Hidden Gems: Meet Joe Fischer of Towpath Fitness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Fischer.

Hi Joe, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always been a fairly active person. While in the Air Force i was a Physical Training Leader, responsible for planning and executing PT sessions for those on my shift. Towards the end of my time in the service I was made a Unit Fitness Program Manager. I was responsible for the physical readiness of everyone in my unit. Once I was out of the service I wanted to stay active, but didn’t know much about weight training so I took up running. I got into running 10-15 miles multiple days a week because I had the free time while finishing my degree. When I finished my degree I went straight into grad school. My schedule changed and I was suddenly running a lot less. At that point I discovered I had an issue with a disk in my lower back. It was slightly bulging and I was told it would eventually need surgery. I left grad school to take a dream job with Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Working with animals is very physically demanding, and I decided early on I want to do the job as long as I physically could. That meant taking my health seriously. I gave in to peer pressure from others in my life and dropped in at Towpath Fitness in early 2017. It took a few months to find my groove and start attending regularly. I fell in love with weightlifting and powerlifting. It didn’t take long to realize the core strength I was building meant no more back pain. Six years ago the owners posted they were looking for coaches. I scheduled my CrossFit L1 immediately and let them know I wanted to coach. I have continued learning and growing as a trainer since. Two years ago the owners pulled the staff into a meeting and told us they were going to sell the gym in the next two months or close the doors. While they were explaining the situation to everyone, I was texting them asking how much and how soon. There was no hesitation. February of 2024 we made the transition official and public. I have been the owner of the gym that changed my life for almost 2 years, and come January we are celebrating 10 years of Towpath Fitness being open.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
A smooth road? HA HA HA nope. Its been a struggle. I knew nothing about running a business. I had a vague idea or concepts. I was taking over from individuals who also had no idea what they were doing when they started. Its been a struggle from day one. Losing staff, memberships dropping, issues with sourcing merchandise. I started this with a business partner. She had the knowledge on marketing that I lacked, had all the know how on SEO and social media. I was covering all the coaching, covering for other coaches on top of scheduling myself for classes, and coaching all of our fundamentals/introductory classes. About 6 months in I realized my business partner wasn’t holding up her end of the bargain. I paid for her to get her CrossFit L1 then she was never available to coach. We parted ways quickly and overnight I became a one person show. While the gym is growing it isn’t to the point I can make the jump to it being my only job, yet. So I still maintain a day job. Most days I am up at 3am working on things for the gym or coaching a 5 or 6am class. Then I run off to my day job. I answer e-mails and respond to messages when I take a break during the day. Then I am back at the gym in the evenings, coaching class or training coaches. I usually leave the gym by 7pm at the latest. Its a balancing act.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a CrossFit gym located in Valley View, Ohio. Our mission is to lower the barriers to fitness. No matter the fitness goal we have the knowledge to get you where you want to be. Want to compete? doesn’t matter the sport, we have the training program to help you be more competitive. Want to stay active and independent as you age, we can help with that. Curious about Olympic Weightlifting or Power Lifting we have certified coaches to help guide you. And we have a community of fitness minded people looking to help you along the way for that little extra push or check in when you need it. You don’t have to workout to hangout. Why can’t “maybe one day” be today?

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
We got out in the community. That is where we started. We found a 5k we could sponsor and showed up with a tent and a table. I spent 8 hours talking to everyone from 8year olds who wanted to watch me lift something heavy, to individuals in their 80s who shared stories of their feats of strength from back in the day. Being out there led to us being asked to sponsor another event, then another, and so on. Now I am being asked to do more events than we can manage, and I feel bad every time I have to pass one up. Being out there in the community meeting and encouraging people on their fitness journey makes people take notice and remember you. I have gotten to lead warmups for hundreds of people and been features on the local news twice. I have gotten to meet some big names in my industry because I am out in the community.

Pricing:

• $200 Fundamental class package. 3 private sessions and two weeks of regular classes free
• $120 Limited membership (12 classes/month)
• $155 Unlimited Membership

Contact Info:

• Website: https://towpathfitness.com
• Instagram: @towpathfitness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TowpathCrossFit/
• Other: @josephfischer_