Rob Francis knows a thing or two about fighting tough battles from his previous job as a Royal Marine, writes Rob Clark.
And the owner of Energie Fitness in Kiln Farm and BMF bootcamp is putting all his experience to good use to ensure his Milton Keynes businesses continue to succeed through the Covid pandemic.
It’s clear that Rob’s former marine training has given him a clear mindset to achieve success against all odds, and he explains how he found a turning point during the first lockdown to make his business work.
He said: “We adapted to the lockdown straight away and within 48 hours we had over 30 classes, workshops and seminars going on online.”
Rob thought on his feet and in a very short time frame and was able to turn this catastrophe called lockdown into a viable business again.
Rob has a positive outlook for his future, even though he is in such a ruthless field.
He said: “It’s a tough industry and Milton Keynes is a very competitive place and full of gyms.
“There is lots of stuff going on. Based on my military background I feel very strongly whenever there are hard times there is an opportunity that will arise.
“I have saved some money which I have now invested in an outdoor franchise called BMF bootcamp. I always like to think outside the box, many gyms have closed across the UK and Milton Keynes and I hope we won’t be one of them and we will manage to move on. We are all trying hard.”
Funds have dried up for many small gyms, but larger businesses have managed to stay open by making staff redundant.
Yet Rob has managed to keep all his staff by showing innovation and determination to make his gym work not only for him, but for his staff and his members.
Rob spoke about the second lockdown and said: “Our gym has been used as a model for the rest of our network, and the whole of our network will be running online classes which we are contributing to. We adapted well and I think next time we need to do things even better; people expect a level of service and next time we must go one better.”