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I ask people to buy gym equipment all the time. I refer to many brands. USI, Sanguine, Bullrock, ATE, Assault, SF health and occasionally my own stuff.
It’s a standard practice in the fitness industry (and many others) to receive a cut or fee for referring clients or facilitating a transaction.
It’s a practice I have never been comfortable with.
I’ve made money in two ways as a coach:
The closest thing to a side hustle is when I buy whey in bulk and sell it at cost + packaging to whoever wants unflavoured isolate.
My discomfort with affiliate links or commissions is straightforward: I'd rather be paid directly for my opinion, or have you receive it as part of the coaching service. You decide based on the information you have been presented whether or not to buy the thing you have been asked to buy.
Some of my favourite YouTube content is funded by commissions and affiliate links. But I much prefer paying creators on Patreon to make content I enjoy. Same goes for stuff like email, websites or other content.
I’d just like to pay the person directly to hear an opinion or to be entertained. It feels like the most straightforward way to incentivise a person to give their unvarnished output.
Product placements, ads, commissions, affiliate links and other modes of compensating coaches, creators or anyone else making or providing services or products create room for conflict, vested interest and/or pressure on the maker to massage or manipulate their opinion in response to how they get compensated.