Constant Gentle Pressure: What Running a Strength Gym Really Takes
Brian Smarsh owns Kansas Strength and Performance (KSP) in Goddard, Kansas. He's an Olympic weightlifting coach and a masters competitor. In this week’s episode of Deep Dive with D.Rob Fitness: Inside the Industry he talks about building a training business.
From drummer to gym owner.
Brian spent nine months in California chasing a heavy metal band. When that ended, a friend who owned a gym offered him a job. More than a decade later, he owns it. As he puts it, "the world doesn't need another drummer."
Strength for everyday life.
Brian's mom started training in her seventies after she struggled to get up helping a neighbor who had fallen. A year later she hasn't missed a session. His goal is to make people "harder to kill": more resilient to the everyday choices that add up. KSP has no machines. "Here you are the machine."
Standing out.
With a commercial gym opened right next door, Brian sees it as a blessing in disguise, since it sends the right members his way. "I don't want the pennies. I don't want the nickels. Give me the quarters."
The business nobody sees.
Owning a gym means books, advertising, sales and programming, with days running from 4:30 a.m. to as late as 9 p.m. "It's gotta be something that genuinely sets your soul on fire."
Competing as a masters lifter.
Brian's PRs include a 145 kg snatch and a 175 kg clean and jerk. He's proud of winning his age and weight class at last year's Masters World Championship. As lifters age, he says, "the movement becomes the reward."
His advice.
Give yourself grace, because it's everyone's first time living. A textbook can't make you a coach. Meeting people where they are can.
Connect with Brian.
Search Kansas Strength and Performance to book a consultation. The first class is free. You can also find him on Instagram.
Check out the full episode on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcast!
YouTube:
Building a Strength Business & Staying Competitive as You Age | Inside the Industry ft. Brian Smarsh
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