Earlier this week, I mentioned I was partnering up with American Express to share the stories of two small businesses in Dallas. We talked about Leighanne Shelton of FORM Salon who colors my hair and this week I’ll be focusing on my trainers at VIVE Personal Training.
Meet John – one of the owners of VIVE. If you follow me on social media, you’ve definitely seen the VIVE guys kicking my butt in the gym. I’ve always dabbled with at home workouts in the past, but a few months ago I wanted something a little more consistent, intense, and with more accountability.
I started researching, looking, and talking with friends about possibly finding a personal trainer in Dallas to whip my butt in shape. I talked to my roommates about my desire to get serious about fitness and they felt the same way, so we all started looking into options. I’d personally heard great things about a new gym opening up in Uptown called VIVE and suggested we look into it. Plus, I heard they had group training too, which was perfect for what we were looking for! It only took one session to know VIVE was a great fit and we’ve been going ever since – we love it!
The owners, Brock and John, both have really cool stories. Ever since John was 13, he’s run track and even trained for the Olympic trials, running the Olympic standard since 2008 (aka he’s run fast enough to qualify for the Olympics!). He’s worked with some of the best coaches in the entire world and, through those experiences, developed an acute appreciation for training and discipline. But even more so, being around these world-renowned coaches really opened John’s eyes up to how much he didn’t know and sparked a desire in him to never stop learning.
Brock is similar in that he played hockey his entire life, spending most of his time training intensely as well in a competitive environment. He also grew up with a family of gym owners, so he knew the behind the scenes of running a successful gym. Mixed in with his “passion for performance-driven mentality and team sports,” he eventually linked up with John to form VIVE.
VIVE has now been in business for just over 10 months and it’s actually the ONLY Personal Training gym in Dallas that does Metabolic Analytics. See how John is squeezing that thing on my arm? He’s actually testing my body fat, which is one of the many different tests they do to analyze your metabolic stats in order to track progress and give you the best results for your body. In addition VIVE is one of the only personal training gyms in Dallas that focuses on group training, rather than one-on-one, which is also so much more cost effective.
VIVE has been so great for me and my roommates because they get us AND and I love that we’re all three able to work out together! They know we’re not athletes (at least not anymore), but they still treat us like one – as they do with all their clients. They’re flexible in their approach and have a positive impact on people’s lives, including mine, which is what they “wanted when forming Vive.” Their motto is, “one small change a day can lead to big change. One more rep of squats, one pound heavier weight.” They’re “relatable in a space that isn’t usually,” which sets them apart in the world of personal training.
On top of that, they are just easy and fun to be around! They are flexible with appointments, take cash or cards, and will really “work with you to help you chase your dreams.” Over 31,000 more places in the Dallas area started accepting American Express® Cards in the last year – and VIVE is one of them. My first transaction with VIVE was actually paid for using my American Express card, and everything has been just as easy – except the workouts, of course – with them since!
