---
title: "Equinox to Hire 5,000 Performance Coaches as Members Seek More Personal Training"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/6571ea16-a446-4149-9be4-d18afcae0ba9
source: "Athletech News"
original_url: https://athletechnews.com/equinox-to-hire-5000-performance-coaches-as-members-seek-more-personal-training/
author: "Courtney Rehfeldt"
category: "Fitness"
industry: "Fitness"
topics: ["Operations"]
published: 2023-05-16T22:29:28.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T18:08:23.585Z
image: https://athletechnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Equinox-feature.webp
---

# Equinox to Hire 5,000 Performance Coaches as Members Seek More Personal Training

**TL;DR:** Equinox plans to hire 5,000 performance coaches over the next two years to meet the growing demand for personal training options from its members. The luxury lifestyle fitness operator is emphasizing its performance-coach recruiting initiative and curating alliances to support its performance coaches.

*By Courtney Rehfeldt, originally published in Athletech News on 2023-05-16. [Read the original](https://athletechnews.com/equinox-to-hire-5000-performance-coaches-as-members-seek-more-personal-training/).*

## Key facts

- Equinox to hire 5,000 performance coaches
- Partnership with Lionel University for certification
- Collaboration with Hiring Our Heroes for military community

## Story

Equinox plans to hire 5,000 “performance coaches” over the next two years as a commitment to helping its members, who are increasingly demanding personal training options, the fitness operator announced. All performance coaches will hold a certification by a nationally accredited program.

Equinox says its experiencing unprecedented growth in its member community and sees a high demand for personal training. To match that demand, the luxury lifestyle fitness operator is emphasizing its performance-coach recruiting initiative, as well as curating alliances and building development programs to support its performance coaches.

Last fall, Equinox Group executive chairman Harvey Spevak reported that in-person fitness had returned and Equinox’s membership rates had improved.

## Membership growth

“People around the world want to live a high-performance lifestyle, and the desire to be a part of the Equinox community has never been stronger,” said Equinox president Scott DeRue. “To support our members, we are making a bold commitment of hiring 5,000 performance coaches, investing in their training and education and developing new personal training programs to help our members achieve extraordinary results.”

The personal training will offer Equinox members a unique and science-based approach to fitness while encouraging members to meet their individual health goals.

## Training programs

Equinox is also collaborating with Lionel University to develop a new certification program that will provide uncertified candidates with an “accelerated pathway” into Equinox’s training and development programs, with the cost fully covered by Equinox to assist qualified talent in becoming an Equinox performance coach.

Equinox has also partnered with Hiring Our Heroes, a nationwide initiative that assists veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses in finding meaningful work. The collaboration will allow military community members to become Equinox performance coaches, providing them with full scholarships to obtain their certification and receive continued training and development via the Equinox Fitness Training Institute.

“Equinox’s partnership with Hiring Our Heroes underscores our commitment to building a strong, diversified workforce,” said Alim Dhanji, executive vice president and chief people officer at Equinox. “We are honored to empower the military community with economic opportunities through our performance coaching programs that enable personal and professional growth.”

The luxury fitness operator recently debuted a boxing-inspired group fitness class in select New York City locations. The class, “Knockout,” was created by former WWE Diva Erika Hammond and features shadow boxing drills performed at a heart-thumping pace.

## Entities

- Fitness (sector)
- Athletech News (publication)
- Courtney Rehfeldt (person)
- Equinox (company)
- membership growth (topic)
- personal training (topic)
- certification programs (topic)
- performance coaches (topic)
- military partnerships (topic)

---
Originally reported by Courtney Rehfeldt, Athletech News (https://athletechnews.com/equinox-to-hire-5000-performance-coaches-as-members-seek-more-personal-training/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/6571ea16-a446-4149-9be4-d18afcae0ba9).