Building His Own Gym: How Chris Spealler Went from Tenant to Landowner
Chris Spealler shares an unusually candid look at the nearly 10-year journey to building his own gym in Park City, Utah. In this BTWB Speaker Series session, he walks through why rising rent forced a crossroads, how he navigated zoning and permits, and what it really cost to buy land and build a facility (including the hidden fees and the stress of carrying rent while paying interest during construction). He’s transparent that the gym alone didn’t fund the dream—years of saving outside income made the down payment and SBA financing possible.
Chris also explains how ownership changed the business: the building became part of his long-term retirement plan, and the gym’s programming, pricing, and services evolved to better serve an older, longevity-focused community. He closes with practical lessons for gym owners weighing lease vs. build, what he’d do differently in the design, and why—when it comes time to retire—the land and building may matter more than the business itself.
Key Takeaways
Building a gym is rarely funded by the gym alone. Chris is clear: the ability to build came from years of outside income not from a thriving affiliate margin.
Rising rent forces hard decisions.
The choice became: downsize and change the business, shut down, or take the risk to build. Continuing to rent long-term simply wasn’t viable.
Expect a long, frustrating timeline.
Nearly 10 years from idea → reality, including zoning battles, town meetings, 18 months for permits, and another 10 months to build.
Hidden costs add up fast.
Beyond land and construction, fees like water distribution, fire code, transportation impact fees, and interest during construction can be massive—and are often overlooked.
SBA loans can make ownership possible.
Using an SBA loan reduced the down payment requirement to ~10%, which was critical to getting the project off the ground.
Owning flipped the monthly math.
A ~$12k mortgage replaced what would’ve been ~$21k in rent for a smaller space—making the business far more sustainable.
Build out, not up—and plan for the future.
Maximize your footprint early, design for expansion, and think about resale or leasing flexibility from day one.
The building became the retirement plan.
Chris is blunt: the gym’s revenue alone isn’t enough to retire on. The land and building are the real long-term asset.
Programming must evolve with your members.
Serving a 40–60+ demographic required shifting away from constant high intensity toward longevity-focused, movement-demand-based programming.
Dropping the CrossFit affiliation was intentional.
Not a rejection of CrossFit—but an alignment issue. Expectations didn’t match what the gym actually delivered anymore.
Higher prices only work with higher value.
Memberships increased, but so did coaching touchpoints, recovery access, and personalization—creating an all-inclusive model.
Ownership brings control—and pressure.
You gain autonomy, flexibility, and equity, but the mortgage never goes away. You’re all in.
Ask yourself one hard question before building:
Are you truly in this for the long haul—or are you okay becoming a landlord if the gym stops being the passion?
The Premier All-In-One Platform
Whether it’s planning workouts, managing membership options, class schedules or your billing, we have it covered. We are saving gym owners money every month by combining their workout tracking and gym management into one simple to use platform. Sign up for a custom walkthrough.
Why did we build the BTWB All-In-One gym management platform after sticking to workout tracking for ten years? The answer is simple: unlike other management platforms, we put fitness first.
Of course, we handle all the “back of house” essentials like billing, check-ins, and memberships because you can’t run a gym without them. But we see those as a necessary evil, not the reason people stay.
Healthy, growing gyms don’t struggle with retention. When members see results, they stick around. That’s why our platform is built around coaching, programming, and the class experience, because results solve the real problems.
It’s like a restaurant. Flashy signs and menus might get people in the door, but the food brings them back. In your gym, the “food” is member results. That’s what keeps people coming month after month.
We built BTWB to help you deliver those results, with tools designed for coaches and athletes, not just check-ins and billing. Sign up for a custom walkthrough.
Thanks for being part of this journey!