Our Mission

Coops was founded in April of 1993 in Rock Hill, South Carolina by Michael Cooper. Michael was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. Coops owns the land and buildings of all its locations in order to provide security. Coops is dedicated to the results of its members. Over the years we have trained thousands of members and helped them reach their goals. Some of the most common goals have been weight loss, health related, motivation, sports condition, fit after 50, life struggles, etc… Coops has made a family out if its members and community for many years.

Coops Personal Training Staff is directed by John DeFendis who has been featured on such shows as Hard Copy (4 times), ABC TV’s 20/20 with Barbara Walters, Fox News, Cnn, ESPN, The Joan Rivers Show, and NBC Sports. John has been a personal trainer for over 30 years. He started training people and helping them reach their goals long before personal training was a business. He has written a syndicated newspaper column called “The Fitness Expert” that was carried in 28 different newspapers and current writes a newspaper column called “Your Personal Trainer”.

John also won “Trainer of the Year” for 9 consecutive years for the state of Florida. His love of health and helping people is what inspires him to be passionate about his work. John’s expertise lies in: Weight Loss, Toning, Shaping, Firming, Sports conditioning, Senior Programs and Bodybuilding/Fitness.