Taylor Wiesner WRTS Dallas Family

Dallas Named Regional Training Facility

September 21, 2020 | In: Gym Owners

We are excited to announce that We Rock the Spectrum – Dallas is the newest Regional Training Facility and its ROCKSTAR owners are Taylor and Joseph Wiesner! In the short seven months they have been open, WRTS – Dallas has seen massive success in their programs and private facility rentals. This has been especially true throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.  To get the full scoop and all the fun details, we sat down (virtually!) with Taylor to find out more about her and how she has been a powerhouse leader in her community and within the We Rock family. Here’s what she had to say:

What have you done with your gym that you have found the most success with? Has anything you’ve done surprised you because of the response?

WRTS Dallas Climbing Rock WallBefore COVID hit, we were only open for about seven weeks. During that time, we were finding a lot of success with our membership options. We had over a hundred families sign up for our monthly memberships that allowed for unlimited visits. I think it’s because our community has a large population of children, and many families liked the idea of coming in whenever they wanted, instead of paying $12 and having to stay for the two whole hours to get their money’s worth. 

Since COVID, we have had tremendous success with many of our drop-off programs and camps. We recently started doing a Drop-off Recess program that parents have been loving. They get to drop their kids off and we’re pretty much just running around the gym with them for two and a half hours!

How have you seen your gym benefit the Dallas community in the short 7 months you opened your doors?

We have seen our gym benefit the Dallas community tremendously, for both the special needs and neurotypical kids in our neighborhood. As I said, we have a large population of kids, with many being ages eight and under. So, a lot of the families in our neighborhood love our gym and really enjoy bringing their kids. 

But, what’s amazing is that we’re also seeing a lot of special needs families driving from all over Dallas. Many communities in Dallas are lacking places like ours so a lot of our families are driving almost an hour each way to spend 90 minutes at our gym. It’s incredible how quickly we have become a huge resource to these families that they’re willing to make that journey every time.

How have your customers been responding to the COVID precautions?

Most parents have been very supportive of COVID precautions, especially mask-wearing. I think it helps that our county requires masks, so parents are responding pretty well. A lot of our kids are actually wearing masks, even though it’s not required of them. Our county doesn’t require masks for kids under 10, but over half of the kids come with them on. In general, everyone’s been pretty receptive.

What does it mean for you to be announced as one of the new Regional Training Facilities for WRTS?

We’re very excited to be announced as one of the new Regional Training Facilities! We’re only as strong as our “weakest” gym so we are very eager to be able to train new owners and foster success for new upcoming gyms. We’re ready for anything we can do from Dallas to help our fellow gym owners!

What is next in store for WRTS Dallas?

We are actually planning to open at least three more gyms in Dallas. Our main focus is to open in areas that don’t have many great play options for kids, especially for families who have special needs children or children with different abilities. I think just being closer to these families so they don’t have to drive far distances will be a tremendous benefit in and of itself. 

While you have found areas of success during COVID-19, the pandemic presents its challenges for everyone, especially small business owners. How have you approached and overcome these obstacles?

Virtual Learning Camp - WRTS DallasCOVID has definitely been a challenge for us, but it’s allowed us to be more creative. Since our old business model of having tons of kids in the gym at once is not an option, we have had to think creatively and whip up new ideas, programs, and camps that are safe and sanitary, which has been quite fun. What really helped a lot was the fact that we could lean on other gym owners for support and piggyback off of their programs. I would say that being a part of a franchise, with a strong corporate team, has definitely been crucial to us in overcoming obstacles.

On another note, we’ve been fortunate that, as soon as we started doing the private facility rentals, it really took off in our community. We have pretty much been booked every week and our drop-off programs have seen a lot of success. Right now, we’re just continuing to be careful and vigilant with our COVID precautions so our parents can be at ease.

Looking back on the past year of being a part of the WRTS franchise, what has been your favorite memory?

Our grand opening was huge. It was a really big event for us. I’ve been working with the special needs community in Dallas and I’ve seen the need for this, but just to see, on the morning of our grand opening, all the families who came – it was truly an amazing experience. Especially since it was snowing on our grand opening day, I thought no one would come out, but I met so many families that day that I still talk to a lot. 

There was this one family who drove two and a half hours just to come to our gym because they never had a place where their kid could actually go play. I remember the mom telling me, “We’ve never been anywhere like this with him before, ever.” And there he was, playing, zip-lining, and interacting with other kids. So, it really was cool that there were so many special needs families who showed up that day. What’s great is that a lot of parents connected at our opening and now they rent out our gym together, which I love!

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Way to go, Taylor! Even amidst the biggest obstacles, our gym owners are seeing just how impactful their facilities are. Let’s keep ROCKIN’!