How Brandon Cullen and Kirk Dewaele built a strength franchise on the quality of who teaches it

A good coach can hold a room. A great one makes someone move better six months later because of what they taught in a single session. MADabolic has built an entire hiring philosophy around that gap, and it shows in how the brand screens, onboards, and retains its training staff.

MADabolic was founded in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2011 by Brandon Cullen and Kirk Dewaele, both former professional hockey players who saw a specific gap in the group fitness market. There were no high-quality training systems built for people who prioritize strength, value structure, and demand results. The brand they built around that observation is now in 35-plus locations with more than 60 in development nationwide.

The approach that drives both the programming and the coaching standard is simple on paper and demanding in practice: structure over chaos, consistency over variety, qualified trainers over cheerleaders.

What MADabolic Is and Why the Coaching Standard Follows From It

MADabolic describes itself as the industry’s strength gym, and the programming supports the claim. Every workout interval is built at the Charlotte flagship by Cullen and Dewaele, then distributed to every location through an internal platform that calls out points of performance, common movement flaws, and coaching cues for each exercise. The session a client takes in Denver is the same session running in Philadelphia or Atlanta on the same day.

That centralized program design is a deliberate structural choice. It frees coaches to put full attention on the room rather than the whiteboard, on watching how people move rather than thinking about what comes next. The programming is already solved. The coaching is the job.

Clients have also changed in what they want from training. People want to feel capable and durable, not wrecked. MADabolic’s 50-minute, four-times-per-week model was built around longevity and movement quality over intensity for its own sake, and the coaches the brand develops are expected to understand that distinction and hold it in every session.

Who MADabolic Hires and What They Actually Look For

The brand’s first preference is internal. Most of MADabolic’s coaching staff started as clients. Training inside the system and experiencing the program firsthand builds a level of belief that credentials alone do not produce. A coach who has done the reps inside MADabolic’s own methodology communicates it differently than one who learned it on an intake sheet.

For external candidates, the profile is specific: former athletes who are outgoing, coachable, and drawn to structure. Strength and conditioning credentials carry weight in the evaluation, but coachability ranks above almost everything else on the list.

Training Camp: How MADabolic Onboards Every Coach

Every prospective trainer at MADabolic, regardless of experience level or prior credentials, goes through the same process before they coach a single class. There are no shortcuts based on resume.

Compensation and What a Coaching Career at MADabolic Looks Like

Compensation varies by location, which is standard across franchise models, but MADabolic’s structure includes several components that move beyond base-rate hourly pay. For coaches evaluating roles in boutique fitness, the full picture matters.

What Separates Coaches Who Build Long Careers at MADabolic

Coaching careers in fitness have a known shelf life. Physical toll, erratic hours, and the kind of fatigue that builds quietly under the surface while chasing something meaningful take out a lot of good people before they want to leave. What MADabolic has figured out, at least in part, is that a program worth studying gives coaches a reason to stay. And a reason to stay has been in short supply across the industry for a long time.

The coaches who build lasting careers at MADabolic share a consistent set of traits. They are coachable. They hold to fundamentals when it would be easier to improvise. They are focused on improving client movement mechanics because they understand that the result of a great coaching session often shows up four weeks later, not that afternoon.

The culture of continuing to train inside the program, as a participant rather than just an instructor, changes how instruction lands. There is a difference between a coach who reads cues off a sheet and one who earned those cues through their own work inside the system. MADabolic structures its coaching environment to produce the second kind.

Where to Find Open Coaching Roles at MADabolic

Coaches interested in exploring opportunities with MADabolic can find current openings through FitHire by Coach360, the marketplace that connects fitness professionals with roles at leading brands nationwide. MADabolic positions are listed directly on the platform, which makes the application process straightforward for coaches who already know the brand and the standard it operates under.

FAQ  ·  MADABOLIC COACHING STANDARD AND HIRING

What Does MADabolic Look for When Hiring Coaches?

MADabolic prioritizes movement knowledge, coachability, and the ability to communicate effectively during a live session. The brand specifically values former athletes who are drawn to structure and have the ability to internalize a system rather than override it with personal preference. Strength and conditioning credentials carry weight, but coachability ranks above most other factors in the evaluation. Many MADabolic coaches started as clients, which gives them a level of program belief that external candidates need to build through the onboarding process.

What Is MADabolic’s Training Camp for New Coaches?

MADabolic’s Training Camp is a two-day in-house intensive every prospective coach must complete, regardless of prior experience or credentials. It is followed by movement test-outs specific to the MADabolic program and a four to six week on-ramp period in which coaches train inside the system as participants before leading any class. The process is designed to ensure coaches have internalized the methodology, not just learned to perform it on the surface.

What Is the Compensation Structure for MADabolic Coaches?

Compensation varies by location and franchise ownership. Common components include base pay, bonus tied to class attendance thresholds, commission connected to sales goals, continuing education access, and healthcare stipends for full-time team members at eligible locations. The compensation structure is designed to connect coaching performance to studio health rather than limiting coaches to an hourly rate disconnected from outcomes.

Who Founded MADabolic and What Is the Brand’s Training Philosophy?

MADabolic was founded in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2011 by Brandon Cullen and Kirk Dewaele, both former professional hockey players. MAD stands for Momentum Anaerobic Durability. The brand’s training philosophy is built on structure over chaos, consistency over variety, and a 50-minute, four-times-per-week model designed for longevity and movement quality rather than intensity for its own sake. Every workout is programmed centrally at the Charlotte headquarters and distributed to all locations, so coaches can focus on the room rather than the design.

About Elisa Edelstein
Elisa is a curious and versatile writer, carving her niche in the health and wellness industry since 2015. Her lens is rooted in real world experience as a personal trainer and competitive bodybuilder and extended out of the gym and on to the page as a writer where she is able to combine her passions for empowering others, promoting wellness, and the power of the written word.