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These gym owners bring in $113K/month from CrossFit

Learn how they built a profitable multi-gym business after CrossFit peaked.

Author

John Franklin
October 03, 2025

What’s up Gym World?

Ken Williams and Jessika Loving run four CrossFit gyms in Dallas with 700 members and bring in about $113K in monthly revenue. Not bad for a couple who opened their first affiliate in 2020, right before COVID and well after the CrossFit boom had passed.

After getting their first gym to a good place, they realized there was a smarter way to grow than opening new gyms from scratch. Now they’re running a 7-figure, multi-location business across retail, warehouse, and industrial spaces.

Mateo sat down with them to break down how they pulled it off. Watch the video below, or keep reading for the takeaways.

Why CrossFit

Ken and Jessika weren’t new to business or fitness. Ken spent 20 years in corporate America, helping scale a startup from six employees to 3,500 and $550M in revenue. Jessika ran 11 bootcamps across Texas and Southern California as part of a fitness franchise.

Like many of our guests, they joined CrossFit as members and loved everything about it—the methodology, the community, the culture. But when ownership changed, the culture shifted, and they left.

Culture is one of the few things that cannot be duplicated. Anyone can copy your workouts or your pricing, but no one can copy how your members feel when they walk in the door. Protect that.

Even after leaving, Ken and Jessika were still passionate about CrossFit and the culture around it. The sport may have peaked years before, but their background in business and fitness gave them the confidence to build a stronger version of what they felt was missing.

In 2020, they launched CrossFit SBR as a passion project with 90 members on day one.

The gym started in a 2,800 sq ft retail space before expanding into the neighboring unit. Today, it covers 4,700 sq ft.

Six weeks later, COVID shut the gym down. Ken and Jessika kept members engaged with online training, lending out equipment, and offered corporate wellness contracts. Many members continued paying in full, which Ken credits to their strong culture.

They also used that time to strengthen the business by:

  • Learning more about the CrossFit methodology through their head coach

  • Implementing systems for programming, lead generation, nurture, and coaching

  • Building a strong culture and reputation in their community

  • Investing in high-quality equipment

By 2023, CrossFit SBR was profitable, at capacity, and running smoothly.

Note: Today, it has 220 members and generates $35K in monthly revenue, but it isn’t their most profitable location. High rent and being in an expensive area keep margins tighter than at their other gyms.

Scaling through acquisitions

After COVID, Ken and Jessika thought they’d start a new business, until they found a listing for D-Town CrossFit and realized it was an opportunity too good to ignore.

  • Sellers ran other businesses and had been hands-off for two years

  • The gym was still operating with 180 members

  • Located in a 13,000 sq ft warehouse in downtown Dallas

  • Beautifully designed with room to grow

Unlike their first retail location, D-Town was a massive warehouse. But if it could sustain itself under those conditions, Ken and Jessika knew it could perform even better with the right systems, new equipment, and a stronger culture.

They acquired it for asset value in December 2023. Now, it’s:

  • Nearing 300 members

  • Generating $45K in monthly revenue

  • 10x higher profitability

I’ve had success with acquisitions too. In my case, I found a struggling gym through cold outreach, bought it for about the value of its equipment, fixed the problems, and turned it around. A few years later, my partner sold it for a massive profit.

Operators like Devin Gage and Jeff Schumacher are taking the same approach. Here’s how they’re doing it.

Since then, they’ve added two more gyms using the same playbook:

If you’ve ever thought about acquiring a gym, Ken’s advice is to do your homework and know what to look for:

  • Find deals through brokers and owners. Work with brokers who understand the fitness industry, but also reach out to owners directly since many gyms never get listed.

  • Get objective valuations. Bring in a CPA or appraiser, and compare multiple valuations: income-based (cash flow) and asset-based (equipment value).

  • Vet the people you work with. Choose trusted brokers, CPAs, and attorneys who have experience with gym deals.

  • Evaluate the upside. Look at equipment, member count, churn, staff, culture, and local growth potential.

  • Do thorough due diligence, including the lease. Verify all the numbers against bank statements, check debts and contracts, and negotiate lease terms with a landlord who will be a good partner.

Another gym owner we spoke with is taking over competitors’ gyms for $0. His approach is just as useful if you’re thinking about acquisitions. Check it out here.

The playbook that keeps it all together

Any gym owner can picture the chaos of running just one location. Now multiply that by four, and put each one in a different part of Dallas. The only way Ken and Jessika make it work is by running everything on solid systems.

Here are the ones they rely on most:

Lead Generation and Follow-Up

Ken and Jessika use a marketing automation tool like Gym Lead Machine to handle funnels, follow-ups, and busywork. That way, every lead gets quick and consistent communication, and no prospect slips through the cracks when a coach is busy.

They also keep things personal. Ken still handles many of the phone calls himself and follows up with trial members at key touchpoints:

  • 1.5 hours after the first trial class

  • Throughout the trial week

  • At the end of the week

That kind of personal touch builds reputation and word of mouth. It’s also why Ken and Jessika converted 83% of trials last month. Here’s how another gym owner built a system that does the same.

Low-Barriers to Membership

Ken and Jessika believe the community and product will sell themselves, so their sign-up process is designed to be simple and frictionless. A prospect can claim a one-week free trial through a quick landing page, with most membership sign-ups happening by text.

Behind the scenes, the team makes every trial member feel valued:

  • Coaches are notified before the trial so they can greet prospects by name

  • After class, coaches send Ken an update so his follow-ups feel more personal

  • Ken checks in throughout the trial week to keep the connection strong

Selling through text or DMs is an underutilized way to get more members. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it.

Consistent Member Experience

With four gyms across different parts of Dallas, consistency is a non-negotiable for Ken and Jessika. They’ve built what they call an “internal franchise model” for CrossFit, ensuring every member gets the same experience no matter which gym they walk into.

They use uniform systems for:

  • Coaching standards

  • Programming

  • The training environment (TVs, music, and equipment)

  • Cleanliness and aesthetics (air conditioning, premium look, and spotless facilities

The result is a brand that feels familiar and reliable across all locations, just like Alloy Personal Training and GameChanger Fitness.

AI Support

Earlier I mentioned that Ken still handles most of the phone calls. With 700 members across multiple locations, that was becoming overwhelming. So to ease the load, he started testing AI at CrossFit Prosper, their smallest gym.

  • Calls are answered by an AI assistant named “Samantha,” built to match Ken’s personality and communication style.

  • Samantha discloses that she’s AI, and if she can’t answer a prospect’s question, the call forwards to Ken.

After three months of testing, the system has worked well enough that Ken plans to roll it out across all locations.

TL;DR

In just 16 months, Ken and Jessika scaled from one to four gyms, added 500 members, and pushed past $100K in monthly revenue. All of this after CrossFit had already peaked and in the middle of surviving COVID.

Their growth came down to three things:

  • Systemize everything. From lead follow-up to programming to culture, they built a franchise-like model that made each location run smoothly.

  • Acquire smart. Instead of starting from scratch, they bought gyms with potential and turned them around with better operations and equipment.

  • Keep the experience consistent. Whether retail, warehouse, or industrial, every gym delivers the same level of coaching, community, and care.

For now, Ken and Jessika are putting their energy into the gyms they already have. Next up is a move for CrossFit Prosper into a larger standalone space, giving them more room to expand the community.

For more insights, head to our YouTube channel or find us wherever you get your podcasts.

until next Friday,

j