Profit Made Simple

What does it take to go from gym member to national franchisor? In this episode of Profit Made Simple, host Dan Henderson sits down with Sam Waller, national franchisor of Stepz Fitness, to unpack a journey that started with a broken back in grade ten, a walk-out from a university business lecture, and a promise to buy his local gym within three months. Sam shares how twelve banks knocked him back before a member backed him, why he skipped multiple clubs and went straight to master franchisee, and how watching the 24/7 chains grow like wildfire led him to combine 24/7 access and functional group training under one roof. With the brand heading past 30 locations by the end of the year, he and Dan get into why Stepz wants members to actually turn up, and why that runs against how much of the industry makes its money. They also cover: Why visitation is the metric that drives retention, and how Sam gets franchisees to track it and care about it Testing every big change in his own clubs first, including the regional openings in Dubbo, Lismore and Muswellbrook that no one else in the network wanted Getting clear on who Stepz is for (busy parents, retirees and anyone intimidated by big-box gyms) and who it isn't for The franchisor-franchisee relationship: treating it like a marriage, knowing your agreement and exit, and raising problems early in the right forum The road to 100 clubs by 2035, protecting territories, choosing the regions over "ego play" locations, and eventually looking overseas Our favourite quotable moments: "We want members to come." – Sam Waller "If you want to change something, be the change." – Sam Waller "I'd love to be the emerging underdog." – Sam Waller "You've got to be willing to do the dirty stuff that no one else is doing." – Sam Waller Resources: Dan Henderson - Website, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Sam Waller - LinkedIn, Instagram, Stepz Fitness, Stepz Fitness Franchising About Guest: Sam Waller is the national franchisor of Stepz Fitness, an Australian-owned gym franchise with clubs across Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and South Australia. He started at Stepz as a member, became a personal trainer, bought his first club in his early twenties, and worked his way up to master franchisee and then franchisor. He created the hybrid model that pairs 24/7 gym access with functional group training, and he's known for testing ideas in his own clubs before asking franchisees to follow. He also went back and completed a law degree while running the business. About Dan: Dan Henderson, founder of Fitness Profit, is a coach and business consultant who helps fitness owners achieve more freedom, impact, and income. With over a decade of experience in the industry, Dan is a well-respected leader, owning two successful businesses within the space: Fitness Profit and Australia's largest fitness conference, Filex. As a published author and entrepreneur, Dan shares his knowledge on the Profit Made Simple podcast, where he interviews industry experts and offers practical advice for growing your fitness business, building your brand, and achieving your goals. Join Dan each week and take your fitness business to new heights with Profit Made Simple. Related: gym franchising, fitness business, hybrid gym model, 24/7 gyms, group fitness, member retention, franchisor leadership, franchisee relationships, regional growth, customer experience, entrepreneurship, business growth

How do you go from an army PTI to building an eight-figure product brand? In this special episode of Profit Made Simple, host Dan Henderson sits down with colleague, friend and serial entrepreneur Ceri Cummings, co-founder of GOAT Nose Strips, to trace a path that runs from Cardiff to Iraq to a rugby contract in Perth. That journey eventually led to a gym opened with $1,700 in crowdfunding and a car used as collateral. Ceri shares why he fell out of love with the gym industry's sign-and-forget model, how a landlord named Mark ended up becoming his business partner and first paying member, and why, after gyms, Pilates, recovery, cafes and more, he realised service businesses were never going to give him the life he wanted. He and Dan get into the moment a cheap chemist nose strip sparked a back-of-a-napkin business plan, and why GOAT had to be a brand beyond the product. They also cover: How Ceri tells a real opportunity from a shiny object by looking for a gap in the market, the right person to build it with, and something he's genuinely passionate about Why the biggest difference between a gym and a product business is scalability and risk, with no five-year lease or six-figure equipment bill attached Knowing your numbers so that big ad spend becomes a calculated risk rather than a gamble The content playbook behind GOAT, which means filming the run clubs, rugby and gym sessions they already love and then testing, refining and scaling what works Building a flywheel by wholesaling into gyms, where members get better results and owners get an extra revenue stream Leading from the trenches, and why you can't want it for your team Systemising sooner, the one thing he'd change if he started his first gym again What's next, including a golf simulator venture, the UK expansion and the "GOAT mobile" lap of Australia Our favourite quotable moments: "If you know your numbers, then you know what's doable and then it's a calculated risk." – Ceri Cummings "People getting behind something is more powerful than the thing itself." – Ceri Cummings "I wouldn't ask someone to do something I wouldn't do myself." – Ceri Cummings "If I've done it more than twice, it becomes a system." – Ceri Cummings "If you don't take risks, you'll never know." – Ceri Cummings Resources: Dan Henderson - ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

