May 4, 2023 • 22 mins
Meet Stephanie and Kurt Altenburger, the power couple behind bringing Orangetheory Fitness and Restore Hyper wellness to Northeast Ohio. In 2023 they co-founded Thrive Venture Group with Stephanie as the CEO, and Kurt as the Director of Construction and Facilities. With their partners, they worked to create a larger enterprise of now 26 studios with intentions of growing. This dynamic duo has been happily married for 11 years and share two beautiful children. They are driven by their shared passion for helping people live healthier and happier lives. Their impact has been felt in the Cleveland area from sponsored events with the Ohio Cancer Center, American Lung Association, and American Heart Association, while leveraging their platform to give back to the community, employees, and members.
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(00:01):
Welcome to the podcast about the businessof running a business. This is iHeartRadio's
Cleveland's CEOs you should know and I'mKeith Constugus. So have you ever been
in the Orange Zone. Well,perhaps you've heard of the ubiquitous workouts at
Orange Theory Fitness. Maybe you've evenbeen intimidated by them. Well, there's
no need. We sat down withStephanie and Kurt Altenberger, the Thrive Venture
(00:22):
Group, owners of multiple Orange Theorystudios, about why fitness is a rewarding
business. Tell me, Stephanie andKurt, what exactly is the Orange Theory.
Yeah, so, the concept behindthe Orange Zone is getting your heart
rate between a certain percentage point whileyou're doing the workout. And what that
does is that elicits epoch, whichit allows you to burn calories post your
(00:43):
workout for up to forty eight hours. Right. And one of the things
is interesting about when I would doOrange Theory workouts is I would spend most
of my time in the red andI think, do you think, to
yourself, isn't that better than Orange? But apparently that's not necessarily the case.
No, that's definitely not the case. The reason being is, like
our whole concept is heart rate basedinterval training, right, it's not high
(01:06):
intensity and infortraining. It's heart ratebased. Okay, everything we do is
based off of intervaling your heart rateduring the entire time. You know,
if we're able to do that,you're able to spike your heart rate up
into that orange zone and they we'reable to bring it down. We're going
to build your recovery. We're goingto build your oxygen saturation. We're going
to build all of those things insideof your system to be able to actually
like make you perform better, becomehealthier, born, more fat, born
(01:29):
more calories, and kind of sustainbetter performance throughout the time that you're with
us at or the orange theory modelfrom when I was there and I know
it's to be true, is thatit feels very encouraging, very inclusive.
But I believe that there's a perceptionout there that it's really hard and for
advanced physical specimens. How can youhelp someone who's listening who is just really
(01:53):
maybe not in the shape they wantto be at all, and is very
intimidated by these quote what they thinkis high intensity workouts. Can you help
him? What would they do tocome in. Yeah, it's it's I
think Kurt mentioned it earlier. Youknow, we are heart rate based,
generable training, and so every workoutis really designed to you and your performance.
(02:15):
So I could be working out nextto Kurt or two totally different athletes
in our own right, yet theworkout is designed for us. So everyone
wears our ot beat and those resultsshow up in real time up on the
screen. And so that allows youto train and the coach to train you
within the zones that you personally needto be in, not that of anybody
(02:37):
else. So when we say weare for everybody, it is a true
statement. The reality is that youcan come in after just having a baby,
you can come in after being sedentaryfor a while, you can come
in and be a marathon runner,and so it really is about you versus
you while you're in the studio,and our coaches, our coaches are trained
to coach to that to each specificperson individually. And what's nice about it
(03:01):
is when we say we're for everybody, we have members that are legitimately from
the age of fourteen years old.So I think our oldest member of Orange
Theory that's been a member during thetime we've been here is about ninety one.
Wow. Right, So we've gotprofessional athletes, we've got beginners.
So you could be a runner,you could be an avid runner. I
(03:21):
could have just started working out.I could be on that treadmill next to
you. I'm focused on my heartrate. You're focused on your heart rate.
Yep, and you're encouraging me becauseI want to get to that point.
But then what's also nice is you'rerunning and I'm walking, but yet
we're both at eighty seven percent ofour max heart rate, right, and
that actually is the most effective forwhat people are mostly there to do,
(03:42):
which is get healthier and lose weightprobably, right, absolutely, Yeah,
So and the encouraging factor, Iwould tell anybody who is questioning joining something
like this, just take your firstclass. Once you take your first class
and you realize that doesn't matter yourlevel, you're welcomed into the community.
You're you're hooked because it's not abouthow you feel and how other people are
(04:02):
looking at you. It's about everybody'sjust getting healthy and having fun at the
same time. Yeah, and Ifeel like, you know, I took
CrossFit and I've taken Orange theory,and I feel like the orange theory philosophy
is a lot more inclusive, right, It's a lot more for everyone.
