Brian Vahaly: How Transitioning From Pro Tennis And Private Equity Transformed A Major Fitness Brand

Many successful people reinvented themselves in a later period in their lives. Jeff Bezos worked in Wall Street before he reinvented himself and started Amazon. Sara Blakely sold office supplies before she started Spanx. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a WWE wrestler before he became a successful actor and filmmaker. Arnold Schwarzenegger went from a bodybuilder, to an actor to a Governor. McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc was a milkshake-device salesman before starting the McDonalds franchise in his 50's.

How does one reinvent themselves? What hurdles have to be overcome to take life in a new direction? How do you overcome those challenges? How do you ignore the naysayers? How do you push through the paralyzing fear?

In this series called “Second Chapters; How I Reinvented Myself In The Second Chapter Of My Life “ we are interviewing successful people who reinvented themselves in a second chapter in life, to share their story and help empower others.

As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Vahaly.

Brian Vahaly is Chief Executive Officer, YouFit Gyms, the nationwide chain of affordable, personalized fitness clubs. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his more than 10 years in the fitness industry as a successful private equity executive and former professional tennis player.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

I grew up as a tennis player starting early at the age of 2. My life was traveling the world in competitive tennis while sacrificing the normal childhood in an effort to pursue my dream as a professional athlete. After my degree from the University of Virginia, I was able to achieve a world ranking of 57 playing pro tennis for over 7+ years competing against Michael Chang, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and others. Once I retired from the sport due to shoulder surgeries, I began the process of figuring out the second chapter of my life. As a finance and business management major, I found a second love in the operational turnaround space and spent quite a bit of time in venture capital and private equity. I was fortunate to be named the CEO of YouFit Gyms coming out of the pandemic, and we are focused on reinventing the business with an updated product line that competes in the low-cost fitness space.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“There is no way around hard work. Embrace it.’ — Roger Federer

As an athlete, you don’t win your way to the top without putting in the hard work. This concept carries through professionally and in everything I do. When I took over YouFit as CEO, I relished the challenge of taking an inspiring concept — affordable fitness for all — out of the pandemic wreckage and improving on its value and accessibility. I don’t believe in cutting corners in life — what you put in is what you get. We took our time to understand our customers, our markets, and we believe we now have the winning formula for the new YouFit Gyms.

You have been blessed with much success. In your opinion, what are the top three qualities that you possess that have helped you accomplish so much? If you can, please share a story or example for each.

I would say that I’m a fairly competitive person and that fuels my drive to be successful. My other two qualities contradict each other. I’m not afraid to fail — and yet afraid to fail at the same time. Said differently, I’m always open for a challenge and willing to take on a very difficult task perhaps above my pay grade. I believe in myself and my ability to win and figure it out. But once I take the risk and put myself in a new situation, my competitive drive and my fear of failure drives me to success. I hate losing. The fear of losing is what drove me to be successful in tennis, much more than the joy of winning. I am not easily intimidated on the tennis court or in the business world and I’m always willing to take on the new challenge. I’m confident that I will surround myself with the right people and find a way to be successful. You learn by surrounding yourself with the best.

Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about ‘Second Chapters’. Can you tell our readers about your career experience before your Second Chapter? And how did you “reinvent yourself” in your Second Chapter?

Coming from the competitive sports space, it was second nature to be in a high-pressure field. I went on to spend 3–4 years in private equity and 3–4 years in venture capital, which were really exciting fields. Combining my passion for health and fitness along with my business expertise, it landed me in the corporate fitness space. I helped take the boutique fitness group [solidcore] from 10 locations to 80 in just two years and when I had the opportunity to take the helm of YouFit just as it was coming out of bankruptcy, I leapt at the chance.

Can you tell us about the specific trigger that made you decide that you were going to “take the plunge” and make your huge transition?

The defining moment for me was my shoulder injury. I had no choice and was thrown right into the deep end. It’s quite difficult to make the move when your ego and complete identity is very tied up in your first profession.

What did you do to discover that you had a new skillset inside of you that you haven’t been maximizing?

