Hitsona : Gary Vaughan on His Psychiatry Pivot and Trebling His Hitsona Hove Members
How to use this video
This video features insights from a current franchisee sharing their experience with the Hitsona franchise. As you watch, listen for details about daily involvement, support, and challenges as well as successes. If this perspective resonates, the next step is to request more information and speak directly with the franchisor.
About This Video
This HITZone Hove owner spotlight features Gary Vaughan, who pivoted into Hitsona UK studio ownership after a fifteen-year career in psychiatry - both clinical and community - combined with personal-trainer and pilates-instructor qualifications. The video captures the deliberate cross-Atlantic move from Dallas back to the Brighton and Hove market, the Hitsona UK due-diligence Gary worked through before signing, and the operating-growth trajectory of the Hove studio through and after the COVID lockdown period.
Gary describes flying from Dallas to meet the Hitsona UK head-office team and visiting multiple existing Hitsona UK studios to meet other owners and members before committing. He positions that direct exposure, meeting the community before the contract, as the moment that confirmed the Hitsona UK fit.
On brand differentiation, Gary references the wider fitness-franchise market and is explicit that big-box, big-studio franchise packages were not a fit for him. The Hitsona UK research he ran, including the brand's stated values, is what determined the choice. The community-impact framing and the small-format studio model align with his own background motivation.
On operating performance, Gary opened HITZone Hove in January 2020 - immediately ahead of the COVID lockdown that paused the brand's growth plan for the studio. Since reopening from lockdown, the Hove studio has trebled member base, with many of those members frontline workers explicitly prioritising health and fitness as a result of COVID. The studio was on plan to open a second Hove-area studio in January 2021 with a third by end-2021.
Gary frames the Hitsona UK opportunity through his psychiatry-background lens: making a real difference rather than showing up to work for the sake of it. The member feedback he describes - five-week clothes-fit changes, four-week cardiovascular gains - is the daily proof point that justifies the pivot. For prospective Hitsona UK partners, this Hove spotlight is a strong reference for clinical-background or care-sector operators evaluating the brand.