Ep.88 - John Romeo: Crunch Fitness, healthy competition and gym franchises

John Romeo has industry experience through 40 years in fitness. In this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast, he talks about the importance of people, customers and employees alike, as well as giving insight on the birth of 24 Hour Fitness and the growth of the Crunch Fitness gym franchise.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

John Romeo got out of a rat race lifestyle as a Union worker in New York, even though he was having fun. He took up the offer of moving to California with just a week’s notice, before heading to Seattle and continuing his journey in the fitness industry.

Starting out involved with Captain America’s Family Fitness Center, the beginnings of what would evolve into the 24 Hour Fitness empire that we know today, John has seen every level of the industry as it’s developed and his experience has increased.

Now operating partner for Crunch Fitness and co-owner of Capital Fitness, John Romeo has excelled growth for multiple fitness spaces. He’s also worked closely with UFC GYM, driving franchises in San Diego, and he's been active in the rapid expansion of numerous dynamic brands.

With 40 years in the industry under his belt, there isn’t much this man doesn’t know about fitness and scaling a business. This episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a lesson in how to get more from any venture.

 

With four decades of experience in the fitness industry, John’s insight is second to none. If you’ve liked the sharing of his knowledge in this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast and would like to contact John for consultancy opportunities, email romeoathome@yahoo.com

Consultancy aside, John’s main focus is on Crunch Fitness. Some may call “no judgments” a tagline, but for Crunch, it’s a way of life. It’s the brand’s Monday-thru-every-day mantra. An unfiltered philosophy that drives them to create a community and a gym for all.

No judgments means room for everyone, regardless of shape, size, age, race, gender or fitness level. No matter your workout of choice, Crunch wants you to feel good while reaching your goals. Join the fun at crunch.com.

 

Episode highlights - 

• Hear about the evolution of 24 Hour Fitness and how the industry giant started out, born from mergers and acquisitions.
• What working with Mark Mastrov was like in the early days, and how his vision inspired the team and associated groups to take advantage of opportunities.
• Why it’s important to recruit from within a company, and how training, coaching and supervision inspires a brand, culture and a work ethic that’s unsurpassed in an employee achieving their potential.
• How you can prepare employees for future promotion by encouraging them to develop their own teams and pick potential candidates that could replace them.
• The importance of healthy competition, both in and out of your business, and why you should be talking to other companies in the same market as you.
• Why you need to spend time with your team and appreciate everything that everyone does. It’s easy to forget some departments or positions, but showing appreciation to your employees is just as important as interacting with customers.

 

 

Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with John Romeo…