John Dowdy grew up playing football and rugby, so training was always part of his life. But when he started lifting on his own, it was the usual approach. Random workouts with no real plan for progress. At one point, John hurt his back and doctors didn’t have answers.
That changed when John found an article by Mark Rippetoe. Squats and deadlifts don’t cause back pain – they fix it. He committed himself to learning Starting Strength, diving into the books, podcasts, and the process of real strength training.
When a Starting Strength Gym opened in Boise, John reached out and became an Apprentice Coach. What drew him in was the standard: it’s the only certification where you don’t just pass a written test. You have to prove, in real time, that you can Coach the lifts correctly.
Today, the most rewarding part of his work is watching Clients change. People who were once nervous about barbells become confident Lifters who show up week after week because getting stronger actually improves their lives.
Anyone that has ever thought about starting a new franchise concept has done so because they have at least one of these things: a strong financial business that’s easily replicatable, a novel concept that doesn’t exist yet in the franchise world, investors already trying to expand into new cities, or management with a history of franchise success. Starting Strength Gyms delivers on all these fronts, but also gives new franchisees a running start with two very unique traits not often found in franchisor structure: a worldwide devoted following waiting to engage, and a pre-existing operational framework that has been used for 10 years before the first franchise agreement was ever signed.
The Traditional Franchise Fundamentals
Like McDonald’s, The UPS Store, or any respected franchise system, Starting Strength Gyms provides franchisees with a validated roadmap for success. Before a franchise agreement is ever signed, the corporate team is supporting prospective new gym owners through SBA bank qualifications, brand due diligence, and eventually through a 100 point checklist from franchise agreement signing to Grand Opening parties. With the last 28 locations, the business model has been tested, refined, and proven across diverse markets and demographics. Franchisees receive comprehensive financial projections based on real operational data, eliminating much of the guesswork that plagues independent business ventures. And most importantly, we only agree to work with franchisees who not only love the Starting Strength brand, but will be strong brand ambassadors at a local level.
The Revolutionary Difference
Here’s where Starting Strength Gyms diverges dramatically from conventional franchise opportunities: it isn’t just another gym with a franchise agreement attached. The Starting Strength methodology represents a fundamentally different approach to fitness—one focused exclusively on barbell strength training using a proven linear progression model developed by Mark Rippetoe. While Planet Fitness, Anytime Fitness, and other gym franchises compete in an overcrowded market of treadmills, group classes, and general fitness equipment, Starting Strength Gyms occupies a category of one.
This isn’t a fitness concept created for franchising purposes. Starting Strength existed as a respected strength training system for over two decades before the franchise model was ever conceived. The Aasgaard Company built a substantial following through the bestselling book “Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training,” coaching certifications, and a proven track record of transforming countless individuals through proper barbell training. The brand came to franchising with an established reputation, a loyal community, and validated methodology—not the other way around.
Brand Equity Before Franchise Expansion
Most franchise opportunities begin with a successful single location or small chain, then scale through franchising to grow the brand. Starting Strength Gyms flipped this model. The brand was already nationally recognized, with thousands of coaches certified in the methodology and a devoted following of lifters who understood and trusted the Starting Strength approach. When the franchise model launched, it wasn’t building brand awareness from scratch—it was channeling existing brand equity into a structured franchise system, and localized gym success.
This pre-existing brand strength provides franchisees with an invaluable advantage: they’re investing in a name that already means something to their target market. Serious lifters and those seeking legitimate strength training already know Starting Strength. They’ve read the books, watched the videos, and understand the methodology’s value. This brand recognition dramatically reduces customer acquisition costs and accelerates the path to profitability. And even when we come across an unaware new client, which we do every single day, we have history to back up our claims! As the brand expands, we are exponentially increasing that awareness that heightens the excitement for new and existing markets. We are doing it in parallel with the Aasgaard Company, attacking the fitness market from all angles.
The Best of Both Worlds
Starting Strength Gyms offers franchisees a rare combination: the proven franchise fundamentals, that mitigate risk, alongside a genuinely differentiated fitness concept backed by decades of coaching success. It’s a business model built on traditional franchise strengths, delivering a revolutionary fitness approach that simply cannot be found elsewhere. For investors seeking both security and uniqueness, Starting Strength Gyms represents an exceptional opportunity where established franchise principles meet an unmatched strength training legacy.
Doris had been hurt in an unsupervised gym years before and was afraid to try strength training again. When her son, who’d been training at Starting Strength Indianapolis for over a year, gave her a week’s trial as a Mother’s Day gift, she decided to take the chance. Coach Adam stayed with her throughout that first week, adjusting her form as she learned. By the end of the week, she was convinced and signed up for a membership. Six months later, she’s pain-free, picks up heavy items without thinking about it, and easily stands up from a seated position without struggle.
