Cannon Beach Fitness goes completly self service

Can you tell us a little bit about your business?

Cannon Beach Fitness is a small, self-service gym located in a coastal town where the population shifts dramatically with the seasons. In the winter, there are about 2,000 full-time residents. But during the summer, that number jumps to nearly 10,000. It’s just my wife and I running things, and we also bring in a cleaner. The gym is essentially unstaffed—we rely on our software to keep everything running smoothly.

What systems had you used previously?

The first system I used could only handle 150 members, and once I took over the gym and remodelled it, I quickly outgrew that. I had to create workarounds and even double-book members to keep up. It also required me to manually generate and manage member access codes. That alone ate up so much of my time—assigning codes, changing them, deleting them.

I later signed up with Glofox, but the onboarding process was simply nonexistent. There was no support. I never even got fully set up.

What made you decide to go with Gymflow?

Honestly, it was the customer service. From the first conversation with the team, I could tell I’d be in good hands. Their willingness to help is what won me over. I knew that anytime I had a question, I’d get an answer—even with the company being based on another continent.

To anyone in the U.S. who’s worried about time zones or response times: don’t be. Gymflow’s support has been better than most companies I’ve worked with in this industry. Plus, the system itself is super clean, modern, and intuitive.

Was there anything that surprised you during the first month?

The onboarding was seamless. My account manager, Isaac, took care of the entire migration—I just had to send over a list of my members and their emails. That was it. As someone with a full-time job outside the gym, that level of support made a huge difference.

How long did it take for you to feel confident using Gymflow on your own?

Within the first 30 days. The system is very user-friendly and self-explanatory. Plus, the how-to guides are actually useful — clear, simple, and easy to follow.

Have you noticed any changes in customer retention or sales?

Previously, everything ran through PayPal. I had to manually add each new customer, figure out what membership they wanted, and set it all up manually. With Gymflow, everything is streamlined. It’s a much better experience for both me and my members.

Having new members able to scan a QR code on the door to join and instantly get access via the Members App has helped increase sales, especially in the peak summer season when we get alot of drop-ins.

How many hours do you spend running your business now compared to before?

I used to spend 10 to 15 hours a week just managing admin tasks. Now, I probably spend about 2 hours a week in the system. Most of my time is spent actually talking to customers, which is how it should be.

If another gym owner asked if they should try Gymflow, what would you tell them?

Yes. Yesterday. You should have tried it yesterday.