Scotty Johnson 00:00
It was a huge learning curve that when opening up something grounds, I never want to use the word easy. But it was easy. Like it was so much easier to just know what I needed to buy and know how I needed to structure my classes know what days to you know what times to have these classes at? What hours, when am I going to add another class? When am I going to? How am I going to program for a lower body strength day compared to a more HIIT a style class? Like? How do I do all this? And I learned that over the years and I was fortunate to have two great partners at the time, so we were able to bounce ideas off each other and feedback.
Bridget Moroney 00:41
Welcome to the performance RX podcast where the conversations are about health, nutrition and mindset for anyone who considers themselves an athlete from the most elite competitors to those who are simply seeking to improve their athletic performance. We hope the knowledge shared on this show will empower you to reach your physical potential. Thank you so much for tuning in. Now for today's episode. Hey, everyone. Welcome to today's show. I'm your host, Bridget Moroney. And today my guest is my friend Scotty Johnson, Scotty's got over a decade of experience in the fitness industry as both a trainer and a gym owner. In 2015, Scotty opened and ran B Fit Biscayne in Miami, Florida, which was a training facility that ultimately was nominated as one of the best gyms in South Florida several years in a row while earning over 5000 5 star reviews on various platforms. More recently, Scotty has opened his new gym in Michigan called stomping grounds training and recovery Scotty has extensive experience training individuals at every ability level and is intensely passionate about guiding people toward their fitness goals. He wholeheartedly believes in hard work and consistency, but knows that the most important piece of the puzzle is fun. There's something for everyone in this episode. So I hope you enjoy. What's up, Scotty, how you doing today?
Scotty Johnson 02:00
I'm good. I'm good. Thank you for having me. Most importantly,
Bridget Moroney 02:04
yeah, absolutely Thanks for Thanks for being on here. And it's fun to sit down and chat with you after all this time. So really quick, kind of do a little bit of an intro for the episode there. But before we kind of get chatting today, I wanted to ask if there's anything you want to share about your background, or anything that you want our listeners to know about yourself and experience.
Scotty Johnson 02:30
Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I'm going to try to make this short and sweet. So I don't spend our entire conversation. So yeah, very quickly about myself. I have a bachelor's in exercise physiology. I also have my master's in exercise physiology. You know, Olympic weightlifting, sport nutrition specialists. I'm a certified strength coach. I mean, most importantly, I'm a gym owner. And I've been doing this for a while now. We've gone way back to when we first met. So, I mean, that's my background. I'm in Michigan right now I own a gym called stomping grounds training and recovery. And, you know, obviously, we're gonna get more into it from there, but a little bit about myself.
Bridget Moroney 03:12
Man, that was super succinct. I'm impressed.
Scotty Johnson 03:15
I honestly try to condense it into the smallest thing possible Yeah. No, I
Bridget Moroney 03:20
need to I need to practice that.
Scotty Johnson 03:21
I'm proud of myself.
Bridget Moroney 03:23
I'm super proud of you proud of myself. I'm super proud and impressed. In fact, I need to kind of practice your art of the This is saying that introduction there. Yeah. So talking about talking about your gym stomping grounds fitness. So So you, like you said you're currently in Michigan, you and I both met back in the day in Miami, where you had a gym there. And so yeah, I thought today, we could just talk a little bit about your experience as a trainer as a coach and all of your kind of specialty there but again, as as you mentioned, as a gym owner because there's there's so much to kind of unpack there not just for people who are interested in being gym owners or coaches themselves, but also for clients there like, before I hit record, we were kind of talking a little bit about just like gym culture because when people in my opinion when people go to gyms like yours and Michigan or you know, like the one that we were at in Miami or just like any like I'm from the CrossFit world, like CrossFit gyms, they're really going for a unique experience kind of like that boutique experience there otherwise and this is not a knock against any of these brands but they could just go to Planet Fitness or Gold's Gym and be done with it right so in my opinion I feel like there's there's a there's a specific experience that they're getting and every so yeah, I guess maybe let's just start with that just kind of the culture of these smaller as I call it boutique gyms Yeah,
Scotty Johnson 04:51
no, I'm so I love that you say that like culture, like community community is the word that we push out everywhere. If you go on our website, it's like community community. You'll see that word pop up a lot. And I think you hit the nail on the head, the small gyms, the boutiques, they do that very well, CrossFit made an entire business off of community first than fitness. And, like funny enough stomping grounds. So the old stomping ground, a synonym of that is community. So like when I was trying to find a name for the gym, so you mentioned it before I was a part owner in a gym called B fit down in Miami. So I had two partners down there. When I moved up to Michigan, I'm, I'd like to say I'm solo, my wife is very much a part of it. She's She's my partner in crime, not only in the gym, but you know, in life as well. So we kind of built this thing and community was the word is the thing that we built down in Miami so well that we wanted to make sure that it, you know, we aspire to hit those same type of, you know, the gym setting, that you're talking about that culture. And that's how we came up with a name. And like, that's the first thing like, I say it all the time, experience, education, all that stuff is huge. But if people don't come to your gym, and they're not having fun, like, what's the point, they're not going to return? So you said it before, you don't want to knock on other gyms. But there's a reason why people always return to these orange theories. And F 45. There's nothing wrong with them. They're great. They're a big franchise. The reason is like they've developed this type of community built into their systems. And that's why people keep coming back. So especially the small mom and pop shops like myself or anybody else. We know like if you can't build that, like, the atmosphere that people want to go to that people have fun and see results that you can't live in this world, like being a gym owner, it's tough. It's tough to do it on your own without like the backing of, you know, big corporation.
Bridget Moroney 06:56
And I'm glad you brought up like franchises, too, because yeah, orange theory, F 45. I guess kind of like bottom line there, like you're mentioning like for, for smaller, individually owned gyms, like could have all of the degrees in the world, all the certifications, some of the best programming, but, you know, again, using my wife, as an example, you're just kind of every day human is going to care more about the experience they're getting from your gym, above all else, in my opinion.
Scotty Johnson 07:26
1,000% 1,000%. And I mean, the thing I always say, like to other trainers, any anybody that's ever interned underneath me, or even to clients who say the same thing, no one knows what those letters behind our names mean, there's so many new certifications that pop up all the time. And like, you know, it's on my Instagram, if you look at my name, I have like 1000 letters behind it. But like, no one really knows what those mean, unless you're really inside the industry. So people, I would like to say they're not looking for that. Like they're going to search, personal training, they're gonna search group training, fitness hit whatever words they find, like on Google, but what they're looking for is they're just trying to find something that has great reviews, something that people are talking about. And that's essentially that's what we're trying to build is. I think a good learning experience for myself was I mentioned earlier down at B fit, I had two partners that were also did the masters in exercise physiology strength conditioning down in university of Miami. So we opened, we're like, look at this, we have all this education, people are gonna love it. But the problem is we weren't business owners, like we were trainers, we knew how to train. So we had to learn how to wear every hat in the company, we had to learn how to market we had to learn how to branch out, and with all that still build this atmosphere that when people came in, they wanted to be a part of it. And I think we did do that very well. And you know, the reviews and you know, the member, you know, the men member attrition, like speaks volumes to that. And that's exactly what me and my wife were trying to do here, Michigan, and just in case there are any of your listeners in Michigan, we are located in Royal Oak. So it's just like a metro Detroit suburb outside of just north of Detroit.
