From shared space to two locations

What’s up Gym World?

Sean Shearon ran Prevail Strength and Fitness inside another gym for two years before opening a single studio. During that time, he tested things like class size and programming to make sure everything worked. The result was a gym that could run consistently from day one and scale to a second location without chaos.

If you want to see how he did it in detail, you can watch the full interview below.

If you don’t have time, here’s a quick summary of the lessons that you can apply to your gym today.

Start small and test the model

Sean didn’t open a full gym right away. He was coaching a bootcamp inside a commercial gym, and once he decided to go independent, he bought the program and ran it under his own brand in the same space. He paid a flat rate to use the gym and shared revenue with them.

During those two years, Sean focused on figuring out what worked:

• How to run strength training in a group setting

• How many members could be coached effectively in a session

• How to structure sessions so they felt like personal training

• Which systems were essential before opening a standalone studio

By the time Prevail opened its first location, the model had already been tested and refined. Sean knew it could work at scale.

Focus on structure over intensity

Early in his career, Sean coached bootcamps, HIIT, and back-to-back personal training sessions. He realized that high-intensity classes were easier to run because they required less skill, less planning, and fewer equipment setups.

Strength training was different. It forced him to think through every detail:

• How to progress members safely over time

• How to keep programming consistent

• How to organize space, equipment, and coaching attention

• How to slow members down so they followed the program properly

Focusing on structure created a repeatable system. No matter which coach was leading or how motivated members were that day, sessions delivered the same quality consistently.

Let operational limits guide scaling

Before opening the first standalone studio, Sean knew exactly what his team and space could handle. Scaling a gym successfully means making sure systems, staff, and space can support growth without compromising the member experience.

Prevail caps classes at sixteen members. This came from experimenting with different group sizes in the original gym and finding the sweet spot where coaches could give individual attention without losing the group dynamic.

Operational limits like space, equipment, and staff capacity became guiding principles. They helped Sean:

• Build class structures that could be replicated across multiple coaches

• Ensure every session maintained a high standard of coaching

• Make scaling to a second location predictable and manageable

Build onboarding and retention systems

When Sean planned Prevail’s second location, he realized much of the business still lived in his and his wife’s heads. There was no shared documentation, no consistent onboarding process, and no retention system that could run without him.

In 2021, Sean worked with a business coach to identify all the reasons a second location could fail. That process clarified which systems needed to be built before scaling.

Onboarding at Prevail now works like this:

• Every new member completes five one-on-one sessions before joining group classes

• The sessions are included in the membership as a value add rather than a separate sale

• Any coach can deliver the sessions consistently so the experience doesn’t depend on a single person

Retention is layered and repeatable, designed to run without Sean managing every detail:

• Coaches act as Student Success Specialists, handling check-ins and communication outside of class

• Workshops, events, merch drops, and referral programs are gradually layered, tested, and refined

• Systems ensure members receive the same experience across coaches and locations

Establish culture through consistency

Unlike most gyms, Sean doesn’t actually use the word community. He’s found that forced attempts at building community often feel inauthentic, especially for Prevail’s members, who are busy adults.

Instead, Prevail focuses on predictable standards and consistent coaching. Culture is reinforced through experiences that complement members’ lives rather than demanding extra time.

These include:

• Interactive workshops on training, nutrition, or performance

• Group hikes and adventure activities through the Prevail Adventure Club

• Branded events and occasional merch drops that celebrate progress

By layering these experiences over a foundation of consistent coaching and systems, the culture becomes something members naturally connect with—not something they feel pressured to participate in.

TL;DR

Scaling a gym doesn’t have to feel chaotic. Sean started small, focused on structure, respected his team and space, and built systems that could run without him. On top of that, he layered culture through consistent experiences that members value.

His advice is simple: start with the floor system so the gym can run without you. Then fix the system that drains the most energy, and repeat. Over time, these repeatable systems create a gym that scales predictably while keeping quality high, even when you’re not in the room.

For more stories like this and practical insights for running your gym, check out Gym World.

hope this helps,

j