Michael Ramsay is the co-founder of STRONG Pilates, a rapidly growing boutique fitness brand that has expanded to more than 100 locations around the world.

He joins Kenny Santucci on the Strong New York Podcast to talk:
- Why most underperforming gyms have a leads, sales conversion, or retention problem.
- The biggest mistakes gym owners make when trying to scale.
- How STRONG Pilates uses presales and community building before a studio even opens.
- Why accountability, management, and the right operators are critical to running a successful gym.
- How Michael went from working in corporate and becoming an F45 franchisee to building STRONG Pilates.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro - Michael Ramsay
2:46 How Michael Ramsay Built STRONG Pilates to 130 Locations
5:19 Why Traditional Pilates Doesn’t Like STRONG Pilates
10:05 How STRONG Pilates Chooses Franchise Owners
14:20 From Broke at 25 to F45’s #1 Franchisee
20:26 How to Launch a Gym: Presales, Community & $1M Revenue
21:36 Boutique Gyms vs. Equinox & Life Time
27:53 Why Gym Owners Should Collaborate, Not Compete
31:05 Why Gyms Fail: People, Management & Accountability
38:08 The Gym Growth Playbook: Marketing, Leads, Sales & Retention
41:56 How to Build a Profitable Gym Business Model
48:57 Fitness Marketing in 2026: UGC, Influencers & Affiliates
52:00 Why Results Matter More Than Fitness Hype
58:03 The Fitness Brands Michael Ramsay Studies
60:00 Why Australia Produces So Many Fitness Brands
64:24 Why Long Island Is Crushing It + How to Expand Your Gym
69:48 Inside an $83M Fitness Franchise
74:08 The Future of Fitness: Longevity, Tech & Strength Training

Connect with Michael
Instagram: @ramslegit

Connect with Kenny and Strong New York:
Instagram: @kennysantucci
Instagram: @strongnewyork

Follow the Strong New York Podcast:
Instagram: @strongnewyorkpod

For more raw, unfiltered, and strong conversations, subscribe to Strong New York to never miss an upload.

Follow us on Spotify for exclusive content:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7aZJACuPsaawNIbWTHUkBp?si=bbc2dde469e44982

This episode is sponsored by:
🔥 Celsius — the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Follow @celsiusofficial on Instagram for all the new flavors.
🩸 Marek Health — optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance at marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY for 10% off Diagnostics, Supplements, and Guided Optimization.
🤝 Founders Club — a trusted circle of 2,500+ builders across North America who share resources, open doors, and raise the bar for entrepreneurship. Learn more at FoundersClubOfficial.com.

This week on Strong New York Podcast, Kenny Santucci sits down with Sam Tejada — former firefighter/paramedic turned founder of Liquivida. Sam has spent two decades in functional and alternative medicine, and he breaks down exactly what's really happening in the booming (and increasingly unregulated) world of peptides, IV therapy, and hormone optimization.

In this episode, we get into:

- How Sam went from fighting fires to building one of the leading IV therapy companies in the country
- Why the peptide and biohacking space has become the "Wild West" — and how to spot the bad actors
- 503A vs. 503B pharmacies: what actually separates a legit compounded product from a sketchy one
- Testosterone therapy explained — optimal ranges, dosing, esters (cypionate vs. enanthate vs. propionate), and how to manage estrogen and hematocrit
- Hormone optimization for women and why the conversation is finally changing
- The truth about competitive bodybuilding and why Sam walked away from it
- Wearables, blood work, and why data can help you — or quietly stress you out

If you care about your health, your hormones, or just want to understand what's actually in that IV bag or vial, this is a must-listen.

Connect with Sam Tejada
Instagram: @sammy_tejada

Connect with Kenny and Strong New York:
Instagram: @kennysantucci
Instagram: @strongnewyork

Follow the Strong New York Podcast:
Instagram: @strongnewyorkpod

This episode is sponsored by:
🔥 Celsius — the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Follow @celsiusofficial on Instagram for all the new flavors.
🩸 Marek Health — optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance at marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY for 10% off Diagnostics, Supplements, and Guided Optimization.
🤝 Founders Club — a trusted circle of 2,500+ builders across North America who share resources, open doors, and raise the bar for entrepreneurship. Learn more at FoundersClubOfficial.com.

Olivia Ormos is the founder of Mavn and co-founder of Model Volleyball, an event that has become a staple of Miami culture.

After years of producing events and managing influencer campaigns manually, Olivia decided to build the technology she couldn’t find anywhere else. Despite having no previous experience in tech, she bootstrapped Mavn, proved the concept and raised $1.5 million to continue scaling the company.

In this episode, Kenny and Olivia discuss:
- How Model Volleyball became so successful
- The story of paying Travis Scott $15,000 in cash to perform on the beach
- Why friends and family may not understand the sacrifices required to succeed
- What every successful founder is ACTUALLY doing

Chapters:
00:00 Meet Olivia Ormos
01:00 Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?
02:42 Building Model Volleyball
05:18 How Model Volleyball Makes Money
08:01 Paying Travis Scott $15,000 Cash
13:39 From Influencer Marketing to Mavn
19:14 Building a Tech Company With No Tech Experience
21:30 No Plan B and the Loneliness of Being a Founder
27:28 The Connection That Closed Her Funding Round
29:14 Raising $1.5 Million and Setting a $600 Million Goal
32:56 Using AI to Design and Build Faster
35:17 Women in Male-Dominated Business Rooms
37:03 Why Olivia Ignores Her Competition
39:28 Sending 20,000 Cold Emails Every Week
43:32 Three Qualities Most People Are Missing

For more raw, unfiltered and strong conversations, subscribe to Strong New York to never miss an upload.

Follow us on Spotify for exclusive content:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7aZJACuPsaawNIbWTHUkBp?si=bbc2dde469e44982

Connect with Olivia
Instagram: @oliviaormos

Connect with Kenny and Strong New York:
Instagram: @kennysantucci
Instagram: @strongnewyork

Follow the Strong New York Podcast:
Instagram: @strongnewyorkpod

This episode is sponsored by:
🔥 Celsius — the energy drink that fuels every Strong New York workout. Follow @celsiusofficial on Instagram for all the new flavors.
🩸 Marek Health — optimize your hormones, recovery, and performance at marekhealth.com. Use code KENNY for 10% off Diagnostics, Supplements, and Guided Optimization.
🤝 Founders Club — a trusted circle of 2,500+ builders across North America who share resources, open doors, and raise the bar for entrepreneurship. Learn more at FoundersClubOfficial.com.

#mavn #stronnewyork #founders