Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Mueller.
Alex, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I had made up my mind to enter the fitness industry as a Junior in High School. I loved working out and had been training since 8th grade. In High School, I was involved in Football, Wrestling and Track & Field. In the off-season, I worked out 4 days per week and ran to stay in shape. The confidence and way it made me feel through my teenage years was something I wanted to teach to others as a career.
I studied Kinesiology (study of human movement) at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and in my senior year began practicing as a trainer at Fitness Together which was close to the school. At the time the franchise was rapidly growing, and after two years working as a trainer relocated to work at the Lake Forest and Winnetka. The next three years were spent meeting great people and working with them on fitness and nutrition. I had a client lose 85 pounds, and another run the Chicago Marathon. Whatever the clients’ goals were, I was eager to help.
Always practicing what I preached, I competed in Strongman, Olympic Lifting, Wisconsin Ironman, Chicago Marathon and various athletic activities. Keeping a goal in mind kept me focused on maintaining my own fitness. It’s important for a trainer to set good examples and inspire their clients. I had spent so much time in the Fitness Together business that operating was second nature, and went on to become the owner of six locations, buying my first location at 26 years old.
At that point, I still trained my clients but had to focus more on business administration. I spent hours learning Google Adwords, Facebook Power Editor, Direct Mail campaigns, networking, managing finances and 23 employees. After all that growth, the best part of the day was the conversations and relationships with the clients. The fitness industry can be one of the most rewarding. If a good trainer can get 7-10 solid, dedicated clients, it’s an amazing lifestyle.
I’ve since sold my franchise locations and spend the bulk of my time with my 4-month-old son Clark and my wife Taryn. Now at 35, my family is the biggest priority and all the work I put in during my 14-year fitness career has allowed me to leverage my time for that.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Most of the time, operations were silky smooth. The only times things became difficult is when I would need to replace staff at multiple locations at the same time. Performing interviews back and forth between IL and WI locations, finding the right person, and making a good introduction to clients was always the most stressful part.
If you bring on a new trainer that doesn’t connect with your clients, you have to go back to the drawing board and start the process all over again.
Fitness Together – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Fitness Together is a fitness franchise the focuses on private, individualized personal training programs. We worked with all types of clients. Clients included middle school athletes, 70-year-old retirees and every shape, size and age in between. I was always proud of my staff. We had very talented, educated and passionate trainers who did a great job. They were able to provide clients the results they were looking for but also created a great experience at the same time.
Our clients really enjoyed coming in and seeing their trainer week in and week out for years on end. Those relationships are the best part of our company. Clients were like a second family to me. So much so, that they made up about 25% of my wedding guest list!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I was always told the best managers train themselves out of a job. The first trainer I hired as an owner was Craig Garkie. He moved across the state from Quincy to work at the Lake Forest studio. He was a smart, personable guy, and soaked up all the business operations like a sponge.
Making him a successor for ownership was my final goal in business operations. His role in the company continued to grow, and I was able to slowly reduce my workload. After working with me for 5 years, he was my top trainer and studio manager. He could maintain 180 sessions per month individually. He created instant relationships with clients.
The time came when he was ready to step up and he took ownership of the studio. That ensured that the training philosophy and culture of the studio would be intact for years to come. Clients were still familiar and engaged with ownership. I was able to give someone the same opportunity that I had.
Over a year into ownership, Craig is still doing great things in Lake Forest and runs one of the best Fitness Together in the country.
Pricing:
- Private training ranges from $65-80 per hour
Contact Info:
- Phone: 2626898382
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