185. This Mindset Took Him from a Used Van to a $100M Company

0:00Josh York didn't start with a fancy gym. He started with a van, some workout gear, an idea. Bring fitness to the people instead of making them come to the gym. He drove, trained, marketed, and hustled, often all in the same day. And seven years later, Gym Guys hit its first million. But then came the explosion. COVID hit, home fitness surge, and Josh scaled from$1 million to$10 million fast. This is Ryan Atkinson and you're listening to HealthFit Podcast where we uncover the secrets of building and running successful businesses Today, Gym Guys is the fastest growing personal training brand in the country with over 256 franchisees.

0:38And Josh is here to break down how you can recognize a market gap, build something disruptive, and maybe even make a fitness empire of your own. Josh, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it, Ryan. Very happy to be here. Looking forward to dropping some knowledge, nuggets, and a lot of good energy. Yes, lots of good energy. It's going to be so good. Before we start talking about starting the business, marketing, revenue, all that good stuff, stay tuned for that, listeners. Let's talk about Gym Guys. What is Gym Guys? Let's just lay a baseline for what you're working on. Absolutely. So, you know, we bring the workout to you.

1:05We're in home and on site, you know, no brick and mortar. So we can service you anywhere from your home, office, pool park, place, worship, hospital, senior homes, just living facilities, daycares, you name it anywhere. We literally bring the workout to you. We provide our three C's convenient, customizing, creative workouts. We service thousands of cities. We're in six countries. We're in over 30 states and we are just getting started. Just getting started. Well, I want to talk about how you got started with this. I'm sorry, with a van and an idea, but what were the very first steps you took to launch Gym Guys?

1:36Yeah, so I've always been a personal trainer for my whole life. And I loved helping people, helping them reach their goals. The problem is I always compare a personal trainer to a doctor. A doctor without patients is unemployed and a trainer without clients is unemployed. I used to always ask myself, man, how can I make money when I'm sleeping? And I had no clue, right? And went to school, got my degree, which was a total waste of time. And I then, you know, went back, you know, I just kept training. I love training, but it's like, man, I felt like a loser because like here I am. And I was making like over six figures a year as a personal trainer.

2:05Like, I mean, I was making a very good living and you're talking like 20 years ago. And I gave it all up to take a$25 ,000 job in a marketing firm because I had to start my career. And I learned real quick that this was probably the worst move I could have ever made. I was absolutely miserable. I left there, quit, went back to training. I gave up all my clients. So I had to build them all over again. One happened to come in late one day and just said, man, I really wish you can come to my house. I don't have the equipment. I was like, man, like a light went on. I was just like, this is such a simple idea.

2:31No one's ever professionalized it. No one's ever franchised it. I'm going to do it. Came up with the name Gym Guys. It stands for Get You Motivated. Goals Uniquely Yours. Zero excuses. Got a van, stocked it with enough equipment to provide you a fantastic workout, 365 days a year, and literally went out there and started driving, marketing seven days a week, 16, 17 hours every day for literally pretty much a decade, then started franchising, and here we are today. Oh man, that is so crazy. I love how it just started with a van and some gym equipment. Let's talk about those startup costs. What exactly, how much did the van cost you?

3:03How much did the workout equipment cost you? Talk to us about that. Yeah, so I didn't have money to get a new van. So I had to get the cheapest van possible. So I found this used vehicle from one of these auctions in Pennsylvania. I drove there, got it. Didn't even have a mechanic look at it. So I rolled the dice hoping it was gonna be okay. And literally just got cheap gym equipment that I could put in there that's clean and look professional and started from there. You know, like, look, the biggest problem is people like think about ideas, but they don't take action. If you don't take action, someone like me is going to come and eat your food every single day.

3:35You're never going to be able to eat because I'll just smoke you every single day. And it would never, ever, the chances of you ever competing with me, it would never happen. Now, a normal person, I'm not normal. Normal doesn't work. A normal person, maybe you have a chance at it, but it's about taking action. So I thought of the idea. I took action and made it happen. Oh man, that's so, so good. I think that's what we talk about a lot on this podcast is the biggest difference between an entrepreneur and want to be a entrepreneur is the entrepreneur took action. Your first action was buying the van.

