“If you care about profit, you should get the f*** out of the industry.”
That’s what a gym owner told me on an online message board in 2008.
That comment got a lot of support.
Of course, I wasn’t greedy—as if any gym owner could be. I just wanted to make enough money to feed my family and keep my gym open.
But I was on an island. I was all alone in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. I ran the only microgym in my town. I was trying to introduce CrossFit and HIIT to a community that was stuck on P90X and bodybuilding. And I was failing.
From the other posts in the group, I assumed everyone else was doing better than I was. Back then, it was hard to discern who the most successful gym owners were. Most talk of money, profit or even pricing was done underground—private chats in the stands at events, late-night phone calls with trusted friends. The conversations were never in public, never under the watchful eye of CrossFit HQ.
I was attracted to CrossFit because it was an empirical approach to fitness: If something worked, we did it. If something didn’t work, we made fun of it and heckled its fans. CrossFit was certifying coaches on the principles of science. But it wasn’t applying the same empirical values to the business of its affiliates, and I was frustrated.
These days, we can talk about money. We can say the word “profit” as gym owners. We understand that fitness entrepreneurs who martyr themselves for the cause won’t be around long enough to save any lives.
We can share knowledge and experience without criticism in our Gym Owners United group (you should join it). We can share data and make decisions based on evidence because Two-Brain publishes hard numbers all the time. We’re more connected than ever before.
But still, we’re far apart geographically. Most of the time, our connection to other gym owners is on Zoom or the phone or Facebook.
So every year I bring people together in the same room.
Energy and Momentum
The energy of a huge group of top entrepreneurs who share the same goals and come together to learn and support each other is massive.
This energy creates speed. If you’re standing still, this connective energy is enough to push you out of your funk. If you’re moving slowly, this energy will give you momentum. And if you’re growing steadily, this energy can even light your rocket.
The key is connecting to the right people—the people who show up with batteries included, who feed you energy instead of taking it from you, who inspire you and motivate you and walk your path with you.
“Best finds best” isn’t a slogan—it’s our business model.
We find the best—the owners who opened their gyms to serve, who want client-centric businesses, who put others ahead of themselves.
Then we teach them the best way to grow without sacrificing their values. We test every idea, track data to measure success and constantly improve our curriculum.
Then we track the best: We identify the top gyms in the world across six categories every month. We interview them, test their innovative practices and upgrade our knowledge with their best ideas.
Then we make the best even better. The 860 gyms in Two-Brain are leading the industry in growth and leadership.
Then, finally, we select the best to mentor the new.
What speeds up this process? Connection. Left alone, people don’t know how they’re doing. There’s no learning on a desert island. Just attempts to survive.
In our mentorship practice, we get entrepreneurs off their islands so they can avoid mistakes and thrive. We connect the best leaders with the best strategies, tactics and skills to make everyone successful. We are always together.
And once every year we are all together in person. If you’re a Two-Brain client, I’d love to see you in Chicago on June 3 and 4.
But you don’t have to be a Two-Brain client to be invited. We welcome anyone who wants to grow as a fitness entrepreneur.
Come and connect with the best in June.