Bridget Moroney 09:15
Yeah, that's a great point to bring up too. Because you know, someone who you know, has been a coach or had been a coach for a while now like doing my own thing. You know, in the world of business there is there is a huge difference between being a great trainer but also being a great business owner that there's definitely a lot more to it. You're at stomping grounds right now you're, you know, this is what you've created. But you mentioned you've mentioned B fit a couple of times there and you and I have talked about this prior to this episode, your experience in opening be fit and opening stomp stomping grounds are completely different. Right. And part of it is I would assume, like you said your experience there but also just the simple fact that Miami has a very different economy than Michigan, I would assume so. Yeah, we'd love to hear a little bit more about maybe that and the lessons you learned along the way from each of those.
Scotty Johnson 10:08
Yeah, I mean, we could probably honestly do like seven podcast conversations about this. But the big takeaway, big takeaways, definitely, it's a learning curve. Anyone who started a business knows that there's a learning curve. There's a reason why people buy into franchises, there's a system, there's a do this, do this step a step B, Step C, like, just follow this, and it'll be successful. And then you know, those bigger franchises they, they, they market, well, they advertise well, so people know about them. So if you're starting from scratch, it's very hard to get your name out there, because most of the initial business is word of mouth. So you know, if you don't have the clientele, if you don't have enough clients to open up your own business, like, you can't just say like, oh, this is a nice area, I'll just open up a gym, you could be very lucky. And it works that way. But like, traditionally, there's a lot more that goes into it. So starting B fit with my, with my partners down in Miami, and then moving on to here, Michigan, which was like a seven year difference. It was a huge learning curve, that when opening up something around, I never want to use the word easy. But it was easy. Like it was so much easier to just know what I needed to buy and know how I needed to structure my classes know what days to you know, what times to have these classes at? What hours? And when am I going to add another class? When am I going to how am I going to program for a lower body strength day compared to a more HIIT based style class? Like? How do I do all this? And I learned that over the years, and I was fortunate to have two great partners at the time. So we were able to bounce ideas off each other and do that. So coming up to Michigan. Yeah, it was fun. It was awesome. Like a, we were able to build that community build that structure, build that class model, as well as personal training, I would say personal training is probably the largest chunk of my business is just that one on one or one on two training. We're able to just kind of like duplicate it and just bring it up to a completely different, like area and do well. But yeah, like learning curve is everything. Like I could tell you how we spent money wrong, why we did something stupid here or what we learned, like, you know, tips and tricks, I always kind of like, roll my eyes out, because there's not a lot of tips and tricks. But there are things that you can kind of like, learn from and stay away from. And yeah, we spent a ton of money to realize that that money went nowhere. So like, how do you save your money? How do you you know, how do you buy equipment along the way, rather than trying to have this perfect atmosphere from day one? Because it's not going to work that way. It just doesn't,
Bridget Moroney 12:58
you know, what would you say using the words tips and tricks, they're, I guess, but on the financial side, because especially like kind of referencing CrossFit, like, I feel like 10, 15 years ago, you could get away with just a couple barbells a couple of wall balls and like a you know, whatever. 500 square foot place like that was always the advice is like outgrow your gym, but I feel like those days are long gone there. And even for personal trainers like renting out space anyway, like to your point, like you said, like what type of equipment do I need to buy? Because there's There's so much available there again, it's like it's like anything. I think nowadays it's information overload. So for someone starting out with a a modest to limited budget there, what could one do?
Scotty Johnson 13:45
Yeah, so I mean, it's funny, like I feel like you asked me like seven questions all within that one question. Like one direction. But I guess like a big takeaway, like, Let's go like equipment wise. We all want and you you said it perfectly barbells bumper plates, some medicine balls, like you're pretty much in business, you got some dumbbells, you can do anything. I kind of have the mindset of like, build a nicer garage gym, and then kind of go from there. Like, currently, I don't have any assault bikes, rowers, ski ergs, things of that nature, we will have them I love those pieces of equipment, but you you have to be smart about it like an assault bike, one only works for one person. So if you have a group of eight, a group of 10 in class, you know, like, it's very hard to build that one item into your, you know, your programming, you know, like people aren't going to be able to cycle off of one assault like that, that simple. You know, there's a lot of logistics of timing of, hey, this is an hour class. I gotta make sure they're getting enough work in and proper work. without too much rest, but enough rest. And you know, so it's just all like the logistics. So I'll be honest, get yourself a nice squat rack. And when I say nice, nice rogue mounted squat rack that cost $400 is a nice squat rack, you don't need a sore necks $3,000 division one college football squat rack, it'd be nice to have that, but I'm pretty sure you probably don't have $3,000 just to spend on that, you know, a good Olympic barbell, everyone's going to need it. Dumbbells we have at both locations my gym right now in our gym down in Florida, we did five through 50s. Because you can do so much with five pounds through 50 pounds. At some point, of course, you're gonna get somebody that's stronger that can do 60s and 70s and 80s and 100. But you have to choose things that you know you're going to be using a lot of. And there's there's so I'm using air quotes here for those listening on, you know, in their car tips and tricks like, hey, this person could dumbbell bench 80 pounds two 80 pound dumbbells, like they could do that 10 times. Okay, well, how can I make it challenging for somebody with 50s Well, throwing some push ups throwing some clap push ups, throwing some sort of superset that makes it challenging to where they're getting the same effect of doing like a heavy dumbbell bench. Like, there are ways around it through your programming. And that's that's the big thing is build small enough equipment that you could make a good program with. And then hey, when the money starts rolling, and start buying the nice, you know, toys that we all love the the assault bike the ski ergs the rowers, the squat rack attachments that we all want to use. But yeah, you let that kind of build into it. And guess what, if you build the right community and build the right atmosphere, people aren't going to know that they need a squat rack or a treadmill or, you know, an air runner or anything of that nature. So, yeah, and there's just like logistics like, What can I get away with bare minimum? And then how can I build on top of that, and that will save people literally 1000s of dollars, because you could truly equip an entire gym, I'm talking 3000 square foot unit. With six grand, you don't need a lot like, flooring is always going to be expensive. There's nothing you can do about flooring. But here's another tips and tricks. This is something we learned in our program was like, yeah, and someone I'm probably going to be someone's gonna come after me for this. But like, there's a there's things called horse grade mats. And then there's things called flooring, gym mats, they are the exact same thing. However, a gym mat cost three times the amount of a horse grade mat, there is no difference between horse stall mats and gym mats, the same thickness, same rubber, they're used for the same reason. So like, there are little things that you can do their that you can save yourself money on the on the you know, the startup on the before opening up your gym, that you have extra money to put towards obviously rent to put into savings to put towards more equipment to put towards marketing, whatever it is that you want to spend that money on. You know, if you just go in with a $20,000 budget and you spend $20,000, day one, you're gonna have a really rough time, you know, feeling comfortable with that gym. Unless you you're one of these fortunate people that just has like 50 clients off the bat.