Yet at the same time it isit's a good workout, right, And
again I like the how you phrasedit. As long as you're in that
(04:24):
orange zone, you are burning atremendous amount of calories and getting a lot
healthier for your specific body, right, So you don't have to worry about
whether there's a really skinny marathon ornext to you, right, Yeah,
And I think there's something very specialto also be said about not just the
physical aspect, but also the mentalaspect that people achieve in while they're in
class, not only when they're withother people, but now more than ever,
(04:48):
I think that is something that addssomething really special to what we do
at Orange. Can you talk aboutthe psychology of people that maybe think that
they're not inclined to be participatory ingroup sort of exercise, group fitness,
They feel like they're just they justwant to be lone wolves, And can
you talk about how that can bea little how do you overcome that and
what's the rationale to overcome that?Right? I mean I think I can
(05:09):
just because I've done both for avery long time, and I will tell
you, for a person who enjoysworking out by myself, like I really
do, there's something to be saidonce you join that group atmosphere, how
much harder and further you will pushyourself. You know, if you've played
on a sport, like in anysport, you played on a team,
(05:30):
whether it's track or an extra likefootball team, where you're relying on other
people, right, like, youkind of always tend to perform better when
others around you are also performing right, And that's kind of what happens,
just innately without you even realizing.You know, it's funny. It's sort
of similar. I'm not much ofa runner, but I'll jog occasionally and
I'll do a five k on myown and I'll get a time. And
then the one time I ran arace, I like beat it by like
(05:53):
two minutes. I'm like, howdid I do that? Right? And
that's it's because you're just sort ofsubconsciously in some cases inspired by the group
around you. Yeah, we're talkingwith Stephanie and Kurt Altenberger. They are
the owners of Orange Theory Fitness herein Cleveland, Ohio, and it's meaningful
work obviously, right, because you'rehelping folks get healthier. We have a
(06:15):
real challenge in the United States wherethere's a lot of unhealthy foods, a
lot of access to fresh food isreally challenging, and it's even more expensive
as we're speaking right now, Aprilof twenty twenty three, the cost of
fresh produces doubled in the last yearfor people. So how do you,
guys, when you bring this meaningfulwork, how do you talk to people
(06:36):
about the work you're doing and theimportance of fitness, whether or not they
were ever into fitness or not,how do you talk to people about that?
Well, more than ever I think, especially over the last couple of
years, being I'm going to usethe word selfish, but being selfish with
your time for yourself is so sovaluable and it's the limited time that we
(07:00):
have making sure that we use ourtime wisely. And you know, not
only life span, but health spanis so so important and the quality of
life that you live. You know, we talk about longevity and how long
people are living and what those whatcircumstances lead to those things, And it's
not about living a long life.It's about living a long, healthy life
(07:24):
with the ones that you love andthere are things that you can do now
that can support that for the future. And so making healthy choices like like
food and like exercise, and reallyseeing the value on what those things are.
And there are some people that doneed to make a choice right in
(07:45):
what they choose in order to dothose things, and I think making those
choices is really important and identifying whatyour goals are. So you know,
there's obviously macroeconomic issues going on inthe world today, but at least for
our program, we believe in makingeverything valuable yet affordable for people when they
(08:07):
come into the space. That waythey see the value and they not that
they don't mind spending the money onit, but that they see the value
and coming in. Yeah, andI think we've seen it more in the
least three years, right then,I think we ever have that we've seen
now the importance of what keeping yourbody healthy internally can and cannot do.
(08:28):
Right. So, I think talkingto those people who who aren't sure about
joining fitness or haven't been into fitnessor whatever that thing is, I think
the last three years have opened alot of people's eyes to how important health
is. But just immunity, right, Like I mean, people now are
so kind of like aware of what'sgoing on, but they're also not aware
(08:52):
of what their body is actually doingand not doing for them. Instead of
taking pills, instead of like worriedabout this or that, they could be
taking it kind of into their ownhands and really kind of holding their immunity
and their health and you know,in their own future by actually doing something,
whether it's Orange Theory or going outand running or walking and starting that
journey somehow and ending up back intoan Orange Theory or back into a program
(09:16):
for them. I think that's reallyone of the interesting pieces of Orange Theory
is the technology based here, becausewe're all aware that between fitbits and Apple
watches, people are tracking their stepsand they're you know, whether they believe
what the thing is saying or isgood for them or not, it's different.
But that I think helps people feelconfident that it's it's databased, that
the workout they're doing is actually deliveringresults for them, which I think is
(09:39):
helpful. Let's talk a little bitabout business. So you started, you
open a franchise of Orange Theory inCleveland. Obviously, then COVID shut everything
down. Ahead have been terrifying,right, How did you mentally keep yourselves
through that piece of it? Yes, I always say that there are very
specific days in my life that Iwill never forget. Day I got married,
(10:00):
the day my children were born,the day we shut down for COVID,
and the day we reopened from COVID. They are all dates that are
permanently ingrained in my brain. But, um, you know, I'll be
honest with you, it was avery challenging time for all of us.
