Intro/Outro00:02 - 00:21
Welcome to Fix Your Gym, a podcast about keeping your gear in shape. On this show, we have conversations with gym equipment gurus as we share stories on how they serve the fitness industry and community. And now, here's your host, Adam Niffen. 

Adam Niffen00:21 - 00:41
All right, here we go. Welcome to the show, man. I appreciate you coming on. We got Dustin Bogle from Gym Reinforcements. And you're also... You own a couple of gyms as well out in... You're in Dallas, right? 

Dustin Bogle00:41 - 01:18
Yes. At one point... Dude, I opened a total of 7 gyms in my career and... Nice. All of them are in California. The one here that I operate in Texas, pretty much it was like a buddy who has another much more successful business that does like $3 million a month. And basically, his business partner bailed on him. And he's like, Hey, I know you know your stuff. Would you come in and just run this place like it's your own? So I said, Sure. That's the one gym I got here in Texas. But yeah, I got 2 back in California that are more like boot camp and small group training model. Gotcha. 

Adam Niffen01:18 - 01:56
Very cool, man. No, I appreciate you coming on. We're in Apex together and everything like that. But it's the first time I've connected with you. So I'm excited to get to know you a little bit. I'm just getting into Apex. I've been in there for a year. Um, but I haven't, I haven't, you know, uh, done everything and plugged in probably as much as I should. Um, so I'm just now kind of getting around to meeting everybody and things like that. So, um, but yeah, man, it's, it's, I appreciate you coming on. Um, so yeah. Tell us a little bit more about yourself, what you have going on there in Texas and kind of how you got into the fitness industry and what you have going on, man. 

Dustin Bogle01:58 - 07:03
Yeah. And thank you, dude, for doing this show, because, um, I don't know if there's a harder business industry than fitness, because, you know, when you kind of think about it, we sell something people very much want, but they actually don't want to put in the work to get it. Like they don't like. They want cookies, they want movie tickets, they want concerts, but people don't really want to go get sweaty and get sore. And so it's a hard sell. So first off, salute to all the coaches and gym owners out there. We sell something people actually don't really want. We have to fight them to take the step forward. So, fixing your gin sometimes is mindset, sometimes it's your pricing, but sometimes it's calling out what you're doing so that you can come to terms with it and then be at peace. Because this is a tough business, but I've just seen that it is the fastest way to sharpen your business acumen. I've seen guys that were gym owners that kept their gym, but then they decide to launch a landscaping business or open a short-term rental, and they just demolish it because people want to stay at that Airbnb, and people want landscaping, and they're just handing over money. They're like, oh my God, now that I've built these business skills in a tough industry, then when I go put it into an easy industry, It's lights out. So yeah, that's what I want to like encourage gym owners is like, you're, you're, you're welcome to invest your money in other ways, you know, and apply yourself in different ways. You know, obviously there's that whole like mindset of like focus, first focus, make your money, get your stuff down, learn your skills. And then you can expand. And that's okay. Because also, sometimes we just want a new challenge. We've been doing something long enough. And that's kind of my story. So yeah, like, I'll dive into it. But, you know, I actually in high school had no confidence. I was like this big, overweight kid. I didn't talk to girls. I didn't have a lot of friends. And luckily, a guy invited me, tapped me on the shoulder one day in class and said, hey, man, every day after work, I go to after school, I go to the gym. Do you want to come with me? And I think he can sense I needed a buddy. I needed some mentorship. And he was this really like. So I'm checking them out and I was like, Oh my God, this guy wants to hang out with me. Like what an honor. So I went to the gym and I started working out and I remember this day at first, I was like, Oh my God, what have I been missing out on? Like we did a standard meat head workout. As you know, it's like chess, right? Like that's gotta be like, your first introduction to the gym. And so I'm doing it. I'm like, this is amazing. And it pretty much within three months, I went from weighing two 60 to two 30. So I lost weight quick, but I was like 17. So your testosterone was just like through the roof. At that moment, when I saw that transformation, I said, I'm going to, I'm going to help other people get the same result because it's, it literally makes your life so much better. It's like, you're seeing 20, 20 vision for the first time. And I just couldn't, you know, be more than excited to get this into the hands of other people. And so I started becoming a trainer and went to people's homes. I started training people in my garage, doing small group training, eventually got enough clients. I got 40 clients training in my garage that I opened my first gym. And then. Ran out three years. And after that, I went on a rapid speed opening a gym a year, six gyms in six years. Wow. And so, uh, yeah, very, very fast, but learning lesson, you know, and humbling lesson that I had to go through is that I wrongfully believe that running this business was about equipment and coaches. If I could just get a lease and put equipment in there and I can hire coaches, I'm going to the next gym. And eventually it caught up with me where these gyms were really struggling. And what I failed to build into them was leadership and culture. There was no manager on site. It was just a bunch of coaches and equipment. Oh, and there's no leadership. There's no accountability. The inmates are ruckus. And eventually it caught up with me. So, um, so that was a humbling lesson having to close a gym, having to sell a couple of failing gyms and had to really kind of look myself in the mirror and say, Hey, this is my fault. I did this to myself, but I'm going to be a big boy and pick up my pants and I'm going to, you know, like fix this. And that's where I started really diving a lot more into leadership and culture. So then we went on and built a million dollar gym. And so when I decided to like, have my business partner and GM kind of take over the gyms and move to Texas. You know, this was being done in California. Me, a guy that always likes to challenge myself, decided to start a B2B service. That's what you brought up earlier, gym reinforcements. So we place VAs and sales reps into their business, and they do all their outbound and lead nurture and sell trials or challenges on their behalf and get their gym packed out. Because that's basically what I did to build my business up. So now I just turned it outward and now do it for all other gym owners. So that's a little bit about my story, man, and kind of how I got started. 

