446: AI Systems This Gym Owner Uses to Retain 856 Members

Curious what it actually looks like to build with AI instead of just talking about it? Start here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMPx7b3_LOA

856 members. Under 3 percent churn most months. One hire changed how this gym runs everything.

Everyone assumes AI adoption means fewer people on payroll. Dave Rafuse spent more, not less, because the tool only pays off when someone builds it into the business first.

Blended Athletics grew 23 percent, then 25 percent, then 28 percent over the last three years, and Dave says the systems that got them to 150 members never would have gotten them to 856.

In this episode you'll learn:

— Why Dave hired an AI architect instead of cutting payroll

— The interview question Dave asks every single candidate about AI

— How health scores catch members before they silently churn

— Why visit frequency, not price, predicts who cancels

— How AI rebuilt Blended's event calendar around real attendance data

— Why 40 percent of their members were being ignored by every event they ran