MEET THE MIND BEHIND THE MISSION!
Meet Dr. John Dougherty
He’s a lifelong student of performance, pain, and potential. Conquer Fitness is where his story, science, and standards come to life.
More About John!
John started Conquer Fitness in Frisco, TX in January 2019. At the time he had no business experience, no clients, no potential clients, no background in marketing or sales, no employees, and no money.
Conquer was and is the pursuit of a lifelong dream.
Financed on two personal loans of 80k and 60k with 18% interest rates and maxing out 5 credit cards— John took a leap of faith and bet on himself.
Although his experience in business was non-existent, his belief in himself came from his experience in helping others transform their health and fitness.
John initially became a certified personal trainer in his freshman year of college at the University of Maryland. After graduating with a degree in Kinesiology, John attended George
Washington University and graduated with his Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree in 2014.
Over the next 5 years, John gained clinical expertise in diagnosing and treating any and all injuries, aches, and pains. He even became a Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopedics, a distinguishment only attained by 6% of all physical therapists.
A lifelong athlete, John transitioned from team sports to competitive bodybuilding during college and graduate school— competing in the top national competitions as a sponsored athlete throughout that time.
From the time John was a kid, he always dreamed of one day owning his own business, and after falling in love with strength training as a teenager and excelling as a physical therapist
after school— John was determined to combine his passion for fitness and rehab and to create something unique in the fitness space.
John realized there was a huge void in fitness and personal training. No one was addressing the needs of people over 40. He thought— there are plenty of kids programs for youth athletes, large group fitness programs are great for people in their 20’s and maybe even early 30’s who need a little push and some camaraderie, but what about after that?
The vast majority of our population spends nearly all of their work day stuck behind a computer screen. And by the time 40 rolls around, this means likely some low back or neck pain,
weakness in the shoulders, stiff knees, and much more. Not to mention low energy, added weight in all the worst places, and a schedule that is packed with responsibilities of a growing
family and building a career.
How is that person supposed to feel confident jumping in to an exercise program?
Enter Conquer Fitness—
John took all of his knowledge from a decade of scholastic and practical application in both fitness and rehab to create a place where people feel safe, welcome, understood, and empowered to become the absolute best version of themselves.
John’s personal mission statement is: “To relentlessly pursue the best version of myself on a daily basis— and to teach, inspire, and motivate others to do the same.”
It is that mission that propelled him from a kid with no business experience, no connections, and no money to one of the top gym owners in the entire country.
In the first 5 years, Conquer endured Covid, doubled down on its commitment to excellence and showing up different, and grew to be one of the most successful personal training gyms in
the United States.
In 2024, John decided to embark on his next “impossible” goal for Conquer Fitness, growing to 100 locations nationwide in the next 10 years. In just over a year he opened 4 new locations in
the DFW area, expanding the brand to Trophy Club, Las Colinas, Prosper, and McKinney. The next location is slated for later this year in Plano.
John’s motivation for growing the brand was two-fold. First to continue to transform as many lives as possible through fitness. Second, to create real careers for personal trainers and
fitness professionals that are in it for the right reasons and truly want to help people.
John now employs over 25 fitness professionals across Conquer Fitness and is elevating the standard for what a career in fitness can be.
He believes that in order to deliver the level of service that his clients deserve, he needs to
create opportunities to attract the top talent in the fitness world.
In addition to sitting in the CEO role for Conquer, John is a father of two beautiful children, Bailey (7) and Johnny (5). He notes, “My kids are my primary motivation. As a parent, we
always tell our kids to dream big and that when they grow up they can be whatever they want— but too many of us stop believing that for ourselves when we become adults. I don’t ever want to regret that I didn’t go for it, and the greatest gift I can give my kids is the permission and the conviction to pursue their dreams with all of their heart.”
John is also a featured author in numerous publications as a contributing fitness expert. He is also an acclaimed public speaker and can be seen on the Perform Better Tour in 2026 speaking to hundreds of personal trainers and gym owners. He is a sales coach to gym owners around the world and a two-time nominee for Gym Owner of the Year.
When asked what makes Conquer Fitness different from other gyms, John said this—-
“Of course you have the commitment to client experience at the top, and the obvious differentiators such as my background in physical therapy and the extensive training we do with all of the staff to create the best possible service and deliver the best results to our clients — all of that is true.
But, what really makes us great is this—
A recognition that life is hard— and that it becomes easier when you become mentally and physically stronger.
The conquer brand is not about finding the easy way out.. It’s about going in, to draw out the absolute best version of yourself.
That doesn’t come with convenience, ease, and excuses.. It comes from hard work.
Day in and day out. No quick fixes. No gimmicks—
But real life lasting transformations —
Real people, real work, real results.”
