How a studio owner battled a brain tumor, bankruptcy, and multiple lockdowns to build one of the top-ranked fitness studios in the country.
January 4th, 2020. Mike opened his fitness studio with 90 members and high hopes. He'd left his career as a graphic designer after 10 years, ready to pursue his passion for fitness and work with people face-to-face.
Two and a half months later, COVID-19 shut everything down.
Toronto experienced one of the longest lockdowns in the world. But it wasn't just one lockdown—it was the cruel cycle of hope and disappointment. Open for a month, then lockdown. Rebuild, then lockdown again. Each time, Mike had to dig deeper to find the motivation to keep going.
"The stop-start of it all was the most demoralizing," Mike recalls. "It really broke you down because going to build again with the idea that it could be taken away made it really hard to put your all into it."
Then came the health crisis. Mike was diagnosed with a brain tumor. While fighting for his life, his business was fighting for survival too.
He consulted with advisors about bankruptcy. One told him bluntly: "You should call it. It's not looking good—not only the state of the industry, but the state of the world. And the state of your bank account."
But Mike had no choice. If the business failed, he'd have to file personal bankruptcy too.
"I had to make it work," Mike says. "But I was very confident that you guys knew how to make it work. If I was on my own, it just wouldn't have worked."
Working with Advance Coaching for almost 5.5 years, Mike found not just strategies, but the emotional and mental support to keep pushing forward. Every time he implemented a strategy, it worked. That built trust—not just in the system, but in himself.
"I never doubted your strategies because I just never had a misstep to use as evidence that it wouldn't work," Mike explains. "Every time you implemented something, it worked."
The approach? Slow and steady wins the race. For 1.5 to 2 years, Mike stuck to the plan daily, weekly, monthly. When they had a bad month, they'd ask: "What did we do wrong?" Then they'd adjust and get back on track.
The sales process stayed the same. The marketing strategy stayed the same—laid out for 12 months at a time. No Hail Marys. No shiny objects. Just consistent execution.
Today, Mike's studio is #3 in Canada and #1 in his state. He's built a proper management team, allowing him to step back from day-to-day operations. He's "trimming the fat, getting leaner and meaner, doing less things but better."
"I'm really, really happy with how things are working out right now and where I'm at,"Mike says—a far cry from the dark days of considering bankruptcy.
His story proves that even when life throws everything at you—pandemics, health crises, financial pressure—with the right support, the right systems, and unwavering commitment, you can not only survive but thrive.
"Slow and steady wins the race."
We stuck to the plan daily, weekly, monthly. When we had a bad month, we'd ask 'what did we do wrong?', adjust, and get back on track. That's what it felt like to me—slow and steady wins the race.
— Mike, Studio Owner