Meet Outlaw FitCamp Franchisee’s Jessica and Jody

Jody and Jessica Roach have been married for 13 years and are franchise owners of Outlaw FitCamp’s Ft. Worth and Hickory Creek locations. Both were born in Dallas and grew up in Flower Mound. Jody went to Lewisville High School and then to the University of North Texas. Jessica went to Marcus High School and then the University of Texas at Arlington. They have two boys, ages 9 and 11. In their free time, Jody likes to play the guitar when he can, and they both enjoy watching their boys play football. They enjoy snow skiing, snorkeling, and deep-sea fishing.

This month is their one-year anniversary of owning the Ft. Worth Outlaw FitCamp location, so our twenty questions will focus on that location.

Read on to learn more about this hard-working and enthusiastic couple.

1. Since we’re focusing on your Ft. Worth anniversary, what do you love about the city of Ft. Worth?

[Jody] My mother is from Ft. Worth, and my parents met in Ft. Worth. And I used to work in Ft. Worth. We just have a deep love for that city. It’s a very casual and inclusive city, in my opinion.

2. What support from Outlaw FitCamp have you found most helpful?

[Jody] Honestly, it’s the mentoring from Jesse [Jesse Leyva, Owner Outlaw FitCamp]. I’m not new to running a business, but I’m new to this particular business. I come from the insurance world; I’m a child of insurance. My great-grandfather started an insurance company, my dad ran an insurance company, I run an insurance brokerage—I’m an insurance guy. So dealing with people is not new to me, but this industry is.

The mentoring they give us is what’s been the most helpful. Sometimes minute details can turn into major problems if you don’t pay attention to them. They’ve seen it all and done it all. They help keep us from tripping over our own feet.

3. what made you love outlaw fitcamp more than other franchise opportunities?

[Jody] We were clients of Outlaw FitCamp before we decided to buy the franchises. So we knew the product well and loved the product. My father and I had been looking to start another business together. We look at a lot of different things. We like being with a growing brand rather than great big brand where we are location #5000 or whatever.

In the Outlaw FitCamp opportunity we saw, and continue to see, how we can change people’s lives. We help families get healthy together. We help people who’ve been through tough times find their swagger again. We help parents stay healthy enough to be able to run around with their kids. We’ve helped people lose a lot of weight and get off medications. We love this ability to help change people’s lives.

4.What are your goals with outlaw fitcamp?

[Jody] We want to create a community that helps people find their place and find their best selves. I realize that not everyone is looking to be a bodybuilder or a bikini model. While we can help people do that, the reality is we all just want to be the healthiest version of ourselves while dealing with our daily lives.

[Jessica] The motto of Outlaw is, “progress not perfection.” We’re not comparing ourselves to perfection. A lot of our clients, and even our employees, are weight-loss success stories. Our manager in Hickory Creek has dropped 100 pounds. She loves this community. Her friends and family are Outlaw clients.

[Jody] Yes, we talk to our clients about it. Don’t compare yourself to anyone at the gym. Don’t compare yourself to other people. Are you better than yesterday? That’s it. Are you one percent better than yesterday? Because if you’re one percent better every day then at the end of the year, you’re 365 percent better.

5.How did you put together your team at Ft. Worth?

[Jody] We recently hired a new manager named Adim. He’s been with the Outlaw brand for a few years now. He is very high energy with an incredibly giving heart. We think he’s going to be a wonderful leader for that location.

And then one of our trainers is Rhonda. She’s been with us since we opened.

[Jessica] Rhonda is like a Swiss Army knife. She’s been in fitness for over 15 years. And she’s trained in everything because she’s constantly evolving. She brings all of that to her workouts.

[Jody] There’s not an injury that someone could have, or a focus that somebody could want, that she doesn’t know how to help them with.

6. What does your work mean to you?

[Jody] My grandfather turned 100 years old in October and passed on Christmas day last year. He was a pediatrician. He cared for people. That’s how he always talked about his patients, that he “cared” for them. He never said so-and-so is my patient. He always said he cared for this family, or he cared for this person. That’s always been something that’s central to our family—caring for others. I wasn’t smart enough to become a doctor [laughs], so this is a way for us to care for others.

7. What kind of resources from Outlaw FitCamp do you take advantage of?

[Jody] The Operations Manual is written and there for you. You don’t have to come up with your own solutions from day one. They give us help with the branding, ideas for social media, ideas for marketing.

8. What are the most important benefits for you in owning an Outlaw FitCamp franchise?

[Jody] Ultimately, we have a long-term goal of opening ten locations. We’d like to be able to buy real estate and expand our company into having real estate holdings and gym locations. We would like to get to the point where we could build a building and have a gym on one side and lease the other side. We want to find this success by changing lives, caring for people, and helping people find their worth.

A lot of people are down. Exercise is an incredible anti-depressant. We have a number of clients who come in and then a year later you almost wouldn’t recognize them. Not just in the physical sense, but in a personality and attitude sense. The gloomy, cloudy person who came in a year ago is now like a ray of sunshine. They’re happy.

