How Advantage Personal Training Grew 395% with Family-Friendly Scheduling and a Focus on Strength for Life

“Our members’ wins are our wins. That’s what drives me—to help people feel strong enough to live fully.” – Brian Sipotz, Advantage Personal Training

Customer Overview

Business Name: Advantage Personal Training
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Owner: Brian Sipotz, CEO
Services: Small group personal training for adults, youth athletic development, team training
Clients Served: Primarily adults aged 45–65 and youth athletes aged 10–19

When former professional hockey player Brian Sipotz was offered a chance to start a training program in Ann Arbor, he jumped in with coaching instincts, an exercise science degree, and a passion for movement. What began as a youth sports program has grown into a thriving, two-floor facility serving families across generations.

“Whether it’s a kid making a team or a 70-year-old client hiking without hesitation, we’re here to help people stay strong for life.”

But as his business evolved, Brian’s old software couldn’t keep up with his growing needs. Scheduling was clunky. Parent-child accounts were disconnected. And customer support wasn’t responsive. That’s when he switched from Mindbody to WellnessLiving’s all-in-one wellness business management software.

Since making the switch nine years ago, Brian has grown Advantage Personal Training 395%, simplified operations, and empowered his team to deliver an exceptional client experience—without the tech headaches.

The Business: Strength Training for All Ages

Advantage Personal Training offers two distinct yet interconnected programs under one roof:

• Youth sports performance (ages 7–15): focused on athletic development and long-term confidence

• Adult functional training (ages 45–65): designed to promote lifelong strength and mobility

Their model serves the whole family, often at the same time—but in different dedicated spaces.

“They walk in the front door together. The kids branch off upstairs, and the adult comes down for their session. They both walk out in an hour having gotten exactly what they needed.”

The Challenge: Outgrowing a One-Size-Fits-All System

Like many independent gym owners, Brian started with Mindbody. But it quickly became clear that the software wasn’t built for his growing needs.

Key pain points:

• No way to link parent and child accounts, making scheduling and billing confusing

• Inconsistent customer support with long wait times

• Rising costs that didn’t reflect added value

• A lack of tools to manage cyclical revenue and client retention

“I tried explaining our model, and it just didn’t compute. It made things really tough.”

Manual workarounds added time and complexity—taking Brian away from strategy and growth.

The Solution

Brian switched to WellnessLiving’s fitness studio software—and found a system that matched his business model. With key features designed for family account management and streamlined operations, the switch unlocked capacity and confidence for his entire team.

With WellnessLiving, Brian was able to:

• Link parent and child accounts, simplifying youth program registration and billing

• Use a one-click family toggle, making it easy for parents to manage their child’s schedule

• Streamline staff clock-ins and payroll with the built-in time tracking tool

• Automatically celebrate client milestones with session badge alerts

• Access custom reports for trends, retention risk, and top-performing offers

“It runs our payments, it tracks our sessions—I don’t have to think about that anymore. That freed me up to grow.”

The Results: Smarter Tools, Sustainable Growth

Since adopting WellnessLiving, Advantage Personal Training has:

• Grown 395% over nine years

• Maintained year-over-year growth, including a 1% increase during COVID

• Created a predictable, diversified revenue stream across youth and adult programs

• Cut down admin time across membership management, scheduling, and payroll

• Trained staff to own daily operations with clear, easy-to-learn tools

“We’ve grown every single year we’ve been in business—nine of those with WellnessLiving.”

Favorite Features

• Parent-Child Account Linking
  Simplifies family scheduling and billing by pinning child accounts to the parent profile.

• Milestone Badges
  Automatically highlight client achievements at check-in, making it easy for staff to celebrate and retain clients.

• Staff App & Time Clock
  Allows seamless clock-ins from mobile or desktop, improving onboarding and time tracking.

• Reports Dashboard
  Provides visibility into expiring memberships, top-performing offers, and payroll—without needing external spreadsheets.

• Customer Support
  Responsive, knowledgeable support that helps Brian’s team solve issues fast.

“Now I get someone on the phone right away who knows the software. That’s a big deal.”

Closing: Built for Family-Focused Fitness Businesses

“What I love about WellnessLiving is that for a business like mine—working with both parents and kids—it makes things logical and easy. That leads to a bigger business for us.”

Today, Advantage Personal Training is a community-driven, multi-generational fitness business that continues to grow—because the systems behind it make that growth possible. For Brian, WellnessLiving isn’t just a tool. It’s a partner in his mission to make strength training accessible for everyone.

“WellnessLiving is constantly improving. That’s what makes me want to stay with them—and why I’d recommend it to anyone who’s serious about scaling their business.”

Ready to Grow your Fitness Business?

See how WellnessLiving can streamline your operations, support your team, and help you deliver exceptional client experiences.

👉 Book your free demo today