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How a tattoo brand turned into a profitable gym
3 years ago, there was no gym. Now 300+ members train there...
John Franklin
April 25, 2025
What’s up Gym World?
Zach Peterson launched a tattoo-inspired clothing brand in 2018 after getting pushback from family for wanting to be both heavily tattooed and professionally ambitious.
It took off—and a few years later, he opened Empyre Fitness because he was sick of training at gyms he didn’t like and figured he could build something better.
Now, just 2.5 years in, Empyre has 300+ members, is profitable, and already planning a second location with eyes on franchising. Oh—and Zach’s still running the clothing business too.
He’s on the pod this week to share how he went from fashion to fitness—and what’s helped Empyre stand out:
Here’s the rundown: 👇
Starting with fashion
Zach wasn’t sure what direction to take after college, so he experimented with a few jobs:
DoorDash
landscaping
holiday lighting
handyman work
sports nutrition sales
At one point, he even started an investment company to flip houses and picked up work with a few marketing agencies along the way.
He liked the freedom of entrepreneurship, but at the time, he faced a lot of criticism from family. Zach had tattoos, and in their eyes, that didn’t mix well with having big professional goals.
Turns out, his friend—who owned a gym—was dealing with the same thing, and that gave them the idea to start a brand as a side project to prove you could be covered in ink and still be ambitious and successful.
They called it Tattooed & Successful and started making apparel out of Zach’s house in 2018.
Did you know? Gymshark’s founders started their 8-figure fitness brand from home too.
Like any business, Zach needed people to notice them. But because the brand was so new, they didn’t have a clear target audience yet. So Zach would scroll through social media, find people with tattoos on the explore page, and send a quick message like:
He sent 200-300 DMs a day before social media started putting limits on it, and tried to make them feel personal to build trust and start conversations.
More conversations = more conversions. Nick Page DM’d new followers and added $15K/month in revenue. The Recess Fitness guys rode cargo bikes and traded cold water for emails. Jon Goodman used content and referrals to start as many conversations as possible—and now profits over $3M a year.
Zach also:
talked to as many people in person as he could
gave out 500 to 1,000 business cards a month
Tattooed & Successful first appeared at the Treasure Valley Tattoo Convention. Their booth barely had any signage, but they still sold out 300 shirts.
From there, the business grew fast. The message resonated, the brand stood out, and Zach kept building relationships.
By the end of 2019, he went all-in on Tattooed & Successful and focused on growing the brand by making content, which led to stronger brand recognition and connections with small influencers.
Influencers with an engaged audience who post about your gym or brand can bring a ton of exposure. The Strip Barbell had 7,000 visitors in one year using this strategy.
Meanwhile, Mike Orefice used a strong brand and content to grow Iron Vault to 3,000 members, two locations, and a 7-figure business in five years.
Zach and his friend rented a house with an RV bay and 3-car garage and ran operations out of it for a year and a half. Then they moved into a 5,200 sq ft building with:
corporate offices and a warehouse
a mini retail store for merch
a tattoo studio with both guest and permanent artists
a photo/media studio for in-house marketing, run by a 3-person team (photographer, social media manager, and GM)
Going into fitness
Staying fit and healthy was always a big part of Zach’s life.
Fun fact: He trained for the NFL and CFL with no formal football experience. A few teams were interested, but a serious hip injury ended his shot at a career.
He spent years training at big-box gyms—but he hated the experience.
Equipment was always broken
Facilities weren’t clean
Staff didn’t care about service
Most people were just hanging out
The energy didn’t match his mindset
These issues got him thinking about how he’d build a gym that avoided those same frustrations—for others and for himself.
Brent Laffey had a similar story. He built Carbon Performance because no gym around him had what he needed.
Ironically, in 2022, Zach’s landlord asked if he was interested in expanding. Two units right next door to Tattooed & Successful had just become vacant. He said no at first, but later that day he went back to the gym—and left frustrated yet again.
So he circled back to the landlord to see if the spaces were still available. They were—so he signed the lease and put together a business plan for Empyre Fitness.
The gym opened later that year and now shares a campus with Tattooed & Successful in Meridian, Idaho.
What is Empyre Fitness?
It’s only been 2.5 years, but Empyre already has over 300 members, is profitable, and has built a strong presence in the community.
Fun fact: The gym was supposed to be a passive involvement for Zach. He had a business partner lined up to handle the day-to-day—but things didn’t work out within the first few months of opening.
If you want to avoid costly partnership mistakes, do yourself a favor and read this article.
Here’s what the gym is like today:
The space & model
Empyre is a private 5,100 sq ft high-end strength training facility with an extra 1,500 sq ft of outdoor space. It features:
Premium equipment
Locker rooms
Saunas
Branded towels
It’s used for open gym, group classes, and personal training.
All memberships include full gym access, starting at $55/month and going up to $85/month. They also offer day and week passes, along with add-on sauna sessions.
