Adapting to Change: The Evolution of Fitness, Coaching & Client Retention

Carlos is a veteran of the health & fitness industry and has extensive experience as a Wellness Coach & Certified Personal Trainer, and over the past thirty five years has been fortunate enough to work with a diverse group of individuals whose goals were just as diverse, such as, weight loss, weight gain, body reshaping, and post-injury fitness & rehabilitation. What he is most proud of are the long standing relationships that he has established with many of his clients, and more importantly, the trust and confidence that they have placed in his abilities over the years, the decades, and their different life stages in helping them stay healthy and well — and to continue to perform at a high level into their 60’s, 70’s, & 80’s. Carlos currently works with 50+ active individuals who want to combat the aging process in the most efficient and effective way. His unique approach to fitness focuses on the practical, the possible, and the productive with a holistic approach that addresses total-well-being, including lifestyle, longterm health, and independence. Carlos is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength & Conditioning Association, the Functional Aging Institute, and the WellCoaches Corporation.

Ian is the Owner and Coach of Gordon Performance Solutions, which specializes in mobile, outdoor and personal fitness training for individuals and small groups. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with over 25 years of experience as a personal fitness trainer. He also has his USAW Level 1 Weightlifting Coach and holds expertise in both Olympic weightlifting and sports performance training.

Art Rothafel entered the fitness industry in 1978 as a personal trainer and floor manager at Jack LaLanne’s European Health Spa in Los Angeles, California. He quickly advanced to club manager before taking a hiatus from the industry in 1981. He went on to pursue a career as V.P. Marketing for Guitar Center as well as a consultant for several multi-national companies including Apple, Unisys, Chiat Day, Grey Advertising, Pepsi, Kelly Blue Book, Sony and others. In 1989 he returned to the health and fitness industry assisting Gold’s Gym, LA Fitness, SporTelesis, and hundreds of independent clubs and studios with science-based weight-management and lifestyle programming. In 1991 Art founded MediCorp, a weight-management, health and lifestyle consulting firm located in Newport Beach, California. The company consulted individuals, groups and corporations on health, wellness and lifestyle management. The company’s science-based protocol and proprietary content soon gained the attention of health, fitness and medical professionals around the world. The company eventually transitioned from consulting to publishing and manufacturing -- rebranded itself as Private Label Fitness -- and made its “tools” available for health professionals under their own brands. Today, the company is an industry leader in educational materials, nutritional formulations and done-for-you online content -- all available for private label. Art is considered a top industry expert and continues to consult health professionals on how to successfully market, sell and operate credible weight-management, lifestyle and health coaching programs at physical locations and online.

Ruben Mejia, executive vice president for SportsArt Americas, has five years of experience in the fitness industry, previously holding the title of chief technology officer. Prior to his work at SportsArt, Mejia held executive roles within the technology and ecommerce spaces. In 2000, after four years of active deployment in the military, Mejia began working in the corporate IT and telecommunication fields for the U.S. Army, launching his career and interest in the technology industry as a whole.  

Liz started her fitness career after receiving her Bachelor’s Degrees from Illinois State University in Exercise Science and Public Relations. She has worked as a Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor and Nutrition Coach, and spent 16 years in Fitness Management in the Chicago, NYC and Westchester County markets. She went on to complete a Masters in Business and Administration from DePaul University to further her career and formed her LLC in 2016. 

After spending time working on the franchise side of the industry she now focuses on women's health coaching and virtual training alongside her work with FBA.

She is a Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach and holds several certifications including Certified Exercise Physiologist through ACSM, Precision Nutrition, TRX, Functional Range Conditioning, Wellcoaches, FMS and Power Pilates. She also sits on the Advisory Board for the Exercise Science Department at ISU and is currently a Corporate Representative on the Board for NASM/AFAA.