Run a Profitable Gym

The theme of the 2024 Two-Brain Summit was virtuosity: doing the common uncommonly well. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper provides a broad recap of this year’s summit, which took place June 8-9 in Chicago. Over 1,000 gym owners and coaches were in attendance to hear from presenters such as Jason Khalipa, Jonathan Goodman, Carrie Wilkerson, Bill Pari...

Raising rates can be scary—but you won’t bleed members if you follow the right plan. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Tim Rainer, owner of Fit One Five in Franklin, Tennessee, to discuss the ins and outs of raising rates at a gym. Tim tried raising rates on his own three times, but none of the increases had a noticeable impact on his business. The he br...

Every gym owner must raise prices at some point—and it can be nerve wracking. Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” you’ll learn exactly how to implement a rate increase, step by step, without generating a flood of cancellations. In this episode, Mike Warkentin chats with longtime Two-Brain mentor and former gym owner Greg Strauch, who shares Two-Brain’s battle-tested plan. Greg has helped 81 fitness e...

Imagine paying yourself $16,000-$38,000 per month as a gym owner. Today’s guest on “Run a Profitable Gym” does just that. In this episode, host Mike Warkentin sits down with top-earning gym owner Darren Thornton of Defy Functional Fitness in Toronto, Canada. Darren, a regular on Two-Brain’s leaderboards, shares actionable steps you can take right now to grow your business and pay yourself more. Fo...

If an emergency pulled you away, could your gym operate without you? In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," host Mike Warkentin and Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper dive into one of the most crucial aspects of running a successful gym: systemization—aka, building a business that runs smoothly even when you’re not there. They lay out the steps you need to take to create effective standa...

Saara Snellman has succeeded where many other CrossFit affiliate owners have failed: CrossFit Kreis 9 in Zurich, Switzerland, has 340 members and generates most of its revenue through group classes. While many gym owners struggle to acquire and maintain 150 members, Saara loses only 10 of 340 members a month. To replace them, she just goes to her waiting list—so her marketing costs are $0. This mo...

Two-Brain’s March leaderboard tracked net owner benefit (NOB)—profit, salary and anything extra the gym pays for. Every gym owner on the leaderboard brought home more than $16,000 USD in March, based on a rolling three-month average. The top number? Way over $30,000! In this episode, Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper reveals the Top 10 NOB figures and then tells you exactly what these gym own...

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin is joined by Jason Khalipa, 2008 CrossFit Games champion, founder of NCFIT Gyms and TRAIN HARD online training, and host of the “Jason Khalipa Podcast.” Jason gives listeners a sneak peek into his value-packed presentation for the 2024 Two-Brain Summit, set for June 8-9 in Chicago. Between his business ventures and responsibilities as a husband a...

Every sale you don’t close at your gym costs you time and money. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin is joined by Matt Temby, head of sales at Two-Brain Business and owner of Vault Health & Fitness. Matt’s on the mic to share proven tactics for improving your close rate. He walks you through the sales process from start to finish: how to discover a potential client’s...

When should you not buy a gym? In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin dives into this question with Nick Habich, Two-Brain mentor and owner of Shark Bite Fitness and Nutrition in Cape Coral, Florida. Nick has bought a couple of gyms and passed on several others, and he’s acquired a few horror stories along the way. Some of the red flags he’s learned to look out for include...

When a gym owner sells or closes a business, it’s often because they’re burned out, broke or forced to sell for some reason. But what does a “good exit” from gym ownership look like? In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper talks with two former gym owners who had successful exits—Taryn Dubreuil and John Franklin. Both entrepreneurs explain why they opened gyms in...

Using mostly unconventional marketing methods, Mike Doehla built a nutrition company that sold to Anytime Fitness for eight figures. In today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin chats with Mike, former owner of Stronger U Nutrition. Prior to its sale, Stronger U had over 50,000 lifetime members, and about half of those members were in its Facebook group, where Mike focused on s...

