Will Bartholomew - From Peyton Manning's Teammate to D1 Training Founder

Before he built one of the biggest names in youth sports training, Will Bartholomew was a walk-on at the University of Tennessee trying to survive fall camp with a quarterback named Peyton Manning. In this episode, the D1 Training founder sits down with Eric Malzone to trace the whole arc — training athletes in an open field back in 2002, opening a patio-carpet-and-turf gym with racks he screwed together himself, and slowly turning that into a franchise system now closing in on 220 locations nationwide. Will gets honest about the messy middle: no point-of-sale system at location two, why D1 doesn't open on Sundays, selling off 27 real estate properties and a physical therapy business to go all-in on the gym he actually loved, and the advice from his father that changed everything — "never scale anything until you've scaled it yourself." He also digs into what makes a great youth strength coach today, how D1 uses radical transparency and scorecards to keep coaches bought in, why he thinks the $115 billion youth sports market is still in its first inning, and the balance every sports parent is chasing between competing hard and keeping the game fun. Whether you're a gym owner thinking about franchising, a coach trying to build a real career in strength and conditioning, or a parent navigating the youth sports world, this conversation is packed with hard-earned lessons from someone who's lived every side of it. 🎯 Key Takeaways 🏈 Will's path ran through a state wrestling title, a full ride to Tennessee, a national championship alongside Peyton Manning, and an NFL knee injury that redirected him straight into the weight room business 🌱 D1 Training started in 2002 in an open field before opening its first real location in spring 2003 — patio carpet, hand-built racks, and burned CDs for music 📈 32 corporate locations opened between 2003 and 2015, fueled partly by real estate deals and a young Peyton Manning as an early, hands-on business partner 🧭 A mentor's blunt question — "what are you actually the best at?" — pushed Will to sell off his real estate holdings and his physical therapy company to focus entirely on D1 🤝 D1 didn't start franchising until 2017-2018, after spending a full year rebuilding the business model around real footprint size, staffing, and consumer behavior 📊 Radical transparency drives coach retention — weekly scorecards, EOS-style meetings, and 90-day reviews so coaches always know exactly where they stand 💰 The addressable market for youth sports and strength training now sits around $115 billion, and Will believes the industry is still in its "first quarter" 📱 D1 is investing heavily in tech, including its own app, athlete testing verification, and partnerships with recruiting platforms like On3 and Rivals ⚖️ On competitive youth sports, Will's take is simple: keep it fun, because burnout comes fast when winning becomes the only point 🎙️ Will also hosts "The Turf," a show spotlighting coaches and athletes who've shaped the training world, from John Gruden to Tim Tebow 🚀 The mission driving everything: put inspiring, motivating strength coaching in every community in the country — not just another gym franchise   OUR SPONSORS: 🔗 Perfect Gym: https://www.perfectgym.com/en 🔗 EGYM: https://egym.com/