Bridget Moroney 13:52
I probably did.
Scotty Johnson 14:42
Yeah, that's something I've kind of heard in general, just for, I guess, any sort of, you know, brick and mortar business there. Because like you mentioned, there's things like the overhead costs. So you just rent this case, equipment, marketing, et cetera, et cetera, for someone starting with Scratch, who, like you mentioned doesn't have 50 clients right off the bat. I've always heard as a general I guess, piece of advice or rule of thumb to have about six months of whatever it I guess there was costs there because it takes supposedly, you know, it takes that long to kind of get up and start at least like breaking even. I mean, we at B fit it took us nine months to even take a salary. So when people have this aspiration, and they want to open up a gym and they know what's going to be great and they get to work on their passion. Believe me, I'm in that position right now. I know what it's like to be passionate about the gym, but it's a struggle like gyms, very much like restaurants kind of move along with small margins like you know, we're not we're not pulling in a ton of money. You're also asking an individual to kind of commit to you. So unlike a restaurant, you may go to your favorite restaurant because anniversary, it's Friday night or whatever, but you're not going to the same restaurant every single day as a gym owner, you know, outside of personal training, because people aren't coming seven days a week, but like, if you're doing a class model, you're essentially asking them to come to you, every single day you there, you're asking them to commit to you, which kind of circles right back to that community thing, like if you don't build the right community, and they're not having fun, and, you know, no one's gonna come to you five, six days a week, if they don't enjoy it, like, you could be the best trainer in the world. But if you just can't, like, if you can't teach a class, or you can't give, you know, constructive criticism, or positive reinforcement, or something that makes people like, want to come back, you know, it's, it's a waste. So, you know, I know, we just took a huge circle running back to that, but a lot of it is you have to have your models in place, you have to know what kind of thing you're going to do. So just like equipment, I mentioned it before with a class structure. One huge thing that we did really wrong, because although we're different from a crossfit, but we kind of run in the same similar model of you know, there's personal training throughout the day, but you have morning classes, you have night classes, if you're busy, you might have a mid day class. But if you just have seven classes available, and you have 20 clients, people are going to spread themselves out. So what happens is you're working seven hours a day, and you're having one two clients and every single class when you can condense it. So starting with one morning class, one night class, okay, we have when you find out what your cap is how many people you can fit in that class, Okay, now let's add another class because I have enough pain members, that it's worth it to me, because at some point, and you may or may not be adding on other trainers, or you might already have another trainer coming with you, you got to give them work. So at some point, you know, you're going to have to add more classes, but that's costing you money. So make sure you're getting the right amount of members in before you go with a 30 classes structure during the week. You know, we started very small, there's one morning class or sorry, one morning class, one night class. Okay, those are doing really well, let's add a second night class because the night classes are busier. And you kind of just go from there. And like I said, it's very, very unlikely that you just have 100 clients class structure clients just waiting to join your gym. And you can start off with seven classes automatically. Because you're just going to be working yourself, you're gonna burn yourself out. Essentially, if you do it like that.
Bridget Moroney 22:54
You said it perfectly because I was that was gonna be my next question is about burnout. And again, like, I can't say 100% for sure if this is the case or not. But just in my own experience in observing other coaches and gym owners and things like that, I have seen quite a few people, in my opinion, from what I can tell it looks like they are pretty burnt out because they have done some of those things like you said, like they have like all of these classes and like one person shows up to 6am. And then three people show up to 7am. And then you have five people at at 9am. Well now you've done what you've trained like less than 10 people and you're like five hours into your day. And then and you mentioned before so you started B fit with two other partners on your stomping ground, you're your wife is your partner, how does that help with the or does it help with the burnout or not? Because again, I I feel like the people that I've witnessed run themselves into this trap there are going at it alone. It's like because to your point, it costs money to hire other coaches. I don't know if that's really a question. Or maybe it's seven questions again, but just kind of the I
Scotty Johnson 24:04
know, to be honest, okay. That was kind of perfect, because it did blend into like, what my thought process is going into. You know, burnout is real, it happens fitness industry, I said it before, like, essentially, there's three ways to make money in the fitness industry. You either own the business, you have an outstanding client list that you know, you've built over time that you're just making your own money, like through personal training, or small group, whatever it is, or you're doing something online that's bringing you money, but all three are very hard to do like it's you can't just jump on Instagram and start making money because you're going to fitness. There's a ton of people on Instagram that already do it, you know. So it's really like, especially if you're focusing like myself on a particular brick and mortar location like I Do nothing online. You know, burnout is real. And even from my master's program, we only accept 25 students every year. I'll tell you, I keep up with all of them, half of them are no longer in fitness. Because just a lot of, you know, the return on what you're doing and exactly what you said, waking up early, getting home really late. Sometimes that's not for everyone. The one hard part of it is that question when you asked me like, how do I do it without burnout? I don't know. Like, I have a 4am client, I have a 5am client like, that stuff doesn't bother me, I just love it. So like, I have gotten to a point where I felt overwhelmed where I was doing 11 sessions a day. And at the same time being a gym owner, guess what, you don't get to keep all that money, that money goes right into rent, that money goes into paying your other trainers. And when he goes into marketing. When he goes into the smoothie bar of buying other things, that money goes into your AC bill that money. Like everyone thinks like, oh, well, if I charge $80 An hour or 80 bucks goes into my pocket, it's like no, especially if it's going through a business, you may be accepting $30 of that. It may be so like, it is really tough. So as I said, I was doing a lot in sessions a day. And my salary at the end of the day was pathetic. You know, like for other people that work, I guess you can say like a traditional nine to five, and their salaries are great. And their their work life balance is a little better. They're not burnt out. So when it comes to burnout, it's definitely as a gym owner at stomping grounds, it kind of goes back to that class structure I set about rather than giving myself seven classes a day, and giving people all these crazy options. It's like, hey, there's a morning class. If you are passionate about it, you want to work out and you know, it's going to help you, you'll make it to that hour, you'll find a way at the same at night. It's very rare. And there are people and I, you know, like I don't want to be that person that says like, everyone should work out and everyone can work out, you're just you know, you're lying to yourself. If you can't like that's not true. There's plenty of single mothers with kids that they don't have help. They don't have anybody to babysit, they don't have parents around to like help them out. So yeah, they're dropping kids off, going straight to work, picking your kids up taking them to soccer practice, like there are people that can't, you know, so that's why garage gyms and these online programs are great for those individuals, they might not be able to make it a class. But those, that's a very few percentage, like it's very small, most of the population, especially in areas that you're opening up these gyms, most people can make it so like don't give them too many options. And that's going to help you with your burnout. And the truth is, if you're burnt out, usually it's because your gym is doing so well that it is time to hire on somebody else, it is time to have somebody come in and help you out. Not to mention, having other trainers is great for you because it has you can bounce