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The Small Group Gym Pod

Stuart Aitken

The podcast where gym owners who mainly run a small-group personal training model share their stories, struggles, and strategies so you don’t have to figure it out alone.

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26 episodes
weekly
Avg 44 min
English

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#56
Wednesday · 43 min
#56 How to Build a Gym Team That Does the Work Better Than You (w/ Chris Travis)
You’ve hired coaches, but you’re still handling every enquiry, sorting every membership issue and making every decision. How do you build a team that can take more responsibility for running the gym? In this episode, I’m joined by Chris Travis from Seattle Strength & Performance to discuss how he staffs his gyms, develops his coaches and creates careers that people want to stay in. Chris explains his approach to combining coaching hours with clear responsibilities off the gym floor, why predictable schedules matter, and how he thinks about hiring before the business has fully grown into the role. We also cover interviewing, giving useful feedback, weekly staff meetings and creating progression when you can’t make everyone head coach. Recorded live with members of my gym-owner mentoring group, the conversation includes their questions about affording the next hire, making admin hours worthwhile and knowing when you’re ready for a second location—including what Chris learned from going nine months without a salary. If you’re building a team but still feel like everything comes back to you, this episode will give you plenty to work on. Find out more about Chris: His Instagram
#55
October 14 · 13 min
#55 6 Ways to Improve Your Small Group Coaching (Lessons From Nick Winkelman)
How much of what you say during your small group training sessions actually helps your members? And how much of it is just noise? I recently hosted Nick Winkelman, author of The Language of Coaching, for a full-day seminar in Edinburgh. Since then, I've been thinking a lot more about how we communicate with people during coaching sessions, particularly when we're working with multiple people at once. In this episode, I'm sharing six of the most useful lessons I took from the day and how you can apply them to your own small group coaching. We cover: Why you might be talking too much during sessions. How using silent sets can help members become more confident and competent. Why giving someone one coaching cue is often better than giving them five. How analogies can make your coaching more memorable, effective and enjoyable. Why involving members in creating their own coaching cues can improve their experience. What we can learn from comedians about preparing our coaching outside of sessions. These are small changes that don't require new equipment, a different training programme or a complete overhaul of your sessions. But they could make a meaningful difference to how your members experience your coaching. And ultimately, that's something worth paying attention to if you want people to enjoy their sessions, make progress and keep coming back.
#54
October 7 · 43 min
#54 How to Become the Gym Your Community Recommends (w/ Maggie Elliott)
How do you become the gym that local people recommend... even when they’ve never trained with you? In this episode, I’m joined by Maggie Elliott from Spark Life Movement and Wellbeing, a community-focused studio in Prestwich with 109 members and several different ways for people to get involved. Maggie shares how she’s built a welcoming space for people who feel intimidated by traditional gyms, and how local relationships, social activities and partnerships have become a key source of new members. We explore: • How hiring out unused studio space generates income, and recently brought three new members into small-group PT. • Why a cup of tea, a book club or a social walk can help someone take their first step through your door. • How Maggie adapted her memberships around what her clients actually wanted. • Why people who have never visited Spark Life still recommend it. • Her experience of becoming a Community Interest Company and using grants to make movement more accessible. Find out more about Maggie: Her Instagram Spark Life
#53
September 30 · 1 hr 4 min
#53 Why JC Vacassin is Simplifying Foundry
JC Vacassin returns to the podcast to share some of the biggest lessons he's learning from running and evolving Foundry. We talk about why Foundry is deliberately simplifying its product and messaging, why SGPT should be the vehicle rather than the thing you sell, and the question JC thinks every gym owner should ask themselves: if you opened your gym again tomorrow, what would you build? JC also breaks down Foundry's approach to generating referrals, incentivising staff, local outreach and acquisition, why gyms may need to do more offline marketing, and how AI is changing the way he thinks about operating the business. We also get into some of the harder decisions he's made recently — including closing locations, cutting complexity and building a leaner business for the future. If you tune in, you'll learn: Why SGPT shouldn’t be the thing you sell — it’s the vehicle you use to deliver the result. How to spot when your gym, membership and buying process have become too complicated. The simple question JC thinks every gym owner should ask: “If I opened my gym again tomorrow, what would I build?” How to build a more deliberate referral system, rather than simply hoping happy members send people your way. Why gyms may need to rely less on paid digital marketing and get better at referrals, outreach and local marketing. Find out more about JC: His Website Foundry
#52
September 23 · 43 min
#52 How Profitable Should Your Gym Actually Be? (w/ Gareth from Coach Accounts)