Adam Niffen07:04 - 08:12
Yeah. No, that's interesting, man. I wish I was, uh, had, uh, had the same experience as far as getting into fitness at a younger age, man. I didn't, I didn't get into the industry until later on later. I didn't get into fitness until later on when I got into the industry, um, with the service company. And then, you know, you go to a barbershop shop enough times, you get a haircut type of thing and finally, finally clicked. But yeah, it's transforming, man. And, uh, I don't know, once you start getting into that and experiencing that transformation, you feel like you can accomplish so much, you know what I mean? And you just go out and take on the world, you know what I mean? And like, I'll start six gyms in six years. But it's awesome. You learn all kinds of lessons, man. It sounds like you have some cool experience in that area. So what was What's the main struggle that gyms that you faced during that time, other than, you know, leadership? Okay. What, what dive a little bit deeper into that concept and what are some solutions to that? 

Dustin Bogle08:13 - 10:20
Yeah, no, that's a great question. I know the reason that I work really well with our industry is because I feel like my superpowers are the yin to the yang of what most gym owners have. So most gym owners love the fitness training. They love programming and motivating people and correcting form and talking fat loss and calorie deficit and nutrition. I got bored with that real quick. Like I got sick of repeating this over and over and it was just like saying the same thing to the new Mrs. Jones that walked through the door. And so for me, I actually really got more interested in the marketing and sales. And that's why I got the openings to basically open the doors with 200 plus members. And it was just like all around this hubbub of we're coming to town and it's gonna be this big grand opening challenge and founding membership. And I'd pack it out with 200 and I would get two to three coaches and I'm like, all right, you guys got this? Because I don't care about all the programming and the workouts now, I wanna go to open another gym and I wanna rinse and repeat. And so it was then learning that, hey, it's not just the programming and it's not just the sales and marketing, it's leadership. And that was something that I was like weak at duplicating. I believe I was a good leader when I was there. Like again, when I, in my first gym, we built a million dollar gym and it was in a low income area, but I was on site premises every single day. And then as you get spread out, you know, Dustin spread over six gyms, that leadership gets diluted. And if you don't really, find a good leader, either by internally building one up or hiring one cold that has experience, then, you know, you're really putting your team and your clients in place of just struggle and suffering. So the solution was I had to train and again, mistake there, picking somebody that I just liked. Like, I just got along with them and turned them into the manager. And it's like, then they sucked at management. It's like, it doesn't matter. Our personalities click. That doesn't mean they're a good manager. So that was like another failure. So I'm full of a man, but I've, I've shared these with the industry because I don't want them to repeat the things that I did. 

Adam Niffen10:21 - 11:20
Yeah, dude, it's hard to find those people. I was a trainer for a little while, personal trainer. And like you were saying, it's hard. We're in an industry where people don't want to do... They'll come and sign up for personal training, but then they won't show up or they won't follow the plan. And I found too, that's the same struggles I run into with employees is not everybody has the same drive and motivation that I have, you know what I mean? So how can I develop that in people? How can I get them motivated? How can I get them to see the vision, you know what I mean? And so what are the things I implement in my business to start helping people transform their lives like I went through, you know what I mean? Because that's kind of the goal is to replicate myself, so they have to experience what I experienced, right? So how do we get people on that path to transformation, you know what I mean, and get leaders in our business? 

