Welcome to Fix Your Gym, a podcast dedicated to bringing you expert knowledge from fitness industry leaders, salespeople, gym owners, tech experts, and other fitness enthusiasts, where you'll learn about the latest industry trends, innovative technologies, new and current products on the market, and health and fitness news from experts across the nation. And now, here's your host, Adam Kniffin. 

All right. Welcome to the fix your gym podcast. We are, um, with my friend, Dan Thompson from Huff and Puff fitness repair out of Chicago. And, um, I recently met Dan out at IHRSA. We connected and, uh, definitely good to connect with like, like-minded people. Um, definitely, you know, you seem like a guy that you've been in the industry, how long? 

16 years now. 

16 years. Yeah. So I was going to say, I could tell you've been in a while, you know, your stuff, you have some good insights on, um, you know, the industry as a whole. And, uh, you know, you've kind of been there and done a lot of that. And so I'm excited, um, to talk with you more in depth, you know, and get to know you hopefully even beyond this podcast, you know, and, uh, kind of see what, you know, what wisdom and insights you have on, on, on, on our industry, you know what I mean? And then hopefully we can, get into some conversations, provide some value to the listeners here. But yeah, so Dan, welcome, man. Thank you so much for coming on and giving your time to do this. 

Yeah. Thank you very much for having me. As soon as I heard about your podcast, it was, you know, you had a couple episodes already. And so I just, I ate them up immediately and, you know, really enjoyed what you had to say. And I know we were communicating via LinkedIn. So thank you for the invite. I'm real excited to be here.

Yeah, no problem, man. And thank you for listening to those first few episodes. I'm still getting used to doing this whole thing. It's a little different, you know what I mean? But I know the first few episodes were kind of rough, but we're getting better as we go. It's getting more interesting. I feel like we're getting just better and better as we go. And it's really starting to develop into... And I didn't actually even mean for it to do this, but it's starting to develop into this more trade-focused podcast where we have the fitness repair guys on. And I love that. And I think it's super valuable. Not just to people who listen. I honestly don't even really care who listens because I get a ton of value out of doing it.

I'm right there with you.

Yeah. So we just do it. And, uh, and hopefully, you know, it, it helps other people to, um, or at least get some entertainment, um, or some people to laugh at and say, these guys are stupid. You know, uh, sure.

We'll get the full spectrum. Yeah.

Yeah. So, uh, yeah, man. So, um, Huff and Puff fitness repair, tell us a little bit about it. You started well, 16 years ago. Right. Did you start, is that your first company?

This is the first company I've started. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah. Just a little bit about kind of how you got started and everything.

There was another service provider out of Wisconsin that needed a technician down here and they required us to be independent contractors. So as an IC, I was required to get my own customer base and so worked with them for a couple of years and then they made the decision to move out of the Illinois market. So at that point, it was sink or swim and I had my own client base built up at that time. So just ran with it and here we are 16 years later.

Nice. So that was just you running around at that time by yourself? Right.

Yeah. So it was me starting off and then hired somebody for the office as well and then hired another technician on also and then just kept growing from there.

Can you get into that process a little bit more? Because I feel like there's a ton of guys in that situation right now. Yeah. And if you can kind of dig a little bit into like that experience for you, what, you know, like what, what was that like starting from, I mean, you probably didn't, you tell me, did you have much experience in entrepreneurship at that time?

No, none, none at all. So I was just making it up as I went along, you know, similar to what you were saying you do with the podcast, you know, you just jump in first and have at it and see what happens. So, Definitely learned a lot along the way. I've made countless mistakes, you know, lots of things that I would most definitely do differently knowing what I do now. But the fact that we've survived, I think, says a lot about the people that we have here and their dedication to what it is that we do.

