Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Sullivan.
Steven, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have played sports all my life, so from a young age, a fitness-minded mentality was instilled in me. After a career-ending knee injury playing football, I moved back home to Baton Rouge to rehab my knee and attend school at Louisiana State University. After a year of unsuccessful rehab and physical therapy I decided to branch out on my own and start learning about different ways I could help myself because thus far the help and advice that I had been given from physical therapists and strength coaches wasn’t enough to get me back in shape and as active as I wanted to be at 20 years old. I purchased just about any book I could find on strength training, physical therapy, muscle rehabilitation, bodybuilding, human movement and science and just started reading everything I could in my spare time.
That journey leads me to take a job opportunity as a personal trainer at a gym near LSU campus. At first, I was not sure about it but at the time I needed a job to pay the bills. Shortly after starting I realized I had a passion for my job and helping others. A short 6 months later I was promoted to The Personal Training Manager of Custom Built Personal Training. I continued this career path and furthered my knowledge and skills by graduating from LSU with a degree in Kinesiology and two minors. One in Leadership and Development, and another one in Communication Studies.
After graduation, I moved with my wife to Houston to take a Fitness Manager position at 24 Hour Fitness. This job took me into leading one of their highest revenue Clubs in the Houston area. After achieving many goals at 24 Hour Fitness I decided to take a “promotion” with another company, Lifetime Fitness. Which I quickly came to regret this decision just a few short months later. I was doing double my workload (when promised less), underpaid (when promised a raise from my position at 24 Hour Fitness), and lastly not getting to help people the way I wanted to (clients are just a number at big corp. gyms).
Unfortunately, the sad truth about most big corporate run gyms is that clients become nothing but a number with a dollar sign attached to them which is the exact opposite of why I got into this industry. So, after much discussion with my wife, we decided there was no reason for me to continue working for a corporation that was making what I loved to go into a negative experience. That is when I decided it was time for me to jump out of the plane and start my own company. I researched fitness gyms for an extensive amount of time across the globe and found F45 Training. F45’s business model has the personal touch I was looking for. I want to be able to genuinely help people achieve their health and fitness goals, and F45 has given me that outlet.
Has it been a smooth road?
One of my initial challenges was getting my wife to sign off on us taking a huge risk financially, as I was/am the primary ‘breadwinner’ in our household. It took me months of deliberating with her, going through her 21 questions she asked each night, and me reassuring her even to this day that WE would absolutely make this a success. Our location was our next biggest challenge. Location is everything and we knew that going in especially with the Houston market being saturated with studio gyms popping up. We quickly found the ideal territory we wanted to open up our first of many locations.
At the time, there were not very many options that fit the criteria I was searching for. So, after three LONG months of negotiating lease terms, we were finally given the green light to start construction and move forward. Our next challenge which was most likely our most difficult challenge was jumping through all of the hoops of the pre-opening processes.
In my opinion, these challenges amongst many others is what brought us to where we are today and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Since we have opened our first location in The Woodlands I can say it has all be worth it at the end of the day. Anything worth having is not going to come easy. At the end of the day if you’re willing to put in the hard work and give it everything you have……it will pay off.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
F45 is the fastest growing group fitness gym on the planet. F45 was founded 4 years (almost 5) and has now opened over 900 gyms globally. F45 is an Australian based company that took off so quickly they were forced to branch out into other countries. Our classes are based around High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) that last 45 minutes. F45 sets themselves apart from any other gym I know of because our clients will NEVER repeat a workout.
Our exercises are based off of functional movements so that people of all fitness levels and capabilities can come and succeed. F45 is personal training in a group setting, you get a personal feel but you also have your best gym buds right there next to you sweating it out with you. The F45 training regimen is designed by a team of fitness experts with masters or doctorate degrees in kinesiology.
We are unlike exercise classes at larger gyms, which are often thrown together by under-qualified trainers, F45 workouts are designed to work together, which I believe provides a personal trainer-style work out for a much more affordable price. With this program, you know you are getting the best training and the best workout from qualified people. We are all family at F45 and our welcoming environment is something I pride myself on.
I am most proud of the fact that I personally as well as all of my employees know every single member by name. When they walk through the door they are cheerfully greeted with a high five (we love high fives at F45) and a welcoming smile. They are no longer just a key card number that is being checked in by an impersonal employee sitting behind a desk.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Absolutely, Houston is an incredible city with lots of variety which is one of the reasons I moved here. The Kauffman Foundation lists Houston as one of the top Metropolitan areas for startup activity this year.
Alongside other cities like Austin (which took the top spot nationally), Dallas and San Antonio, Houston recorded one of the highest numbers of businesses opened during the year, making it a major hotbed for entrepreneurship.
4 Reasons to why Houston is a good place for business.
1. Opportunities
2. Talent
3. Funding Potential
4. Home to over 20 Fortune 500 companies
Pricing:
- We offer a free 1 week trial pass – This allows our potential members to experience multiple different types of workouts
Contact Info:
- Address: 8510 Creekside Forest Dr. Ste. E-100
The Woodlands, Texas 77375 - Website: www.f45training.com/creekside
- Phone: 832-698-4764
- Email: creekside@f45training.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/f45_training_creekside
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/F45Creekside/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/f45-creekside-creekside?osq=f45+training+creekside
Image Credit:
Alli Sullivan , Jaxson Sullivan, Angela Hansen, Jack Woolsey
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