4:02You have one client that said, Hey, like, I wish you could come to me. But like, I mean, Josh, like, how are you getting your first like few clients with this new concept? I mean, this was 20 years ago or so. Like, how are you getting your first few clients? I was literally old school handing out flyers, you know, literally look like my children put them together on Microsoft word. I was posting up everywhere, driving around. Now remember I had the van, right? So the van was a moving billboard. So it still is to this day. So I was driving that van around. I did everything you could possibly imagine, but here's the deal.

4:28The more hands you shake, the more money you make. So I was out there, you know, building a lot of relationship, opening a lot of doors and just, I was just creating massive omnipresence. Like you couldn't turn your head without knowing about gym guys. And that's how it kind of really took off. Well, I want to talk about that a little bit more. Cause are you going to just random neighborhoods and putting out flyers? I mean, how are you like targeted in that first approach? Like what can listeners learn from that as well as their thing about starting a company? Yeah, well, look, when you start something, number one, you need to make sure there's demand for it, right?

4:55So I created a new category that never existed. So marketing online was going to be very, very difficult because people were not searching for this at the time, right? So everyone was laughing at me, telling me I was crazy. You should open up a gym, a brick and mortar. And I told them it was the craziest idea ever. I would never, ever do that. That just makes no sense. And now you look at it, 90 % of people that have a gym membership don't go. Treadmills become the most amazing clothing racks. Apps don't work. AI will help enhance, but it will never solve the problem. People need accountability and human interaction.

5:24So, you know, for me, it was, you know, look, get out there, get out there, get out there and get out there. And literally, you know, most people are sitting behind their desk on the computer. I was only focused on one thing, revenue generating activities and targeting people who I knew could afford the service. Ah, man, so, so good. Let's move on to those revenue generating activities. So I hear you're doing like flyers and everything, but obviously there comes more to that, especially when you have an omni approach to marketing. What were some of those best first steps for you when it comes to sales and getting your name out there?

5:58I would just like pull up. I'd build a relationship with someone in a supermarket. I set up a table and I would literally just talk to everybody and I would do it during busy hours, right? Like I was like obsessed, man. And honestly, dude, nothing's changed. I'm probably more obsessed today than I am then. You have to be sickly obsessed. Like it's got to be such a sick obsession that you only eat, sleep, breathe and going literally running through your veins is what you're thinking about. It's all day, every single day. So I just kept talking to people, building relationships. And one guy used to go every day.

6:27I used to stop there and I would like budget for the week. It was like$25,$30. And, you know, I don't even know if you're a younger guy, Ryan. So I don't even know if you know this and I hope you do. But like they used to have these 25 cent pack of juicy food gums. You remember that or no? Oh, come on, Josh. Yeah, I remember. Just making sure, because I don't know if everyone sees Ryan, but you got a handsome guy here, good head of hair. He's much younger, so I don't know if he knows this. But I used to literally just go to as many places as I can and just buy gum. And I would do it over and over and over for weeks and weeks.

6:55And what happens is you start knowing everyone in that place, right? You come in, you're branded, they see you. And then you start making small talk. And, you know, oh, what about the sports team? Oh, yeah, great. Oh, a beautiful day today. Next thing you know, you're now best friends with them. And that's how I would do it. And I start setting up tables, leaving information. And I'll never forget I got my first call. Oh, my God. I was so excited. I'll never forget it. It was the wildest thing ever. And then I started getting more calls, more calls. Then you have to work what you work, right? Like something smart for you to do, right?

7:26Like when you get off this podcast, hey, Josh, do you know anyone else could possibly be great for this episode that I can interview for the next one? That's what I always do with clients. Hey, I'm looking to grow. Do you know anyone who might use the service? I'm going to give you a free session. And, you know, that just kept spiraling and just became pretty much a snowball effect. And that's how I grew it. Next thing you know, I'm like, holy crap, got like 35, 40 clients. And I'm like, all right, I'm gonna get another van. And that's how I just did it. Yeah. I'd be curious to ask, you know, you're getting 35, 40 clients.

