Home / Blog
The Black Raccoon blog
Growth insights for gym owners
Practical articles on gym marketing, sales, member retention, leadership and franchising. Fresh ideas you can use this week.
Latest articles
Read, steal, grow
Almost Half of Adults Live With a Long-Term Health Condition. Are Gyms Really Built for Them?
46% of UK adults live with a long-term health condition. Learn how gyms can build pathways, onboarding and services that genuinely serve them. ...more
Growing your Club
September 18, 2026•15 min read
The Sydney Sweeney Advert: Is It Really Setting Back Women’s Sport?
A fitness marketing perspective on the Sydney Sweeney Novig campaign: what the backlash gets right, what it misses, and what it teaches about attention. ...more
Views
September 15, 2026•8 min read
The 85% Opportunity: Why Gyms Must Stop Designing Only for People Who Already Exercise
Only around 17% of UK adults belong to a gym. Here is how established gyms can build beginner products, onboarding and marketing that attract the other 83%. ...more
Growing your Club
September 08, 2026•14 min read
.png)
What If Gyms Competed Less and Grew the Market More?
With 83% of the UK not in a gym, fighting over the same members makes little sense. How local gyms can collaborate to grow the fitness market and still compete. ...more
Growing your Club
August 16, 2026•7 min read
Are Freelance Personal Trainers Limiting Your Gym’s Potential?
Renting PT space feels low-risk, but it may cap your gym’s revenue and retention. Why an employed coaching model can become one of your biggest income streams. ...more
Personal Training
July 19, 2026•5 min read
.png)
How Do You Tackle a New Budget Gym Opening in Your Area?
A budget gym is opening near you. Here is how independent gyms, franchises and hotel clubs protect members by competing on service, community and experience, not price. ...more
Member Retention
July 16, 2026•5 min read
.png)
What Would Happen If You Paid Your Gym Staff More?
Could a 10% pay increase or performance bonus improve staff retention, member experience and sales in your gym? The numbers behind investing in your team first. ...more
Leadership
July 03, 2026•4 min read
.png)
Entrepreneurship, Stress and Why Success Means Nothing Without Your Health
Running a gym or fitness business is stressful. Ryan Charlesworth on health, sharing responsibility, controlling the controllables and building a sustainable business. ...more
Leadership
June 29, 2026•6 min read
.png)
Is It Really the Fitness Industry’s Responsibility to Improve the Nation’s Health?
Should gyms be the solution to public health? Why focusing on member experience, enjoyment and community may do more for the nation’s health than any campaign. ...more
Views
June 24, 2026•5 min read
.png)
The Most Difficult Moment of My Consultancy Career
A franchisee in crisis, a franchisor slow to act, and the lesson that changed how Black Raccoon works: business is about people, and values matter most when things go wrong. ...more
Views
June 15, 2026•5 min read
.png)
The Most Overlooked Problem in Franchising Isn’t Recruitment
Franchise brands invest heavily in recruiting franchisees, then support fades. Why ongoing franchisee support is what makes fitness franchise systems succeed. ...more
Franchising
June 11, 2026•2 min read
.png)
The State of the Nation Report: Great News, But Let’s Not Ignore the Bigger Questions
UK fitness membership is growing, but what about data quality, sleeper members, attrition and the 80% who still don’t join? A critical look beneath the headlines. ...more
Views
June 10, 2026•4 min read
.png)
Prefer to talk it through?
Book a free Growth Call and get ideas tailored to your gym.
The growth briefing
Growth plays for gym owners. Straight to your inbox.
Monthly ideas on marketing, sales, retention and leadership from the Black Raccoon team, plus new guides, podcast episodes and Education Series dates. Unsubscribe any time.
Growth partners to gyms, health clubs, leisure operators and fitness franchises since 2014. We plug into your business and drive members, revenue and retention.
Company
07929 369658
[email protected]
Silsden, West Yorkshire, UK
© 2026 Black Raccoon. All rights reserved. Growth partners for the fitness industry since 2014. Privacy Policy