In this episode, I sit down with Rhys Lewis, owner of Totem Fitness — a small-group training gym in Surrey that hit 160 members in under two months after opening on January 5th.

We unpack the thinking behind launching a 1,200 sq ft facility (and why bigger isn’t better), how Rhys used pre-sale marketing and New Year momentum to fill the gym fast, and the automation-heavy system he runs to convert leads without living on calls — including a high-volume email sequence designed to handle objections before someone ever steps through the door.

Rhys also shares the retention systems most gyms skip: weekly attendance tracking, proactive check-ins, group onboarding, and how he’s already hiring and delegating to buy back time without losing standards. We finish with a rapid-fire round on equipment, software, cashflow mistakes gym owners make, and why he believes community-led gyms are about to become even more valuable.

Find Out More About Rhys:

His Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rdlfit_/
His Gym: https://www.instagram.com/totumfitness_/

#27 This 1,200 sq ft gym hit 160 members in 7 weeks (w/ Rhys Lewis)