Hear from Siyuan Zhang, owner of F45 Training Jiading Central, about his F45 franchise experience.
2019/08/31 was the most important date in my life—when F45 Jiading Central was officially opened. The opening ceremony was very successful; the guests were enthusiastic and excited to attend the training session. During the class, the studio was full of cheerful chatting, laughing, and lively teamwork. When night fell, the studio quieted down in an instant as the guests left the studio and headed home, full of joy and satisfaction. I turned on my computer quietly and watched Free Solo. When I saw Alex successfully climb EI Capitan and the main theme of the movie started playing, it reminded me of how I founded F45 Jiading Central. I was immediately filled with emotion.
2019年8月31日，这是我人生中最重要的日子，中国的第6家店F45jiading正式开业了。开业活动很成功，来宾们乐于参与训练课，热情高涨，工作室充满了欢声笑语和团队活力。当夜晚降临，宾客尽兴而归时，工作室瞬间安静下来，我一个人静静地打开电脑，观看奥斯卡最佳纪录片《徒手攀岩》。当看到Alex徒手攀岩EI Capitan成功时，当主题曲“只要攀住梦想的手够紧，重力不过是纸老虎罢了” 响起时，不禁勾想起自己创立F45jiading的种种经历，感慨万千（或潸然泪下）
The first time I heard about F45 from my friend, I went to F45 Xuhui and attended a trial class. I was attracted to this competitive, small-group training style—especially the class arrangement, compact training period, and large, clear display screens. This brand-new method of team training subverted my perception of domestic gyms, and my first impression of F45 was great. For two years, I worked in many different places, including assisting professional athletes with physical training. Although I was very busy with work in this time period, F45 events were always on my calendar. With the opportunity to travel all over the country, I attended free trials at F45 studios in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Suzhou. These experiences allowed me to get to know F45 better, and my sense of identity in F45 got stronger and stronger. I didn’t understand English at all, so I sought help from my friend and F45 HQ. I didn’t think anything would come of my email, but F45 HQ wrote back to me and restored all hope! I was referred to an F45 HQ contact in Asia, who introduced me to the idea, brand, and culture behind F45. I found myself agreeing with all of it. After investigating and analyzing the franchise requirements, I decided to join the brand and start my “Dream Trip”.
两年前当我在朋友那里第一次听说F45这个品牌时，内心就被精品小团体训练模式所吸引，马上去F45上海徐汇店参加了体验课，合理的课程编排，紧凑的训练时间，大屏的显示指导，这全新的团体训练方式颠覆了我们对国内健身房的认知，初次接触就给我留下了非常好的印象。这两年我辗转多地带运动员参加各种比赛，“F45”一直闪回在我忙碌的行程中。利用出差机会，我先后参与了北京、广州、深圳、苏州的F45加盟店课程，对F45这个品牌，有了进一步的感知，内心的认同感在不断增强。我一点都不懂英语，抱着试试看的心态，找到了朋友帮忙，查看了F45的官方网站，并给总部写了邮件，那时心里真的也没抱多大希望。没想到总部及时给了回复，重新燃起了我的希望。通过邮件中的信息与总部亚洲区负责人杨小姐取得了联系，杨小姐把F45的理念、品牌文化等作了更多详细的介绍。在不断深入沟通后，我十分认同F45的理念，也认真调查分析了社区人群对高效整洁的健身设备和高品质健身产品的需求后，我决定加盟这个品牌，开启了我的“梦幻之旅”
English was a big obstacle for me throughout my journey—I used translation software and online tools to fill out the F45 application correctly. Learning a language in a few months had almost exceeded the time and energy I spent as a student on campus! “If you cannot see the terminal point now, you should keep swimming in the sea you are currently in. Hardworking people will not be treated unfairly,” I said to myself. Finally, the formal contract was drawn up on April 30th, 2019. There’s no turning back an arrow once it’s shot! Even though I was facing a completely unfamiliar environment, language difficulties, and no travel companion, I traveled to Sydney without hesitation on May 13th. I only had one belief in my mind, which was that I needed to challenge myself and tell myself if I wanted to achieve my goal, then I could do it! Maybe life is this kind of process, a process in which we keep pushing ourselves to the limit and exceeding it. During the process, we will meet pain and fear, but we will get over them so that we can find a better self and have the courage to choose the life we want to live. The ten days in Australia were amazing and full of training & learning.