And definitely, when I speak forus in the fitness industry, because we
know how important it is to keepmoving. Um, It's why we do
(10:22):
what we do, and so togo through a period of time where everybody
was, you know, bunker downat home and not able to do those
things, um, it really itreally challenges us because that's our purpose.
And so when when you see thereare obstacles that are preventing that from happening
for people, For people like Kurtand I that that that was probably the
(10:45):
most challenging of the entire thing.Yes, being closed, having our team
impacted, having our members impacted,all of those things, um, definitely
made that period of time the mostchallenging. However, I also as much
as I don't want to relive itand I would never want it to happen
again, um, I also wouldn'tchange it. I think there were a
(11:05):
lot of things that came out ofthat period, not only for us as
business owners that that really showed ushow to dig a little deeper. I
think sharpened our swords as business owners, um, but also just for the
awareness of, like I said earlier, like living a longer, more vibrant
life, and it's not having itnot be just about longevity, but about
(11:26):
but about health span as well.Right. Yeah. The uncertainty I think
was the was the biggest thing duringthat period, right, Like yeah,
And it was uncertainty in the factthat like we didn't know what the heck
was going on, right you know, and we did, you know,
we we ourselves have never lived somethingof this magnitude that affected an entire world,
(11:48):
and all this kind of stuff andthen having a business, having kids,
having you know, all of thesethings involved the uncertainty I think was
the hardest part during that time.But having a network, I think,
you know, and I can speakfor myself, but you know, speak
for my wife, but like havinga network to kind of pitch ideas off
of and having people to really kindof help you pivot and when you're making
(12:13):
a decision where you're like, wellI have to lay off or bring back
or whatever, it is like havingother people who have done the same thing
in the same period of time.I think was one of the biggest benefactors
of getting through it really well.Again, more of the collaborative approach right
versus going it on your own,I mean, which for us at the
(12:33):
very beginning COVID aside was how webuilt our business, right, so it
made sense that during COVID you channeledback into the things that was kind of
how you started. So I couldn'tagree more with collaboration, not just thinking
of how to fly the plane withoutthe flight plan, but also just from
a social and just mental support standpoint, because you know, for us,
(12:54):
like trying and making the right decisionsnot only for the business, but like
I said, more importantly for ourstaff and for our members, was something
that was a was a weight thatwe wanted to carry, but that we
wanted to make sure that we continueto make an impact even though there was
this crazy thing around us that youknow, was impacting everybody, and to
(13:18):
some extent. People were afraid,right and scared so, but you appeared
to have come out thriving. You'rethat you're a thrive venture group. You
own twenty Orange Series in Cleveland,five in Columbus, and which makes total
sense to be nine in Arkansas.Why Arkansas? Talk to me a little
bit about how that happened. That'sa disparate geography for sure. Yeah.
(13:41):
So there are twenty studios in northeastOhio, twelve of which we own and
then the others are owned by ourfranchise partners. We do have five in
Columbus and then nine in Arkansas.When we came back from COVID and actually
going into twenty twenty two, weyou that our passion and our vision for
(14:03):
what Orange Theory is and who weare and how we show up for people
was probably stronger than it had everbeen, and so we kind of looked
at it and said, how dowe do this on a larger scale?
So we partnered with some incredible peoplewho were down in Columbus and actually part
of the Arkansas team. We margedour businesses together, we created their Adventure
Group, and here we are.We have twenty six studios that we own
(14:26):
all inclusively with our franchise partners,supporting over fifty studios in three states.
We support West Virginia as well.So our path is definitely, our growth
is not stopped, and we havea very very aggressive plan for the future
and how we can continue to buildOrange Theory and share with our communities just
(14:48):
how great our product is and notjust our product, but our people and
what makes it so different because therereally is nothing else out there that is
similar to Orange Theory. So thefuture then is very bright and you have
aggressive growth plans. Can you talka little bit about specifically about those of
us that have been to an OrangeTheory studio. There's the treads, the
(15:09):
rowers, and the weight room.How is that going to be? Is
there any plans to grow and dodifferent things there? I'm just curious,
Right, It's been a similar businessfor a while, right, and everybody
always likes to think about, well, what's new, what's next? And
you know, not that ellipticals everhelp, but you know, can you
talk a little bit about what iscoming up for Orange Theory itself? Yeah,
(15:31):
Innovation is definitely where we started andit continues to be part of our
DNA and so you will see somechanges at Orange Theory. Just in the
last year, we incorporated ot connecton our treadmills and on our rowers.
Now those are connected to the heartrate monitor as well. You can track
your performance there. Everything sinks toour app and the teaser would be that
(15:56):
there will be additional things that thatthat innovate around our product. But also
what people see when they come intoour studios, both in the studio and
outside of the studio, well wehave added that is a little different.
