Sea Glass Fitness scaled its Club Pilates operation by sticking to the playbook and moving to meet members where they’re at
Gary and Kathy McKay had seemingly done it all by 2018. The early stages of their careers saw them launch, grow and sell a tech brand which supported the United States Department of Defense. After that, they went down the Caribbean, where they opened several hospitality businesses.
Nevertheless, their entrepreneurial appetites remained strong. After heading back to the United States, they were on the lookout for another opportunity. Fitness and one of its most booming sectors soon delivered, resulting in what would become one of Club Pilates’ top franchisee groups.
“We had built a couple of businesses from the ground up, so we wanted to get in with some type of franchising company that provided accelerators, a framework and all that good stuff so we didn’t have to start from the very beginning,” Gary said of the decision to choose a franchise business model. “After we met up with (parent company Xponential Fitness) and Club Pilates for discovery days, we really liked the brand. We really connected with it.”
After opening their first location in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 2019, Gary and Kathy went on to launch and acquire sites in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware, bringing 13 in total under the Sea Glass Fitness umbrella.
Today, they stand as one of Xponential Fitness’ top franchisees.
Initial Challenges
Despite running a smooth, straightforward operation today, the McKays’ franchising journey had its fair share of twists, turns and challenges. Staffing represented one of the first.
“Just because somebody says they love fitness, loves to work out, loves all that, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to be a good fit to be a manager of a studio or even an instructor,” said Gary. “There’s a lot more that goes into it…It’s about having the right skillset.”
Beyond knowing helpful breathwork strategies, proper spinal alignment, and how to maintain stability through stretches — all of which are helpful for the practice of Pilates — customer service and business operational skills are required to run a successful studio on the business side.
Gary added that he and Kathy don’t so much look for fitness experience when hiring general managers, but sales experience. They also conduct monthly check-ins with assistant general managers where they distribute “homework” to make sure they’re running an effective operation and maintaining culture.
“We go through this whole process to train them on the different aspects of what it means to run a studio as a general manager, and we’ve been successful the majority of the time now,” Gary explained.
Close Collaboration
When it comes to overcoming other challenges, such as the setbacks that came with the COVID-19 pandemic or leveraging changes in consumer behaviour, the McKays have utilized the other franchisees around them as resources.
“We tend to stay more connected to the other franchise owners in our area,” Kathy said. “That’s everything from sharing instructors, to talking about what’s going on in the market, or if they want to change pricing or something like that. We’re all working together.”
Thanks to exclusivity within territories, the Club Pilates franchise network is one where collaboration is welcomed rather than discouraged in fear of cannibalization.
“If there’s somebody new to Club Pilates coming into the area, a lot of times they’ll reach out and ask for advice,” said Kathy. “Obviously, we help out however we can. It’s one of those things where I don’t feel like I’m competing with the franchisees next to me. We all want to do well. So if everybody’s doing well, and the network does well, then we all do well.”
Club Pilates also hosts an expo at its annual convention where franchisees are encouraged to share experiences, tips and tricks with one another.
Managing Multiple Locations
As far as the challenges that come with running multiple locations and catering to different communities go, the McKays argue there’s no across-the-board fix or solution. Operators need to get down and get involved with each community to adapt to them.
“What works at one doesn’t necessarily work at another,” said Gary. “We have to kind of work around that.”
“We have some older demographics and younger ones,” Kathy added. “We have stay-at-home moms versus working moms. One schedule might not work at this studio because 8:30 a.m. is when they’re all dropping their kids off at the bus. Whereas, in another studio, in a different area, the school schedule or the bus schedule is different…It’s taking that time to get into the community, knowing your members and catering.”
Gary noted that this year especially, they’ve aimed to conduct more grassroots-focused initiatives across their studios to better appeal to those different communities, even getting involved with the Chambers of Commerce in local areas.
“We’ve been opening a lot of studios, so we’re doing ribbon cuttings with the chambers and meeting other businesses that are part of the chamber,” said Gary. “It’s been pretty successful for us working with them.”
Following the Playbook
That said, the McKays argue against straying too far from the Club Pilates guidelines. The brand gives out instructions, or a “playbook,” to its franchisees for a reason.
“When we opened our first studio in Lancaster County, in the middle of farm country, we got everything from corporate and we thought to ourselves, ‘We’re a little bit unique out here, so we need to change this and change that.’ We very quickly figured out that was the worst thing to do,” Gary recalled. “When we started sticking to the play that they gave us and executed it the way that they told us, it worked a lot better.”
Club Pilates assists as well by deploying teams to provide support with presales and other franchising initiatives, like establishing a sustained sales staff or curated marketing.
“Xpo and Club Pilates corporate have done a great job supporting us,” said Gary. “They don’t hold your hand, but they provide all of the knowledge and assets that you need to be successful in the business. If you follow their process and their play, it really does work.”
The McKays plan to continue building alongside Club Pilates, adding that they’re aiming to launch four more locations in 2026.