What does 38 years in the fitness industry teach you about what actually lasts? In this episode of Profit Made Simple, host Dan Henderson sits down with Justin "JT" Tamsett — Managing Director of Active Management, REX Roundtables chairperson and one of the most recognisable voices in Australian fitness — for a conversation with the man who has been a key player in Dan's own career. JT traces a path that started when a student threw a chair at him during his third year of PE prac, took him through gym instructing, sales and club management, and had him owning his first club three and a half years later. From there he and Dan get into the big structural shifts: ten times the consumer options but no more people working out, participation moving at glacial speed, and why leadership — not marketing, not sales — has become the gap JT now spends most of his coaching hours filling. They also cover: The surf test for telling a fad from a trend — sit out the back beyond the breaking waves and decide which one is worth catching, and why HYROX is a trend but the deeper trend is fitness racing and status Why the best operators leave their egos at the door, and why the ones still turning up to conferences after 35 years are the ones still learning Looking outside the industry for answers — including why British Airways studied a Formula One pit crew instead of another airline The promotion trap: the best PT becomes the PT manager, the best trainer opens their own studio, and every skill that made them successful goes out the window Why face-to-face still beats virtual, and the Rex member whose flooded Lismore studio was rebuilt with $10,000 raised by people who had never met him AI as a collaborator rather than an abdication — ask five questions, not one, and be deliberate about what you do with the 40 minutes you just saved Our favourite quotable moments:"Happy, hungry and humble." – Justin Tamsett "Management is systems and processes. Leadership is people." – Justin Tamsett "You can't beat being face to face with someone." – Justin Tamsett "You don't have to be big to be great." – Justin Tamsett Resources: Dan Henderson - ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠YouTube⁠ About Guest:Justin "JT" Tamsett is the Managing Director of Active Management and chairperson of REX Roundtables, the peer-to-peer program he has run for fitness business owners across Australia and the US for decades. An independent gym owner through the 90s and 2000s, he has since spoken at more than 40 conferences across 23 countries, consulted with gyms worldwide and hosts the Fitness Business Podcast. His work now centres on leadership — helping owners and franchisees lead people, not just run systems — with a broader mission of getting more people moving more often. About Dan:Dan Henderson, founder of Fitness Profit, is a coach and business consultant who helps fitness owners achieve more freedom, impact, and income. With over a decade of experience in the industry, Dan is a well-respected leader, owning two successful businesses within the space: Fitness Profit and Australia's largest fitness conference, Filex. As a published author and entrepreneur, Dan shares his knowledge on the Profit Made Simple podcast, where he interviews industry experts and offers practical advice for growing your fitness business, building your brand, and achieving your goals. Join Dan each week and take your fitness business to new heights with Profit Made Simple. Related: fitness business, gym ownership, leadership, industry trends, fads vs trends, HYROX, AI in business, peer learning, mentorship, coaching, consulting, team culture, business growth