I played tennis my entire life and I was a gymnast, neither of which introduced me to barbell lifting before I turned 30. I can run suicides along tennis court lines until I puke, I can throw a 20lb medicine ball over my shoulder to mimic a backhand, I can still do a backhandspring, and I recently learned I can flip over racked barbell…. but at 32 I couldn’t squat more than 60 lbs. Now that didn’t surprise me, I had a natural birth 16 weeks before attempting my first squat. Eight months into this journey of working through my NLP, I’ll be damned if I ever can’t walk into the gym and knock out 3×3 for 200 again. That means it’s also been nine months of learning about the Starting Strength franchise model. Using what I know now of this concept, along with 10 years of previous franchising experience, and if had break down my evaluation of Starting Strength Gyms into 10 points, this would be it:
Initial Investment and Total Capital Requirements
Most new interested investors are surprised by how expensive it is. In the grand scheme of franchising, it’s not expensive at all. I had a prospect ask me recently why he shouldn’t just open a Gold’s Gym for a quarter of the price. I told him if that idea sounded attractive to him then Starting Strength wasn’t going to be the right brand for him regardless. Opening a new business like this isn’t expensive because we are marking up the equipment 200% or spending superfluous money. It’s because we have done this 28 times and seen all the possible expenses that you might incur play out, and we’ve uncovered every rock that could leave a financial surprise. So yes, there is a chance you can open a Starting Strength Gym on the low end of the provided ranges, but we want you to be aware of all the possible scenarios to help you mitigate your risk. If you like other concepts like doggy daycares, you could be spending triple the amount a Starting Strength would cost you.
Ongoing Fees and Royalty Structure
An 8-12% combined royalty and national advertising fee is a very average fee structure for a retail membership model like Starting Strength. One of the unique things about Starting Strength that other concepts don’t offer is a high level of concierge service, for both the Starting Strength members and the franchisees. That approach to customer service is rare, and in this franchisee relationship it’s also optional! We provide many opportunities to help direct new clients to the front doors of the gyms, and to help manage, train, and retain members, but not all of those tools are required. So don’t be afraid as you read through the fee chart. Think of it as a library to refer back to. As a business owner you will need help at times, and we are here and ready to support you as needed. 90% of that support comes along with the royalty at no additional cost, but a handful of items like in person operations training for a week at a time, or successfully converted online training clients, comes with a small fee.
Franchisor’s History
Starting Strength’s history is very unique compared to other franchises. Most other brands would tout the success of a single location that launched their franchise model, but Starting Strength had over 10 years of operational and coaching excellence before SS franchising was born.
Unit Economics and Item 19 Performance
TRANSPARENCY. Hallelujah. An Item 19 in a Franchise Disclosure Document is meant to give you insight into how you could possibly perform financially at a single unit level. Some brands provide projections. Some brands provide corporate run locations only. Starting Strength provides not only all gross revenue numbers, platform counts, years in business, square footage, and more. But they also aren’t anonymous! As a prospective franchisee you can look through for similar demographic cities and make some assumptions for yourself.
Territory Rights and Market Saturation
Starting Strength is a destination location brand. People are seeking out our brand, signing up for designated times, and staying for an hour. This will not be Starbucks with locations on every corner. If a Starting Strength gym doesn’t succeed, that is bad for the franchisee and for corporate. It’s in the brands best interest to create designated territories that can sustain themselves. In this model that usually looks like 100k-150k in population, and a minimum of $100k medium household income. That is a much higher standard than most other franchise concepts which also eliminates a number of cities across America, and we will tell you that right off the bat.
Training and Ongoing Support Quality
The Starting Strength certification makes this a really interesting conversation. There are two training tracks here to consider, the SSC and operations/management support. A SSC is NOT required by a franchisee to open a gym. Thorough documentation and processes are available to help an avid fan of Starting Strength open a gym, without getting the certification. We can help you hire and train the right person for that certified head coach position. If a franchisee does want to get certified we fully support and love that model too.
Supply Chain and Vendor Requirements
Have you ever tried to work out with bad equipment? I have. Traveling and using uncalibrated plates. Cracks in the mats that make footing unstable. Racks that feel impossible to rack. The Starting Strength supply chain and vendor requirements here are a must for very obvious reasons. However, it all comes from America, yay! The amount of delays that the franchise industry incurred during COVID due to international manufacturing slowed down the pace of business for years. You won’t find much leeway on this one.
Corporate Team
Evaluate everyone on the Starting Strength franchise team. This is a 10 year relationship, hopefully longer! Before being offered a franchise agreement you will have to meet some team members in person to make sure you will be a good brand representative, and this is also your chance to make sure you feel comfortable working alongside this team, because we collaborate with you a lot! Look at values, look at history, look at brand passion, and make sure your motivation aligns with those you will be working closely with.
