Run a Profitable Gym

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks with gym owner and Two-Brain mentor Tim Caputo about a simple idea that brought in $720 in one hour—and generated six new leads. It all started with a client suggestion that evolved into a “moms and kids” pop-up class. The event sold out quickly, generated profit right away and opened the door to a steady stream of high-quality r...

Feeling pressured to run a Black Friday deal at your gym? Don’t do it. Your gym is a premium service provider, and it should compete on results and relationships, not price. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper breaks down the dangers of discounting and explains why most gym owners who offer sales end up trapped in the “discount death spiral.” Black Fri...

Can a gym be profitable with just 15 to 20 members? The answer is yes—and Oskar Johed is proving it. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Oskar, co-owner of two thriving CrossFit facilities in Sweden, to talk about why he chose a different path for his third gym: a small-group training model. Oskar breaks down the advantages of small-group training, from lo...

If you try to scale your gym the wrong way, you might kill it. In this episode, Two-Brain founder and gym owner Chris Cooper shares how his first attempt at scaling nearly bankrupted his family. But you don’t have to guess like he did. Today, Coop walks you through safe, profitable scaling using small-group and semi-private training. He explains the difference between the two services and how to t...

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks with attorney and former gym owner Matthew Becker of Gym Lawyers PLLC about how to use AI safely in your business without creating massive liability. Matthew breaks down the legal risks gym owners face when using AI tools, including operating outside their scope of practice, violating privacy laws and infringing on copyright. Improper AI u...

CrossFit changed the fitness industry forever—but with affiliate numbers declining, gym owners are asking, “What’s next?” In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper digs into why affiliate numbers keep shrinking, where former CrossFit gyms are going and what gym owners can do right now to stay competitive. He explains how novelty-driven methods such as Hyrox are pulling attention and...

The key to steady gym growth and stronger retention? Turning your best members into your best recruiters. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper explains how to use affinity marketing to strengthen your community, keep members longer and bring in more people just like your favorite clients. Passive referral programs rarely work, so Chris shows you how to actively connect your clie...

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper presents hard numbers and explains why the gap between 3% and 5% churn can be the difference between stability and collapse. He shares lessons from two decades of studying the science of retention, showing how most gyms don’t fail because they need more leads but because they can’t keep the people they already have. Coop explains why contract...

Kevin Munoz gives his training plans away for free—and still closes 80% of sales! Find out how he does it in this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym.” Today, host Mike Warkentin talks with Munoz about how he built $500+ average revenue per member (ARM) at his gym, Peak PT. Kevin shares the exact strategies that helped him land on Two-Brain's Top 10 ARM leaderboard, which runs from $502 to $854....

Ready to find out how the top gyms in the world earn between $500 and $850 per member each month? Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper reveals the latest leaderboard for average revenue per member per month (ARM) and explains exactly how the Top 10 gym owners earned their spots. You’ll hear about 10 proven tactics used by the leaders, including bundling services, offering semi-private tra...

Gym growth is simple when you understand the only six metrics that really matter in fitness businesses. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper breaks them down so you can improve your gym: Average revenue per member (ARM) Length of engagement (LEG) Return on investment (ROI) Effective hourly rate (EHR) Net owner benefit (NOB) Client headcount Using data from over 15,000 gym owners...

What’s stopping your gym from growing? In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Chris Cooper explains how gym owners accidentally limit their business growth and presents a four-level framework for leadership mastery. The progression moves from self-leadership (controlling your focus and energy) to team leadership (getting staff aligned without micromanaging), peer leadership (influenc...

Overwhelmed by conflicting business advice? Cut through the noise with Chris Cooper’s proven system for building wealth as a gym owner. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris explains how to move beyond the passion-first mentality that keeps most fitness entrepreneurs stuck and broke. He breaks down his four-phase roadmap for gym-owner wealth: Founder, Farmer, Tinker and Chief. These pha...

