⎯⎯ About Eric
Built from the gym up. Tested by life.
I started training people because I believed — and still believe — that fitness is one of the most honest teachers we have. What you do when the weight is heavy, when you're tired, when it would be easy to stop: that's who you are.
I founded EVF Performance in New York City in 2004 and spent a decade building something I was proud of. Then I co-founded Row House, grew it into a national franchise, and watched it get acquired by Xponential Fitness. Along the way I maintained my own athleticism, my marriage, my family, and my faith.
Then I got a Parkinson's diagnosis. And everything I'd taught — about discipline, about adversity, about showing up — got tested in a way I hadn't anticipated.
I kept training. I still am. And that's really what this is about now.
25+
Years in the fitness industry
200+
Clients coached one-on-one
80+
Row House locations built
10+
Major media features
⎯⎯ What Eric believes
The principles behind the work
01
Truth First
Every plan must be built on an honest understanding of where you actually are — not where you wish you were. The truth is the only useful starting point.
02
Action displaces fear
Fear shrinks when you move toward it. The hardest rep is often the first one. Momentum is built by doing the thing, not by planning to do it.
03
Strength is whole
Physical, mental, and spiritual strength are not separate. What you build in the gym applies to life. What you learn in life applies to the gym.
04
Lead by example
Eric doesn't coach from theory. He is still training despite a Parkinson's diagnosis. The practices he teaches are the practices he lives.
05
Today is day one
Everyone starts somewhere. Past failures, long breaks, and hard diagnoses don't disqualify you. The only day that matters is the one you're in.
06
Lift each other up
The greatest strength comes when we help others find theirs. Coaching is not a transaction — it's a relationship built on trust, honesty, and shared work.
⎯⎯ the manifesto
What we believe
We believe in strength and conditioning. We believe that fitness creates opportunity and freedom. That what we learn in life applies to the gym, and what we learn in the gym we apply to life. We believe that fitness teaches us about ourselves. That action displaces fear. That health is a lifelong journey. That how we handle things that are small will show how we handle them when they are large. We believe that strength is mental, physical and spiritual. That through training we learn perseverance, dedication, courage and sacrifice. We believe in the empirical. We lead by example. That one may teach but two should learn.
We believe that today I can be better than yesterday. That everyone starts somewhere. Today is always day one. That the hardest rep is sometimes the first rep. Strength comes from effort. That life is easier when we are strong. From our strength we have capacity to take care of others. We believe that the greatest strength comes when we lift each other up — when we overcome our limitations and fears and say, "Let me try again."
We believe in being strong.
⎯⎯ SuPPORT THE WORK
Believe in the EVF method? Help us reach more people.
Every contribution supports the creation of free resources for those still training — and ships with a Still Training by EVF water bottle.
Choose your amount
⎯⎯ In the media
Eric in the press
The Row House Exit
From a single NYC studio to the New York Stock Exchange.
Eric co-founded Row House in 2014, filling a gap in the fitness market for the broken-down athlete and the everyday person who wanted more. A decade later, Xponential Fitness took it public on the NYSE — with Row House on the banner.
80+
Row House locations built
7 yrs
From founding to IPO
XPOF
NYSE ticker · Xponential
INC. Magazine
What Rowing Taught This Founder About How to Succeed On A Team
Escape Fitness
ROW HOUSE, How we built Global Boutique Fitness Brand.
Glofox
Building Row House into a successful boutique fitness franchise
Featured podcast
Living with Parkinson’s: Fitness, Mindset, and Resilience | Fitness Pioneer; Eric Von Frohlich
Eric Von Frohlich joins Marion Roaman of Defining Success for an honest conversation about strength, resilience, and (re)defining success.
Eric shares his journey from coaching and building iconic fitness brands to navigating life with Parkinson’s. He opens up about the mind-body connection, the role of movement as medicine, faith and family, and why action dispels fear— even in the face of a life-changing diagnosis. This episode explores how fitness, mindset, and purpose can help you not just live with Parkinson’s, but live well.
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