Walking Away from Comfort & Success to Build Something New
By Burn Boot CampAugust 4, 2026Two professionals. Two very different career paths. Neither from the fitness industry.
Tamara Roberts built her career in corporate leadership at two of the nation’s best-known corporations. Chris Roberts came from a background in music production, managing logistics and operations for major touring rock bands.
Today, they are Burn Boot Camp franchise owners in Auburn, CA.
But that wasn’t always the plan. Both had built stable, successful careers. They were comfortable and neither was being forced to make a change.
The next logical question becomes: What leads people to walk away from something that is working to build something entirely new?
When Comfort Starts to Feel Like a Limitation
The assumption is that people make major changes when something goes wrong. For the Roberts, that wasn’t the case.
Tamara had built a long, successful career, working her way up over more than two decades in corporate environments. From the outside, everything looked exactly as it should.
But internally, something shifted. She described that moment clearly:
“So, I was having a great career run and was sitting there one day going, ‘God, I’m staring at this computer screen and really not sure what I want to do with the rest of my life. What do I want to be when I grow up?"
-TAMARA ROBERTS
This isn’t burnout or failure, but rather the realization that continuing down the same path would likely lead to more of the same, even if that path was comfortable and successful.
What does It Feel Like to Step into Something you've never done before?
Exploring that question led The Roberts into unfamiliar territory.
Neither Tamara nor Chris had a background in fitness. Their experience came from completely different industries, where success looked very different from running a community-based gym.
This kind of experience gap stops most people from moving forward. For Tamara, it showed up as doubt, but not in the way people might expect:
“As I traveled the path of gym ownership, impostor syndrome consistently set in, oh you can’t do this, you can’t do that,”
-TAMARA ROBERTS
“But I think my 26 year career in the corporate world helped me see what my capabilities were and I thought, well maybe I can do this.”
-TAMARA ROBERTS
That’s the difference. The transition to Burn ownership didn’t start with confidence, but a strong determination to build something meaningful, regardless of a lack of experience.
What Turns an idea into something real ?
The shift from thinking about change to actually pursuing it rarely comes from analysis alone. In this case, it came from experience.
Tamara had been a member at her local Burn Boot Camp. What started as a personal commitment became something more meaningful over time.
That experience reframed the opportunity.
“I came home and told Chris that this is something that I want to look into because I believed in what Burn Boot Camp had done for me.”
-TAMARA ROBERTS
From Chris’s perspective, the shift in focus was just as clear.
“I definitely saw her passion for helping others and when she really started looking at the franchise opportunity, we sat down and talked about it.”
-CHRIS ROBERTS
Can Two People From Different Backgorunds Make the Same Decision ?
Burn gym ownership was not a solo decision for either Tamara or Chris. They approached it from completely different professional backgrounds. One rooted in corporate leadership, and the other shaped by decades in music production.
What aligned them wasn’t where they had come from, but where they wanted to go next.
What Is The Part of Gym Ownership that People Don't Expect?
Once they made the transition to become a Burn franchise partner, the focus shifted from deciding to building and that’s where the reality of ownership set in.
Chris described it in the most practical terms:
“You wear many hats when you start a business,” he says. “I’m the business analyst at times, and next thing you know, I’m cleaning the showers and making sure the sound system is running fine. Tam does most of the day-to-day operations, as far as staffing and everything else. I take care of the back end.”
-CHRIS ROBERTS
That’s the part about gym ownership that often gets overlooked. It isn’t just thinking about strategy or growth, but rather doing whatever it takes to keep things moving.
Individual Backgrounds, similar patterns
Despite their different careers, a consistent pattern emerged during this journey. Neither Tamara nor Chris came from a fitness background, and neither needed to. What they brought instead was experience in leadership, decision-making, and operating in complex environments.
More importantly, this wasn’t a decision driven by necessity. They weren’t trying to escape something, but rather choosing something new. That distinction is what makes such a transition meaningful.
From a Defined Path to a Different Direction
Leaving a corporate career is often framed as a leap, but in this case, it was something more measured; a shift in direction supported by experience, shaped by belief, and reinforced by Burn’s highly supportive structure behind them.
Over time, such life transformations become less about what was left behind and more about what’s ahead.
From the Corporate Path to Burn Ownership
Stories like this are not about one specific path, but rather recognizing a moment that feels right and deciding what to do with it.
Tamara and Chris came from different industries, different roles, and experiences, but what made all the difference was their willingness to take what they knew and apply it in a new way.
Burn Boot Camp provides a proven, successful and supportive model where franchise partners focus on leading the business, building a team, and making a strong impact in their communities.
If you’d like to learn more about what being a Burn Boot Camp Franchise Partner could mean to you and your future, contact us today to explore the opportunity.