7:53I mean, what's the pricing structure? Like, how are you charging these clients? Are you just coming to them, giving the workouts? I'd love to hear like how you're charging this. Yeah. So it's all based on packages, you know, so they would buy packages. You know, the more sessions they purchase, the cheaper the price would be. So given an incentive to make a larger commitment, plus also, you know, someone's trying to change their life and their fitness level. It's not going to happen overnight. It takes time. So you got it. It's about commitment. We'd sell them from, you know, packages from 12 to 24 to 48 to 96.

8:19And that's how we would sell them. And then we also have obviously semi groups, classes, you know, and large organizations. We do stuff with businesses. So, you know, that's how it works. I want to talk about growth as well, because it took you six to seven years to hit$1 million, but scaling to$10 million was like much faster for you. What triggered that rapid growth? I'd love to hear that story. I will tell you one thing, right? Fortune will always favor the bold. It's about action, action, and action. You have to take action and you have to understand there's going to be a lot of pain, that lot, a lot of pain, and you can never avoid it.

8:54There is a price to pay. You're going to pay it at some point. I would much rather sacrifice and go through the pain now to enjoy things later rather than have to suffer later. You have to have the suffering and it's been a lot of suffering. So, you know, people think these things happen overnight, you know, but, you know, look at the next, you know, probably three years will be over a hundred million. And it's like at the end of the day, you know, that's probably one of the most hardest things to do. If you ever watch like these business shows, most businesses in America, I think less than 5 % of businesses actually do a million dollars in sales.

9:22It's very, very hard to do a million dollars in sales, but you have to really really, really focus and understand that, you know, you got to put systems in place, you got to have processes, and you got to make sure you're hiring the right people. That's very, very important. Most people spend months, sometimes years, just thinking about starting a business. But what if you could do it in just 10 days? That's exactly what the 10-day business launch plan is designed for. It's a step-by-step roadmap that takes you from idea to real operational business in just 10 days. Click the link in the description below and get ready with your business.

9:58What was that big trigger though, from 1 million, 10 million? Was it putting those processes in place? Did you guys run a successful digital campaign? Did COVID play a part in that? I'd love to hear that growth from 1 million to 10 million. Then of course, we're going to talk about 10 million to like a hundred million, how you guys have 10 X this so quickly. Here's the thing. I made a lot of mistakes and you're going to make a lot of mistakes. And people always ask me all the time, what would you change? I wouldn't change anything. I wouldn't change anything. Your losses are your lessons and you need them in order to learn.

10:26You have to be really willing to fail.

10:31It's very important. Failure is the greatest thing you can ever do. And there's certain people that can take you to a certain level, but they can't take you to the next level. You have to be smart enough and have a high enough level of emotional intelligence to understand, is this the right person on the bus? A lot of businesses like to call themselves families. We're a family. That actually probably should be one of the scariest things you should ever hear. We're a championship team. If someone on the team is not doing well, It's business. You're getting traded. Sorry, right? You're not filling that role.

10:59You're getting traded, okay? Family is blood. Family wants to keep you safe and comfortable. Business is about winning. You want to win. And you got to have the right people in the right seat. So in order to break through those next levels, it's about scale. I had to start developing the proper operation manuals and the proper systems and tools and just technology to be able to oversee things. Look, you got to understand, in growing anything, you have to make sure you go slow. everyone's trying to be sonic the hedgehog nothing great happens fast it takes time and the problem is with social media you know these days everyone's like oh my god look at that okay first of all you're looking at beyonce as the finished product okay you're looking at this business as the finished product you have no idea about their journey and listen their journey maybe took 10 years maybe yours is going to take 20 maybe it's going to take 25 maybe it's going to take 15 focus on yourself and that's it.

