personal trainer

studio manager

membership sales

head coach

fitness instructor

Orangetheory Fitness

Not the smartest place to work, make you feel like you are doing a good job then stab you in the back. One of the owners is completely disrespectful and doesn't know how to treat employees, this owner doesn't understand that the reason why the turnover rate is so high is because of that owner. Let's go of people for the at most ridiculous reason's, for the sake of just letting them go because they feel they don't need you anymore. The owner talks about reflecting on your self when when the owner doesn't even reflect on themselves and doesn't step back and think about what the owner is doing to drive employees out the door, also creates stories to make it seem like you're the problem.

Makes you feel as if you have no idea on what you're doing and tries to tell lies to your face making you seem as if you're the problem, doesn't look out for the nature or culture of the studio nor does the owner care about you as a person.

Completely numbers driven and doesn't look out for the members and what they want, tells lies about you to other employees and doesn't truly care about getting to know you or the members. Only benefit from working there is a free membership that you can use whenever you want other than that absolutely no good came from it expect the relationships I made with fellow staff members and studio members.

Doesn't realize that in order to keep members you need to have an employee that actually goes above and beyond for the member, I learnt nothing from this job. Doesn't make smart business moves and like I said does not care about the members and which staff member is actually there for the members of the studio and who is there just to earn commission, doesn't appreciate anything you do for the studio even if you go above and beyond for the studio they don't care.

I strongly recommend looking for another place to get work from, a company that actually cares about what you do for the studio. A place where the owner doesn't listen to one single staff member because they think their is a problem with a particular relationship, one where the owner cares for you and cares for the studio and fellow studio members.

It was an unfortunate experience as each studio is owned by a different franchisee and this one had no previous ownership, management, or fitness industry experience.

As such, the working conditions were abysmal. Staff members were often spoken to like imbeciles, told they were only allowed to work their given shift and would not be paid for overtime, but pressed into staying late to "help out on their own time".

The work conditions felt more like that of used car lot than a fitness studio. Some staff members found it increasingly difficult to keep working there as they were outright asked to lie to the clients regarding promotions and sign up incentives. Promises were continually withdrawn when it became inconvenient for the owners to follow through on them.

Staff were regularly promised large celebrations, bonuses, and incentives if certain quotas were met, but inconsistently followed through on.

Each time the staff would near a quota, the quota would move up again, making it near impossible for the staff to reach them and therefor the owners didn't have to keep their word.

The most difficult part of the job was the continually changing expectations from the owners and never being able to meet them.

Under new management, I believe the business itself would be successful, but as it stands, I find it difficult to believe they wouldn't keep losing members hand over fist.

As an SA, the highest percentage of commission you get is less then 5% at a one time payment depending on the membership you sell. Meaning you sell 1 membership and you get 4.8 % of that sale and never again. The minimum wage is low. It is not enough to support an adult living on their own.
OTF is a franchise company and the owners of the region expected a lot, were very unapproachable and didn't praise their employees enough. The only thing good was the actual Manager of this studio. 
The employment security is non existent. There are NO BENEFITS for full time workers. 
The SA's have to clean all of the studio including the workout areas, washrooms, yes toilets and showers. The coaches get paid double what the SA's make and can triple even quadruple the pay depending on how many members are in the class. 
Worked here for 3 months and I went backwards in my budgeting. Showed up for all my shifts, did all the tasks I had to do. Told the management this, and the General Manager did not even say anything. He came by our studio maybe twice in the 3 months I was there, and mostly stayed in the back office but expected us to sell, sell, sell. 
Also the owners are all family related, the GM, the social media manager, opener etc. So it's actually pretty intimidating and the assumptions can vary a lot to workers and members.

Former Employee – West Springs Location

In my experience, working at this location was extremely difficult due to poor leadership and a toxic work culture. The management style was highly unprofessional, and it often felt like favoritism played a role in how decisions were made. Communication was inconsistent, and staff were frequently micromanaged or treated in ways that felt belittling and disrespectful.

There was behavior I personally found inappropriate, such as revisiting social media accounts of former employees and making negative remarks in front of others. This contributed to a work environment that felt uncomfortable and, at times, hostile. In my opinion, this type of culture created a lack of psychological safety and trust among staff.

Scheduling was unpredictable, and I often received requests to cover shifts with very short notice. There were also multiple occasions where  pay was delayed or not received due to “system issues,” which added to the overall frustration.

In my case, I was not given any clear warning or notice before my employment ended. I later found out the job had been advertised before I was officially informed, which felt disappointing and unprofessional.

Overall, I would not recommend this workplace to others based on my personal experience. I believe there are healthier, more respectful environments out there.


OTF South is the worst company I have ever worked for. Not only will you have no work/life balance but you will be forced into a culture that is racist, full of drama and sees constant turnover. 

