An Interview with Sacha Harding
In this episode of the SGPT Marketing Podcast, Miles sits down with Sacha Harding - founder of SHIFT Personal Training in Bedford and former professional rugby player with the Bedford Blues. Sacha shares how he transitioned from a 14-year rugby career into building a 1-1 PT business, before evolving into a thriving small group model. Since opening SHIFT in 2021, he’s grown the gym to around 170 members, refined his offer to a £499 6-week front-end and built a team and structure that allows the business to operate without him in the day-to-day. They dive into brand positioning, marketing mistakes, the importance of capital and paid ads, building a strong ecosystem beyond just Meta campaigns and what it really takes to move past the 100-member ceiling. If you’re a gym owner looking to scale sustainably - without losing your lifestyle in the process - this episode is packed with honest lessons.
Episode 81 of the SGPT Marketing podcast, hosted by Hamper Agency, titled "An Interview with Sacha Harding" was published on March 9, 2026 and runs 36 minutes.
March 9, 2026 ·36m · SGPT Marketing
Summary
In this episode of the SGPT Marketing Podcast, Miles sits down with Sacha Harding - founder of SHIFT Personal Training in Bedford and former professional rugby player with the Bedford Blues. Sacha shares how he transitioned from a 14-year rugby career into building a 1-1 PT business, before evolving into a thriving small group model. Since opening SHIFT in 2021, he’s grown the gym to around 170 members, refined his offer to a £499 6-week front-end and built a team and structure that allows the business to operate without him in the day-to-day. They dive into brand positioning, marketing mistakes, the importance of capital and paid ads, building a strong ecosystem beyond just Meta campaigns and what it really takes to move past the 100-member ceiling. If you’re a gym owner looking to scale sustainably - without losing your lifestyle in the process - this episode is packed with honest lessons.
Episode Description
In this episode, Miles is joined by Sacha Harding - founder of SHIFT Personal Training in Bedford and former professional rugby player with the Bedford Blues.
After a 14-year rugby career, Sacha transitioned into personal training, scaling a busy 1-1 model before pivoting into small group training and opening SHIFT in 2021. Today, the gym sits at around 170 members and is close to operational capacity.
Over the past year, we’ve worked alongside Sacha and the SHIFT team as they refined their offer, sharpened their messaging and built a stronger marketing engine - something he openly credits as a key part of their recent growth from 108 members to where they are now.
Inside this conversation, they cover:
- The move from 1-1 to small group and why it made business sense
- How SHIFT refined its front-end offer to £499 for 6 weeks - and why charging more improved conversions
- Getting stuck at 100 members and what it took to break through
- The hard lesson of under-budgeting for marketing when opening a facility
- Why paid ads are the accelerator - when aligned with organic content, email, referrals and brand positioning
- Building a team you can trust, hiring for character and stepping out of the day-to-day
- Lifestyle business vs aggressive multi-site scaling - and defining success on your own terms
This is a grounded, honest conversation about growth, capital, marketing, leadership and clarity - and what actually changes when you decide to treat your gym like a business.
If you’re feeling stuck and trying to push toward full capacity, this episode will give you real insight from someone who’s done it.
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