How I Became a Gym Owner – Part 1

“Your clients don’t fit our culture.”

That’s what the owner of the CrossFit gym I was coaching at told me.

Not nice. But it was true.

I knew what he meant. My clients knew it too. It explained the client retention struggles I often faced. Looking back, I realize that conversation also planted the seed for what would eventually become Empower.

This sounds like a mean thing to say because we, as a society, are allergic to hearing the truth. But there is a gift in the truth if you’re willing to see the opportunity in it.

What he was really saying was that there was a mismatch between the gym’s culture and the people I loved coaching. Once I understood that, everything became much clearer.

Finding the Right Fit

Faced with that truth, I had a choice. I could change the sorts of clients I worked with to better fit the gym culture. But when I considered that option, I realized that I liked the clients I worked with. They may not have been the optimal fit for that gym culture, but they were a fit for my coaching style.

And that meant the gym was not a fit for me.

It meant that if I wanted to build a successful coaching practice, I needed to find a culture that fit the clients I enjoyed working with. And looking around the city, I saw that such a place did not exist.

Building the Gym I Couldn't Find

No, when I started out on this journey, I did not ever intend to open my own gym. I am very grateful for the opportunity to develop my coaching skills at a gym someone else built.

I love coaching far more than I enjoy running a business. But if I wanted to do it my way, I realized I would have to create a space of my own. A home for the clients I loved working with. A place where they fit in because the culture was a fit for them.

That’s how Empower came to Vancouver’s West Side.

That’s how we became known for specializing in coaching clients who are 40+ years old. It’s how we became a couples and family gym. It’s how we built our reputation for helping everyday folks who are deconditioned or struggling with injuries get back into action.

Looking Back

Without that one key insight, we might not exist at all.

But here we are, all these years later.

And here I am, not just coaching classes (which is still my passion), but also running a gym at the head of a team of coaches who are just as passionate about helping people on their fitness journey.

And we are blessed to work in a community of just the right kind of members—the type of people Empower was built for.