What does it take to stay relevant in the fitness industry for almost 30 years? In this episode of Profit Made Simple, host Dan Henderson sits down with Mets Analin, CEO and co-founder of Titan Fitness in Coogee — one of the last genuinely independent gyms in Sydney — to unpack a career that started with buying his local bodybuilding gym at 21 years old alongside his brother. Mets shares why he went from three gyms back to one and made more money doing it, why he still refuses to get off the gym floor, and how a father who cleaned at the airport set the standards that still run the business three decades on. He and Dan get into the last twelve months of change at Titan — adding HYROX, removing the crèche, turning the studio over to reformer — and why rebranding felt less like an upgrade and more like opening a completely new business. They also cover: Why curiosity and getting "in the weeds" is what keeps a 28-year operator relevant, and what it does for team retention Meeting members exactly where they're at — including the 85-year-old who nearly quit, and the woman who only wanted the corner of the spin room The three-part filter Mets uses before adding any new vertical: would I use it, do I love it, and do I love the people I'd be building it with How Suppstance, the retreats, the podcast and the recovery arm all trace back to relationships rather than gaps in the market A first look at the Titan operating system — an app and CRM built to give members access to the physios, coaches and specialists most people never get near Our favourite quotable moments: "I get in the weeds to understand." – Mets Analin "We meet people where they're at." – Mets Analin "If a gym tries to rebrand, tread with caution." – Mets Analin "Work hard and be good to your family." – Mets Analin Resources: Dan Henderson - ⁠Website⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠YouTube About Guest: Mets Analin is the CEO and co-founder of Titan Fitness in Coogee, which he bought with his brother at 21 and has run for almost three decades. Alongside the gym he has built Suppstance, the Elevate with Mets podcast and coaching program, retreats and a recovery business, and is bringing the Titan Games to the Sydney Fitness Expo. He is known in the industry for staying on the floor, doing every job in the building, and treating customer experience as the whole game. About Dan: Dan Henderson, founder of Fitness Profit, is a coach and business consultant who helps fitness owners achieve more freedom, impact, and income. With over a decade of experience in the industry, Dan is a well-respected leader, owning two successful businesses within the space: Fitness Profit and Australia's largest fitness conference, Filex. As a published author and entrepreneur, Dan shares his knowledge on the Profit Made Simple podcast, where he interviews industry experts and offers practical advice for growing your fitness business, building your brand, and achieving your goals. Join Dan each week and take your fitness business to new heights with Profit Made Simple. Related: gym ownership, fitness business, customer experience, leadership, standards, business growth, rebranding, HYROX, reformer pilates, entrepreneurship, team culture, mentorship

Is your business feeling heavy? In this episode of Profit Made Simple, host Dan Henderson welcomes back Fitness Profit team member and sales guru Kevin Frazier for the flip side of their revenue layers conversation — this time on simplicity. Kevin shares how three years living in Tokyo with almost nothing rebuilt his relationship with stuff, habits and energy, and gave him the two-question filter he still runs everything through: does it serve a purpose, and does it bring me great joy? Dan and Kev unpack why simplicity is not the same as lazy or easy — it takes boundaries, saying no, and pulling yourself out of 24-hour distraction to find the clarity most business owners are missing. They cover the three pillars of a simpler business and life: getting extraordinarily clear on where you're going, deliberately building in white space to think, and eliminating what no longer serves you — whether that's equipment, outdated systems, an underperforming program, marketing that's stopped working, or the people quietly weighing you down. Kev also offers the question every owner should ask before adding anything new: is the prize worth the price? Dan shares how cutting one program at the end of last year made delivery, sales, onboarding and team stress dramatically easier — and why the mental baggage we carry so often mirrors the physical baggage around us. Our favourite quotable moments: "Does it serve a purpose or does it bring us great joy?" – Kevin Frazier "Simplicity is not wasting energy on shit, which doesn't need to be done." – Kevin Frazier "Is the prize worth the price?" – Kevin Frazier Resources: Dan Henderson - ⁠Website⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠ About Guest: Kevin Frazier is a key team member at Fitness Profit and a resident sales guru. With nearly two decades of experience alongside Dan Henderson, Kev specialises in helping fitness business owners master sales, client experience, and revenue growth strategies. About Dan: Dan Henderson, founder of Fitness Profit, is a coach and business consultant who helps fitness owners achieve more freedom, impact, and income. With over a decade of experience in the industry, Dan is a well-respected leader, owning two successful businesses within the space: Fitness Profit and Australia's largest fitness conference, Filex. As a published author and entrepreneur, Dan shares his knowledge on the Profit Made Simple podcast, where he interviews industry experts and offers practical advice for growing your fitness business, building your brand, and achieving your goals. Join Dan each week and take your fitness business to new heights with Profit Made Simple. Related: simplicity, minimalism, focus, clarity, business growth, leadership, fitness business, decision making, mindset, entrepreneurship, gym ownership