Shaun Grove: Franchising, Fitness, and Building Brands That Last

About this episode

Shaun Grove discusses his unconventional career path and insights on building lasting franchise systems in the fitness industry.

In this episode, Deb Coviello sits down with Shaun Grove, CEO of Stride Fitness and seasoned fitness franchising executive. Shaun's career path is anything but conventional — from playing college and professional football, to practicing law, to becoming an FBI agent, to scaling Club Pilates from 11 locations to 150+ under Exponential Fitness. He shares what it really takes to build a franchise system that lasts, why the "grow fast or die slow" mindset can be dangerous, and why he believes the future of fitness lies at the intersection of cardio, strength training, and recovery — all under one roof. Whether you're a C-suite leader, an aspiring entrepreneur, or a fitness enthusiast, this episode is packed with hard-won wisdom about leadership, systems, and building something that truly scales.   Episode Highlights: 9:01 — Acquiring Stride Fitness and Leading Through a Messy Transition Shaun describes how he took over Stride Fitness, which had 17 struggling locations, and gave franchisees a transparent choice: evolve, go independent, or exit. His willingness to help owners on their terms — working with landlords and lenders — set the tone for the…

People in this episode

Host: Deb Coviello

Guest: Shaun Grove

Topics covered

• franchising
• fitness
• leadership
• entrepreneurship
• business growth

Keywords

• franchising
• fitness
• leadership
• entrepreneurship
• Club Pilates
• Stride Fitness
• Exponential Fitness

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stride Fitness, Exponential Fitness, Club Pilates

More episodes of The Drop In CEO

• Meridith Elliot Powell: How to Turn Uncertainty into Opportunity · April 7, 2026 · 33 min
• Joe Bockerstette: Transforming Business Processes & Angel Investing · November 24, 2025 · 36 min
• Terry Blachek: Building Brands and Embracing Change · November 17, 2025 · 35 min
• Todd Wilkowski: The Fractional Executive Revolution · November 10, 2025 · 50 min
• The CEO Trap: Stop Chasing Results · November 3, 2025 · 17 min
• Elle George: Leading Through Uncertainty · October 27, 2025 · 43 min