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Group fitness has a funny history. For decades, it meant setting up next to friends or the mom down the street to run together, throw weighted medicine balls in each other’s general direction (a borderline hazard to any non-fitness person), and yell sweet nothings at the person next to you. And by sweet nothings, I mean anything from words of encouragement to colorful curses about how weak we are, depending on your communication style. But somewhere along the line, working out turned quiet, lonely, and hyper-individualized.
Manning Sumner is actively fighting that shift. The former Auburn football player turned CEO of Legacy has built a thriving community-based gym footprint across Florida and Nashville by betting against that silent, isolated gym culture.
Sumner’s path wasn’t a corporate strategy; it was born out of survival and serendipity. After back injuries derailed his football career in college, he turned to coaching. By the early 2000s, he found himself in Miami working as a stunt double, right where a pack of his NFL buddies spent their offseasons. Space was tight when his friends started asking to train together, forcing Sumner to group them up and pair them off out of sheer necessity. Legacy was born right there on the grass, anchored by what he now calls Partner Interval Training (P.I.T.).
"Arnold Schwarzenegger used to talk about it all the time," Sumner says. "I always have a better workout if I'm working out with somebody. So, being able to provide a partner-based workout for a group of 40 people is so cool to see."
That partner dynamic hits at a deep human level. Most powerlifters and gym-goers isolate themselves, drowning out the world with noise-canceling headphones to chase a solitary pump. While Sumner gets the desire to escape, he realized that shared struggle builds actual bonds. Science backs him up, too. The Köhler effect proves that people naturally push harder and perform better when working as a team than when grinding alone.
Instead of just burning calories, members at Legacy end up building real-world connections, business deals, and friendships over a shared goal.
"This one guy, he's a new member of my headquarters, he sells furniture, and he's like, bro, if it wasn't for Pitt, I wouldn't have my best year yet," Sumner says. "He keeps meeting people and selling more furniture. And it's like, how cool is that?"
The magic comes alive the second you step onto the floor. The environment hits an immediate contrast of rugged grit and industrial polish, featuring brand-new gear set against cold cement walls with "NO DAYS OFF" painted in bold block letters. During my visit, T.I. was blaring through the speakers, and the energy was infectious enough that wearing headphones felt almost criminal.
That emphasis on community is also why Sumner actively pushes back against the modern gym habit of popping in noise-canceling earbuds and zoning out. If you walk into Legacy, he wants you present, dialed in, and actually interacting with the room around you.
"I tell them to take their headphones off...enjoy being here," Sumner says. "And it's interesting, the ones that try it and do it, they always tell me, you know what? I had a better workout. I fed off that energy in there. So it's definitely an intentional space to provide a place of real connection."
For Sumner, that intention goes way beyond just sweating next to someone for forty-five minutes. He's building an entire ecosystem where fitness, business, and daily life naturally bleed into each other.
"We can just hang out and have a good time up here having a conversation," he adds. "We could have a meeting about a business deal. Or you could use this to get something done and have a Zoom call. Or you can meet your best friend and get a workout. Or you can meet your spouse and get in the cold plunge. You know what I mean? It's an environment for community, connection, [and] energy. And, to me, it's totally different."
That unique frequency requires a very specific type of leader running the room. The coaches bring a blend of serious authority (think a stern dad who refuses to hear your excuses) and contagious hype. They don't look or act like standard commercial gym trainers, mostly because Sumner intentionally seeks out staff with real-life experience and grit.
"So when you hire people, really find out their story," he says. "Find out, did they struggle? Is there something that happened in their life that now they've overcome it, and so now they have maybe a little chip on their shoulder, and they're trying to prove themselves? I like to hire former athletes because it helps having that mindset."
He also hires for a service-first attitude, expecting his team to operate more like life coaches than rep-counters. They check in on nutrition, mental health, and personal lives, understanding that everything outside the gym directly impacts how someone shows up on the floor.
Related: The Absolute Best Workout Routine for Men, According to Science
That holistic view brings full context to Sumner’s core ethos: "No days off." It was never about killing yourself in the gym seven days a week. It's about never taking a day off from taking care of yourself and showing up with your best effort.
"There's so much more to it than just lifting weights or running or cardio," Sumner says. "So I always say we're definitely more than a sweat."
Walking out of Legacy, it was easy to see why the concept catches fire wherever it lands. In a world full of silent gym floors where everyone stares at their own screens, Sumner built a place where people actually look each other in the eye, sweat together, and build real lives outside the turf. It isn't just about getting through a tough circuit; it's about remembering that none of us are meant to do the heavy lifting completely on our own.
