SWEAT Fitness Center’s Success Going Virtual

COVID-19 has flipped the fitness industry on its head and forced small, family-run fitness and personal training studios like SWEAT Fitness Center to pivot their business online.

Rodger and Lakiesha Williams – the husband and wife co-owner team at SWEAT – know that life is all about taking advantage of opportunities.

In 2010, the couple saw an opportunity to align their interest in fitness and opened SWEAT Fitness Center with their sons AnTerrio (staff instructor) and AunDerel (director, social media) in their hometown of Stockton, California. They saw another opportunity and joined our family as a WellnessLiving customer in 2014.

COVID-19 has again created another opening for SWEAT, and they’re taking full advantage to grow their business into a virtual fitness studio.

“Along the way, we’ve had members who moved but loved our studio and encouraged us to livestream our classes, so I had it in the back of my mind,” says Rodger. “This is something we’ve been thinking about for years, and now is totally the best time to do everything we can to make it happen it!”

SWEAT’s experience going virtual

And so, to stay ahead of the game, SWEAT Fitness Center updated their community about their plans to bring online fitness classes to their loyal members. “I communicated with everyone via WellnessLiving’s automated marketing,” says Rodger. “I sent them all an email telling them we were going virtual.”

What classes do you offer online?

Rodger, Lakiesha, and AnTerrio teach online classes at the studio, and they view their clients on a 60-inch screen while their other instructors perform classes from home. They now offer 15 weekly classes which include cardio boxing, yoga movement, barre fit, spin cycling, Guts-n-Butts (ab and glute workout), Head-to-Toe (a full-body strength workout), Kangoo Jumps (rebound boot workout), POUND (a drumstick workout), and a workout of the day.

But it wasn’t easy. SWEAT had to literally “sweat” and put in overtime to rent and deliver the right equipment – like the bikes for spin classes – so their members could participate. “The bikes are 150 pounds, so delivering them to our member’s houses all over town was a challenge,” says Rodger. “But they definitely appreciate the effort that we’ve gone through to bring them online classes.”

What livestream platform did you choose?

Next, they needed a livestreaming platform and went with Zoom. Once they found out that WellnessLiving recommended the platform, Zoom was a no-brainer. WellnessLiving had even provided livestreaming tips and a step-by-step guide for getting their online classes to the community.

“Clients could book classes like before, but now we would send them an email with the Zoom link so they could join the class,” explained Rodger. “We also send them a personal text about three minutes prior to the class to make sure they have all the information they need for class.”

Have you faced any challenges going online?

In the first couple of weeks, SWEAT couldn’t get the music to work quite right and their clients couldn’t hear instructions or the music. Then, Rodger discovered they could share music through Zoom like you would share a video screen. “Everything has been working well ever since,” he said.

Are you excited for WellnessLiving’s Zoom integration?

When not teaching, Rodger jumps on Zoom to take attendance of his instructor’s classes. He then goes to WellnessLiving to verify each client has signed in for the online class.

SWEAT Fitness Center is also super excited that WellnessLiving is integrating with Zoom. That way Rodger and Lakiesha will be able to conveniently set up their virtual classes and invite clients to book all on the WellnessLiving software.

“I’m so thrilled WellnessLiving has integrated with Zoom,” says Rodger. “It’s going to make everything better to have the platform we’re using for booking tightly integrated with Zoom, making it a seamless process.”

Will you be offering recorded classes?

WellnessLiving will also be offering FitVID on Demand, which will allow SWEAT to grant special access to their exclusive video classes. This will help SWEAT grow an on-demand virtual membership.

“You can record the classes and have them stored in a cloud and available for access on demand,” Rodger says. “This new feature will allow for us to offer on-demand classes to clients all over the world. I’m definitely looking forward to it!”

What will your business look like after COVID-19?

When the lockdown ends SWEAT plans to continue offering livestream classes, alongside their in-studio class schedule. “I think we’ll continue to livestream our classes since it’s so easy to do,” Rodger says. “It’s going to be our new way forward!”

WellnessLiving has been a big part of SWEAT Fitness Center’s going virtual journey. From providing them with blogs, software instructions and tips for setting up online classes with a COVID-19 Resource Hub to emailing or texting clients about their online classes, WellnessLiving has been by their side.

How can WellnessLiving’s all-in-one software help you? Book a no-commitment demo today to learn more!