Zach Wheat
National Vice President of Business Development at Element Personal Training- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Credentials
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NASM Certification
National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
Experience
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Element Personal Training
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United States
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Health, Wellness & Fitness
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1 - 100 Employee
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National Vice President of Business Development
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Mar 2020 - Present
I was promoted to the National VP of Business Development role after strategically exiting the TOLA region at the start of the pandemic, charged with moving the company into larger, national gym chains by prospecting executives of the world's largest fitness institutions. I rapidly gained traction with executives at Retro Fitness (franchise model based in Florida) and World Gym (corporately managed and based in Southern California), cementing Element Personal Training's role in defining gym business models in a post-pandemic world. After Retro Fitness's intiial trial club posted incredible performance, 16 more clubs have launched this year with 30+ in the queue ready and waiting for Element services to launch. Our model guarantees a minimum $20k/mo in subscription revenue within the first six months, is highly replicable, and industry leading. We will continue to expand our footprint with Retro Fitness as I continue to prospect the 230 franchised gym owners in coming months.World Gym Texas City is one of the largest gyms in the nation at over 125k square feet housing more than $7M in fitness equipment. A nine month sales cycle with the COO of World Gym led to Element securing a personal training management contract with this behemoth institution. In less than one year, Element has grown the personal training business from $3k/mo to more than $55k/mo in subscription revenue. Due to the unbelievable success, Element was asked to expand our business model to include general management of the entire World Gym Texas City operation. Our managed subscription revenue for this single location has grown more than 5x, and now employs a staff of over 50 trainers, massage therapists, administrative employees, janitorial crew, etc. The General Manager reports directly to me as I deepen my relationships with World Gym corporate executives. Element will expand our World Gym footprint to 3 additional locations by March of '23 and growing.
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Regional Vice President of Sales
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Sep 2018 - Mar 2020
The decision to join Element in the Fall of 2018 was a no-brainer; the TOLA region had incredible opportunity for growth, the business model placed a much higher emphasis on employee well-being (higher pay / profit sharing), and the go-to-market strategy focussed on the customer first (flexible pricing models, etc). In this expanded TOLA regional role, I was hired to lead 3 district managers overseeing a staff of ~60 to rapidly increase the productivity of a recently acquired region. In my first four months, I deliberately deployed scalable recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding tactics to staff ~90% of the TOLA region's roles across 20 gyms.When Element entered the TOLA market, the previous training management company was generating $40k/month in subscription revenue. In less than one year under my leadership, the new TOLA team grew the base subscription revenue to $300k/month in the same 20 gyms. When the pandemic hit in March of 2020, gym owners of the TOLA reason closed their doors for 3+ months. With no control over broad gym operations and the anticipated re-opening date, Element's CEO and I decided to sell the now profitable TOLA training clientele back to the gym owners, and begin business development activities focussed on larger gyms with more staying power post-pandemic.
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District Vice President of Sales
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Oct 2014 - Sep 2018
During my four year tenure in this Texas-based role, my responsibilities escalated rapidly to include ever-expanding geographic, financial, and people management volume. In October 2014, I was promoted into this role to course-correct a bankrupt Lubbock market (Freedom Fitness, Bodyworks, Hero Fitness). In one year's time, I took Lubbock from the lowest to the highest profit market in the company. Immediately after taking over, I recognized an opportunity to improve visibility for the staff to the performance metrics, increase their motivation to pursue aggressive goals, and apply situational leadership to their training programs. As a result, the Lubbock portfolio of 3 gym chains increased their EFT bookings (Electronic Funds Transferred) by 350% ($37k per month to $133k per month).In October 2015, my rehabilitation of Lubbock resulted in a business development opportunity to acquire new markets for the Hero Fitness chain, and I expanded my district footprint to include gyms in San Angelo and Midland/Odessa. In one year's time, the newly acquired markets added incremental top-line revenue ($0k to $132k per month) commensurate with the Lubbock market's total improved volume. The result was a 700% increase in district revenue in less than two years ($37k per month to $265k per month).In October 2016, the incredible two-year performance of my expanded district propelled me to add Fitness Connection in Houston to my portfolio. Over the next two years, I more than doubled the Houston revenue ($124k per month to $351k per month) and ended my tenure at UBF with a 4 city district producing nearly $1M per month in subscription revenue for the company.
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Fitness Director
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Nov 2013 - Oct 2014
Recruit, hire, and onboard all new UBF employees in the Corpus Christi, Texas market. Monitor key performance metrics to ensure sales tactics were leading to goal achievement on new subscription signups. In my one year tenure, I achieved 195% to revenue goal on an average monthly basis.
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Assistant Fitness Director
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Jun 2012 - Nov 2013
Variably compensated salesperson charged with attaching personal training subscriptions to gym members.
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Education
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Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Bachelor's degree, Communications
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