100+ Active members
300+ Free trial signups from one form
3+ Years Running their academy on Gymdesk
The Before
Carlmichael and Keanoush spent years building Ground Game Theory before it had a name on a door—training out of Carlmichael’s parents’ house, cross-training at open mats across Miami, building a following on Instagram. By the time they signed a lease, they had students. What they didn’t have was any system to run a business.
The people around them weren’t doing much better. Cash, Venmo, paper waivers. One coach who only got paid if a student remembered to bring money. For two coaches who’d spent years becoming serious grapplers, the admin side was an entirely different problem.
- No system to track who had paid or when
- No way to follow up with leads automatically
- No online signup—every new member required a manual step from the team
- Payments collected through Venmo, Zelle, or cash — nothing automated, nothing reliable
They knew before they opened that they needed a proper CRM. The question was which one.
The After
Before opening in November 2022, Keanoush demoed his options—including Kicksite. Gymdesk was the one that made sense, so he put it in from day one. No migration, no switching cost, no learning curve from a broken system.
From there, the automations did the rest.
- Free trial form embedded on their website captures leads automatically
- New members complete signup and payment without any involvement from the team
- Automations handle Google review requests, trial confirmations, and event registrations
- SMS automations reach the members who never open email — their 18–25 demographic
- Three years in, the system runs quietly in the background while they coach
Three years in, Keanoush still checks the system sometimes and finds a new member he didn’t know about. Someone found the button, signed up, paid — without a single step from the team. For a gym built on community, not sales calls, that’s exactly the point.
What Changed
The back end runs itself
Ground Game Theory is run by two people. Every hour spent on admin is an hour not spent on the mat. Gymdesk’s automations handle the follow-up that would otherwise fall through the cracks — trial confirmations, Google review requests, event registrations—without anyone on the team having to trigger them.
Leads that convert without a sales call
The free trial form on their website has driven more than 300 signups. Every one lands in the Gymdesk portal automatically. For a gym that built its reputation on community, not sales pitches, that’s the right dynamic.
Members who sign themselves up
The become-a-member button on their website routes directly to the Gymdesk signup page. Members complete the process—payment included—on their own. Keanoush sees a new member in the system and genuinely had no involvement in that signup. Three years in, that’s still exactly what he wanted.
Seen enough?
Start your free 30-day trial — no credit card, no sales call.
I’ll have people sign up without us even knowing sometimes. I see a new member in the system and I didn’t do a thing. That’s exactly what I wanted.”
I take it for granted sometimes. When I go to cross-train at my buddy’s academies, they’re still collecting everything through Venmo or Zelle, signing paper waivers. It’s brutal.”
About the Gym
- Miami, Florida location
- Discipline: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—community-first academy rating
- 2020, started in a home studio, opened formally November 2022 calendar
- Co-founded by Keanoush Amirizadeh and Carlmichael users
- 100+ active members user-check
- Using Gymdesk for: Member self-signup, free trial lead capture, event registration forms, automations, rank tracking, store, branded app check
Opening a gym? Start on the right platform from day one.
No migration headaches. No switching costs. Just the tools you need to run and grow your gym from the moment you open the doors.
