Fitness Business University Podcast

Vince Gabriele
  • 4.9 (168)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Fitness Business University Podcast — The #1 Fitness Business Podcast — is the go-to educational show for gym owners, by gym owners. Hosted by Vince Gabriele, a seasoned pro with 18 years in the trenches of the fitness industry, this podcast pulls back the curtain on the real strategies, systems, and money-making wisdom that have helped gyms around the world grow and thrive. If you’re a Gym Owner or Fitness Entrepreneur ready to get more clients, make more money, and free up your time to do what you love, this is your playbook. Vince delivers a funny, straight-talking, no B.S. approach — no fluff, no theories, just the proven, real-world skills you need to win in business and in life.

  1. Chicago Gym Owner Goes from $300k to $760K

    1D AGO

    Chicago Gym Owner Goes from $300k to $760K

    If you want to learn the strategies and tactics that gym owners like Anthony are using to grow, check out my most recent webinar on YouTube where I break down the full marketing system: https://youtu.be/LC6cODkphtc Don't forget to book your free call with my team and get the Testimonial Email Builder as a bonus: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/masterclassbonuscall Podcast Summary: Anthony D'Astice flew into New Jersey for a consulting day in 2022 with a gym doing about $25K a month, a baby on the way, and zero confidence that he could actually grow the business. He wasn't tracking conversions, wasn't charging enough, and by his own words was "playing business." Three years later, Hustle Strength and Performance just crossed $760K in annual revenue. He just opened his second location. He bought a house and a rental property. And the consulting day paid for itself before he got on the plane home because we raised his prices that afternoon and lost one member. In this episode, Anthony breaks down the full journey: the mindset work that had to happen before anything else, the price raise he was terrified to make, the youth sports sponsorship strategy that's still filling his gym today, and how defining real core values transformed his hiring and culture. 5 Key Takeaways: The number one chokehold on your business is the psychology of the owner. Anthony spent the first half of his consulting day on mindset, not marketing. He lacked confidence, was reactive instead of responsive, and was getting in his own way. None of the tactical stuff mattered until his head was right.Do the math before you talk yourself out of raising prices. Anthony had 120 members and raised prices $20 across the board. One person canceled. The worst case scenario we mapped out was break even, and the actual result was thousands in new annual revenue from a single afternoon decision.Sponsorships work when you ask for the right thing. Instead of paying for a banner nobody reads, Anthony pays youth sports leagues to send emails promoting his camps. Kids come in for camps, parents get a free month offer, and parents become adult small group members. He runs 10 of these at a time.A marketing calendar is the difference between growing and guessing. Anthony plans quarterly, ties promotions to holidays and seasons, and looks at what worked last year before planning anything new. It sounds simple because it is.Core values are not words on a wall. Anthony uses his five core values in job application forms, interviews, team meetings, and daily decisions. They became the filter for who gets hired, who gets recognized, and what the culture actually feels like from the inside. Watch my full marketing webinar on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LC6cODkphtc Book your free call and get the Testimonial Email Builder: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/masterclassbonuscall Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business?  Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session!

    39 min
  2. 2.5 Hours of Free Marketing Coaching

    MAR 27

    2.5 Hours of Free Marketing Coaching

    If you’re going to consume this, do yourself a favor—watch it on YouTube. You’ll see the actual newspaper ad, the full Testimonial Email Builder walkthrough, and the entire Q&A. That’s where the real value is. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/LC6cODkphtc And when you’re done, book a call with my team. We’ll walk through your situation and I’ll give you the Testimonial Email Builder as a bonus: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/masterclassbonuscall This is the full recording of a live masterclass I did with 70+ gym owners. No slides. No pitch. I ran it exactly like one of my private coaching sessions. Just me breaking down the marketing system we’ve used at my gym for nearly 20 years—and what’s working right now. We covered the stuff that actually matters:  How to know your numbers so you stop guessing  How to choose the right clients to market to  What to actually say so people take action  How to turn all of it into a simple 90-day plan you’ll actually follow And I stayed on for over an hour answering questions. Nothing held back. Here’s what you’ll learn:  The AI prompt that calculates your weekly lead, consult, and new member targets in 30 seconds  Why the worst number in marketing is “one” and how to fix it  The three ways to communicate what makes your gym different  The three real problems your market is losing sleep over  The “more, better, new” framework to improve your marketing immediately  The exact text message that converts cold leads into appointments  How to build a one-page 90-day marketing plan  Why answer engine optimization is about to change how people find your gym  Watch it here: https://youtu.be/LC6cODkphtc If you want help implementing this in your gym, book a call and grab the Testimonial Email Builder: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/masterclassbonuscall Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business?  Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session!

