#077 - GymNation - Meet The 3 Entrepreneurs Who Founded The UAE's Biggest & Best Gym. 3.5X Podcast

3.5X Podcast: | Start-ups | Entrepreneurs | Scale-ups

We’re back with another exciting episode featuring 3 entrepreneurs who managed to build the biggest and best gym in the United Arab Emirates in under 3 years! GymNation founders Loren Holland, Frank Afeaki and Ant Martland have disrupted the health and fitness industry in the UAE with affordable, high quality, 24/7 facilities across the country. Many multinational franchise chains have been overcharging UAE consumers for the last decade and GymNation spotted the gap in the market and have now changed the game in their favour by offering a great product at a great price.

We were lucky enough to sit down with the three owners to discuss how they got here, what’s worked and what’s in store for the future. With over 1 million members passing through their doors they are proving this is just what the UAE consumer wanted. Starting off with 1 gym in Dubai, they have now built GymNation up to 8 locations across the UAE, across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Raz Al Kaimah. They have been voted the best gym in the UAE by Virgin Radio’s host Kris Fade.

Loren, Frank and Ant have an extensive background within the health and fitness space and these entrepreneurs share with you their story and hope to inspire you.

Find out more at their website: https://gymnation.com

Thanks again to Loren, Frank and Ant for coming on and we hope you enjoy this latest 3.5X episode.

You're 3.5 times more likely to succeed when you work with a mentor on your business idea. We want to be an extension of this and assist you in building and scaling better businesses through the guests that we're speaking to and giving you insight into some of the most successful brands and entrepreneurs in the world.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro & Promo

1:18 - GymNation Intro

8.29 - Team dynamics & roles

12.25 - Vision, validation & raising investment

14.00 - Targeting investors

16.15 - Pre sales & marketing

18.44 - Brand building

20.50 - Payment models

24.13 - Customer retention

28.00 - Covid

32.04 - Emerging markets

32.27 - Number 1 Gym in UAE in under 3 years

33.00 - Disrupting the market & positioning

33.36 - Social Media, Marketing, PR & Brand Building

36.37 - Proudest moments

Keep up to date with GymNation at the following handles:

https://www.instagram.com/gymnation_uae/

https://www.facebook.com/gymnationuae/

https://twitter.com/gymnation_uae

https://www.linkedin.com/company/gymnation-uae/about/

We hope you enjoy the episode and please subscribe to our podcast. New episode every Wednesday.

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