About Us

Our Approach

Our business is a reflection of our years of competitive sports performance, passion for detailed coaching, and love of sporting events that have rooted a desire for constant improvement among our athletes, yet a focused eye on safe exercise mechanics.

The approach we take involves sound strength and conditioning principles, fun and challenging workouts, and a motivated community of athletes that are dedicated to elevating each other to explore new levels of fitness success.

Meet Us

Our Coaches

Our team of coaches has a culture of discipline and passion for achievement. Success for us means that we make a difference in our members’ lives, provide a high-quality service that delivers results, and create an environment where our members look forward to visiting us each week, meeting new friends, and learn how to make fitness a lifelong endeavor.

Since our start, we’ve been privileged to work with many of Greenville’s most driven and focused people pursuing elevated fitness. No matter if you’re a firebreather or an office cubical dweller, all our members embody the “Warrior Athlete State Of Mind”- Athletes practice, train, set goals, sacrifice, stay focused…You can do those things as well.

Billy Fletcher

Master Quantified Strength Coach / Owner

Billy fell in love with working out and playing sports at a young age. Sports were a great outlet as well as a form of expression for someone who was very introverted. Being smaller, he was encouraged by very supportive coaches to start lifting weights to get bigger and stronger. The changes he saw and felt started a lifetime of love and passion for training. This passion for training himself grew into a passion for training others. He saw that he could help others achieve the same benefits he had attained and have a positive impact just as his coaches had influenced him.

While a student at Clemson University working at Clemson Nautilus, he jumped at the opportunity to be a personal trainer at one of the first one-on-one training facilities in Greenville. He has spent the last 30+ years working in the health and fitness field as a trainer and coach. He has spent much of that time coaching and training individuals one-on-one but has also coached groups in both fitness and martial arts. The common mission over the years is to maintain a growth mindset searching for better, safer, and more efficient methods of improving the quality of people’s lives physically, mentally, and spiritually. Ultimately his goal is to help clients and students “Close the Gap” between where they are now to becoming their best selves in order to live their best lives.

Credentials
  • SuperSlow Level1,2, and Master Instructor
  • Black Belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu under Romero”Jacare” Calvacanti
  • Mental Performance Mastery certified coach
  • Tacfit certified coach
  • Tacfit Clubbell certified
  • Precision  Nutrition certified
  • SEALFIT certified
  • SEALFIT one week Academy, 20x, and Kokoro 21 graduate
  • Blauer Tactical Systems Personal Defense
  • Miletich Fighting Systems coach
  • World Kettlebell Fitness Trainer
  • CrossFit Level 1
  • CrossFit Kettlebell
  • CrossFit Powerlifting
  • CrossFit Kids
  • CrossFit Mobility
  • CrossFit Endurance

Lara Farnsworth

Fletcher Fitness

Braelen Meredith

Speed Shop

Rafael Rosendo

Alliance Jiu Jitsu

Logan Smith

Alliance Jiu Jitsu

Fletcher Fitness

Kevin Ballenger

Troy Saighman

Devon Pace

Christy Mills

Alliance Jiu Jitsu

Damon LaChapelle

Jed Wenz

Lara Farnsworth

Master Quantified Strength Coach/Program Director

Lara has been involved in the fitness industry since 1989, both as a client and coach. She began training with Billy Fletcher in 2007. Lara’s experience and understanding of the industry helped her appreciate Billy’s training philosophy and coaching style. With his encouragement, she began coaching group classes in 2012 which led her to pursue numerous training opportunities and certifications which she now applies to each of her client’s fitness goals.

Lara’s background as a Social Worker helps her understand and connect with her clients. Her passion for helping people achieve fitness for life makes her very approachable and she loves to work with people of all ages and fitness levels.

Credentials

  • REC (Resistance Exercise Conference) attendee 2022 and 2023
  • Tacfit Level 1 Certification 2020
  • Flowfit Seminar 2019
  • Tacfit Seminar 2018
  • Parisi Speed School Level 2 Advanced Certification 2015
  • Training for Warriors Level 2 Certification 2015
  • Parisi Speed School Training and Testing Week 2014
  • Training for Warriors Level 1 Certification 2014
  • Blauer Tactical Systems Personal Defense Readiness Fundamentals Coach Certification 2013
  • CrossFit Defense Level 1 Trainer Certification 2013
  • CrossFit Gymnastics Certification 2012
  • CrossFit Level 1 Certification 2012

Braelen Meredith

Speed Shop

Braelen was born and raised in Woodruff, SC where he graduated from Woodruff High School in 2010. While in high school, Braelen was a member of the football, baseball and wrestling teams. After graduation, he attended North Greenville University on a football scholarship. He was a 3-year starter at outside linebacker. Braelen was an NCCAA (National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association) All American and second team preseason All American for NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division 2. He also participated in the 2013 National Bowl and 2014 South Carolina Collegiate All Star Game. Braelen graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Sports Management. After graduation, he accepted a position as a Graduate Assistant Strength Coach and went on to receive his Master’s of Business Administration in 2015.

