I opened RIP Training in 2020 on $50,000.
This was pretty much all I had and budgeted tightly so I didn’t have to use all of it straight away.
Now, $50k isn’t much to start a gym. Most gyms cost well over 20 times that much. But the small budget was actually an advantage: Instead of focusing on the chrome and mirrors that attract newbies to gyms, I was forced to buy ONLY what worked and what we needed.
I knew I wouldn’t have a marketing budget. I would have to depend on my clients spreading the word about RIP Training. And that meant I had to get RESULTS.
So when I made my shopping list, I bought barbells. I bought big rubber bands. I bought four new machines with all the rest being second hand, cheap skipping ropes, mats and some kettlebells and medicine balls. I held off on dumbbells and all sorts of other “nice to have” things.
On the day the equipment arrived, I was actually stoked with how much we had.
Over the next couple of years I continued to reinvest back into the gym and we accumulated more gear and plenty more of the “nice to haves” along with it. But when I look back at it, the things that still get the most use are all the core pieces we had when we first opened.
These days, I can afford to buy more equipment. But what I buy is more of the SAME equipment: rowers, barbells, pull-up bars and boxes. You still won’t see pec decks or cable crossovers or leg extension machines. Instead, you’ll see people doing squats and push-ups and pull-ups. Because that’s what actually works.
Very fit people know that a large variety of equipment is a red herring. Most gyms sell comfort: padded machines, oiled stacks, polished chrome. But truly fit people—or people who NEED to lose weight, perform, or are desperate to fix their bad backs—avoid that stuff. People with skin in the game know they don’t need more choice; they need more work.
Almost everyone who comes to RIP Training has been to other gyms. And almost to a person, they say, “I just didn’t get anywhere” or “I just got bored and sick of it”. They looked for the cheapest option. Or the largest. Or the one with the most machines. But eventually, when they decided they needed results, they went looking for a coach.
And coaches don’t use that stuff. Professional coaches use barbells. Boxes. Squats and push-ups and food plans. Forced to choose what works, professionals choose the basics.
Many new clients who book a No-Sweat Intro tell me, “This just looks like a lot of open space.” It’s true: You need space when you’re going to move a lot. And if you want to get fit, you’re going to move a lot. I’ve had a lot of people who have only ever seen a conventional big commercial gym come in and say “where are all the machines?” my response is “we are the machines”
Everything you need. Nothing you don’t.
No wasted space. No wasted time. No wasted effort.
