Teamup Interviews: Matt Brennan
Crossfit GFP and the Suffolk Punch Boxing Club
Matt Brennan runs CrossFit GFP and the Suffolk Punch Boxing Club, based near Ipswich in Suffolk. Both businesses have been hugely successful and have a strong and active community around them.
We chatted with Matt to get his perspective on community, fitness, and why trying something different can completely change the success of your business.
What business model do you have?
I used to run a general class and fitness based business with a lot of PT, and then switched it to a CrossFit box. After that launched successfully I then started a boxing club in the same gym, and have grown that to run regular boxing events.
Why did you switch your business model?
People are getting bored of traditional gym stuff. That’s why people are now looking into the CrossFit and the boxing. We’ve got loads of middle aged women who are boxing. Some of them are sparring now, but they’re just doing the boxing for fitness and fun, opposed to going to the gym and doing ten minutes on the treadmill, three sets of this, three sets of that.
What would your top tips for someone wanting to change their business model?
Just create the community is the number one priority. Make it special. Make people want to be there. Make people want to be socially involved with each other. A big part of that is done via Facebook really.
Number two is offer a free trial or an introduction where people can get a taste of it. The key is making it easy and fun for them to try.
I’d say number three is having the right coach and team. I’ve been very lucky to find someone like our head coach, who is a great guy. People want to have a beer with him, if that makes sense. I think he’s the sort of person that just welcomes everyone and he makes a lot of it.
It’s not just about making up the numbers. It’s finding the right characters who are going to be part of the brand.
Any other tips on how to get the formula right?
I had another box owner come to me and ask for advice on how to add boxing to his setup, and I remember him saying to me that he didn’t want blokes who want to compete. He’s doing it from the fitness side as something different. CrossFit, if you walk up to the door while a CrossFit session is going on and you hear weights slamming down and things like that, regardless if it’s male or female, it does put some people off. He wanted something a little bit more welcoming, but still fitting in with what he’s currently doing.
He went out and got loads of aesthetically pleasing punch bags, nice bright white bags, nice gloves, nice pads. I think his first session was twenty-five people turned up for it and it’s just grown from there.
What attracted you to use teamup?
I used another booking system in the past called MindBody which was a complete disaster. I think what attracted me to the teamup system is that I used it to book in at other CrossFit boxes, the fact that the tutorial was so well organised and once on the trial, the support was fantastic. Most of all it needs to be simple for clients, and that it is!
To join Matt on teamup, take a 30 day trial to see the difference