外语是我前行路上的一大障碍，网站申请看不懂英语，就用翻译软件，网上面试说不来英语，就请朋友帮忙翻译……短短几个月的语言学习，几乎超过了我学生时代所化的时间和精力，“如果暂时看不到岸，那就在当下这片海拼尽全力地游，努力的人，不会被亏待”，终于迎来2019年4月30正式签约。开弓没有回头箭，即使是异国他乡、语言不通、无同行者，我还是义无反顾独自一人踏上了5月13号的悉尼培训旅程。在悉尼总部的培训，面临的种种困难可想而知，没有预定酒店，或许会露宿街头；看不懂交通路线，就查电子地图，虽然曾坐上了反向的列车，但还是找到了悉尼大学；听不懂培训内容，就用翻译软件；看不懂课程内容，就蹲守在学校门口，碰到中国留学生就一个个询问，是否可以帮忙做下课程翻译，最终还是不负有心人，一位中国留学生愿意帮忙翻译……当时心里抱着只有一种信念，就是挑战自己，告诉自己，只要想办法，就一定可以做到。生命或许就是这样一个过程，一个不断超越自身局限的过程，在这过程中我们会遭遇痛苦、克服恐惧，从而找到更优秀的自己，更有勇气去选择自己想要的生活。在澳洲的10天，除了培训，还去了位于悉尼的F45加盟店参观和学习，培训师Jess老师的店让我记忆犹新，她是一位非常有激情的教练，我很喜欢她的风格。
After I went back to Jiading District, I started to build F45 Jiading Central. I rented a venue, signed the agreement, and started working on the decoration that followed step-by-step requirements on Playbook. During these 3+ months, I kept in close contact with F45 HQ. I completed the process and successfully passed the inspection!
回到上海嘉定，我就开始了打造F45 Jiading Central ，租场地、签合约、搞装修，按照playbook上的要求，一点一点去完成。这3个多月，每天用着翻译软件，和亲爱的瑞贝卡保持联络，按照她给我的指示，努力地去达到总部规定的每一项要求，这个过程中也由于沟通的问题，让我犯了很多错误，花了不少冤枉钱，但最终还是拿到了6盏绿灯，顺利通过验收。当看到6盏绿灯时，我的心里只想说一句话“我爱你，瑞贝卡”。我想，Jess老师、瑞贝卡她们，所有看似轻描淡写的优秀，其实背后都是不为人知的默默努力，我也应该如此！
Due to firm beliefs, insistence, and a breakthrough, I am now part of the F45 family. F45 Jiading Central’s classes are very welcomed by the community, we have signed cooperation agreements with a well-known local football club, and we recently invited some local influencers to help popularize the F45 brand.
因为坚信、因为坚持、因为突破，我与F45并肩前行着。一个多月来，Jiading店的课程非常火爆，会员也在逐渐增加，我们也与当地知名的足球俱乐部签订了合作协议，邀请了当地有影响力的人物一起推广F45，努力让更多的中国人知道F45这个品牌。
I’m managing F45 Jiading Central with heart and soul, and I’m working hard on popularizing the brand of F45. Although I’m far away from complete success, I’m making endless efforts in my limited life. I just want to tell this world: I CAN DO THIS!
我用心经营着F45 Jiading Central，全力以赴推广F45这个品牌，虽然离成功还很远，但在有限的生命尽无限的努力，只是想告诉这个世界：我可以。
Thanks F45 HQ for giving me the chance to join this mature and well-known brand. Thanks to Luke, thanks to Xiao Yang, thanks to my trainers, thanks to F45 Support, thanks to Rebecca, I love you guys.
感谢F45总部给我机会，让我加盟这个成熟的有知名度的品牌，感谢卢克，感谢杨萧，感谢培训师，感谢support，感谢瑞贝卡，我爱你们。
Jiading, my hometown, a famous town with 800 years of history—she’s ancient and quiet, but also full of freshness and passion. She has an ancient town with traditional Southern China style, Jiading Xinchen (which means new urban area of Jiading District), the most beautiful library in Shanghai, and the thrilling F1 Circuit. You are more than welcome to visit my hometown!
嘉定，我的家乡，800年的历史文化名城，古老静谧又不失新鲜刺激。她既有潺潺流水的古镇老街，也有都市风情的嘉定新城，还有上海最美图书馆，更有惊险刺激的F1赛车场。欢迎来我家乡做客！
This could be a life changing opportunity.
