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Concerns over popular North Texas personal trainer’s criminal case exposes lack of regulation in fitness industry

In response to concerns expressed about John Benton teaching fitness classes, WFAA Investigates spent months digging into the personal fitness industry.

DALLAS —

When Vanessa Ochoa was asked to travel from her home in Los Angeles to shoot a fitness video in North Texas in August 2020, she didn’t think anything of it.   

The model and Instagram influencer, like many in her industry, was familiar with John Benton. More specifically, she was familiar with his company John Benton Model Fitness, a program with a reputation for getting models, beauty queens and influencers to their goal physique.  

“She had trust in him because of his reputation,” Alex Gonzalez, Ochoa’s attorney, said.   

According to court documents, Ochoa travelled to Benton’s studio in Flower Mound where he asked her to change into an outfit he had for her. While she was changing in the bathroom, Ochoa found a camera hidden behind a shampoo bottle.   

The document states, “The lens of the camera was positioned so that it could record Ms. Ochoa while she was undressing.”  

Ochoa said she was “horrified” when she realized the camera was recording her and that she left the studio as soon as she was able to.   

Ochoa’s lawsuit says Benton started reaching out to Ochoa shortly after.   

 “Soon after he realized what had happened, tried quickly to sweep it under the rug so that no one would ever find out,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of the communication that came from Mr. Benton toward my client was trying to make up an excuse at the beginning. After that, it was trying to plead…beg…so that none of this would come out.”  

Credit: Vanessa Ochoa/Instagram
Vanessa Ochoa.

Ochoa filed a criminal complaint with Flower Mound police, which turned it over to the Denton County district attorney. An investigation was conducted and presented to a grand jury, which handed up an indictment that charged Benton with “invasive visual recording."   

Benton turned himself in to authorities on September 29, 2021. He was booked in the Denton County Jail and released the same day on a $20,000 bond.   

When he was arrested, a note was posted on the John Benton Model Fitness Facebook page announcing that Benton would step down from the company amid the allegations against him. 

Nearly a year and a half later, on May 25, 2023, Benton plead guilty to the charge and was given four years of probation. Gonzalez confirmed he also paid Ochoa a settlement in her civil case  

“When he eventually pled guilty there was a great sense of relief,” Gonzalez said.   

He said Ochoa would have had to testify if the case had gone to trial, and she was relieved to not have to relive the incident.  

But that relief didn’t last long.   

“We soon realized that guilty plea was not the end of it,” Gonzalez said.   

In January 2022, more than a year before the criminal case was closed, a post on the John Benton Model Fitness Facebook page announced a new company was being created to “take the Model Fitness Method.” The post boasted of a new virtual platform and a new team. It also said the new company would be “female-owned” and “female-led.” 

That new company is called Runway Fitness, and the CEO and founder is Erin Benton. Benton is John Benton’s wife.   

After the case was closed, this summer, another announcement came from Runway Fitness. A letter posted to the company’s website, that was later deleted, stated that it was “delighted to announce that a former trainer and the founder of the Model Fitness Method, John Benton, will be joining Runway Fitness to teach classes again.”  

Credit: Runway Fitness website.
Runway Fitness website.

“She’s reading it and realizing that he hasn’t learned his lesson,” Gonzalez said. “He’s still out there, still working with girls like Vanessa who might be in a vulnerable position and might not know about him because his name is not on the company.”   

The post ended with what it called “a personal message from John.” That message included an apology, stating that the camera was placed in the bathroom “out of concern for a client who was struggling with drug-related issues”, noting that client was not Ochoa. The post called the incident “an inappropriate decision” that was “spontaneous and dumb.” 

WFAA reached out to Erin Benton for comment on July 18, 2023. On that day, Benton sent an email that said, “John was briefly with Runway Fitness, but I have now made a full cut of ties with him both professionally and personally as well”. 

In a follow-up statement provided for this story, Erin Benton stated:  

“JBMF is a dissolved and abandoned company. Runway Fitness was formed solely by Erin Benton, with no assistance or involvement from Mr. Benton. Ms. Benton desired to continue her career in the fitness industry that she has been a part of for over a decade, redirecting the vision of her company to be completely female focused, using the same method that the modeling and pageant industries had come to rely on for years. Ms. Benton continues to operate her company alongside like-minded women in the fashion and film industry who have the same goals and focus.   