And I don't know if you've beenin class and you know how long it's
been since you've been there, butyou know we've added more of weight training
(16:18):
if you will. You know,we have our lift forty fives now so
that focus strictly on just the weightroom area. So we actually removed all
of the other portions of it andyou focus just on the weight room four
area. So we are pivoting inthat in that factor, and then what
other cool stuff is is to comein the future. So you'll have to
join an Orange Theory class, checkit out for yourself and wait for the
fun. So tell me a littlebit we like to talk about on CEOs.
(16:41):
You should know how you know you'rehigh performing business owners. You have
a lot of responsibility on your shoulder. Fifty studios, that's a lot of
employees, that's a lot of families. It's a lot of stress, I
suppose. So how do you guyswith two kids and all this other stuff
around you? How do you mentallycenter your selves? Is there a trick?
Is it yoga? Is it yougo to the Grand Canyon? Like,
(17:03):
talk to me about a little bitabout how you and win and how
you center yourselves and alleviate stress.I think I can take that in a
couple twofold right, Like on aday to day basis, Um, you
know, I took a little bitof hiatus off of working out and things
like that, But on a dayto day basis, I've quite recently,
you know, post injury and stufflike that, have gotten back into working
(17:26):
out. So day to day Iwould say, getting into the gym or
getting into a class or whatever itis. Fitness wives for me helps me
in that sense. Being with myfamily helps me. And then she can
speak of a little bit more oflike kind of what we do. We
have our things for sure. Yeah, I think for me personally, like
what I do every day invigorates me. It really does recharge me every day
(17:48):
because I'm challenged differently every day.You know, there are there are new
there are new questions that come up, things that we need to do to
pivot and and like I said,we're constantly innovating, so we're always we're
staying on our toes. So whatI do every day invigorates me. But
you know, it's kind of likea bullet train, like you're on very
(18:10):
very fast pace, and so thereis time that I need to stop and
pause. So being able to rechargeis also really important. And yeah,
we have things that we do,and spending time with our kids is really
important. It allows us to justspend quality time with the little humans that
also challenge also challenge us in differentways. But being able to quiet down
(18:33):
a little bit um and pause inorder to put our foot on the accelerator
again, that's awesome. Tell mea little bit lastly about Restore and Hyper
we Restore hyper Wellness. Tell mea little bit about that program. So
um in twenty nineteen, m westill had the Orange Theories here in Cleveland,
and health and wellness as a wholehas always been what we have felt
(19:00):
is our purpose and so Restore hyperWellness was brought to us in twenty nineteen
and we decided to explore that opportunityand we have three open studios here in
Cleveland with the development schedule plan togrow Restore in Northeast Ohio. For us,
restore kind of fit who we were. You know, we were always
(19:22):
fitness, but we're always health based, and Restore kind of matches what we
do because we don't have the recoveryside of things in Orange theory. Necessarily
we do stretch and all that stuff, but outside of the studio we don't.
We don't really focus on recovery,right, so this gave us an
opportunity to bring recovery, rejuvenation,health and wellness to everybody without medication,
(19:44):
without you know, big farm andthings like that. So you know,
we do everything from cryotherapy to localcryotherapy, compression, Hyperbarack chamber which is
mild, hyperbarack chamber, which isoxygen therapy. We do infrared sauna's,
red light therapy, IVY drip therapy, nad I AM shots. I mean,
we do everything that is holistic andnatural for you, but that will
(20:07):
help your body rejuvenate and recover.On a daily basis. And this is
a new ish part of the healthcareindustry, right, these ideas, this
was not a real thing twenty yearsago, right where people would go and
get a cryo chamber. Right,it was reserved from more of the elite
athletes. So to give you anidea what stuff like that is, Yes,
it was it. You always heardit in the professional sports world,
(20:32):
but it's more European, right,like it's more Eastern medicine is the holistic
approach. You know, Western medicinehas always been bills and doctors and things
like that, and the Eastern approach, you know, you had. Cold
therapy has been around for thousands andthousands tires that people actually used it to
heal and used it to recover andall those different things. We just now
(20:56):
finally have put it to the masses, right, So you know, cold
therapy, whether it's cold plunges orcryotherapy, is amazing for your body and
people we're taking ice baths in theMiddle Ages, I'm sure, right.
You know, it's becoming a lotmore popular. I shouldn't say a lot
more popular, but you know,if you scroll social media and those things,
you're seeing a lot more of thoseice baths and things start to pop
(21:17):
up, and the hope is thatmore and more people are are curious about
it because there are so many benefitsto that holistic type of approach, and
so we're able to be able todo and offer all of those services that
restore, like I said, alsoat a very affordable price, which is
really important for us to understand thatin order for people to take advantage of
(21:42):
some of these services, it doeshave to kind of match what they can
afford. It's important work trying tobring healthier lifestyles to the masses here in
Cleveland, Columbus, in Arkansas andsoon many other locales in the United States.
