We were lucky to catch up with Saffet Gokhan Erabay recently and have shared our conversation below.
Saffet Gokhan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?
When people hear the phrase scaling up, they usually expect a story about marketing funnels, securing investors, or opening ten locations in a year. But my scaling story is a bit different. For me, scaling up meant crossing an ocean, leaving behind an already established and successful system, and testing whether my life’s work could survive and thrive in a completely new environment.
Back in Turkey, I had built a very strong foundation in youth sports development. Over more than a decade, I founded and managed sports academies connected to major global football brands such as Galatasaray Football School and Paris Saint-Germain Academy. During those years I was not only coaching players, but also training coaches, managing academy operations, and building long term development systems for young athletes. Alongside my academic background in sports sciences, I also developed my own training methodology called FitBeyin (FitBrain), which combines cognitive development with athletic performance.
Many of the academies I founded in Turkey are still operating successfully today.
On paper, I had reached a very stable and successful point in my career.
But true scaling sometimes requires breaking your own ceiling. I realized that if I truly wanted to expand my vision for youth development, I needed to challenge my system in a completely different environment. That realization led me to bring my experience and methodology to the United States.
The media often loves the grand opening photos, but they rarely talk about the difficult and uncertain middle phase. Around fifteen months ago, I moved to Orlando. I did not only move my business. I moved my entire life. At the same time, I had just entered a new chapter personally. I was newly married and had just become a father. I left behind an established professional network and a comfortable career to learn a new business culture, build credibility in a new community, and manage the financial and emotional pressure of starting again from zero. There were many nights when I was holding my newborn son in one arm while working on business plans, communicating with families, and worrying about our first enrollment numbers.
So how did we actually grow PSG Academy Orlando from an idea into a recognized and growing academy in a relatively short period of time?
First, transferring trust, not just logos.
When entering a new market, credibility is everything. The professional trust I had built over many years working with international football brands played a crucial role. Because of my previous experience with Paris Saint-Germain Academy, I was able to bring a proven training philosophy and operational standards directly to Orlando.
Second, differentiating through science and methodology.
Youth sports in the United States is extremely competitive. We did not grow by trying to become just another soccer program. Instead, I implemented a more holistic development model that combines athletic training with cognitive development, decision making, and character building. Parents quickly realized that we were not only teaching children how to play soccer, but also helping them develop discipline, focus, and confidence. As families began to see that difference, the academy started growing organically through word of mouth.
Third, relentless groundwork and personal connection.
In the early days, I was wearing almost every hat in the organization. I was the director, the coach, the marketer, and the person communicating with parents. I personally spoke with nearly every family that joined the academy. In youth sports, trust cannot be automated. Parents want to know who is guiding their children. Building those personal relationships became one of the strongest foundations of our growth.
The biggest lesson I learned about scaling is that it is not only about growing in numbers. Real scaling happens when your core expertise, your methodology, your work ethic, and your leadership philosophy can travel across cultures and still create value. If the foundation is strong enough, you can rebuild the structure anywhere in the world, even if you have to start from scratch.
Saffet Gokhan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My story began with a strong belief that sports are not only about physical performance. I have always believed that sports are also about character development, discipline, and mental strength. When I was studying Coaching Education at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Sports Sciences and later completing my master’s degree in Movement and Training Sciences at Marmara University, I kept coming back to one central question: how can we develop athletes who are not only faster or stronger, but also more aware, resilient, and capable of making better decisions under pressure?
That question shaped the direction of my entire career.
For more than a decade, I have been working in youth sports development, founding and managing sports academies in Turkey, particularly in cities like Istanbul and Bursa. During this time, I worked with internationally recognized football brands such as Galatasaray Football School and Paris Saint-Germain Academy. Through these programs, we built structured development environments that reached thousands of young athletes. Many of the academies I founded in Turkey are still operating successfully today, which is something I am very proud of because it shows that the systems we built were sustainable.
For me, building an academy was never only about training players. My focus was always on building systems that could continue to develop athletes and coaches over time. Throughout my career I also worked on coach development, delivering seminars and training programs to help improve the quality of youth coaching environments.
One of the projects that grew out of this work is a training methodology I developed called FitBeyin (FitBrain). FitBeyin combines athletic performance with cognitive development. The training approach integrates focus, reaction speed, coordination, and decision-making into the physical training process. Over time this system began to be applied not only in sports academies but also in companies and certain healthcare environments where cognitive performance is important.
About fifteen months ago, I decided to take a major step in my career and moved to the United States. At that point I had already built academies, professional networks, and operational systems in Turkey. However, I wanted to challenge myself and apply my experience and methodology in a completely new environment. That decision led me to start a new chapter in Orlando.
This period also coincided with an important moment in my personal life. I had just gotten married and had recently become a father. Moving to a new country, adapting to a different culture, and building a new organization from the ground up was certainly challenging. But the experience I had built over many years, along with the professional trust I had developed with the Paris Saint-Germain brand, made it possible to take that step.
Today I am the founder and director of Paris Saint-Germain Academy Orlando.
At PSG Academy Orlando, our goal goes far beyond simply teaching soccer skills. We see the academy as an environment where young athletes can develop both physically and mentally. Our programs are built around three main principles.