11:54Don't pay attention to everyone else. What I'm reading between the lines here, just like comprehending it's for you, it's been a lot about the process. I mean, getting that process, right. You're not Sonic the Hedgehog, as you said here, it's really about getting that process, right? Getting the right people in place. And that's what someone's like, what allowed you to grow to$10 million and now doing a hundred million dollars in 2025, which is crazy to say, but it sounds like it's a process for you, Josh. It's all about the process. And that's the number one, most important thing. You got to have the right process.

12:20And if you don't have the right process, you're going to fail miserably. You know, it's, you know, people think you're just like, kind of like wing this. It doesn't work like that. Right. Especially in the franchise world, you got to bring in the right people. That's very, very important too. Right. You know, people think you buy a franchise and you get sprinkled with fairy dust and you become a multimillionaire. You know, you can, am I saying you're going to know you have to follow the system and you have to work. Okay. Yes. You will be able to literally shortcut every mistake I made. You won't have to worry about any of that, but you're not going to succeed if you don't put the work in.

12:48I've heard a little bit about mistakes too. And like, you've made a ton of mistakes. Every entrepreneur is going to go through mistakes. Don't think you're going to be an entrepreneur and not make a lot of mistakes and get your battle scars in when you're starting your own company. For you, Josh, I'd love to hear what's been a mistake that taught you the biggest lesson. Huge question here, but what's like the first one that comes to mind about a lesson you've learned from entrepreneurship? Oh my God. I say the biggest one is just understanding that, you know, it's going to be hard, but it's going to be much harder than you think it's going to be.

13:16Actually, it's going to be 7 ,000 times. actually 150, actually 10 million times harder than you think it's going to be. And if you don't develop right here, if you can't see me, this is what I'm pointing right to my head, the mental resilience to understand that pain is part of it, you're never going to win. And here's the problem. You tap out too early. Next day could have been the day that changed everything, but you're soft, you fold it like a cheap chair, and now we're roasting marshmallows over the fire pit for s'mores because you couldn't be strong enough to be like a solid brick and say, you know what?

13:50I'm going to push through this. I'm going to break through it and I'll never quit. When you walk into our world headquarters, the first three words you see on the wall is we don't quit because we don't ever quit, ever. So good. I remember a story from my own entrepreneurial journey. I was just past Q4, I should say, but just so tough. I mean, Q4 is so hard to sell in the B2B world. And payroll's coming around multiple months in a row and you're just like, oh man, I don't know how I'm going to hit this. I remember at the time, it's like so many ulcers in my mouth, just like so, so stressed out, like trouble sleeping, trouble eating, like it's so miserable.

14:23And you get in that cycle where it's like, I don't even want to do this anymore. But you push through and we got through Q4, Q1 was our best quarter by far. So it's a testament to what you said, do not quit, just keep going as an entrepreneur. And that's how you ultimately will succeed. Has there been a specific story though, of like you guys like not hitting payroll by any means, or, you know, you know, people stealing money from you or yeah, tell us about one of those. I was drove to Atlantic City on a Friday night. I had to come up with$20 ,000 by Monday just to make payroll. I had some money in my life savings, and I figured if I put it on red, obviously red's our brand color.

14:54If I put it on red, I could hit it two times, and I'll make payroll for Monday. So I drove three and a half hours to Atlantic City, about three and a half hours from me, sitting in front of the roulette table, pretending I was going to go in next hour. This is it. I'm going to go now. I'm going to go now. It hit. It hit. Then it didn't hit. I'm like, what the hell am I doing here? This is just too crazy. I can't do this. and I was like, I got to figure another way, right? Listen, let me tell you something. There is always a way, always. There's always a way and it always works out, but you have to do your part.

15:22You have to do your part. And I was like, you know what? I'm going to offer free sessions to all my clients. I cannot collect credit cards because I need to deposit the money today before one o 'clock on Saturday before the bank closes because the credit cards won't hit Monday. It's going to take a day to process. They won't hit till Tuesday. I need the money Monday. I only needed 20 grand. It was actually 22. I ended up raising$46 ,000 literally in the matter of like six hours, drove all around Long Island collecting checks and deposited them by one o 'clock into the bank. I gave out over 100 free sessions that day and I made it happen.

