<p>The Fitness Business University Podcast —<b> The #1 Fitness Business Podcast </b>— is the go-to educational show for gym owners, by gym owners. Hosted by Vince Gabriele, a seasoned pro with 18 years in the trenches of the fitness industry, this podcast pulls back the curtain on the real strategies, systems, and money-making wisdom that have helped gyms around the world grow and thrive.</p><p><br></p><p>If you’re a Gym Owner or Fitness Entrepreneur ready to get more clients, make more money, and free up your time to do what you love, this is your playbook. Vince delivers a funny, straight-talking, <em>no B.S.</em> approach — no fluff, no theories, just the proven, real-world skills you need to win in business and in life.</p>
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June 2, 2026Episode 54325 min
How to Get Unstuck in Business
Apply for my $25,750 Giveaway: https://vinceshugegiveaway.com/I'm walking outside the gym today with the birds going wild in the background, and I wanted to give you an update on the $25,750 Giveaway. The applications are pouring in and some of them are unreal. Some of them are also three words long. I'm telling you right now, if you are filling this out like it's a sweepstakes you are wasting your shot. This is not a random draw. I am reading every single application myself.The real reason I decided to do this all comes back to the giveaway I ran at my own gym in 2016. The winner stayed for years, became Member of the Year, and her whole life changed. That is what I want this version to do for one gym owner.The second half of this episode is for the owner who is stuck right now and not sure if it is worth pushing through. I get into why business is the ultimate vehicle for becoming the best version of yourself, why the hard parts are the point, and the Keith Cunningham line that has stuck with me for years. Hell on earth is meeting the person you could have become.Apply for my $25,750 Giveaway: https://vinceshugegiveaway.com/
June 2, 2026Episode 54248 min
The Tom Brady of the Fitness Industry
Enter my $26,750 Giveaway and win a 2 hour private in service with Charlie Weingroff for your team: https://vinceshugegiveaway.com/Charlie Weingroff is one of the most respected physical therapists and strength coaches on the planet. He has trained pro athletes, military operators, and some of the best coaches in the world for the last 25 years. I have known Charlie for 15 years and he is one of my closest friends in this industry, which is why he agreed to be one of the headline contributions to the $26,750 Giveaway I am running right now.On this episode Charlie tells me how he built a career at the top of two professions that rarely overlap, why most strength coaches stop short of becoming great, and what fitness business owners can take from how he runs his own work. He also explains why he was ready to book a flight and fly to New Jersey just to record this podcast in person, and what that one decision says about doing things at a certain standard.At the end we get into the story of how Charlie diagnosed Tom Leonardis' serious back injury inside of 15 minutes, just by playing with his toes and checking his foot, before any MRI was taken. That is the kind of operator Charlie is. If you have a team and you want one of the best in the world to spend 2 hours with them privately, this giveaway is the way to get it.5 Key Takeaways:The standard is the standard. Charlie was ready to book a flight and fly to New Jersey just to record this podcast in person. He told me his win is my win, and if he is going to do something at all he is going to do it at a certain level. Most gym owners say they value standards. Few hold them like this.There is no championship belt for being a great coach. Charlie has trained pro athletes, military operators, and elite lifters for over two decades. When I brought up his reputation he said until there is a belt for it he is not worried about it. He just wants to work, train, and go to Disney whenever he wants. Define what winning actually looks like for you and stop chasing the validation that comes with the title.Expertise compounds when you stay in the work. Charlie did not get great from a course or a certification. He got great from putting his hands on thousands of people across two and a half decades. The owners who build the deepest expertise are the ones who stop bouncing between methods and stay in the work long enough for it to actually compound.Good, better, and best exists in every profession. Charlie made the point that good physical therapists and chiropractors are out there, but the ones who are truly elite are typically much harder to access. The same is true in fitness. The way to get to the right side of good, better, and best is to study the people who are already there.One 15 minute conversation can save you months of guessing. Tom drove down to see Charlie about back pain he could not solve on his own. In 15 minutes Charlie diagnosed L4 L5 just by checking Tom's toes and foot, and the MRI later confirmed it verbatim. Find the people who can shortcut your problem instead of grinding through it alone. That is what investing in real expertise looks like.Enter my $26,750 Giveaway and win a 2 hour private in service with Charlie Weingroff for your team: https://vinceshugegiveaway.com/