First, the global training standards and methodology developed by Paris Saint-Germain.
Second, the scientific approach shaped by my academic background and the cognitive training elements of the FitBeyin methodology.
Third, a strong focus on character development, helping young athletes build discipline, teamwork, confidence, and leadership.
What makes our approach different is that we do not focus only on technical soccer skills. While improving players’ physical performance, we also work on developing their ability to think, make decisions, and take responsibility on and off the field.
One of the things I am most proud of in my career is seeing the systems I built continue to operate successfully over time. The academies I founded in Turkey are still running today, and building a new academy in Orlando from the ground up while earning the trust of local families has been a very meaningful achievement.
For me, sports education has always been about much more than producing players. The real goal is to help young people grow into confident, disciplined, and responsible individuals. If a child gains confidence, resilience, and a sense of purpose through sports, that is the most valuable result we can achieve.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One of the moments that best reflects resilience in my journey started with one of the biggest decisions of my life. For many years in Turkey, I had built and managed successful sports academies and worked with thousands of young athletes and coaches. The systems I had created were working, my professional network was strong, and my career had reached a stable point. From the outside, there seemed to be little reason to take a major risk.
But I always had one thought in mind: if the systems and methodology I had developed were truly strong and sustainable, they should be able to work anywhere in the world.
About fifteen months ago, I made the decision to move to the United States. This was not only a professional decision but also a major personal transition. I had just gotten married and had recently become a father. Leaving behind an established career, a functioning system, and a strong professional network to start again in a new country was not an easy step.
When I arrived in Orlando, the reality was very clear. Here, nobody knew me yet. In Turkey, I had built academies and developed systems over many years, but building trust in a new country is a completely different process. In the beginning, I had to take on many roles at the same time. I was coaching on the field, managing the academy operations, communicating directly with parents, and constantly working to create new opportunities for growth.
Some days I would spend hours on the field training players, and in the evenings I would be working on planning programs and building the structure of the academy. At the same time, I was adjusting to life with a newborn child and building a new life for my family. What helped me stay focused during that time was the confidence I had in the systems and training philosophy I had developed over many years.
Gradually, families in Orlando began to see the difference in our approach. Our training philosophy focuses not only on soccer skills but also on discipline, decision-making, and character development. As parents started to recognize that their children were gaining more than just technical skills, trust began to grow. Our first players joined, families started recommending the program to others, and the academy began to grow organically.
Today, Paris Saint-Germain Academy Orlando has become a growing soccer community in Central Florida. We continue to develop new training programs, expand our training locations, and collaborate with local clubs and organizations to reach more young athletes.
For me, resilience means staying committed to your vision even when you have to start again from zero. Success is not always about moving forward when everything is comfortable. Sometimes success means having the courage to rebuild everything from the ground up.
Looking back now, moving to the United States was one of the most challenging decisions of my career, but also one of the most meaningful. It showed me that if your foundation is strong enough, you can rebuild your vision anywhere in the world.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
For me, building a reputation in a market has never been about quick marketing tactics or short-term success. Reputation is something that develops over time through experience, consistency, and the trust you build with people. It comes from the systems you create, the values you stand for, and the results people see over the years.
My professional journey has always focused on youth athlete development. For more than a decade in Turkey, I founded and managed sports academies and development programs. During that time, I had the opportunity to work with internationally recognized football brands such as Galatasaray Football School and Paris Saint-Germain Academy. Many of the academies I founded in Turkey are still operating successfully today, which is something I’m very proud of because it shows that the systems we built were sustainable. In youth sports, real success is not measured only by short-term results, but by creating structures that continue to develop players and coaches for years.
Another factor that helped build my reputation is my commitment to a scientific approach to training. I have always believed that sports education should go beyond physical performance. This belief led me to develop a training methodology called FitBeyin (FitBrain), which integrates cognitive development with athletic performance. By incorporating elements such as focus, reaction speed, and decision-making into the training process, we created an environment where athletes develop both physically and mentally. Over time, families and athletes began to notice the difference this approach made.
When I moved to the United States, I quickly realized that reputation has to be rebuilt from the ground up in a new environment. In a new country, people do not know your history yet, so earning trust within the local community becomes essential. In Central Florida, I focused on building genuine relationships with families, working closely with players on the field, and maintaining direct communication with parents. Delivering on the promises we make has been one of the most important parts of building credibility.
Over time, people started to see that PSG Academy Orlando is more than just a soccer training program. Our goal is not only to develop players, but to help young athletes build discipline, confidence, leadership, and decision-making skills that will benefit them beyond sports. That philosophy has helped us gain the trust of families and the broader youth sports community.
Today, as PSG Academy Orlando continues to grow, we are expanding our training programs and exploring new training locations across Central Florida. We are also developing partnership models with local clubs, schools, and organizations that want to bring the PSG training methodology to their communities.
In the end, reputation is not built by what a brand says about itself, but by what people say about their experience with you. When families trust you with their children’s development, when your systems continue to operate successfully over time, and when your community sees you as a reliable partner, that is when a real reputation begins to form.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.psgacademyorlando.com
- Instagram: psgacademyorlando_
- Linkedin: Gokhan Erabay
- Youtube: PsgAcademyOrlando