Stephanie Kurt, thanks for being withus today. Thanks thank you for
having us and this has been IHURRadio CEOs. You should know today's show
(22:03):
was produced by Bob Coates and I'mKeith Hotchkiss. We'll see you next time.
Welcome to the podcast about the businessof running a business. This is iHeartRadio's
Cleveland's CEOs you should know and I'mKeith Constugus. So have you ever been
in the Orange Zone. Well,perhaps you've heard of the ubiquitous workouts at
Orange Theory Fitness. Maybe you've evenbeen intimidated by them. Well, there's
no need. We sat down withStephanie and Kurt Altenberger, the Thrive Venture
(00:22):
Group, owners of multiple Orange Theorystudios, about why fitness is a rewarding
business. Tell me, Stephanie andKurt, what exactly is the Orange Theory.
Yeah, so, the concept behindthe Orange Zone is getting your heart
rate between a certain percentage point whileyou're doing the workout. And what that
does is that elicits epoch, whichit allows you to burn calories post your
(00:43):
workout for up to forty eight hours. Right. And one of the things
is interesting about when I would doOrange Theory workouts is I would spend most
of my time in the red andI think, do you think, to
yourself, isn't that better than Orange? But apparently that's not necessarily the case.
No, that's definitely not the case. The reason being is, like
our whole concept is heart rate basedinterval training, right, it's not high
(01:06):
intensity and infortraining. It's heart ratebased. Okay, everything we do is
based off of intervaling your heart rateduring the entire time. You know,
if we're able to do that,you're able to spike your heart rate up
into that orange zone and they we'reable to bring it down. We're going
to build your recovery. We're goingto build your oxygen saturation. We're going
to build all of those things insideof your system to be able to actually
like make you perform better, becomehealthier, born, more fat, born
(01:29):
more calories, and kind of sustainbetter performance throughout the time that you're with
us at or the orange theory modelfrom when I was there and I know
it's to be true, is thatit feels very encouraging, very inclusive.
But I believe that there's a perceptionout there that it's really hard and for
advanced physical specimens. How can youhelp someone who's listening who is just really
(01:53):
maybe not in the shape they wantto be at all, and is very
intimidated by these quote what they thinkis high intensity workouts. Can you help
him? What would they do tocome in. Yeah, it's it's I
think Kurt mentioned it earlier. Youknow, we are heart rate based,
generable training, and so every workoutis really designed to you and your performance.
(02:15):
So I could be working out nextto Kurt or two totally different athletes
in our own right, yet theworkout is designed for us. So everyone
wears our ot beat and those resultsshow up in real time up on the
screen. And so that allows youto train and the coach to train you
within the zones that you personally needto be in, not that of anybody
(02:37):
else. So when we say weare for everybody, it is a true
statement. The reality is that youcan come in after just having a baby,
you can come in after being sedentaryfor a while, you can come
in and be a marathon runner,and so it really is about you versus
you while you're in the studio,and our coaches, our coaches are trained
to coach to that to each specificperson individually. And what's nice about it
(03:01):
is when we say we're for everybody, we have members that are legitimately from
the age of fourteen years old.So I think our oldest member of Orange
Theory that's been a member during thetime we've been here is about ninety one.
Wow. Right, So we've gotprofessional athletes, we've got beginners.
So you could be a runner,you could be an avid runner. I
(03:21):
could have just started working out.I could be on that treadmill next to
you. I'm focused on my heartrate. You're focused on your heart rate.
Yep, and you're encouraging me becauseI want to get to that point.
But then what's also nice is you'rerunning and I'm walking, but yet
we're both at eighty seven percent ofour max heart rate, right, and
that actually is the most effective forwhat people are mostly there to do,
(03:42):
which is get healthier and lose weightprobably, right, absolutely, Yeah,
So and the encouraging factor, Iwould tell anybody who is questioning joining something
like this, just take your firstclass. Once you take your first class
and you realize that doesn't matter yourlevel, you're welcomed into the community.
You're you're hooked because it's not abouthow you feel and how other people are
(04:02):
looking at you. It's about everybody'sjust getting healthy and having fun at the
same time. Yeah, and Ifeel like, you know, I took
CrossFit and I've taken Orange theory,and I feel like the orange theory philosophy
is a lot more inclusive, right, It's a lot more for everyone.
