The average gym gets 28.9% of its leads from social media.

Most gym owners leave them on the table by posting the wrong things—or worse, nothing at all.

Today, Two-Brain CEO John Franklin walks through a simple social media system gym owners can use to get more prospects onto their page and convert them into paying members.

He gives you side-by-side comparisons of real gyms’ pages, showing you what attracts leads and what doesn’t.

He also presents examples of gym owners who are crushing it on social right now, such as:

- Joseph Strada, who built an audience by leaning into his love of White Monster.
- Anthony Wu, who gets one to two new small group clients from social every month with under 100 followers.
- Elvis Fisher, whose fun karaoke video became a magnet for new members.

Plus, he hands you DM scripts for starting conversations with new followers, re-engaging old members and turning comments into clients.

Watch this episode and walk away with a clear posting plan, real examples to model and word-for-word scripts to start generating more gym leads from social media today.

Links

Gym Owners United

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3:14 - Convert leads from social

5:47 - Create social proof

9:58 - Make prospects like you

12:57 - Build authority

14:27 - 3x5 story method

Tune in to get the exact plan for what to post on social media to grow your gym.

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper walk through the social media system that turns lurkers into paying members.

They lay out the big three content types every gym owner should be posting:

- Conversion content that moves prospects closer to buying.
- Connection content that makes people like and trust you before they ever walk through the door.
- Value content that helps your community solve real problems for free.

They break down each type with examples from real gym owners, and they present tactical steps you can take to start creating better gym social content today.

The pair also tackle one of the most underused tools in gym marketing: sell by chat (having real conversations with real people who interact with your social media).

You’ll walk away with a simple weekly posting strategy you can actually stick to.

This is episode 2 of 4 in the Marketing May series. Next week: the content funnel.

If you missed last week’s episode on referrals, check it via the link below.

Links

The Referral Funnel

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0:37 - People buy from people

2:17 - 3 types of content

15:18 - Story strategy

19:24 - Sell by chat (DM)

22:31 - Your action steps

Does your gym really need more clients? What if you just kept current members longer?

In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," host Mike Warkentin sits down with Two-Brain mentor Brian Foley, whose gym Activate has over 360 clients and 27-month average length of engagement.

Brian walks through the full retention system that makes his client count possible, starting with marketing to the right avatar and running a No Sweat Intro that filters for fit.

He explains how his team uses a weekly review to identify at-risk clients before they consider canceling, as well as automated check-ins to keep individual goals front and center in a large gym.

You’ll also hear about his top client acquisition strategy—quarterly bring-a-friend events that add 40 to 50 new members per year at virtually no cost—and how referrals, organic social media and a modest ad spend work together to keep his pipeline full.

If you're tired of "filling a leaky bucket," watch this episode and learn how to increase your client count by building a gym no one wants to leave.

Links

Gym Owners United

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1:22 - How to retain clients

13:46 - Client management systems

18:35 - New client referrals

24:23 - Where paid ads come in

27:05 - Why work with a mentor?

Your best clients already know your next best clients. Here’s how to find them.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper kick off Marketing May with the most underused growth tool in the fitness business: referrals.

Referrals are free, they get results faster than any ad campaign, and most gym owners are leaving them on the table every single day.

John and Chris walk through the seed client exercise, a simple process to identify your best clients and find more people just like them.

Chris shares three questions to ask seed clients over coffee to sharpen your offerings and open the door to referrals without feeling pushy, plus how to use goal reviews with all clients every 90 days to increase retention and referrals.

The pair also lay out a full playbook for in-gym and out-of-gym events that bring non-members through your doors and turn them into paying clients.

Subscribe and follow along all month. Every week in May, we’re breaking down one of the four funnels you need to grow your gym. Next up: social media.

Links

Gym Owners United

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0:50 - Why referrals first?

2:10 - Seed client exercise

9:21 - Goal review process

15:58 - Internal and external events

21:05 - Your actions steps

Bruce Edwards just became CEO of CrossFit. Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper thinks it’s the right call, and he has a very personal reason for saying so:

Bruce fired him. Personally.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin sits down with Chris for an unfiltered reaction to the April 28, 2026, appointment, following Don Faul’s resignation in March.

In 2018, when Bruce trimmed the CrossFit Media team, Chris learned everything he needed to know about the kind of leader Bruce is.

“Bruce could have delegated the job. He didn’t,” Chris said. “He picked up the phone himself and did the hard thing the right way—head-on, with clarity and respect.”

