Twelve years ago, after five years working as a personal trainer, I started W10, a then 850sqft personal training studio on St Marks Road in Ladbroke Grove. This is where Small Group Personal Training started in the UK.
Two years later we put in a front door – roll shutter access, anyone? – and added a mezzanine. Three years after that we moved to a new home on Kensal Road in North Kensington – where we still operate today. No more prowler pushes “to the fence and back” – we now had a track.
Two years (and 200 members) later, I started the IFBA. A response to people copying our W10 stuff, badly. Rather than bemoan the situation, we decided to help others learn from our mistakes and look to collectively drive the industry forward. And I think it’s fair to say that we did that – helping over 500 operators open, grow, and scale their gym businesses.
Then last year, we decided to open two more gyms. We were at a gym crossroads. We had taken our original site to operational capacity, but what next? Sell it or scale it?
Can the SGPT gym model even be scaled? We decided to find out. Enter W10 Richmond and Welwyn Garden City. And so to today…
Well today, after months of planning and strategising, I’m pleased and proud to announce that our three W10 sites will now become part of a group of six, following our acquisition and merger with The Foundry, one of the most established and market-leading training gym brands in London.
I’m excited to take up my new role as MD of the Foundry Group, working closely with the management team as we move into an exciting new phase and look to take the SGPT training gym model to another level.
Keep an eye out for some mega-site upgrades, new branding, a new website, and some super-exciting partnerships and collaborations over the coming weeks. Time to see where this rocket can go.
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