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I, I did the same thing. I'm at the first company I started was called Metro Fitness Repair and, uh, in Kansas city and that company didn't survive. Yeah. You know, so you did something right. You're still here. You're still, still surviving. But what were those kinds of early days like, man, what, what, you know, go into detail a little bit more about, about that and kind of how you started to develop from there, you know,

Uh, just started, um, you know, putting ourselves out there at that point in time, the service providers didn't have much of an internet presence back then. And it seemed like a lot of the people that were repairing fitness equipment were a little bit behind the curve there. So we were one of the first service providers to have a good website focus on SEO and. What I realized, like you've talked about on the show before, is nobody knows that we exist. This is not an industry that ever occurs to anybody. I remember when I first heard about it, I thought it was ridiculous. Come on, you're running around fixing treadmills all day. How can you possibly make a living doing that? And so, you know what we realized is obviously if you don't know something what do you do you google it right so that was very important right off the bat is that then when people were googling treadmill repair exercise bike repair weight machine repair whatever it may be that we were the first result that they found and that's really what gave us a leg up in our early days when we were first starting out did you go out and you know

Did you get any sort of manufacturer certifications then or were you just basically like, Hey, I'm going to put myself on Google and start doing like residential stuff or whoever calls.

We were, we were doing both. We were getting the manufacturer certifications. And so that obviously helped being fed jobs from them for both warranty and non-warranty work. Um, you know, advertised with a treadmill doctor as well. And I know that got us a lot pretty quickly there. And then, Yeah, just had ads in various places. But like I said, what we found to work the best so far is that when people need us, that they start looking for us and we want to be the first result that they find.

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And that's the same way I did it too. Google was huge. Google Adwords. Right. Because I couldn't get necessarily my website to pop up first on Google. So we paid for the ads. Right. And that worked really well for us. But tell me a little bit too about like, so over time, okay, you start making some money like, okay, this is legitimate. I can do this. I have some relationships. How do you, where did you go from there? What was kind of the next step? Did you start calling manufacturers or did you, what came next after that?

Yeah, at that time, you were pretty much able to just call any manufacturer and say, hey, here's who I am, here's what I'm doing. It's a little bit different now. There are definitely more barriers to entry than there were back then. But the phone lines were open. So just call up, here's who I am, here's what I'm doing, and get that relationship established. And then you're able to just work from there and keep on going with it.

Yeah. I do think those barriers to entries are breaking down. We're seeing that in our industry right now. I've been noticing this lately. It's because I think what they're realizing or what they should be realizing is that that has created an environment that slows growth when it becomes so competitive. Right. And then you have these companies that... I've noticed that they just almost get stuck as the service provider. They may have sold to a different person and the person who they brought on, who they're so loyal to, they're not even the same company anymore. And then these up-and-coming service providers who are hungry, they can't get in. And so I'm seeing that change and experiencing that. And I think where we're moving to is that you're going to have to be good now. You're going to have to be good. Your company is going to have to be legitimate. And I think that's really going to be ultimately the way in.

And that's something we're wanting to see as well is, you know, we feel that it should be, you know, that work should be earned by merit, not just by an old boys club that, Oh yeah, sure. We've been dealing with this company forever. Cause like you said, in the meantime, so many things have changed. The service process is totally different. We've seen some companies get huge and then the quality of service drops drastically. you know, started out great, but that's corporatism for you. You know, now they're just looking at the bottom line and looking at the shareholders and making them happy. And if that's the goal at the end of the day, then that's much different than the goal being to get this treadmill fixed, you know, get this customer's situation taken care of so that they're then happy.

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And relationships only take you. So everybody says it's always about relationships, but relationships really only take you so far. I mean, any, any businesses is only as successful as the value that they bring to the market. You know what I mean?

Right. You know, and, and along with it, you know, those relationships, they're important, but at the same time, you've got to walk the walk as well and stay consistent and keep on doing that. And, you know, it's not like you can just earn it once and then you're in forever. You need to constantly keep earning that every single day.

