May 17, 2017

Meet Kelley Gray of Trophy Fitness

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelley Gray.

Kelley, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started by working in a gym while I was going to college. My first job at the gym was folding towels, cleaning and greeting members. I enjoyed being in the gym and talking to all different types of people. I decided to become a certified personal trainer so I could begin training people. After two or three years I was promoted to manage the gym. I always thought I would go to medical school and become a doctor. After I graduated from The University of Texas of Dallas I decided to take some time off and just continue working at the gym. Over lunch one day a good friend of mine asked me if I ever thought of opening my own gym. Up until that point I hadn’t really thought about it. He gave me a book, “How to write a business plan.” I worked on a business plan for about 18 months when an opportunity presented itself for me to open a gym. I was only 25 years old and didn’t own anything but my old truck, so getting a loan from the bank was not going to happen. My family didn’t have any money to lend me. My friend who encouraged me to open my own gym gave me a loan. It is kind of crazy to think back about how it all fell into place. I never dreamed of owning a gym, but I guess that just shows you that God has a plan for your life.

I opened my first gym in the uptown area of Dallas. I remodeled the gym that was there and replaced all of the equipment with new equipment. When I opened the doors to Trophy Fitness I was committed to providing first class customer service in a clean gym with the best personal trainers. Over 14 years later Trophy Fitness is still committed to those same principals. We have grown the business to 4 locations that we own and 8 corporate locations that we manage. Trophy Fitness has grown every year since inception.

In addition to Trophy Fitness I started Trophy Fitness Design a few years ago. This part of our business is the fastest growing. We consult our clients who are building fitness centers and design the best gym within the space they allocated. We have designed numerous gyms most of them being in office buildings, apartments, hotels and some country clubs.

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?
Every business goes through struggles at some point. Some of those struggles are caused by growth. The hardest part has been finding good people. We have some really great team members but it is hard to consistently find good people. I ask myself everyday how I can keep my staff happy while at the same time keeping them motivated. Even today as we grow the corporate fitness management side of the business we are having to hire a lot of new people, but we cannot allow our standards to fall just to fill a spot.

I also think back about all the hours I worked in the beginning. I was single then and I don’t think there is any way I could have done it if I had a family. I basically lived at the gym the first couple of years. I still work long hours today but most of my hours are in my office and not at the gym. This allows me to work when I need to and hang out with my wife and kids when I need to.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Trophy Fitness is a fitness club that specializes in personal training while offering first-class customer service. We are known for personal training. We have a lot of clients who train with our trainers but have memberships at other gyms. Quite often I will have a client tell me I have a membership at “X” but I don’t think their trainers are any good. We have high standards for trainers. The vast majority of trainers we hire are degreed and the ones who aren’t have been training for over 15 years. We have a lot of trainers and each one has their own specialty so we are able to accommodate a large range of clients.

Even though we are known for personal training, I think the service we provide is what sets us apart from other fitness clubs. We constantly train our staff on how to greet members, clean the gym, and engage with prospects to find out how we can help them. Most fitness centers are all about volume. They want you to join and never come back. We are the exact opposite. Most of our gyms are smaller. We want to know how we can help you. We want you to achieve the fitness goals you have for yourself. We think that if you join and you use the gym regularly you will see results. If you see results others notice and they ask what you have been doing. More people join Trophy Fitness because they were referred by a friend than all the other marketing we do combined. Every decision I make involving the gyms I ask myself “will this improve the quality of service we provide our members?”

What were you like growing up?
I grew up in Rockwall, Texas when it was a small town. It has grown so much I hardly recognize it. I was always involved in sports and youth camp at the church. There were a lot of kids in my neighborhood so I was outside most of the day. Some of the friends I hang out with today are the ones I grew up with in that neighborhood. I am outgoing and friendly but I am also highly competitive. Sometimes that got me into trouble when I was growing up and in my adult life from time to time.

Now I love to coach my kid’s sports teams, go hunting and fishing. I want my kids to grow up loving and respecting nature like I did. I love to be outside and doing some activity. It is hard for me to sit still. I think that is one reason I love the fitness business so much.

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