Running a gym at 18 years old came with plenty of challenges for Ethan, founder of Adira Performance. Like many gym owners, he started with passion, long hours, and a strong coaching background, but without the systems needed to build a scalable business. Over time, that led to inconsistent growth, low cash flow, and burnout.

Through a combination of improved sales systems, structured marketing, and operational changes, Ethan transformed his gym into a more profitable and sustainable business while reducing his coaching hours and growing his team.

The Challenge

When Ethan first opened Adira Performance at 18, the business relied heavily on organic content and referrals.

“We used to post people doing snatches and muscle-ups and make it look cool and fun and hope that organic reach came in.”

The gym had a great community and strong coaching, but growth was inconsistent. Membership numbers stayed relatively flat for years.

“Looking back at the numbers, it would have been maybe 1 or 2 a month, and you might lose 1 or 2, maybe three… across the year, two years, it was actually like no growth really.”

At the same time, Ethan was working exhausting hours simply to keep the business afloat. He coached early mornings and evenings six days per week, squeezed personal training sessions into the middle of the day, and still struggled financially.

“For the first genuinely like two years, maybe two and a half years, I paid myself £300–£500 a month.”

One of the biggest issues was the lack of a clear sales process.

“The sales process basically wasn’t one.”

Like many gym owners, Ethan realised he was spending a lot of time being busy rather than focusing on activities that genuinely moved the business forward.

“The biggest shift for me was understanding… am I genuinely being productive?”

The Strategy

The turning point came when Ethan shifted his mindset from simply coaching members to building a proper business with systems, structure, and long-term vision.

Instead of relying purely on organic content, Adira Performance introduced a more defined sales and marketing process. The gym began using paid advertising, faster lead response times, sales calls, and automations to improve conversions and create a more consistent flow of enquiries.

Using support from Fitness Marketing Agency, Ethan implemented automations that allowed leads to be contacted almost immediately.

“I send them a text within the first 30 seconds of it coming through.”

At the same time, Ethan became more intentional with the gym’s content and messaging. Rather than focusing purely on workouts or technical movements, the business started highlighting the experience, atmosphere, and community behind the brand.

“We never talk about prices anyway. We never talk about features. We talk about experience.”

The gym focused heavily on short-form content, community-driven messaging, and showing the culture inside the facility.

Another major shift was the introduction of small group coaching alongside traditional CrossFit classes. The goal was not simply to increase revenue, but to create a better onboarding experience for members and help more people feel comfortable entering the gym environment.

“By incorporating small group, we are helping more people… we’re achieving the mission of the company more.”

The Results

Over the last 18 months, Ethan has seen significant changes across the business.

Adira Performance averaged 23.5 sales per month over six months and generated between £5,000 and £11,000 in new client sales every month.

“We’re averaging between 5 to 11 grand’s worth of sales… every single month.”

The business also expanded operationally. Ethan built a growing team consisting of full-time and part-time staff members while reducing his own coaching hours so he could focus more on leadership, marketing, and long-term growth.

“I’ll mainly just work on the vision of the company.”

The gym also invested heavily back into the facility, including a major mezzanine renovation designed to improve the member experience and support future growth.

Most importantly, Ethan shifted from simply creating a job for himself to building a sustainable business.

“I’ve completely switched my mindset from ‘I don’t own my own job, I’m trying to run a business.”

Words From Ethan

“For all the success I’ve had so far, I would say it’s been down to a relentless work ethic.”

“Speed wins in business.”

“The business should be autonomous.”

“You join for the fitness, then you actually stay for the friends that you build.”

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