History
In 1987, former Ithaca College wrestling coach John Murray put 15 years' college coaching experience to new use and started Advantage Sport & Fitness out of his basement in Ithaca, NY. In 1993, he teamed up with his college roommate, John Pfuntner, to open the company's first showroom. In 2009, Murray and Pfuntner invited John Marcotte, then Vice President of North American Sales at Cybex International, to lead the company's expansion into the Carolinas under the name Carolina Sport & Fitness. Another expansion in 2011 into New York City & Long Island, under the direction of industry veteran Bob Hoshour, has furthered the company's growth. After finishing as Precor's top North American distributor in 2012 and 2013, ASF expanded into Georgia, Alabama, and Northern Florida in early 2014, with John Marcotte again leading the charge. Since its inception 30 years ago, Advantage has become one of the most successful commercial fitness businesses in the United States.
Specialties
While Advantage is one of the largest commercial fitness equipment distributors on the East Coast, we also still serve the retail market with top-end specialized home equipment. Our vendor partners like Precor, Escape Fitness, Expresso, and others represent the exercise equipment industry's leading manufacturers and brands. To provide long term satisfaction to our customers, we have carefully chosen our partners based on product performance, efficacy & safety, as well as company stability.