Voices: Al Cairns Is All About Shaping Community, And Embracing Impact

AUSTIN, Texas—If you’ve been around the Austin fitness community long enough, you start to see familiar faces. 

Al Cairns may be one of them. 

The 33-year-old Bay Area native arrived in Central Texas in 2023 fresh off a six-year appointment at Barry’s in its Northern California location, where he served as its talent lead for a year.

Cairns continued that focus in downtown Austin, bringing with him experience and energy for the high-intensity interval training and bootcamp-style group fitness class, which combines treadmill training with strength work under the red room aesthetic of an 80s-synth classic like Blade Runner. 

It didn’t take long for Cairns to settle in, and over time he developed a strong reputation for his work as a fitness instructor. 

In late June, announcing “the time has come for me to hang up the mic,” Cairns announced his time with Barry’s was ending. 

But he came back this week with an announcement of his start-date at Studio Three, an interval-based program located inside the Thompson Hotel in Austin. There, Cairns will continue as a talent lead for the interval segment of the three-zone program, which also incorporates yoga and strength work. “They have all different modalities,” Cairns said. 

We caught up with the Austin resident – who also sells real estate for Compass Group in Austin – to learn more about his history in fitness and what makes him tick. 

Related: Austin Resident Shannon Gaden Prepares For A Big 1,500 Meter Race In Portland

Understanding The Central Texas Fitness Complex

So tell me a little bit about the Austin fitness community. How would you describe it? Fitness is the No. 1 priority in Austin, which is what you don’t see in a lot of cities. Here you see people wake up, they’re running around, their shirts are off — I think in Austin, fitness is the No. 1 priority in a lot of people’s lies. I think people work fitness around their work schedule. And in the Bay, it was the other way around. In Austin, fitness is so important to people that they’re willing to take any hour in the day off to go move their bodies, whether it’s a walk around the lake, whether it’s a CrossFit class, or whether it’s Barry’s or Studio Three. They’re just moving their bodies. 

You’ve been across the U.S. and seen other environments work. In Austin, to you, is it a change of the guard, in terms of how people operate? Is what you’ve seen revelatory in some way? I think Miami is very fitness-oriented, too, but I think Austin’s rubbed off on a lot of other cities. New York is obviously very big into fitness, but it’s different. Everyone is still working their 9-to-5 and they’re going into the office. I think in Austin, you look around and you see people in the morning walking around, everyone is part of a run club, everyone is part of a lifting club. People make friends in Austin through fitness. And it’s pretty clear from the second you walk out from your apartment or house, if you’re downtown – especially downtown – Austin is kind of revolutionized fitness across the country.

Al Cairns, 33, helps clients feel their best. The fitness leader began his new role at Studio Three in Austin, Texas this week. Submitted.

Building An Experience For Clients That Makes Sense

Someone takes an experience of yours, a class or a group session. What kind of value do you provide for your class when it comes to teaching and training? For me, I try to bring the community together. Other fitness places, they also embrace community. But the question is: How do you maintain the community when you’re in there? Are you introducing people in class? Are you shouting people’s names out? Are you engaging with clients? For me, it starts from the minute you get out of your car. Are you tucked away in your office, on your laptop and looking for songs? Are you out in the lobby getting to know people? That for me has been the secret sauce. It’s spending time in the lobby, chatting with everybody there and learning a thing about everybody and then using that thing when I get in the room for my class. I’m going to connect the two in class.  And trying to intertwine that and you do that enough, everybody starts talking in the lobby and they keep themselves accountable. So that secret sauce of getting to know everybody goes far, and that would be the value that I feel like I’ve brought to the communities I’ve been in.

What has your time in the industry taught you about fitness? I think I’ve learned just how important fitness is for mental health. You never know what someone is going through. I think you don’t realize how powerful that is until someone tells you what they’re going through and you realize how important the things you say in there are and how impactful it might be to someone’s life. We provide an experience where you could be the best hour of someone’s day without even realizing it. And that’s what I always try to think about. I’ve definitely been in a mood outside of work, but I don’t think for one day I’ve been in a mood for six years going into that job, because I’m so grateful to be able to do that and help people. 

You want them to forget everything at the door and come in and have the best day. They don’t need to forget about anything. That’s totally fine. But I think the little things that you say can make a difference. I have little go-tos. If you’re going into your last set, I’ll say, ‘We all know what defines us, it’s how we get back up in life.’ Or, ‘Let this fuel you and let this feed you for the weekend.’ Or ‘Let’s take this on together.’ We’re all going through different challenges. Another one is ‘When we’re grinding, we’re growing.’ Little things like that. I don’t think you realize how powerful they are until it hits you one day. 

Looking Toward The Future

So what does the future hold for you? I guess for me, I’m just excited to be in the industry. I love what I do and I think if I can have a small impact on someone’s day, it’s the best job in the world for that. I’m excited for the journey ahead with Studio Three. 

You can follow Al Cairns on Instagram at @theboyskux. For more on Studio Three and its programs, visit studiothree.com. Have a story to tell? If you’d like to be a part of our Voices series, email Cory Mull at comulles@gmail.com.