Back to BlogTwo professionals. Two very different career paths. Neither from the fitness industry.
Tamara Roberts built her career in corporate leadership at two of the nation’s best-known corporations. Chris Roberts came from a background in music production, managing logistics and operations for major touring rock bands.
Today, they are Burn Boot Camp franchise owners in Auburn, CA.
But that wasn’t always the plan. Both had built stable, successful careers. They were comfortable and neither was being forced to make a change.
The next logical question becomes: What leads people to walk away from something that is working to build something entirely new?
When Comfort Starts to Feel Like a Limitation
The assumption is that people make major changes when something goes wrong. For the Roberts, that wasn’t the case.
Tamara had built a long, successful career, working her way up over more than two decades in corporate environments. From the outside, everything looked exactly as it should.
But internally, something shifted. She described that moment clearly:
“So, I was having a great career run and was sitting there one day going, ‘God, I’m staring at this computer screen and really not sure what I want to do with the rest of my life. What do I want to be when I grow up?"
-TAMARA ROBERTS
This isn’t burnout or failure, but rather the realization that continuing down the same path would likely lead to more of the same, even if that path was comfortable and successful.
What does It Feel Like to Step into Something you've never done before?
Exploring that question led The Roberts into unfamiliar territory.
Neither Tamara nor Chris had a background in fitness. Their experience came from completely different industries, where success looked very different from running a community-based gym.
This kind of experience gap stops most people from moving forward. For Tamara, it showed up as doubt, but not in the way people might expect:
“As I traveled the path of gym ownership, impostor syndrome consistently set in, oh you can’t do this, you can’t do that,”
-TAMARA ROBERTS
“But I think my 26 year career in the corporate world helped me see what my capabilities were and I thought, well maybe I can do this.”
-TAMARA ROBERTS
That’s the difference. The transition to Burn ownership didn’t start with confidence, but a strong determination to build something meaningful, regardless of a lack of experience.
What Turns an idea into something real ?
The shift from thinking about change to actually pursuing it rarely comes from analysis alone. In this case, it came from experience.
Tamara had been a member at her local Burn Boot Camp. What started as a personal commitment became something more meaningful over time.
That experience reframed the opportunity.
“I came home and told Chris that this is something that I want to look into because I believed in what Burn Boot Camp had done for me.”
-TAMARA ROBERTS
From Chris’s perspective, the shift in focus was just as clear.
“I definitely saw her passion for helping others and when she really started looking at the franchise opportunity, we sat down and talked about it.”
-CHRIS ROBERTS
Can Two People From Different Backgorunds Make the Same Decision ?
Burn gym ownership was not a solo decision for either Tamara or Chris. They approached it from completely different professional backgrounds. One rooted in corporate leadership, and the other shaped by decades in music production.
What aligned them wasn’t where they had come from, but where they wanted to go next.
What Is The Part of Gym Ownership that People Don't Expect?
Once they made the transition to become a Burn franchise partner, the focus shifted from deciding to building and that’s where the reality of ownership set in.
Chris described it in the most practical terms:
“You wear many hats when you start a business,” he says. “I’m the business analyst at times, and next thing you know, I’m cleaning the showers and making sure the sound system is running fine. Tam does most of the day-to-day operations, as far as staffing and everything else. I take care of the back end.”
-CHRIS ROBERTS
That’s the part about gym ownership that often gets overlooked. It isn’t just thinking about strategy or growth, but rather doing whatever it takes to keep things moving.
Individual Backgrounds, similar patterns
Despite their different careers, a consistent pattern emerged during this journey. Neither Tamara nor Chris came from a fitness background, and neither needed to. What they brought instead was experience in leadership, decision-making, and operating in complex environments.
More importantly, this wasn’t a decision driven by necessity. They weren’t trying to escape something, but rather choosing something new. That distinction is what makes such a transition meaningful.
From a Defined Path to a Different Direction
Leaving a corporate career is often framed as a leap, but in this case, it was something more measured; a shift in direction supported by experience, shaped by belief, and reinforced by Burn’s highly supportive structure behind them.
Over time, such life transformations become less about what was left behind and more about what’s ahead.
From the Corporate Path to Burn Ownership
Stories like this are not about one specific path, but rather recognizing a moment that feels right and deciding what to do with it.
Tamara and Chris came from different industries, different roles, and experiences, but what made all the difference was their willingness to take what they knew and apply it in a new way.
Burn Boot Camp provides a proven, successful and supportive model where franchise partners focus on leading the business, building a team, and making a strong impact in their communities.
If you’d like to learn more about what being a Burn Boot Camp Franchise Partner could mean to you and your future, contact us today to explore the opportunity.
Back to Blog