What actually makes a gym a good business? It isn't necessarily the one with the most members or the biggest monthly turnover. In this episode, I'm joined again by Gareth from Coach Accounts to talk about the numbers gym owners should actually be paying attention to. We get into profit margins, how much you should be spending on ads, when hiring another member of staff makes financial sense, and why there are times when the best thing you can do for your gym is stop trying to grow it. We also talk about the personal side of money as a business owner — including pensions, emergency funds, financial security and why so many business owners avoid looking at their numbers altogether. We cover: Why £20k/month turnover tells you very little about the quality of a gym business What healthy profit margins can look like The growing problem Gareth sees with gym owners overspending on ads Why you should understand your ads even if somebody else manages them When to invest more money back into your gym Why one great month isn't enough evidence to increase your spending The "push, hold, push" approach to sustainable growth How much business owners should consider contributing towards a pension Why simply looking at your bank balance every day can improve your financial habits How AI can help you better understand where your money is actually going If you run a gym and know your monthly revenue but couldn't confidently tell me your margins, this episode is worth a listen. Find out more about Coach Accounts: Instagram
#51
September 9 · 46 min
#51 From £50 CrossFit Memberships to £200 Small Group PT (w/ Jan Westrik)
Jan Westrik went from running a 200-member CrossFit gym to building a premium small-group personal training facility — losing around two-thirds of his existing members during the transition. In this episode, we talk about why a busy gym isn't necessarily a successful business, making difficult decisions that upset members, charging enough to build a great team, and why Jan believes gym owners need to build the business around the life they actually want. We also get into how gym marketing is changing, why the old Facebook ad → sales call model isn't as reliable as it once was, and what gym owners need to do instead. Find out more about Jan: Instagram His Gym
#50
September 2 · 44 min
#50 The Gym That Gets 50 Referrals Every Month (w/ James Pratt)
James Pratt has built one of the most unusual small-group PT models I've come across. His 7,200 sq ft headquarters has around 950 members, can coach 30 people an hour and still gives every member individualised programming. We get into the systems that make it possible, why Pratt Personal Training only offers ONE service, how they generate around 50 referrals a month, why their free trials convert at 83%, and James' obsession with creating an "unreasonable amount of customer satisfaction." An absolutely fascinating look inside a small-group gym operating at serious scale. Find out more about James: Instagram His Gym
#49
August 26 · 48 min
#49 Is This The Most Underrated Marketing Tool for Gym Owners? (w/ Mike Samuels)
Nick Winkleman's Sept 26th Edinburgh Seminar Details (4 spots left) Most gyms barely use email. And the ones that do often send stuff nobody particularly wants to read. In this episode, copywriter and marketer Mike Samuels explains how gym owners can use better stories, stronger messaging and simple emails to build relationships and ultimately bring in more members. We get into: Why your message matters more than the marketing platform How to write emails people actually want to open Why you should write to ONE ideal member How often your gym should email Where your offers should fit Why storytelling is such a powerful marketing skill How Mike uses AI without letting it write his content Why your email list should get your best content first If your gym has an email list gathering dust, start here. Find out more about Mike: Instagram
#48
August 19 · 44 min
#48 How TBH Cut Churn From 9% to 5.5% (w/ Tom Buckle)
Nick Winkleman's Sept 26th Edinburgh Seminar Details (8 spots left) Tom Buckle thinks about his gym a little differently from most gym owners. Within a year of opening TBH, he'd fired himself from coaching. Now, he tries to fire himself from another role every three months. The result is a 183-member group training gym that can run without him - and Tom has just secured funding to open another three locations. In this episode, we get into: Why TBH runs sessions with up to 24 members Why your coach-to-member ratio shouldn't necessarily be your USP How Tom reduced churn from around 9% to 5.5% The 180-day system TBH uses to catch members before they leave Why they film and review entire coaching sessions as a team What Tom looks for in the "modern coach" How their latest referral campaign turned 15 trials into 13 members Why Tom deliberately tries to make himself redundant from his own gym The lessons he's learned turning TBH from a gym into a scalable business Find out more about Tom: Instagram His Gym
#47
August 12 · 1 hr 4 min
#47 How to Make Your Coaches Better at Coaching (w/ Nick Winkelman)
Nick's Sept 26th Edinburgh Seminar Details Nick Winkelman is one of the world's leading experts on coaching communication and the author of The Language of Coaching. In this episode, we explore his work through a very specific lens: How can group training gym owners help their coaches become better at the actual craft of coaching? We talk about why coaching quality isn't separate from retention and business performance, how the language your coaches use shapes the experience members have in your gym, and why great coaching shouldn't simply be left to chance. Nick explains how to spot the subtle "echoes of understanding" that tell you when a cue has landed, why different clients respond to different types of language, and how coaches can move between managing the energy of an entire group and giving one individual exactly what they need. We also cover: Why "if they're laughing, they're listening" How to create better and more personalised coaching cues The difference between global and local communication Why asking more questions can improve your coaching A simple way to discover how your clients prefer to be coached Why filming one session could dramatically improve a coach The one question every coach should ask when watching themselves back How gym owners can build coach development into their business How AI could eventually provide coaches with personalised feedback on how they communicate If you own a small-group gym and care about making the coaching inside it genuinely world-class, you'll get a lot from this one. Find out more about Nick: Instagram His Book Edinburgh Seminar
