How To Make The Journey From Intern to Gym Owner - Cody Parks

This week Rick sits down with Cody Parks to discuss his Alloy Personal Training journey from intern to gym owner, and why he switched his business model to Small Group Personal Training.

Eleven years ago, a Georgia State University student walked into the Alloy facilities for an internship and loved what he saw from the first day. The gym was packed, everybody was smiling and having fun, and the experience looked great.

Right there, Cody Parks knew that this is what he wanted to do; this is what personal training should look like. Everything that he had envisioned was right before his eyes. It didn’t take long for Rick to notice Cody’s passion for fitness, as well as his knack for numbers and business systems.

Cody was impressed with the business and thought this is how personal training should be done. He had seen other fitness businesses prior to interning with Alloy like one-on-one training, in-home training, and big-box gyms that were not operating as effectively. Cody wanted to make fitness a career, but did not know how to do what he loved to do and money. Cody’s internship at Alloy impressed him, and he was pumped to learn of a future in fitness. Being on the team as an intern involved 10 weeks, but Cody wanted to stay longer to learn more. Part of what he learned with business systems was how to make a successful business. Everyone working here had their skill sets and a purpose that matched the mission statement of truly helping people. It was not a one-man show. Cody realized if he wanted to make a bigger impact and help more and more people, it requires an entire team. He had discovered the blueprint of how to run a successful fitness business.

After the internship, Cody had a plan. He needed to get as much coaching experience as possible, then become a director of training to allow him to make fitness a career. That journey would prepare him for owning a personal training business.

After working in Montana a while, Cody came back to Atlanta. He called Rick and found out about an opportunity with a gym owner that Rick was advising. Rami Odeh was initially a personal trainer who grew into owning a personal training business. See Rami’s journey Owning A Personal Training Business Podcast. He was super transparent about his trajectory in the industry. Rami was going through a tough spot in his business around 2008 2009 when the stock market crashed. He had just purchased his own property and the timing for him was terrible. He was a good owner, but sometimes circumstances just happen to you out of your control.

So about the time Cody was talking to Rick about opportunities, Rick and Rami had been talking about the business. So Rami needed some help and for Cody it was the next step that he needed and a good fit. Cody was thankful to have the opportunity in his journey with Rami to push himself as Director of Training. Both Rami and Cody worked out a great relationship and brought the business back. For Rick it was awesome because he was helping a friend and helping an intern he believed in while seeing the business succeed. Then fast forward, Cody eventually bought the business.

Initially, in the gym Cody now owned, they were doing a team training boot camp model. What they found was a higher attrition rate, and it also required them to work hard and put so much energy into creating the team atmosphere. It was like putting together a big show with lights, music, and action with boot camp. Then trying to carry on the personal training model, which just conflicted with the boot camp model. When Cody saw the numbers, having two conflicting models made little sense. Cody had always believed in the Alloy Personal Training model. So Cody eventually transitioned over to Alloy.

Listen to Cody’s journey from intern to gym owner and learn about his big plans for the future to help even more people by teaching freedom through fitness in schools, churches, and worldwide.

Key Takeaways