Conversations equal conversions. If you’re a gym owner who’s tried running social media ads, blogging and posting reels without seeing a bump in your member count, it’s time to start initiating more conversations with potential clients. “But how do I do that?” In this episode, Two-Brain chief marketing officer John Franklin shares proven strategies for having more conversations and getting new mem...

Specialty programs can significantly boost a gym’s revenue—if they’re set up properly. The key? Don’t run every specialty program under the sun. Determine which option might serve your current clients and local market better, then test it with several six-week blocks before putting a full, ongoing program on the official menu. Today’s guest on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Brian Foley, is an expert when...

What happens when you find your niche in the fitness industry? Bill Parisi turned his passion for youth performance into a multi-million-dollar business. His company, Parisi Speed School, has more than 100 facilities around the world and has served over one million athletes, including more than 130 eventual NFL draft picks. But Bill isn’t focused on the guys who run world-class 40-yard dashes at t...

After six months of mentorship with Two-Brain, gym owner Wesley Kalkhoven doubled his income, earned more time with his family, and claimed spots on the February 2024 leaderboards for set rate and show rate.  His gym, Calisthenics Amsterdam in the Netherlands, had a whopping 76 No Sweat Intro appointments booked, and 37 people showed up. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkent...

Gym owners often ask “how do I get more leads?” when they really need more customers. The problem usually isn’t lead generation—it’s leads that don’t move down the marketing funnel. How do you know if your funnel is clogged? You have to track and analyze metrics. To help you add more clients, our February 2024 leaderboard show dials in on three critical lead-tracking metrics: set rate, show rate a...

Make his gym profitable by Christmas or shut down. That was the goal set by Brandon Sundwall, owner of Virtuo Personal Training in L.A., around this time last year. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business chief marketing officer John Franklin is joined by Brandon, who shares his gym’s epic turnaround. In just six months, Brandon doubled his gym’s revenue and cut his working h...

When you buy mentorship, you buy speed. In today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper walks you through the mentorship process to show what’s possible and how fast you can move. It’s all about setting a goal, creating a plan with expert assistance, and having someone hold you to the plan so you get the results you want. At the start of the program, we’ll help...

Does being a good coach make you a good gym owner? In today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin dives into this question with one of the top coaches in the world, Ben Bergeron. Ben has trained numerous CrossFit Games and Affiliate Cup champions, and he’s also the founder of CrossFit New England and CompTrain, as well as the author of the book “Chasing Excellence.” According to...

Who’s my target market? How many class options should I offer? How much should I charge? These are questions all gym owners must ask, no matter what type of gym they run. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper dives into these topics with Jimmy Davidson, a parkour athlete turned gym owner and mentor. Jimmy owns a three-location parkour gym, Freedom in Motion, and...

Today’s guest has driven up revenue in his gym by 3.5X since starting mentorship with Two-Brain, and his January 2024 total earned him a spot on the Top 10 revenue leaderboard—which ran from $58,000 to $125,000 USD. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Mike Warkentin sits down with revenue leader Chad Pinther, co-owner of Colfax Strong Strength and Conditioning, a CrossFit affiliate in Denve...

If you’re not selling personal training in your gym, you’re missing out on a lot of revenue. In today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin and Two-Brain CEO Chris Cooper show how gym owners can boost revenue by $10,000 or more without adding any new clients. Chris explains exactly how to use Goal Review Sessions and the Prescriptive Model to start selling personal training to y...

Titans Sports Academy, owned by Chance Beam, made Two-Brain’s Top 10 leaderboard for revenue in January 2024. Each gym in the top 10 brought in over US$50,000, and the top gym grossed over $125,000! Chance has been in business for over 20 years, and his program has propelled several athletes into Major League Baseball. In fact, seven of his former players are in the big leagues right now, includin...

Six-figure monthly gross revenue at a CrossFit gym? It can be done, and we have proof. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper presents the January 2024 Top 10 revenue leaderboard. The numbers, which are rolling three-month averages, run from $58,330 to $125,606 USD. After the Top 10 rundown, Chris shares quotes straight from the gym owners so you can repl...