Zach says the gym caps at 400 members—and they’re already about 80% full.
And more recently, Empyre started offering HYROX classes twice a week.
For anyone unfamiliar, HYROX is a global fitness race that combines running with functional workouts like sled pushes, rowing, and wall balls. It’s exploded in popularity over the last year, and more gyms are affiliating with the brand.
Zach says it’s especially popular in his area, and so far it’s been a great addition to Empyre because:
It gives people something new and exciting to try
It’s brought in new members
It’s easy to modify, which makes it more approachable for beginners
It offers current members a different way to train
Zach didn’t know much about HYROX when he built the gym—and he didn’t design the space with it in mind. But they’ve made it work—and now run classes outdoors during the warmer months.
The brand & culture
Zach wanted Empyre to feel like the strong community he had already built through Tattooed & Successful—a place where people:
train hard
focus on self-improvement
support each other
A lot of the first members and coaches were already part of the tattoo brand, so bringing that culture into the gym happened naturally.
He didn’t like how impersonal most gyms felt, so he made it a priority to change that at Empyre. Zach ensures:
The front desk is friendly and personal
Staff know every member’s name
New members get their photo taken so they’re recognized when they walk in
A great gym experience starts the moment someone walks through your door. This article breaks down how you can create a more personal, memorable experience for your members too.
That level of care extends to how the gym is maintained:
Front desk staff clean throughout the day
The facility is professionally cleaned twice a week
They regularly ask members for feedback on cleanliness
In the early days, members came in on Sundays to help clean. Zach made it an event with food, music, and good vibes. Now, because members see staff cleaning, they’re more likely to pitch in and take care of the space too. Kieran Williams and Evan Duncan have had similar experiences at their gyms.
The trainers & staff
Empyre’s strong culture makes it a place people actually want to work. Zach says it’s unlike any other gym in the area—and that starts with how he treats his coaches.
There are nine trainers on staff, with about half working full time.
Unlike most gyms, Empyre doesn’t make trainers pay rent or operate as independent contractors. Instead, Zach treats them like employees and helps them build long-term careers.
Each trainer meets with the GM and head coach to talk about how much they want to earn
Together, they figure out how many sessions it takes to hit that goal
Trainers get headshots and an iPad for programming
He says the iPad makes the coaching experience feel more premium and professional.
And similar to what FlexWerk Fitness does, Zach helps personal trainers build their personal brand using the same marketing team behind Tattooed & Successful. They get:
Monthly content creation days
Custom graphics and social media content
All assets delivered in a Google Drive folder for the month ahead
Trainers are paid on commission and encouraged to become financially independent. Some have told Zach he helped them get a car, buy a house, or finally pay off debt.
He also has a front desk manager who helps with the day-to-day, and their responsibilities include:
Keeping the gym clean and organized
Handling admin tasks
Supporting sales (Zach adds fun incentives like contests and rewards to keep things engaging)
Attending weekly or monthly team meetings
Zach pays them 30% more than other gyms in the area, plus commission on sales.
He also hosts professional development sessions and brings in a licensed counselor for mental health days to support his team beyond the day-to-day.
The marketing & events
Zach’s relentless marketing for Tattooed & Successful helped build strong brand awareness and recognition in the community. So when Empyre opened, a lot of people already knew who he was, which likely made it easier for them to check it out and give it a try.
Here’s what he does today to attract new prospects:
Posts content regularly to stay top of mind
Runs one promo a month—small offers that spark interest and conversations without devaluing the brand
Experiments with different ideas to see what works
Focuses on clearly communicating the gym’s pricing, features, and vibe so more people feel comfortable joining
To build even more awareness, Zach throws social events every couple of months with Tattooed & Successful. They're big, high-energy, and packed with things like:
Free open gym day passes
Lifting competitions
Tattoo flash events
A DJ
Food trucks & local vendors
A warehouse sale
A car show
And while we’re not sure exactly how much Zach makes from these events, he says he’s been able to give back a lot to the community.
Events can add significant revenue to your gym. Kalsamrit Martial Arts makes $200,000 a year from hosting fight nights.
The CliffsNotes 📝
When Zach’s family didn’t think he could be heavily tattooed and professionally successful, he launched a brand in 2018 to prove otherwise.
And when he got tired of training at gyms he didn’t like, he turned frustration into opportunity—and built a better one himself in 2022.
Now, he runs both a growing apparel brand and a high-performing gym—and neither show signs of slowing down.
Not bad for someone who was told it wouldn’t work.
Zach wants to open another location in the next two years. It’ll be 25,000 sq ft, and he’s already working on the design, meeting with landlords, and starting the permit process. If all goes well, he plans to franchise Empyre. I’m curious to see what happens next.
cheers,
j
📣 P.S. If you found this article interesting, share it with another gym owner who’d think so too.