Fit Business Insider

Hey Pat 1st i want to say what a great weekend i had at the IYCA summit it def rocked and it was great to hear your story as well as many others!!!!! I def want to thank you for all you do for us!

No onto my story well i kinda gotinto the game by accident!

About 10 years ago i was in a very very bad car accident that was my fault. I hit a telephone poll going around 90 miles an hour and was very lucky to have lived.

I did how ever alost lost my left leg but there were able to save it but both my legs wer in very bad shape.
I was in the hospital for about a week then in a hospital bed in my home for about 3 months.
I had broke my tib fib in both legs and my left femur. I had 2 rods a plate and 24 screws holding me together.
After many months of pain they told me that my break in my left leg was to bad to heal on its own and they need to do a bone graft from my hip.

So after that finally healed up it was onto the fun process of romoving all the metal one thing at a time so after 3 more operations i had all the metal out.

Now they told me my knees were in bad shape and i needed my acl redone so after 3 more knee opertios and about 3 years after my accident i was finally done with my operations and “walking” on my own.

Needless to say over this time and the next few years i had gained alot of weight and was in terrbile shape. This is something that i thought was going to be my life as the doctors said i would never run, or really ever workout again becuase my legs were in such bad shape.

So i pretty much went around thinking that was that and i men weh ni was done work for the day my legs were in soo much pain i could hardly walk.

So one day i decided that i had to try and get in shape or i was going to never be happy so i started back at the gym doing the normal stuff i knew bench curls etc etc i over some timed gaine some strength but never lost any of the fat or felt like i was really chnged for the better.

So i started researching altentive methods of training and i found Zach Even Esh and learned alot about the advantages of bodyweight training.

So aftert aking his cert. and reading and learning as much as i could about kettlebells, sandbags, bodyweight etc etc, and training my self at home in my garge i started to see some changes for the better.

People started asking me what i was doing and if they could workout with me sometime and i said sure.

After i helped a friend lose some weight i had a light bulb moment and realized that maybe the reson God let me live throught my accident was to leave me here so i could help others!

So i started to take steps to start my own boot camp business on the side.

After a few months and finding PTU, The Boot Camp Blue Print, YOU, Jim and Nick, Bj and workout muse, Dave “the Band man” and helping some people make some true changes in theri lives i knew that his is what i am meant to be doing nd i took a leep of faith and quit my “real job” and started doing this full time out of my home and some local parks.

This last september i opened up my own space and things could not be better right now i am way ahead of where i thought i would be with around 70 full ie clients and 25 local dragon boat team memebers i train 1 once a week during their off season.

I have had parent asking me to do something for their kids for a few onths now and i just took my level 1 yfs cert and after this weekend at the summit i know that this will be my next amazing way i can get out there and make a differnce and help improve our youth and give them a brighter future!

So thats my story in a nut shell i sorry if it was a little long.

Again thanks for al you do for us and the summit def rocked looking forward to working with you in the future for many many years to come!

Dave Lee

Pat,

I am a 32 year old teacher and business owner in Tucson, AZ. I began my career as an elementary education teacher and taught 5 years in the TUSD District.

About 2 years ago my 6 month old daughter was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, a deadly genetic disease that effects the lungs and digestive system. This forced my wife out of a full time job and into a full time mother/nurse. Several treatments daily along with battling insurance issues leaves a family very tired and stressed. It also forced me to find a way to support my family on a single income. I turned to the fitness industry and the IYCA to help me out.

Like Greg said, one advantage I have is that I can turn to people like Pat Rigsby or Nick Berry to ask questions, learn systems that work, and get advice on how to be successful.

In the last year I have opened my own youth fitness and sports performance business and will be expanding into a new location soon. It is because of the strategies and implementation of proven systems that work that I am able to do this.

Thanks Pat for sharing your knowledge. My family thanks you as well.

Kevin Nichols

I got into the industry by way of research. I have a teenage daughter who was into playing sports, but kept injuring her ankles and knees and if not injuring, they just hurt constantly. I was constantly researching ways to help her relieve the pain and prevent future injuries.

Through my research, I kept coming back to the IYCA and what it had to offer. I was very impressed with the information I was gathering, their knowledge of working with young people, and the resources available to help my daughter through a very important development stage in her life.

I started playing sports when I was 8 and still participate in them as much as I can. By combining my own experiences, what I have been able to learn through the IYCA, and what I see as a lack of understanding with child athleticism in sports today, I decided to start teaching what I know. I am now a certified YCS and YS&A with the IYCA and starting to take on clients (young athletes).

