LEADERSHIP
AND NOW HE’S A
NINJA!
Fitness has been a liberating force in John Pirlo’s life and he wants to share the gains. By Sarah Stowe
“I
n my 20s I got into a gym in Newcastle, someone took me under their wing and I ended up doing a fitness course. I built a few clubs for that company. Then I wanted to fulfil my dream of opening up multi-sites for myself.” John Pirlo is dedicated to fitness. When the well established Belgravia Group launched the Genesis gym model in a joint venture back in 2007, John was involved in the planning, which included a three-month presale that generated 2200 members before opening. The gym concept was launched out of the spotlight, in the NSW town of Maitland, and over the next six years a further nine clubs were added. “The main reason was that we wanted to inspire more people to get active,” says John. The business developed a support team as the footprint of its gyms increased. “It’s difficult to run your own business with clubs of up to 40 staff,” he says. “When operating a standalone business, not a franchise, there is no one to lean on. We have a great group across all clubs. “We do multiple training programs; hopefully the trainers will go and have their own franchise clubs in the future.” Now John’s passion for boosting Aussies’ fitness activity has found a new outlet. And he’s looking out for self-guided entrepreneurs to take on the new venture. “Some will go to a gym, some will never want to go in their life but they want to do something fun-based. We want to engage those.” FEB/APR 2020 | 64 | WWW.FRANCHISEBUSINESS.COM.AU
