Jonny Watson and Yusef Smith Review: Online Fitness Coaching Business Pros & Cons + Earnings & Alternatives

What are Jonny Watson and Yusef Smith Pros & Cons?

Pros

• Jonny Watson and Yusef Smith have legitimate professional backgrounds outside fitness, bringing real business expertise
• Both have national and international athletic achievements

Cons

• Limited information available about founders outside Jonny and Yusef’s own marketing materials
• Reviews primarily come from their own platforms rather than independent sources

How Did Jonny Watson and Yusef Smith Build Their 6-Figure Fitness Empire?

Jonny Watson and Yusef Smith built their 6-figure business by transitioning to online coaching instead of traditional personal training. This allowed them to work with multiple clients simultaneously and widened their market reach to an international level. They use targeted Facebook ads for lead generation and their “no-call funnel” strategy to convert their audience. They offer free 14-day challenges that naturally lead to their full coaching program offer. They describe this strategy as converting without making any sales calls. Jonny and Yusef also expanded their business to offer consultation services with their Propane Business program.

Jonny and Yusef founded Propane Fitness in 2008. This was long before the market for online fitness coaching was saturated. Both founders had jobs to support their business as it grew in the initial years. Watson brings accounting and business systems expertise to the business, while Smith contributes medical knowledge to the programs.

Who Is Jonny Watson?

Jonny Watson is a former chartered accountant turned fitness business owner from Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. Prior to co-founding Propane Fitness, he worked at KPMG for over 3 years. This experience sharpened his skills in financial analysis, business systems, and strategic planning. So far, he’s trained over 1,400 fitness professionals to transition from gym-based personal training to online fitness coaching.

Watson was also a competitive powerlifter who has competed at the national level 7 times. He represented the United Kingdom in both European and World Championships through the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). His personal records are remarkable: a 165kg bench press, 250kg squat, and 317kg deadlift, all achieved at a bodyweight of 91kg. Jonny has an economics degree from the University of York. Jonny Watson has been the director of Propane Fitness since 2016.

Who Is Yusef Smith?

Dr. Yusef Smith is a former NHS doctor turned fitness entrepreneur from Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. He worked in investment banking, in asset management, and as an NHS doctor at the Royal Victoria Infirmary for 2.5 years. His medical expertise is in human physiology, anatomy, and evidence-based practice. Yusef also has degrees in mathematics and business.

Smith was also a competitive athlete across multiple disciplines, including powerlifting, Olympic lifting, and gymnastics. He has competed at national and international levels through the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). His personal records at a bodyweight of 78kg include: bodyweight plus 72kg weighted dip, 90kg snatch, 240kg deadlift, 150kg bench press, 120kg clean, and 200kg squat. He did this all while maintaining a single-digit body fat percentage.

What Is Propane Fitness?

Propane Fitness is an online fitness coaching service founded by Jonny Watson and Yusef Smith in 2008. The company specializes in helping clients achieve physique and performance goals through systematic training and nutrition programs. Their personalized training and nutrition coaching have helped over 5,000 clients worldwide.

Can Jonny Watson and Yusef Smith Help You With Propane Business?

Jonny Watson and Yusef Smith can help you with your own fitness business through the Propane Business coaching program. It helps you transition from traditional gym-based personal training to scalable online coaching. The 12-week intensive covers lead generation, offer creation, and transitioning to group coaching models. ‌

• The Business Foundations Course tackles setup, legal considerations, and financial management.
• The Fast-Track Launch Program guides you through getting your first clients as soon as possible. Facebook advertising training takes up the bulk of the program because of the importance of marketing in the business model. There are also ready-to-use templates and Facebook community support.

What are Other Online Fitness Coaching Courses in the Market?

