasons people drop their prices, from lack of conviction an...

July is the slowest month in fitness. Everyone knows it. The question is what you do about it. Rick Mayo and Matt Helland sit back down in the Beats Lab for one of their unscripted conversations about what it actually looks like to run a great personal training studio when the season is working against you. No guest, no slides, just two people who have been doing this for decades talking through w...

JP Middleton started his company out of his mom's basement at 21. No clients, no experience, and no idea what he was getting into. Eight years later, Gym Members Now is a seven-figure operation working with hundreds of fitness businesses, and JP just joined the Alloy vendor network. In this episode, Alloy founder Rick Mayo sits down with JP to find out what GMN actually does differently. The answe...

What does it look like to have a world-class CMO in your corner without the full-time price tag? In this episode, Alloy founder Rick Mayo sits down with Erin Levzow, CMO at CapitalSpring, to talk about the real value of fractional marketing leadership. Erin has held CMO roles at Wingstop, Freebirds, Museum of Ice Cream, and Marcus Hotels, and now works across the full CapitalSpring portfolio to he...

What happens when a franchisor and its franchisees are both running ads at the same time, targeting the same people? In this episode, Alloy founder Rick Mayo sits down with Aren Johnstone, CEO of Franchise Ramp, to talk about one of the most misunderstood problems in franchise marketing: duplicate spend. Aren breaks down why national and local budgets so often work against each other, what a prope...

What's the difference between a website that looks great and one that actually brings in business? In this episode, Alloy founder Rick Mayo sits down with Jimmy Weeks, CEO of Internet Strategy Labs, to dig into what separates high-performing websites from digital dead ends. Jimmy has built nearly 700 websites over 25 years and built one of the first franchise analytics dashboards in the industry....

What does it really take to scale a fitness brand — and find the right investment partner to help you get there?  In this episode, we sit down with Bryan Dickinson from CapitalSpring to discuss his path into franchise-focused private equity, what it takes to thrive in the industry, and what made Alloy Personal Training a standout investment opportunity. Bryan breaks down how CapitalSpring evaluate...

How do you grow fast without losing what makes your business great? In this episode, we sit down to talk about bringing on a private equity partner, CapitalSpring, and what that really means for our franchisees and our team. We get into why we waited for the right partner, how they’re helping us scale faster, and why this is not just about money. It is about resources, accountability, and opening...

What actually separates great franchise owners from those who struggle? In this episode, Alloy founder Rick Mayo sits down with Tammi, a seasoned franchise business coach with experience across multiple national brands, to break down the real traits that drive long-term franchise success. They dig into why employee turnover is usually a leadership problem, how owner involvement directly impacts re...

Running one gym is hard. Running multiple is a whole different game. In this episode, Rick is joined by John Vargas, multi-unit Alloy franchise owner and president of the Franchise Advisory Council, who shares the 5 keys that helped him scale from one successful Alloy location to several top-performing locations. They talk about why everything starts with your people, how to lead without micromana...

So, you’re ready to dive into the fitness industry? First off, congrats. It’s an exciting world to be in. But now you’re at the ultimate fork in the road: do you build your own brand from the ground up, or do you buy into a franchise? In this episode, Jared Nassiff interviews Rick Mayo, founder of Alloy Personal Training, to explore this topic through Rick’s journey from independent gym owner to f...

In this episode, Rick Mayo shares his journey from a college side hustle to building one of the most respected personal training franchise brands in the country. Starting in 1992 with a single location, Rick revolutionized small group personal training and scaled globally before launching Alloy as a full franchise in 2019. He opens up about the challenges of transitioning from licensing to franchi...

In this episode, Rick sits down with the number one facility operator and multiunit Alloy franchisee, Nick Garrity, to discuss his secrets to successfully scaling to multiple facilities. With a deep entrepreneurial background in stretching studios, saunas, and golf performance, Nick explains why consistency, trust, and communication are the real currency of successful fitness operations. He dives...

In this episode, Rick Mayo introduces Alloy's very own Rosheika Strachan, the team’s new internal communications lead. With a background in journalism, public relations, and sports management, Rosheika brings a wealth of expertise in shaping internal communications. Her mission is to make sure Alloy’s franchisees have all the resources they need, and they know how to use them, when to use them, an...

In this episode, Matt explains the "dos and don'ts" of phone sales. They discuss the uncomfortable world of phone sales and turn it into something approachable and even enjoyable for gym owners and fitness professionals. Matt brings tactics from the field, while Rick offers frameworks that turn conversations into conversions. They discuss how to handle price objections and why you should never sel...

In this milestone episode, Rick Mayo and Matt Helland reflect on 34 years in business, diving into the deep waters of growth, leadership, and transformation. Rick and Matt explain why franchising is an entirely different beast from running a gym and how most people don’t realize that jumping into franchising means starting a brand-new business. They discuss how leadership requires evolving your id...

One of the biggest challenges in running a fitness business is finding and retaining top talent. It’s a persistent problem that many gym owners and fitness franchisees grapple with. In this episode, Rick speaks with William Coker, president of FIBR, a fitness talent recruiting firm. FIBR is a new addition to the Alloy vendor suite, and we are excited about the alignment. William brings years of in...

Franchise ownership sounds like freedom, but most owners learn the hard way. Passivity doesn’t pay unless you earn it. In this episode, Rick Mayo sits down with Erik Van Horn, veteran franchisee, franchisor, investor, and founder of Front Street Equity Partners. With decades of experience across all sides of the franchise table, Erik unpacks what it really takes to thrive in franchising. They expl...

Alloy has recently updated its territory mapping system to identify new, high-potential locations. In this episode, Rick and Suzanne discuss the results of the Alloy mapping exercise for the US and what it means for existing and potential franchisees. With updated demographic data and an analysis of local business dynamics, the company has expanded from 900 territories to over 2000. The episode al...

In this 4th installment of the “Care Is Currency” series, Rick Mayo and Matt Helland discuss why consistency is one of the most overlooked aspects of customer loyalty.  Through stories and real-world Alloy examples, they show how even small deviations in client experience, no matter how well-meaning, can break trust and hurt retention. Even when the core service stays the same, inconsistencies in...

In today’s episode (Part 3 of the series), Rick Mayo and Matt Helland continue their conversation on the importance of genuine care in building client loyalty and business success. They discuss how Alloy’s focus on small, personalized touches, such as surprising clients with thoughtful gifts and sending post-workout texts, creates a strong emotional bond. These small actions are key to retention a...

In today’s episode (Part 2 of the series), Rick Mayo and Matt Helland dive into the importance of building genuine relationships with clients. They discuss the role of accountability sessions in driving retention and creating long-lasting client relationships. The future of Alloy won’t be built on the latest fitness trends or shiny new marketing tactics, but on care—specifically, caring enough to...

In part 1 of this 5-part series, Rick presents the concepts from his keynote presentation from the 2025 Alloy Conference. Through compelling stories, Rick and Matt explain how Alloy differentiates itself from competitors by showing genuine care for every client, leading to long-term loyalty and success. Rick shares how caring for clients beyond the sale through accountability and follow-up makes a...