#46: STRIDE Fitness Is Entering Franchising — Here’s Why I'm Betting On Them - with Anthony Badalian

Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos goes behind the curtain of STRIDE Fitness — and into the part of franchising most brands avoid talking about:

Leadership under load.

Standards under speed.

And what it really takes to scale without breaking culture, people, or unit economics.

My guest is Anthony Badalian — President, COO, and Partner of STRIDE Fitness.

Anthony has spent 12+ years in the trenches building multi-unit operations, leading high-performance teams, and driving execution inside franchise systems.

This episode is for fitness + wellness business owners, franchisees, and franchisors who are tired of:

1. “franchise opportunity” hype with zero operational truth
2. culture slipping the second growth accelerates
3. talent burnout disguised as “high standards”
4. unit economics guessing instead of weekly discipline
5. leadership pressure being treated like a personal weakness

Top topics we cover

1) Leadership under load (the part no one trains you for)

When leadership stops being exciting and starts being heavy — and how great operators process pressure without leaking it into the team.

2) Standards without burnout

How STRIDE thinks about “high bar” execution without destroying morale, retention, or culture.

3) Talent decisions that protect the business

The hidden cost of keeping the wrong people too long, how underperformance spreads, and what operators must spot early.

4) STRIDE Fitness franchising: what’s getting protected as they scale

The real mission behind STRIDE beyond “treadmills + sweat” — and the non-negotiables that can’t be compromised as the franchise system grows.

5) The STRIDE franchisee scoreboard (5 numbers weekly)

If you’re in the Owner Seat, you don’t get to guess. Anthony breaks down the weekly metrics a STRIDE operator must know to stay profitable and stable.

How this episode helps you win

If you’re a franchisee / aspiring franchisee:

You’ll learn what matters before you sign — the standards, the pressure, and the operating cadence that separates winners from owners who stall.

If you’re a boutique fitness owner:

You’ll leave with real frameworks for leadership, team execution, and performance standards that scale without culture collapse.

If you’re a franchisor / emerging brand:

You’ll understand what breaks first in growth — and how to protect culture and unit economics while expanding fast.

📊 Work with Albert — Fractional CFO for Fitness & Wellness

I’m Albert Ramos, Fractional CFO + Founder at Stratego Intel Consulting.

I help fitness, wellness, and franchise brands ($500K–$30M) build cash visibility, utilization + pricing models, and capital planning so decisions are clean and defensible.

Book a CFO Strategy Call (Albert):

https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-st...

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