#46
August 5 · 48 min
#46 The Systems That Allowed Sean McKirdy to Take a 3-Week Honeymoon
Most gym owners think getting from 100 members to 200 is about finding a better marketing strategy. Sean McKirdy disagrees. In this episode, Sean breaks down the lessons he's learned from growing Elevate 98 in Edinburgh from a one-man PT business into a 220-member small group personal training gym with seven staff. We discuss why every gym seems to hit "sticky points" at certain membership numbers, how Sean gradually removed himself from the day-to-day coaching, why he believes investing in staff beats investing in equipment, and the marketing system that's helped them grow consistently for five years. You'll learn: Why 50, 75 and 100 members often become growth plateaus. The mistake gym owners make when trying to push through those plateaus. How Sean built a gym that continued running while he disappeared for a three-week honeymoon. Why your marketing channels should work together rather than in isolation. How to make your messaging resonate with everyday people—not other coaches. The surprising reason Sean keeps doing every new member consultation himself. How case studies outperform generic testimonials. Why consistency beats novelty when competing against bigger gyms. Find out more about Sean: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmckirdy98/ His Gym: https://elevate98.co.uk/
#45
July 29 · 48 min
#45 What 25 Years In Business Teaches You About Running a Gym (w/ Alwyn Cosgrove)
How does a gym survive, and thrive, for more than 25 years? Results Fitness in Santa Clarita, California, has been one of the most respected gyms in the world since 2000. In this episode, I sit down with Alwyn Cosgrove to unpack what has allowed Results to keep growing while so many gyms have come and gone. We discuss the three pillars every successful gym needs, the KPIs every owner should know, why "price objections" are usually value objections, how to evolve your business without losing your identity, and why the future of fitness marketing may have far less to do with fat loss than many coaches realise. We also cover: The People, Process, Product framework The three KPIs every gym owner should track Why most coaches are white belts at business Sales, guarantees and overcoming objections Marketing in a GLP-1 world Reinventing your gym without chasing trends Why systems make average coaches great The importance of hiring your own coach Find out more about Alwyn: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alwyncosgrove/
#44
July 22 · 43 min
#44 Coaching Lessons Every PT Should Steal From Therapy (w/ Krista Scott-Dixon)
This week I'm joined by Krista Scott-Dixon, one of the most respected coaching educators in the world and author of Applied Nutrition and Coaching: Counselling. Rather than talking about programming or nutrition, we explore something that's arguably far more important: the coaching relationship. We discuss what PTs & in-person coaches can learn from counselling, why remembering the little things can transform client retention, how to repair fractured coaching relationships, and why trying to "fix" clients is often the wrong approach. You'll learn: Why the coach-client relationship matters more than technical knowledge. The simple behaviours that make clients feel genuinely cared for. The biggest mistakes that quietly damage coaching relationships. Why behaviour always serves a purpose (even unhealthy habits). How to help clients create better habits without relying on willpower. Why experiments beat advice. How to stop caring more about your client's goals than they do. Practical lessons from counselling that every PT can use immediately. Find out more about KSD: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stumptuous/ Website: https://kristascottdixon.com/ Her new book (Applied Nutrition Coaching Counselling Practice): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Applied-Nutrition-Coaching-Counseling-Practice/dp/B0GYQM4SP1/
#43
July 8 · 48 min
#43 This Women's Gym Added 70 Clients Before it Opened (w/ Lisa Jarratt)
This week I'm joined once again by Lisa Jarratt from Downham Ladies Fitness, just weeks after opening the doors to her brand-new facility. We discuss why she decided to move gyms, how she generated 70 new trial members before the doors even opened, the systems she's put in place to protect the coaching experience as the business grows, and why she's chosen retention over squeezing every last penny out of the gym. You'll learn: How Lisa signed up 70 new trial members before opening her new facility The Meta ad strategy generating a strong return without a complicated funnel How to create marketing that answers your clients' biggest objections Why one-to-one inductions have helped her onboard dozens of new members successfully The programming system allowing clients of all abilities to train together Why she believes protecting service and retention is more valuable than increasing coaching ratios The biggest lessons she learned from investing nearly £50,000 into a new gym space Find out more about Lisa: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/downhamladiesfitness/
#42
July 1 · 50 min
#42 Hiring, Retention & Marketing: A Masterclass w/ George Branford