After consuming free Two-Brain content for three years, gym owner Tyler Ouwendyk signed up for mentorship. Less than a year later, he earned a spot on the Top 10 leaderboard for net owner benefit (take-home pay), which ranges from US$17,000 to $45,000 per month.  Tyler runs three facilities in a town of 30,000 people: two 24/7 access gyms with memberships capped at 400-500, plus a group training s...

Many gym owners burn out because they reinvent everything daily. In this episode, Chris Cooper shows you how to systemize your gym without killing your creativity. He introduces the concept of “freedom within a framework”—the solution to decision fatigue, staff chaos and businesses that get stuck in the Founder Phase forever. Coop explains exactly where to systemize and where to be creative in eac...

Think you need a huge gym and hundreds of members to make serious money? These gym owners proved that wrong by generating $600 average revenue per member (ARM) in just 1,400 square feet. In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Mike Warkentin sits down with Jake Parton and Jenser Gomes from Evolver Fitness in Connecticut, who made Two-Brain's Top 10 leaderboard for net owner benef...

In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Chris Cooper reveals the monthly leaderboard for net owner benefit—what gym owners actually pocket from their businesses. The top-earning fitness entrepreneur takes home over $45,000 a month! So what are our elite gym owners doing that others aren't? The Top 10 includes gyms from Belgium, Norway, Canada and Hong Kong, proving location doesn...

Think you need 300+ members to run a profitable gym? The data says otherwise. In fact, the average gym can generate an extra $45,000 per year just by keeping the clients it already has for two extra months. In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Chris Cooper cuts through the noise with hard numbers from the “State of the Industry” report—the most comprehensive data set in the fitness...

“Get 500 members.” “Online coaching is dead.” “Don't raise your rates.” How much of the gym business advice flooding your social feeds is actually true? In this episode, Chris Cooper cuts through the BS with a crucial request for gym owners: Be part of Two-Brain's annual “State of the Industry” report. Every year, thousands of gyms worldwide contribute to the report, along with software...

Hate writing but love talking? Here's how one gym owner uses AI to create everything from SOPs to sales scripts without typing a single word. In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Mike Warkentin sits down with gym owner Ryan Webb to explore how AI tools have transformed his gym’s operations—with minimal investment of time or money. Ryan shares his workflow for using Wispr Flow...

Tired of wearing every hat in your gym? AI can handle repetitive tasks so you can focus on the work only you can do. Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper explains how gym owners can use artificial intelligence to automate their businesses without losing the human touch that gyms need. He walks through the three-step process of systemize, optimize, automate—explaining that many gym owners...

What if one simple daily habit could help you grow your gym? In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Chris Cooper invites you to join him in his Golden Hour—a daily routine that grew his gym and other businesses.  This business-building hour is structured with the GOLDEN acronym: - Go to a place where you can focus. - Open your mind with a brain dump. - Lead with marketing reps. - Do...

Overwhelmed by business advice and the mountains of fix-your-gym resources? That's common, and overwhelm kills action. To help, Chris Cooper walks through six of his books for gym owners and helps you choose the one that will help you get big-time results today. 👉 You can even get the book you need for free between Aug. 4 and 8, 2025. Maybe you need “Gym Owners Handbook” to help you systemiz...

Most gym owners struggle to close in just half of sales consultations. Korey Schindler closes at a 93 percent clip. In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Korey, co-owner of Impact Fitness in Florida, reveals how he achieved his incredible close rate by following up with leads 381 times in one month. His efforts produced 44 sales consultations and 41 new members. Korey breaks down th...

Every month, Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper shares real gym data and actionable tips from top performers. In July 2025, it's all about marketing excellence. Today on “Run a Profitable Gym," Chris presents the leaderboards for three key marketing metrics that tell you if your sales funnel is leaky or locked down:  Set rate Show rate  Close rate Instead of just buying more ads, these Top 1...