ideas off each other. And you know, I say that all the time. My two partners and I keep saying partners on it, just like Sam and Julian were my partners down in South Florida. Like we went to the same program, we learn the same like structures, we learned the same like exercise progressions, we learn the same kinesiology, we will learn the same systemic physiology, yet our training programs were a little different. Like I like doing this, when they liked doing that. And it's cool because it's like, alright, you can bounce ideas off each other and broaden your, your, the way you train. And you can't look at it one way. And I'm going to stop talking in a second. But to go back to when we first met and this is like a like I tell people all the time, I my first job ever in the fitness industry was at CrossFit Wynwood and that's where we met at. And I was a sports performance coach. My whole thing was sport performance. It was all strength, conditioning, strength and conditioning. And CrossFit in some ways follows it in some ways doesn't that's a much different topic. But you know, for the most part, you're doing a lot a WOD has nothing to do with your speed and agility work outside and cuts and multi directional drills and things of that nature. But the big thing was like I've never done a DOD before, I've never done an AMRAP I've never done an EMOM like those were things that I actually never did in my in my programming, or I wasn't really taught that or dealt depth deep into that. So it was really cool to take those things where it's like alright, this is another version of conditioning so maybe I'm not going to make up 30 minute WOD and take up the whole class but at the end like yeah, I'll throw in a little six minute EMOM to finish out to give like that little burnout that you know people want um I like EMOM in the metabolic conditioning world as well, like, you don't have to do it with Olympic lifting and stuff. But you can simplify it down to Jack squats and V ups and things of that nature. Like, there's cool ways of using those tools that I never learned from CrossFit and then blending it into my style of programming. And then now I just have a broaden, like, I've done it all now, like I've worked in the boxing gym, I've worked in the boutique like spa setting, I've worked in the physical therapy setting. I've worked with professional athletes on the Combine setting. So what I'm going to do is I'm gonna learn from everybody that I worked underneath, and I'm going to build that into my program. So, I know I just went on a complete different tangent of your original question. But, you know, I think that's something that people you having others to bounce ideas off of, and networking is huge. Doing these things, these podcasts, they help like, it's going to open your eyes to new ways of doing what you're doing.
Bridget Moroney 31:02
Yeah, no, absolutely. And I appreciate you saying that just in general like just kind of having that open mind because I think maybe I'll just speak for myself you know, starting out in the fitness industry like you you learn a certain methodology there and you're really adamant about it and it can be very easy to be like this is the ultimate way to do it and and ignore everything else but then like I'll just kind of echo what you said meeting you and Dan Casey where he's he's a coach for you now right he's he coaches with that stomping grounds.
Scotty Johnson 31:31
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dan, Dan did the master's program in Miami Yeah, so he has a full time so he's a part time coach but yeah, Dan's a coach here that's not me.
Bridget Moroney 31:40
Yes. Yeah. So I but I just want to acknowledge and because I also met Dan in Miami and he was he did programming for me as you remember back then and I learned so much from both him and you about like you said like sports performance coaching and or sports performance like just training so I guess with that said, like, like you mentioned, like I've taken little things that I've learned from him and from you and that style of training, you know, and I did to myself and in my own training and with some other clients and then like I dabbled in powerlifting community for a minute there when I was in Tampa there's a place called I guess there were franchise but it's a powerhouse gym, and it's very body builder type but there was there was a group of power lifters and one day that the coach I guess, saw me squatting and he, I guess, decided that I was somewhat strong and he's like, Hey, if you want to train with us you can you know, I'm like okay, cool. So So but the point is like you said like learning from these different communities coaches people they're like not just be so narrow minded that like my way of training is the best and only way
Scotty Johnson 32:48
Definitely when I need to that's a great point like you know, going back to what you said earlier, you know, you're self motivated to go train in your garage gym while your wife like she wants to do a group class. And you know, I'm I'm more like your wife, I know what to write on the board I know what I should be doing. I know what my limitations and you know, my tight hips from playing hockey like I know what I should be working on but like unless somebody is there to do it with me I'm not doing it so you know, fortunately shout out to Dan living next to him were able to you know, work out together and still we're still bouncing ideas off each other like you know, 10 years later.
Bridget Moroney 33:32
Well, just really quick like Don't Don't give me too much credit there. Like I said, I'm self motivated to go workout in my own gym but the programming I do is all lower body squats because that's what I'm strongest that I've I've gotten better at bench pressing. So I've enjoyed but have I done like, that's why I started going to a CrossFit gym recently because I bought a box for box jumps and I bought a wall ball and I have done zero CrossFit style WODs because it's it's effective training and I enjoy it when I'm in it, but I'm not going to I'm not going to do a bunch of burpees by myself but I went to a class yesterday and there were 45 burpees and 100 Something wall balls and I hated every minute of it but I it served my wife just like gave me the side eye for like hearing my workout but but but but when again like that's that's why Yeah, like we all fall victim to our own our own biases, whether it is training or I guess programming for ourselves or for others. There was a really quick there was a there was a personal trainer that I had met years and years ago and he was telling me like that was his thing like him and like three other of his buddies would just get together on like a Saturday night they would all cook food they would like to have some drinks and they would just like and I guess the rule or the homework assignment was to come with like some sort of unique workout or two and then like you said, like literally just bounce ideas. He has different different styles, different different things to try off of each other. They're just to improve their craft, which I guess is kind of the point. They're like, just evolving, not just in, in, in the world of business, but also in your craft as a trainer, because I think in general, it can be easy to get complacent there just kind of be like, well, I know the basics of this. And I'm just kind of kind of ride on that. And I don't know, I feel like that can maybe after a while, your clients, your members catch on to that, and they look for something else there. But maybe I'm wrong.
Scotty Johnson 35:32
No. Yeah. I mean, well, what you're speaking of is just like, that's tribalism, like we're all looking to be part of something. And then you're just kind of looking to be what do I want to be part of? Some people want to be part of the powerlifting world, some people want to be part of the CrossFit world. Some people want to be runners like they do marathons and triathlons like you do find your like minded people, and like what you know, excites you. So like, but like, Yeah, going back. Just because you like something doesn't mean that it's always good for you. Like, it's good to add things. And like, I can honestly say we have a yoga class every Sunday. It's called stretch, but it's essentially just a yoga based class. And my sister in law, Heather teaches that and she's fantastic. Like, not only not only is she like a yoga instructor, but like she she runs like the hospitals personal training, like she was she was an athletic trainer, like she has all like the credentials. But we do a yoga class. And I'm by far the worst one in every single class. And the I'm talking to all my clients are in these classes, and they're watching me be the worst person at yoga, and it's, but it benefits me it helps in my squats, it helps in my launches, my deadlifts, it helps just every day like not that I have pain, but it just helps with my mobility in general. So like, it's good to step out of your box, sometimes and kind of find something that's good for you. So yeah, that's a perfect example of like, I'm not self motivated, you will never catch me putting on yoga on the TV and doing it. But if a group is going to it on Sunday, you know, I know I need it, I'm gonna join you guys.
