JP Middleton is the founder of Gym Members Now, an AI marketing agency that has done over $25 million in verified sales for 2,000+ gym owners since 2019. He also runs StartGrowSell.AI, a partnership program where operators build the same kind of agency in other industries and sell together as a portfolio.
My story. All of it.
The basement.
I was 21, living in my mom's basement. Fired from two jobs: lifeguard and security guard. I spent my last $997, a Christmas gift from my grandfather, on a course that taught me nothing.
300 DMs.
Over spring break I messaged 300 gym owners on Facebook. About a dozen talked to me. Three signed up. Then I had to learn how to actually run their ads. I did.
The gap.
The big names chased small independent gyms and avoided franchises, because franchises tell vendors what to do. I went straight at franchises. Nobody was serving them well, and they had money to spend.
Jeff.
Jeff owned 12 Anytime Fitness locations. I got him results in the middle of summer, the worst season for gyms. He told his whole franchise advisory board about us. Over the next few months, 200+ gym owners came to me asking to work together. The agency went from $3K a month to over $70K a month.
The ALAN years.
I became one of the top earners on ALAN, the lead nurturing software Alex Hormozi built before "AI agency" was even a term. I was learning from him and his team years before the big brand you know now.
Andy.
My client of two years, Andy Gunlock, made me his business partner. He owns 149 Anytime Fitness locations as of August 2026. Operators like that don't partner with vendors who lose them money.
The grind.
Seven years. 2,000+ gym owners. 4,000+ one-to-one sales calls. Preferred vendor for Xponential, Alloy, and ClubReady. Over $25 million in sales, verified.
The valuation.
In February 2025, Value Buddy valued the business at $5.4 million. I was ready to sell. Then my broker said something that changed the plan.
The roll-up.
He said: help three or four people build what you built, in other industries, and the portfolio sells for 8 to 15x instead of 4x. That's why StartGrowSell.AI exists. That's why I'm on YouTube.
Why I give this away.
I don't need course money. My agency pays me well. I need partners, because a portfolio of agencies is worth more than my agency alone. When you win, my exit gets bigger. That's the whole deal, and it's why everything on my channel is free and real.