    2h 15m

  3. MAR 22

    NJ Gym Owner Goes From Bleeding Cash and Wanting to Close the Gym... to Big Profits and a Second Gym

    FREE MASTERCLASS: Fix the Marketing at Your Gym Thursday, March 26th at 12pm Eastern on Zoom Learn how to install the system that gets 7 to 13 new clients per month without paid ads.  Register here: https://live.vincegabriele.com/livemasterclass Caesar Hernandez was 12 years into the gym business, burning cash every month, one foot in and one foot out, and seriously ready to throw in the towel. His wife had lost her job. His second kid was on the way. He wasn't sleeping. He wasn't looking at his numbers. And he wasn't profitable. He hadn't turned a real profit since COVID. Then he booked a consulting day with me and we sat down in the lobby of an Embassy Suites and faced the brutal truth together. The theme of that day was simple: stop the bleeding. We cut the fat on his payroll, got crystal clear on his role, and I kicked his ass right back into the business he'd been sleepwalking through. That was the turning point. Four years later, Caesar has nearly doubled his revenue from $28K a month (and losing money) to $48K a month with healthy margins. He's on pace to hit his first $500K year. He hasn't coached a session since last year. He has breakfast with his kids every morning and dinner with his family every night. And he just got the keys to his second location, which is in presale right now. This episode is for every gym owner out there who's burnt out, questioning whether they can turn it around, and thinking the only answer is to quit. Caesar's proof that it's not. 5 Key Takeaways: All progress starts with the truth. Caesar thought he was in a decent spot financially, but when we actually looked at the numbers, the business was bleeding cash. You cannot fix what you refuse to face. Know your numbers and know what they actually mean.One foot in and one foot out never works. Caesar had grown resentful of his business and was just going through the motions. The moment he committed fully and got both feet back in the circle, everything started to shift.Stop the bleeding before you try to grow. Caesar was overspending on staff he didn't need and roles he couldn't justify. Before we talked marketing or growth, we trimmed the fat and got the business back to a place where it could breathe.Get clear on your role. Caesar was paying other people to do things the owner needed to be doing. We defined exactly what his job was: lead the team, make the sales, and keep a finger on the pulse of the business. Focus is the superpower.Your business is the vehicle, not the enemy. Caesar had built up resentment toward the very thing that was providing for his family. Shifting from "I'm done with this" to "this business gives me the opportunity to build the future I want" changed everything. FREE MASTERCLASS: Fix the Marketing at Your Gym Thursday, March 26th at 12pm Eastern on Zoom  Register here: https://live.vincegabriele.com/livemasterclass Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business?  Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session!

    29 min
  4. How to Fix the Marketing At Your Gym

    MAR 20

    How to Fix the Marketing At Your Gym

    FREE MASTERCLASS: Fix the Marketing at Your Gym Thursday, March 26th at 12pm Eastern on Zoom. Learn how to install the system that gets 7 to 13 new clients per month without paid ads. Register here: https://live.vincegabriele.com/livemasterclass I just dropped a quick one for you. I'm hosting a free live masterclass called "Fix the Marketing at Your Gym" and I'm going to walk you through the exact system that gets 7 to 13 new clients per month without spending a dime on paid ads. Why 7 to 13? Because I'm not a guru promising you 50 new members a month. I don't even want that for you. That's an operational nightmare. What I want is for you to build a consistent, repeatable system that nets you 4 to 7 members every single month after churn. Do that at $300 to $400 a month and the math starts looking really good, really fast. Here's what we're covering: exactly what to say in your marketing to attract clients who pay, stay, and refer the most. Where pockets of your ideal clients are hiding right now that you're not marketing to (I'll share how one newspaper ad just booked us 9 consults and has already produced 2 members worth $24K in lifetime value off an $1,800 spend). The exact text message to send that turns dead leads into paying clients. And how AI is changing the way people find gyms and what you need to do right now to make sure you show up in those answers. I'm also giving away some free tools I've been building behind the scenes but these aren't generic AI outputs. These are built on 19 years of real marketing that actually works, just made faster. You'll only get them if you show up live. No pitch at the end. No pressure. Just me hanging out with you on a Thursday afternoon talking marketing. Register and I'll see you there. FREE MASTERCLASS: Fix the Marketing at Your Gym Thursday, March 26th at 12pm Eastern on Zoom. Learn how to install the system that gets 7 to 13 new clients per month without paid ads. Register here: https://live.vincegabriele.com/livemasterclass Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business?  Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session!

