The ALWELLCO Podcast

Annie Cooper: Sustainable Training for Real Life

Annie Cooper is a former collegiate track athlete turned coach, creator, and founder of Tune Into Fitness. In this episode, Annie shares how her fitness journey began with chasing faster mile and 5K times, then evolved into coaching after she started posting her workouts and fielding requests for plans, form help, and nutrition guidance. We dig into her “do less, do it better” philosophy: why she stopped the 4 hour gym sessions, cut back volume, added cross training, ate more for recovery, and ultimately got faster and healthier. Annie breaks down how she onboards clients (two-week food and habit tracking, then small sustainable changes), how she structures high-impact 20 to 30 minute workouts, and the most common training mistake she sees in the gym: resting too long between sets. On the business side, Annie walks us through going from $5 workout plans to building a multi-channel brand, including eco-minded fitness equipment sold online. She also shares what actually grew her following during COVID (consistent lives, weekly recipes, and repeatable series), why TikTok and YouTube matter, and how authenticity beats “perfect” content. We close with her vision for the next decade: global workout events, deeper sports involvement, and creating a life with freedom, impact, and community.

Jon Brady: Leading Midtown Athletic Club With Culture, Curiosity, and Care

Jon Brady’s career has taken him from teaching aerobics at a YMCA in New Zealand, to building a professional rugby club from scratch, to leading one of the most iconic premium health clubs in the United States as President of Midtown Athletic. In this conversation, Jon joins Andy to unpack how sport, education, and community shaped his philosophy on leadership and wellness. He shares how he helped transform Midtown from a mid-market tennis and fitness business into a high-end, multi dimensional social wellness club, why “better than yesterday” is a core value, and how his team uses machine learning and data to keep members consistent without feeling creepy. Jon also goes deep on vulnerability based leadership, culture as a daily practice, and why the future of fitness is less about aesthetics and more about how people feel, connect, and belong. If you lead teams, work in fitness or hospitality, or care about building real community in a lonely world, this episode will resonate.

Robert Rettmann: How Crunch Fitness Trains World-Class Coaches and Scales Culture

Robert Rettmann, VP of Education at Crunch Fitness, takes us inside the playbook that helped his franchise group grow from 28 to 86 clubs within a network of 500 plus locations. We trace his journey from NASM and PTA Global to building a modern education engine at Crunch with three day training camps, an in house LMS, and a head coach model that keeps learning alive on the gym floor. Rob shares how they turn new hires into confident coaches, why sales, science, and service belong in the same sentence, and how simple habit changes beat extreme programs for long term results. We dig into culture at scale, the importance of a real hello at the front desk, and a new tech platform that gives clients full visibility on sessions, logs, scheduling, and ratings while helping managers coach from live data. We close with trends he is betting on, why in person still wins, and practical advice for any trainer who wants to become indispensable.

Vikash Sharma: The Pursuit of a Perfect Stride, from Rehab to Performance

Physical therapist and Perfect Stride founder Vikash Sharma joins us to unpack how a one-on-one, education-first model can take people from pain to performance. We trace his origin story in NYC, why “perfect” is a moving target, and how clinical reasoning plus honest communication outperforms cookie-cutter protocols. Vikash breaks down bridging rehab and sport, VO₂ max as a practical longevity tool, when recovery trends help or hurt, and why most injuries come from doing more than your tissues are prepared to handle. We talk about tech he loves, coaching runners through busy life seasons, and the identity side of long-term pain. He also shares how to build trust, mentor clinicians, and bring community education outside the clinic. A valuable listen for PTs, coaches, runners, and anyone who wants to move well for life.

Michelle Dand: Designing purpose-led group fitness at David Lloyd Clubs

David Lloyd Clubs’ Head of Product and Programming, Michelle Dand, joins us to break down what modern GroupX really means in 2025. She shares how David Lloyd scales premium, family-first experiences across 130+ clubs, why programming now starts with “how do you want to feel,” and how community events like Blaze Community Games build loyalty. Michelle unpacks the evolution from choreography to experience, multi-modality design across Blaze, Battlebox, Cycle, and Rebels youth formats, and the rise of spa retreats and recovery. She gets candid on instructor recruitment and education, translating programs across six languages, sustainability wins, and where tech and wearables actually help members. Quick-fire highlights include myths she wants to retire, her favorite classes, and advice for coaches who want to stand out. It is a masterclass in building programs with purpose, data, and heart.