Julia Sanders

United Fitness Partners Fitness Trainer Changes Life of Stroke Survivor

Oct. 16 marked a life-changing day for United Fitness Partners club member Dennis Deering. On that day in 2023, he suffered a stroke. He and his wife were watching television at home when he started showing signs of a stroke. His wife called 911, and they rushed to the hospital.

The doctors were able to save his life, but Deering had to stay at the hospital for months, unable to go home until after Christmas that year. Strokes are sometimes deadly, and while he luckily survived the incident, his body was not what it once was. He did not have use of his left hand and suffered balance issues. He also struggled to pick up things.

Deering had to work hard to recover from the stroke. Since February 2017, Deering has been a Planet Fitness® member on and off. Nearly a year and a half after his stroke, he rejoined at the gym as part of the Silver Sneaker program, which allows adults 65 and older to work out in the gym. Through the program, he was matched with a PF® trainer, Rae Cribbin, at United Fitness Partners’ Lubbock, Texas, club.

Cribbin spent hours researching different stroke rehab exercises to help Deering. Deering has been able to make incredible progress and reach new milestones in his fitness journey. It has been rewarding for both of them to see his progress.

“There was a big moment we had where he was pretty much doing a full range of motion, and after he left, I cried. I was so excited, I cried,” Cribbin said in a local news article.

Staff members at United Fitness Partners like Cribbin constantly ensure that their PF members are treated with kindness and that they have the support to reach their fitness goals. Cribbin and Deering still meet daily at Planet Fitness to work on Deering’s strength and mobility, and he continues to make considerable progress, thanks to her help.

in Recognitions  by 16 Jan 2026

Carolina Fitness Staff Show Support for One Another

Despite being a global brand, the Planet Fitness® family is a tight-knit community that deeply cares about each other. In September, John Russin, a general manager for Carolina Fitness, suffered a leg injury while playing on the group’s PF® softball team. However, people from the club he works at were more than willing to show they cared.

A Planet Fitness member visited Russin while he was in the hospital, cheering him up and providing a little company while he recovered. Additionally, Alex Choquette, president at Anchor Management Group, came all the way down from New Hampshire to visit Russin. Reid Wolfe, regional manager at Carolina Fitness, shared that a number of their members stopped him each week to ask how John was doing.

Russin has been an employee at Planet Fitness for the past three years and has cultivated strong relationships with his teammates and club members throughout his tenure. He has been working at the Ogden Plaza PF club in Wilmington, North Carolina, for a few months after transferring from the group’s Shallotte, North Carolina, PF location. In such a short time, Russin has won the hearts of many PF members and staff. These relationships have solidified his purpose and love for his job at Planet Fitness.  

“It was heartwarming to know that so many people from our team and even our members would take the time to come visit me in the hospital. I did not know the impact I had on our members of the club, and I can’t wait to get back into the gym and engage, engage, engage!” said Russin.

in Recognitions  by 16 Jan 2026

LEV Management Boosts Air Force Recruits’ Confidence and Strength

Choosing to serve in the military is an honorable decision, but it takes strength and physical agility to get through the rigorous military training. Allysse Kinsaul, a general manager at LEV Management, has worked closely with the military throughout her career. Kinsaul discovered from local Air Force recruiters that many recruits were excited to serve but nervous about the physical demands of basic training, since many of them had never worked out consistently before.

When she started working at Planet Fitness® two years ago, Kinsaul started to see a way she could use her work at Planet Fitness to help local Air Force recruits, developing the idea for the ForceFit program.

Kinsaul partnered with Air Force recruiters to design ForceFit, which outlines structured workouts for recruits as they prepare for basic training. The fitness classes are held twice a week in a Sumter, South Carolina, PF® club. With Planet Fitness’s judgement-free ideology, these recruits are welcome to start their fitness journey at their current fitness level in a safe, judgement-free environment.

The classes are taught by Kinsaul and the club’s Assistant Manager Briton Thames, both of whom received a certificate of appreciation recognizing their support of Air Force recruiting service and their hard work with the program.

For their dedication to helping Air Force recruits, Allysse Kinsaul and Briton Thames received a certificate of appreciation.

On top of the weekly ForceFit classes, the program hosts the recruiters’ Delayed Entry Program (DEP) calls inside the PF® club, so recruits can train, check in with their recruiters and build community all in the four walls of a Planet Fitness club. They also do body fat measurements for the Air Force recruits, so they can see their progress in real time while in the program.

The program has been highly successful. Since it began over a year and a half ago, the ForceFit program has helped over 100 recruits, and each one who trained through ForceFit passed their PT test at basic training. Also, they all scored 90 or higher on their first test. Many recruits who started the program doubting themselves left the program feeling confident and ready to take on basic training. The ForceFit program helps embody everything Planet Fitness stands for: creating a safe, judgement-free space for people to work out and become more confident.

“When I started ForceFit, the goal was to create something that truly prepared recruits for what’s ahead, not just physically but mentally. Every success story reminds me why this partnership matters and how much impact Planet Fitness can have in our communities,” said Kinsaul.

in Member News  by 16 Jan 2026