• 3-Step Process to Start Online Coaching by Hakeem White focuses on helping fitness professionals transition to online coaching by building offer structures, client funnels and recurring revenue models. It provides clear step-by-step actions for those new to online fitness, though scaling still depends on lead generation and client delivery.
• Champion Development’s Online Business Launchpad by Michael Chu is designed for health and fitness professionals to build online authority, generate high-ticket leads and launch digital coaching offers without heavy ad spend. It emphasises niching down and creating an online brand to attract clients sustainably.
• Fishing Net Strategy / Subscription Kings by Dan Suckling teaches fitness coaches how to move from high-ticket individual coaching into a subscription-based online fitness business using a low-ticket model and group programs. It focuses on recurring revenue models and scaling by leveraging existing audience and subscription funnels.

Final Verdict: Are Jonny Watson and Yusef Smith’s Strategies Worth Your Money?

Jonny Watson and Yusef Smith’s strategies are worth your money if you’re an aspiring fitness professional who wants to understand how to transition from in-person coaching to online systems that can scale. Their backgrounds, a former KPMG accountant and a former NHS doctor, give them a rare mix of business, physiology, and evidence-based training knowledge that many coaches find valuable.

If you already spend $3,000–$6,000 per month on tools, ads, software, or content creation, their Propane Business frameworks can help you streamline your onboarding, strengthen your offers, and attract more online clients. Their “no-call funnel,” 14-day challenge system, and long-term experience in the fitness industry offer structure for coaches who already have proof of concept and want to refine operations.

However, building an online fitness coaching business still requires constant content output, client fulfillment, and ad-driven lead generation, which makes it demanding for beginners seeking predictable income. If you’re new or looking for a more consistent, asset-focused model, local lead generation gives you a simpler way to earn recurring passive income without funnels, ad spend, or weekly check-ins with clients.

Is Local Lead Generation More Sustainable Than Online Fitness Coaching Businesses?

In my 10 years of experience, local lead generation is more sustainable than an online fitness coaching business because building rank-and-rent sites gives you a fixed system like owning a float in the New Orleans Mardi Gras parade. Once the float (lead gen site) is designed and your spot (search engine ranking) in the parade is secured, you watch as the crowd (customer) gathers year after year, excited to see your creation pass by. The work is upfront, but after that, the income keeps flowing with minimal effort. Running an online fitness coaching business is like launching a new show on Netflix. While the platform offers global reach, it’s also saturated with countless popular shows like Britain and the Blitz vying for attention. Unlike an online fitness coaching gig where your business is highly dependent on clients, local lead gen doesn’t rely on maintaining relationships with clients. Once the system is in place, the revenue is typically earned by simply collecting leads for businesses on a recurring basis.

The local lead gen model stays stable because search rankings often hold for months or years, giving you predictable lead flow without the pressure of maintaining an online persona or competing in a crowded industry. Instead of juggling many client expectations, you focus on ranking one digital asset at a time, allowing your business to grow through repetition rather than reinvention. For most people who want dependable revenue without constant performance-based demands, local lead generation offers a calmer and far more sustainable path.

Why is Local Lead Generation a Better Path to Predictable Monthly Income?

Local lead generation is a better path to predictable monthly income because it relies on ranking simple digital properties that service-based businesses are eager to rent once the calls start coming in. When a site reaches page one, it often stays there with minimal updates, allowing you to earn recurring revenue without creating weekly content, running paid ads, or managing dozens of coaching clients. This makes the business model extremely lean, giving you high margins and low operational overhead. For example, my site Torrance Premier Custom Cabinets 2540 Pacific Coast Highway Torrance, California 90505 310-634-1936 https://torrancecustomcabinets.com/ drove 3 custom cabinet project leads for my client last month. It generated $32,913 in revenue, which got me $3,291.30 for a 10% commission even while enjoying my favorite restaurant’s best-sellers.

If you want a business model that compounds over time and produces stable cash flow without chaos, local lead generation is one of the most reliable options. If you’re ready to build assets that pay you $500–$2,000 per month per site, now is the time to start building your portfolio and create predictable recurring income.