Thank you IYCA and Pat for helping me see how I can put my experiences to good use.

I’m still working on it man. I’ve worked to build enough at the athletic club I work in to live. Almost all of them are non members, which shows how much they help, but you’re help has been of huge value to me. Thanks a ton.

At this time last year, I was living off credit, and had a couple months where I made less than $500. I actually had one paycheck that added up to $150 for two weeks work, it was rough. Don’t know how I pulled it off. But things are on the up, and it’s gonna happen.

The business plan is on paper, timeline is tentatively set, and within the next year GRITgym will be an up and going.

Not to bad for a guy that can’t “sell” for shit, but results seem to make waves.

Will you be heading up to Ryan Lee’s Summit in March?

I have been involved in sport/fitness my whole life. Showed horses at a kid up until age 21. Took up weightlifting and competive bodybuilding at 25. Competed to National Level; my last National show at age 47. I have had several “careers” over the span of my life; but always hoped to one day own a gym.

I was an Operating Room Nurse for 10 years, specializing in Open Heart Surgery. In the summer of 1990 I decided I needed a change and then started to look at the prospects of owing a gym, although I had no idea what shape that would take.

While still Nursing, I had gone back to school to get a NASM Certification. In the March 2001, I left a full time Nursing position and opened a private studio – with 1 client!

At that time I worked part time at a small surgical facility, working in the early mornings for a few hours; then would go an open my studio. I had no idea whether this venture would take off, but I knew there was nothing like it in the City at that time.

I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I learn quick. I eventually found PTU and that really helped as well. I had worked in a lot of offices over the years so I had a good background in bookkeeping, filing systems – all the office stuff. So setting up the business part of my studio came fairly easy.

Within 3 months of opening, I had to quit my job at the surgical facility as I had more clients coming in. The business was self-sufficient by Month 3!

Now 2010 finds me in a new 300 sq ft studio that I moved into 2 years ago. I now have 2 full time and 1 part time staff trainers. We have a full slate of long term clients. Most of our clients have been with us over 4 years, some since I started 9 years ago. And, they all train 3x week or more.

We continue to grow and expand our services and I am excited what the next 9 years will bring. I still absolutely love coming to the gym every day and love all our clients, some who have become close personal friends.

I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,

Narina

This is part of the copy from my site.

My name is Paul Sweatt and I’ve been a personal trainer for Boston Sports Clubs for over a decade. In that time I’ve trained thousands of people in the right way to exercise, lose weight and tone their bodies so they feel their personal best.

The people I train trust me because they know I’m not feeding them a line. You see, I’ve been EXACTLY where you are now. I don’t expect the people I train to do anything I haven’t already done myself!

I won’t lie to you. I wasn’t always as healthy and fit as I am today. Not even close. Even though I was skinny as a kid from all the playing and dancing I did, I became very overweight and out of shape well before I turned 20.

What’s worse is I got downright lazy. In fact I even had a sweatshirt that read “If I was any lazier I’d be in a coma.” Shocking, but true!

Being lazy and overweight became a way of life until one day something shocked me enough to look in the mirror and see how I’d gone from being a skinny teenager to gaining 70 pounds and fitting into a size 38 pants.

I couldn’t believe that I weighed 240 pounds!

I’d always had a thick skin where my body image was concern until one day my mother said words that pierced me right to the core. She said she noticed that my pants were getting very tight, that my butt was going one way and my stomach was going the other. Then she hit me with the final blow. I was starting to resemble my father!

Go from Lazy and Fat… to Fit and Skinny
in Two ½ Hour Sessions per Week!

My mother’s observation, while true, hit me hard. I didn’t want to look old and haggard before my time. I was only 16! I knew I had to make a change so I took the plunge right into exercise and dieting. I went from being fat and lazy to being thin and fit.

But it wasn’t an easy journey…

I had a lot of speed bumps along the way simply because I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t have anybody to tell me what I was doing wrong. As a result I not only wasted a lot of time, but I exercised the wrong way and ended up with 18 months of chronic back pain for all my effort.

What a lot of people don’t know it that exercise related injuries are a common occurrence for people who do not work with a personal trainer. Most people have a basic understanding of what they need to do. But if their technique is wrong, they could end up getting hurt!

