Growth
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When you're running seven gyms, it's easy to assume you've figured things out. But Matt will be the first to tell you—scale doesn't always equal smooth operations.
"Before, we were a company that didn't have a clear identity," Matt reflects. "We were chasing revenue in different ways, reacting to numbers, trying to solve problems tactically instead of strategically."
It worked sometimes. But it wasn't cohesive. It wasn't scaleable. And worse, the business was actually trending in the wrong direction, heading into what Matt describes as "a tight financial spot."
Matt's challenge wasn't a lack of hustle. He was running seven locations—clearly, the work ethic was there. The problem was deeper. His team was solving problems in the moment instead of building systems that would prevent those problems from happening in the first place.
"Things worked at times, but it wasn't cohesive," Matt says. Without a unified operational identity, every location became its own experiment. Every revenue dip triggered a new tactic. Every win felt temporary.
The business had become reactive and that's unsustainable at scale.
Matt knew something had to change at the foundational level. He needed more than marketing, he needed a framework for building a business that could grow without breaking.
What surprised him most was the depth of real-world gym experience behind the strategies he learned. "The plays they teach—from scholarship-style offers to in-gym conversion strategies—are built to complement real operations, not fight them," Matt explains. "It's high-level consulting from people who actually built and scaled seven-figure gyms."
Working with Coach RE became a turning point. "He's become like the sixth man on the basketball court," Matt says. "He really helped out."
But more than just running campaigns, Coach RE helped Matt sharpen his leadership—something Matt didn't expect from a coaching relationship focused on growth.
"He helped me in ways I didn't expect," Matt admits. "From how I communicate vision, to how I stay grounded in execution, to how I build systems that don't rely on panic or short-term fixes."
The biggest shift? Matt stopped chasing money and started chasing identity.
"Instead of just chasing money, we became laser-focused on the level of service and value we want to deliver," he says. "We stopped reacting to numbers and started focusing on behaviors. When the behaviors are right, the numbers follow."
That alone transformed how Matt and his team lead, execute, and grow.
They defined their brand and operational identity—not just what they sell, but who they are and why their model works. That clarity now shows up across acquisition, fulfillment, and team alignment.
The results speak for themselves. Coach RE describes the transformation as "nothing but remarkable." He's watched Matt and his team at Anytime Fitness "pick up the ball and run with it," completely revamping their personal training department and aggressively driving revenues while focusing on lifetime value, not just the front-end sale.
"They are really chasing virtuosity in the PT realm and delivering an incredible experience," RE notes. "For that, they are getting a lot of individuals that are repeat buyers that are coming back, referring individuals."
What Matt respects most about the process is that it didn't create dependency—it created leverage.
"We now understand our acquisition engine, how to test and scale offers, where the real bottlenecks exist, how to integrate marketing into a healthy, sustainable business," Matt explains.
Instead of constantly needing outside help to react to problems, Matt now has the frameworks to anticipate, test, and scale on his own terms. His team is equipped to execute at a high level without relying on panic or short-term fixes.
"The turnaround of this company in just a year" has been remarkable, according to Coach RE. "I'm super excited to see what we're going to do here in year two. The sky is blue, things are looking good, and they're going to be moving very fast, very quickly."
If you're running multiple locations and something feels off, if revenue is inconsistent, if every new problem requires a new tactic, if scale feels harder than it should—Matt's story offers a clear path forward.
It's not about working harder. It's about building a business on identity, systems, and behaviors that drive sustainable growth.
"It's genuinely been a pleasure working with this team," Matt says, "not because of the hype or promises, but because they helped us mature as operators while building systems that actually support long-term success."