May 29, 2026Episode 54144 min
Vince’s HUGE 25,750 Giveaway
CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR VINCE'S $25,750 HUGE GIVEAWAY (takes 7 minutes): https://vinceshugegiveaway.com/I'm giving away $25,750 worth of coaching, consulting, software, equipment, certifications, and financial auditing to one gym owner. We've done this twice before. Both winners are still with us as clients. One just opened a brand new facility. The other nearly tripled their revenue.Tom and I break down every single piece of the prize package and why I handpicked each partner. We also get into the full story of the Cocodona 250 where I paced Joe Hashey for 73 miles through the Arizona mountains. He finished the entire 250 miles in 98 hours. 6'6", 235 pounds, one pacer, and a lot of conversations about business on the trail at 2am.5 Key Takeaways:The SPF Mastermind is the centerpiece of the package. Six months of coaching, a peer group of gym owners going through the same things you are, weekly calls, and access to coaches who have already solved the problems keeping you up at night. This alone is worth the 7 minutes it takes to apply.The consulting day is not a casual Q&A. You fill out a detailed packet covering your financials, your team, your marketing, and your goals. I build a custom agenda based on your actual numbers. Then you shadow Gabriele Fitness in the morning and see the systems we teach actually running on the floor with real clients and real coaches.Every partner in this package is someone I personally use or have fully vetted. Gym Member Machine for ads. GymSupps for private label supplements. Naamly for retention. Perform Better for equipment. Mike Waldron for financial auditing. Charlie Weingroff for coaching education. Mike Boyle's CFSC for certification. I don't attach my name to anything I wouldn't put in my own gym.This is open to any fitness business owner. Small group, boutique, Pilates, yoga, martial arts, big box. Whether you're brand new or doing seven figures, this package will move the needle. If you own a fitness business, you can apply.This is not a random drawing. I'm reading every application and personally picking the winner. Tell me your story. Tell me why you should win. Convince me you're going to take this and maximize it. Applications close June 21st.APPLY NOW (takes 7 minutes): https://vinceshugegiveaway.com/
May 22, 2026Episode 5402 hr 6 min
Fix the Profits at Your Gym Masterclass
There's money hiding in your gym right now. Book a free Find the Money Call and we'll show you exactly where it is: https://findthemoneycall.com/This is the full recording of my live masterclass: How to Fix the Profits at Your Gym. This is the third in the series after Fix the Marketing and Fix the Sales. And this is the one that matters most because you can't deposit revenue into your bank account. You can only deposit profit.I taught over 60 gym owners the six levers you can pull to start seeing more money in your bank account. You don't have to do all six. Pick one, implement it, and you'll start seeing a difference.This episode will be much more effective if you watch it on YouTube so you can see the case studies, the math breakdowns, and the Testimonial Email Builder walkthrough. Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrX61hZLQZ85 Key Takeaways:Your value judgment does not matter. The chain linking your current product to your current price is bigger and thicker in your mind than in your customers'. I raised prices $49 across the board on members who have been with me for nearly two decades. It added over $7,300 in monthly recurring revenue overnight with zero increase in expenses.A gym owner stuck at $13K hit $20K in 2 months instead of 12 by raising prices. At his current churn and acquisition rates, it would have taken him a full year to grow from 50 to 75 members. Instead we raised prices $40 a month on current and new members and he got there in weeks. Speed matters.Switch to 28 day billing and you get a 13th payment every year. On 100 members at $200 a month, that's an extra $20,000 in annual revenue for changing one setting in your billing software.There are empty spots in your current sessions that are pure profit. If you're running sessions at 3 out of 6 and you fill one more spot, that's zero additional expense and 100% margin. Track your capacity weekly and you'll find money you didn't know was there.Learn the skill of generating a cash flow surge. When your water heater breaks or you get an unexpected bill, you need to be able to go out and create money. There are 6 things that need to be in place for that to work and I walk through all of them.There's money hiding in your gym right now. Book a free Find the Money Call and we'll show you exactly where it is: https://findthemoneycall.com/
May 20, 2026Episode 5396 min
I'm an A-hole... Seriously...