Those painful 18 months are burned in my memory. I don’t want anyone to go through the pain I went through. Around that time I started attending college and taking biological science courses. Exercise and nutrition became my favorite subjects and I was hooked. I loved it so much I decided to change my major to Exercise Science.

I was determined to teach people how to avoid fitness mistakes that only cause setbacks, frustration and even pain. That’s when I decided to become a personal trainer.

My biggest turning point was getting the biggest kick up the backside of all. My Dad died very suddenly from a massive heart attack at 53. That was 5 years ago this May.

Until then I cruised through life. Was running a small gym, on very ordinary money and didn’t really know what I wanted in life.

That made me reassess my priorities. What was important and what wasn’t.

I made the decision to pull my finger out, leave the ‘comfort’ of a poorly paying job and start my own biz.

Best move ever.

Now I work when I want to work, play when I want to play and love my clients who make getting up at 4:40am worthwhile.

I don’t take life, or people, for granted anymore.

I’m married to the woman of my dreams who I met since I changed my priorities.

Life is great and I owe it to my family and my clients who enable me to do what I do everyday.

Thanks for allowing me to share my story Pat

Hi Pat,

My story is about as regular as it comes. Growing up I was a multi-sport athlete – really solid across the board, great skills etc., but I was just way too small and weak. At about 6’1″ when I was 14 I weighed around 140 pounds. I was quick and agile, and had the skill to become a higher level player, but in my chosen sport (rugby) size does matter.

Week in, week out I got pounded. So I decided to put on some size. I turned to the regular bodybuilding style magazines, and started using body part splits, isolation exercises and machines like leg presses etc. to get bigger. By the time I was 18, I weighed 230 pounds, but I had given up sport – entirely because I was now big enough, but very slow, and very deconditioned – and I was constantly getting injured to boot.

Fast forward to now, at age 24, I am in the best shape of my life – as strong, fast and as heavy as I needed to be back then, but my opportunity has passed me by. It was a lot of trial, error and heart ache to get where I am now, and I really do not want to see other young athletes suffer through what I did.

That’s why I opened my performance training company designed around high school athletes. We’re still only a start up, and things are slow at the moment, but hopefully I can realise my dream by helping others grab the opportunities that I missed out on.

James.

Hey Pat,
I enjoyed your speech on this last Summit.
Well, after spending 3.5 yrs studying civil engineering I found out that that wasn’t my passion and decided to change majors. My senior year I got accepted to OSU to do my master in Exercise Science and before I left one of my professors told to get certified as a trainer because that could be a great part time and decent money while I was in school. I was married at the time and decided to go to FL to start a new life in this country. I started to teach and coach at HS in West Palm Beach and started to work at LA Fitness at the same time. All of the sudden, the passion and opportunity in the industry started to come my way. I started to run camps over the summer and had some athletes to train over the school year. Finally, my name started to go around and started to get more athletes and the athletes moms until I grew up my biz. I started my personal training career in PR and now I’ve been in FL for 7years (side note: never forget that I moved with only $10 in my pocket and left my wife in PR while I settle down I found a job to then save $ to bring her here)
I went to coach baseball at the college level and continued to work the biz, ultimately decided to leave coaching to pursue training. Currently, I run a bootcamp, several group training sessions for athletes, in-home training and some one-on-one’s.
Trying to get a place to run my biz, cause I’m still teaching full-time, training clients/groups for about 5-6 hrs a day. I’ve been blessed that part of my business I run it at the school weight room because I’m the strength coach there as well.
I wanted to go full time but I know fear is stopping me from taking that step. I have more to say but I have to go teach

You know, the coaches I had in college used to ride you right into the ground, call you names, and basically degrade you to the point that you felt like dirt. Being the little shit head that I am, I didn’t deal with this very well but I kept pounding away. It’s amazing the kind of treatment we allow to happen with our developing athletes.

My beginning of coaching was rough, it felt like my legs were being cut from underneath me all the time. Kids responded well to the way I coached. There was no degrading but the training wasn’t easy. The idea was to make them tough and take pride in that. Other coaches didn’t like that on the other hand. It was a small school. The kind of place that a freshman would have to start if you benched an upperclassman. The coaches there acted like practice and coaching couldn’t be tough and that we had to practically beg kids to come and stay out. That seems ridiculous to me. A high school kid that doesn’t want to play football? I suppose it happens but I doubt dislike is a common reason. Fear maybe, but not dislike.

Long story short, we lost almost every game. The only games we won were to teams that were willing to punt on first down. Know what I mean?

