Rip- Creating a thread here to keep everyone informed of our progress. Here is our Year One Update.
If anyone has questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I'll keep this thread updated with important developments as the franchise program expands.
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Rip- Creating a thread here to keep everyone informed of our progress. Here is our Year One Update.
If anyone has questions, I'd be happy to answer them. I'll keep this thread updated with important developments as the franchise program expands.
Fantastic work Ray. I love the Year One Update and have viewed it many times.
When should we expect an announcement about new cities coming on board?
Any idea yet how many gyms are planned to open in 2020?
Travis, thanks for being a great supporter. The upcoming Starting Strength Denver grand opening might be a good excuse to visit the states? We'll have a GO date within a couple of weeks.
We're working on the biggest and most challenging cities at the moment. As soon as the digital ink is dry, you'll be one of the first to know. I'll post here and send an update via our mailing list.
We currently have five gyms scheduled to open in 2020. We need to open at least six within the next year in order to stay on pace to hit our goal of 100 gyms in five years. I think the probability of us doing six or more is high. But we will always prioritize long term viability and disciplined decision making over achieving predefined goals. These are ten year agreements so we spend extra time and care making sure that every aspect of the equation is as optimal as possible: franchise owner, city, location, head coach, etc. Speaking of which, I figure you (and perhaps others) might find this interesting. These are the traits we look for in a Starting Strength Gym owner:
-Seeks understanding - always trying to learn
-Communicates well - ensures all stakeholders are informed
-Moves quickly - the best time to get something important done is right now
-Prioritizes well - can decide which things to do first and why
-Executes with precision - accomplishes tasks with a high degree of accuracy
-Is fiscally responsible - knows how to manage money
-Inspires others to achieve more - from vendors to team members and of course gym members
-Values and invests in relationships - is personable, honest, and generous
Your data collection effort is remarkable and potentially the most impactful aspect of the franchise in the short term. Though relatively few people currently enjoy the opportunity to train at an SS gym, everyone can be quantitatively convinced of the benefits of doing so.
Homogeneous training regimens and environments...well-defined strength training objectives...real squats and reps verified by a professional...hundreds of participants from a broad swath of the general population. A dataset unlike any other.
Thanks for the response Ray. Forthright and honest as always, it is very much appreciated mate. I look forward to seeing all of the new gyms come on board.
As for Denver, well I've never been, so.....maybe. Ha ha.
Published a piece yesterday about how and why we are the opposite of the rest fitness industry.
Today's piece is an analysis of the first three gyms including how strong we are making people and the gyms' financial performance.
A few members have asked that we put the gyms' wall art on apparel. We figured we'd start with the press since Starting Strength is the main reason why the press is relevant in 2019. Check it out, here.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/00...g?v=1572040418
Nice Ray! International shipping?
Fair enough. I will hold you to this Ray!
We are excited to announce our first top three city - Starting Strength Los Angeles is coming in 2020.
The franchise owner, Noah Ebner, will be on the forum in a bit with a dedicated thread for the gym. In the meanwhile, feel free to join his mailing list for updates.
Rock on! Another city to compete with...let's keep this tide rising!
Fantastic news Ray! Congratulations. Purely out of my own curiosity, what are the other top three cities?
For those that are interested in the latest news from Starting Strength Gyms, here is our December 2019 newsletter.
For those in Denver, the Grand Opening with Rip and crew is scheduled for Saturday January 11, 2020 @ 12pm. Register here.
Starting Strength Chicago is officially signed!
Chicago is our #1 city in the world in terms of hits to StartingStrength.com. This gym should do very well. We now have gyms opened or planned in seven of our top 20 markets.
Jon Fraser is the franchise owner. He'll be on the forum next week with a dedicated Chicago thread. We're pleased to have Jon on board as he was evaluating us against other fitness franchises and decided to go with Starting Strength Gyms due to the potential of our business model, the results that SS produces for our trainees, and his personal affinity for the brand. Getting the nod from Jon is something we're proud of - he evaluates business opportunities for a living and performed a detailed analysis before deciding to sign with us. Welcome Jon!
Hey!
