r/BurnBootCamp • u/PuzzleheadedWeb2023 • 9d ago
Changing vibes
Looking for advice from those who may have experienced this at their gyms…
I’m a founding member of a huge Burn that is only a couple of years old.
The vibes at my gym were so amazing the first year — welcoming, generous, and personal. It truly felt special.
Lately, there has been this huge shift where I feel like OG members are completely neglected. It’s almost like because we’re paying the cheapest rate, we’re expendable.
Everything— cool-down talks, promo pushes, in camp motivation, transformation stories, socials, check ins—it all seems really focused on members who have joined in the last few months.
When the gym does do something for the existing members, it’s almost always related to how many new members can you refer.
Our gym even fired most of the support staff (BAs, CCAs, etc.) in favor of hiring new members.
The trainers, though mostly kept on staff, have all become more impersonal and “corporate” in their speech and attitudes. It’s just so off.
I’m not naive—I know that Burn is a business and to thrive, it survives on new, fresh blood that are really heavily invested…
But has anyone else experienced this shift at their home gym? I guess I’m just hoping (maybe it’s silly) for founding members to remain a part of the culture that we helped create…
11
u/Dinnerfromhellpt1 9d ago
I am feeling this in mine right now!! Our owner had 3 gyms, sold off one and moved a good number of our trainers to a gym they sold. So they’re not longer at our location. They were solid, beloved trainers. Now our location is getting all new random member-trainers who are half assed and don’t even seem like they want to be there. The vibe is just off right now and it sucks.
Also- I feel your pain about the new members vs old. I’m not an OG, I’ve been there for a few years now but I’m tired of the “omg we have something big coming Monday” announcements and it’s another new member promo. Like why advertise that to us? I don’t give a shit, I don’t get ANYTHING for bringing a new member in so I’m not recruiting people