This gym brings in $80K monthly revenue

Pro tips from Andy McCloy, a 25-year gym owner

What’s up Gym World?

When you’ve been in the fitness industry for 25 years, you see a lot. You see what works, what doesn’t, and what it really takes to build a gym that lasts. Most gyms don’t make it past the first few years, and staying profitable while developing your team and running smooth systems is a challenge many owners face.

That’s why we brought back Andy McCloy, a repeat guest who’s been running BCI Sports Performance & Fitness for 25 years. His gym brings in $80K to $100K in revenue per month and could run for 90 days without him.

Mateo sat down with Andy to hear how he’s kept his gym running strong all these years. Whether it’s coaching culture, leadership, or systems that actually work, there’s plenty for gym owners to learn.

Watch the video or keep reading to see how he’s done it.

Build your foundation around coaching

When Andy first started in the fitness industry, he didn’t worry about running a big gym or making a lot of money. He focused on being a good trainer and earning trust from clients. His goal was to prove he knew what he was doing before trying to run a business or build a team.

But many new gym owners take a different path. According to Andy, some try to become entrepreneurs before they’re ready, focusing on revenue, expansion, or big ideas instead of coaching well first. In his experience, that’s one of the main reasons gyms often don’t last past five years.

Andy believes long-lasting gyms focus on what really matters: delivering great coaching, earning trust, and building a foundation that can carry the business for years.

Here’s how Andy turned that foundation into a gym that lasts:

• Honed his craft: He spent years improving his coaching and helping clients get results.

• Earned credibility: He focused on doing work that clients and other coaches respected.

• Put coaching at the center of the gym: Every system and process supported high-quality coaching.

• Focused on the long term: Skill and respect came before chasing revenue.

Invest in mentorship and learning

Even after years of coaching, Andy knew he didn’t have all the answers when it came to running a gym. Being a great trainer doesn’t automatically make you a great owner, and figuring everything out on your own can be frustrating, exhausting, and costly. To get guidance and avoid those pitfalls, here’s what Andy did:

• sought guidance from mentors

• joined masterminds

• invested in business coaching

For Andy, mentorship isn’t a one-time thing. He treats it as an ongoing part of running a gym, something to revisit regularly to keep learning and improving. Here’s what he suggests gym owners do to make mentorship work for them:

• Look for mentors early, even before you feel ready, to learn from their experience

• Treat mentorship as a long-term investment, consistently learning and applying new ideas

• Use guidance to avoid common mistakes, but don’t be afraid to make some of your own

• Combine learning with action, turning what you learn into better systems, culture, and leadership practices

Hire slowly, develop leaders, and protect culture

Andy knows that the people you bring onto your team play a big role in a gym’s long-term success. But many owners hire quickly when they’re short-staffed or trying to grow, and Andy says that can backfire. Hiring someone who isn’t aligned with the team or familiar with how the gym operates can disrupt staff and affect members.

That’s why at BCI, hiring is intentional. Like many of the top gyms we talk to, they focus on finding people who fit the gym’s culture and share its values. Their process usually includes:

• two Zoom calls

• an in-person interview

Once he has the right people, Andy focuses on helping them become leaders. He does this by giving them responsibility, holding them accountable, and supporting their growth. Here’s what that looks like:

• Give ownership: Andy meets with his leadership team every week and involves them in solving real problems. This helps them make decisions on their own when they need to.

• Set clear accountability: Each coach owns specific parts of the gym’s processes, like retention, so they see how their work affects the business.

• Support growth: Regular feedback and collaboration help leaders improve their skills and stay aligned with the gym’s goals.

The result is a team that works really well together and shares the same goals. Many of Andy’s coaches have been with him 8 to 13 years, giving the gym stability and allowing him to focus on long-term growth.

Build systems that help the gym run without you

Early in BCI’s history, Andy noticed a common challenge. Clients were coming to the gym for him, not the business itself. People would say, “I go to Andy’s gym,” which meant if he wasn’t there—because of travel, busy days, or anything else—the gym could slow down, lose clients, or struggle to operate. He realized he needed to shift the focus so the gym could run smoothly even when he wasn’t involved in every interaction.

Part of that shift was building loyalty across the gym. For members, loyalty comes from long-term relationships. BCI has both youth and adult programs, so many clients literally grow up in the gym. Those years of training build trust and what Andy calls “relationship equity.” And when people feel known and supported, they stick around.

For staff, loyalty comes from opportunity and stability. Andy pays above-average wages, which naturally attracts strong coaches and encourages them to stay. That consistency keeps the culture steady and the gym running smoothly.

To make the business less dependent on him, Andy focused on:

• handing off administrative and daily responsibilities

• giving coaches space to own client relationships

• empowering staff who embody the gym’s values

• building a brand that wasn’t centered on one person

TL;DR

Andy has been running BCI Sports Performance & Fitness for 25 years, and the lessons he’s learned apply to any gym owner who wants to build a business that lasts.

He started by focusing on coaching, proving his skill, and earning trust before chasing revenue. He sought guidance from mentors, hired carefully, and developed leaders so the gym could operate without him in every decision.

Loyalty has been a cornerstone of BCI’s longevity. Members stay because they feel known and supported. Coaches stay because they have opportunity, stability, and a work environment that values them.

By handing off responsibilities, empowering his team, and putting systems in place, Andy built a gym that can keep running well even when he’s not around. It gives him space to focus on growth, coaching, and long-term priorities.

that’s all,

j

P.S. For more content like this, visit usekilo.com/gym-world/