Alexis Burrell to Open Three Workout Anytime Clubs in Virginia
Chesapeake native is pumped up about opening Workout Anytime franchises in the fall
INSIDE BUSINESS
MAR 27, 2020 AT 6:59 AM
Alexis Burrell is opening three Workout Anytime franchises in Chesapeake this fall and her brother, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Chris Burrell, will manage one of the locations. (Courtesy / HANDOUT)
CHESAPEAKE — Alexis Burrell has been athletic since she was a kid.
And now, the soon-to-be 27 year old is excited to share her love for health and fitness with others in the area.
Burrell has signed a franchise agreement to open three Workout Anytime locations in Chesapeake, where she was a softball star and part of the Great Bridge High School state championship team. Her business is a bit of a family affair, too, as she’s getting financial backing from her father, Mike Burrell, and a brother, Chris Burrell, is going to manage one of the facilities.
The 24-hour, seven-day-a-week facility has more than 160 facilities in the U.S., including five in Virginia. The closest other location is in Smithfield and another is scheduled to open soon in the Birdneck Shopping Center in Virginia Beach.
“It’s results driven, and not a big box club where you come in, sign up, give someone money and we never see you again,” she said. “We want you to get the results you’re looking for in a healthy, faster and efficient manner.”
In addition to the cardio, weightlifting and resistance training equipment, the facility offers hydromassage, tanning and a training area for boot camp classes and one-on-one training.
Memberships, arranged in 12 month agreements, cost $19 a month (24/7 access); $29 a month (24/7 access, tanning, hydromassage and once-a-month training sessions); and $39 a month (two person family premium plan).
Burrell said she intends to open the facilities by the first week of November and will begin membership presales in September.
“I’m super excited for it, just because I feel like I’m bringing something to that area that they haven’t seen yet,” Burrell said. “And being able to provide that service that I’ve experienced here in Charlotte to the Chesapeake area is a dream come true.”
Terri Harof, Workout Anytime’s director of franchise development, said the Georgia-based franchise has had its business model in place for 20 years.
We were one of the forerunners getting into the 24/7 fitness business,” Harof said. “Our segment is high value and low cost. We like to be considered the ‘Cheers’ of the health club business where our staff, owners and managers know the members and we have that connection.”
She also said Burrell, the youngest franchisee in Workout Anytime’s history, is a great addition to the Workout Anytime team.
“She understands leadership, building teams, and working together,” Harof said. “She jumped in with both feet, was hungry to learn, passionate about the industry and is very service oriented.”
Burrell graduated from Great Bridge High School in 2011 and went to Wingate University, near Charlotte, North Carolina, on a softball scholarship. She earned her bachelors and masters degrees in sports management and biology before landing a job in an indoor softball and baseball facility in Charlotte in May 2016.
“I thought my goal was to have an indoor softball and baseball facility of my own,” Burrell said.
But in May 2017, she walked into a Workout Anytime to sign up and the owner was in need of a manager.
He interviewed me right there on the spot,” Burrell said.
Burrell moved up the ranks quickly. She was promoted to general manager within 10 months and to regional manager eight months later.
“I went to a four-day personal training academy at Workout Anytime’s headquarters in Atlanta,” Burrell said. “It was very eye-opening, I learned so much and there were so many like-minded people around me.”
That’s when Burrell decided that she wanted to be a Workout Anytime franchisee.
She bought her franchises in December and is working out the location logistics.
A softball player since the age of 10, Burrell shined on the field as a short stop.
She said her softball experience was pretty amazing throughout her life — from her travel ball team, The Virginia Legends, to high school and college.
Her accolades include a 2009 State Championship at Great Bridge; 2015 South Atlantic Conference Conference Player of the Year (she broke a home run record) and athlete of the week in high school and college.
“I loved the camaraderie between my teammates,” Burrell said, “and the challenge of it.”
Although Burrell traded in her softball mitt, she gives hitting lessons to young girls in her home-away-from-home in Charlotte, North Carolina.
nd now, her focus is on bodybuilding.
Burrell plans to move back to Hampton Roads to get her businesses up and running.
Her older brother, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Chris Burrell, is a wounded warrior stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, who has plans to retire from the U.S. Army and manage one of her clubs.
“I’m super proud of him and how far he’s come with all the adversities he’s gone through,” she said.
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