OM DENNE EPISODE
"You guys just sold 600 franchise brick-and-mortar locations. This is nuts."
–Shea Fears
In this week's episode of Compound Wisdom, host Steve Sood sits down with Shay Fears — Director of Corporate Locations at Game Day Men's Health and one of the company's earliest employees — to dig into one of the fastest-scaling stories in modern healthcare franchising: how a single men's TRT clinic in Carlsbad, California grew into nearly 1,050 locations across the US and Canada in under a decade.
Shay shares how she joined Game Day during the early days of COVID, when the team wasn't sure the cash-pay clinic model would survive — and how it instead became the foundation for explosive growth. She explains how Game Day went from five corporate locations to 600 franchises sold in a single year, why "confirmation days" became a cornerstone of their sales process, and how an emotional encounter at an LA County Jail Christmas party became the catalyst for launching Her Way Health and Hormones, the company's new women's brand.
They also get into the operational realities of running a healthcare franchise — how Game Day structures medical compliance across states with different regulations, why stem cells are still off the table despite demand, and how peptides and hormone optimization are reshaping both the men's and women's sides of the business. The episode closes with Shay's reflections on identity, leadership, and what it means to be called "the heartbeat of Game Day."
Takeaways
Cash-pay, membership-based clinics can scale fast — Game Day grew from 5 locations to nearly 1,050 in just a few years.
Franchising doesn't require prior franchise experience — Game Day's leadership learned the model as they built it.
"Confirmation days" turn franchise sales into community-building events, not just transactions.
Women's hormone health is a massive underserved market — many women currently travel out of the country for treatments like testosterone therapy.
Co-branding can work — Her Way and Game Day operate side-by-side under one roof but with completely different identities and atmospheres.
Peptides are easiest to explain simply: they act like a "text message" telling the body to do something it's slowed down on with age.
Decentralized medical oversight (independent medical directors per location) can scale better than a single regional model — if the network and advisory structure are strong.
Regulatory complexity (like with stem cells) can be a valid reason to wait, even amid pressure to expand.
Personal identity and company identity can become deeply intertwined — and that's not always a bad thing, but it requires intentional balance.
You don't need to have it all figured out to start — Game Day "built the plane while flying it," and that's still true for Her Way today.
Chapters
00:01 — Intro: From one clinic to nearly 1,050 locations across the US and Canada
01:10 — Shay's path to Game Day and her healthcare background
02:30 — Joining during COVID: uncertainty, cash-pay clinics, and unexpected growth
05:15 — From 5 locations to the decision to franchise
07:40 — The first year of franchising: 600 locations sold
09:50 — Inside "confirmation days": how franchise sales became an event
12:30 — The noise, the skeptics, and what kept the team going
14:45 — Hitting the ceiling: 998 US locations and 46 in Canada
16:20 — Why Game Day went international faster than almost any franchise model
17:30 — Spotting the gap: why nobody was building for women's hormone health
19:50 — The Jack and Jill model: Her Way and Game Day under one roof
22:15 — Explaining hormone therapy simply — for both men and women
24:40 — Peptides explained: "a text message your body already understands"
26:50 — Sexual health, stigma, and the emotional weight patients carry
29:20 — The story that sparked Her Way: an encounter at an LA County Jail event
32:10 — How Game Day structures medical directors and compliance across states
35:00 — The medical advisory board and maintaining quality at scale
37:15 — Why stem cells aren't on the table — yet
39:30 — What's next for Her Way and franchising plans
41:45 — Shay's personal growth, identity, and "the heartbeat of Game Day"
44:00 — Closing thoughts and what's ahead for both brands