Bridget Moroney 37:15
Like I'm in kind of talking about the tribalism or tribal mentality of certain things. And I guess maybe kind of using that as a jumping point for I guess you could call it kind of call it marketing. But like you said, basically, you just mentioned have essentially a yoga class but you call it stretch. And I find it interesting because again, going back to CrossFit, there's something called rom WOD range of motion WOD it's but it's essentially it's, I would call it yin yoga, which you in yoga is basically you're holding positions for a longer amount of time so that your fascia and everything can kind of relax there. And so yeah, again, like talking about like avoiding things like my wife and I have this argument or basically for the entire duration of our of our relationship and it will probably continue on until the end of our lives here but I am adverse to going to yoga I don't know why maybe it's that that mental block of whatever that label is, but I do rom WOD and on like I love it, she's like gets fucking yoga for CrossFitters so I guess with that said, because because there's all different types of ways you can label classes, like you said, a stretch class, a hiit class, a strength class, like, I guess what's your What are your thoughts and experience around around that?
Scotty Johnson 38:30
Yeah, like I mean, listen. So in no way am I some marketing genius are so smart by labeling things, but you know, you have to you have to specify or, you know, I guess you can say, differentiate, like, why different classes are the way they are. So just, I'll give you an example. So at stomping grounds, the way we are, we are open seven days a week. So if you're a member as a small group member, you are doing we have seven days, we have two strength days. So your traditional style strength training your big heavy compound lifts, lots of rest intervals. Okay, so those are the days where I tell people like yeah, your heart rates not gonna go through the roof today, it might like heavy squat could definitely make your heart rate go up. But like, we're not going to be running around and doing jump rope and all this stuff after that, like we're gonna squat deadlift, bench press, pull ups, dips, all those type of things. So it's the big heavy compounds. So our strength days are we have an upper body day and then a lower body day. Then we have something called a sweat day, which is I it's just a combination of its HIIT training, its resistance training at a higher pace, a lot more trisets, a lot more supersets and things of that nature, and just a faster intensity, a lot less rest intervals. And then we have a stamina day, which is what you would consider your traditional bootcamp day on Um, so it's your circuit stations a lot more bodyweight activity, but essentially, you're working out, go, go go for 45 minutes. And then we have stretch. Now, you know, like I said, I'm no marketing genius, I just love the, you know, the way of stomping grounds being an S and creating all the classes as an S. Like, you have to do something that, like separate yourself from everyone else. Because if I just called it HIIT day, and like, I don't know, like, lower body day, like, you know that that's not really getting people excited, or whatnot. So like, just adding those little like, words or blends in there, like, kind of help people understand like, oh, okay, today, I know, I'm working on my strength, I know, I'm getting stronger. Today, stamina, stamina is literally the synonym and definition for endurance, that's what it is, is we're working on your cardiovascular aerobic capacity that day. And then sweat day, you know, it is what it is like, if you lift weights and you lift weights pretty quickly, you better believe you're going to be well conditioned, you're going to be sweating like crazy. So, you know, we did that just to make sure like, everyone kind of understood what they're doing, it was a lot easier to explain not only through the website, but like through ClassPass. And if someone were new, like, why we're doing a class like this compared to this day, because you don't want to do seven days of strength, your joints will just give out, like you're gonna get injured immediately if you do seven days of strain. On the same token, you know, I love you know, like a stamina day. I love a bootcamp day. But like, that's not always the best for you, if you're just doing seven days of boot camps, every single day. Good, I love that you're doing something rather than nothing. But you know, in terms of just overall health and wellness, like you want to add in some strength. So yeah, there's just proven, there's enough studies through PubMed, that you can see that resistance training is going to keep you living longer and keep you feeling better not to mention, most of us go to the gym for aesthetics. So just going for a long run every single day doesn't necessarily mean you're going going to get the aesthetic look you're looking for without lifting weights. So, you know, we try to have everything under one roof, we try to make sure that you get strong, we try to make sure you're well conditioned. You're You're well flexible, you have great range of motion, you're not getting injured. And above all, we're gonna play damn good music and we're gonna have fun, while, like, while we're doing it? And you know, and that's, that's the atmosphere that's the community is how can I get everyone to be in the best possible shape? But I'm hiding that behind the fact of Oh, you're having a good time. So you'll keep coming back. Like I know, I'll see you on strength day. I know I'll see you on stretch day. Because it is good for you. But the reason why you're coming is to hang out with your friends. Yeah,
Bridget Moroney 43:01
Sign me up. I'm
Scotty Johnson 43:05
You're more than welcome. Whenever you come on out.
Bridget Moroney 43:09
I know I need to make a trip over to to Michigan one of these days. I love how like you said you had your kind of own little bit of marketing behind the class names there with the the alliteration of the S's there but but it's also simple and you know, you mentioned it perfectly like the average person coming into your to your class that knows nothing about exercise or training or anything, they're gonna see strength, they're gonna be like, Okay, I'm gonna get strong, they're gonna see sweat and they're gonna be like, Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna sweat my ass off here. And this is something that I've learned in developing my own business over the past year from from one of my mentors Marie Forleo. But she says it perfectly she's like, don't substitute clarity for for cleverness. So and again, I think that's so easy to do in fitness especially like you said, like, in the beginning, there's, there's so many of us we have all of these certifications and letters, no one no one knows what that is, you know, you could write glycolytic compound was like, no, no one knows what that is. And even more importantly, no one cares. Like you said, bottom line is, well, really, really bottom bottom line is your your clients want to come in, they want to have fun and enjoy themselves and see their friends. And then on top of that, they want to look good and be healthy. And it's like, okay, I know what I'm getting out of this class. So yeah, I don't I don't think anyone has the secret formula for like the exact right words to say it's just kind of experience and again, making it your own.
