The Backrooms, Obsession, and Why Independent Gyms Might Be Winning Too
Some of the biggest noise in cinema isn’t coming from massive studios throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at the latest sequel.
It’s coming from smaller, independent filmmakers.
Films like Obsession and The Backrooms have shown there’s still an appetite for something different. Something with a bit of personality. Something that doesn’t feel like it’s been designed by a committee after fourteen meetings and six focus groups.
Now don’t get me wrong.
I love a franchise.
Stick me in front of a Marvel film, a Star Wars film, or anything involving the evil dead and I’m generally a very happy man.
But sometimes you walk out of a cinema and realise you’ve watched something that was technically brilliant…
But…..left absolutely no mark on you
Exactly the same thing happens in the fitness industry.
The Safe Bet Always Wins… Financially
Big franchises exist for a reason.
People know what they’re getting.
There’s comfort in familiarity.
The same thing happens with gyms.
The big chains.
The huge franchises.
The glossy adverts.
The rows of identical equipment.
The same layout.
The same branding.
The same experience whether you’re in Bristol, Birmingham or Barnsley.
And it works.
They’re successful because consistency sells.
People like knowing what they’re buying.
Just like people know what they’re getting when the next Evil Dead film turns up and you know, just lots of fucking great scares and a fair amount of gore.
But It Can Feel Like Something Is Missing
Consistency isn’t always connection.
You can walk into some gyms and feel like you’re entering an airport terminal.
Lots of people.
Lots happening.
Nobody knows your name.
Nobody notices if you’re there.
Nobody notices if you’re not.
You scan your card.
Do your thing.
Leave.
Job done.
Now for some people that’s exactly what they want.
And that’s absolutely fine.
But for a lot of people?
It’s not enough.
Because health and fitness isn’t just about equipment.
It’s about people.
Why Independent Films Work
When you watch a genuinely good independent film, you often feel something different.
There’s usually more risk.
More personality.
More creativity.
More willingness to try something unusual.
Sometimes they fail spectacularly.
But when they work…
They really work.
Because they feel human.
You can feel the fingerprints of the people who made them.
They give a shit.
You can tell.
The Same Thing Happens In Independent Gyms
Small independent gyms have exactly the same advantage.
They don’t have to follow a corporate handbook written three years ago in an office somewhere.
They can adapt.
They can care.
They can know who walks through the door.
At The Den, if someone hasn’t been in for a while, we notice.
Not because there’s a spreadsheet telling us to.
Because they’re part of the community.
That’s a very different feeling.
Community Is Becoming The Product
This is where I think the fitness industry is changing.
Twenty years ago, gyms sold equipment.
Today?
Most gyms have equipment.
That’s not special anymore.
The thing people are increasingly looking for is belonging.
They want:
- community
- support
- accountability
- encouragement
- somewhere they don’t feel judged
They want somewhere they can walk through the door and feel comfortable.
Somewhere they don’t feel like they’re trespassing.
Somewhere they don’t have to pretend they know what they’re doing.
The Corporate Problem
The challenge for large franchises is that scale makes this difficult.
The bigger you get, the harder it becomes to make people feel known.
You can have amazing facilities.
Amazing technology.
Amazing marketing.
But it’s hard to automate genuine human connection.
And that’s often what people need most.
Especially those who are nervous about starting.
The people who don’t feel like gym people.
The people who have spent years thinking fitness isn’t for them.
Those people rarely need a bigger gym.
They need a safer one.
The Risk Of Selling Your Soul
This isn’t just true in fitness.
It’s true in almost every industry.
The bigger something gets, the more pressure there is to become safe.
Predictable.
Repeatable.
Profitable.
And before long, the thing that made it special starts getting sanded off around the edges.
You can end up chasing growth so hard that you lose the reason people loved you in the first place.
Independent businesses don’t always get everything right.
Far from it.
But they often have something the bigger players struggle to replicate.
Why Small Matters
Small doesn’t mean better.
Let’s get that out of the way.
There are brilliant franchise gyms.
There are absolute dogshit independent gyms.
There are amazing blockbuster films.
And there are independent films that should never have left the editing room.
But when small businesses get it right…
Something happens.
People feel seen.
People feel valued.
People feel like someone genuinely gives a shit.
And in a world that’s becoming increasingly automated, increasingly digital, and increasingly disconnected…
That matters.
More than you originally think.
The Fox Den Way
I’ve never wanted The Den to be the biggest gym.
That sounds fucking exhausting.
What I’ve always wanted is for it to be somewhere people feel comfortable.
A place where:
- people know your name
- people support each other
- people celebrate your wins
- people notice when you’re struggling
- people feel like they belong
Because fitness isn’t really about dumbbells and kettlebells.
It’s about people.
Always has been.
Always will be.
And that’s actually one of the reasons I’ve started building the Unf*ck Your Fitness Collective.
For years, I have had people say if only you were closer Pete, I would be training at the Den.
Not because they want another fitness app.
Not because they want another influencer shouting at them through a screen.
But because they want the thing that makes The Den what it is.
The community.
The support.
The straight-talking approach.
The lack of bullshit.
The understanding that life sometimes gets messy and perfect isn’t the goal.
The reality is there are loads of people who would probably love what we do here but can’t make it to Wokingham.
Different towns.
Different counties.
Different schedules.
Different lives.
And that’s where the Collective comes in.
Not to replace The Den.
Nothing ever will.
Some will try but nothing will actually replace this place.
But to bring a bit of what makes this place special to people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to it.
Because if independent gyms have one superpower over the big chains, it’s that they create belonging.
And I don’t think belonging should only exist within four walls.
I think it can exist online too, if it’s built the right way.
Not another fitness platform.
Not another transformation challenge.
Not another place making you feel broken so it can sell you the solution.
Just a place where people can learn, train, improve their relationship with food and fitness, and feel like somebody actually gives a shit whether they succeed.
That’s what we’re building.
Final Thought
The success of films like Obsession and The Backrooms reminds us that there will always be room for something different.
Something with personality.
Something with heart.
Something created by people who genuinely give a fuck about what they’re building.
I think the same thing is happening in fitness.
The big franchises will always exist.
And many of them do a great job.
But increasingly, people are looking for more than access to equipment.
They’re looking for connection.
For community.
For belonging.
For somewhere they don’t feel like a membership number.
Because at the end of the day, most people don’t need another gym.
They need somewhere they feel at home.
Keep Smiling.