Similar to business, you learn by putting your name in the hat and testing. I looked for work opportunities that would expose me to as much learning as possible. I was constantly looking for where I could outcompete my co-workers. Where did I have a competitive advantage? Where did my experience as a pro tennis player align with business challenges? I was focused on finding something I could be great at again. I took jobs that paid me close to nothing for that experience. I was willing to invest in myself as I knew that there is no substitute for experience and hard work — and you need to find people willing to train you at a high level.

How did you find that and how did you ultimately overcome the barriers to help manifest those powers?

Sports helps teach you how to overcome your fears. Having fear is understandable and expected. And yes, failure and feeling humiliated on the field of battle is an option if you are willing to compete at a high level. But I would rather be in the ring and know what I’m made of in those moments. No regrets. Push forward and always believe in yourself if you have put in the work.

How are things going with this new initiative? We would love to hear some specific examples or stories.

YouFit already had such an amazing staff and culture when I came onboard as CEO. It was just time to rethink our offerings inside and outside our gyms, and re-invest in the right places. I took stock of what everyone loved about YouFit, and improved on it for the new “YouFit Gyms.”

We are focused on providing the best quality fitness offerings at affordable prices. We partnered with Les Mills and EatLove for best in class on demand and nutritionist support. We then began our focus on modernizing our equipment and providing the best personal training, HIIT and group classes inside our gyms. People join gyms for results and we have provided all the tools they need to be successful.

Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

To be truthful it’s hard to just select just one person… but I do believe having mentors is key to growth. I’ve selected different mentors at different points of my life. All of which I’m equally grateful for.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started in this new direction?

Part of my philosophy is understanding the customer and what they need as an imperative for understanding the product. So early in my new chapter back in 2011, I was working with a company that specialized in grease exhaust systems. In order to understand the customer experience, I went with my staff in the middle of the night and helped clean the grease exhaust ducts in the kitchen of the White House. It was quite an experience but it helped me understand the customer, our product, and I ultimately used the experience as a way to better understand the demands on my team.

I apply that same philosophy to YouFit Gyms… we got rid of our corporate headquarters because we believe being on the ground, listening to every employee, and being a part of a team, is how you drive success. Do not surround yourself with VPs and up.

Did you ever struggle with believing in yourself? If so, how did you overcome that limiting belief about yourself? Can you share a story or example?

I think every executive struggles with imposter syndrome. Can we accomplish this? Do we have the right team? Will this strategy work? Am I the right person for the moment? Having doubts is part of the game. However, I have always felt if you do the work, if you prepare, and surround yourself with the right people — your odds for success become substantially higher. The right strategy combined with the right people and the right organizational structure — and success will be the only option.

In my own work I usually encourage my clients to ask for support before they embark on something new. How did you create your support system before you moved to your new chapter?

I have good instincts with people and I am fortunate to have a lot of mentors I rely on at different moments of my career. I certainly would not undertake a new job without relying on their objective expertise. The only way to personal and professional growth is having a support network of people who genuinely care about your success and are willing to be honest with you.

Starting a new chapter usually means getting out of your comfort zone, how did you do that? Can you share a story or example of that?

I’ve never had a comfort zone. I love change and new challenges. Tennis changed year by year as you moved up the junior, collegiate, and professional ranks. In my business career, I have moved around quite a bit in order to really understand what I can offer and where I excel. It takes time but I’m actually someone who is more comfortable pushing my comfort zone than I am just being settled inside that zone. Probably drives my husband crazy. As soon as I find a home I love, I’m ready to move again. For me, growth comes from new challenges and new experiences.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my organization” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Trust high EQ over IQ
2. Trust people who tell you what you don’t want to hear
3. Work ethic can and typically out competes inherent talent
4. Changing culture is very hard and you have to be deliberate and consistent
5. Bankruptcy is for the birds

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

As a gay husband and father, diversity and inclusion is hugely important to me. I am the first and only ATP professional tennis player to come out as gay… which shows there is a lot of work do be done in this space.

I currently sit on the board of the USTA and US Open tennis tournament and helped to implement the first-ever Open Pride. It’s one big step but I’m not finished– I won’t stop advocating for visibility and opportunity for those in the LGBTQ+ space.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. :-)

I’d love to meet Adam Grant. His approach to organizational psychology is quite insightful to me, and I appreciate the way he approaches both personal and professional growth. I have been seeing a sports psychologist for over 20 years and I believe strongly in prioritizing mental health just as much as physical health.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

www.youfit.com

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!