Due to demand from customers, Ms. Benton made the decision for Mr. Benton to return for class instruction. After conducting three virtual online classes, Runway Fitness listened to the concerns expressed by our valued clients and members of the community, leading us to collectively decide to terminate Mr. Benton’s brief stint of teaching classes, and permanently cut all ties and associations with him. We have and always will stand in support of women.”  

Benton also said she and John Benton are in the process of getting a divorce.   

In response to concerns expressed about John Benton teaching fitness classes, WFAA Investigates spent months digging in to the personal fitness industry.   

There is no entity in Texas that sets a single standard or serves as a governing body for fitness trainers.   

When asked about the industry, a spokesperson from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation said, “TDLR does not regulate personal trainers or group fitness trainers. I’m not aware of any state agency that does.”  

It’s an issue Dr. Deana Melton, an associate professor of exercise at North Carolina A&T, researched a study she co-wrote in 2008.   

“We talked to trainers. We talked to clients of trainers, and we talked to managers of trainers,” Dr. Melton said. “What clients said verified what I thought and was really eye-opening.”  

Credit: WFAA
Deana Melton.

In the nearly 15 years since her research was published, Melton said there has been very little movement in regulating the personal and group fitness industry.  

“There have been injuries. There have been unsavory things that trainers have done,” Melton said.   

There are a number of organizations that offer certifications for personal and group fitness trainers. Many trainers get these certifications as a requirement for the gyms or businesses that employ them or even to boost their credibility as a private business. However, there isn’t a uniform standard for certification that these agencies have to follow, and there isn’t a state or federal requirement for certain standards to become a “certified trainer.” Melton said many of the existing certification processes include a short course and an exam.   

“Anyone can take the test, as long as you have the knowledge,” Melton said. “It comes back to, if you’re a staff trainer and you work for a business, it’s assumed that they’re going to do the criminal background checks. But there are many people who go into private practice, and no one is looking into them.”  

Melton, who has spent her career studying the industry and currently teaches on how to become and effective trainer, called the issue a “slap in the face.” 

“You want your profession to be recognized as a reputable profession, but if it gets out there that it’s not then you have no credibility,” Melton said.   

It’s an issue that Reed Wainwright, an attorney and certified trainer, said he believes should be addressed by lawmakers.   

“We need some type of state or federal legislation where there is some type of requirement or some type of licensure to where once you’re licensed in a state, there are certain things you have to comply with in order to remain licensed,” Wainwright said.   

Credit: WFAA
Reed Wainwright.

Wainwright is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and serves on the organization’s committee for rules and guidelines. The association has its own code of ethics and procedures in place for addressing members who violate its standards, including criminal activity. According to the association’s website, there is a hearing process for members whose conduct does not meet standards and in the most severe cases, trainers can lose their certification.  

The NSCA has this in place on its own, but it’s not a requirement.   

“That’s about all we have at this point,” Wainwright said.   

He compared the industry to others where there is state-led accountability, like licensing boards for doctors, nurses and lawyers.   

“You go see a doctor occasionally, but you’re with a certified personal trainer every day,” Wainwright said. “There’s no regulation for it, and there should be.”  

Wainwright said, without a uniformed standard, it’s harder for people to know they’re working with and what they’re actually able to do.   

“One of the biggest misconceptions out there is that, ‘Well, he’s certified. What does that mean?’” Wainwright said. “You have to do the legwork yourself.”  

The US Registry of Exercise Professionals is a non-profit organization that works with six large accredited certifying agencies, including NSCA. The organization has an online database that allows for people to search their trainers and see what agency certifies them and what training the specific certifications include.   

It’s a level of accountability created from the inside of an industry that’s gone largely unregulated.   

“I think the resistance has been because they don’t understand. They don’t think it’s a problem,” Wainwright said.”  

Ochoa said she pursued justice in her case to help protect other women.  

In a statement she provided to WFAA, Ochoa said:   

“Since the incident this happened, I have been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression. I am left with so many intangible scars and experience paranoia and social anxiety daily. To this day, I can’t try on clothes at stores out of fear that I am being filmed again. 

I was told by many people to not talk about this incident because no one would believe me, but I hope that my story helps other survivors feel less alone, and my hope is that it helps at least one other woman from going through what I went through.

Despite all that I’ve suffered, I won’t let this experience deter me from pursuing my dreams. I would like to thank my support system—my family, my close friends and my lawyer who has guided me through the toughest moments when I was ready to quit. I wouldn’t be the person and survivor I am today without all of them.”   

WFAA reached out to John Benton and his attorney multiple times, including in 2021 when he was arrested. Benton has not responded to any requests for comment.

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