Franchisee Satisfaction and Turnover
Now that I have been to an Owner’s Meeting and met many franchisees, I know they all feel equally as strong about bringing in the right people to this “franchise family.” Speak directly with current franchisees. You can find that information in the Franchise Disclosure Document. Ask about their biggest challenges, biggest wins, what they wish they had known when they got started, how they structured their coaching, etc. At a bare minimum you will be set up with at least 1 franchisee to talk to, but we encourage you to reach more on your own.
Exit Strategy and Transferability
Don’t start a franchise unless you have an end goal in mind. That can change the way you build your team, structure your legal entity, and how you view your business over time. Is this to replace your existing income? Is this a retirement strategy for when you’re able to retire and give you another passion project in life? Is this a legacy project you hope to hand down to your children? I have personally bought, run, and sold 6 different local franchises over the last 10 years. I love the “flip,” and proving that a validated model only fails when the people fail, and if you follow the validated system it works! One concept I held onto, because it’s my baby, I built it before I had any real babies of my own, and I hope one day my girls love it too so they can decide if they want to participate in it with me. I have never hesitated to sign that next 5 year lease because I know we have at least a decade left before I am having those conversations. Know your goals and know your exit strategy if you need one.
When Janette Johnson was diagnosed with osteopenia, her doctor told her the best way to stay off medication was to get stronger. She wasn’t sure where to start until a neighbor told her about Starting Strength Boise.
Janette had never lifted before and was dealing with knee pain, a shoulder tear, and a wrist held together with screws. Her coaches taught her how to train safely, adjusting each lift so she could build strength without making old injuries worse.
Now her posture is better, she feels leaner and more capable, and she’s squatting more than her own body weight. For Janette, strength training hasn’t just improved her numbers. It’s changed how she moves, feels, and lives every day.
Lee is a 77-year-old geophysicist who’s spent his life working on complex projects around the world. After a series of health issues and a kidney transplant, he lost weight and muscle and needed to rebuild both. He turned to Starting Strength Houston for coaching that focused on form, safety, and steady progress. With consistent training, he regained his leg strength, balance, and confidence. Now he’s stronger, steadier, and back to living the active life he values.
Kenny couldn’t sleep on his left side for 10 months after a skiing injury. His doctor told him his muscles were weakening from babying the injury. Within a month of training at Starting Strength Houston, Kenny’s shoulder improved so much he completely forgot about the skiing accident.
But the real surprise wasn’t his shoulder healing, it was what happened to his mental health. At 42, Kenny went through some of the hardest times in his personal life. At that point, Strength training became the thing that carried him through.
Stacie has been training at Starting Strength Boise through her entire pregnancy. The first trimester was rough, but she kept showing up and doing what she could, and it paid off every time. She worked back up to 70-80% of her max weights, building strength to prepare her body for labor. The time under tension and stress recovery she practiced with the barbell trained her muscles for exactly what happens during delivery, and squatting turned out to be one of the best movements for preparing her body for the physical demands ahead.
A Parent’s Strength: Support for Disabled Children | Stronger is Better Podcast #14
In this powerful episode of the Stronger is Better Podcast, Nick Delgadillo is joined by UK-based client and father James Collinge to discuss how strength training has transformed his life—not just in the gym, but in parenting a disabled child.
James shares how barbell training prepared him physically and mentally for the unpredictable demands of caring for his autistic son, and how strength offers freedom, control, and peace of mind in even the most chaotic moments. Whether you’re a parent, a coach, or someone seeking a deeper reason to train, this episode is a must-listen.
00:00 – Intro: Meet James Collinge 01:45 – Training overview and coaching relationship 06:00 – Programming simplicity and advanced progress 09:00 – Current lifts and Dinnie Stones goal 13:20 – Grip work and unconventional lifting prep 18:56 – Specialization vs tradeoffs in strength 21:00 – Daily life with recovery, food, and structure 27:30 – How strength helps parenting a disabled child 30:30 – Real-life travel and care challenges 33:45 – Physical freedom and reduced anxiety 36:30 – Strength makes things easier—not just possible 38:11 – Strength changes social dynamics and confidence 40:40 – Controlling physical situations safely 43:41 – The emotional toll of high-stress parenting 46:00 – A message to parents of disabled children 48:33 – Capability = lower life stress 50:45 – Capability for the long haul: aging with responsibility 53:08 – It’s your responsibility to stay strong 55:00 – Final reflections and future of Starting Strength Gyms
Rose couldn’t stand up from a chair without using her hands after multiple falls that sent her to the emergency room. Her daughter Emily gave her a Starting Strength Austin gift card for Mother’s Day, but Rose had second thoughts about whether she could handle it. The Coaches met Rose exactly where she was and made the modifications she needed. Now she has her confidence back and people notice the difference.
