At the Rush Fitness Complex, we are always looking for motivated, driven, inspired leaders to carry the message of health and fitness to our staffs and members. Below are the leaders of our Fitness Department that work tirelessly to help our members reach their fitness goals:

Tony Gray, BS
Vice President of Fitness Services
tgray@therush247.com
Tony is completing his 10th year with the Rush Fitness Complex, being one of the original founders to help start the company!  Tony has a tremendous background in the health and fitness industry working with companies such as 24 Hour Fitness and the Apex Fitness Group.  Tony has been a personal trainer, national lecturer and Director of Education before beginning his Rush journey!  Tony oversees the entire Fitness Department which includes working with the District Fitness Managers, The VP of Education, the Director of Group Exercise as well as every Fitness Coach and Group Exercise Instructor to bring the best services and programs to you on a day to day basis!  Tony is also responsible for the purchase of every piece of equipment and the layout of all the clubs which he also works hand in hand with our Maintenance and Repair Specialists to provide you the newest equipment that is in tip-top shape!  Tony can always be found in one of our clubs working out on the floor or taking a Group Exercise Class, practicing what he preaches!

Ashley Pope, BS
District Fitness Manager for Greensboro, NC
apope@therush247.com
Ashley started with The Rush in 2001 while she was finishing her degree at the University of Tennessee.  Ashley had been one of the company’s top Fitness Coaches training for years at our Walker Springs Location.  After the company grew to 5 clubs in Knoxville, we branched off to Chattanooga and Ashley was promoted to the Fitness Manager position and opened our Hixson location, making that a huge success.  A short year after that, The Rush expanded to Greensboro, NC and Ashley was promoted again to District Fitness Manager and was tasked with overseeing the opening of our 4 initial clubs.  Since the Grand Opening, Ashley has spent time in Knoxville and since 2010 gone back to Greensboro to keep helping that region to grow!  Ashley is one of our bright leaders that is always coaching her teams the values of leadership and excellent customer service.  Ashley’s dedication and passion is directly responsible for the growth of our Fitness Coaching program in the Triad!  Ashley has always been a tremendous athlete (playing basketball, softball, volleyball) and can be found in our Greensboro clubs helping our members, staff and participating in either her own or a group workout daily.

Mandy Lawson, BS
District Fitness Manager for Knoxville, TN
mlawson@therush247.com
Mandy started with The Rush in 2005 as a Fitness Coach at our Walker Springs Location.  Mandy completed her degree from Tennessee Wesleyan College while playing soccer and softball.  Mandy followed in Ashley’s footsteps by becoming one of the Rush’s top Fitness Coaches in a very short amount of time and when The Rush expanded to Cleveland, TN, Mandy was promoted to Fitness Manager and piloted that club to finish a phenomenal grand opening, even winning The Rush’s Annual Company Contest.  After spending a year in Cleveland, training and developing great fitness coaches and future Fitness Mangers, Mandy was promoted to District Fitness Manger where she has spent time in both Knoxville and Chattanooga.  Currently, Mandy oversees our Knoxville Region for Fitness which includes 7 clubs.  Mandy is known for her constant "spunk” and energy and is currently developing our youngest staff of Fitness Managers to help service our Knoxville members.  Mandy loves to continue her athletic background and can always be found in our Knoxville clubs teaching, mentoring and participating in workouts to help our Knoxville members and staff get into the best shape they can be in!
 
Tara Enoch, MS
District Fitness Manager for Chattanooga, TN
tenoch@therush247.com
Tara has been with The Rush since 2005, starting as a Fitness Coach at our Farragut Location.  Tara completed her BS at Samford University and her MS at Louisiana State University where she completed her ATC credential (as well as her degree in Pedagogy) and worked with different sports teams at LSU and UT.  Tara was working as a part time Fitness Coach when our leadership staff realized that she had unbelievable talent and potential for our company.   Tara had her "moment of clarity” and realized the sky’s the limit with this growing company, dedicated herself full time and very shortly after that become the top Fitness Coach in the company.  After spending one year as the top Fitness Coach, it was time for Tara to get her shot at leading a team and when the call came to open up Greensboro and work with Ashley Pope, Tara become our Fitness Manager at our Brassfield Location in Greensboro, NC.  Tara did an amazing job opening that club and still holds a company record for revenue goals which she attributes to non-stop teaching and mentoring her staff on how to deliver the best Fitness Coaching possible.  After spending time in Brassfield, Tara was asked to bring her systems to our Randleman and Winston Salem locations for short periods before being promoted to the next level herself.  Tara has been our District Fitness Manager in our Greensboro region and now since 2010 has been in Chattanooga helping that region to grow and continue their success.  Tara has always been a competitive athlete participating in basketball, track, cross country and softball and continues her active ways by always being at the fore-front of new workouts.  In the last year, Tara has added becoming one of our most popular BTS (Rush Power, Rush Ride, Rush Step) Instructors to her resume, so if you are in the Chattanooga area, make sure to catch one of her classes!  Be warned:  you will have a great time!
 
