Within the small city of Watauga, Texas, something—or yet—someone brilliant was brewing. Under the guise of a father who worked for IBM, a loving mother, and the gentle familial comfort of Tarrant County, young Chequan Lewis was peeking at the cusp of his genius. A graduate of Haltom High School who then trekked to Howard University, and then Harvard Law School, Lewis was (and is) truly the personification of Black Excellence. With a story still yet untold, the former Baker Botts litigator, husband and father of two, is merely flipping the pages on the initial chapters of life. From the halls of law, to the C-Suites of Pizza Hut, to now being the President of Crunch Fitness—the story of Chequan Lewis is undeniably filled with purpose, impact and destiny. We caught up with the former Oak Cliff resident to chat all things business and leadership, plus balancing it all as a Black man. Keep reading to savor a “crunch” out of his story—because from the corners of Watauga, Oak Cliff and beyond, it proves that big change can bloom from small, humble places.
Southern Dallas County and Living Magazine: So from a small kid in Watauga to now doing big things in the fitness realm—congratulations! How did you initially establish your roots from Tarrant County to Dallas County?Chequan Lewis: “When I left Texas to go to Howard University, I was immediately confronted with a world bigger than Tarrant County—with different forms of expression, particularly Black expression. After moves from D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, and then coming home to Texas…Dallas felt like the right answer for the next chapter of my life. I’ve got love for Tarrant County, but Dallas felt more like home.”SDM: So how did you end up in Oak Cliff?CL: “In my third year of law school, for January term [in 2012]…I used my term to work with Mike Rawlings and helped launch the GrowSouth program. So by the time I graduated from law school, I had become so deeply invested in Oak Cliff and Southern Dallas in particular, that I wanted to move from it being an academic exercise, to going and living there. So [me and my wife] moved to Redbird. That’s my connection to Southern Dallas.”
SDM:You were a powerful litigator for one of the top law firms in the nation, Baker Botts. How was the transition from law, to migrating now into business?CL:“I ended up working 4 years in business between Howard University and then going to Harvard Law. So I had some context for what it looked like and what it felt like to be a business leader. The transition wasn’t difficult for me to be honest. As a young litigator at a big firm, you’re engaged in storytelling, fact-finding, communicating and problem solving. What I found was that those were highly transferable skills in the business world. Truthfully, I have always found it as a competitive advantage, especially in the franchising space where everything is governed by agreement, and where you find yourself negotiating the exits and the entries of franchisees. I find the ‘lawyer thing’ as my secret weapon, and I’m really grateful for the time that I spent practicing.”SDM: Even at Baker Botts, and then moving into more high-profile roles as the COO at Pizza Hut and as Pizza Hut’s first Chief Equity Officer, there had to be little representation in these spaces. How did this make you feel and what do you believe your role is as one of few Black male leaders in these positions?
CL:“I felt a tremendous sense of responsibility with respect to the opportunity that I have been given. Irrespective of diversity, equity, and inclusion being under attack, there’s just no substitute for representation. When I got to Yum!, there were so few examples (at the time) of people who looked like me and had walked in the shoes that I’ve walked in, and have lived the life that I’ve lived. It does become daunting when you look up and realize that ‘Oh, I’m the one that folks are looking at now…and I’m young, and I’m different, and in this room I stick out like a sore thumb.’ That was definitely a challenge but..if I’m going to be the one in the room right now, I’ve got a tremendous sense of responsibility to make sure that I do it for everybody that doesn’t get a chance to be in the room, and that I open the door.”SDM: Does that sense of responsibility weigh heavily on you?CL: “It starts to feel like a calling. If I can leave my stamp on this space with three things, I know I’ve done my job. The first one is the ability to be authentic in my space, the other is to be deeply intentional, and the other one is to be really humble. So with authenticity, intentionality and humility—if I could have those be the things that were the light post at the time I had at Yum!, I would have felt like I was successful.”SDM: You’re now almost a year into your new role as President at Crunch Fitness. This type of leadership takes a lot of time, and you said so yourself—sacrifice. What does the balance of personal and professional life look like for you?
