When we celebrated our 20 year anniversary, in 2016, I shared the previously Untold Story of AXIS, a glimpse into many of the tough times that we endured over the first 20 years. I talked about the fast growth of the company, the many CEO’s and the investors, and the pain of owning less than 1% of the company that I started. In those early years, the goal was to shield the team from the stress and to keep AXIS going, but to mark the 20th anniversary we felt that story needed to be told. We want our team and our community to know our history and to understand the many lessons learned which help us to succeed today.  

AXIS opened in 1996 but it all started in 1991, before many of our trainers were even born! 😁 I had been out of college for a couple of years after a crazy story of a football scholarship at the University of Utah and a career-ending injury. You can read the full story in the AXIS History of how I became a strength coach for 3 years to keep my scholarship, and where my opportunity began. 

Starting in 1991, I knew I had to continue learning if I wanted to get anywhere. I spent $10-20K/year on continuing education. I could not afford it at the time, but I did it because it was the only choice. I learned from some of the greatest minds in the world like Tom Purvis, Mike Boyle, Paul Chek, Vern Gambetta, Al Vermeil, Don Chu, Charles Poliquin and Mel Siff (oldies but goodies! 😉). My focus was on physical therapy, strength training, neuromuscular science, athletic performance, yoga, stretching and everything related to training. Traveling around the United States learning from the best educators and attending seminars, created the foundation of AXIS. Constant never ending growth and learning. 

I was also working my ass off to grow my personal training business. I was up at 4 am everyday and wouldn’t get home until 10 pm, averaging 12 clients per day for 5 years. It was not easy but I would not change a thing. It was the foundation for my future. At that time, there wasn’t a career path for personal trainers. The industry was young and nobody had the grasp of what could be created. That is how AXIS was born. Through love, sweat and tears, we created the greatest training and client community.

I had the dream of creating a place for trainers and clients to become the best they could be, somewhere that trainers could thrive for years, where personal training could be a respected and sought-after career. My original business partners believed in my dream – and had the funds to support it. If AXIS didn’t make it, they would be fine, a rounding error for them. For me, I was risking losing everything I had built over the previous 5 years to do something that had not been done before. It was frightening, but not once did I consider turning back. My story is like many stories in the Silicon Valley, “We burned the boats”.

As the buildout started in 1995, my business partners were enjoying time in France, and I was living in a small apartment in Palo Alto dreaming of what AXIS could be, and at the same time, scared out of my mind that I would lose everything. When AXIS opened on October 6th, 1996, I was by myself, unsure of the future, but grateful and excited to make my dream a reality.

During the first 3 years, we hired more trainers, did a lot of community outreach to get the AXIS name out there, and built a solid foundation. You can read more about the next several years in the Untold Story, but needless to say, it was frustrating, challenging and painful for so many reasons. A big part of it was bringing on more investors and with that, bureaucratic bullshit. We had financial people who had no clue about the importance of creating an experience. We had well meaning but unqualified leadership. However, there is always a silver lining. There were so many lessons learned throughout that time that have helped us shape how we run the business. It also brought my now business partner, Alli, to AXIS, which would not have happened without the growth opportunities of the dot com boom. 

After 29 years, we are more excited about AXIS than ever before. Over the past 10 years we have been working for our future. Knowing our lease was ending in 2026, we made several attempts to buy the building on Ravenswood and also made several offers to secure a long term lease after 2026 – we even offered to replace the HVAC system and the roof with an extended lease! We also started looking for other locations, knowing that might be the best option. There was never a thought about quitting or retiring. The only plan was to keep AXIS going.

Here we are today, celebrating the past 29 years and looking forward to our new adventure in our new location, with the most amazing team and community with us. As we look back on all of the pain of the past, we appreciate everything that brought us here. One thing that has never changed is the focus on constant never ending improvement for our growth and yours. In 1991, I never would have fathomed the resources we have at our fingertips now. Just a few years ago we didn’t have the opportunities to learn from the most knowledgeable experts in the world through the internet, podcasts, AI, etc. The access and speed of knowledge is astounding – and you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to learn! 

The future for your health is beyond anything we can imagine. There are innovations that are coming that will continue the exponential ability for us to live longer and healthier. Our promise is to continue to be on the forefront of training and healthspan for our clients, and to continue offering our team a platform that they can build their careers and thrive for years to come. 

Much Love,

Scott