Elisabeth Fouts, BS
District Fitness Manager for Asheville/Greenville
efouts@therush247.com
Elisabeth started with The Rush in 2005 at our Oak Ridge temporary facility.  Elisabeth graduated from the University of Tennessee with her degree in Exercise Science and found the Rush to be a perfect match to put her studies into action!  Elisabeth was an integral part of the Oak Ridge club from the time that we were in our temporary facility till we moved to the permanent location by coaching her clients to their highest abilities and going above and beyond and showing her great leadership skills at an early time.  Elisabeth spent a couple years honing her skills as a Fitness Coach in Oak Ridge and then was promoted to Fitness Manger where she made her mark at our Knoxville Center, Farragut and Oak Ridge clubs.  When the Rush expanded to Asheville, NC, Elisabeth stepped up to the challenge to oversee our Patton and Hendersonville clubs which have been very successful for the Asheville community.   Currently, Elisabeth oversees our Asheville clubs, our Winston Salem clubs and our newest addition: Greenville, South Carolina!  We couldn’t be happier to have Elisabeth leading the charge to our fourth state and newest community and "Rushify” Greenville!  Elisabeth was in the University of Tennessee’s Pride of the Southland Marching Band as well as served as the Captain of the Pride’s Flag Corp/Colorguard and continues to show her athletic background by regularly participating in her own workouts as well as being a regular in our BTS/Rush classes!  Elisabeth can always be found helping a club or staff member to either have a better experience or coach somebody up on something needed to better their training sessions.
 
Erin Hoppe
Director of Group Exercise at The Rush Fitness Complex
ehoppe@therush247.com
Erin Hoppe has been with The Rush since 2006.  Erin started as a member who enjoyed taking Yoga classes at our Oak Ridge Location and then decided that she enjoyed it so much, she wanted to become an instructor herself.  After completing her certification, she was welcomed to the Rush family as a Group X instructor where she not only taught Yoga but also added other formats to become a well-rounded instructor.  After seeing Erin’s passion and professionalism, she was promoted to oversee the Group X department within the Oak Ridge Club, which only lasted a few months until she received another promotion to oversee the entire Knoxville Region for Group Exercise.  Erin again stepped up to the plate, overhauled, organized and made improvements where needed which showed the Leadership Team that she needed to oversee the entire company in the Group Exercise Department.  In 2010, Erin was promoted to Director of Group Exercise and while working with Tony Gray was able to pioneer brining the very well known BTS (Body Training Systems) System to the Rush and branding it for our own members.  Our Rush Power, Rush Ride, Rush Step and now Centergy have become our most popular Group X classes and we have more on deck for 2011!  Erin loves spending her time with her family, watching MMA (she loves the arm-bar submission), reading and working out!   Erin not only oversees the entire department but still maintains her own teaching, so look for her on our Knoxville schedules and try a class!
 
Robert Rettmann, MS
Vice President of Education
rob@therush247.com
Click here to visit Rob's blog
Rob Rettmann graduated with his Master’s degree in Exercise Science from the University of California, Pennsylvania. Rob is currently the Vice President of Education for the Rush Fitness Complex which he has been a part of since 2005. Rob has previously been a full time Senior Educator for the National Academy of Sports Medicine, where he traveled the country instructing NASM’s Certified Personal Training workshop as well as presenting at many national conferences such as IDEA, TSI, IHRSA and Perform Better.  At the Rush, Rob and the Fitness Team have developed their own Fitness Coaching Curriculum that all Fitness Coaches (personal trainers) must experience before coaching any clients.  This curriculum is a combination of many different methods utilized in the industry and have proven to work for many different types of clients, from the beginner to the advanced.  Rob enjoys nothing more than educating and helping fitness professionals to become the best they can and is determined to uphold the Rush Fitness Complex’s training program to the highest standard possible.