Meet Carlos Barletta, TRIB3 Sagrada Familia’s Franchise Partner, whose dedication and strategic operations resulted in his studio achieving a remarkable break-even in just two months. In our interview with Carlos, we delved into his background, TRIB3 journey as a Franchise Partner and how TRIB3 Sagrada Familia got attention not only for its workouts but also for being the best coffee spot!

Name: Carlos Barletta
Location: TRIB3 Sagrada Familia
Relevant experience: Private Banker, Delegate at the WTO, Coffee Addict, MBA
Age: 38
Favourite Exercise: Burpees
Journey Level: Hero (103)
Treadmills, Resistance or Intensity? Intensity

What got you interested in starting a fitness business?

I’ve always had an active lifestyle – having lived abroad for most of my adult life, the gym quickly became a place to both disconnect and socialize. It increasingly became somewhere I enjoyed spending my time, so the fitness industry was a natural choice in that sense. More so, the fitness industry is also one of the segments that will continue to require physical presence and a personalised touch – no AI will motivate you like a coach or a class filled with individuals does. Sadly, for some, yet luckily for us – summer six packs and calorie burners aren’t sold on Amazon and so the fitness industry is a segment that will continue to grow. It is with this understanding and passion that I was attracted to the fitness industry.

What attracted you to TRIB3 as your preferred fitness franchise?

HIIT is one of the fastest growing trends in the fitness sector, it´s fun and efficient – and it’s a trend that is just starting to grow in Spain. TRIB3 has a unique product that has evolved from the original HIIT franchises, where not only does it make HIIT inclusive – a workout which is normally far from inclusive – it does so via personalisation, the TRIB3 Sweat Band and gamifying the workout.

When you join a smaller franchise network you often get more personalised attention from the founders and senior management – this has been the case for me, I have always been welcomed in the TRIB3 HQ from the very first meeting and until today – they’ve entertained some crazy ideas of mine! You also get more opportunities to build something together and be a part of something bigger – the TRIB3 Purpose of “building a global fitness community where anyone can belong” appeals to me.

Are you surprised with the success of your business?

I hate the word surprise as I associate it in a business setting with being misinformed – both for the good or the bad. I will say that I am quite pleased with my results which reflect our team’s work and personalised service at Sagrada Familia. We’ve set milestones and readjusted our strategies as we got to know our TRIB3Rs and their needs better – this has been key.

My communication with my sales manager is highly transparent and open. I mirror this with the entire team, where they know that my door is open and that I am always keen to hear their ideas on how to increase revenue. This enables us to keep our service and approach personalised, premium and agile, which has paid off!

How did you bring your own entrepreneurship to the TRIB3 business?

I must admit I’m even more passionate about good coffee than I am about exercise – so much so that I have joked around about opening my own coffee shop in the last 20 years. In some ways I have done this via TRIB3 Sagrada Familia with Three Marks Coffee!

I came across Three Marks Coffee by asking a barista where they got their coffee from, that led to an Instagram message – and well, the rest is history. To many, TRIB3 and Three Marks Coffee seem a random collaboration, but this isn’t the case – we share the same customer base of young professionals that appreciate a premium product. Many of my current TRIB3Rs first came here for the coffee and are now hitting their Warrior status! In fact, I’m planning our first social gathering with Mo – the first TRIB3R I sold a coffee to.

A great deal of marketing is product placement and pricing strategy and we’ve found a great way to partner up with Three Marks Coffee and Lululemon to make collaborations on premium high-end offering to our shared customer base. One of my favourite phrases to hear at TRIB3 is: “you’ve ruined cheap coffee for me”. 

How concerned were you taking a site where a previous boutique had failed?

Concerned, but we looked into why it happened and in this case, COVID played a huge role. You can get very valuable information from the previous owner and their customers if you do your homework. For example, TRIB3 is located two blocks away from Spain’s most visited building, a block away from the new Diagonal Tram, and in the heart of Barcelona – the Eixample District. 

Opening in Spain during the summer – genius or crazy?

Crazy – but not because of the heat but rather the challenges of getting staff and contractors in when they have their holidays planned! Barcelona, unlike Madrid or Seville is a tourist hot spot in the summer, which means you do get a lot of one-offs visiting the studio. But this off-peak demographic was a great opportunity for us to learn the ropes and deal with any last-minute construction snag lists. By the time the peak season started, our staff were on it and prepared to manage volume. Fitness is a seasonal business – you rather make mistakes, fix, and learn from them in July rather than in January. That said I wouldn’t have mind opening earlier!  

High points and low points so far?

There’s been so many but one stands out – it was the first day I faced construction issues and I called my cousin for advice, we discussed legal work, taxes, materials, staff; but I remember one phrase in particular:

“Opening a business is like a Disney movie – it’s fun, you will sing, you will laugh, but Simba’s dad will die, and the bad guys will keep coming back; yet, if you have the patience and you do it right there’s always a happy ending”.

And its true – we’ve had power outages during a TRIB3 session, no hot water, sick staff and even terrible Oat Milk. But I will also say that we’ve celebrated over 75 Fighters, 30 Warriors, and I made my highest one-off sale in French (which is mediocre) – all of those little moments add up to quite a big high. I enjoy my time here, even when I’m working 12-hour shifts, there’s always the smiling TRIB3R and we never run out of good coffee.  