And that's difficult. I mean, I've been a technician, you know, for, well, we started in 2010. And I go out today, you know, and realize, like, I suck. You know what I mean? Like, I still haven't figured out, and I'm just now, like, really feeling like I'm starting to kind of become, I wouldn't say a master technician, but I am just now starting to become, you know, maybe close to that. And, you know, cause I go out and like my tools are still unorganized and I haven't figured out the exact tool system to use and, and, and so on and so forth. And the technology's changing and I gotta have a million different, you know, uh, I gotta be computer savvy and I gotta understand software and hard and all these different things. And, and, uh, so like being a good technician, uh, is, is difficult. Um, yeah.

It definitely can be. One thing that I joke around with all my guys is that you don't want me out there fixing one of your machines anymore. You want one of my guys fixing one of your machines. I'll just make it worse. Uh, you know, but, um, you know, but I obviously bring value to the company in different ways. My job is not to repair fitness equipment any longer. My job is to cultivate those relationships, get our processes and procedures dialed in so that I am able to enable my guys to go out there and do a better job when they just need to focus on turning wrenches. And then here in the office, we're handling all the logistics and everything else. And then, you know, and, uh, in the management office than handling the higher level stuff to make sure that everything's running smoothly from start to finish.

Yeah, absolutely. And then we get to go out and I still turn wrenches. I don't know that I'll ever not turn wrenches. I do miss it.

Yeah. There is an appeal.

Yeah. I like being out at least sometimes. Now, I have a couple guys that I can rely on, you know what I mean? And, and everything like that. But I do like going out with them too. And I like, I like learning, at least knowing some of the new stuff that's coming out and stuff like that. But, um, you know, and, and everything like that, plus it's interesting to me, but, um, but that, that leads me kind of to where I wanted to go next too, is like, um, you know, we, we met at IHRSA. Yeah. And obviously, if you're just out turning wrenches all the time, you got to have time to do those types of things. And that's one of the benefits of being the business owner is you get to go out and do those types of things. And so, a lot of people I don't feel like maybe see the value in those types of things. But what did you... This was your first URSA, right?

Correct. Yeah. I've, I've been to club industry in the past and that was, that was all right. You know, I, I didn't get anywhere near as much of it as I got out of versa this year. Ursa was great. And, uh, sorry, were you done with the question?

Yeah, no, no, no. I was. Yeah. You're good. It wasn't a very good question, but it's okay.

But yeah, this year at Ursa it was great. And, you know, kind of like I was telling you before, I had in my head what I wanted to do and what I wanted to accomplish. And I think I only accomplished about 25% of that because my objective entirely changed once you were out there and being able to meet you, being able to meet Ruben, being able to meet Ron, and then getting together with other service providers that are in the exact same situation that we're in. in different spots in the country. It's really refreshing to be able to see other guys suffering through the same thing that we are and being able to come together, hash out solutions, help each other out. And even though we're in competition, kind of, but not really, because we're in completely different geographical areas, it's been very beneficial to have just sounding boards that we can talk to each other. Hey, here's what I'm doing. you know, here's the struggle I'm running into with it. What are you doing? Oh yeah. I figured that out a couple of years ago. Here's what I tried. Here's what didn't work. Here's what did work. And then we're able to just really, really benefit a lot from the experience that we've all had individually.

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Um, I thought that was it. It was. So the first I went to was, um, it was not like this year, this year was totally different. It's, it's really cool. And this podcast has really kind of given me the opportunity to connect with people that maybe I wouldn't have connected with, which is really cool. And, and that's one of the reasons why I keep doing it. Um, you know, so, um, but to meet people like Ruben and yourself and, and, and everything like that, um, it would be really cool to kind of, uh, I don't know who else... You guys were really the only service providers that I ran into there, but it would definitely be cool to... Getting a big group of us together out there each year and stuff like that would... See what we can do.

