The gym owner horror stories continue.
In Part II, Scott Carpenter and Andy Boy Miller get into another side of business ownership that can be just as painful as bad leases, permits, and construction problems:
The people side of the business.
Scott shares the story of a longtime personal training client who injured herself after doing something her trainer specifically told her not to do—only for an attorney's letter to show up shortly afterward.
Even with liability waivers, insurance, certifications, and documentation, Scott and Andy explain why there is no contract that can completely eliminate your risk as a business owner.
Then Andy shares one of the most difficult lessons from the early years of his gym.
When he first opened, he gave several close friends discounted "lifetime" memberships. Years later, when the business could no longer afford those rates, he asked them to move toward the gym's standard pricing.
He expected his closest friends to understand.
Instead, every conversation went badly.
Some of these were people Andy had vacationed with, invited to his wedding, and considered close friends—and the situation ultimately cost him both memberships and friendships.
The conversation becomes a bigger lesson about separating personal relationships from business decisions, understanding that clients will usually make choices based on what's best for them, and developing the emotional resilience required to stay in business long term.
Scott and Andy also discuss how stoicism helped them through some of their most difficult seasons as entrepreneurs, including Scott's recommendation of Ryan Holiday's The Obstacle Is the Way.
Because in business, things will eventually go sideways.
The goal isn't to avoid every problem.
It's to build the perspective, systems, and resilience to handle them when they happen.
In This Episode:
00:14 – Recapping Gym Owner Horror Stories Part I
00:35 – Why liability gets more complicated as your business grows
01:09 – Why waivers and contracts can't completely protect you
01:24 – How lawsuits can become a financial war of attrition
02:15 – The insurance loopholes gym owners need to understand
03:41 – Scott's story about a longtime personal training client
05:10 – The gym injury that happened after a client ignored instructions
06:26 – Why every gym should have an incident report process
07:02 – When the client's tone suddenly changed
08:36 – The attorney letter that showed up a week later
09:00 – How documentation and text messages helped protect the business
10:43 – Why problems can come from the people you least expect
11:20 – Andy's biggest early pricing mistake
12:07 – Asking his founding members to move to normal rates
12:55 – Why every single conversation went badly
14:22 – Losing customers AND close friendships
16:37 – Developing a thicker skin as a business owner
17:34 – The reality of putting your clients' needs ahead of your own
18:58 – Bad reviews, chargebacks, and long-term clients turning against you
20:36 – Why you can't take every business setback personally
21:15 – How stoicism helped Scott and Andy through hard times
21:36 – Scott's recommendation: The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday
23:39 – Preparing yourself for the inevitable problems of business ownership
The Biggest Takeaway
Protect the business, but don't let the business destroy you emotionally.
Have your waivers.
Keep your certifications current.
Document incidents.
Save important communications.
Be careful with special pricing and promises that could become unsustainable later.
But also understand that even when you do everything right, people may still leave, complain, threaten legal action, dispute charges, or turn against you.
That doesn't mean you stop caring about your clients.
It means learning to make decisions based on what's sustainable for the business instead of making every decision out of fear of disappointing someone.
As Andy explains in the episode, business owners in service industries naturally care deeply about their clients—but your clients aren't necessarily thinking about what their decisions will do to your business or your family.
And when the hard seasons come, perspective matters.
Don't take everything personally. Learn from it, adapt, and keep moving forward.
🎙️ Episode 230: Sued? Blackmailed? Gym Owner Horror Stories Part II
Listen now, and if you're dealing with your own gym owner horror story, reach out. Chances are, Scott, Andy, and the Profit Lifestyle team have been through something similar.
