The photo was perfect. The beads of sweat brilliantly illuminated, the chalk dust billowing through the air. At the center, your buddy hitting a PR clean. So why does it only have three likes? Social-media algorithms are constantly changing, and the dance between paid and organic marketing can seem complicated and confusing. Neither paid nor organic posts are enough on their own: You have to use them both in complementary ways to build your audience, get people to trust you and eventually get th...
Jan 27, 2020•36 min•Season 3Ep. 92
What would it be like to own a million-dollar gym? Would you be rolling in dough? Sleeping in every day, never having to worry about another bill again? Not quite—but it's still pretty awesome. Peter Brasovan and Jared Byczko opened NapTown Fitness in a tiny space in an ex-FBI building for $500 a month's rent. In the early days, they kept the lights off and the heat low, and they posted a sign on the bathroom: "No more than two paper towels, please." Today, NapTown has multiple locations, severa...
Jan 23, 2020•48 min•Season 3Ep. 91
In Kari Pearce's first CrossFit Open, she could barely do a set of 10 double-unders. A few months later—after less than a year of CrossFit—she qualified for the CrossFit Games in 2015. What Kari lacked in experience she made up for with a robust athletic background. She was a gymnast for nearly 20 years and competed on the gymnastics team at the University of Michigan in college. She took up weightlifting after her college gymnastics career was over. Kari has finished in the top 10 at the Games ...
Jan 22, 2020•35 min•Season 3Ep. 90
You're running ads for your gym. You've honed your copy and paid the man to boost them. Still, no bites. What's the problem? It's hard to get strangers to buy into your core offering when they know nothing about you or whether your program works. That's why in addition to your regular advertising, you need lead magnets. Lead magnets are smaller—but still valuable—offerings that give people something in exchange for their contact info. They don't have to be expensive or complicated, and they're a...
Jan 20, 2020•31 min•Season 3Ep. 89
What makes a better coach: an impeccable eye or a sense of empathy? Do you need to be a full-time coach to be a professional? What makes someone a not-so-great coach? Jason Ackerman is a career coach. He's owned multiple gyms and coached more than 10,000 trainers as part of the CrossFit Seminar Staff. With all that experience comes not only a wealth of technical knowledge but also a keen sense of the soft skills of coaching. He recently wrote a book called "Best Hour of Their Day," and on this e...
Jan 16, 2020•34 min•Season 3Ep. 88
Emily Bridgers has been a competitor for most of her life. After a 16-year career as a gymnast, she competed at the CrossFit Games as an individual five times. Her best finish was 6th in 2014. So what do competitors do when they stop competing? In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Emily speaks with Sean Woodland about her competitive career and why she decided to retire after the 2018 Games—despite being pulled off the field early with a dislocated ankle. She shares what fitness looks like for he...
Jan 15, 2020•38 min•Season 3Ep. 87
How do you get people to click on your Facebook ads? And how do you write ads that entice your audience without sounding slimy? It's not as hard as it might seem. And while you could hire a pro, you definitely don't have to. In this episode, digital-marketing expert Mateo Lopez unpacks the components of a great Facebook ad. You'll learn how to write in different tones to match your target audience and what information to include—and he'll give you a few great examples along the way. Links: Free ...
Jan 13, 2020•40 min•Season 3Ep. 86
Say you've got a great idea for a killer event in your community. Maybe it's a local competition. Maybe it's a networking or continuing-education event. How do you get people to actually attend? Just do what Per Mattsson did. Per is a Two-Brain Business mentor and the founder of Coaches Congress, a multi-day event in Sweden for gym owners and coaches. The Congress is attended by fitness professionals from around the world, and it features world-class speakers and exhibitors. But the Coaches Cong...
Jan 09, 2020•28 min•Season 3Ep. 85
What would you do if in a single moment, everything you had worked so hard for was wrenched from your grasp forever? Scream? Cry? Give up? Kevin Ogar may have screamed and cried after the accident that left him—a lifelong athlete —paralyzed from the waist down, but he didn't give up. He rolled with it, finding purpose in helping adaptive athletes, veterans and able-bodied people alike change their lives through fitness. After the accident, Kevin went on to become a member of the CrossFit Seminar...
Jan 08, 2020•33 min•Season 3Ep. 84
Did you resolve to read more in 2020? We've got you covered. Chris Cooper reads for at least an hour every day—often via audiobooks on Audible—and in this special, extra episode of Two-Brain Radio, he shares highlights from his bookshelf in 2019. He shares summaries of his favorites and honorable mentions—as well as some that he didn't like, but you might—and which phases of entrepreneurship the books are best suited for. Links: View full reading list here. Contact: chris@twobrainbusiness.com Ti...