CL: “Certainly there is no substitute for the sacrifices that my parents made, for me to have the opportunities that I had. [However], I can’t tell my story without talking about my wife Whitney Lewis. The sacrifices that Whitney has made in order for me to have these opportunities…I don’t have enough time to tell that story. The way that she has loved me with sacrifice, and the way that she has made my career changes possible…plus the time that I have to spend away on the road…what she has done for us and this household, I can’t credit her sacrifice enough.SDM: Throughout your colorful career journey, what has surprised you the most about what you’ve learned about yourself?CL: “For so long, I thought that the most important tool in my toolkit was my intellect. That’s not the most important thing about me, and it may not be the best thing about me. The things that have been revealed to me the most, have been a combination of heart and courage. Empathy is a muscle that should be flexed daily, and there’s no weakness in that. There’s a tremendous amount of strength in understanding Crunch Fitness through the life of my team members, my franchise partners, and through our members. My capacity for feeling and depth in myself has surprised me. The other piece is courage—the willingness to do the hard thing, to identify the change that needs to be made, the hill that needs to be climbed, and the willingness to move to the tension. I have a lot of work to do, but I have a lot of faith and belief in the capacity that God has given me to lead in these roles because of the combination of heart and courage.SDM: So the big question is, why would you leave the world’s largest restaurant company (Yum!) to go to Crunch Fitness?CL: “It’s because the story is just starting to be written here at Crunch, and the chapters ahead that I can see, is something that’s really exciting and we’ve only made part of the impact in the world that we’re going to make so far. I became really smitten with the idea of growing a brand that was growing people on the road to becoming the best version of themselves. That was the thing that felt like a calling, and not just a job for me. What we’re offering is world-class fitness at an affordable price, a space of transformation for people, which is critically important in communities like ours.SDM: Upon your one-year anniversary, what’s your contribution to a brand that’s already topping the ranks in fitness?CL: “There’s no question that the brand has been successful, but we have a mindset of relentless improvement, which I’m really attracted to. I’m chronically restless about ‘Are we the best version of ourselves?’ One of the things I know I can bring is expertise in franchising. What that means is continuing to invest in our teams, attracting more franchisees who have the capital, capability, and commitment to grow this brand, and doing it with a strategy that recognizes what it will take to climb the next two summits together.SDM: For those unfamiliar with Crunch Fitness, why choose Crunch over all of the other workout facilities?CL: “It’s not just the workouts, or the classes or the equipment, or the things that we do from a strategic offering standpoint—there’s something in the water about Crunch that’s incredibly special. We take deadly serious this idea of being legendary—and delivering a legendary experience for every franchisee, for every member, for every team member, such that we treat every check-in at all of our clubs as a moment of truth. So in Southern Dallas County when you see us open in Cedar Hill or on 4350 Gannon Lane later this year—know that that’s a place where the intentionality is high, the authenticity is high, the humility is high, and it’s a place for all of us.”SDM: We began this interview journey talking about a story yet untold for Crunch Fitness, but what lies next in the story of Chequan Lewis?CL: “Personally, I’m on a mission to make sure that I’m doing all that I can, with all that I have been given. It starts with making sure that that’s true at home. I want to look in the mirror and feel really confident that I’ve been who I needed to be, so that Whitney can accomplish those things that sit at the intersection of her highest and best self, and her desires and capability. And then, for my kids to grow in confidence, love and support, knowing that they can be whoever they’re called to be because I’ve got their back.SDM: From a professional standpoint, I’ve got really big dreams for this brand. I really believe that you’re going to see us plant flags in countries and on continents that gives us a chance to really achieve that vision of a world with more Crunch. Most importantly, it’s that we have operated a business in a way that grows with intent, grows people, and grows the brand.”
