About Us

Meet Our Team

Our Story

Kris & Erika Gruner

WIN Athletic Club Owners

Kris was an All-American, Division III football player and Erika was a varsity swimmer at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. “We met our Senior year in a class called “Teaching and Coaching Individual Sports.” Married for almost 30 years, Kris and Erika have continued their love of fitness and coaching. Kris has coached football for 15 years – the last 5 for the Evanston High School Wildkits.

Meet the Team

Family of Passionate Professionals

Join The Team!

Kris Gruner

WIN Owner, Co-Founder, Instructor

Kris Gruner spent the first 25 years of his career in the commodity option trading business where he built and managed his firm's risk. Along the way, he trained and coached many young traders the art of risk taking. At the end of 2017, he decided to retire from the option trading business.

Having been a collegiate athlete and high school football coach for many years, Kris decided to join with a business partner, Chris Falcon, and create an entirely new business built around fitness and performance. Kris’s passion has always been teaching and coaching to help connect people and build relationships. That energy is now fully focused on building the WIN community. A community committed to a fitness experience that is better shared!

Kris teaches Punch45 and HIIT45 as well as Youth SAQ

Erika Gruner

WIN Co-Owner, Administrator

Erika Gruner was a Division 3 collegiate athlete as a swimmer at Depauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. At Depauw, she met her husband and co-founder of WIN Athletic Club, Kris Gruner, in a class called “Teaching and Coaching Individual Sports.” While coaching for the Evanston McGaw YMCA swim team, Erika competed in several triathlons in the Chicago-area. Aside from athletic pursuits, Erika worked as an account-executive for Fedex and then became a stay at home mom for her 3 children while running her own small computer consulting business.

She is a spinning certified instructor and loves to fill in when needed teaching StrongSpyn and PLYOSpyn. Her main focus is building a strong community at WIN Athletic Club while keeping the administration of building a new business in check.

Heather Hughes

Power Sculpt Fitness Instructor

Creator of the Power Sculpt Fitness™ method: a variety of sequenced intervals within a group fitness setting designed to motivate, challenge & focus. Provide dynamic workouts to a wide-population base that include the perfect combination of strength, cardio & core training for maximum results.

Patrick Hughes

Power Sculpt Fitness Instructor

If you are looking for a no-nonsense, muscle-burning workout - check out Patrick's killer Power Sculpt Fitness classes! As a certified group fitness & TRX Instructor, Patrick is ready to challenge you through his ultra-effective sweat sessions! A competitive runner & triathlete, Patrick utilizes his education & training experience to provide strength & endurance sequences that will leave you feeling accomplished & successful. His fast-moving, full-body classes will take your fitness to the next level!

Samantha Bartlett

WIN Instructor

"Since her teenage years, Sam has turned to sports and fitness as a stress reliever and method for living fully. Having been an avid lover of HIIT, running, yoga and Pilates for a long time, Sam has always sought ways to empower people through movement and strength building. Sam's first teaching role was in the form of yoga and yoga sculpt; she discovered the healing power of yoga in 2010, which quickly inspired her to become a 200 RYT and Yoga Sculpt instructor. A few years later Sam walked into her first reformer Pilates class and was changed yet again. She fell in love with the mind-body connection required to flow through a sequence and the feeling of length, strength, and calmness she held post-class. Sam quickly became certified to teach Pilates in downtown Chicago and loved building a community through group reformer classes.

Sam spent many years teaching yoga, Pilates, and bootcamps, enjoying the relationships she built outside of her "full-time job." Having recently moved to the northshore, Sam was thrilled to find WIN. What an amazing community of caring and uplifting people; she felt it was the perfect place to begin teaching again! She is excited about the opportunity to help grow the reach of WIN and foster group connections once more. Join her for a group class experience inspired by her many fitness loves; she hopes you will leave feeling stronger, more energized, and proud of the body you own!"

Mara Franken

WIN Instructor

Mara Franken brings her heart to every class she teaches. She's had a passion for fitness and helping others her entire life. Before becoming a pilates instructor, she taught Kindergarten in Chicago for twelve years. During this time she developed movement and dance classes for children. She truly enjoys helping people of all ages find the fun in fitness. In 2019, Mara discovered HIIT Pilates. She loved the muscle burn and mental clarity she felt after each class. About a year later, Mara took the plunge and became an instructor. She strives to make each person in the room feel their very best. Through positive coaching, amazing music and a ton of energy, Mara brings it all. Her classes are powerful, engaging and always a party. You will feel it in your mind and body. Mara is part of the Glenview community. She lives with her husband, two children and pet dog. When Mara is not working out, she is teaching toddler music classes, volunteering, and loves to travel with her family.

Jesse Goldman

Kids Club Childcare

Madison Horowitz

Front Desk / Kids Club Childcare