Jan 07, 2020•28 min•Season 3Ep. 83
"Sorry, I can't make it to our appointment tonight; my dog is sick." "I just got called in to work." "I lost my job between last night and this morning ... " Sound familiar? If you own a gym, you've probably heard all these excuses and more for why a lead—who has willingly clicked on your ad and opted in—suddenly can't take your call or book an appointment. Sometimes it's legit. But take a look at your lead sheet and note the frequency with which sudden emergencies, tragedies and wild, unpredict...
Jan 06, 2020•39 min•Season 3Ep. 82
January. It's the time for resolutions and goal setting, and many gyms see an influx of new or re-committed members in these first days of the year. But what happens when the novelty wears off? When temptation creeps in and setbacks occur? This episode of Two-Brain Radio is all about human behavior. Chris Cooper speaks with Ty Krueger, owner of Packerland CrossFit and founder of the Behavior Change Collective, which helps families with children struggling with behavior issues. Ty has a master's ...
Jan 02, 2020•30 min•Season 3Ep. 81
Chris Spealler was the underdog of CrossFit, competing against men weighing up to 70 lb. more than him and holding his own. That's what made him relatable—that and his big heart and tremendous work ethic. "Speal" is an eight-time CrossFit Games competitor (7 individual, 1 master). He stood on the podium three times during his individual career. Time after time, he won fans' hearts and earned their cheers as he struggled against heavy weight, the last man standing on the floor. He retired to a st...
Jan 01, 2020•40 min•Season 3Ep. 80
Mike Warkentin is writing his memoir, and he needs a new pen to do it. Can Mateo Lopez give him the perfect pitch? Your prospective clients probably don't need pens, but they do need fitness—and in this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Mateo will show you what an effective sales pitch looks like. You'll learn what to say and when, how to get in touch with the client's "why" and why your programming and community aren't going to seal the deal. You'll also get to observe an effective sales funnel in ac...
Dec 30, 2019•50 min•Season 3Ep. 79
You opened a gym because you wanted to help people improve their lives with fitness. But lately, you've been more stressed than passionate. The gym is short-staffed and you've been working 12-hour days. You lie awake at night worrying about cash flow and coaching feels like a chore. What used to be a source of joy now feels like a burden. How did you get here? And how do you get happy again? Psychotherapist Bonnie Skinner will tell you in this episode of Two-Brain Radio. Links: Book a Free Call ...
Dec 26, 2019•35 min•Season 3Ep. 78
Matt Chan has done a lot of things. He's taken second at the CrossFit Games, owned a gym, traveled the country in an Airstream trailer, survived a nearly deadly mountain-biking accident—oh, and that time he sharted 5 minutes before his heat at Regionals. In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Matt tells Sean Woodland all about those experiences and more, reflecting on his six-year CrossFit Games history, his programming company, Train for the Win, and how fitness enables him to experience life to t...
Dec 25, 2019•42 min•Season 3Ep. 77
Facebook marketing. You know you need it, but that's about all you know. Should you target your ads as widely as possible in the hopes of reaching more people? Should you tighten the focus on certain demographics? What's more important, gender or age? Digital-marketing expert Mateo Lopez is on Two-Brain Radio to demystify Facebook ad targeting and teach you which net you need to catch the fish you're looking for. Links: Free Tools Book a Free Call Healthy Steps Nutrition Contact: mateo@twobrainb...
Dec 23, 2019•28 min•Season 3Ep. 76
There's just more than a week left of 2019. Have you thought about where you want your business to go next year? With or without you, the fitness industry is changing. More gyms are embracing the functional-fitness model—and charging less for it—and technology is evolving to provide even more opportunities for service. In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Chris Cooper discusses the state of the fitness industry and what you can do to ensure success in 2020. Links: Building a Sales Engine The Flyw...
Dec 20, 2019•40 min•Season 3Ep. 75
There have been three major evolutions in fitness training: First, personal training in gyms was introduced. Next, trainers left the big-box gyms to open microgyms of their own. Now, the industry is shifting to online training. Jonathan Goodman is the founder of the Personal Training Development Center, the largest community of fitness professionals in the world. He offers the first certification for online fitness trainers, and he's here to explain how online training can be just as personal, e...
Dec 19, 2019•41 min•Season 3Ep. 74
When should you eat carbs? How important is that post-workout shake? What's the best diet for general health? E.C. Synkowski, founder of OptimizeMe Nutrition, fields questions like these every day, and on today's episode of Two-Brain Radio, she shares the answers with Sean Woodland. You'll learn about her decade of experience on the CrossFit Seminar Staff, why she left CrossFit to pursue a career in nutrition and how she defines good nutrition. E.C. also shares some of her top tips for choosing ...
