A Two-Time World Champion’s Toughest Opponent Was Software
400+ Active members
2020 Year Fit & Fight was founded
3+ Yrs Running on Gymdesk
4 Disciplines managed in one platform
From World Champion to Gym Owner
Artur Gasanov grew up in Dagestan—the same republic that produced Khabib Nurmagomedov—in a family of fighters and coaches. He turned pro in Muay Thai at five years old, finished his career at 19 with 25 professional fights and two world championship titles, and moved to Chicago in 2007 with a dream he’d been carrying for years.
For 14 years, he worked other jobs. He wasn’t in a rush. When he finally opened Fit & Fight, the first thing on his mind wasn’t the mats or the schedule—it was the software.
The Right System Wasn’t the First One He Found
Artur knew before opening that paper-and-pen wouldn’t scale. A friend pointed him to MyStudio. It worked well enough at first, but after two years the cracks showed—loading a single member profile took 5–10 seconds, and at the volume he was building toward, that friction adds up fast. He tried Spark next and found it overcomplicated: too many options, too many steps just to get a member signed up. He cancelled after two months.
That’s when he found Gymdesk.
“I clicked around and I said, ‘Bro, this is the one we need.’ The interface was clean. It was fast.”
Simplicity Was the Feature He’d Been Looking For
After two years of slow load times and two months of overcomplicated menus, the answer turned out to be straightforward: a clean interface, fast navigation, and exactly what he needed—nothing extra.
Members got digital cards with barcodes for check-in. Free trial sign-ups went from a multi-step process to a single scan. Payments ran automatically. And when Artur needed to send an email to every member or pull up a profile mid-class, it was there instantly. His general manager put it simply: Gymdesk had everything they needed, and it was fast.
The Operational Shift
Without the Right Tools
- Manual paper check-in
- 5–10 second load times per member profile
- Clunky multi-step sign-up process
- Juggling multiple platforms across four disciplines
- Chasing payments manually
With Gymdesk
- Digital member cards with barcode scan
- Instant member lookup and navigation
- One scan to register for a free trial class
- One system for everything
- Automated billing from day one
Confidence Over Championships
Artur doesn’t measure success in trophies. Parents come to him after years and say their kid may not be a champion—but now he has self-defense, confidence, and a goal. That’s the point.
“I clicked around and I said, ‘Bro, this is the one we need.’ The interface was clean. It was fast.”
“My goal is to help people. Help is the goal. Not to be champions.”
Run Your Academy. Not Your Inbox.
Gymdesk handles the admin so you can stay on the mat.
