Founder documentary
THIS.
The film
Best with sound
THIS
3:40The project.
Before the doors opened, people needed to know the person behind them. A founder documentary introducing Tim Riley’s story and the purpose behind THIS Gym in Austin.
- Client
- THIS Gym
- Direction
- Perry Grone
The goal
Trust before launch.
Tim Riley had built a reputation as a performance coach working with professional athletes. His audience knew the work. This film invited them to understand the person: the challenges he had come through, what he had built and why opening THIS Gym mattered to him. The aim was to deepen that connection before asking people to become members.
We shaped the documentary around Tim’s journey, with the gym as its next chapter. Released on his Instagram several months before the opening and before early bird signups began, it gave his existing audience time to connect with the story. It also created an enduring introduction to the person behind THIS and Apex, beyond a single launch announcement.
- HXM’s role
- HXM led strategy, creative development and story planning, organized locations and shoot logistics, and handled preproduction, production and postproduction. We directed a full crew across multiple shoot days, then brought the interviews and footage together in the edit.
- What we made
- Founder documentary for Tim Riley’s Instagram.
- Story development and multi day production.
- Editing and postproduction.
The launch response
The launch response.
HXM recalls launch day signups reaching approximately three times the team’s expectations. This is a project team recollection, not verified client analytics or a measure of the film’s impact in isolation. The film’s role was to introduce Tim’s story and build a personal connection ahead of the launch.
- Launch-day signups vs. expectations (HXM recollection)
- ≈3×
Let’s work together.