Yet at the same time it isit's a good workout, right, And
again I like the how you phrasedit. As long as you're in that
(04:24):
orange zone, you are burning atremendous amount of calories and getting a lot
healthier for your specific body, right, So you don't have to worry about
whether there's a really skinny marathon ornext to you, right, Yeah,
And I think there's something very specialto also be said about not just the
physical aspect, but also the mentalaspect that people achieve in while they're in
class, not only when they're withother people, but now more than ever,
(04:48):
I think that is something that addssomething really special to what we do
at Orange. Can you talk aboutthe psychology of people that maybe think that
they're not inclined to be participatory ingroup sort of exercise, group fitness,
They feel like they're just they justwant to be lone wolves, And can
you talk about how that can bea little how do you overcome that and
what's the rationale to overcome that?Right? I mean I think I can
(05:09):
just because I've done both for avery long time, and I will tell
you, for a person who enjoysworking out by myself, like I really
do, there's something to be saidonce you join that group atmosphere, how
much harder and further you will pushyourself. You know, if you've played
on a sport, like in anysport, you played on a team,
(05:30):
whether it's track or an extra likefootball team, where you're relying on other
people, right, like, youkind of always tend to perform better when
others around you are also performing right, And that's kind of what happens,
just innately without you even realizing.You know, it's funny. It's sort
of similar. I'm not much ofa runner, but I'll jog occasionally and
I'll do a five k on myown and I'll get a time. And
then the one time I ran arace, I like beat it by like
(05:53):
two minutes. I'm like, howdid I do that? Right? And
that's it's because you're just sort ofsubconsciously in some cases inspired by the group
around you. Yeah, we're talkingwith Stephanie and Kurt Altenberger. They are
the owners of Orange Theory Fitness herein Cleveland, Ohio, and it's meaningful
work obviously, right, because you'rehelping folks get healthier. We have a
(06:15):
real challenge in the United States wherethere's a lot of unhealthy foods, a
lot of access to fresh food isreally challenging, and it's even more expensive
as we're speaking right now, Aprilof twenty twenty three, the cost of
fresh produces doubled in the last yearfor people. So how do you,
guys, when you bring this meaningfulwork, how do you talk to people
(06:36):
about the work you're doing and theimportance of fitness, whether or not they
were ever into fitness or not,how do you talk to people about that?
Well, more than ever I think, especially over the last couple of
years, being I'm going to usethe word selfish, but being selfish with
your time for yourself is so sovaluable and it's the limited time that we
(07:00):
have making sure that we use ourtime wisely. And you know, not
only life span, but health spanis so so important and the quality of
life that you live. You know, we talk about longevity and how long
people are living and what those whatcircumstances lead to those things, And it's
not about living a long life.It's about living a long, healthy life
(07:24):
with the ones that you love andthere are things that you can do now
that can support that for the future. And so making healthy choices like like
food and like exercise, and reallyseeing the value on what those things are.
And there are some people that doneed to make a choice right in
(07:45):
what they choose in order to dothose things, and I think making those
choices is really important and identifying whatyour goals are. So you know,
there's obviously macroeconomic issues going on inthe world today, but at least for
our program, we believe in makingeverything valuable yet affordable for people when they
(08:07):
come into the space. That waythey see the value and they not that
they don't mind spending the money onit, but that they see the value
and coming in. Yeah, andI think we've seen it more in the
least three years, right then,I think we ever have that we've seen
now the importance of what keeping yourbody healthy internally can and cannot do.
(08:28):
Right. So, I think talkingto those people who who aren't sure about
joining fitness or haven't been into fitnessor whatever that thing is, I think
the last three years have opened alot of people's eyes to how important health
is. But just immunity, right, Like I mean, people now are
so kind of like aware of what'sgoing on, but they're also not aware
(08:52):
of what their body is actually doingand not doing for them. Instead of
taking pills, instead of like worriedabout this or that, they could be
taking it kind of into their ownhands and really kind of holding their immunity
and their health and you know,in their own future by actually doing something,
whether it's Orange Theory or going outand running or walking and starting that
journey somehow and ending up back intoan Orange Theory or back into a program
(09:16):
for them. I think that's reallyone of the interesting pieces of Orange Theory
is the technology based here, becausewe're all aware that between fitbits and Apple
watches, people are tracking their stepsand they're you know, whether they believe
what the thing is saying or isgood for them or not, it's different.
But that I think helps people feelconfident that it's it's databased, that
the workout they're doing is actually deliveringresults for them, which I think is
(09:39):
helpful. Let's talk a little bitabout business. So you started, you
open a franchise of Orange Theory inCleveland. Obviously, then COVID shut everything
down. Ahead have been terrifying,right, How did you mentally keep yourselves
through that piece of it? Yes, I always say that there are very
specific days in my life that Iwill never forget. Day I got married,
(10:00):
the day my children were born,the day we shut down for COVID,
and the day we reopened from COVID. They are all dates that are
permanently ingrained in my brain. But, um, you know, I'll be
honest with you, it was avery challenging time for all of us.
And definitely, when I speak forus in the fitness industry, because we
know how important it is to keepmoving. Um, It's why we do
(10:22):
what we do, and so togo through a period of time where everybody
was, you know, bunker downat home and not able to do those
things, um, it really itreally challenges us because that's our purpose.