Chris explains exactly why Bruce is the right person for this moment, from his time as CrossFit’s COO during the brand’s biggest growth phase to his experience as a CrossFit affiliate co-owner himself.

He also traces Bruce’s career since CrossFit—leading growth at In-Shape Health Clubs, barre3 and one of the largest Planet Fitness franchise groups in the country—and says that experience makes him even more qualified for the job.

Chris opens up about why he quietly ended his own affiliation in 2022 after 14 years, what it would take to bring him back, and the three signs he’ll be watching for in the next year to know whether the ship is actually turning around.

Then Chris and John tackle the bigger questions: why affiliate counts keep declining, how Greg Glassman fits into this transition and what Bruce needs to do first to rebuild trust with the affiliate community.

Links

Gym Owners United

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0:55 - Why Chris left CrossFit in 2022

5:26 - Bruce’s role in CrossFit’s growth

7:29 - Bruce’s post-CrossFit career

9:46 - Why affiliate counts keep declining

18:42 - What’s sacred and what has to change

27:48 - Chris' message to affiliates

29:36 - How Greg Glassman fits in

How do the best gyms in the world scale to 300, 400 or even 450 clients without burning out or sacrificing quality?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper presents the leaderboard for client headcount in coaching gyms and reveals what separates these businesses from the ones stuck at 100-150 clients.

The Top 10 gyms in Two-Brain have cracked the code: strong systems, outstanding coaching, community-first decisions and retention strategies that keep clients for years.

To provide more insight, Chris shares quotes directly from the mentors who work with these gym owners to maximize results.

Tune in to hear the exact tactics used by these world-class fitness entrepreneurs, such as adding high-value programs (Hyrox is a great one right now), running bring-a-friend events and asking for referrals during Goal Review Sessions.

Links

Gym Owners United

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0:01 - Intro

3:04 - The Top 10

4:09 - The leaders’ strategies

6:40 - Exactly what to do

9:24 - Success vs. failure

Gym owner Lauren DiSessa’s weekly HYROX class has generated $6,000 in revenue in just two months, and she’s not even charging members extra for it.

How’d she do it? Two-Brain CEO John Franklin gets the full scoop from Lauren today on “Run a Profitable Gym.”

Lauren walks through her V1 mistakes—treating HYROX as an afterthought with no real launch strategy—and explains what she did differently the second time around: a high-energy open house that drew 40 people, 70% of whom were non-members who paid to train at her gym.

She breaks down her pricing structure for drop-ins, class packs and full race simulations, and reveals the three things every gym owner needs to launch HYROX successfully:

1. Someone genuinely passionate about the sport
2. A dedicated class time that gives the program its own identity
3. The right equipment to attract serious athletes.

Lauren also shares how the program is pulling in a steady stream of prospects every single week and why even converting just one or two of them into full members each month is a bigger deal than it sounds.

Tune in to find out how a single Saturday morning class is quickly becoming one of the smartest revenue moves Lauren has ever made.

Then get "The Complete Guide to HYROX Affiliation for Gym Owners" in Gym Owners United, linked below.

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Gym Owners United

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0:56 - Gym overview

7:52 - Adding HYROX

16:33 - Open house results

20:37 - Pricing structure

29:46 - Keys to success

Are you sleeping on HYROX? That's a mistake.

In this episode, Two-Brain CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper discuss the hottest thing in fitness right now: HYROX.

John, fresh off a race in Miami Beach, had nothing but praise for the event, and Chris Cooper suggests the races give your members a reason to keep training and way to find success and smiles outside the gym.

The best part? HYROX affiliation fees for gyms are low—about US$150 a month—so it's easy to get huge ROI, if you have a plan.

No plan? No ROI. Solid plan? Huge ROI is possible.

For example, one Two-Brain gym generates $12,500 a month in HYROX revenue, and another added $100,000 in annual revenue just by setting up two HYROX training sessions a week.

Chris and John dig into the details to help you determine if a HYROX program is right for your gym, even if you're a CrossFit affiliate. Newsflash: CrossFit gyms don't need to be scared of HYROX; the program is complementary.

Check out this discussion, and if you want to take the next step, "The Complete Guide to HYROX Affiliation for Gym Owners" is available if you DM Chris Cooper through our Gym Owners United group, linked below.

Links

Gym Owners United

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0:29 - Why is HYROX working?

4:02 - The opportunity

5:48 - Should CrossFit gyms be afraid?

8:05 - How to get ROI

15:48 - Marketing, selling, retaining