Dustin Bogle11:20 - 15:38
Yeah, yeah. I mean, number one is you start to develop your recruiting eye of who really says, like you said, that they want to work hard, they want an opportunity, and who's kind of just like blowing smoke up your butt and who's just saying what you want to hear. So one phrase I learned from Seth Godin that I love is, I can't work with you until I work with you. And basically what he means by that is it's hard on the interview because they know the game. They just want to tell you what you want to hear to get the job. So what we learned to do is put a probationary 30-day trial, if you will, of them being on the team. Because now I can work with you and I can see if you actually match what you say you're going to do. You say you're going to be on time. Were you over those 30 days? You say you're going to work hard. Did you during those 30 days? You say you're organized, you know, were you actually organized? So it's like, Everybody knows how to ace the test and put on that fake smile. But when you work, the truth always comes up. So that's something that I put out. Whether it's a coach, an admin, a salesperson, we always hire people under a 30-day trial now. And we tell them that. We say, this is not an official job offer. You're getting a trial run, if you will. and you'll be presented a full job offer after you kind of complete this. And some people are like, Hey, that I'm not uncomfortable with that. And I was like, okay, you know, like part with your friends, but like you get to call the shots, right? You get to make the gatekeeping, you know, rules. And so that's just one that served me because I don't know how I'm going to be able to work with somebody to work with them. And that, you know, even if it's a gig worker, like I'm hiring someone to a website, it's like, Hey, make me the front page you know like show me that before i pay you five grand to make a website let's just start small right and so you can kind of like it's like dating people but you're dating employees now in terms of finding a leader that cares about your business as much as you i've only found two ways like it's They're brought in internally actually as a customer, not as a team member, because your customers are your biggest diehards. And when you look at how MLMs are, all they did was they turned their customer into salespeople and entrepreneurs. They just said, hey, you love this product so much, why don't you go out and sell it and make it a business? And then they go out and they sell whatever it is, shakes, oils, and they go out and they sell this stuff hard. but they sell it and they'll work harder and they'll go longer like underpaid and they'll like wear all the branded gear and they'll just be like you know complete uh evangelists even without money so i found you know hey we need an admin before we go put a job posting is there a client that we love that was like a stay-at-home mom looking for some extra work like There's something we can bring in from the other side of the curtain, from the customer side to the team side, because the customers love us more than any cold person I'm going to find on Indeed. And they'll work harder, and they'll be like the biggest evangelist, and they'll tell other customers, hey, I love this stuff. This is why you should buy it. So like that, that's, you know, one good source. The second is finding somebody that talks a lot about being an entrepreneur, but in all reality, they're really an intrapreneur, which means they want to run a business inside of your business. They don't really have the honeys to go and start their own thing. Like they're afraid to sign that lease. They're afraid to take the leap, but they dream about, you know, making more and they don't like the idea of having an hourly cap. So you just basically bring them in, you say, hey, you're going to be profit shared into my business. When the profits are going up, you and me win. But when the profits go down, you and me lose. So we're both locking into this roller coaster. And so you're going along for the ride with me. And now they're checking the expense sheet. Now they're looking at where can we maximize profit. And they're thinking like an owner, even though they're not an owner. And that's the only way I was able to leave my gyms under the care of my business partner in California, because he got eventually shared into that. So again, most people don't know this, but Elon Musk only owns 17% of Tesla. He is shared in to the top engineers, because he doesn't know how to make an electric car. So he needs to make this engineer care about Tesla as much as he does this other person. You only have 17%, but it's a watermelon where most people want to own 100% of a grape. So that's the mindset shift that helped me to evolve from that struggle that I had in the past. 

Adam Niffen15:38 - 16:10
Yeah. Nice. All good. Good information there, man. Switch gears a little bit. So in terms of the fitness industry in general and gyms, I got to ask, on the equipment side of things, because that's where my expertise is, what type of equipment do you like seeing in your gyms? What's your favorite equipment out there that you're seeing and different industry trends that you're seeing in the gym world that peak your interest? 

