Owner Spotlight: Peter Malek, MADabolic Scotts Valley

Peter Malek brings a broad skillset to his MADabolic journey.

Peter is a productivity expert with decades of career success in process and operational improvement within large corporations. In December, he published a book on how to unlock high levels of performance and create personal fulfilment while MADabolic Scotts Valley was under construction. He opened the doors to California’s first MADabolic studio in March of this year. While his background might appear a bit disparate at first glance, Peter saw his investment in MADabolic as an opportunity to connect his passion for fitness and his desire to help others with his corporate experience in optimizing operations. The opportunity was right for Peter to build a strong boutique fitness business from the ground up. 

Peter was born in the US but spent most of his childhood living in Greece and Egypt. A few things stand out from his upbringing that influenced the direction of his entrepreneurial endeavors. “A healthy lifestyle was always central to our family protocol growing up,” recalled Peter.

“We ate mostly home-cooked meals and the entire family enjoyed staying active. I remember being infatuated with sports from an early age.” He grew up playing baseball, basketball, volleyball, tennis and running cross country. He also comes from a line of entrepreneurs and recalls the influence his father and grandfather had on him from an early age. “I always knew I wanted to launch a business; it was just a matter of the right circumstances coming together at the right time,” he shared.

Peter returned to the US for college and landed on the east coast. He maintained his love for sports and fitness; he even rowed crew in college.

After graduating, Peter spent nearly 15 years in Washington, D.C., focusing on process improvement practices in the corporate world. “Because I’ve always been into fitness, I’ve long thought of my corporate experience as ‘personal training for business,’” explained Peter. “I build systems to optimize business functions, making things run better, faster, and in more cost-effective ways. Like MADabolic’s approach to strength training, when you build efficient and repeatable methods, and you consistently apply those methods, results follow.”

From early in his career, Peter also took on personal training as a side-hustle. Having long-loved fitness, he enjoyed the opportunity to share wellness with others. He became CrossFit certified and explored various training disciplines over the years, from calisthenics to HIIT training to diving deep into triathlon training.

When an opportunity opened for Peter to take his productivity methods to the tech industry about six years ago, he and his wife moved cross-country to California and never looked back.

After a few years of settling into life on the west coast, Peter began to explore the possibility of opening his own fitness facility. “I had always aspired to be in a place in my life where I could own my own business, and the timing and circumstances started to align,” shared Peter of his discovery journey with MADabolic. “There’s much more that goes into owning a business than being good at running a company. It’s apparent when an owner runs their business with their heart poured into it versus a pure-profit motive. I knew this was the right fit for me because it was something I was passionate about and had the skillset to implement. I love that I get to practice what I preach and build a culture around a healthy, sustainable approach to fitness.”

Although Peter has been active and in good shape his entire life, he’s loved the results of consistent training under the MADabolic protocol. “I used to work out seven days per week for anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes, but MAD has given me so much time back – both in the efficiency of the workout the days I am training, and in the way I incorporate more rest days. The programming has delivered strength gains that feel smart and sustainable,” he shared.

Opening the studio has transformed Peter from a lifelong sports enthusiast to a fitness advocate in his local community. “The wellness industry perpetuates a lot of misinformation. MADabolic’s philosophy helps reframe the mindset on how to train, fuel, and incorporate rest as part of a balanced and sustainable training program that delivers long-term results,” explained Peter. Peter continues his corporate role while acting as owner-operator of MADabolic Scotts Valley.

With his bias toward efficiency, consistency, and productivity, MADabolic was a natural fit for Peter. He shared his top three successes over his first three months in business:

1. “Opening in our particular location was a huge win. The development of this commercial space had been in discussion for decades. The community has been craving a high-quality fitness option like MADabolic, so the timing came together just right.”

2. “We have a phenomenal General Manager and a great team of trainers. Everyone is passionate about ensuring clients move well, and our team practices what they preach. I’m excited to see our team continue to develop.”

3. “The support from the community around us has been highly rewarding. It’s been great to see the connections people make in the space and how good they feel coming out of the gym. Not only do people love the effectiveness and efficiency of the workout, but we are unlocking new friendships and improving existing relationships by the work we do day-in and day-out at MADabolic Scotts Valley.”

If Peter’s biases toward productivity and efficiency indicate what’s to come for MADabolic Scotts Valley, we’re sure this list of successes will grow. Congratulations, Peter, on your first three months in business.

MADabolic has over 80 studios operating or in development across the country. As the industry’s first and only strength-driven interval training franchise, MADabolic offers a results-driven strength training program, structured resources to ensure the success of studio owners, and a team of experts behind the brand. For more information about the MADabolic franchise opportunity, please visit www.madabolic.com/own-a-madabolic.