Scotty Johnson 44:39
Yeah, no, I like there's no secret sauce. Yeah, like everyone's going to have their own opinions and what they think is best and just because I like the way we do things does not mean it's best. I just know that I've been doing it for long enough. And I've had enough experience over the time that people will see results if They stick with it. And the easiest way to make people stick with it is to make sure that it's a fun atmosphere to go to. So like that whole community thing, we do bar crawls, we do things that are unhealthy. Because it's still fun. Like, like, people love going to bar crawls. We had a picnic the other day, because here in Michigan in the summers, it's absolutely beautiful. Like it's gorgeous. So we literally had a picnic. And I mean, we probably crushed 500 white claws. It's like, you know, like, I'm not pushing alcohol or alcohol abuse. But like, you know, like, people want to, like, do fun stuff. And that was what I saw about CrossFit. When I first started working there over 10 years ago, was I got there and like everyone would work out, and then they go next door and drink at the bar until they are like, hammered. And I was like, oh, you know, like, slightly cynical just graduated Scotty he's like, Alright guys, well, you're, you're doing it wrong. Or it's like, no, they're not like they're having fun. Like they're doing, they're enjoying life, but they're also doing something like beneficial for themselves. So hey, like, I'm not saying you need to go out and binge drinking every single time you work out. And we don't do that. But like every now and then creating days where it's like, Hey, we're not about fitness today. We're all friends. We're all here to have a good time. Like, let's go do something that everyone enjoys. And guess what? Helpful hint wink wink. People bring their spouses, they bring their friends to these events. And when they are in an environment, and they are hanging out with all these people, and they're like, Wow, this is cool. I don't think I'm intimidated to go into this gym anymore. Because I just met everybody, you know, I'm gonna try out a class, I was scared to try out our class, because that's the biggest thing people are intimidated to walk into a gym. So how do you? How do you bring down that wall within a two minute introduction. And the easiest way is have their friends bring that wall down for them, like have people introduce you to one another. And it's just easier to get clients that way. Like, we don't do a lot of marketing. Like, it's mainly mainly word of mouth. And, you know, it works. You know, there's not much I can say to that, I just know that, you know, it's
Bridget Moroney 47:19
helpful, ya know, at the end of the day, it's it's all life here. Like, again, the vast majority of people are just trying to live better, healthier, happier lives. They're we're not training for the CrossFit Games, or the Olympics or Ironman or whatever. And even if if those people are, you know, like one of the things I learned from just like my, my health and nutrition certification is people think about health. They think about the physical, the mental, the emotional, but there's also a social element to health care, right. So it's like, yeah, we're here to work out and things like that. But again, like going all the way back to like, what, how we started this podcast, there's the community there. And I love that you mentioned like, that's a great way to bring down the intimidation factor. Because yeah, anyone who might be apprehensive about entering a gym they're like, that's always the impression is like, Oh my God, look at all these these these muscle freaks and things like it's like, but no, they're they're normal people. Like they're, they really love being fit. But then they also really love enjoying their lives really quick. So kind of mentioned it throughout here. But talking about, I guess, client retention and attrition here, because we're getting into that time of year where it's about to be the holidays. And so, in general, you see the the numbers start to creep down. And then of course, it's new year new me and so your regular members start to come back. And again, that's just like life in general. Like people get busier on the holidays, but there's the new year new me so you get tons of new members. And then all of a sudden, there's the cap off where people maybe lose that motivation, or enthusiasm, I guess what are what are some of your thoughts or experiences around that? And and, you know, like you said, you mentioned the beginning I think with be fit, you know, the attrition rate, like spoke for itself there. So what are some things that you've learned in order to kind of manage that?
Scotty Johnson 49:06
Yeah, I mean, kind of to first answer your question, like, the cycles are pretty standard. You see the the January, February, the big peak, because of the new year, new me, everyone's excited resolutions, you kind of see that drop off come that like April, like right after spring break, it heads down, you know, very low into the summer, because most people have, you know, kids or they're traveling or that's their time to get away here in Michigan, which I'm learning so this is a good learning experience for me. You know, it's so cold during the winter that once summer hits, people do not want like they're out, they are traveling, they are doing things they're going to ballgames they're going picnicking, they're they're riding their bikes, so like you know, like sometimes you don't have as many clients coming into the summer as you think and a lot of It's just because they're just trying to have as much fun or get out there and get as much vitamin D as possible. Because all winter, they were like stuck in their homes. So that tends to happen, summer gets the low. And then once September hits, you see a big peak again, because school so everyone gets back to the routines back to their schedules. And then of course, once Thanksgiving hits. I've been lucky in the past that I've been able to gain clients through December. But traditionally, especially when I'm looking at like numbers and monthly revenue and stuff of that nature, once Thanksgiving hits, the year is over. December is kind of a crazy month, you know, people are traveling, people are celebrating different holidays, you know, whichever holiday you celebrate. So it's tough to you're just trying to make people happy during that time and you know, have a good schedule and you know, holiday parties and things that keep people like engaged, I guess in terms of attrition. A lot of it goes back to everything I kind of just said, There's no secret sauce, the sauce is when they come in, you know, I like to think that my programming is at a very high level. Like I know, I'm not just putting a bunch of weird exercises together, because I saw him on Instagram, it's like these are traditional proper exercise progressions, going from anything explosive and too heavy lifting down into your accessories, functional metabolic conditioning, you know, like, we're always going to follow some sort of flow or exercise progression there. So we, if people stick with it, people see great results, if they were lifting 10 pounds, and then they switch over and now they're lifting 30 It's a clear example that you're getting stronger. So just kind of showing people that explaining things being thorough through instruction, this is something I cannot stand when I go to other gyms, whenever whenever I'm out, I try to go to different gyms I love like supporting other businesses, networking with other people. But something that you see a lot is the music is up, there's no warm up, there's no real explanation. They're like, Okay, go to your station, start going, and you're just looking off of the dry erase board and you're like, Okay, what am I doing, like, No one told me anything. So I'm, I'm very thorough of like, Hey, we're gonna start with some like mobility, floor work, we're gonna go through some dynamic warm ups. And I'm going to explain this board as best as I can, like, I'm gonna make sure, hey, if you have a knee, ankle hip injury, rather than doing this, we're gonna do this, like, I'm going to name all my modifications, like right there in the beginning. Because I want to make sure that people understand the science of why we're doing it, you know, educate them along with, you know, teaching them because it's very naive to think that someone's going to be your client for the rest of your life. But if you can educate them, and they know how to build a proper structure, because guess what, we both met in Miami, we are no longer in Miami. So like, people move, people go different places, they get new jobs, you know, bad things happen in families, and you have to go take care of one another. So, you know, the main thing is just educating people making sure they understand why they're doing, what they're doing, what the purpose of those movements are. And then the last but not secret sauce piece is those outside the gym things. I can't tell you how excited slash happy slash amazing, it makes me feel that class is over. And I'm like, I guys, we just finished stretching, we're done. And 15 people are still like laying on the floor, like talking to one another. Or they're just like catching up with one another and they don't want to leave. And if you build a place where people don't want to leave, like they enjoy coming to the gym, and they're not there for one hour, and then one hour only leave, they're sticking around. They're talking, they're finding ways to go out together outside of you. Like when you look at Instagram and you see these little cliques that probably weren't cliques before. It's like, oh, like, that's amazing. I did that or not me. I'm sorry. That sounds very egotistical, but like we did that, like our gym did that, like we got people to come together that may we never have. And that's it like people are a lot more loyal than you think. Especially when it comes to a gym that, you know, they enjoy themselves. Very rare. They're leaving you unless something went wrong, or they're just not seeing results. And you know, we like to think of ourselves as a results based gym. We're going to get you where you want to be. But Fun, fun fun, is what's going to keep you around. So as long as we're having a good time. I'll get you the results. I promise it might just take some time.