Yeah, I thought it was great, you know, even just with a few of us that were out there. But if we could get more service providers out there, that would be exponentially better to then be able to, you know, just meet up and and maybe if a bunch of us get together beforehand, we can plan something out and, you know, spend half a day together or something. Just having a meeting, talking about stuff, getting a brief agenda put together. And and if nothing else, just being able to stand up in front of each other, introduce ourselves, say who we are, what we're all about. and make those kinds of connections because it's very isolated. And being able to change that is very exciting.

Yeah. And I could see us doing something as service writers similar to IHRSA, where maybe it's not necessarily at IHRSA, but something where some sort of like networking group or something we put together, you know, that would where we could Well, just kind of like things that we just barely scratched the surface on this in this conversation was like, how do you get started in this, you know, maybe have workshop in different things like that, like, what do you even do? You know what I mean? Like, hey, I'm working for this, this company, and they're going out of business or whatever, like you said, there, you know, maybe I want to start some on my own, but I don't know what the hell to do. You know what I mean? We could have some sort of group or association where we help small business owners, new entrepreneurs, things like that, people get started, or all kinds of different things, we could go with that. And then we have people like Ruben who comes in and provides valuable services or whatever the case is, to help people get started. Because I know if I would have known Ruben's services existed back 10 years ago. They did 10 years ago, unfortunately, at least his did. Dude, that would have saved me a ton of headaches because that work order system that I used for so long was a nightmare.

We were in the same position and we're using a different software now that has It's definitely got its issues. And so I was so excited. I think I'd found Ruben because I was looking through the exhibitors at IHRSA. So that's when I found his field tech software. And so sent him an email right away. You know, hey, here's who I am. Here's what I'm doing. I'm sure Urs is going to be crazy. So if we could meet virtually before then, that would be really beneficial. And he agreed. And so we, yeah, we set up a meeting, he was able to walk us through the software, and I'm so excited to get started with it. Yeah, just, you know, being able to look at everything is just everything's just thought out the right way. It's similar to what we're doing now in some ways, but there's so much that we need to do manually that he has automated. It makes it, you know, like I said, similar to our workflow, but much better because it's easier and it's automated. And that's where, that's the direction everything's moving. So we're real excited to get started with him in a few months here.

Yeah. Awesome. I literally just started with a company called RazorSync. It has been almost two years now. And then I saw Rubens and I was like, damn, I really don't want to change all of a sudden.

all that implementation time is, uh, yeah, now got to do it again. But, you know, but I do feel like the nice thing about Ruben's software is that, like I said, it just, it makes sense. It's very intuitive. The flow goes right. And as he said, it's the only software designed specifically for fitness equipment, repair and delivery. Yeah. There's so much in there, you know, Ruben's, he started with a fitness equipment repair company himself. That's, that's how he knows this. You know, I was joking around with him when he was given me the demo, uh, was myself and then my tech manager. And so he started typing in a serial number and it was a true serial number and he did it in the appropriate true serial format, you know? So it's so that I joke around, you know, with my tech manager, Dennis, I'm like, yeah, you can tell this guy's for real because he just put a true serial number in the right way, you know? So Ruben gets it.

Yeah, for sure. We're really plugging Ruben here. I'm gonna have to get some advertising dollars from him.

Definitely. I was thinking the same thing. Yeah. We'll call him up right after this.

No, but that's what it's all about, man. I think people who provide value, it's important. It's important for people to know that they exist. So it will help us in the long run having more more people to work with, more people to balance ideas off of, you know. Very cool stuff. What else did you get out of IHRSA?