15:52Plus, I had extra money to get other things done. So again, it always works out. I could share hundreds of stories like that of all the things that I've done and I've done some crazy things over the years. Oh, man, that's so crazy. Yeah, I think that is a testament to entrepreneurship there. I want to get back to like building this. When did you guys start introducing like franchisees? Was that opportunity there from year two, year three? How'd that scale and what did that teach as a leader? Yeah, after year seven, we started franchising. So 2014 is when we started franchising. And, you know, I don't even say really 10 years, you know, because, you know, I figured two years with COVID.

16:25So, you know, we've been really doing about eight years, but that's when we started franchising. And what has that taught you as a leader? Because obviously then it's a whole new ballgame once you start getting franchisees. I mean, what did that lesson teach you and how did that impact your guys' revenue growth? Well, you know, it's actually funny. So everyone thought like, oh, we're going backwards, you know, we're going, excuse me, we're going forward. We were going backwards. You know, I didn't have anyone invest in the company. I had to put all this money up to now start franchising. I went from being very successful having a corporate territory to literally being in the negative every single day.

16:55I've had more negatives in my bank account than sunny days in the Caribbean. And I will tell you, 99.9 % of people would have tapped out a very, very long time ago. But like I said, I don't tap out and no one's built like me. And that's just how it goes. Josh, I mean, like, what keeps you going here? Like for me, honestly, it's a couple of things. Number one, my children. Number two, I've had a very rough life growing up. And obviously that is a very, very big advantage I have over other people because you have to really experience real pain to be able to push through real pain. So am I saying that someone who doesn't go through pain can't be successful?

17:26No, absolutely not. But they're not going to be successful if they can't go through the pain. So you better start seeking discomfort on a daily basis. I mean, every single day you start doing uncomfortable things. And that's the benefit to that is when you work out, you could really work out like I work out and really push yourself and put yourself through massive amounts of suffering, which is going to build your resilience and help you in business. But I don't know. I love, you know, all the people over the years who laughed at me, told me I could never do it. I've had, you know, billionaires tell me my business was like Swiss cheese.

17:52I ended up creating a holiday on August 1st now, National Swiss Cheese Day. I FaceTimed the guy, get a half a pound of Swiss cheese. I say thanks for the inspiration. He ends up seeing me on the front page of the New York Times about seven years later, calls me up, tells me how much he believed in me. I'm like, what are you talking about? I just love when someone tells me I can't do it. Like, I want you to say that to me because I'm going to prove you wrong every single time. Do you need that as an entrepreneur? Do you need that chip on your shoulder to succeed in entrepreneurship? That is correct, yes.

18:20I'd be curious talking more about like that chip and whatnot, like, because you do need to experience real pain to get through real pain, as you said. I mean, what's been one of the most painful things about building this company? And like, what can someone learn from that experience as well? I think cash, cashflow is going to be the most painful thing ever. Like I suffered with such cashflow issues for over a decade. I mean, like literally every week, how am I going to make payroll? Literally every single week. So, you know, doing that for over a decade, you wonder why there's such a very, very small amount of people that actually win in life.

18:52And I mean, really win like real, real success because it's easy to say it's not easy to do. So speaking of doing as well, I love this topic with mindset with you because I feel you've been talking about it forever. For someone to start experiencing discomfort in their days, pain in their real days, what are a few action steps that they can take to start experiencing that even before entrepreneurship? What are some things to make someone uncomfortable? Yeah, so that's why I was kind of talking about the fitness. Look, I was mentored by Fred DeLuca. May he rest in peace. He is the founder of Subway and he used to mentor me back in the day.

19:25I'm actually extremely introverted. You might not believe that, but I actually really am. And it took me a very long time to be able to talk to people. I used to have such anxiety that I would literally throw up before I'd have a conversation. Like I literally would have that bad anxiety, like to the point where I couldn't breathe, almost hyperventilating because I was so uncomfortable. And he said, you know, Josh, what you could do is start going to a supermarket that's not in your territory. And in that supermarket, just ask every day, five random people, some weird questions. Like, you know, I'm having chicken for dinner tonight.