Life Time Fitness has been synonymous with health and wellness in the metro Atlanta area for decades. But as needs change, so must any successful endeavor. Life Time has recently gone through a subtle rebranding as Life Time Athletic County Club, and the public has noticed.
“They clearly have a plan to be viewed as a wellness country club and not just a gym,” said one social media influencer. “And you can tell from their actual physical spaces. They all look luxurious and have esthetic designs now in these very subtle changes. So their branding is playing out perfectly to their plan.”
The Peachtree Corners location is one that completed the refresh in mid-2024.
“When you really look at what we can offer, we want to be that place for everybody,” said Sharon Randall, Georgia area director. “And when you have a sport like pickleball, you see all ages. You see families, you see parents with their kids and grandparents. That’s really where that sort of started. It really goes with our whole ‘healthy way of life’ philosophy; we have something for everyone.”
To be more family- and community-inclusive, Life Time Peachtree Corners significantly expanded its pickleball offerings, converting basketball courts to indoor pickleball courts and adding outdoor courts.
There are nine clubs in Atlanta, with seven currently operational and two more opening soon. The changes have paid off with a surge in participation — 400-500 unique players monthly among the clubs. And there are plans to expand even further.
Expansion and community building
Life Time emphasizes community building, hosting events and providing comprehensive fitness and social activities. The company also focuses on hiring top-tier instructors and maintaining high standards across their facilities.
Their decision to expand pickleball offerings wasn’t done on a whim. In an industry where nimbleness means many things, they have the ability to adapt to trends and put research behind those decisions.
“Our CEO is forward-thinking and always ahead of trends, with a history of successful executions,” said Carol Campa, Life Time’s pickleball lead. “Life Time conducts market research and pilots new programs in small groups before expanding them across the company.”
She emphasized the importance of strategic programming to ensure efficient use of space and community engagement.
“We see the certain trends out there in the communities, and we are very good at coming up with an action plan and really being able to execute it across the entire company and landscape,” said Randall. “Pickleball is one of those examples. We have many of them. Maybe it’s a new yoga format that’s coming or a new group fitness class that’s coming. When CrossFit was really big, we started what we call our alpha program.”
With clubs across the country, Life Time is able to test the waters, so to speak.
“We do a ton of market research to see what people are asking for and start it in a smaller section of our clubs with pilot programs in seven to 10 clubs across the country,” said Randall. “And when those things take off, and we’ve really figured out the kinks, we have a playbook and we’re ready to run with it.”
The pickleball plan started at a few clubs in the past few years.
“We tried it out on one side of the basketball court, converting it to three pickleball courts at a few of the clubs,” said Randall. “We saw that it worked, and then we started doing more and more. By the end of [this] year, they’ll be at every club that has two basketball courts. One side will be converted to pickleball.”
Rebranding and social aspects
Life Time’s rebranding aims to shift the focus from a tennis-centric club to a tennis and pickleball center with a social atmosphere.
“With the term ‘athletic,’ you’re thinking more about a fitness, big box type of place,” said Campa. “This is very much a tennis and pickleball center now. We want people to feel the social aspect. It’s not somewhere you just come in, go to your class and leave.”
The outdoor pickleball courts are adjacent to a full-service bar and lounge area. The indoor courts aren’t far from areas where members can set up remote work.
“We want them to feel the atmosphere of the country club,” Campa added. “So that’s what we’re going for with this — come in, play, stay, continue the growth of your community, go back and play some more.”
Kids Academy and community events
Current members are seeing the transformations, but prospective members are encouraged to come take a tour and see how Life Time is different.
“We ask a lot of questions and get to know [new members],” said Randall. “If it’s a family with kids, we have swim lessons. So we offer a complimentary month of swim lessons to get them started in their programming.”
The club’s kids academies offer programming throughout the day.
“It’s really cool when mom comes in and she goes to her yoga class and we match up our Kids Academy schedule to have our kids yoga class at the same time,” said Randall. “We also have something called Parents Night Out, where you drop off your kiddos and go out to dinner and enjoy some adult time.”
Additionally, Life Time will help map out an entire fitness plan based on preferences, schedules and personal goals.
“We help you feel part of the community,” Randall said. “Once you go and play pickleball, get to know a few people, or you go to a small group training class and then … miss a week or two, when you get back you realize you’ve been missed.”
She added for many it’s a great feeling when you start to have other accountability — partners throughout the club from relationships that you’ve built. And although physical fitness is a key part of the club, mental wellness is also important.
“This has always been, naturally, a bigger events community for us, just because of sheer space,” said Randall. “There’s enough room for wedding receptions in here.”
But when it’s not being rented out for private gatherings, there are member events.
“We have trivia nights, we have karaoke nights, we have burgers and grooves,” said Randall. “We’ve done pickleball mixers and glow in the dark where it’s black lighted and everybody dresses up in neon.”
Future goals and member engagement
Life Time aims to have at least 100 unique participants per court to show that the investment has paid off.
“Every club is hitting 150, and we’re looking at other possibilities,” said Randall. “We’re always going to continue to push that envelope to see what we can really do. We learn best practices from other clubs. Life Time hosts big PPA and MLB tournaments, with plans to continue these events and expand our reach.”
Replicating what works at other locations is a tried-and-true success model.
“We never rest on our laurels,” Randall added. “We’re always trying to set our expectations as high as possible, because that’s how we got to build this amazing company.”
This article is featured in the February/March issue of Peachtree Corners Magazine. The digital edition is available now.