    7 min
  5. Business Secrets of a Pittsburgh Gym That Went From 10k to 30k/month in PROFIT…and recently opened their 3rd location with 61 members on day 1!

    MAR 18

    Business Secrets of a Pittsburgh Gym That Went From 10k to 30k/month in PROFIT…and recently opened their 3rd location with 61 members on day 1!

    Ready to stop guessing and start growing your gym with a real plan? Click below to book a call and see what that could look like for your business. https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/implentationpod Podcast Summary In this episode of Business Secrets for Gym Owners, Vince sits down with Jason DeRose — a longtime gym owner, entrepreneur, and SPF Mastermind member — who quietly built a highly profitable gym business while expanding into supplements, real estate, and multiple locations. Jason didn’t join the Mastermind because he was struggling — his gyms were already doing about $10K/month in profit. But after getting re-exposed to the fundamentals, he realized something most gym owners miss: he wasn’t broken — he was just out of alignment. What followed was a complete reorganization of his business — tightening systems, refocusing his team, and getting back to what actually works. The result? His gyms nearly tripled in profit, and he just opened a new location with 61 pre-sale members at $400/month. This episode is a reminder that growth doesn’t always come from doing more — it comes from doing the right things, consistently, at a higher level. 5 Key Points 1. Reorganization Creates Growth Jason didn’t need new ideas — he needed to get back to the fundamentals that already worked and execute them better. 2. Right People, Right Seats One of the biggest breakthroughs came from restructuring his team and eliminating overlap between businesses so everyone had clear focus. 3. Weekly Staff Meetings Fix Problems Fast Meeting with every team member weekly allowed Jason to solve small issues before they became big ones — improving retention and performance. 4. Bring Back the Marketing Calendar Reinstalling a structured quarterly marketing calendar eliminated guesswork and ensured consistent promotions that actually drive revenue. 5. Hiring Through Mentorship, Not Guesswork Instead of hiring off interviews, Jason uses a 30-day mentorship process to evaluate candidates in real scenarios — dramatically improving hiring quality. Ready to stop guessing and start growing your gym with a real plan? Click below to book a call and see what that could look like for your business. https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/implentationpod Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business?  Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session!

    48 min
  6. Why I Ditched ChatGPT and the 7-Minute Email That Sells for You

    MAR 16

    Why I Ditched ChatGPT and the 7-Minute Email That Sells for You

    You’ll get more out of this episode if you watch it on YouTube, because I show the actual ad and walk through the email builder on screen. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/uelswWT0POA Want the Testimonial Email Builder? Send an email to vince@gabrielefitness.com with “Testimonial Email Builder” in the subject line and Vince will send it over personally. Summary: I recently wrote a full-page newspaper ad that’s producing: • Nearly 30% opt-in rates • A 100% show rate on consults • Prospects calling in already sold, saying “I want what Helen had.” In this episode, I break down the testimonial strategy behind that ad, why I stopped using ChatGPT for writing, and how I created a Testimonial Email Builder that helps gym owners write a compelling email in about 7 minutes. I walk through the builder, show you the ad itself, and explain the direct-response principles behind it — including: • Why social proof (Cialdini’s most powerful persuasion principle) drives conversions • How a single testimonial story can do most of your selling • The one email per week strategy that compounds into real revenue over time Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uelswWT0POA   Want the Testimonial Email Builder? Send an email to vince@gabrielefitness.com with “Testimonial Email Builder” in the subject line and Vince will send it over personally. Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business?  Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session!

