Meet Joseph owner of Anchor Fitness with his wife Leah. He says, "As a high school and collegiate athlete, I have grown up learning the ins and outs of fitness and that is what initially sparked my passion. I have worn many hats surrounding fitness over the years. I have been a Coach for youth athletics. I focused on youth endurance and sports performance training, personal training and more."

Joseph goes on to share how Anchor Fitness changed the trajectory and his marriage. He says it like this, "2017 changed my life forever. I left corporate America and came on board to Anchor Fitness full time. This was a huge turning point for me. I wanted to support my wife's dream of running a successful and impactful gym. Together we give 110% of our time, energy and passion to this community. Our community is built on a foundation of sweat, courage and loyalty. We crush workouts together no matter what your experience level is. We are always here to teach you, motivate you and push you to achieving your goals. What ultimately fuels my passion? Watching our clients complete workouts they never thought possible and providing a better and healthier life for my family."

Meet Leah, co-owner and founder of Anchor Fitness. From a young age, Leah has always been described as goal driven. As an adult, when a spark of an idea hits- it’s almost like electricity and she jumps right in with a ripple effect of making everyone else excited along with her. What began as just a dream for Leah…a group training schedule navigated around life as a new mom, newly married and a full time job, in just a few short years became a successful business, a household name within the Cincinnati fitness community, and now employs over 9 team members. Here is what she says, “Growing up with vast interests, I played a wide variety of youth sports, was a collegiate rower and soon found myself enamored with all things fitness. I have always enjoyed helping people reach their goals and the relationships that came from 1:1 personal training.” Leah continues her story, “Soon after Joseph and I were married, our beautiful son Oliver came into this world, I realized more than ever that I felt called to help more people than what 1:1 personal training would allow me to. Navigating life with post pregnancy fitness goals, I was humbly reminded what it felt like to be uncomfortable in your skin and the intimidation that can come along with starting something new or walking into a new gym. I knew in that moment - I wanted to provide a place where no one would feel that way. It was this spark of the idea behind Anchor Fitness. Flash forward to today, I get to wake up every day and do what I love- even better alongside my husband. We work hard to foster an environment of no intimidation, where EVERYONE is welcome. While the idea and business plan for Anchor came from my imagination- it was truly the community of people we are blessed to call members and the team that stands with me to coach, educate and motivate that have made Anchor Fitness what it is today. But at the end of the day, I am nothing without Jesus.

Meet our one and only Caitlin who is head of our Ignite program at Anchor Fitness. This beautiful soul gives us a little insight of her life as she shares this, "Beginning at a very young age I started participating in team sports at a competitive level that essentially drove my lifetime passion for fitness. Before joining the Anchor team full time, I worked in management at a child welfare agency, and was a part time trainer here at Anchor. In August of 2020, I made the jump to start training full time with this incredible community, and it's been the best decision I've ever made. Outside of Anchor, I wear many hats- wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend. My husband and I have one son, Tai, who is currently in kindergarten. Our family loves all things outdoors and traveling together."

Caitlin goes on to mention her love for her clients and coaching. She says it best like this, "I love meeting new clients on every step of their fitness journey, and watching them transform is my favorite part of this job."

Meet Torie a wife, mom of three and all around fitness lover who has an incredibly unique story filled with determination and inspiration. Torie said, "I found Anchor Fitness before having my third daughter and fell in love. I became pregnant after a few months of attending Anchor and consistently attended group training my whole pregnancy. It made the pregnancy and the recovery so much easier. After I had my youngest daughter I realized I wanted to take this lifestyle more seriously. I weighed around 300lbs and I was miserable. Since that time through Anchor and their nutrition I have lost over 130lbs."

Tories inspiring story continues with many accolades starting in 2020 when she finished her 1st level education through Burgener Strength Weightlifting, she shares her faith and love for her Anchor Fitness Family. Check it out as she states, "After completing Burgener Strength Weightlifting course, I started to help coach weightlifting clinics and Barbell Club. In July 2021 I completed The Gymnastics Course. I love fitness, learning as much as I can and plan to continue my education and career in fitness. Anchor is my second home and the community is my family. God truly blessed me when he brought Anchor into my life, it saved me from a life of unhealthy choices and medical issues and now I can be a more positive role model for my girls. I attend group training 5pm Monday-Thursday and Saturday at 8am, attend barbell club Tuesday and Thursday and coach Barbell Club on Saturday, and attend open gym on Sunday if anyone ever wants to join!"

