The median number of clients in a big-group gym—CrossFit, bootcamp, kettlebell club—is 129.
That’s straight from our 2025 “State of the Industry” report, which will be published in mid-November.
In 2024, that number was 122. It’s gone up a bit, but the truth remains: Most gyms don’t have a ton of clients.
And that’s absolutely OK. You can build a great, profitable gym with 150 or fewer clients. But once you’ve built a solid foundation to support them, you’ll have the systems and staff to scale—if you want to.
And that’s what today’s leaderboard is all about: the gyms that did scale and broke the 300-client barrier without breaking their businesses.
Let’s start with the numbers. Here are the top single-location Two-Brain gyms ranked by total clients this month:
And here’s what’s really important:
👉 Every one of these gyms would still be profitable with just 150 clients.
They didn’t go broke trying to chase headcount. They built solid systems first—and then scaled those systems.
The 5 Things Every Top Gym Has in Common
These gyms are different sizes and operate in different markets. But they all share five key traits.
1. World-Class Retention
Every one of these gyms has length of engagement (LEG) above 24 months.
That means the typical member stays at least two years. The global average right now is just over a year. Two years ago, it was eight months. So we’re improving as an industry, but these gyms are doubling that average.
Why does this matter? Because you can’t change someone’s life in six months. It takes about two years to build lasting fitness habits.
2. Repeatable, Systemized Operations
These gyms have world-class business systems: Every client gets the same great service every day, whether the owner is coaching or the newest hire is running the class.
Consistency creates trust, and trust drives retention.
3. Four Marketing Funnels Running Constantly
It’s not about one genius ad campaign or a trendy agency. The top gyms have four steady marketing funnels running constantly—referrals, organic social media, content and paid ads.
Ninety-five percent of growth comes from repeating what works. Five percent comes from trying new things.
4. A Person Who Can Sell (Using the Prescriptive Model)
Each gym has someone who knows how to guide people through a No Sweat Intro and make a personalized prescription. They don’t sell memberships—they sell solutions.
5. A Fully Mapped Client Journey
These gyms don’t “wing it” when a new member signs up.
They’ve documented every touchpoint: onboarding, goal reviews, follow-ups, etc. Clients are guided every step of the way, right from their first appointment.
What Top Gyms Actually Do
When we interviewed the owners of these gyms, they told us exactly what they’re doing to acquire and hold huge numbers of members.
Selling With Free Consultations
“We launched the No Sweat Intro about three weeks ago. We are interested to see how that evolves over time!”
Affinity Marketing
“We are event and community driven. We’ve been doing events for a while—monthly events, about eight between the two gyms.”
“We do bring-a-friend once a month.”
Reactivation and Special Programs
“We went hard at reactivating people on holds over the last two weeks and at the same time brought back a Spartan Race class that was suspended for the summer because the coach was buying and renovating a house.”
Onboarding and Client Journey
“We have a big focus on the onboarding phase—zero to six months—of our client journey.”
“We spend three one-on-one sessions learning the movements and the equipment, then take a class with them. They are supported in the first sessions.”
Product-Market Fit
“We have a very specific product: We blend yoga plus functional training into a class format. We found a good niche: athletes aged 27-37, 65 percent female.”
“We are unapologetically beginner friendly. The reality is that CrossFit isn’t perceived as super welcoming—it is not known as a brand that is ‘beginner first.’ We don’t emphasize the leaderboard, and we don’t prescribe the weights. We write the modifications out on the board for each movement, easiest to hardest. For example, we don’t have ‘male’ or ‘female’ calories on the row. We use ranges instead. We don’t say, ‘All women have to do this and all men this.’ We let people comfortably chose their own adventure. The feedback from clients is that they feel really welcome, and they fit in.”
“Other gyms do much more PT. I focus on very high-quality delivery with groups. The max is 14 people, with about 9 on average. We can deliver a better group product, so we have a personalized experience in our classes. Twice-a-week group at $209 is my bread and butter. We stay focused on group as a high-quality thing.”
This is textbook, by the way. Our data shows retention dips with fewer than seven or more than 13 people in a class. So seven to thirteen is the sweet spot for connection, coaching quality and value. And that $209 average revenue per member (ARM) is right where you want to be if you want to build a six-figure income with 150 clients.
Business Model and Mentorship
“We started in Minnesota and had five studios, then opened four in Colorado, and then the pandemic happened, so we ended up shutting down all but two. We started with Two-Brain Business because we shrunk the business and needed to reboot with less of a corporate lens and more of the client journey focus. We needed someone idea driven and outside the day to day.”
What You Won’t Hear from These Owners
You won’t hear:
- “We slashed prices for a Black Friday deal.”
- “We ran a bait-and-switch six-week challenge.”
- “We sold long-term memberships at a discount.”
Those tactics don’t build sustainable businesses.
Big client counts don’t come from desperate marketing tricks.
👉 They come from sound systems, consistent delivery and long-term relationships.
The gyms on this leaderboard all worked with a mentor to build the business systems that allow them to acquire and keep clients, grow steadily, and scale profitably.
You can do the same thing.
You don’t need 700 clients to have a great gym—you just need the right systems and the right number of clients. A great starting point: 150 high-value clients who all stay for two years or more. That simple plan can get you to $100,000 income if you set your prices properly.
If you want to talk about a plan to earn a great income and change lives—without chasing headcount—book a call with my team.
