Enric Gracia, 36 years old and a computer scientist by profession, started thinking about Inspira Fitness in 2017. At that time, he was working for a company in the cosmetics sector. He had a good job, good hours, but he was saturated with the technology sector and the volume of work. So he started seriously thinking about bringing to fruition a personal project that had been on his mind for a while. His hobby has always been sports. In fact, in addition to computer science, he also studied personal training and dietetics. He felt ready to make Inspira, the sports center he dreamed of, start walking.
After two years of work, he and another partner wove a business plan with which they secured 190,000 euros from financial institutions. This, plus the 90,000 euros they contributed from their own capital, ended up totaling 280,000 euros to start the business. In February 2019, Inspira Fitness was born in the Les Corts neighborhood. Today, Gracia is the majority partner.
The idea of setting up a gym that was also a coworking space for trainers arose with the growing popularity of fitness in the world of social media. Gracia noticed that the number of professionals sharing their routines online kept growing and he thought: "Where do all these people go to record their workouts? In the street, in the park, do they do it clandestinely?". He, who had frequented gyms in the metropolitan area for many years and had an important network of contacts in the sector, detected that trainers did not have a fixed place to work. In a normal gym, he explains, it is not possible for a professional who is not part of the center's staff to train their clients in the facilities. So, once again, an entrepreneur turned a problem into a solution and set up a coworking space for personal trainers.
Gracia noticed that the number of professionals sharing their routines online kept growing and he thought: Where do all these people go to record their workouts?Inspira Fitness has established itself in Barcelona, and more specifically in Les Corts, because it was an important market niche and, by proposing such a new and unexploited model, in the Catalan capital it is "where it could be seen if it works or not."For now, they are verifying that the model works: Gracia receives a lot of requests from coaches every day.And when this happens, the first thing they do is make them fill out a form to ensure they meet certain requirements. First, registration in the ROPEC (the Official Register of Sports Professionals of Catalonia) or being a member of a professional association. They also have to be registered as self-employed and have civil liability insurance, which is processed by the center itself. Once it is confirmed that the coach meets all the requirements, an interview is conducted to get to know them and, if they pass it, they are registered asInspira trainer
The trainer, in order to use the facilities, has to pay a monthly fee, whose price varies according to the volume of clients they have. This fee is called a canon and what it does is provide the trainers' clients with a type of tickets with which they can access the premises, called accesses. One access does not equate to just one training session: "It's a rental of the space, every time you enter the gym, even if it's to have an interview with your trainer in an office, you use an access," Gracia explains.
In addition to this coworking model, Inspira Fitness also functions as a normal gym. They have members who pay their fees to use the equipment and, if they wish, can hire the services of a personal trainer. The house specialty. When a member signs up, they are given a welcome session, which is a trial workout with a personal trainer. Parallel to this, they also offer nutritional advice and physiotherapy service (charged separately). And for those who have contracted the personal training service, they have monthly check-ups, where each client's measurements, weight, and body fat percentage are checked, among others. The quarterly fee costs 99.90 euros; the monthly, 36.90 euros, and the annual, 410 euros. The registration fee is free.
Many clients from low cost gyms come to Inspira, tired of the saturation and atmosphere they encounter. At Gracia's center, he says himself, "they seek tranquility." He also explains that it was very difficult for them to get started, especially considering that after a year of opening, they faced the coronavirus crisis, which forced them to hang the closed sign for quite some time. Gracia says they are "at half capacity," after half of the members left but the trainers stayed.
Many clients from low cost gyms come to Inspira, tired of the saturation and atmosphere they encounterToday, in the middle of August ---low season in the sector---, they have 16 freelance coaches and one on staff. In total, counting administrative staff and all professionals involved, in one way or another, Inspira has a team of 21 workers. In terms of performance, explains Gracia, "we are at 40-50% of what we could have. We have much more potential to extract than we have been showing so far." However, even with the pandemic, they invoiced around 100,600 euros in 2020. A growth of 45% compared to 2019, which they closed with a turnover of more than 69,000 euros. And this 2021 they have the forecast to end with 160,000 euros"If we reach this goal, I would consider incorporating more trainers into the staff," he says, hopefully.
In the future, the CEO of Inspira Fitness would like to expand the idea and open a second center in another area of Barcelona. Also, at the end of May this year, they launched their own app. A digital space where the center's clients can find routines, challenges, diets, the trainers' schedule to book an appointment, and a community in the purest Instagram style. Oh, and a section for sports supplementation products, where you can find everything from protein powder to a fat burner.
Gracia, who has had to grow by leaps and bounds in the world of entrepreneurship, is satisfied with the path he has taken so far: "I am super self-taught. I have no business knowledge. I believe that to set up a company you don't have to be an entrepreneur, you don't have to have studied Business Administration. If that were the case, there would be no companies. What you have to have is the idea. The rest, you learn as you go." Future entrepreneurs: take note of the advice.
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