Register now for the free How to Fix the Profits at Your Gym Masterclass on Thursday, May 21st at 12pm Eastern: https://live.vincegabriele.com/profitmasterclassSo I just sideswiped a guy's car in the Jiu Jitsu parking lot. Totally my fault. I was dropping my daughter off, some guy got heated that I stopped in the middle of the lot, I pulled up to his window to say something, and my car started grinding into the side of his car. I didn't even realize it was happening until he's screaming at me and his door is dented in.It gets better. We exchange information and he goes "Vince Gabriele?" Turns out he was my landlord from the first apartment I ever rented in Berkeley Heights. So that was fun.About $2,000 worth of damage. And here's why I'm telling you this.One of the six levers I'm teaching at the profit masterclass is called a cash flow surge. It's the skill of being able to generate a chunk of money when you need it. Your water heater blows up. You get an unexpected tax bill. You sideswipe a guy's car like an idiot. These things happen. And they either crush you financially or they don't.The difference is whether you have the skill set to go out and create that money. Go get a couple new customers. Make a sale. Run a promotion. There are specific things that need to be in place for that to work and I'm going to teach you all of them on the masterclass.I'm not stressed about the $2,000. I'm worked up about being a jerk in a parking lot, but the money part doesn't bother me at all. And that's the whole point. When you own this skill, these situations stop breaking you down.Come to the masterclass. It's free. Although after today I probably should be charging for it.Register now for the free How to Fix the Profits at Your Gym Masterclass on Thursday, May 21st at 12pm Eastern: https://live.vincegabriele.com/profitmasterclass
May 19, 2026Episode 53812 min
6 Ways to See More Money in Your Bank Account
Register now for the free How to Fix the Profits at Your Gym Masterclass on Thursday, May 21st at 12pm Eastern: https://live.vincegabriele.com/profitmasterclassThis is the third masterclass in the series. We did Fix the Marketing. We did Fix the Sales. Now we're doing the one that actually matters most: Fix the Profits.Because here's the thing. You cannot take revenue to the bank. You can only take profit. And in my experience, most gym owners are either treading water with the same bank balance that never grows, or they're watching it go down. That's not why you got into this.This masterclass came from something I've been running since 2019 called the CEO Mastermind. Every quarter, groups of 12 gym owners come to me and they bring their actual profit and loss statements. No chest beating. No "I hit 100K this month." Nobody cares. The only number that matters is the bottom line. I've done 516 hot seats reviewing PNLs. 117 one on one consulting days. And 20 years of looking at my own numbers running Gabriele Fitness. I've seen more gym PNLs than any business coach alive. I know what's working because these guys show me the proof every 90 days.So I took everything I've learned from all of that and boiled it down to six things that the most profitable gyms are doing. That's what I'm teaching on May 21st at noon. It's free. Although it shouldn't be.Here's what we're covering:Know your numbers. There are eight that matter. I'm giving you the formulas and making it simple.Get price right. I've never seen a really profitable gym that gets price wrong. I'm going to show you how to raise your prices and how to present them.Fix your billing. Are all your members actually paying you? You sure? Because most gyms are losing money they don't even know they're losing.Fill your capacity. The difference between filling three spots in a session and four spots is insane. You'll never unsee the math once I show you.Leverage unused capacity. There are six money leaks in your business right now where you already own something and you're just not using it.Learn to generate a cash flow surge. When your water heater busts and you need 10 grand tomorrow, what do you do? I'm going to teach you that skill.Register now for the free How to Fix the Profits at Your Gym Masterclass on Thursday, May 21st at 12pm Eastern: https://live.vincegabriele.com/profitmasterclass
May 18, 2026Episode 5371 hr 7 min
Why You Keep Losing Members After Month 3 (The Retention Problem Nobody Addresses)
Register now for the free How to Fix the Profits at Your Gym Masterclass on Wednesday, May 21st at 12pm Eastern: https://live.vincegabriele.com/profitmasterclassIf you keep losing members after month three and can't figure out why, this episode is for you. And the answer probably has nothing to do with your marketing.Tom and I dig into the real reasons gyms have high churn rates and what to actually do about each one. We walk through the numbers: what a good attrition rate looks like, what a bad one looks like, why 90 days is a trend but one month isn't, and how a 1% improvement in churn can mean an extra $30K a year in your pocket without adding a single new member.We also get into why staff retention is the number one driver of client retention, how to catch the warning signs before a member cancels, why boredom and injuries quietly kill your revenue, and the one question you should be asking every new member on day one.5 Key Takeaways:Staff retention is the number one driver of client retention. When key staff members