Our Fitness Franchise Culture
OWNERS, TRAINERS & COACHES FOCUSED ON MAKING THE BEST ATHLETES POSSIBLE
Going into business with your best friend always sounds like a great idea: you know the ins and outs of their character, trust them like family. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot can go wrong, leading to outcomes that result to not only tarnishing the professional venture, but also the longstanding friendship. Best friends and co-owners of D1 Training of St. Louis West, former NFL player, Dan Connolly and Ryan Roth are among the lucky best-friend-business-partner duos that say the best part of their business is being able to work with each other every day.

From a focus on training like an athlete, providing a path to recovery, or giving something back to the community, D1 Training franchise culture is unlike anything else in franchising. Here’s what Dan, Ryan, and Tayt have to say about our culture.
To learn more about our fitness franchise opportunity, check out our Startup Costs and Steps to Ownership pages.
D1 Offers a Vision That Fits Well with a Mission
It’s apparent when you step into any D1 Training location that the people there are on a mission. They’re dedicated to the transformative power of athletic training. Otherwise, they wouldn’t put in the work to fulfill that mission. In the case of Steve Snider, in Little Rock, D1 not only delivered for people on a mission, but the model was also a perfect fit for his commission — as a minister.
Steve works through mentorship and youth sports programs to help instill strong character in Little Rock youth. He’s built youth mentorship programs and other faith-based initiatives, including a youth sports program. When it came time for that program to expand into a facility, Steve considered building his own from scratch. Then, he found D1 and realized that the character skills he was attempting to instill there were the same skills found at D1.
“I loved the vision that Will gave me of offering a level of training an athlete gets in a D1 institution like he and Peyton Manning enjoyed at Tennessee,” says Steve. “I also love the fact that the foundation of it was character based and character driven. The D1 character shirt lists some of the traits we promote with our athletes. These things — the importance of character, of good attitude, integrity and discipline — these fit perfectly with Life CHAMPS. And I love that they’re the foundation of D1. I found a resonance there.”
Joe Stanford was a member at D1 Cool Springs in Franklin, TN, for seven years before deciding to become a franchise owner himself and bring the D1 culture into his Nashville, TN, community. He values community and the family aspect of our fitness franchise and is a perfect fit for our company.
“I chose D1 first and foremost for the community. I was a member at D1 for 7 years before I agreed to purchase a franchise. I was able to see first-hand what it’s like to be a member at D1, for my kids to come in there, for my wife to come in there and really see what it can be as a facility for the whole family.”