And so when when you see thereare obstacles that are preventing that from happening
for people, For people like Kurtand I that that that was probably the
(10:45):
most challenging of the entire thing.Yes, being closed, having our team
impacted, having our members impacted,all of those things, um, definitely
made that period of time the mostchallenging. However, I also as much
as I don't want to relive itand I would never want it to happen
again, um, I also wouldn'tchange it. I think there were a
(11:05):
lot of things that came out ofthat period, not only for us as
business owners that that really showed ushow to dig a little deeper. I
think sharpened our swords as business owners, um, but also just for the
awareness of, like I said earlier, like living a longer, more vibrant
life, and it's not having itnot be just about longevity, but about
(11:26):
but about health span as well.Right. Yeah. The uncertainty I think
was the was the biggest thing duringthat period, right, Like yeah,
And it was uncertainty in the factthat like we didn't know what the heck
was going on, right you know, and we did, you know,
we we ourselves have never lived somethingof this magnitude that affected an entire world,
(11:48):
and all this kind of stuff andthen having a business, having kids,
having you know, all of thesethings involved the uncertainty I think was
the hardest part during that time.But having a network, I think,
you know, and I can speakfor myself, but you know, speak
for my wife, but like havinga network to kind of pitch ideas off
of and having people to really kindof help you pivot and when you're making
(12:13):
a decision where you're like, wellI have to lay off or bring back
or whatever, it is like havingother people who have done the same thing
in the same period of time.I think was one of the biggest benefactors
of getting through it really well.Again, more of the collaborative approach right
versus going it on your own,I mean, which for us at the
(12:33):
very beginning COVID aside was how webuilt our business, right, so it
made sense that during COVID you channeledback into the things that was kind of
how you started. So I couldn'tagree more with collaboration, not just thinking
of how to fly the plane withoutthe flight plan, but also just from
a social and just mental support standpoint, because you know, for us,
(12:54):
like trying and making the right decisionsnot only for the business, but like
I said, more importantly for ourstaff and for our members, was something
that was a was a weight thatwe wanted to carry, but that we
wanted to make sure that we continueto make an impact even though there was
this crazy thing around us that youknow, was impacting everybody, and to
(13:18):
some extent. People were afraid,right and scared so, but you appeared
to have come out thriving. You'rethat you're a thrive venture group. You
own twenty Orange Series in Cleveland,five in Columbus, and which makes total
sense to be nine in Arkansas.Why Arkansas? Talk to me a little
bit about how that happened. That'sa disparate geography for sure. Yeah.
(13:41):
So there are twenty studios in northeastOhio, twelve of which we own and
then the others are owned by ourfranchise partners. We do have five in
Columbus and then nine in Arkansas.When we came back from COVID and actually
going into twenty twenty two, weyou that our passion and our vision for
(14:03):
what Orange Theory is and who weare and how we show up for people
was probably stronger than it had everbeen, and so we kind of looked
at it and said, how dowe do this on a larger scale?
So we partnered with some incredible peoplewho were down in Columbus and actually part
of the Arkansas team. We margedour businesses together, we created their Adventure
Group, and here we are.We have twenty six studios that we own
(14:26):
all inclusively with our franchise partners,supporting over fifty studios in three states.
We support West Virginia as well.So our path is definitely, our growth
is not stopped, and we havea very very aggressive plan for the future
and how we can continue to buildOrange Theory and share with our communities just
(14:48):
how great our product is and notjust our product, but our people and
what makes it so different because therereally is nothing else out there that is
similar to Orange Theory. So thefuture then is very bright and you have
aggressive growth plans. Can you talka little bit about specifically about those of
us that have been to an OrangeTheory studio. There's the treads, the
(15:09):
rowers, and the weight room.How is that going to be? Is
there any plans to grow and dodifferent things there? I'm just curious,
Right, It's been a similar businessfor a while, right, and everybody
always likes to think about, well, what's new, what's next? And
you know, not that ellipticals everhelp, but you know, can you
talk a little bit about what iscoming up for Orange Theory itself? Yeah,
(15:31):
Innovation is definitely where we started andit continues to be part of our
DNA and so you will see somechanges at Orange Theory. Just in the
last year, we incorporated ot connecton our treadmills and on our rowers.
Now those are connected to the heartrate monitor as well. You can track
your performance there. Everything sinks toour app and the teaser would be that
(15:56):
there will be additional things that thatthat innovate around our product. But also
what people see when they come intoour studios, both in the studio and
outside of the studio, well wehave added that is a little different.
And I don't know if you've beenin class and you know how long it's
been since you've been there, butyou know we've added more of weight training
(16:18):
if you will. You know,we have our lift forty fives now so
that focus strictly on just the weightroom area. So we actually removed all
of the other portions of it andyou focus just on the weight room four
area. So we are pivoting inthat in that factor, and then what
other cool stuff is is to comein the future. So you'll have to
join an Orange Theory class, checkit out for yourself and wait for the
fun. So tell me a littlebit we like to talk about on CEOs.