Credentials

  • Bachelor of Science in Sports Management 2014
  • Master’s of Business Administration 2015
  • Parisi Performance Coach Certification 2016
  • Completed Parisi Program Director Mastery Series 2016

Rafael Rosendo

Alliance Jiu Jitsu

Rafael began his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training in 1997 and attained his black belt from Edmilson Alves in 2002. Head instructor at Alliance Greenville in South Carolina, Rafael is a very technical teacher as well as a fierce successful competitor; he can both teach and do.

As a competitor, Rafael has medaled in countless competitions. His most recent successes include 2008 and 2009 Lutador Open Class winner, 2008 NAGA Gi and No Gi Winner in Georgia, 2009 Copa America Open Class Gi and No Gi Winner, and 2009 International Open in New York 3rd Place Middleweight and Open Class first place.

Rafael continues his personal improvement as part of the Alliance Team with instruction from Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti and as a part of Alliance Crossfit. He represents and lives all of the best qualities of a true Brazilian Jiu Jitsu warrior.

Logan Smith

Alliance Jiu Jitsu

Logan began his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training in January 2013. He has trained under Rafael Rosendo for his entire BJJ career and received his black belt in October 2021. His passion for BJJ was developed through countless hours of training under Rafael’s tutelage. He is a dedicated and detailed teacher who strives to help his students improve on the mat and show them how BJJ can help in other aspects of their lives. He enjoys testing his skills in competition as well, medaling in IBJJF tournaments across the country.

KEVIN BALLENGER

Quantified Strength Coach

Kevin is a native to upstate South Carolina, born and raised in Travelers Rest. He has a bachelors degree in psychology from the University of Georgia. With a fourth degree black belt in Shotokan karate from Master Kevin Hudson, he owned and operated Hurricane Martial Arts for nearly 15 years. Turning to a more traditional Japanese karate he now owns and operates Dark Corner Budo.

Growing up playing high school football and studying martial arts for nearly 30 years, he realized the importance and influence of what being a coach means. He has a passion for helping people achieve their fitness goals, mind, body and spirit.

Troy Saighman

Quantified Strength Coach

Becoming a certified personal trainer was always in the cards for Troy Saighman. He found his love for fitness early on while wrestling throughout high school. He went on to do Jiu-Jitsu and later progressed to high-intensity strength training. He became a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports & Medicine in 2021.

As a previous client and now trainer at The Optimization Lab, Troy promotes that consistent effort leads to great results. Troy coaches his clients to push through stress to close the gap between who they are now and the best version of themselves. What Troy enjoys most about being a certified personal trainer is the ability to impact others’ lives in a positive way. His motto is: You don’t know what you are capable of unless you try.

Devon Page

Quantified Strength Coach

Motivated by a natural competitive spirit and the desire to stay one step ahead of her genetics, Devon has always found a gym in which to work out.  For the majority of her adult life that gym has included Billy Fletcher as a coach, the owner, or both. She started working out with Billy at Clemson Nautilus while a student at Clemson University, and in moving to Greenville she reconnected with him and his personal gym. So now after twenty-plus years of his instruction, participating in the physical and nutritional challenges of the gym, and retiring from the active duties of motherhood, it only seemed like a natural progression to move forward from strictly Fletcher Fitness client to also Fletcher Fitness coach.

She has a light-hearted attitude but believes full-heartedly in the gym’s motto of “Commit, Show Up, Don’t Quit. Become Your Best Self.”  And when asked by others if the workouts ever get easier, Devon honestly replies “If you push yourself the answer is no, but life certainly does.” 

Christy Mills

Quantified Strength Coach

Sports and fitness have always been a driving influence for Christy. Whether playing ball in the yard as a child, participating in volleyball, basketball, and softball as a high school athlete, or shooting competitive Olympic-style Air Rifle at Clemson University, Christy has always been involved in a team, one way or the other.  When she found Alliance Champions, she knew she had found another team of which to be a part. The core values at Alliance Champions resonated with Christy and soon found herself moving from client to coach under Billy Fletcher’s supervision.  It has been a decision Christy has embraced on her path to finding her best self.
 
The thing Christy loves most about sports and fitness is the self-confidence, discipline, and sense of belonging that they can instill and how each goes hand in hand with the other. Christy enjoys helping others find these things in themselves. Her passion is guiding beginners, people that need a little extra confidence, and anyone wanting to try something new, to a path that help leads to their best self. High fives and WHOOOOs along the way are to be expected.
 
Christy is a graduate of Clemson University and is a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) and Precision Nutrition certified.