This week I'm joined once again by George Branford from Intent 91 to discuss what's working inside one of the UK's fastest-growing gym businesses. We dive into the marketing strategies bringing in members today, how George uses AI and sales-call transcripts to create better content, the retention systems keeping clients for nearly two years on average, and the hiring process that's helped build a strong team across five locations. If you run a personal training business or small-group gym, this episode is packed with practical ideas you can implement immediately. You'll learn: How to create marketing that actually sounds like your ideal clients Why recording sales calls is one of the best business decisions you can make The retention system that's keeping members for 18–20 months How to personalise coaching inside a group setting George's hiring process for finding coaches who genuinely fit the culture The biggest lessons he's learned from scaling to five gyms Find out more about George: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgebranford/
#41
June 24 · 47 min
#41 What Successful Gym Owners Are Doing Differently in 2026 (w/ Michael Keeler)
In this episode, Stuart sits down with Michael Keeler from Business for Unicorns to discuss what separates thriving gyms from struggling ones in 2026. The conversation centres around a simple idea: successful gyms aren't usually doing magical things... they're doing the basics consistently. Michael explains that the best-performing gyms have: Reliable lead generation systems instead of hoping referrals magically appear Multiple "poles in the water" for attracting clients Strong retention systems built around meaningful relationships Weekly leadership meetings that keep the business on track Clear metrics they review every week Simple, low-barrier offers that make it easy for prospects to get started Regular referral campaigns and seasonal promotions Processes for keeping long-term clients motivated and engaged One of the standout lessons is Michael's "Mission Control Meeting"—a weekly 30-90 minute meeting where owners review key metrics, identify opportunities and issues, stay accountable to quarterly projects, and make decisions based on data rather than feelings. The episode also covers: The 3 marketing numbers every gym should track Why most gym owners become the bottleneck in their business The best low-barrier offer they're seeing right now How often to change your offers Why "Momentum Coaching" can dramatically improve retention The difference between leading and lagging indicators in business Find out more about MK: BFU Website: https://businessforunicorns.com/
#40
June 17 · 49 min
#40 The Financial Habits Every Gym Owner Should Start Today (w/ ESG)
In this episode, Stuart interviews Emma Storey-Gordon (@esgfitness & @afmentors) about personal finance, investing, pensions, and financial freedom for PTs and gym owners. Emma's core message is simple: Financial freedom isn't about getting rich quickly. It's about creating security, options, and peace of mind through consistent, boring financial habits. She explains why coaches should stop ignoring money, start building emergency funds, contribute to pensions, invest regularly, understand tax basics, and educate themselves on personal finance rather than outsourcing all responsibility to accountants or financial advisers. The conversation covers: Building a 3-6 month emergency fund The "Coffee Match" investing habit (£1-£5/day invested automatically) Why pensions are often overlooked by PTs ISAs and tax-efficient investing Avoiding lifestyle creep as income grows Why financial freedom beats flashy purchases The impact of inflation on savings When to hire an accountant Recommended books including The Psychology of Money and Die With Zero Emma's goal of becoming financially independent by 30 and how she achieved it Overall, it's a practical guide to the financial habits most coaches wish they'd started 10 years earlier. Find out more about ESG: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/esg_afm/
#39
June 3 · 9 min
#39 Why Some Clients Never Leave SGPT Gyms
In this short episode, Stuart details some key things that help turn a new client into a long-term member of your gym. Stuart's email: stuart@theptroadmap.com Stuart's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stuart__aitken/
#38
May 27 · 51 min
#38 Why Running a 4:1 Model Nearly Destroyed My Gym (w/ Greg Mikolap)
This week on the Small Group Gym Podcast, I sit down with Greg Mikolap from ICON to unpack nearly a decade of gym ownership, the realities of scaling small group personal training, and why the model he originally built nearly broke the business. Greg shares: Why he moved from a 4:1 model to sessions as large as 16:1 The financial mistakes that cost him almost £300,000 What he learned from visiting elite US training gyms Why most gym owners think about attrition the wrong way How to make difficult business changes without panicking about member backlash The balance between coaching quality, profitability, and sustainability Find out more about Greg: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gmikolap/ His gym: https://www.instagram.com/iconmaidenhead/
#37
May 20 · 52 min
#37 How Fionn MacCullagh Scaled Tailormade to 850 Clients
In this episode, Fionn MacCullagh shares how Tailormade Coaching scaled to 8 locations and more than 850 clients by simplifying its offer, raising prices, systemising referrals and obsessing over retention. You’ll learn: Why Tailormade sells one simple membership instead of multiple packages How the “Committed Club” improves attendance and reduces churn The pricing mistake that cost years of profit How Fionn handled a price increase that led to a 27% member loss The referral system that rewards both the client and their friend Why flyer drops still outperform many modern marketing tactics Find out more about Fionn: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fionnmaccullagh/ His gym: https://www.instagram.com/tailormade_coaching/

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