October 2024 Club of the Month, presented by ABC Fitness
EXCAPE, Leixlip, Ireland, est. 2018
Founded in 2018, EXCAPE was born from the shared vision of founders Andy Grehan and David Slattery in the small town of Leixlip, County Kildare in Ireland. Both passionate about health, wellness and the power of fitness, they wanted to stand out in the fitness industry based on how they serve their members. Their journey toward creating EXCAPE was driven by a desire to create a more community-driven, educational and personalized experience, emphasizing guidance and financial security for its team and members.
Over the past six years, EXCAPE has expanded to five personal training locations across Leinster and continues to significantly impact the fitness industry in Ireland.
Below, Grehan and Slattery share insights into EXCAPE’s mission, culture and how ABC Glofox has supported their growth.
When was EXCAPE established? Why was it established and how has it grown since?
AG: EXCAPE is a company and a team on a journey and mission to transform the health and fitness industry. It was founded in the Republic of Ireland in 2018 from a journey inspired by lives engrained in the Gaelic Athletic Association ethos of high performance meets community values, and substantiated by top-level health and fitness education and experience. EXCAPE is deeply passionate about creating careers for coaches and facilitating the personal and professional growth of every single team member.
How would you describe the culture at your gyms?
AG: “EXCAPE — A thoughtful, simple purpose.”
With such deep thought behind its very essence and creation, this is a brand that honors the important reasons for its inception with true thoughtfulness for its future. Professional and growth-oriented, EXCAPE is committed to its own sustainability to ensure a future of helping similarly growth-orientated people realize a personal purpose. The standards, service and structure associated with EXCAPE are not elements of a brand for which things happen by accident. We provoke thought in our clients about their current and future well-being. We continue to and always will be thoughtful about the current impact and how to continue giving back to an industry they value.
As we live in an age of complication, EXCAPE values a return of simplicity wherever it can be found. With simplicity comes excellence and we believe this is evident in the world around us in high-performance athletes, culinary arts and nature. The EXCAPE brand is committed to being easy on the senses, simplistic in the task and vigorous in application. We do this through a simple smile, an introduction from friendly faces, colors and sounds, and an unforgettable community-orientated training experience.
The purpose of helping a community of like-minded, determined people builds pride and confidence en route to their goals is what drives EXCAPE. But we understand our purpose is not your purpose. As a brand so committed to community and support, EXCAPE enjoys a paradoxical appreciation for selfishness, self-discovery, self-awareness, self-investment and self-fulfillment. The training experience exists to facilitate the selfish purposes we must have to succeed and achieve our goals. Combining the right doses of self-interest and community support — along with a commitment to values and high standards — clients can enjoy the momentum of many journeys to achieve their personal potential.
The culture of the brand is unique. EXCAPE is a company passionate about the physical environment and the impact positive energy has on those around each other. The ethos in EXCAPE is to promote values like honesty, vulnerability and transparency when it comes to helping each other, teamwork and building relationships.
How has ABC Glofox supported your business and membership growth?
DS: ABC Glofox has been terrific to work with over the years. As mentioned, simplicity is one of our values. Since day one, our work with ABC Glofox has been seamless. The team have been exceptional to work alongside, and we can only look forward to partnering with ABC Glofox long into the future. We’re able to systemize well, optimize our brand, and grow and scale our services because of the superb software we use daily.
We understand that the most complicated things can look very simple, and ABC Glofox sure does an incredible job presenting the data and insights for our reassurance we’re moving in the right direction. EXCAPE has grown in revenue by close to 100% in 24 months. Attrition is under 2.9% across all sites for 24 months as a result of the service delivery offered by the team. The great services offered internally by ABC Glofox, including software SMS comms, managing, interacting and bookings, also contribute to our successful partnership.
What do you like most about using ABC Glofox?
DS: We love how connected we are with the ABC Glofox team and how seamless the communication is between the ABC Glofox team and ourselves. They go above and beyond to help us and make it personal.
What’s a trend you’re seeing in the fitness industry that other operators should keep on their radar going into 2025?
DS: We have a core principle of look after the people who look after the people.
We truly, wholeheartedly believe the people of any business are its biggest asset. When you’re in an industry of helping people, it’s crucial the people who have a macro impact on helping those people are happier, stronger and more confident in their livelihood. Financial security is crucial to the longevity of the coaching team, the consistency of those relationships, client attrition and service delivery. A happier coach is a healthier coach. We feel the average salary for coaches needs a lot of work. The average coach needs to follow their passions but be well paid to support their own family and have financial security. Coaching is one of the most amazing roles in the world and has a large impact on community health, yet it’s one of the most underpaid roles. A trend we’re on a mission to change is to apply discipline in our business and to achieve tremendous growth in average salaries and benefits for our team. We would love to see all fitness businesses do the same. So, let’s start that trend.
Created in partnership with ABC Fitness. Visit abcfitness.com for more information on how they can help your fitness business.