(16:41):
You should know how you know you'rehigh performing business owners. You have
a lot of responsibility on your shoulder. Fifty studios, that's a lot of
employees, that's a lot of families. It's a lot of stress, I
suppose. So how do you guyswith two kids and all this other stuff
around you? How do you mentallycenter your selves? Is there a trick?
Is it yoga? Is it yougo to the Grand Canyon? Like,
(17:03):
talk to me about a little bitabout how you and win and how
you center yourselves and alleviate stress.I think I can take that in a
couple twofold right, Like on aday to day basis, Um, you
know, I took a little bitof hiatus off of working out and things
like that, But on a dayto day basis, I've quite recently,
you know, post injury and stufflike that, have gotten back into working
(17:26):
out. So day to day Iwould say, getting into the gym or
getting into a class or whatever itis. Fitness wives for me helps me
in that sense. Being with myfamily helps me. And then she can
speak of a little bit more oflike kind of what we do. We
have our things for sure. Yeah, I think for me personally, like
what I do every day invigorates me. It really does recharge me every day
(17:48):
because I'm challenged differently every day.You know, there are there are new
there are new questions that come up, things that we need to do to
pivot and and like I said,we're constantly innovating, so we're always we're
staying on our toes. So whatI do every day invigorates me. But
you know, it's kind of likea bullet train, like you're on very
(18:10):
very fast pace, and so thereis time that I need to stop and
pause. So being able to rechargeis also really important. And yeah,
we have things that we do,and spending time with our kids is really
important. It allows us to justspend quality time with the little humans that
also challenge also challenge us in differentways. But being able to quiet down
(18:33):
a little bit um and pause inorder to put our foot on the accelerator
again, that's awesome. Tell mea little bit lastly about Restore and Hyper
we Restore hyper Wellness. Tell mea little bit about that program. So
um in twenty nineteen, m westill had the Orange Theories here in Cleveland,
and health and wellness as a wholehas always been what we have felt
(19:00):
is our purpose and so Restore hyperWellness was brought to us in twenty nineteen
and we decided to explore that opportunityand we have three open studios here in
Cleveland with the development schedule plan togrow Restore in Northeast Ohio. For us,
restore kind of fit who we were. You know, we were always
(19:22):
fitness, but we're always health based, and Restore kind of matches what we
do because we don't have the recoveryside of things in Orange theory. Necessarily
we do stretch and all that stuff, but outside of the studio we don't.
We don't really focus on recovery,right, so this gave us an
opportunity to bring recovery, rejuvenation,health and wellness to everybody without medication,
(19:44):
without you know, big farm andthings like that. So you know,
we do everything from cryotherapy to localcryotherapy, compression, Hyperbarack chamber which is
mild, hyperbarack chamber, which isoxygen therapy. We do infrared sauna's,
red light therapy, IVY drip therapy, nad I AM shots. I mean,
we do everything that is holistic andnatural for you, but that will
(20:07):
help your body rejuvenate and recover.On a daily basis. And this is
a new ish part of the healthcareindustry, right, these ideas, this
was not a real thing twenty yearsago, right where people would go and
get a cryo chamber. Right,it was reserved from more of the elite
athletes. So to give you anidea what stuff like that is, Yes,
it was it. You always heardit in the professional sports world,
(20:32):
but it's more European, right,like it's more Eastern medicine is the holistic
approach. You know, Western medicinehas always been bills and doctors and things
like that, and the Eastern approach, you know, you had. Cold
therapy has been around for thousands andthousands tires that people actually used it to
heal and used it to recover andall those different things. We just now
(20:56):
finally have put it to the masses, right, So you know, cold
therapy, whether it's cold plunges orcryotherapy, is amazing for your body and
people we're taking ice baths in theMiddle Ages, I'm sure, right.
You know, it's becoming a lotmore popular. I shouldn't say a lot
more popular, but you know,if you scroll social media and those things,
you're seeing a lot more of thoseice baths and things start to pop
(21:17):
up, and the hope is thatmore and more people are are curious about
it because there are so many benefitsto that holistic type of approach, and
so we're able to be able todo and offer all of those services that
restore, like I said, alsoat a very affordable price, which is
really important for us to understand thatin order for people to take advantage of
(21:42):
some of these services, it doeshave to kind of match what they can
afford. It's important work trying tobring healthier lifestyles to the masses here in
Cleveland, Columbus, in Arkansas andsoon many other locales in the United States.
Stephanie Kurt, thanks for being withus today. Thanks thank you for
having us and this has been IHURRadio CEOs. You should know today's show
(22:03):
was produced by Bob Coates and I'mKeith Hotchkiss. We'll see you next time.
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