The Truth About Rugby, Rejection, and Running a Fitness Empire: Ollie Marchon

Ollie Marchon joins James Smith for a business masterclass on what it really takes to build a fitness brand in the UK right now. A former professional rugby player turned coach, Ollie started out cold calling leisure centre members and training clients in a converted cattle shed. Ten years later he runs Marchon across four verticals: in-person gyms, an online training app, a sports nutrition range and a growing community of hybrid athletes. 🎬 Edits Course: https://jamessmith.business/ig-edits 👁️ Try Neutonic: https://www.neutonic.com/jamessmith 🤼‍♂️ Wear Adapt BJJ: https://adaptjj.com/ 📝 Business Mentoring: https://www.jamessmith.business Check out Marchon - https://marchon-global.com/ Follow Ollie on instagram - https://www.instagram.com/olliemarchon/?hl=en Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:28 How Ollie Built Marchon 02:29 How Covid Accelerated the Online Business 03:57 Spotting the Gap in Sports Nutrition 05:28 Building a Brand Nobody Has a Bad Word About 06:32 Bricks and Mortar or Online First? 08:32 Why Every Coach Should Coach in Person First 09:59 From Failed Rugby Career to Freelance PT 11:48 Starting a Gym in a Cattle Shed 12:40 The Small Group Training Model 13:59 Why You’re Always Being Watched on the Gym Floor 14:26 Scaling From One Gym to Two 16:18 The Hires Nobody Tells You About 17:27 Where the Opportunity Is in Fitness Now 19:53 Why Hyrox Affiliates Won’t Last 20:23 James Gets Humbled at CrossFit 22:55 Will GLP-1s Bring a New Wave of Gym Members? 25:06 The Barry’s-Style Strength Gym Model 26:38 Personal Training Is a Luxury Most Can’t Afford 27:55 Why One-to-One Sessions Go Stale 29:51 Jiu-Jitsu Clubs Are the New Health Clubs 32:44 The Real Cost of Running a Gym 34:20 The £200K Business Rates Bill 36:29 Why We Should Want Businesses to Make Money 38:28 Break Even Jumped From 180 to 250 Members 39:48 Why Investors Won’t Fund Bricks and Mortar 40:34 What Happens When Gyms Close 42:39 The Economics of a Jiu-Jitsu Gym 45:38 Building the Marchon Training App 48:56 Price Testing and the Profit Squeeze 51:08 Training as a Customer Acquisition Tool 52:48 Why Online Coaching Is a Lifestyle Business 54:38 Neutonic Pouches and Paid Ads 55:34 James’s Lockdown Slump 56:48 Launching the Marchon Nutrition Range 59:20 Hiring Celtic’s Head of Nutrition 1:01:30 Bootstrapping vs Raising Money 1:03:47 Marchon’s Best Seller: Workout Fuel 1:05:44 Why You Shouldn’t Fear Carbs Before Training 1:07:58 Rituals, Cues and Building Habits 1:09:16 The Protein Price Crisis 1:10:52 Protein Shakes and GLP-1s 1:13:38 GLP-1s as a Business Performance Aid 1:16:46 Why Food Is More Enjoyable on GLP-1s 1:17:49 The Hungry Months Behind Every Abs Photo 1:19:43 James’s Prescription Travel Stack 1:20:41 How Easy Is It to Get GLP-1s? 1:21:53 The Highest Leverage Play in Weight Loss 1:24:08 The Full Marchon Product Range 1:26:58 Marchon’s Top Five Sellers 1:27:56 Do You Actually Need Electrolytes? 1:30:11 Lessons in Impatience From Necker Island 1:33:17 Expensive Mistakes and Finding Your Hero Products 1:35:38 Every Business Is Personal Training Full Circle 1:37:11 Why Ollie Brought In a COO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices