January 8, 2017

Meet Sarah Rhino of The Peach Pit Gymnastics in Buckhead-Brookhaven

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Rhino.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Sarah. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Growing up in Atlanta as a gymnast and cheerleader, I’ve always dreamed of owning a gym but never thought of coaching gymnastics as a career. So after graduate school, I settled for a career in College & Professional Sports Marketing and worked as an Assistant Cheerleading Coach at Georgia Tech on the side. After the loss of my brother Robert to a tragic car accident, I approached Peachtree Presbyterian Church to host a charity basketball tournament in his honor to support a 501 (c) 3 foundation that has since been rolled into a scholarship fund at the Metro YMCA of Atlanta supporting athletic and academic programs for teens. Annually, the YMCA grants The Robert F. Wharton Scholarship Fund recipient a gift from our fundraising efforts and family. Peachtree Presbyterian Church graciously agreed to host my basketball tournament with the agreement that I would come on board as their Director of Gymnastics. I literally laughed out loud then humbly accepted the position in which I ran the program at Peachtree Presbyterian Church for 11 years. During my ministry at Peachtree, I coached cheerleading at both The Lovett School and Pace Academy split with two years cheering professional with the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers. My experience as a member of Blue Crew, the name given to the Thrasher’s cheerleader and ice girls, taught me hard work, furthered my performance skills and created a glamorous approach to my otherwise bohemian lifestyle. About 5 years into running a gymnastics program, I dreamed of owning my own gymnastics studio with the vision of a barn style gym that catered to high-end clientele with white glove service for parents and an elite level training studio for athletes. I was raised in a family of five children and paid my own way through graduate school nannying for Suzanne Kasler and Meridy King both extremely successful interior designers. The number one reason that I opened The Peach Pit is to share my light and passion for gymnastics and athletics with children. I love the absolute creativity and talent that children possess and never underestimate the talent of a young child. It takes a village to raise children and I truly believe my coaches and I help make our children’s future every day. The intrinsic rewards of what we do are endless. A balance of my passion for children, gymnastics, and business naturally progressed into an intricate business plan that would separate The Peach Pit from any other studio in Atlanta. My approach to business is very unique and I have created numerous signature programs @ The Peach Pit located off Collier Road. Our vision is to replicate our boutique studio in Brookhaven in January 2017 teaching gymnastics and cheerleading to children ages 2 to adult. Our recently unveiled dance program is the only studio in Atlanta that teaches dance and performance to not only ballerinas and hip hop dancers but focuses on pop star performance and film/tv industry style dance. Our hopes @ The Peach Pit are to crank out pop stars with the growing film industry in Atlanta on top of a few collegiate level gymnasts and cheerleaders. My lifestyle on the coaching floor is a true extension of who I am at home. I believe in positive coaching and energy with my equally talented husband, Randy Rhino. Randy is a successful Custom Home Builder with Rhino King Homes and we have two beautiful children Dallas (3) and Bode (1) who spend countless hours at The Pit or with me wakeboarding on Lake Burton or traveling.

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?
Wow! Many. Success is made up of a bunch of failures and choosing to focus on those things that I have done right! One of the qualities I teach my team is that we are going to fail sometimes and it is going to be all okay. Many gymnasts are Type A perfectionist personalities so it is a constant struggle to accept our shortcomings. I teach my team that life is too short to dwell on what we have done incorrectly, but how we can create a solution together to achieve our common goal of influencing, training and raising great children. I started this journey with the loss of a sibling who quoted Walt Disney’s “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.” I will never get to ask my brother why that quote was so memorable but I do know that Robert always made a positive out of each negative. He always laughed off each trial and moved on. I would rather take the spank on the hand than have never taken the chance. My dream of owning a gym became a reality after my friend and past manager at Ivivva, Lisa Curtis replicated the same vision planning session that she had recently completed a recent Lululemon Manager training. I envisioned what I would be or look like in 10 years. I dreamed everything from my children and family to my home in the woods on a lake and my beautifully created “barn gym” gymnastics studio. After writing it all down, Lisa taught me that God wants all that for me and the children that I would like to influence and that if I wanted those great and amazing things for my life, that I could step by step move towards owning my own studio. I immediately applied for my business license and within 6 months left my job to create my lifetime of opportunities. I created the same vision planning with my management team and all 3 managers have since pursued their dreams of going to graduate school at UGA, getting married and creating a dance program! I would be nowhere without failure or my team. The two most difficult things that I do are managing people and managing parent’s expectations. I am blessed with a dynamic management team that helps parents create a future and vision for their child and work together like a family. We truly work together and play together in a team dynamic that I have only created based on experience that a person can work anywhere they wish but they will stay working for you if you treat them with respect, loyalty, and love.

Please tell us about The Peach Pit Gymnastics.
The Peach Pit is a boutique gymnastics and cheerleading studio in Atlanta that creates an atmosphere where parents feel trendy, luxurious and important. Our gymnasts and athletes feel equally as important and special as we create a serene, beautiful training environment where our coaches are free to do what they do best, create and train champions. From the moment you walk in the door, the natural light, clean smell, and ambiance is unique to The Peach Pit and clearly sets us aside from any other gym in Atlanta and beyond. Numerous gym owners and coaches have just stopped by to check out our studio and see what we are all about. Our glamorous studio has hosted commercial photo shoot productions for Ivivva, Nfinity and filming for television. When I created this gorgeous studio, I wanted to add everything I ever dreamed of as an athlete and everything I ever wanted as a mom and coach. The comfortable all white leather furniture and professionally photographed canvas’ by Ashley Berrie Photography showcase the trendy and beautiful vibe that sets the fresh and positive mood in the studio. The studio is designed with tons of natural light and open space in which parents can view their child close up, take a yoga class or work from our picnic tables in the sun. I am most proud that God has given me the opportunity to serve children in an environment where I am at liberty to design my own studio, make my own purchasing decisions and treat each one of my employees and athletes as if they are a gift and friend. My team is credentialed through USA Gymnastics and the US All Star Federation and are hired after a thorough interview process and background check. I hire people that are not only great coaches and managers but great people on the inside. I hire coaches that I would wish to raise my children and shine their light on me. What’s that quote about surrounding yourself with people that are better than you so that you may be great? I choose staff that are brilliant, creative and talented so that I may constantly be learning from and challenged by them. Both our competitive and recreational gymnastics, cheerleading and dance programming are successful in teaching correct technique, progressions, and various life skills. Not all gymnasts will be Olympic champions or collegiate athletes, so I hope to instill life lessons in the children I help raise and train such as self-confidence, teamwork, and determination.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I have 4 siblings so there are many funny and entertaining stories. My dad always said the only mistake he made was trying to raise 5 children on a middle-class income. I have never wanted for anything so I have no idea what he was talking about. I do vividly remember borrowing $10 to go to the movies in middle school and my dad asking when I was going to pay him back. That was the first moment I realized that he was serious and money does not grow on trees. My best travel story is the fact that my family traveled often but we always traveled by car and we always traveled to our family lake house, my grandparent’s farm or beach house or to visit family. I always thought it was the greatest thing ever and never realized that it wasn’t common travel to stay at KOA campgrounds and not in hotels. I never thought anything of it, questioned it or judged because we thought that tents were cool. On the trip, my dad drove the whole family to New York and we stopped to tour Washington D.C. in the middle. We got pulled over in about every state since we got out of Georgia and started to laugh at my poor dad for all the tickets he received or that we thought he received. Little did we know that he had just bought a mini-van (you know the blue ones with the wood panel down the side) and in the state of Georgia, you received a temporary tag. Apparently, in every other state, that does not fly;)

One of my favorite childhood memories relating to gymnastics is that I very clearly remember when my mom bought me my first “official” gymnastics leotard. It was red and black patterned and came with matching leggings. I wore that leotard everywhere I went and even to school during our gymnastics segment in P.E. I remember specifically taking off my school clothes to wear my gymnastics leotard to P.E. I thought I was Mary Lou Retton when in fact I was probably the biggest nerd. I have one picture I could probably dig up although I would be humiliated of my crimped hair, red leotard, and satin Members Only jacket.

Pricing:

$45 Annual Membership
$88 Monthly Tuition/45 Minute-1 Hour Class
Summer Camps $325/Week

Contact Info:

Address: The Peach Pit Gymnastics
1019B Collier Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30318Cheerleading & Dance
1017F Collier Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30318

The Peach Pit Brookhaven
2152 Johnson Ferry Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30319