Steve Strickland and John Quattrocchi
Celebrating 25 Years at Workout Anytime!
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Long-time friends of mine, Steve Strickland and John Quattrocchi, Co-Founders of Workout Anytime, are two of the most experienced and talented people in the health and fitness club industry.
On the night of April 26th, Steve and John celebrated Workout Anytime's 25th Anniversary, hosting what turned out to be a truly spectacular celebration at the beautiful Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel & Convention Center in the North Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta.
This was a very special and extremely well-done event, one of the finest I've ever attended in my 50 years of involvement in the health and fitness club industry. But, I would expect nothing less from these two industry veterans and their great company.
In their honor, you will find this cover story to be both a FUN read and a very INFORMATIVE story, following up on a previous cover story we did on them in 2018 (you can view that in the Club Insider Archives at www.clubinsideronline.com/archives).
I invite you to read on.
An Interview With Steve Strickland and John Quattrocchi, Co-Founders of Workout Anytime
Club Insider (C.I.) - Gentlemen, since we published our first cover story about Workout Anytime back in 2018, let's update some information with these questions: How many different individuals now own Workout Anytime Franchises? How many total Workout Anytime locations do those Franchisees currently own? How many, and in what States, are there Workout Anytime locations located?
Steve Strickland and John Quattrocchi (S&J) - Norm, we have 102 individual Franchisees, and they own 194 locations with six in pre-sales. We will open 22 new locations this year. We have three clubs in central America: two are in Honduras and one is in Costa Rica. We have zero corporate-owned stores.
C.I. - How many total club members does Workout Anytime now have overall?
S&J - We have over 300,000 members.
C.I. - Please tell us the names and titles of your key Workout Anytime Team Members?
S&J - Absolutely, they are:
- Randy Trotter - EVP of Real Estate;
- Terri Harof - Director of Franchise Development;
- Michael Anderson - Chief Financial Officer;
- Dennis Holcom - SVP of Field Support;
- Wanda Johnson - SVP of Franchise Operations/Construction;
- Greg Maurer - VP of Education & Fitness;
- John Carsillo - VP of Equipment;
- Sarah Troutman - Digital Media Director;
- Lynsay Flynt - Marketing Director;
- Brandon Daniels - Director of Personal Training;
- Crystal Decheine - Director of Personal Training;
- Jody Womble - Field Support Manager.
C.I. - Now let's move on to the subject at hand, your fabulous Workout Anytime 25th Anniversary Reception and Banquet that you guys produced and hosted on Saturday Night, April 26th. First, let me say here what I said to you guys in person before my wife, Ilena, and I left the event. I said, 'Over my 50+ years of involvement in this wonderful industry, I've been to a lot of special events, BUT your 25th Anniversary Reception and Banquet, to me, clearly ranks in the Top 5 of the events that I've ever had the pleasure of attending anytime or anywhere! CONGRATULATIONS!'
S&J - Thank you, Norm. That means a lot. You know, we did something different this year, our Workout Anytime TOP GUN Awards, a special award that went to our key people within the network who were the Top Performers. Norm, though you were an Air Force Man, I'm sure you remember the following quote from TOP GUN: 'YOU are the ELITE! YOU are the BEST of the BEST!' Well, that quote also applies to our team and all of our WOA Franchisees! We wanted to recognize all the key people who are in the trenches. We want to teach our ground teams, then motivate them to produce great results! To me, that's the key to success in this business! So, Sarah Troutman, our Digital Media Director, produced the following link to honor all of our 2024 Award Winners: bit.ly/woa-2024-awards. I'd also like for Sarah to comment.
Sarah Troutman - As we close the book on another successful year and our 25th Anniversary Franchise Conference, we want to thank everyone who made it all happen. Our internal team, led by our leader for all things conference, Wanda Johnson, Senior Vice President of Franchise Operations. Wanda, along with Sally Dixon, Sofia Aguirre and the entire Franchise Support Team all worked tirelessly to make it happen! Design Coup, our exceptional design team, is led by Michael Higgins and George Farkas. Their expert design skills and live direction of our educational presentations resulted in the flawless execution of all our content. Thanks to Angelica at Utopia Events for our beautiful décor. Also, thanks to our fabulous band, Dana Kamide, and his wife, Sharon, for their musical amazement! A huge thank you to our wonderful photographers, Jim and Tammy Lyle, whose skill and warmth shines through in each photo. Of course, thanks to our valued sponsors who bring fresh ideas and expertise every year. Lastly, and most importantly, we want to especially thank our Franchise Owners and the fantastic group of professionals they all employ. Without each and every one of them, the last 25 years would not have been possible. As a Support Team, we never forget our collective WHY... all of them and their success. It is an absolute honor to serve them all daily.
C.I. - Gentlemen, after 25 years in business with Workout Anytime, and even more in the industry before you both started Workout Anytime, what key pieces of advice and lessons do you have to share with our readers, whether they're new to the industry or industry veterans like y'all?
S&J - YOU'RE ONLY AS GOOD AS THE PEOPLE YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH! Your ability to attract people who are right for the job, help them develop and then let them realize their dreams and goals. When you do that, they will work even harder. Then, you TRUST them to do their jobs and GROW TOGETHER! It's also essential that the club owner understands that they will have to market effectively. They have to let the consumer know they are there. They must remember the consumer has options to do business with them or somebody else! So, it's imperative that, when our owners bring in new members, the team creates the best member experience possible, experiences that will keep them with the club. And, if we do that, they will never leave our clubs. All gyms have dumbbells, bikes, treadmills, weight machines, locker rooms, etc. But, the retention of members always boils down to people. Every time!
C.I. - Let me close this very special cover story interview by asking you one final, but important question. Please reflect back over your first 25 years that you spent creating and building Workout Anytime and tell us what you would say were the most important considerations for you guys? Let's call them The Top 5 Workout Anytime Success Factors...
S&J - Our Top 5 Workout Anytime Success Factors would be:
Workout Anytime's Mission, Vision & Values
1. Our Mission, Vision & Values - These statements were created, collectively, by every member of our support team, and they represent who we are and what we strive to be every day (See Graphic on This Page).
2. The expertise and dedication of our Executive Leadership Team:
- Michael Anderson, Chief Financial Officer;
- Wanda Johnson, SVP of Franchise Operations/Construction;
- Dennis Holcom, SVP of Field Support;
- John Carsillo, VP of Equipment;
- Greg Maurer, VP of Education.
3. The expertise and dedication of our entire Franchise Support Team.
4. Our Education and Training Process.
5. Outstanding Franchisees that care about their members and that have a positive impact on their community.
Importantly, we are proud of our success during and after the COVID Pandemic. We did not have any permanent closures due to this pandemic, and that is a testimony to our outstanding Support Team and Franchisees.
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Folks, Club Insider is very pleased and honored to have had Workout Anytime as our Outside Back Cover Advertiser every month for the past seven years. We're very THANKFUL for their support of Club Insider, and it has been our honor to share the story of their 25th Anniversary! That is a milestone in business no matter who you are or what industry you are in. Congratulations Steve, John and the WOA Team!
If you are considering a franchise, let me suggest Workout Anytime! All the information you need to properly consider them is available at: workoutanytimefranchise.com. And, of course, check out the Workout Anytime Ad on the Outside Back Page.
Thank you to Steve Strickland and John Quattrocchi for their time interviewing for this story. Thank you also to Wanda Johnson, Sarah Troutman and Terri Harof for their kind assistance during the production of this special cover story.
Finally, thank you all for reading!