If anyone in Austin and wants to become a coach, or knows someone in Austin who wants to be a coach, let me know. Starting Strength Austin is looking to hire some new apprentices and coaches in the coming weeks. If you have any questions about job description/responsibilities or career trajectories, reach out to me! Email me at jschaefer@startingstrengthgyms.com
We've had several SSCs express interest in becoming a Head Coach at a Starting Strength Gym in the following areas:
-New York City
-New Jersey
-Seattle (subject to convincing Rip that it's worth the headache)
-Charlotte
-Raleigh
-Atlanta
If anyone is interested in opening a gym in one of these areas (or any other US city that would be a good fit for a gym), read more about our model (link) and enter your details in the form at the bottom of the website.
And also:
-Salt Lake City
-Nashville
-Kansas City
-Minneapolis
-Las Vegas
Hey Ray. Any updates on SSLA? I’m gunning for an apprenticeship.
Hi Brayden- We are hunting for the perfect location.
Glad to hear you’re looking to apprentice. Noah has received dozens of inquiries from apprentice prospects. I recommend emailing him (nebner [at] startingstrengthgyms.com) and making your best case for why you’re the highest potential candidate. Franchise owners like to see skill (capacity to lead, communication style, presence, capacity to learn) and will (passion for SS, initiative being taken in reading the books, doing the program, signing up for the prep course) when evaluating coaching prospects.
Hope that helps and good luck.
After 2+ months of forced closures, it is more clear than ever that there is significant demand for Starting Strength in a clean, well-spaced environment. Franchise owners are aggressively moving forward with opening new gyms.
Lease negotiation stage:
- Chicago
Letter of Intent negotiation stage:
- Houston #2
- Los Angeles
- Boston
Active real estate search stage:
- Dallas #2
Exploratory stage:
- Austin #2
- Soon-to-be-announced city #1
- Soon-to-be-announced city #2
Paradoxically, I believe this is a tough time to be in the online fitness space - too much noise. But I believe it's a good time to be in the retail gym business, provided the model doesn't depend on packing dozens of people into a small room.
The gyms have been re-opened for ~6 weeks now. Performance is strong. We have to submit our numbers to the FTC before I can disclose them, but we are very pleased with how quickly the gyms recovered from Covid closures and are now surpassing previous records.
I'm guessing it's a combination of:
- Pent up demand from stay at home orders - people are anxious to train
- Permanent gym closures - fewer places to train
- Fear of training at bigger, busier, dirtier facilities - we have 11' of space between each trainee
- Momentum and awareness spreading about Starting Strength success stories in each city
- Fatigue from virtual interactions - people are craving in person connection
We were also happy to see this Finnish study reinforce our belief that it's possible to run a small, clean gym without contributing to the spread of COVID-19: “Conclusions: Provided good hygiene and social distancing measures, there was no increased COVID-19 spread at training facilities.”
Also, CONGRATS to Starting Strength Houston owner JD Shipley for passing the platform exam!
Great news, Ray! I am glad to hear the SS Gym business model is successful in spite of all this nonsense.
Now, when will you be opening a second SS Houston gym further Southeast, in the Space Center area? SS Houston and Andy Baker are too far from me to train consistently.
Many training options to chose from.
Kinda like Chefs have different recipes for the same dish of Pasta.
SS is just a training program. It’s one of many that are available.
If someone wants to open a Gym are they forbidden from using some of SS programs?
Not sure of the advantages to name it SS?
It kind of boxes a business in only one format.
Like if you opened a grocery store and didn’t offer Pork or Milk?
I like the program as a tool in the tool box. But just don’t get the one way approach?
High end equipment and professional environment plus hands on attention with training is very important to some people.
But only offering one type of programming seems odd in today’s economic situation
In other words putting your eggs in one basket limits your outreach
Much appreciated. Gym 2 in Houston is underway. Real estate is close to being secured. Get on JD's mailing list for updates? houston.ssgyms.com
Insightful.
Yes. Rippetoe will drop Thor's hammer on anyone that dares use our method.
Can you make a few guesses?
In this analogy, what are the pork and milk items that we are missing?
What's your height/weight/squat/press/deadlift? I'm not aware of anyone with a 405 deadlift that doesn't understand why strength is the toolbox.
What would you offer? At what price? To whom? How would you communicate to them? What results would you provide those people that are different/better than getting stronger?
People that broadcast their opinions in the absence of practical experience are the source of many of society's problems. Repent. It's not too late!
This is GREAT news Ray. And congrats to JD on both passing the platform and moving forward with a second location. Looking forward to watching the post COVID SS gyms boom market!
