342. Dane McCarthy, Founder of Club Athletic

Today, I'm joined by Dane McCarthy, founder of Club Athletic.

 

Club Athletic (fka The Athletic Clubs) is a team-based fitness concept centered on "training squads" — small, consistent groups that train together under a dedicated coach.

 

In this episode, we discuss building community and accountability through small-group training.

 

We also cover:

• The company's recent rebrand
• Expanding beyond NYC to Chicago
• Dane's vision to reach 2K squads by 2030

 

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Website: www.clubathletic.co 

Contact: dane@athleticclubsgroup.com 

Hiring: Coaches wanted https://apply.workable.com/the-athletic-clubs/?lng=en 

 

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Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:54) Current state rebranding

(03:08) Squad model

(04:26) Training squads differentiation

(06:06) Community infrastructure

(08:09) Dunbar's law

(10:01) Community building at scale

(12:04) Modality details

(14:29) Results and consistency

(18:20) Gen Z training trends

(21:04) Chicago expansion

(24:01) Rebrand positioning

(26:37) New locations timeline

(29:36) Density strategy

(31:46) 2K squads by 2030

(33:26) Where to find

(35:55) Conclusion