Ben Bergeron gets vulnerable about his journey to becoming a better leader in this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” recorded live at the Two-Brain Summit in Chicago on June 9.

Ben, a legendary coach and gym owner, discusses the three pillars of team health—culture, vision and accountability—and explains how they were lacking in his gym, CrossFit New England.

Once Ben recognized the problems, he sat his team members down and made changes to reshape his business to give him what he was looking for: peace of mind.

Ben says culture starts with the hiring process: Emphasize your values and let the candidates who don’t share them weed themselves out.

Next, build a shared vision with your leadership team by asking, “What are we trying to create?” Once culture and vision are dialed in, decisions become much easier.

The final pillar is accountability: You must hold people to your standards of excellence.

Ben shares detailed strategies and tactics for building each of these pillars in your gym. Tune in to hear them all, and get your tickets to the 2025 Two-Brain Summit below!

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2025 Two-Brain Summit

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1:00 - Ben's turning point

6:36 - Finding CrossFit

11:31 - "It's a facade"

16:11 - The Picnic Table Talk

20:02 - Culture

30:47 - Vision

38:01 - Accountability

The theme of the 2024 Two-Brain Summit was virtuosity: doing the common uncommonly well.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper provides a broad recap of this year’s summit, which took place June 8-9 in Chicago.

Over 1,000 gym owners and coaches were in attendance to hear from presenters such as Jason Khalipa, Jonathan Goodman, Carrie Wilkerson, Bill Parisi, Brian "Tosh" Chontosh and Ben Bergeron.

On the owners side, speakers explained how to pursue virtuosity as a gym owner in all areas of your business, from leadership to client retention.

Two-Brain mentors Kieran O’Dwyer and Nick Habich discussed strategies for improving marketing and sales, and Tinker mentor Joleen Bingham offered practical tips for creating a world-class experience.

On the coaches stage, speakers focused on building careers in the training field, and topics ranged from developing career roadmaps to creating semi-private and 50-plus programs.

Tune in to hear Coop’s full Summit debrief—and get your tickets to the 2025 Two-Brain Summit via the link below.

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2025 Two-Brain Summit

Brian Bott on the Four Personalities

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2:43 - The owners stage

14:16 - Franklin and Cooper on virtuosity

31:59 - The coaches stage

39:02 - Programming for semi-private training

43:25 - From ordinary to extraordinary

Raising rates can be scary—but you won’t bleed members if you follow the right plan.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Tim Rainer, owner of Fit One Five in Franklin, Tennessee, to discuss the ins and outs of raising rates at a gym.

Tim tried raising rates on his own three times, but none of the increases had a noticeable impact on his business. The he brought in an expert to get it right.

With the help of a Two-Brain mentor, Tim was able to adjust his business model, modify his offerings and increase value to justify a significant rate increase that allowed him to serve his clients better, pay his coaches more and build a sustainable business.

Tim provides all the details of his rate increases, including exact numbers and client reactions. He's also got advice for gym owners who are struggling to figure out how to ensure the long-term success of their businesses.

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“The Simple Six” by Chris Cooper

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1:06 - The very first rate increase

7:18 - The most recent rate increase

16:25 - Will you lose clients?

18:46 - Communicating

23:48 - Is a mentor essential?

Every gym owner must raise prices at some point—and it can be nerve wracking.

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” you’ll learn exactly how to implement a rate increase, step by step, without generating a flood of cancellations.

In this episode, Mike Warkentin chats with longtime Two-Brain mentor and former gym owner Greg Strauch, who shares Two-Brain’s battle-tested plan.

Greg has helped 81 fitness entrepreneurs increase rates and stabilize their businesses so they generate profit and allow the owner to earn a good wage.

This episode lays out everything you need to know to implement a rate increase—but doing it on your own can be disastrous.

For example, you’re going to be tempted to write a long, defensive, apologetic email to your clients when you announce the increase. That’s a mistake—but it’s very hard to resist without an expert in your corner.

When you boost prices, nothing can replace the assistance of an experienced mentor who will guide you, support you and tell you, “Do this exactly like this right now.”

Key points:

1. Every single person Greg has worked with has raised rates successfully, so why would you be any different?

2. In most cases, a rate increase alone more than pays for the cost of mentorship, so getting help is a great investment in your business and your family.

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Chris Cooper: "Denying Discounts: A Short Guide for Gym Owners"

“How to Say 'No' to Discounts"

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1:59 - Why are rate increases inevitable?

