Samuel Eric Anderson
Roup founded a workout app called the Sculpt Society in 2017 shortly after leaving Anderson’s namesake fitness company, where she worked for more than five years.
Anderson’s lawsuit against Roup says that while Roup was a trainer at Tracy Anderson, she had “access to all material necessary to replicate the TA Method and related business, and she wasted no time in doing so.”
In the lawsuit, Anderson accuses Roup of copying “choreography movements, sequences, and routines,” “organizational structure and format,” and “aesthetic elements” from 19 of Anderson’s fitness DVDs. These DVDs, released between 2008 and 2014, include “The Method for Beginners” and “Unleash Your Inner Pop Star.”
Roup has denied the allegations and has tried to get the lawsuit dismissed. The case is slated to proceed to trial later this year on the remaining claim.
Anderson, who has trained celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, and Victoria Beckham, has long been fearful that her trainers would leave and steal her clients and her method.
In 2023, two of Anderson’s ex-trainers, who now run their own fitness companies, told BI that they received warning letters from Anderson’s attorneys accusing them of stealing Anderson’s movements and violating a non-compete agreement.
Two other former employees said a member of Anderson’s management team asked them to monitor ex-trainers’ social-media accounts for any signs they might be stealing Anderson’s movements.
Another former trainer said that while she was still working at Tracy Anderson, she was reprimanded by management for merely liking former instructors’ Instagram posts.