Photo courtesy of the Mountain Brook Chamber.
Kendall Gadie with his wife and children after the ribbon cutting of The Exercise Coach in Mountain Brook.
If there’s anyone who knows a thing or two about staying in shape, it’s Kendall Gadie.
He lettered in basketball at Pleasant Grove High School and went on to play basketball from 2007 to 2011 for the Berry College Vikings in Rome, Georgia, where he earned commendations as a scholar athlete.
However, his career took a completely different path. Gadie graduated with a degree in communications and went on to get an MBA from the University of Olivet, and he now works full-time in the field of insurance marketing intelligence.
All the while, something else was stirring inside him — a passion he shared with his wife, Charnele, whom he met at Berry. He wanted to start a business.
“We’re both very entrepreneurial people, so in 2015 we started a vending machine business,” Kendall Gadie said. “We did that for five years until Covid kind of ended it, but we both knew having our own business was something we wanted to do long-term.”
The couple was living in Atlanta at the time, and decided to move to Birmingham in May 2022 to be closer to family. When they were getting ready to move, a franchise broker reached out to him on LinkedIn about opening a new business, but at first Gadie was skeptical because he didn’t know what it was.
“He told me that he thought I would be a good fit,” Gadie said. “I told him I was getting ready to move to Birmingham but he could keep bugging me. We had a few more phone conversations, and that’s when I learned about the Exercise Coach.”
The Exercise Coach was named the No. 1 fastest growing personal training brand in the United States by Entrepreneur magazine in 2021 and 2022. According to the company website, one 90-second set of strength training is enough to stimulate a particular muscle group. Gadie said the revolutionary idea that people can get in shape with just 20 minutes twice a week was something he could get behind.
“Science shows that once you get a certain adaptation level in your muscle, you can get results in much less time,” Gadie said. “Most people want to exercise because they know it’s good for them, but they have real-life things that get in the way, like family commitments. The Exercise Coach addresses that issue.”
Gadie said he met with some of the company leaders last July. Although the franchise was founded in 2000 and has over 100 locations, at the time there was no location in Birmingham.
After months of planning and determining the best location based on market research, Gadie opened The Exercise Coach in Mountain Brook on May 5.
Trainers at The Exercise Coach often quote the mantra “Strength Changes Everything,” using state-of-the-art machines and technology from a company called Exerbotics to determine the course of their clients’ training.
“Everyone does a test when they first come in,” Gadie said. “There’s a screen in front of you, and you can see if you’re hitting your target.”
The Exercise Coach is by appointment only, with one-on-one coaching. Gadie said a small group option of up to four people together is also available. At just 1,800 square feet, the studio targets the over-50 demographic who prefer smaller, less busy workout facilities. According to The Exercise Coach website, 81 percent of clients are over 45.
Gadie and his wife and children — Kallie (16), Levi (8), Kyndall (5), Amira (3) and another one on the way — are grateful for the support of the Mountain Brook community and other nearby areas.
“The feedback has been positive,” Gadie said. “We’re continuing to build and grow.”
The Exercise Coach is located at 3918 Montclair Road, Suite 207, in Mountain Brook. For more information, visit exercisecoach.com/mountain-brook.