You will meet our trainer Kim Hill in person when you come to our Bags+Barbells class. She has been with Anchor Fitness for 4 years and continues to achieve more than she thought possible.

Kim says it best, "For the first time in my entire life I have become the strongest and healthiest version of me. It took me a lot of years to get here but I'm really glad that I found this community. I have always loved boxing and lifting. No matter how I feel coming in, I always feel strong and powerful leaving! And I can help others feel that way too."

Kim's confidence in her unique skillsets and desire to see the people around her achieve their healthiest self makes her an absolute asset to Anchor Fitness.

Take it from Kim, "Age is just a number."

Kaila Shoemaker has dedicated her life to helping people overcome life's hinderances. Not only is she one of our amazing Bags+Barbell trainers she is also a Physical Therapist Assistant. Kaila says, "Watching individuals overcome a significant injury has given me the passion and strength to help our clients exceed their personal goals- no matter what obstacles stand in their way."

When Kaila is not working out or teaching boxing, her and her husband love going on new adventures outdoors. After spending five years at Anchor Fitness she said, "From the moment I walked in the door I fell in love with Anchor and all things boxing- so when the opportunity to join the team presented itself- I jumped and haven't looked back. I have loved watching our B+B program grow over these last few years!"

Andrew is another one of our Bags + Barbell Trainers and his bio will truly inspire you to try harder. Andrew says, "I started at Anchor Fitness in August of 2020 taking the Bags+Barbells class. One thing that caught my eye that first day was the saying on the back of all the Anchor t-shirts, "Earned Not Given”. So I told myself I wouldn’t buy one until I “earned it”. The last couple years, we had been dealing with crazy medical challenges for both my wife and son that led to slowly gaining weight and not taking care of myself physically. I told myself I would “earn” the shirt when I hit my goal weight. 94 days, 45 classes and 30lbs later, I triumphantly bought my new favorite shirt. For the first year, I only did Bags + Barbells (boxing) class with Kaila. It built my confidence as much as it did my endurance. The support, challenge, and fun of the morning boxing crew became the thing I looked forward to every morning. I fell in love with boxing and was so excited when Leah asked if I'd be interested in training!"

Andrew continues to share how Anchor Fitness has pushed him to attain goals he never dreamed of before and the impact it has had on his family's health by saying, "In March 2021 I started attending the Functional Fitness classes at Anchor as well, mixing them in with B+B classes. I hadn't really ever lifted with a barbell, couldn't really do most of the movements and struggled to keep up. But I stuck with it and learned a ton. The coaches and other members were so encouraging and helpful. I stepped way outside my comfort zone in October and competed in the Anchor Throwdown and loved it! Then had the chance to compete in another local partner competition with Kaila in November, which felt like a celebration of how far I'd come in just under a year and a half at Anchor Fitness. I'm excited to continue growing with Anchor. It was the easiest decision ever when they offered me a spot on this team. Who wouldn't want these people in their life more?!

My whole family is healthier than ever now. My wife, Kara, and I share a passion for health and fitness. She is overwhelmingly supportive of my new drive to improve my fitness. She likes hearing about Anchor Fitness workouts, new skills I've learned and new PRs. We are both Cincinnati natives and have been married since 2010. We had our son, Gideon, in May of 2019. He eagerly awaits the day he can go workout with Papa.

When not at Anchor, I love going on adventures with Kara and Gideon and spending time with our families. We're very involved with our church, Crossroads, where I help lead the Father's group and camp prayer teams. By day, I'm a consultant for 84.51° focusing on using customer survey data to provide insights & strategy to Kroger leadership on creating the best customer experience possible."

Meet Taylor our Bags + Barbell trainer who always makes working out feel like a party. She said, "Taylor here! A psychiatric social worker by day and brand new boxing coach by... earlier in the day."

Taylor goes on to say how much she loves the benefit of 'community' Anchor Fitness has to offer. Check it out, "I'll start by saying I'm obsessed with this place. Anyone who knows me knows these people and this place mean the world to me! I've only been going here for almost four years. But, it feels like I've known this place forever. One of my favorite things to say to people who think it is crazy I enjoy getting up at 5 a.m. to workout or who are surprised that I prioritize coming to Anchor everyday is, "It's not that I like working out as much as I just like Anchor Fitness." This place takes something that used to be a tedious chore to me and turned it into something, fun, social, and the best part of my day. Anchor Fitness truly has something for everyone but, it was the friendships for me."