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Meet Suzanne Fischer of AKT Inman Park

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Fischer.

Suzanne, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
After spending six years in the design industry, first working for a nationally recognized event & design firm in Charleston, Tara Guerard Soiree, then for an Atlanta interior designer and high-end furniture boutique owner, Lee Kleinhelter of Pieces, I felt burnt out and unfulfilled. I decided to step away from the design industry to fulfill an entrepreneurial whim and begin my own organizing company. This was a pivotal moment in my life as I was merging my design & small business background with my new found passion for living more simply and holistically. During this time, I applied to be a Pure Barre teacher to help make ends meet and, due to my management & marketing background, I was offered a larger role with Pure Barre Corporate. I took a leap of faith and in 2013, I opened the first corporate Pure Barre studio, which then leads me to join Burton Franchise Partners, later that year, as their Director of Operations and Marketing. I opened 12 Pure Barre studios in the first two years and by year three we grew to a total of 14 studios located in and around the Atlanta area.

During this time I, also went back to work for Pure Barre Corporate when I joined their Training Team as a Master Trainer; a position that only twelve hold out of a community of over 5,000 teachers. In 2017, I stepped away from the operations side knowing I wanted to get back to my entrepreneurial roots while still maintaining my role as a National Master Trainer and local Pure Barre teacher. As much as I’ve loved being a Master Trainer I knew I wanted back into the local Atlanta fitness scene. AKT was the perfect fit for my business partner, Samantha Cox, and I to do just that. AKT is built with an incredible sense of community and is a whole hell of a lot of fun. I’ve taken just about every fitness class there is, have both Pure Barre and Pilates Reformer certifications under my belt and I think AKT is one of the most unique methods there is. I am so excited to share all that is AKT with Atlanta. I live for this community – for the small part you play in bettering someone’s life in the hour they are in your company, for the support you give to the healthy choice they made, for the stories you learn and the people you come to call family. I love the structure & challenges of the business side but more than anything, I love the creativity you get in the style that you bring to your class and in the community we strive to create in and out of the studios. I love the public platform that you get to try to make a difference both big and small in your community.

And there isn’t a day that goes by that I am not thankful for all of this and the challenges and successes that it brings. I’ve found a place where people focus on making others stronger, supporting each other day in and day out, and build each other up vs tearing them down. There is no place I would rather be. People often liken a franchise owner to a big business owner, which is such a mistake. We chose the franchise route so we could have the assistance we needed in marketing and sales operations so that we can focus on what matters most – creating community within our community, a place where everyone can feel welcome and safe and where just for a little while they can escape their troubles and just dance and sweat it out.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has most definitely not been an easy road. Living in the world we live in today, where everyone’s life looks glamorous and the road to it seems smooth, it’s hard not to self compare. With each role & job I’ve had, I’ve grown so much both personally and professionally, but it definitely wasn’t easy. For the most part, I’ve always worked for strong woman, some of whom that came from nothing but who all taught me the kind of leader I wanted or didn’t want to be. However, knowing that you want to lead and believing that you can don’t always line up. There was a year after I left the operations side of Pure Barre where I was burnt out and just lost. I dipped my toes back into the design world but it wasn’t as easy as I thought, as I’d been out of the industry for a few years now. That world had changed and I had grown in a different direction. I then went back to the wellness industry and took a chance on two different startups. Both ended up being epic failures for me, personally.

I realized that experience doesn’t always translate when it’s done without passion. I felt like the universe kept pushing me to go out on my own but I just wasn’t there yet. I kept focusing on the failure “what if’s” instead of what the successful “what if’s” could be, but without those failures, I would have never had the courage to risk it all for AKT. I had to get to the point where I had nothing left to lose and the thought of regret outweighed the fear. I learned that no matter which way you go the road is going to have major ups and downs but as long as you find whatever makes you tick (whatever that may be) and makes you happy the ups will always trump the downs. Make sure you surround yourself professionally with wonderful people that support you and you enjoy being on that ride with. They are everything, as being in leadership can be lonely and success is hard but never trying is far worse.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with AKT Inman Park – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
AKT was developed by Celebrity Trainer Anna Kaiser. AKT is a prescription based dance concept, unlike no other that is deeply rooted in movement and positive energy that uses a unique combination of toning, interval, circuit and dance-based workouts that change every three weeks to keep both the body and the mind engaged. The workout is designed to challenge your body functionally on all planes of motion, challenge every muscle, and is balanced with the right ratio of cardio to strength training to make you sweat and stronger in and out of the studio. Fueled by positivity and a belief that movement has a powerful, lasting impact, AKT is for all body types and fitness levels. With this positivity and combination of personal training and movement-based technique, AKT empowers members to become stronger in their bodies, minds and communities – and they have fun doing it!

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Always! We are looking to expand the brand with at least two more studios in the Midtown and Buckhead neighborhoods. From there who knows! I’ve run 14 in the past and my partner, Sam, and I are always up for a challenge!

Pricing:

  • 20% off our Founding Membership for the lifetime of your package. This is a limited time only for the duration of our soft opening. You will not see this package discounted at this rate ever again!

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