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This channel (presented by Two-Brain Business) is packed with business tools for gym owners and CrossFit affiliates. We provide actionable, data-backed business advice for all gym owners, including those who own personal training studios, fitness franchises, and strength and conditioning gyms.
This episode contains several visual examples. For the best experience, head to our YouTube channel "Run a Profitable Gym."
Get a free audit of your gym’s Instagram with our custom GPT tool: GymIG.com
If you’re a gym owner who wants to post more content but doesn’t know where to start, this episode is for you.
Many gym owners have the misconception that they simply need to post more. But getting the right mix of content actually matters more than how often you post.
Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin breaks down the three types of content every gym owner needs to be posting on Instagram.
He shares real examples from gyms who are doing this well and walks through exactly how to replicate their posts.
You’ll learn how to use your gym’s Instagram page to make people like you, trust you and move closer to doing business with you.
Tune in and walk away with a simple three-post-a-week plan you can start this week.
Links
AI Gym Instagram Audit
Gym Owners United
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0:00 - Intro
0:55 - Why variety beats volume on social media
1:07 - Posts that get people to buy from you
2:43 - Social proof that actually works
7:30 - Building connection through Instagram
10:10 - Becoming a trusted voice
11:31 - Your exact weekly posting plan
HYROX just crossed 4,500 affiliates in North America. A year ago, that number was under 1,500.
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin sits down with Eric O'Neil, Head of Affiliates for HYROX (Americas), to talk about what’s driving that growth, what the best training clubs are doing differently and what’s coming next for gym owners who want to capitalize on the HYROX opportunity.
Eric explains how the affiliate program works, including the pre-sale ticket process and how HYROX markets affiliate events through their regional newsletters.
He also shares what separates the training clubs bringing 50-plus members to race day from the ones that never quite find their footing.
The conversation covers the full picture for gym owners who want to run a profitable HYROX program:
- Running sims and camps
- Adding personal training as an upsell
- Building a 365-day HYROX calendar around local race weekends
- Tapping into the massive pool of non-members who show up to these events
Eric also addresses the elephant in the room: Is HYROX here to stay, and how should gym owners think about the investment?
If you’re HYROX-curious or already affiliated and want to get more out of it, this episode is worth your time.
Get the full toolkit for generating ROI from HYROX affiliation via the link below.
Links
HYROX Toolkit
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
0:00 - Intro
0:40 - HYROX affiliation growth
6:00 - HYROX trends in Europe and the Americas
12:37 - How the pre-sale ticket process works
14:32 - Sims, camps and monetizing events
21:56 - Youth HYROX
35:50 - Building a 365-day HYROX calendar
44:34 - Is HYROX here to stay?
This episode contains several visual examples. For the best experience, head to our YouTube channel "Run a Profitable Gym."
Is your gym’s Instagram actually getting you members? Or just likes?
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin reveals the five Instagram mistakes gym owners make that silently kill their lead flow.
Then he shows you exactly how to fix them. And fixing just ONE can completely transform your business.
John walks through each mistake with real examples from gyms that are getting it wrong and gyms that are getting it right—including a breakdown of one of the best gym Instagram pages in the business and why it works so well.
One gym got 50 million views on a single post, but zero clients from it. Don't make the same mistake.
If your Instagram isn’t converting leads, watch this episode and then get an instant audit of your page at GymIG.com.
Links
AI Gym Instagram Audit
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
0:00 - Intro
0:43 - Mistake 1: No pin post sequence
4:04 - Mistake 2: No conversion content
8:35 - Mistake 3: Only posting, never talking
13:08 - Mistake 4: No personality
16:06 - Mistake 5: Chasing vanity metrics
Struggling with paid ads for your gym? Here's what's actually working in 2026.
Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin sits down with Colm O'Reilly, Two-Brain's paid ads specialist, for a tactical breakdown of everything gym owners need to know about Facebook and Instagram ads right now.
