From the beginning, RockBox Fitness was meant to create a fitness community where members could win. Founders Steve Halloran and Roger Martin didn’t start the franchise with a membership-based program – they started with six-week challenges. Those challenges would bring people into the community and set them up to succeed with unlimited access to challenge programming. Those challengers did see wins – and would quickly choose to join the community as a member from there.
In December 2023, the team at RockBox decided to get back to its roots of fitness challenges. But with 60 franchise locations across the United States, they needed to ensure that the challenges could provide a seamless member experience, no matter the scale.
A-cross to challenges
With ABC Trainerize, RockBox can facilitate their challenges across the franchise and offer ongoing access to the app beyond the initial challenge, too. “If you join a franchise as a challenger, you get access to the RockBox app for six weeks to complete your challenge,” says Alexia Stevens, Director of Sales and Operations for RockBox Fitness. From there, it varies by franchise. “Some franchises are using it as a paid subscription after the challenge, others are offering it as a free value-add to integrate with wearables and drive engagement.”
A one-two punch of nutrition and accountability coaching
New challengers at RockBox are greeted with two key services in addition to fitness programming: a meal plan and an accountability coach. By pairing challengers with a coach right away, new members are immediately motivated and set up to win.
“We needed to follow through on the accountability promise of the challenges and ensure we had visibility across the organization,” says Stevens. “As soon as we saw the automation features in ABC Trainerize, we knew that we could guarantee that all clients would receive the support they need. If all else fails, that consistency of communication is built in.”
Community reach beyond the studio
RockBox believes a sense of community not only enhances the gym experience but fosters a space where members feel comfortable challenging themselves. This supportive culture creates a shared passion that motivates and encourages members, no matter their fitness level. With community being such a central pillar to the RockBox member experience, it was crucial that they found a platform that would enhance the in-person experience.
“For RockBox, one thing we pride ourselves on is the community,” says Stevens. In previous iterations, RockBox challenges were facilitated through Facebook groups. “Members would message in there and support each other, so it was important to me to have that feature in the platform we chose,” says Stevens. “The community aspect, the real-time interaction in ABC Trainerize… members see the benefit so much, especially as our demographic is moving away from Facebook. The app is where the online community lives now. It’s so welcoming.”
The team at RockBox has implemented ABC Trainerize into 35 franchise locations, but they anticipate adding more, and soon. Since the implementation is centralized, the adoption process is streamlined– and franchisees are raving. “One franchisee was skeptical initially… but after the 30-day trial, they were adamant they wanted to keep it. They felt the burden lift off of their team when it came to providing exceptional accountability support during the challenge process. .” Franchisees also see potential beyond challenges, especially when it comes to tailoring programming to what members want. “Members love the habit tracking features, and love taking their experience beyond the six-week challenge.”
And as more franchises adopt the platform, Stevens says they expect to utilize more in-app features, including creating an on-demand video workout library. But first, they’ll connect with more franchisees at the RockBox Summit in Charleston, SC in August 2024, where they can learn more about the power of ABC Trainerize for the greater RockBox Fitness community.
Power Your Gym’s Coaching with ABC Trainerize
At ABC Trainerize, we understand the complexities of running a fitness business and offer a host of tools to help you manage every aspect of your gym. From client management and scheduling to nutrition coaching and performance tracking, we’re here to support you in achieving your business goals.