She Asked Three Times. Her Mom Said Yes.

The first time Kendra Fuentes asked her mom to open an ISI® Elite Training studio with her, the answer was no.

The second time, still no.

The third time, her mom said yes. And everything changed.

That single yes set off a chain of events: a real estate search across Atlanta, a hard pre-sales stretch, early hiring mistakes, fast failures, and faster lessons. It led to a facility that now runs on high fives, real names, and real stories. And at the center of all of it: a mother and daughter, doing it together.

A Former Athlete Finds Her Brand

Kendra discovered ISI® Elite Training in 2022. As a former athlete, she recognized something immediately. The programming, the movement patterns, the team energy on the turf. It clicked in a way that most fitness concepts never had.

"I fell in love with the programming and the workout," she says. "Being a former athlete, I identified with a lot of the movements and the blocks and kind of the team commonality of it all."

She got into the best shape of her life. And then a thought started forming: this was something her hometown needed. Atlanta deserved this brand. And Kendra was the person to bring it there.

Three Asks. One Yes. One Dream.

The first call she made was to her mom. Not a business partner. Not an investor. Her mom.

It took three attempts to get a yes. Kendra is the first to say she understands why. Opening a fitness concept from scratch, in a market where the brand is still growing, with no prior business background between them, is not a small ask. It is a financial commitment and a full leap into the unknown.

But Mary jumped.

"She took the ultimate leap of faith," Kendra says. "She had so much confidence in me being able to live out our dream. It's something I'll never be able to repay her for."

Today, Mary Richards is not just a parent who showed up for her daughter. She is the co-owner and co-franchise partner of ISI® Elite Training in Sandy Springs, Georgia. She is the person Kendra calls when things are hard. She is the voice that steadies everything.

"She's my biggest champion. She is my rock for all the tough conversations, and she inspires me every day to want to be better for the people here."

That is not a marketing line. That is what it looks like when someone believes in you before the proof exists.

The Hard Part Nobody Talks About

When her mom said yes, it went from zero to 100. Real estate in Atlanta took time. The right space did not come quickly. When it did, pre-sales turned out to be the hardest chapter of all.

Kendra had operational experience from previous work, but she had never sold a product that only existed as a description. She had never had to convince someone to invest in a workout they had not yet felt for themselves. She made early hiring mistakes. She ran into walls she had not seen coming.

"I had no prior business background to opening this up," she says. "I failed quickly and I learned a lot, and it's probably why we are where we are now, because I failed so many times."

That honesty is part of what makes her story worth telling. She did not arrive at a thriving ISI® Elite Training facility in Sandy Springs by having all the answers. She arrived by being willing to be wrong, adjust fast, and keep going. Her mom beside her for every single step.

What the Turf Actually Means

Ask Kendra about ISI® Elite Training today and she will tell you she gets chills.

"I love the brand of ISI. I can't say it enough. I think we have a product, we have a community, we have an experience that is untapped in the fitness market."

For her, the brand is not just the programming or the results, though she believes in both without reservation. It is the people. It is the culture that forms when athletes, beginners, and everyone in between show up to the same turf with the same intention and the same coaches in their corner.

"I bleed this brand. I love the people. I love the connections. I love the high fives. I love getting to know people's names and, more than that, diving into their story of what they're bringing in on the turf with them."

People bring things to the turf. Stress, grief, goals, fear, and hope. At ISI® Elite Training locations across the country, coaches and communities receive all of it, every session. That is the ISI® standard. That is what Kendra built.

This One's For Her

Kendra's story is one story. But it reflects something that runs through every ISI® Elite Training location nationwide: people showing up for each other, building something real, and choosing to do it alongside the people they trust most.

To every woman who has shown up, pushed hard, and lifted the people around her. On the turf and off it. This one's for you.

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Ready to build something of your own? Kendra had a vision and a person she trusted. That was enough to start. ISI® Elite Training franchise opportunities are open nationwide. Start the Conversation