Today we’d like to introduce you to John Bruni.
Hi John, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 2020, I graduated from Wake Technical Community College with an associate degree in applied science and a CPT from The American College of Sports Medicine. After Graduating, I started out as a Personal Trainer and Group Fitness coach working at 2 gyms simultaneously, F45 Training Olde Raleigh and Athletic lab. In 2022, an opportunity popped up to become the GM and Head Trainer of F45 Training Olde Raleigh under the ownership of Benjamin Vann. Benjamin now owns portfolio of gyms including all 4 F45 Training Facilities in Wilmington, NC and he recently opened FS8 Pilates studios in Wilmington, NC and St. Pete Florida. Since 2022, Olde Raleigh has grown from just under 100 members to over 350+ members. Our focus is serving the local Raleigh residents by offering HIIT group fitness classes that focus on strength and conditioning. By focusing on providing a top-notch group fitness facility over the past few years, we have managed to grow into one of the top performing F45s nationally and internationally. Due to the growth and success of the gym, as well as the guidance and support from Benjamin, I am now a minority owner of the gym with hopes of continuing to grow and establish ourselves as one of the best gyms in the Triangle.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been minor ups and down but overall since 2022, we have had steady growth. Of course members, coaches, and motivation comes and goes but the drive has always been to help others with their fitness journey. We’ve grown 300-400% since 2022.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a minority owner and operator of F45 Training Olde Raleigh. This includes General operations as well as holding the role as head coach. A few things I’ve always tried my best to focus on is being a great leader, being present for my profession, and creating small but important relationships with people/clients I see every day.
Leadership can be innate, and I believe I’ve always innately been a leader but there’s always so much to improve on as a leader. I’ve made plenty mistakes in leadership over the years and done all I can to reflect and learn from those mistakes. At this point, our gym has a 96% client retention rate each month and most of our 12 team coaching staff have been coaching at Olde Raleigh for over a year with quite a few working here for 2-3 years. We truly have an amazing coaching staff. At this point from experience, lessons learned, and proof of a successful business, I’d like to think I’ve been a leader for those around me.
Being present on a daily basis has been a big factor of continued success for me and this gym. I rarely take time off, I coach 5-6 days per week, and I always try to stay consistent with my attitude. I want to be around. I want to coach. I want to make others smile. This gym gives me an opportunity to do that on a daily basis, and I feel lucky enough to want to be present in my career and in this gym.
Relationships and community are what builds a gym. From clients to coaches and everything in between. I know every client’s name and usually know a small piece of what’s going on in their life. We have 350+ members and we see most of them 3-5 times per week for about 45 minutes. It’s not much time to truly get to know someone. Especially because most of that time they’re out of breath and questioning their decisions on showing up to the gym that day. With that being said, all those minutes and days added up across months and years comes out to be a lot of time. I believe, creating small but important relationships in the little time I get to see my clients is one of my strongest attributes.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that it’s the people you surround yourself with that matter most. The people I’m talking about are the awesome people that make up our coaching staff. You can have the best programming, you can be located in the best area, you can have the nicest facility, but if you don’t have the right people, you will struggle to be successful. Fortunately, over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work beside awesome people that enjoy coaching others in fitness. I can 100% say that our team is the reason we have had success up until this point.
Pricing:
- Month to Month unlimited membership: $50 per week
- 3 month commitment unlimited: $45 per week
- Limited 8 classes per week: $139
- 10 class pack: $200
- 5 class pack: $100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://f45training.com/studio/olderaleigh/
- Instagram: F45_Training_olderaleigh
- Email: olderaleigh@f45training.com
- Phone: 919-307-2222