Bridget Moroney 54:57
At the end of the day kind of bottom line what you're saying just kind of goes down to or kind of boils down to just showing your members that you you care about them because briefly echo what we're using, you know, I've traveled to different places tried different gyms here and there seen some really great gyms and great coaches seen some like ones and I'm like, and, and all different styles of coaching and programs and this that and the other and and yeah, like everything that you mentioned from like, making sure you explain everything to people making sure that they're they're set up for success that they know what the hell they're doing all the way to them seeing results, ie return on their investment, they're like, it goes back to, to showing that you care, because I think as a gym owner, you put all that in place, they're going to get the results they want, that they're seeking, and yeah, they're gonna they're gonna stay. Well, I
Scotty Johnson 55:48
was gonna say, you actually, you led me to a good point, that's something I left off. And I think it's probably one of the most important factors, especially anybody out there wanting to make a gym is like, you could do all that. But if you don't teach it to your team, you know, it's like culture, culture, community, all that is everything. But like, that system that you're building has to go from the top down. So if you hire a new trainer, and they're just like, they're on their phone, or they're not really paying attention, or their time management is off, like, you know that that affects your gym? Because I I don't know if you're very Are you aware of like class pass and everything? Yeah. I mean, we're not going to get basically, they have to review you after every single class. So you're getting it, you're literally getting a review. And so like, like, there is no option to review. It's not like you went to this restaurant Did you like It's like no, like, once you finish, you have to say, one to five stars. And the big thing is, you know, you can see that clear as day if somebody's not into it, like another trainer of yours isn't trying hard, or he or she like, just doesn't seem passionate about it, like the owner is or the head coach is that stuff is noticeable. And I it's happened plenty of times. So it's not like we've ran these perfect facilities, there's been times you'll get somebody to pull you to the side, you know, they're like, hey, Tuesday's class, I wasn't really a fan. Like, I didn't think it was fun. Like they weren't really paying attention. Everyone kind of noticed it. And it's like, so that culture that community can't just be with the head coach can't just be with the owner can't be with like the lead physical therapists like that stuff needs to be passed down. That's why I've never named a gym or anything I've ever done after myself. Like, it's never been like Scotty Johnson fitness, because it's not me. Like the whole point is to build a brand and then that brand is what like, extend you it's out, like, you know, if I step away, like if I'm not coaching, I want people to still be like, Oh, stomping grounds is like the place to go. It's the best, like, I love it there. So, you know, the culture of hiring the right people, like all of that is really, really important. So that's, that's definitely something I'm forgot to mention. But I think that's, that's everything. Because not to mention, a lot of times those people tend to be better than you, like you hire someone and they just have that attitude, they have the passion for it. And you know, like you're learning from your employees, you're like, wow, like, Okay, I couldn't be a little I should care more maybe I'm slacking off a little bit. Like, you always want people to kind of like light a fire under your butt. Like you want people to make each other better, and not, you know, not tear each other down.
Bridget Moroney 58:53
Absolutely. And I think like some of the things that you brought up and just some of my my pet peeves as a someone in a class, you know, participating as a client. And also just as a, you know, as someone who strives to act professional, like it has nothing to do with your talent or knowledge there but like it's like that list of like things that don't take like be on time, you know, don't be on your phone. One thing because because I've always, not always but I've often been in like the last class just because of how my schedule has been previously like this. This always like just kind of irritated me and maybe it's just myself but it's just like, don't be locking up the gym before the class is over. You know, I'm saying like, like, we all want to be out of there. I know it's late and everything else like that. But it's just again, kind of like having been in so many different like that's that's kind of like the universal sign to go home. It's like you're at a club you're at a restaurant people start cleaning up around you like you start doing that in the middle of a class like I don't know, like and maybe that's just me, my own little pet peeves there but
Scotty Johnson 59:50
no, you're I mean you're spot on. Like, it kind of goes back to like, it looks like you don't care and granted, things happen. I've done that, you know, like, sometimes you do need to rush out or your employee needs to rush out like things happen. But like, for the most part, yeah, if you're already kind of like breaking things down, you're like, Alright, come on it class was seven to eight, it's eight, like, I'm done. That's not the person you want as a trainer. Like, because I just said it, you know, if people want to hang out after, you know, I'm not expecting to stay till 10pm At night, because people want to have a conversation about how the bachelor was before. But you know, you want a comfortable, we want a comfortable setting, you want people to be able to feel like they're not, they're not being forced out or rushed out or anything of that nature. On the vice versa. Of that like statement is you briefly touched on it before and I know mean, you talked about this on a phone call prior is like teaching a class to a eight person group 10 person group. It's kind of easy, it's fun, it's engaging like you as a trainer, are fueled up. What happens when it's one person, and it's the class and you have to kind of like just go through the structure, like sometimes, you know, you're not as hyped up to teach this boot camp, when this boot camp happens to be two people, like, so you have to You, yourself or your employees, your team, your whoever it is, as a trainer, you have to show the same effort you did with the small group as you did with a big group, because it's so easy to get excited for a big group and have so much fun. But it's very hard to be like, alright, like, I'm into it. I'm, I'm not yelling, but like, I'm out there. Like, I'm telling people good job, like, I'm calling them by name. Like, you have to do those things. Like you can't. You can't slack off, like every class has to be taught the same way.
Bridget Moroney 1:01:54
Yeah, it's not to sound like overdramatic there. But you kind of have to dig deeper into those classes, dig deeper internally there to get that same enthusiasm. Like you said, you can't just like lean on the energy and enthusiasm of, you know, five other people that are are there. I know we've kind of like we've talked about, like, so many different things today. Yeah. I mean, I know there's I mean, again, like, like you mentioned before, there's like seven podcast episodes that we could do. But um, yeah, I
Scotty Johnson 1:02:25
almost like my answer is going to be like, No, you'll just have to invite me back. And we'll do another one. But awesome. Like, that is the truth. Like, I me and you when we had this conversation, before we even got on and started recording, we had a phone call, what did we talk for an hour and a half. And our whole thing was like, we were talking about fitness about what we could talk about. And I think that's, that's the beauty of fitness, or people that are passionate about fitness and health, or whatever it is nutrition, anything in that health sphere, is if you're if you're into it, and you care about it, you can have a lot of questions, and you can bounce ideas off one another. And, you know, we might not always agree on the exact same things. But the silver, like we could agree on the big things like being rude being on your feet, like there's things that are just non negotiables. But like, it's good to kind of have someone to talk to because it is really easy to get stuck in your own ways. And I know a lot of older trainers, I'm talking guys, like, you know, they're still doing the same high school football coach style. It's like, well, I got taught this way. So this is what we're doing. And it's like, yeah, but like, things have changed. You know? So um, yeah, I don't I don't want to go on like another tangent of high school football coaching. But like, that is the thing is, you know, we could talk for hours on this, and I'm, I love talking about fitness and whatever topic may be. So, you know, I'm excited to come back once you go through your first round of guest, you know, we'll come back and talk about whatever you like.
