The Culture Was There. The System Wasn’t.
2022 FOUNDED
200+ ACTIVE MEMBERS
2 LOCATIONS
It Started With a Crazy Idea on the Drive Home
Cody Goodfriend started jiu-jitsu in seventh grade because he was too small for the football team. He went on to Muay Thai, kickboxing, MMA, and eventually a career as a Rochester police officer—training never stopped. Phil is his brother-in-law: a civil engineer, the longest-standing white belt at the gym, and the person who suggested they open it in the first place. Kevin came in as the little brother—trained with Cody at 16, took a break for college, came back when his actual little brother started training and he couldn’t have that. Three different jobs, three different schedules, one gym.
Paper Sign-In Cards and Spreadsheets Weren’t Cutting It
Phil is a civil engineer. He loves data, loves spreadsheets, loves seeing things tracked and organized. The paper sign-in cards were driving him nuts—and billing was somehow happening by hand, members trusting themselves to remember, the team trusting members to show up. Kevin pushed for a management system. Phil started researching. Most of what he found felt like it would cost more time than it saved.
Moving Away From Paper For Good
Phil found Gymdesk through a Google search—went through a list, compared options. The interface stood out against everything else he looked at. The other options felt dated; this one felt like someone had actually thought about it. Kevin ran the technical check. It held up. Billing, attendance tracking, push notifications, belt promotions—everything they were patching together by hand was covered. For an engineer who’d been doing it all on paper, that was the right kind of relief.
The Operational Shift
Without the Right Tools
- Paper cards for sign-ins—easy to lose, easy to skip
- Billing done by hand, hoping members remembered
- No visibility into who’s showing up or going quiet
- Class cancellations scrambled out through Instagram
- Belt promotions tracked mentally or not tracked at all
- Phil building spreadsheets just to see the numbers
With Gymdesk
- Tablet check-in even 5-year-olds navigate on their own
- Automated billing that tracks exactly who owes what
- Attendance data Phil can read from home, in real time
- Push notifications reach members fast through the app
- Member profiles show every belt, stripe, and class count
- Backend data—class growth, leads, payments—all in one place
Everyone on the Mountain. Moving Upward.
Shogun West was built for people who need more than technique. A code of conduct with “humble” at the top. A Warriors Path curriculum that gives kids a new virtue each month. Scholarships for members going through hard times. When attendance data shows someone hasn’t shown up in two weeks, the team reaches out—not to collect payment, but to check in. With Gymdesk handling the admin, there’s time for that.
Run Your Academy. Not Your Inbox.
Gymdesk handles the admin so you can stay on the mat.