Dec 18, 2019•34 min•Season 3Ep. 73
The best digital ad in the world is only as good as what happens after you click it. Do people get sent to your website? To an opt-in form? To a landing page? In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, digital marketing expert Mateo Lopez breaks down why you need a landing page and what information it should contain to get the most conversions. You'll learn about the benefits of third-party page builders, how to organize page information to hold viewers' interest, what NOT to do on your landing page an...
Dec 16, 2019•39 min•Season 3Ep. 72
You probably know Jason Khalipa as a CrossFit Games legend. You might know him as the owner of NCFIT, formerly NorCal CrossFit. But did you know that he oversees more than 20 gyms and 150 employees worldwide under the NCFIT umbrella? Jason began as many gym owners do. He opened his first gym in a 1,500-square-foot space with no credit and a shallow bank account. He coached classes, handed out flyers and did the books. Sometimes he spent the night on the gym couch. At Two-Brain Business, we call ...
Dec 12, 2019•52 min•Season 3Ep. 71
She's competed at the CrossFit Games four times. She stood on the podium twice. In her final year of competition, she took 8th at the Central Regional—in a boot and with a ruptured Achilles tendon. She's Julie Foucher, and now, in "retirement," she's fighting chronic disease with two swords: fitness and family medicine. In this episode, she and Sean Woodland talk about the memorable moments from her years as a CrossFit Games competitor, how she honed her mindset to build confidence, why she want...
Dec 11, 2019•44 min•Season 3Ep. 70
What will get more people to click on your ad: a dude deadlifting or a grandma flipping a tire? The answer could be both. Or neither. It's all about targeting and testing. In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, digital marketing expert Mateo Lopez talks creative: How to tell which images and copy generate the most leads, how often you should change your ad creative and whether or not you need fancy equipment to get the job done. Links: Free Tools Driven Nutrition Contact: mateo@twobrainbusiness.com...
Dec 09, 2019•32 min•Season 3Ep. 69
Too many gym owners are eating table scraps. That is, they wait to pay themselves until all other expenses are covered, and they're left with a pittance—if anything—as profit. In his book "Profit First," Mike Michalowicz posited a revolutionary cash-flow management system: Business owners pay themselves first, ensuring they make the profit they need to serve another day. John Briggs, founder of Incite Tax in Sandy, Utah, has adapted Michalowicz's philosophy and program especially for microgym ow...
Dec 05, 2019•35 min•Season 3Ep. 68
What are the most important things gyms should do when it comes to programming? What was it like to compete on champion teams CrossFit Mayhem and CrossFit New England? What's it like to have your mother beat you at Isabel? CrossFit Games veteran and longtime CrossFit Seminar Staff member James Hobart is here with the answers to all that and more on this episode of Two-Brain Radio. James has competed at the Games five times as part of a team and thrice as an individual, winning the Affiliate Cup ...
Dec 04, 2019•46 min•Season 3Ep. 67
Two-Brain Radio: How to Turn Prospective Clients Into Paying Clients Too many gym owners spend precious time and money acquiring leads only to leave money on the table. Maybe they don't feel like responding to a request for info at 9 p.m. Maybe they give up after the first call goes to voicemail. Maybe they just don't like selling. But just a little extra time and effort spent pursuing those leads—people who have opted in and asked for more info—could lead to great reward. In the second installm...
Dec 02, 2019•32 min•Season 3Ep. 66
Ever thought about what you can learn about risk management from a brothel? As it turns out, a lot—and that's just one of many risk-management examples author Allison Schrager uses in her book "An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk." In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Chris speaks with Allison to understand how the risk-management principles that guide other high-end service providers can apply to microgym owners. You'll also learn how to compete with...
Nov 28, 2019•43 min•Season 3Ep. 65
Two-Brain Radio: Tanya Wagner—Athlete, Analyst, Affiliate Owner Tanya Wagner was the third woman to win the CrossFit Games and the last to do it at the historic ranch in Aromas, California. She and her husband Josh also own CrossFit Apex in Souderton, Pennsylvania. Tanya and Sean talk about how she got into CrossFit, what the competitive landscape looked like more than 10 years ago, what it was like to be a color commentator for the CrossFit Games and how she incorporates fitness into raising he...
Nov 27, 2019•35 min•Season 3Ep. 64
Two-Brain Radio: Marketing Podcast Take-Over With Mike Warkentin This week, we're turning the tables on you. Mike Warkentin of Two-Brain Media is hosting this episode of Two-Brain Radio, and his guest? None other than digital marketing expert Mateo Lopez. Mike owns CrossFit 204 in Winnipeg, Canada, so he understands the problems small-business owners face: tight budgets, lack of marketing expertise and fear of seemingly complicated ad algorithms. He grills Mateo on how digital marketing works, w...
Nov 25, 2019•32 min•Season 3Ep. 63
