Scott Hunt started his personal training company, Fitness Enhancement in Gold Coast back in 1999 when he was just 19 years old, with only $400.
He has just franchised his business and already sold his first interstate franchise in Melbourne only months after advertising outside Queensland.
“Our goal through franchising is to be able to have our award-winning personal trainers help Australia’s obesity epidemic Australia-wide,” Hunt shared with Anthill.
In recent years, Hunt has been working full time on expanding beyond the Gold Coast, trusting his team of trainers to handle the clients’ personal training sessions.
The strategy has paid off with remarkable growth for Fitness Enhancement.
The business now covers all the suburbs of Gold Coast and Brisbane and is the largest personal training company in Queensland and the third largest in the entire country.
Hunt told Anthill that whilst they are seeking Brisbane and Gold Coast franchisees, the focus is now also on the rest of Australia having just secured their first Melbourne franchisee.
Their newest addition to the team, Matthew Eddy is based in Narre Warren in Melbourne’s South East and is just as excited as the franchising team to introduce the Fitness Enhancement brand of training to Victorians.
Eddy had previously been a full time roofer for 13 years and part time personal trainer and semi professional sprinter (six times Stawell Gift semi finalist and 2012 Maryborough Gift winner, one of Australia’s richest foot races).
Why has Fitness Enhancement’s model worked so well?
Hunt says they cater to the niche of overweight or older people that most gyms neglect.
He highlighted that 63 per cent of Australians are overweight or obese, and the over 40 market is rapidly growing, yet most gyms continue to target young and/or fit people, which he says alienates many older or larger people.
As an example, Hunt pointed out one particular success story of Shari Ware, a client who they helped to lose over 100kg after 20 years of failing at traditional gyms.
“Gyms are great value for fit people who love exercise, however they don’t cater to the millions of Australians who feel too embarrassed to go to a gym due to their size, age, injuries, confidence or a variety of other factors,” he explained.
“With us clients can achieve their goals in the privacy of their own home or one of our 100 per cent private studios and avoid the dreaded gym scene.”
What strategy has Fitness Enhancement used to reach here?
Hunt remarked that first and foremost, they have always focused on happy and successful clients and trainers, revealing that they still even have their original clients from 1999.
“In an industry that is often quite unprofessional compared to other health professionals this is important to us and has us seen as health professionals (and paid like them) rather than gym junkies,” he remarked.
Hunt further disclosed that he has spent the last 15 years refining the best ways to get his clients amazing results, not just in the short term like so many gyms, but real results for life, without having to spend forever at the gym.
