Meet Rob, ProtoFit
Rob runs ProtoFit, based in Southgate.
His journey in the fitness industry started when he was around 18, working in a commercial gym. At that stage, there wasn’t a grand business plan. As Rob puts it, the focus was simply to “work and try and pay the rent.”
Over time, his client base grew — but so did the demands on his time.
Rob reached the point where he was working seven days a week, opening and closing the gym at weekends and trying to fit time with his girlfriend and family around work.
“I think you don't even realise how tired you are when you're doing that because it's just every day is the same.”
It was only after returning from a couple of weeks away that Rob realised something needed to change. He didn’t want to go back to working seven days a week.
The Challenge
When Rob started working with FBDA, ProtoFit was bringing in approximately £3,000–£4,000 a month, and Rob was responsible for all of the coaching himself.
He had actually spoken to Nicky around a year before joining, but at the time, fear held him back.
He knew he wanted to do it — just not yet.
About a year later, Rob finally took the step.
“After a few months you just think, I wish I started earlier now because I've just missed a year.”
What Changed
While Rob was still operating from a commercial gym, he and FBDA set an initial goal: to build a six-figure business.
They worked through the different challenges as they appeared, and eventually ProtoFit reached that milestone while still operating within a big box commercial gym.
Importantly for Rob, the progress didn’t require him to continue working the excessive hours that had originally pushed him to make a change.
Another important part of the process was getting a clearer and more realistic understanding of the numbers.
Rob admits he naturally preferred looking at the figures that were going well and ignoring those that weren’t.
FBDA’s Optic Sheets made that harder to do.
By putting everything into one place, Rob could get a bird’s-eye view of what was and wasn’t working. He could also forecast ahead, understand where the business should be in the next quarter and stay accountable to those targets.
“You have to input everything and it will give you a real, like, kind of bird's eye view of the numbers, what's working, what's not working.”
Growing Through COVID
Then came a challenge no gym owner could have planned for: COVID and the closure of gyms.
For Rob, the support and community around FBDA became particularly important during this period.
ProtoFit didn’t simply survive.
According to Rob, the business grew throughout COVID and emerged with more members, more profit and better business systems.
The small group coaching also gave Rob access to other coaches and fitness business owners operating at a similar level.
Rather than tackling every challenge independently, the group could share problems, ideas and experiences — learning from situations that somebody else may already have encountered.
The Results
From an initial position of approximately £3K–£4K a month with Rob doing all the coaching, ProtoFit has grown considerably.
At the time of Rob’s testimonial, he describes:
- Growing ProtoFit to around 140 members.
- Building a team of approximately 4–5 members of staff.
- Achieving more than £20,000 in the month before the testimonial.
- Reaching a six-figure milestone while still operating from a commercial gym.
- Growing through COVID and emerging with more members, more profit and better business systems.
- Developing greater visibility and understanding of the business numbers.
- Being able to forecast future performance and plan ahead.
- Reducing the pressure of having to deliver all of the coaching himself.
- Creating a business that can continue operating when he isn’t there.
More Growth — But More Time Too
Perhaps the biggest difference for Rob isn’t captured by the revenue or membership numbers.
It’s what the business now allows him to do outside work.
Rob says his whole family life has changed.
He now has significantly more time to spend with his family, including his young son, who was 11 months old when the testimonial was recorded.
“I can actually spend a lot more time with him and watch him grow up.”
Even going on holiday feels different.
Rob can go away knowing that ProtoFit has coaches and staff in place and that the business can continue operating without him being there.
“Knowing the business is still running and it's still doing its thing without me there, makes a massive difference as well.”
What This Means for Other Fitness Business Owners
Rob’s story demonstrates that his version of business growth hasn’t simply meant increasing revenue or adding more members.
When he started, he was bringing in around £3K–£4K a month, doing all of the coaching himself and working seven days a week.
Today, ProtoFit has a team around it, around 140 members and had just achieved a £20K+ month at the time of Rob’s testimonial.
But alongside that growth, Rob has achieved something that mattered just as much to him: time.
Time with his family. Time with his son. The ability to go on holiday. And the confidence that the business doesn’t depend entirely on him being there every day.
Find Out More About FBDA
Experience a Complimentary FBDA Coaching Session. We don’t want to sell you into a coaching programme that isn’t right for you. Instead, we’d love you to experience how FBDA coaching actually works before you make any decisions.
We’ll take the time to understand your business, where you want to go, and what might be holding you back. You’ll experience real FBDA coaching, leave with greater clarity on your next steps, and get a feel for how we could help move your business forward.
Then we can both decide if working together feels like the right fit.
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