Ryan and Sommer Hahn are hitting their stride and seeing their mantras of “make a difference” and “put people first” come to fruition on three dynamic fronts where they have poured their time, love, resources, and energy over the past several years.
As co-owners of the innovative and transformational fitness franchise The Exercise Coach, a board member and active volunteers of the rapidly expanding Concordia Lutheran Schools of Omaha, and foundational leaders of the thriving GraceHill Church in Elkhorn, Nebraska, the Hahns are enjoying some life-changing returns on their significant life-mission investments. “Those are all places where we are seeing lives transformed and community created, which is what we strive to do with everything we’re involved in,” said Ryan Hahn, crediting his Christian faith with a call to lead in all three endeavors.
Since launching The Exercise Coach franchise in Omaha in 2020, the Hahns have pursued impacting the community by moving the needle on personal wellness while focusing on the 80 percent of people who don’t have a regular workout routine. With three locations in Omaha and four in St. Louis, Missouri, the couple has helped grow The Exercise Coach—which pairs a personal trainer with high-tech equipment for a safe, effective, and efficient 20-minute workout for adults of all ages and fitness levels—into a national leader in the space.
Their locations are one of the first franchises in the U.S. to launch a new, proprietary resistance machine that touts improvements in balance and cognitive health, and they recently added coach-assisted stretching to their proven strength training regimen. “Our business is serving a need, and Omaha needs The Exercise Coach,” said Hahn, noting the “strength changes everything” motto of the facilities. “We hear endless testimonials of the quality of life our program and coaches are creating, and we’re filling a need for busy people who need a fitness routine, or for people who want to transform the way they age.”
A top priority for the Hahns is their focus on building a staff leadership culture that will break the mold of a normal small business. The Hahns identify emerging leaders in each studio and have created leadership teams that run the day-to-day in the organization. The groups also read leadership books together and discuss applications to their business. They focus on developing these growing leaders by mentoring and walking through all aspects of life with them. “We try to go beyond what the job calls for in professional and personal development,” Hahn said. “This is something we find very fulfilling.”
To that community impact, you can add Ryan Hahn’s service to Concordia Lutheran Schools as president of the board during several years of monumental change for the Lutheran school system. He has presided over the Board as the school underwent a leadership reorganization, consolidated all grades K-12 onto one campus at 156th and Fort St., and completed a large construction project that added a Performing Arts Center, classrooms, and administration space—all while seeing enrollment jump to nearly 700 students. “It’s been remarkable how lives are being transformed and community created at the school,” he said. The Hahns’ three girls get to benefit from the amazing staff and faculty at the school.
The same could be said for the Hahns’ third circle of influence—GraceHill Church community they helped start with six other families nine years ago. Since launching in 2016, the couple has helped the congregation outgrow temporary venues, and on Easter Sunday the church will move into its first permanent home—a brand new buiding at 192nd Street and West Dodge Road that Hahn led as GraceHill’s Board president. “For us, it’s not about a building,” he explained. “But that will allow us to serve and impact a lot more people in west Omaha.”
The Hahns are going through a “bittersweet” transition in all three of their primary ventures as they move into new roles and hand the leadership reins to people that have come forward or have been hired, recruited, and raised up through personal and professional development. Hahn said, “We are thankful to have a business where can pour our heart into people. The heart stuff is most important to us, and not many people get the opportunity to build the kind of business we have, start a church, and be part of a school transformation. It’s been a great journey, and we’re excited to see what’s next.”