    28 min
  7. Why Calling Lady Gaga Fat Created a Viral Opportunity

    MAR 6

    Why Calling Lady Gaga Fat Created a Viral Opportunity

    Grab your free copy of The Eight Profit Levers. It’s a 35-minute read that gives you eight specific things to do to make more money at your gym: https://8profitlevers.com/podcast. Episode Summary I’m fresh back from our Gympronos event in Orlando, and honestly, it was epic. I spent three days—72 hours of work—looking for the most actionable takeaways I could bring back to you. In this episode, I’m getting vulnerable about my own recovery and energy management , and why I’m more optimistic about owning a brick-and-mortar gym right now than I’ve ever been. We talk about the "Tony Soprano" mindset, why some gurus are kicking themselves for selling their gyms, and why the "scale of impact" matters just as much as how many locations you have. 5 Key Takeaways Energy is your life force: If you have more energy, you’re a better spouse, a better parent, and a better gym owner. Managing your peak feeling each day is a business strategy, not just a health goalThe "Four Cs" Breakthrough: You don’t get confidence first. You start with Commitment, move through Courage (which feels exactly like fear), acquire Capability, and then you get the Confidence.Trust-Based Business vs. AI: AI is creating a "copycat economy" with a lot of "AI slop" in marketing. You win by leaning into your personal brand and expert status because you cannot be copied.Fish in the right ponds: Look at your top 20 clients and see what they’re actually into—whether it's golf, sailing, or real estate. There’s a massive marketing opportunity sitting right in front of you if you just look at who your best buyers already are.Drive the culture through definitions: Your number one job as an owner is to drive the culture. The best way to do that is to have clearly defined core values that your team actually knows and lives by. Grab your free copy of The Eight Profit Levers. It’s a 35-minute read that gives you eight specific things to do to make more money at your gym: https://8profitlevers.com/podcast. Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business?  Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session!

    42 min
  8. This Gym Hit 1.85MM!

    MAR 5

    This Gym Hit 1.85MM!

    Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business?  Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session! Podcast Summary In this episode of Business Secrets for Gym Owners, Vince sits down with TJ Lopez, owner of AMP Athletic Movement Protocol, to break down the real story behind building a $1.85 million gym business — and why it took far more than talent or hustle to get there. TJ shares his journey from running an athlete-only training facility with extreme revenue swings, constant stress, and total dependence on himself, to building a stable, scalable business powered by systems, leadership, and a thriving adult fitness program. Starting out of a converted bathroom inside a baseball facility, TJ spent years riding the emotional rollercoaster common to sports performance gyms — big seasonal highs followed by painful lows. Despite a strong reputation and elite athlete clientele, the business lacked predictability, structure, and long-term sustainability. Everything changed when TJ stopped trying to do everything himself. By committing to mentorship, shifting from “how do I do this?” to “who can help me do this?”, and finally taking adult fitness seriously as a core pillar of the business, AMP began to scale. Through strategic hires, paid marketing, challenge-based campaigns, and a relentless focus on retention, TJ grew the adult program from under 30 members to over 185 high-value clients — transforming cash flow, margins, and peace of mind. Today, AMP operates multiple locations, generates over $1.85 million annually, and runs with true role clarity, leadership cadence, and accountability. This episode is a deep look at what sustainable gym growth really requires — and why most owners stay stuck until they change how they think, lead, and build. 5 Key Points Athlete-Only Models Create Hidden Risk Seasonal revenue swings and emotional stress make long-term growth nearly impossible without an adult program. Stability Comes From Systems, Not Reputation Even elite credibility won’t replace predictable marketing, sales, and retention processes. Who Not How Changes Everything Hiring the right people and leveraging experts unlocked growth TJ could never achieve alone. One Focused Hire Can Transform the Business Bringing in a dedicated leader for adult fitness turned a neglected program into the engine of growth. Accountability Creates Confidence Quarterly planning, peer accountability, and clear targets replaced chaos with control and certainty. Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business?  Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session! Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business?  Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session!

    45 min
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4.9
out of 5
168 Ratings

About

The Fitness Business University Podcast — The #1 Fitness Business Podcast — is the go-to educational show for gym owners, by gym owners. Hosted by Vince Gabriele, a seasoned pro with 18 years in the trenches of the fitness industry, this podcast pulls back the curtain on the real strategies, systems, and money-making wisdom that have helped gyms around the world grow and thrive. If you’re a Gym Owner or Fitness Entrepreneur ready to get more clients, make more money, and free up your time to do what you love, this is your playbook. Vince delivers a funny, straight-talking, no B.S. approach — no fluff, no theories, just the proven, real-world skills you need to win in business and in life.

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