In this episode, Colm covers the real numbers behind paid gym ads: what you should expect to pay per lead, what a client actually costs to acquire and how to know if your ads are profitable.
John and Colm explain why ads amplify your other marketing funnels and how Meta's Andromeda update changed the ads game.
Colm introduces a simple “BUT” formula for writing ad copy that speaks directly to your ideal client's goals and objections and breaks down campaign structure for both beginners and advanced gym owners.
The pair also discuss what to say on that first phone call, how to handle the pricing question and how to keep cold leads warm for months after they first clicked.
Watch this episode and walk away with a clear starting point for running profitable gym ads in 2026.
Links
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
0:00 - Intro
2:51 - Ad math and budgeting basics
7:39 - What to expect from your ad spend
10:34 - The Andromeda update and creative strategy
13:03 - The “BUT” framework for ad copy
15:57 - Campaign structure for gym owners
22:15 - Lead ads vs. landing pages
24:13 - Lead nurture and what to say on the phone
32:24 - Troubleshooting ads that aren't working
34:01 - Should you hire an ad agency?
Paid ads have changed. Here’s what gym owners need to know to make them work in 2026.
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper close out Marketing May with the paid ads funnel.
You build this funnel last because it’s the one that amplifies everything else.
John explains why the old ads playbook is dead—Meta’s Andromeda update changed how ads are targeted and delivered—and what that means for gym owners.
Chris and John share why gym owners need to know how to run their own ads and understand their ad math, rather than just outsource to an ad agency.
They walk through exactly how to create an effective ad campaign and even deliver two clear action steps to help you get started: one for gym owners who have never run an ad, and one for gym owners who are already running them and want better results.
This is episode 4 of 4 in the Marketing May series. If you missed the previous funnels, check them out via the links below.
Links
The Referral Funnel
The Social Funnel
The Content Funnel
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
0:00 - Intro
1:31 - Media buying is dead
5:56 - The 5-1-30 post
10:10 - How to generate content ideas
15:40 - Campaign structure & tracking
18:28 - Your action steps
No time to make content for your gym? Not anymore.
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper walks you through the exact system he uses to turn one idea into a full week of content in 30 minutes with AI.
Chris demos the entire workflow live, starting with a brain dump audio recording answering a question that came up naturally in his gym.
Then he uploads the audio and transcript into Claude with a prompt that generates a week’s worth of content:
- A podcast script
- A blog post
- An email newsletter blurb
- Five Instagram carousel slides
- A YouTube description and thumbnail
For gym owners who want to go further, Chris also shows the AI stack he uses to create fully polished and edited video content for YouTube and short-form reels.
After this episode, you’ll have the system and tools you need to create consistent content every week.
Links
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
0:00 - Intro
4:17 - Brain dump & QuickCast
5:34 - Claude workflow
10:25 - Podcast distribution
18:27 - Descript AI video editor
26:12 - Reels with OpusClip
Chris Cooper has been publishing content since 1998. It got him fired from one job—but it also built all of his businesses.
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper give gym owners a step-by-step content system that builds trust, brings in leads and keeps working long after you hit publish.
Chris shares his personal content creation process: how he plans everything during his 25-minute drive to work and then spends another 10 minutes producing the content with AI.
He also explains why AI search is changing the game, with 30 to 40% of your audience searching for your gym using tools like ChatGPT.
The pair also share the four principles your content should follow to get results: local, helpful, shareable and authority-building.
You’ll see real examples of the kind of content that works and walk away with a clear starting point for your gym’s content strategy.
This is episode 3 of 4 in the Marketing May series. Next week: the paid ads funnel.
If you missed the previous funnels, check them out via the links below.
Links
The Social Funnel
The Referral Funnel
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
2:35 - Content vs. social media
3:43 - The content playbook
9:40 - Distributing content
13:40 - Where AI comes in
16:14 - Your action steps
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
Book a Call
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
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
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
Book a Call
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?
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