11:16 - Essential elements of a rate increase

32:23 - Client success stories

40:06 - Get a mentor

Imagine paying yourself $16,000-$38,000 per month as a gym owner. Today’s guest on “Run a Profitable Gym” does just that.

In this episode, host Mike Warkentin sits down with top-earning gym owner Darren Thornton of Defy Functional Fitness in Toronto, Canada.

Darren, a regular on Two-Brain’s leaderboards, shares actionable steps you can take right now to grow your business and pay yourself more.

For starters, he says to figure out how much you need to earn, then work backward to determine how many clients you need and what you need to charge to meet that target.

Focus on reaching a high average revenue per member (ARM) by offering premium services to help clients reach their goals faster. Then figure out what roles you can easily replace yourself in so you can focus on high-value roles that generate more money for your business.

A mentor can help you do all this quickly and effectively.

Tune in to hear more of Darren’s top income-boosting tips, and you can also check out his last appearance on the show via the link below.

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Tips for Extreme Average Revenue Per Member

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1:24 - Increasing Darren’s ARM

5:19 - Value Ladder exercise

8:19 - Tactics for increasing ARM

12:10 - The rundown on Darren’s gym

18:52 - How mentors help you reach goals

If an emergency pulled you away, could your gym operate without you?

In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," host Mike Warkentin and Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper dive into one of the most crucial aspects of running a successful gym: systemization—aka, building a business that runs smoothly even when you’re not there.

They lay out the steps you need to take to create effective standard operating procedures (SOPs) for every task from cleaning to sales, and they explain why these systems are essential for freeing up your time and protecting your focus.

You’ll learn how to delegate efficiently and use evaluations to coach your staff to meet and exceed standards.

Tune in for actionable steps you can use to get your business out of your head so you can offload tasks and reclaim your time as owner.

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Gym Owners United

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0:00 - The day Chris’ daughter was born

4:43 - Protect your focus

8:26 - Laying out your process

15:28 - Get the most out of your system

22:20 - What you can do today

Saara Snellman has succeeded where many other CrossFit affiliate owners have failed: CrossFit Kreis 9 in Zurich, Switzerland, has 340 members and generates most of its revenue through group classes.

While many gym owners struggle to acquire and maintain 150 members, Saara loses only 10 of 340 members a month. To replace them, she just goes to her waiting list—so her marketing costs are $0.

This model was once the ideal for many affiliate owners, but gyms like Saara's are rare in the market because they must be well-oiled machines with airtight business systems. Only a very skilled entrepreneur can build a coaching gym that can handle more than 300 members.

Saara’s reward for building this incredible business: She took a spot on Two-Brain’s March leaderboard for net owner benefit (NOB): earnings, dividends and any other perks the owner receives.

Based on rolling three-month averages, our Top 10 earners take home anywhere from $16,215 to $37,935 USD per month. This is not top-line revenue; it’s owner earnings.

One of the secrets to Saara’s success is boosting average revenue per member (ARM) with hybrid memberships—offering personal training to group-class members to help them reach specific goals. A few other secrets: Saara has A+ business systems and an impeccable retention plan.

You don’t need 340 group members to earn more than $100,000 a year. But if you do plan to pursue the large-group model, you’ll want Saara’s insight and the help of an expert mentor.

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1:15 - Success and avoiding failure

6:33 - Group, personal training or both?

10:55 - Big things that made a big difference

15:56 - Mentorship helps your number move

20:38 - Getting former clients back

Two-Brain’s March leaderboard tracked net owner benefit (NOB)—profit, salary and anything extra the gym pays for.

Every gym owner on the leaderboard brought home more than $16,000 USD in March, based on a rolling three-month average. The top number? Way over $30,000!

In this episode, Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper reveals the Top 10 NOB figures and then tells you exactly what these gym owners did to achieve elite earnings.

A few themes came up in the top earners’ interviews: business systems, mentorship and high-value services.

The key: Build sustainable income that isn’t tied to flash-in-the-pan profit boosts from tactics such as challenges and paid-in-full discounts. To do that and earn what you deserve every month, you’ve got to make business decisions based on data, not hype or random ads on social media.

Tune in to hear real numbers and discover proven tactics for boosting your monthly earnings.

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Gym Owners United

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1:40 - March 2024 leaderboard

4:10 - Secrets from the leaders

9:20 - High-value services to high-value clients