We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tracie Thompson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tracie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Yes — Overall I’m happy as a business owner.

Owning my own fitness studio was absolutely a dream of mine. But let’s be real — owning a business comes with so many ups and downs that it’s like doing endless squats… and squats happen to be my favorite exercise. They’re challenging, they burn, they test you — but they make you stronger.

Before I opened my studio, people told me it was risky and unstable. But in my mind, jobs aren’t guaranteed either. In many traditional roles, you often have little to no input on major decisions. As a business owner, I get to see behind the curtain. I get to build the vision. I get to create the culture. I get to design the experience.

Do I ever think about what it would be like to clock in, clock out, and not carry the weight of every decision? Of course. Entrepreneurship isn’t light. The wins are yours — but so are the worries.

But I wouldn’t trade it.

Owning 4Fitness allows me to create the kind of space I believe in — one that feels safe, empowering, and welcoming for people who don’t always feel comfortable in traditional gym culture. I’m not just running workouts. I’m building something that reflects my values and impacts real lives.

So yes, I’ve wondered what it would be like to have a job.

But I know I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

Tracie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Tracie Thompson, founder of 4Fitness Personal Training Studio — and I built the gym I wish existed.

I’ve been a Certified Personal Trainer for over 25 years, but I didn’t enter this industry as the “skinny fitness girl.” I entered it as a strong, curvy woman who understood what it felt like to walk into a gym and not see anyone who looked like me. That experience shaped everything.

I saw talented, capable people avoiding fitness spaces — not because they didn’t care about their health, but because they felt judged, overlooked, or out of place. So I decided to change the environment instead of trying to change the people.

That’s how 4Fitness was born.

We are not a typical gym. There are no walls of mirrors. No intimidation. No ego. We focus on joint-friendly strength training, smart programming, and sustainable wellness. I don’t believe in extremes. I believe in building bodies that can handle real life.

Beyond training, I’m also a Holistic Lifestyle Coach and educator. My work goes beyond workouts — we address movement, food, sleep, hydration, recovery, and mindset. Because real transformation isn’t just physical, it’s behavioral. It’s emotional. It’s long-term.

The problem I solve?
I create a safe, structured, empowering space for people who don’t feel comfortable in traditional fitness culture. I help busy adults stop starting over. I help people build strength without destroying their joints. I help clients move from intimidated to confident.

What sets me apart is that I lead with strength and clarity — but also compassion. I’m not here to shame or shrink anyone. I’m here to help people expand into their strongest selves.

And after rebuilding my studio following hurricane flooding, I can say this confidently: resilience is part of our brand DNA.

What am I most proud of?
The culture. The community. The women and men who walk in unsure and leave standing taller — physically and mentally.

What I want people to know about me and 4Fitness is simple:

You don’t have to fit into fitness.
Fitness should fit you.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

What helped me build my reputation in my market was learning to trust myself — fully.

In the early days of my business, I followed advice that didn’t sit right with me. I was told to use images of very “fit-looking” people in my marketing and to minimize myself in my own brand. The message was subtle but clear: lead with the image people expect, not with who you are.

It felt off. But I did it anyway.

And my marketing was inconsistent at best. It was hit or miss because it wasn’t honest.

After a year or two, I got tired of feeling hidden in my own business. I realized that if I wanted to build something sustainable, it had to reflect me — not someone else’s idea of what a fitness brand should look like.

So I leaned in. All the way in.

I put myself front and center. No shrinking. No minimizing. No trying to look like a big-box gym. It became a “like it or leave it” approach — and that’s when everything changed. The moment I stopped hiding, my business stopped struggling.

My marketing became clearer. My message became stronger. And I started attracting the exact clients I was meant to serve — people who wanted strength, authenticity, and a safe space that felt real.

It wasn’t just easier. It was aligned.

And I think people can feel when something is real.

That shift — from trying to fit the industry mold to building a brand that reflected who I truly am — is what built my reputation.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was this:
“I’m a fitness professional — I’m not in sales.”

Early in my career, I worked as a personal trainer at a big-box gym and struggled to gain new clients. My manager pulled me aside and said something that stuck with me: “You’re incredible at retaining clients… but your closing rate is the lowest on the team.”

That was the first time I ever heard the term closing rate. I didn’t even know what it meant — let alone that mine was the worst.

I had unconsciously labeled sales as pushy, uncomfortable, and “not me.” I believed that if I was good enough at training, clients would just automatically sign up. What I missed was this: sales is simply service with structure. It’s communication. It’s clarity. It’s confidence.

Sales isn’t a dirty word. It’s a necessary skill in every business.

That conversation changed everything for me. Instead of resisting it, I decided to learn it. I asked people I respected in sales if I could shadow them. I read books. I took classes. I studied human behavior and communication. And most importantly, I figured out what authentic selling looked like for me.

I learned that selling doesn’t have to feel manipulative. It can feel aligned. It can feel honest. It can feel like leadership.

Now, as a studio owner, that lesson impacts everything — from enrolling new clients to mentoring other professionals. Because if you believe in what you offer, you have a responsibility to invite people into it confidently.

And that was a mindset shift I’m grateful for.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.iam4fitness.com
• Instagram: @4fitnessstpete
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iam4Fitness