Bridget Moroney 1:04:07
No, it's It's been awesome to have you on here, Scotty. And and yeah, like you said, like, we'd love to sit down and chat with you. Like you said anything shitness here because it's, it's, as you and I both share just the passion and interest for it. And then we could go on for hours and hours about it. But um, yeah, thank you again for sharing all your insight and experience around just building a gym and building the culture in a gym. It's, it's it's been a lot of fun.
Scotty Johnson 1:04:35
Yeah, well, thank you for having me. And, you know, if, hopefully, you get some questions or you know, something that people heard and resonated with or they wanted a little more insight on like a specific topic or whatnot, you know, like I'm, I'm always here to help out and hopefully keep the conversations going.
Bridget Moroney 1:04:58
Actually on on that note there. So you've mentioned you're in stomping grounds in Michigan, but for those people who do want to reach out to you or connect with you directly, like, what are some of the best ways that they could do so?
Scotty Johnson 1:05:11
Should I give my address now?
Bridget Moroney 1:05:14
Um, I don't know. Or, you know, social media or email? Yeah, I mean, unless you want someone to show up to your doorstep,
Scotty Johnson 1:05:22
ya know? So, social media, you know, following me, like, that's pretty much where I do everything, especially, you know, people asking questions or looking at videos and things of that nature. So you can follow me at Scotty, Scotty j. So, SCO TT ye J as in for Johnson underscore training, so Scotty J training, or you can follow our gym and it's all one word at stomping grounds training. So, you know, either one of those spots, you can easily find me, my team, anybody, you know, you're interested, if you want to kind of put a face to the voice, you know, you can see us there. And yeah, pretty much everything social media wise, you know, that's the easiest way to get a hold of me or kind of keep track with what we're doing and how I'm training my clients, I like to, I like to put them on stories a lot. So you know, not for my own sake, but for people to see. And I definitely see it a lot with, you know, when we get our girls strong, and our girls are doing pull ups, and they're doing hip thrusts, well over 300 pounds and things like that, like people get excited like that. That's another easy, free way of marketing and advertising. It's like, okay, that girl looks strong, she looks like she's confident, like, I want that, like, I want to be a part of that. And you know, that's the easiest way to get people on your business and hopefully keep them around.
Bridget Moroney 1:06:51
I was gonna say like, your Instagram, both Instagrams there, I think are great ways to, as you mentioned, kind of preview what what you've got going on with your clients there, but I know you also kind of dropped like little examples of, of what your classes like look like, and the movements and the programming there. So I think if anyone is curious about your style of training and and what you all do at B fit that are, gosh, what you do at stomping grounds.
Scotty Johnson 1:07:21
Listen, we are six months into this gym. So I was at the other place for years, so I can understand the confusion. But yeah, no, I mean, listen, I I'm not I'm not gonna lie, like a lot of what we did at B fit that worked So well. I took that. And me and my wife implemented that right up here. Because the cool thing is, is we took something that was successful, and it worked. And we brought it to a completely different state, completely new area, a completely new demographic. And it's, it's doing the same thing. We're building the same community, people are having the same, like, trying to think of the word they're having the same, like, exciting effect of like, oh, I wasn't a gym person. But now I'm a gym person. How can I buy merchandising? How can I buy new pants, like, I love it, like, I'm out there shopping for gym clothes now. Because it's, you know, it's part of my life. It's part of my routine. And that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to be, we're trying to be a good routine priority for you. Without, you know, without breathing down your neck. And you know, we don't want to force anybody, we want people to come and enjoy themselves.
Bridget Moroney 1:08:36
Awesome. I'm really quick because I want to ask this in the beginning, and you brought her up again, but what's it like being in business with your wife there? You mentioned she's your your partner in crime for life, but also partner for business. So how is that?
Scotty Johnson 1:08:50
It's fantastic. No, it's so funny enough. So she she has a full time. So she, she is a badass at what she does. She's in the hotel industry. So she has a full time job, but she is more. She's what's kinda like reigning me in. I'm a I'm a optimist. I'm a dreamer. Like, we've been open for six months, I'm already deciding like how I'm going to break down the walls and take over the suites next to us and how we can go from we're in a small space now. So go from 1100 square feet over to 3000 square feet. And at what point are we going into a huge warehouse and like when we get this equipment and that equipment, and basically she's, she's there to kinda like, hey, let's, let's get you there, like, relax. It's moving. Like we're, you know, we're in a linear like, path going up. Let's kind of continue on keeping people excited. Hear live in the present. Make sure everyone's like, you know, because it is easy, especially for myself. I'll tell people that it's very easy for me to think five years from now. and where the gym could be or what it was a building into. And that's always a good thing to have as a business mind, you want to see what your growth can be. But a lot of it is like, things change. COVID happened, things happen like in life. So it's you got to you got to make sure you focus on right now make sure everyone is all your members are having, you know, they're there for the right reasons. They're enjoying themselves, they're seeing the results, because people are paying you to look better, we are going to help them get stronger. We're going to help them do all those things. And yeah, she's just a badass. She's, she's my bookkeeper. She organizes. I'm not even allowed to write on the board anymore, because my handwriting is so terrible. So like, she writes all like the programs and stuff. But yeah, it we work really well. But at the same time, she only coaches a couple classes a week just because of her schedule. So traditionally, I'm doing all the personal training and most of the classes but yeah, it works great. I mean, one day if we get so big, and you know, that's her full time and my full time, we'll we'll have another conversation of how great our day to day is. But yeah, we're very fortunate that, you know, we know how to balance each other out in that way.
Bridget Moroney 1:11:24
Yeah, I was just gonna say that, like, That's awesome that you have like, kind of that that balance of personality and everything and it's in it's working like not just for business, but you know, being in a in a committed partnership. And in general, that's kind of like what marriage is so awesome. Well, yeah. So at Scotty J underscore training on Instagram at stomping grounds training on Instagram, go check out Scotty ask him some questions ask me some questions. Totally will have you back on next time to talk about all other sorts of fun, awesome stuff, fitness. So thank you again.
Scotty Johnson 1:12:02
Thank you.
Bridget Moroney 1:12:07
All right. That's all for today's show. Thank you so much, again, for listening. And be sure to head over to aspire to coaching.com backslash podcast, check out the show notes for today's episode. There, you'll find some of the links we've mentioned on today's podcast, as well as some of the previous episodes we've done. And while you're there, please make sure you sign up for a show updates. I am always updating the show and bringing in bonus content. So you do not want to miss out on any of that. One last thing. If you loved this episode, and you think a friend would really enjoy it as well. Grab the link and share it out for me please. It truly does help spread the word of this podcast and the topics that we discussed on our episodes. And at the end of the day. My goal is to empower as many people on their performance journey as possible. Thank you all so much again, and we'll see you next time.