The company specifically only hires pretty, blondes and your Facebook will be looked at before your resume. If you aren’t “cute” or have a foreign name, the Regional Manager will throw out your application entirely. If this isn’t bad enough, their business practices are nothing shy of illegal. You will be forced to forge signatures on Membership Agreements and make it impossible for members to cancel. 

On top of this, you’re expected to close every sale and if you don’t, you’re in trouble. OTF South in particular can’t hold management and their studios are suffering as a result of the turnover.

If you’re hired as a Sales Associate and start making sales, the likelihood you’ll be promoted into Management is high, simply because there’s always a need. Manager salary is fairly substantial however they are paid out vacation meaning they are on call 24/7 and never get a break from the studio.

Also, the owners really try to enforce mandatory workouts on top of your hours - so overall, be prepared to eat, breathe and sleep Orangetheory if applying!

Working as an Assistant Manager at Orangetheory was a challenging and often frustrating experience. While I genuinely enjoyed helping members and supporting my team, the overall work environment made it difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Clients were frequently verbally abusive, and upper management did little to protect or support employees in these situations. The company’s main focus seemed to be on pleasing clients at all costs, even when it came at the expense of staff well-being.

Management was extremely demanding — if you didn’t answer messages or calls on your days off, it was frowned upon. It often felt like you never truly had a day off. Despite putting in extra hours, there was no overtime pay, and the expectation to always be available was draining.

Additionally, the company requires a 30-day notice to resign, and if you provide the standard two weeks, you’re essentially blacklisted from being rehired. This policy feels unfair and punishes employees for trying to leave professionally.

Overall, the experience taught me resilience and people skills, but the lack of recognition, unrealistic expectations, and poor management support made it an unsustainable work environment.



Incredibly toxic environment, they encourage teamwork then create incentives to put employees against each other. Everyone’s KPIs are on display because they seem to think employees are only good for is the numbers they produce. Management talks bad about employees and members behind their back. The legality of coach pay as a contractor is questionable when they are scheduled by name and required to be there a set time before and after the class that goes unpaid. They have regular monthly meetings, sometimes multiple a month, that are mandatory but unpaid. When these meetings do happen, there is no discussion over the time or day and it can be scheduled to happen the next day. They make you work your available hours but expect you to take workout classes during times when you’re not working, which when they hire lots of students is nearly impossible for them to do. Plenty of guilt and manipulation tactics are used to get what they want. It’s frustrating because the classes are amazing to coach but the culture and environment have created an absurd amount of turnover. 

The level of disarray and disorganization at this company was appalling. I went through 2 studio managers during my very short time there and while the first one wasn’t great, the second one wasn’t fully trained and was afraid of confrontation. 

There was no communication between sales team and management, except for the occasional passive-aggressive email. Management would tell you you were perfect to your face when you ask them directly for feedback but would talk unprofessionally about problems to staff in other departments (problems that you didn’t know you had!). 

Our studio was also severely understaffed and that made it so 1 employee had to do the jobs of 2 employees. 

For minimum wage, save yourself the headache and go somewhere else. There are plenty of other opportunities. This job should not be a career but should be okay for a student if they can handle a toxic work environment.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Supportive peers, and diverse members. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Internal operations are fundamentally flawed. The onboarding and training processes are rushed, overly scripted, and purely mechanical, leaving staff ill-equipped and stifling professional autonomy. The lack of strong upper management, let alone total absence of leadership—is modeled by ego-driven micromanagement.

There is a glaring lack of accountability and integrity within the upper management tier. Staff welfare is consistently sidelined in favor of aggressive members and revenue targets, creating a culture that lacks basic professional safeguards.

HR is inefficient at best, demonstrating an obtuse understanding of how to maintain healthy internal attrition or foster a sustainable workplace. Additionally, for a fitness brand, there is a concerning lack of depth in the fitness department, which suffers from inept fitness literacy.

It's a high-pressure, low-support environment that is not conducive to professional development or long-term career health.

I have been with OrangeTheory for almost 5 years now, and the Victoria/Westshore studios are among the best. Having began in Edmonton, the environment and culture is worlds apart. 
The sales staff and team of trainers work together, supporting one another both in sales and in member care. The studio managers and head trainer, are there to help you succeed and progress, answering questions and helping along the way. As a trainer, it's rare to find constructive criticism in the industry, if you're helping another trainer evolve, you can potentially lose clients, that is not the environment here. The focus on members is an easy shift with all the background work, the music, and the workouts, created for you to deliver. Using the heart rate monitor has single handedly changed my approach to fitness. The results! By focusing on certain heart rate zones, the body is designed to respond better, the science within the body is what does it. If you haven't checked it out already, you should!

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Personal trainer 110 salaries reported	$49.14 per hour
Studio manager 42 salaries reported	$20.38 per hour
Membership sales 55 salaries reported	$18.02 per hour
Head coach 26 salaries reported	$45.77 per hour
Fitness instructor 15 salaries reported	$47.67 per hour

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