Dustin Bogle16:12 - 17:31
Yeah. I mean, for what I see, again, I'm, I'm more, I talked to a lot of big box gym owners, but I would definitely say 80% or more in those studios, like small group, personal training bootcamp. Um, but yeah, the standing skier, like that's a big one that I see a huge one out right now. Yeah. Like that one's getting a lot of attention. It's kind of already hit its peak, but it's still kind of just, you know, showing up a lot. And that's just like a dedicated hit thrust station. You know, like people want those glute gains, especially the ladies. If you work with a lot of ladies, that's a big one. And then, you know, if you're talking like, just like a, I guess like multi-use stuff. There's been a lot of cool like cable machines that don't require the big massive cable unit. So they have cable that can hook up to the top of a rig and you can take it off when you're done with it. Or like anchor is a new one side of a rig and you can get like a cable workout up to 60 pounds of resistance. So like these are just some cool tools I've seen. Um, but then also the dead mills where you just sprint on them, you know, like those are, Like the curves. Yep. Yeah. The curving treadmill. Yeah. Jacob's ladder. That's another. 

Adam Niffen17:31 - 17:41
Jacob's ladder is really blowing up right now. It's interesting because they've been around, they've been around for a long time, but they, I feel like they're just now like really kind of blown up. I'm starting to see them more and more. 

Dustin Bogle17:41 - 18:50
Yeah. And then, um, you know, rowing machines like those for sure. Low impact. People wanted to do that stuff. The endless, I don't know what you call it, but the rope just keeps endlessly going. Um, You know, like those ones are great. And then for strength, of course, you know, anything that you can do micro additions to your weight. So like, we're all used to the 2.5s, the fives, things like that. I've seen clips that add 0.5 or one pound to your lift, so you can do that. So yeah, there's just a lot of cool stuff out there. You know, coaches get more and more creative. And yeah, like, I think, again, it depends on your model. I usually recommend to studio owners, if you can't do at least 10 exercises on it, don't even bother because they have to be very spacious. Limited space. Yeah. Space conscious. So a leg press, it's expensive. It does one movement pattern and it's probably not a good idea. So it's like cable machines, Smith, barbells, kettlebells, things that you can do dozens of things with. That's the best use of more of a studio gym. 

Adam Niffen18:51 - 18:54
Yeah, for sure. Functional trainers, things like that. 

Dustin Bogle18:54 - 18:59
What about for you? What are you seeing people buying more these days than in the past? 

Adam Niffen18:59 - 21:09
And I'm seeing so AI is going to change things in the fitness industry. It's going to change equipment. So I'm seeing things like with Technogym, Technogym is coming out with their bio circuit and bio strength equipment. We just we I just installed the first of the first of it that I've seen. Um, at a, at a hospital here in Texas. And, um, it, I don't know the ins and outs of it yet. Um, but I, I will learn it over, over a period of time as I start, you know, servicing those hospitals and stuff, but it's got, um, AI technology on it. And it basically is a circuit. You can get it either where it's like wired and built underneath the floor and it tells you which station to go to and, and as connected in all kinds of different ways and builds workouts for you and things like that. It kind of takes away. the coach, you know, but at like a hospital gym, they're not going to have personal trainers necessarily, not always depending on where it is, but you know, so they're, they're kind of like getting rid of, you know, the need for coaches and personal trainers to a certain extent with the technology. I don't know if you'll ever eliminate that. I don't think that's possible, but So that's kind of what I'm seeing with stuff like that with with the new technologies coming out, you know, that that basically do everything that a personal trainer can do. And then I'm I'm I'm interested to see where that goes, because I think it's really going to change fast. Yes. You know, so and this industry is already, you know, it changes a lot. And COVID, you know, COVID already moved everybody a little bit closer to, you know, online connected fitness type stuff. Um, you know, and so I, I think we'll continue to see that, that trend, um, moving in that direction and that'll drastically reshape, you know, the fitness equipment world. Um, you know, so it's interesting. I think that. You know, the technology overall is good. Um, I think it can be used for, for good. Um, I think there's going to be a lot of gym owners who struggle with the changes, you know what I mean? And struggle to adapt to the changes, um, and the technology, but 

