Today we’d like to introduce you to Kanesha Britt.
Kanesha, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started my health & fitness career in Chicago many years ago through Bally Total Fitness at the receptionist counter. At that time in my life, I was always teased about how “skinny” I was. After watching people of all sizes and fitness levels come in & out of the gym, I decided it was time I tried weight lifting. After working with a trainer and gaining muscle mass, I competed in a figure competition and placed 7th out of 30 contestants! From there, I went on to manage the Pro Shop at a few Bally gyms and was then promoted to Pro Shop manager. As the pro shop manager, I was responsible for giving fitness assessments to new gym members. This is when I became obsessed with helping people achieve their fitness goals! I went on to become a certified trainer through Bally’s and later on got my personal trainer certification through NESTA.
Four years after, I decided to start my own LLC and do mobile personal training. After deciding to move to Atlanta, GA, I continued training once I got settled and gained new clients. My passion grew stronger and I began to rent spaces to do classes and also one on one training sessions. Fast forward to it being extremely difficult to make a living only on personal training and also getting married, having no support system and losing my job. I was unemployed for two years but during this time period I was separated, divorced and met my now husband of 3 years Wellington Britt. I never gave up on my passion and he was and still is my biggest supporter. I applied at Kickboxing circuit gym called 9Round and was hired on the spot because I was determined to prove I could make a difference in people’s lives. I worked as a trainer for six months and was promoted to head trainer and gym manager. I worked alongside the owner until he decided to sell the franchise.
I did not think I was in the position to buy a gym so I started looking into becoming a flight attendant. The owner came to me after failed attempts to sell to outside sources and offered to sell the gym to me at a deal I could not refuse. I have now been the owner of 9Round Decatur with ZERO business loans, no partners or investors for two years! As a woman of color over the age of 40, I NEVER in a million years thought I would be here today but I am and I’m more successful than I’ve ever been in my life!
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?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Not having enough credit history to get business loans has made it difficult to invest into the business as often as I’d like to but I have made it work. Also in the fitness industry, it is a revolving door with trainers coming and going unexpectedly. This is also hard when the gym members get comfortable with them and BOOM, they are gone. Member retention is also difficult because as we all know, people sometimes find it hard to stay committed, so keeping the numbers high enough to continue business as usual is challenging.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about 9Round Fitness – what should we know?
9Round is a 30 minute full body circuit workout. We give special attention at no extra charge. Our workout changes every single day so you don’t bored. All equipment is included with enrollment along with personalized meal plans. We have NO class times! There is no other gym without class times. Members can come in whenever we’re open, jump right into the circuit with little to no wait time!
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
My proudest moment is ALWAYS witnessing my members do things they could not do when they 1st started working out at the gym. Something so simple as jumping rope is extremely difficult for lots of people for several different reasons.
Pricing:
- 12 month membership is currently $78 monthly ($199 1 time enrollment fee)
- 6 month membership is currently $98 monthly ($199 1 time enrollment fee)
- Month to Month membership is currently $118 monthly ($199 1 time enrollment fee)
- 12 Month Pay In Full currently $936
- 6 Month Pay In Full currently $649
- 1st Workout is FREE!
Contact Info:
- Address: 2899-B North Decatur RD
Decatur, GA 30033 - Website: www.9round.com/fitness/decatur-ga
- Phone: 404-343-0286
- Email: northdecaturrddecaturga@9round.com
- Instagram: @9rounddecatur
- Facebook: 9RoundDecatur/
- Twitter: 9RoundAtl-Decatur
Image Credit:
Personal Image photo credit: Jack Manning of Jaxon Photo Group
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