Got to speak with some manufacturers, which was really beneficial to be able to get in front of their new equipment, some of it before it even came out. I was being shown some stuff by one manufacturer and some other lady came and kicked me and my escort out on one of the setup days because it wasn't supposed to be released until Thursday. Uh, so I thought that was funny. Uh, you know, so I was able to get the full tour the following day, but, uh, meeting with manufacturers and being able to get some FaceTime with them was really beneficial. And I felt very fortunate to do it. I know in, uh, let's see, I know I'd been talking to Scott Jennings and I'd asked him if he was going to be coming out to IHRSA and he had said that he doesn't do it anymore. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but to me it seemed like he was very jaded. And to me, I really think that that's heartbreaking because he told me that he would set appointments up with these manufacturers, but then he would get stood up because the manufacturer would be more interested in selling, which, okay, I get it. Yeah. That's what you're there to do. Yeah, right. But, you know, we, we had an appointment, you know, and he's out there trying to do something. Obviously he's out there spending his own money. It's not like he lives in the area. He's got to fly all the way across the country, hotel room, all that other stuff. He's away from his business. He's put that much time and effort into it only to then be stood up by a manufacturer or, well, more than one manufacturer is, um, it's, the manufacturer is doing a disservice to themselves, you know, the service provider and their customer, ultimately. Yeah.

So... Did your power just go out?

No, I've got my lights on timers here, but I kind of... Let's see if this works. Nope, didn't work.

Hang on. I mean, I can still see you. Is this being video recorded or just video recorded, but it is mostly audio. But we put out some little clips of, you know, reels and stuff on social media. So I don't have it on YouTube or anything yet, although I do want to do that at some point. No, we can make sure and make a reel of this section of this part right here.

Yeah. Yeah. Transitioned over to dark mode. That's what we're in now. So.

But no, I, I think, I think what you're saying is definitely valid. It's, you know, I don't know, man. Uh, here's the thing is maybe once you get to a certain point, maybe you don't need to go to IHRSA too much anymore. Um, you know, if, but, but here's the thing, man, is like, I developed a lot of, there might be three that stand me up, but one that doesn't that I need, you know what I mean? Right.

Yeah.

You know, so, uh, I don't know, it's kind of unfortunate part of the game that we play, but I definitely understand Scott's, you know, viewpoint on that. Um, hopefully we can kind of make it into something, you know, um, where we get together.

Um, and I think that's important, you know, I know, uh, in talking with him afterwards, I know, you know, I'd seen something where he'd commented that he was sad that he missed it, you know? And, um, uh, so yeah, we'll next year, Yeah. Next year, we'll get out there. We'll get more of us together. And it would be great to be able to get together and see what positive change we can affect on the industry.

Yeah, absolutely, man. I really like where you're going with things. And I want to get into more. We're running short on time. But definitely going to have you back on. We'll dig into more stuff. Yeah, it sounds great. and keep the conversation going. Um, I don't know how, how long people's, I know people's attention span is, you know what I mean? 30 minutes seems to be plus, plus guests are busy and stuff like that. So I keep it short, but I'll have you, I'll have you back on. We'll, we'll keep coming back around and stuff like that. Sure.

Yeah.

Yeah. Digging into things, but I'm happy to talk shop anytime.

You know that.

Yeah, absolutely, man. There's, it's a never ending conversation. Oh yeah. So where can people find you, man? What's your website? Plug yourself real quick. Social media, anything like that?

Sure. HNPfit.com. That's Hotel November Papa, Foxtrot, Indiatango.com and service in Chicago and Milwaukee. And so, yeah, you can find us online, LinkedIn, YouTube, a little bit. We started with that a little bit. And my director of operations is constantly after me to get back on that. So, Sam, here you go. This is for you. Get back to that at some point.

I did a couple of videos myself and then I stopped. I want to do it again. I want to put this on YouTube at least these, these, but it would make sense.

Yeah.

Eventually. So, but anyways, man, I really appreciate you coming on and your time and it's, it's great to get to know you a little bit, a little bit better. And yeah, let's continue the conversation soon, man.

Yeah. Thank you again for having me, Adam.

Yep. Thank you, Dan.

Thanks so much for tuning into this episode. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show wherever you consume podcasts. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. And if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Until next time, friends.