Dustin Bogle21:11 - 23:53
Yeah, that's probably going to get split up where there's going to be just like those hardcore people that are like first adopters, anything technology, you know, an Oculus trainer hologram right there in your room, like they're going to be all over it. They like Peloton. They like, you know, tonal. They like they very much like technology. And then there's going to be people that are like, I need human connection. I'm lonely. I'm isolated. There's this telegram or this hologram does not make me feel like I'm building community or I'm having a relationship with a person. And so like technology, I think speaks very much to the people that are just like time. They're like, I'm not, I don't need to build a relationship community. Like let's just get this work, you know, busy professional CEOs, like get the workout on to my next thing where there is retired people stay at home. Mom, there are people that go to the gym just for the community. Like they're just people, people like being around people, they want to get out of the house. It's like the highlight of their day. And I know, so I think that's what we're going to see a split is like, yeah, Like hard, right. Technology or hard left community. You got to ask yourself as a gym owner, which one do you want to plant your flag in and get really good at it? You know? And so we're going to definitely be laying our flag on that community side. So one of the things we even got to train our trainers is like, how do you friend somebody? Like people are so like antisocial these days. Like they don't even know how to have eye contact training. Like here's how to be a human. That's great. And then also, How do you get a person to make friends with another person? Because if you leave people to their own devices, they'll walk in, they'll just look at their phone, they'll only look up when it's time for the workout, and they'll go back to the phone, and they'll go be an antisocial person and return to their car. So it's like, Now we had to train our team to get person A to come over and meet person B and kind of be this party host and say, Hey, did you say you're trying to buy a house? Did you know this client's a real estate agent? You guys come over here and talk and like actually create almost like a chamber of commerce within your gym. Yeah, that's huge. That's, that's what I would say to like gym owners is like, start, if you want to really be known as that community gym, it is an art in itself. And it's not going to come from programming. Nobody's becoming friends because you plan squats that day or pushups. It is something that must be done intentionally before and after sessions. And if you're not training your team and you're not making it a part of what they do, like as part of the experience, it's just, it's happenstance if it happens. And a lot of people say we got great community, but if you look at their actual activities, they do zero to make it community happen. It just happens, you know, by chance. So it's like intentionally attack it and your community will be even better. So yeah, that's just another thought. 

Adam Niffen23:53 - 25:35
Yeah, I joined a new gym today. Well, last night, but I went in there today. And I was like, you know, and I came into this town to get to know people to, you know, build my business and connect with the people in the fitness industry. And I was sitting there on a machine and there's a guy next to me working. I was like, I need to talk to it. Like I want to talk to this guy. You know what I mean? Like how do you strike up conversation? You know what I mean? Just random strangers and stuff. And I, of course, like I got my head was like, I didn't do it. You know what I mean? But, but, uh, start doing that stuff. Talk to random strangers, you know, get out of your comfort. It's uncomfortable. It's always going to be like uncomfortable to break the ice. Like people got their headphones in and stuff like that. It's like, yeah, you don't want to bother them or whatever, but. you know, but yeah, no, that's, that's great stuff, man. That's, that's like fundamental principles that people need in our society, society today, probably more than ever, you know what I mean? Um, so it's easy to get the more connected you are, the more, you know, as far as like technology, the more disconnected you get to your fellow man and woman. So, Um, I believe, I don't know how long we've been talking, man. I'm sure we could go on and on and on. Um, you know, we've got a lot, a lot, a lot of things to talk about, a lot of things in common. It's always interesting talking to people. Uh, you, you have a lot of unique experience and insights. Um, so I really appreciate you coming on and sharing your, sharing your knowledge with everybody and, and with me, man, it's, it's really good to, uh, to meet you for the first time and everything like that. Um, One last thing, where can people find you? Instagram, YouTube, all of those types of things. 

Dustin Bogle25:35 - 26:24
Yeah. So it's blurred out, but over my shoulder here, I actually have a book on Amazon called Reinforce Your Gym. It was a bestseller. So if you guys want some great marketing and sales strategies, how did I pack out my gym with 200 members every single time? How did I build $2 million gyms? All the strategies are in there. And, and, um, you know, if you want to engage on social media, I'd love to talk with you guys. I'm on Instagram at Dustin Bogle and YouTube at Dustin Bogle, Facebook at Dustin Bogle. And then I have a podcast too. So I love to have them. It's been a fire podcast. discuss just all things GymOna related. So again, if people are listening to this and like podcasts, they probably want to listen to more podcasts in their world. So that's another one for them to catch as well. 

Adam Niffen26:24 - 26:54
Absolutely, man. I'm gonna have to check yours out as well, for sure. I tend to anymore, man. I don't even flip on music at the gym. Very rarely. Uh, depending on the mood I'm in, but I generally am listening to podcasts at the gym. So, and you, you kind of run out of stuff after a while. It's like, but, uh, but yeah, so very cool, man. Thanks again. Uh, I can't, can't say how much I appreciate it and, uh, very good to, to come conversate and everything like that. So, um, I appreciate it. 

Dustin Bogle26:55 - 27:08
All right. Thank you. Thank you to all the gym owners out there. And yeah, I'm looking forward to continuing to build the relationship, man. And anything I can do to help you with you and, you know, what you got going on, let me know, brother, because I'm a supporter and I'm a fan. Absolutely, man. 

Intro/Outro27:11 - 27:24
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.