leave, clients follow. Your job as the owner is to treat your team well, create opportunities for growth, and build a structure where the client has a relationship with the business, not just one trainer.Members leave when they feel ignored. If someone misses a session and nobody calls, they start to believe it doesn't matter whether they show up or not. Track attendance, follow up on missed sessions, and make it part of your culture that people know you're paying attention.A 1% improvement in churn is worth real money. On a 150 member gym at $400 a month, the difference between 5% and 4% attrition is $30,000 a year. That's money you earn without getting a single new lead.Boredom kills retention just as much as bad results. If your programming feels like the same thing every week, people disengage. Build in variety, give options, create internal challenges and events that members look forward to throughout the year.Ask "what does success look like for you" on day one, then follow up on it. If someone told you they wanted to lose 10 pounds and three months later nobody's checked in on that, they'll quietly cancel and go try something else. The 30 day check in call is one of the simplest retention tools you can put in place.Register now for the free How to Fix the Profits at Your Gym Masterclass on Wednesday, May 21st at 12pm Eastern: https://live.vincegabriele.com/profitmasterclass
May 8, 2026Episode 5361 hr 7 min
How to Fix Your Show Rate Issue Without Getting Better at Sales
If your show rate is broken, book a free 30 minute Gym Clarity Call and we'll find the fix: https://gymclaritycall.com/If leads are opting in but never picking up the phone, or booking consults and ghosting you, this episode is for you. And the answer might not be what you think.Most gym owners assume it's a sales problem. Get better at follow up. Get better on the phone. And yeah, that stuff matters. But after sitting in mastermind rooms for the last several weeks hearing the same complaint over and over, I started noticing a pattern: the gym owners with the worst show rates all had one thing in common. They were putting all their eggs into one marketing basket.Tom and I break down a concept I picked up from a $4,300 phone call with Dan Kennedy called "fertile soil." The idea is simple. When you first start marketing in a niche or platform, you're digging in soft, loose soil. Easy customers. But the longer you stay on one platform without diversifying, the deeper you dig. The soil gets harder. The leads get worse. And eventually you're hitting concrete.The fix isn't to get better at sales. The fix is to find new ponds.We walk through real examples that are working right now: The hyper local newspaper ad that's pulling a 50% show rate and generated $60K in lifetime value off a $4,600 spend. The reactivation play where you text 10 to 15 past members a month with a personal message (not a blanket campaign). The local sports media sponsorship that just opened up 10,000 new email subscribers we've never reached before. The joint venture strategy that filled our post rehab program so fast we had to turn people away.We also kick things off with a story about a hibachi restaurant that has 9,300 Google reviews across four locations and the dead simple system they use to get them. There's a lesson in there for every gym owner.5 Key Takeaways:Your show rate problem might be a marketing problem. If all your leads come from one source and that source has been drying up, getting better at sales won't fix it. You need to find new pockets of fertile soil where higher quality prospects are waiting.20 to 30% of leads showing up for a consultation is a solid show rate. If your number is way higher than that, you probably don't have enough lead volume. If it's way lower, it might be your source, not your skills.Reactivation is one of the most overlooked ponds you already have. If you've been in business 10 years with a 5% churn rate, you've lost over 1,200 people. Text 10 to 15 of them a month with a personal message. Not a template. A real conversation.The best joint ventures come from getting the referral source into your gym as a client. When Dr. Hurley started training with us, referrals went from once a month to a couple a week. Give a free membership to someone who can send you customers and watch what happens.When you sponsor a youth sports league or local organization, don't pay for a banner. Pay for email access to their list. That's where the real return lives because those parents are opening every single email from that program.Book a free Gym Clarity Call and we'll build a plan specific to your business: https://gymclaritycall.com/
May 1, 2026Episode 152 min
Why Your Gym Is Stuck Under $20K Month (The Real Reason Nobody Tells You)
