Starting & Scaling a Gym (with William Watts & Chris Wojcik)
William Watts opened East Austin Jiu Jitsu and was voted Austin's best gym in his very first year. Chris Wojcik has competed—and trained—at BJJ gyms around the world, and is now opening his own. In this conversation, they get into what actually works when you're starting or scaling a gym: how to onboard new members so they stick, why it's easier to get onboarding right than to win back members who are already drifting, and the "obvious" blind spots—bad class times, cluttered websites—that end up costing gyms new members every week.
In this session, you'll hear no jargon or complicated frameworks—just two people who've built gyms from the mat up, talking through what keeps members around.
This free, interactive session will contain...
- A real, unscripted conversation. William and Chris talk gym owner to gym owner, not lecture to audience.
- A deep dive on onboarding. What a strong first few classes actually looks like, and why it matters more than chasing members who are already drifting away.
- The blind spots most owners miss. Class times, website flow, and the gap between being technically savvy and business savvy.
- Live audience Q&A. About 10 questions pulled from prospective gym owners, current owners, and questions submitted by you ahead of time.
Meet the Experts
Learn from experienced industry professionals who bring practical insights, real-world examples, and proven strategies to help gym owners run better businesses.
William Watts
William Watts is the co-owner of East Austin Jiujitsu Parlor. The Parlor is a leading jiujitsu facility that incorporates high level instruction with physical therapy and strength & conditioning coaching so more people can get more out of their training. Before William opened the Parlor he was scaling Restore Hyper Wellness, one of the fastest growing retail wellness businesses in the world. He has consulted health & fitness businesses across the country, led a panel at SXSW, and recently wrote The Jiujitsu Gym Operations Manual.
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Chris Wojcik
Chris Wojcik is one of the most innovative people in jiujitsu. He is an ADCC, Polaris, and EBI veteran, as well as a member of the winning team from CJI 2. Chris popularized the reverse Aoki lock submission commonly called a "Woj lock." Chris is the author of "A Grappler's Diary" and he is currently building The Grappler's Almanac.
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