Before he opened his F45 studio, Tristan Smith was on a successful career path in finance, training to become an investment manager, “but I was overweight and miserable,” he says. After taking part in several marathons to get in shape, he joined a CrossFit box where he saw the power of the intense group workouts, “but it wasn’t until I experienced my first F45 studio that I saw the power of the community,” he says. “From that day forward, I knew I wanted to own my own F45 studio so that I could impact as many people as possible, get them active and healthy, and grow this community,” he adds.
The Power of F45 training
Tristan and his business partner, Haydn Elliot, had always been into sport, but it was not necessarily their life. It was not until they experienced the HIIT style circuit training did they truly have a passion for it. Then experiencing the workouts and the community of F45, they knew this was their new career path. Both Tristan and Haydn quit their jobs and started the process of opening an F45 studio.
Member Results
Since opening their studio and running programs like the F45 Challenge, Tristan says he has seen the members in his studio lose an average 5% body fat which has been incredibly motivating to see. He says F45 is a great business model and he would like to eventually open up numerous F45 studios on every corner similar to those in and around Sydney, Australia.
Support from F45 Headquarters
With regards to support from F45, Tristan says he received a huge amount of help from the F45 headquarters. He had a good relationship with the support team. He says he was able to focus on the training, then take his learnings to provide world class service, and the rest is history.
“I cannot say it’s been the easiest journey, but I can honestly say it’s been incredibly rewarding. We earned this gym, this community. We are so grateful for the amount of support from HQ, but we also did a lot ourselves – you have to, this is your business and no one is going to do it for you,” Tristan concludes his story.
Advice to Future Franchisees
His advice to other F45 franchisees is: “Don’t hire someone on good looks and a strong Instagram, that person leaves. You need to coach and mold them,” he says. He and Haydn did not merely hire staff with a great personality, but young, eager and smart people, that were super driven. He believes this has been key to building the community and the success of the studio.
What’s in store for the future
Tristan says he wants to open another F45 studio and he plans to get as many people in the city to be active. .
More about F45
With over 1,300 studios worldwide and counting, F45 continues to transform lives across the world. F45 offers you a unique opportunity to franchise, with a scalable model that sets us apart from competitors. What’s stopping you from breaking out of your unfulfilling job and into a business model that is transforming lives and building communities? F45 offers you a unique business opportunity in the fitness industry. If you are interested, we highly recommend taking a class or two, or even becoming a member to truly experience the brand and understand if it is right for you.
As founder of F45, Rob Deutsch said: “Don’t be afraid of stepping outside of your comfort zones. Take the plunge and try something new and stick with it for at least 7-14 days and you will never look back”. Tristan Smith can testify to this!
This could be a life changing opportunity.