Daxko Fitness Forward

What does it look like when an independent gym owner goes all-in on AI — no IT team, no big budget, just a two-location key card access club and a willingness to figure it out? 

In Episode 6 of Fitness Forward, Jeff VanDixhorn sits down with Abraham Gerving — owner of Affinity Fitness and board chair of the FitLife Club Network — for one of the most practical AI conversations we've had on the show. 

They cover: 

• Customer experience vs. customer service — the Ritz-Carlton vs. Amazon model for fitness clubs 

• How an AI front desk agent became Abraham's top prospecting and sales tool 

• Uploading financials to ChatGPT — and the rate increase that had zero sales impact 

• Why AI needs to be treated like an employee: supervised, monitored, corrected 

• The rate increase strategy most independent operators keep avoiding 

• The FitLife Club Network and why independent operators need peer support 

What does it actually take to make fitness an essential part of the healthcare system, not just a referral, but a reimbursable, measurable business? 

In Episode 5 of Fitness Forward, Jeff VanDixhorn sits down with Gloria Winters, Chief Health Officer and SVP Health Partnerships at YMCA of the USA, to talk about 26 years at the intersection of clinical care and community wellness and what she's building now. 

They cover: 

• Why 80% of health outcomes are shaped by factors outside the clinic 

• How YMCAs built a centralized operating system to contract with health plans at scale 

• What "upstream healthcare" means in practice for gyms, clubs, and wellness facilities 

• The measurement and data infrastructure needed to prove health impact 

• How technology like WELLD Health connects sick care data with wellness outcomes 

• What a gym or club operator should do right now to start this journey 

At 17, Hal Hargrave was a month out of high school when a car accident left him a cervical-level quadriplegic. Doctors said he'd likely never walk again. His community said otherwise. 

In Episode 4 of Fitness Forward, Jeff VanDixhorn sits down with Hal Hargrave, CEO of the Perfect Step paralysis recovery center and founder of the Be Perfect Foundation to talk about the accident, the recovery, and what one club's decision to convert a racquetball court changed for the entire fitness industry. 

They cover: 

• How the Perfect Step grew from 1 client to 70+ across 7,000 sq ft 

• Why integrating adaptive programming drove a 9% drop in membership attrition and nearly $1M in recovered revenue 

• The real scale of the disability market, 80 million Americans 

• 10 steps any gym owner can take to start building adaptive programming today 

• How AI and automation can free clubs up to do more human-centered work 

What happens when a college student shadows a pediatrician at summer camp, watches kids get the wrong medications, and decides to fix it?

He builds software. Stays up until 4am through medical school. Becomes a pediatrician. And eventually builds a platform that protects hundreds of thousands of kids every year.

In Episode 3 of Fitness Forward, Jeff VanDixhorn, CEO of Daxko, sits down with Dr. Michael Ambrose, founder and CEO of Doc Network, to talk about the origin story of CampDoc, what youth serving organizations get wrong about health and safety, and how the right technology makes all the difference for YMCAs, JCCs, camps, and youth programs nationwide.

In this episode:

• How a summer camp in Michigan sparked the idea for CampDoc
• What Doc Network actually does for youth programs
• The real cost of missing or mismanaged health data
• How the Daxko + Doc Network integration works for operators
• Real stories of CampDoc preventing serious incidents
• Practical advice for programs preparing for summer

Most fitness operators are still carrying the same insurance policy they signed when they opened. In Episode 2 of Fitness Forward, Wendy White, Chief Marketing and Partner Officer at Daxko, sits down with Bobby Vo, Head of Growth at Authentic Insurance, to talk about why that's a problem and what a smarter approach looks like. 

They cover: 

• Why premiums keep rising even when your business hasn't changed 

• How most operators are unknowingly underinsured 

• The difference between general liability and professional liability and why it matters 

• How bundling the right coverages saves money 

• Why click-to-buy insurance is finally here for fitness businesses 

What if fitness facilities became an essential part of the healthcare system?

In the debut episode of Fitness Forward, Jeff VanDixhorn sits down with Chris Craytor, CEO of ACAC Fitness & Wellness Centers and WELLD Health, to explore the growing intersection of fitness, healthcare, and technology.

From medical fitness and reimbursement models to AI-powered operations and the role of exercise in preventive health, Chris shares insights from both the fitness and healthcare worlds on where the industry is headed next.

Tune in for a forward-looking conversation on how fitness operators can drive better health outcomes while building stronger, more sustainable businesses.