If your gym has been stuck at the same revenue for more than six months, book a free 30 minute Gym Clarity Call and we'll find the one lever holding you back: https://gymclaritycall.com/If your gym has been stuck at the same revenue number for over six months, this episode is for you. And I promise the reason isn't what you think.Most gym owners blame their market, their competition, or their marketing. But after coaching 139 gym owners and running my own gym since 2008, I can tell you it almost always comes down to three structural things that have nothing to do with how many leads you're getting.This is the relaunch of the FBU Podcast with my original co-host Tom Langton back in the chair. Tom was the very first employee at Gabriele Fitness, worked with me for 13 years, went on to own his own gym, and now he's back asking the questions that gym owners actually need answered.We break down why so many gym owners get stuck under $20K a month and stay there way too long. I walk through a real case study of a gym owner named John who was stuck at $13K, working 60 hours a week, and on pace to take another 12 months to hit $20K. We got him there in about a month.5 Key Takeaways:Price is the fastest lever you can pull. If your close rate is near 100% and your retention is solid, you are undercharging. We raised John's price $40 a month on current and new members, and even in a worst case scenario where he lost four people, he was still making more money with fewer clients.Do the math before you freak out. Write down the worst case scenario. How many people do you realistically think you'd lose? Do the math at the new price. Almost every time, you come out ahead. The fear is always bigger in your head than it is in reality.Block time for sales and marketing like it's an appointment. The number one reason gym owners stay stuck isn't a lack of knowledge. It's that they're spending zero dedicated time on getting new customers. Two to three hours a day on sales and marketing activities will change everything.Spend that time on the right things. Joint ventures, referrals, building a great website, emailing your list. Stop building system manuals nobody will read and start walking down the street to introduce yourself to other business owners.Get out of stage one before it breaks you. Training sessions drains 1.3 human energy hours per session, not one. A gym owner doing 30 sessions a week is really burning 39 hours of energy before they touch a single business task. The longer you stay in this grind without a plan, the more likely burnout takes you out of the game entirely.Book a free 30 minute Gym Clarity Call and we'll map out exactly what's holding your gym back: https://gymclaritycall.com/Need help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business? Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session!
April 24, 2026Episode 12 hr 36 min
Fix The Sales at Your Gym: How to Get More Leads to Buy, Charge the Prices You Deserve, and Start Attracting Clients Instead of Chasing Them
Want us to audit your sales process and show you exactly where leads are falling through the cracks? Book a free Sales Audit and we'll review your automations from lead to consult or trial: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/masterclassbonuscallThis is the full recording of my live masterclass: How to Fix the Sales at Your Gym. Over 100 gym owners showed up and I coached for two and a half hours straight. No slides. No pitch. Just the real stuff that moves the needle.Here's the reality that most gym owners don't know: only 15% of your leads will buy in the first 100 days. The other 85% will buy over the next 100 weeks. So the question isn't just how do you close better. It's what is your system doing with every single lead from the moment they opt in through the consultation or trial and beyond.We covered the sales mindset shifts that have to happen before any tactic works. The follow up sequence (speed, sequence, persistence) that maximizes the leads who are ready now. The preframing process that stops no shows before they happen. The one question from Strategic Coach that completely changes the consultation. How to present price using the good, better, best model. The exact math behind raising prices on current members. And how to generate more referrals and upgrades from the people already paying you.5 Key Takeaways:You can't deposit leads into your bank account. You can generate all the leads you want but if your sales process is broken, none of it matters. The number one job of the business owner is to be able to stimulate sales when needed. That's not optional.People want to buy but they're afraid to buy. Every prospect walks in carrying every past failure, every program that didn't work, every trainer that let them down. Your job is to show up differently through attunement, buoyancy, and clarity. Not as a salesperson. As a trusted advisor.Speed kills (in a good way). When someone opts in, they are the most interested they will ever be. If you wait three days to follow up, you've already lost them. Text first, then call, then voicemail, then email. And do it seven to 12 times before you move them to your long term nurture.The magic question changes everything. "If we were having this conversation one year from today, and you were looking back on that year, what has to have happened with your health and fitness for you to feel happy with your progress?" Ask it word for word. Don't change a thing.Sell with lifetime customer value in mind. You're not selling a $300 membership. You're selling a $14,000 relationship. When you show up with that number in your head, you don't quit early, you don't discount, and you don't wing it.Want us to audit your sales process and show you where leads are falling through the cracks? Book a free Sales Audit: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/masterclassbonuscallNeed help getting more leads, making more money, or buying your time back from your gym business? Click here to schedule a free one on one strategy session!
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