Tampa City Boxing: Punching Strategically to Grow Members

Membership flourished at the Tampa City Boxing (TCB) gym after Logan Paul dropped in and knocked out five of the Gronkowski brothers there in May of 2021. Many boxers had aspired to be like the boxing celebrity, Logan Paul, while football fans knew one of the brothers, Rob Gronkowski, since he had played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The publicity was enormous for TCB. TCB was a traditional boxing gym that taught its members the fundamentals of boxing so they could achieve their boxing, fitness, and mental health goals. It was one of the only gyms in Tampa that exclusively taught the sport of boxing through a professional boxing staff. As such, members learned boxing from coaches who had competed or taught the sport before. TCB had a growing reputation for developing successful boxers as many were winning competitions. TCB’s membership grew monthly following the Paul-Gronkowski fight until the end of 2022, when members began canceling, citing concerns with inflation and the economy. TCB owner Omar Albanil realized he needed to invest in equipment and rebranding to increase membership. He also needed to reduce the psychological barrier to entry, which was the fear of becoming a punching bag. He further needed to determine whether to focus on a low cost, premium, or niche strategy to differentiate TCB from its peers, such as Mayweather Boxing + Fitness and Punch Boxing for Fitness. TCB focused more on competitive boxing, which primarily served 18 to 34-year-old men, while the competing gyms focused more on fitness, thus successfully attracting women. Albanil pondered strategies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage to avoid being knocked out.