What if you opened a grocery store that only sold the best goddamn pork in the country? Your overhead would be low. Your time would be devoted to a core offering. You wouldn't be dealing with low price up items. You'd have a special thing that Walmart doesn't. People would pay top dollar for your pork and because people like they make good money, recessions don't impact them as much.
What if you got so good with that pork that people cooking pork wanted to come to your website to ask you questions about pork and pork recipes? You could write a book about pork and develop a following of people who love pork and pork recipes who would then be interested in buying your pork because they know how good and valuable it is. You could hold seminars on how to identify and cook good pork, and those people would want to go to your grocery stores and buy more pork.
If you were good enough, you could open pork stores all over the country (and call them SS pork) with people who have become infatuated with your high quality pork and pork recipes. Everyone who doesn't like it can go to Walmart if they like.
Of course, anyone else can buy the same pigs you do, but you know how to cut the pig in the best way, which is why you don't give a shit if the butcher at Planet Porkness tries to sell your type of pork. You know how to do it best, and at the end of the day, you want people to eat good pork, because it's what's right and good.
I am in Eastern NC and very excited at the possibility of an SS: Raleigh. I would be highly interested in an apprenticeship there, or more, depending on my status at the time. I'm currently studying the method in hopes of pursuing the credential next year.
Following this thread closely! Looking forward to hearing more success stories with the SS gyms. An excellent business model.
Not trying to piss in your Cheerios
Just making a point.
SS is just a training program progressive overload over time with compound movements.
They have plenty protocols over the last 30 years that work.
Plate Loaded machines have their place also.
SS is a good program for a beginner to get started.
Over 50.
Again no disrespect to your program MR.
In fact it’s a proven program along with many others in the tool box.
Cross Fit for example was responsible for putting more people with Barbells in their hands than any training program in modern history.
It’s another tool in the tool box.
Then I can ask you this question, since you seem to be old enough to be qualified to answer it: Before Starting Strength was published in 2005, what other published program used the 5 basic barbell exercises in a specific way that added a small amount of weight to the bar every workout with no real variation in exercise selection, for the sole purpose of accumulating a strength adaptation? Name it for us.
I don't think you disrespect our program. I think you don't understand how it's different, and why it is valuable.
Not to derail, but the popularity of boxing and climbing gyms, CrossFit "boxes," Orange Theory, Zumba, and Pilates studios have all demonstrated the market desireability of "one note" fitness shops.
Does anything work better? If not, why would we include it?
Can you elaborate?
The Starting Strength Novice Linear Progression is a good place for a beginner to get started. Starting Strength is a brand that represents an approach to strength training and we cater to all levels of advancement.
Jump, what would your strength/health/capability/injury situation be if you did WODs three times per week for the next ten years, or if you had a Starting Strength Coach design a program for you to make sure you're adding weight to the bar as often as possible?
The logic is:
-Training is better than exercise because it is goal oriented and ensures your aren't wasting time in the gym
-Strength is the best outcome to pursue since getting stronger positively affects more aspects of health/fitness than anything else you can train for
-Strength accumulates over years and decades, making it the best mid-long term use of time
-Starting Strength (including the intermediate/advanced programming that follows NLP) is the most efficient way to get strong
-To maximize your success with the program, technique should be as close to the model as possible and programming should be specific to your current level of advancement
-You can learn this on your own, you can hire an Online Coach, you can hire an in person coach, or you can come to one of our gyms and not worry about anything but showing up, sleeping, and eating
Summary: Getting stronger is the best use of time in the gym for most people. There is no more efficient/effective approach to getting stronger than training under the guidance of a Starting Strength Coach, in person, 2-4x/week.
RG
I agree with everything you say in your last post.
MR
Most Strength Training programs published are by independent coaches not per say a business model.
For example. Russell Paternostro was a brilliant Strength Coach. He was a NFL Strength Coach for many years then formulated a program to training the average Joe.
Tom Shaw might the best in the World for Speed and Conditioning. His athletes go from Tom Brady, Payton Manning to most of the fastest in the History of the NFL Combine in the 40 have trained under Tom Shaw. Again none of the above has a published book. Most have individual programs custom designed for each Athlete.
My point is SS is a excellent Information book explaining the principles of strength training.
It’s a great Tool for the Tool Box.
I am sorry no intention of discrediting the program.
Jump, you don't have the ability to discredit the program, because you don't know anything about it, or about the programs these other coaches use, or about the people for whom they were prescribed, or about how effective they were and are, or really about anything you're typing about.
This was very satisfying to watch. Brent, excellent work!