9.What inspires you or motivates you to wake up and go to work?

[Jody] My family. Being a good example for my kids.

[Jessica] This was another motivation for us to get an Outlaw FitCamp franchise over some other business. We’re getting healthier being in this community. Our kids are as well. We’re teaching them healthier habits. We’re showing them the importance of exercise, healthy eating, taking care of your body, your mind, and your emotional well-being.

[Jody] Also, it’s the community. I love people. I’m a people person. My tank gets filled by interacting with people. Getting to meet so many different people from so many different backgrounds who do so many different things—it just fascinates me.

10. What have you learned so far that you didn’t know before?

[Jody] Oh, a lot of things. A lot of things. First, I have learned that it will take longer than you think to find the right employees. We’ve also learned that people can be more understanding than you would expect them to me. Our clients have stuck with us through a lot this year and have been incredibly loyal and supportive.

[Jessica] We’re on our third manager in a year. We had a lot of changes and our clients have been loyal and stuck with us. We’re grateful for that.

[Jody] We are grateful for that, and it also says so much for the product.

11. What advice would you give someone looking for a franchise opportunity?

[Jody] That’s a big question. My advice is to know your product, know your procedures, and know your goals inside and out. Never take your eye off the road and keep the hammer down 24/7.

12. What three words would you use to describe workouts at Outlaw FitCamp?

[Jody] Energetic, challenging, and fun.

13. Have you always been interested in fitness?

[Jody] Yes, I’ve always been in gyms off and on since I was probably 18 years old. When I was working a physical job, I didn’t go to the gym because the job was a whole lot of heavy lifting. But as happens when we move from a physical job to an office job and get married and comfortable, sometimes we tend to balloon up a bit. When that happened to me, I decided that was enough.

I wanted to do triathlons, and I started with that goal. At the time, it was tough because I was taking 60 to 70 flights a year for business. That makes being consistent in the gym difficult. But I was able to work out with Jesse James one day a week on Saturdays. Then they helped give me guidance of what things I could do in hotel gyms around the country to help me reach my goals.

14. What is your favorite workout music?

[Jody] Mine is 90’s hip hop.

[Jessica] Bruno Mars. I like to sing along whenever I work out.

15. How do you balance career and family?

Jessica] We just bring them along!

[Jody] It’s funny. I always bought into that work-life balance thing. But when you love what you do, it’s all life. My kids go to our locations with us. We did a local fun run together and our kids came along and did that with us.

[Jessica] They’re just a part of everything. They wear their Outlaw gear to school.

[Jody] At my insurance brokerage we have a pool table, so they’ll come up and hang out there. When you really love what you’re doing, it’s a just your life.

16.What goals do you have for your business?

[Jody] For our Ft. Worth location, my first goal is one hundred FitCamp clients and fifty personal training clients. I want to build a community. I want clients who become friends. I want to hear about how this client and that one met each other and got married. I want to hear about how this client and that client met at our gym and now their families are best friends and take vacations together.

17.What do you like to do in your spare time?

[Jody] I love to date my wife.

18.What is your favorite form of exercise personally?

[Jessica] I personally like lifting weights. A good arm/shoulder workout is my favorite.

[Jody] I love weighted lunges. I have two blown disks in my back, so I can’t do squats anymore. But if I hold dumbbells in my hands and do lunges, I can still get a really good leg workout, so I love weighted lunges.

19. Any advice for spouses who are thinking about going into business together? 

[Both laugh]

[Jody] I have so much.

[Jessica] You have to treat them separately. It has to be work, and then it has to be home. You must separate them because if you’re afraid to give or take constructive criticism, or if you are afraid to give or take advice, you’re just harming yourselves. You must be able to turn that off and think, “He gave me some really good advice today.” Or maybe he showed me a mistake I was making. But it wasn’t personal. It’s not my husband, it’s my co-worker. It’s the manager of this business telling me what I need to be doing. You can’t be afraid to work—because it is work.

[Jody] Also, you must have defined roles. It becomes very easy for everything to be everybody’s responsibility. What happens then is that nobody does it. People think, oh, he’ll catch that, or she’ll catch that. But what happens is one person ends up catching too much and other things fall through the cracks. So it’s very important to have defined roles.

20. Anything else you want to add?

[Jody] Fitness and getting healthy is for everyone. I’ve heard so many times, “I need to lose weight before I go to the gym.” Or “I need to get healthier before I go to the gym.” That couldn’t be further from the truth. If you’ve never been to a gym or if you’re very unhealthy, we can take you from zero. And we can do it in a manner that will help you achieve your goals, keep you motivated, and do it safely.

We work hard to find the right fit for people. “Find your fit” is one of our taglines and that’s what we help you do.

If you think you may be interested in joining our Outlaw FitCamp family, learn more about becoming a franchise owner here. We’re growing quickly and you may be the perfect addition to our team! Contact us today to discuss the opportunity.