It was a long season. I’d not been on a team like that. I’ve only had one losing season my whole career, when I was a sophomore playing varsity. I’ve rarely seen any athlete so defeated before, it was hard.

What’d I do with my losing. I went to the drawing board, rethought my approach, my training, and what really made the difference in this team, and what makes the difference in an athlete.

I guess I did what I always do when I don’t understand something, I dig like crazy. I usually get obsessed and my friends don’t see me for a few weeks and I read and think of new things to experiment with.

I go to my best resources, buy the books they suggest, devour them, and on to the next one.

I’m beginning to try and get out of the pages and get in more meeting with/observation with these types of guys. It’ll be good to meet with Coach Boyle, and everyone at Cressey Performance in March.

I suppose that was alot of words to go pretty much no where, but whatever. Wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t going 10 directions at once, and I’m working on that too. I naturally get tunnel vision during competition so I’m continually working on transferring that to other areas of life. Call it continuing the goal towards the best man I can be.

What do you think of trainer/coach commissions? What’s fair, what’s realistic, what are some determining factors? Would be an interesting blog to read.

Thanks man, I appreciate this site, and consider it one of my top resources.

-Rees

Hi Pat,
As a kid growing up in a household of an overweight dad and a mom that chain-smoked for all my life I knew I had to do something different than what was modeled. I was always told to “play it safe and get a city job”. I knew I had to do and be something different.

As I grew older and went to college I decided I wanted to major in Movement Science. I was completely blown away from the education and research that was out there – other than gym lore. This was going to be my passion and to give back.

Now into my 15 year of teaching PE at a local high school. The training bug has bitten me. Running several strength and conditioning programs for the athletes I have decided to train adults. My wife and I built an addition above my garage to use as a training studio. Just by word of mouth I have obtained a small amount of clients. I love training so much that I’m actually considering leaving teaching and building my business full time. I have not taken any business classes but am reading everything I can about building my business. I am new to any type of marketing and need so much help!

I appreciate all your emails and newsletters. They have inspired me to work more “on my business” rather than working in it. My goals are to own my business and model to my children to live a healthy life and take chances to pursue their dreams like Daddy did.

Thanks,
Rick

Oh – Rees – yes, I’ll be at Ryan’s event in March. Can’t wait to meet you there!

Hey Pat,

I originally got into fitness for selfish reasons. I was a chubby kid. I was very active playing sports in the schoolyard and tearing up the streets on my BMX bike, but I also had a huge appetite, especially for carbs – nothing beats a NY pizzeria!

Anyway, both my older brother and father worked out. My dad was 6’ tall and skinny with killer guns and my brother was 6’3” and diesel. I, on the other hand, was a 5’10” 13 year old kid who never had an ounce of definition and had “cute chipmunk cheeks” – ugh.

So, one day, my dad took me to the gym for a workout. Instantly, I was hooked. I loved the feeling of working out. I loved the movements, the sounds of the weights, and the camaraderie of the guys working out. I started to study everything I could get my hands on when it came to program design. That eventually led me to want to study exercise science in college.

As a teenage kid who loved to workout, I naturally got hooked on bodybuilding. Of course, genetically I couldn’t have gotten hosed more, but I was still committed (a bit delusional, too – I actually believed pro bodybuilders didn’t use steroids!). I eventually did two minor bodybuilding shows in college (all natural) and learned that if I put my mind to it, I could accomplish anything I wanted. Those shows taught me a tremendous lesson about myself; I will be forever grateful for those experiences.

Eventually, I found myself working in a Gold’s Gym as a personal trainer and operations manager. That was great, but I could see the writing on the wall – a dead-end job that maybe would produce 50 – 60K per year. All of sudden, I saw myself turning into my dad (whom I respect and love very much for what he provided for me). He worked his but off in a job that he really didn’t like, making 60K a year counting the days until retirement. That wasn’t going to be me.

That gym was soon taken over by TSI and became a NYSC. I couldn’t have been more disappointed. I couldn’t stand the way these corporate guys were, not too mention the pay and development structure sucked. So, I left and started a training business out of my home. Most of my clients came with me – that’s when I realized the power of creating loyal clients. However, that operation quickly went south as I had no idea how to get new clients (they don’t teach you squat in school, and in 1998 the internet was still very new) and I was going through a rough personal time – divorce #1.

I took about a year off from training, worked with my childhood best friend in his new business, and began my search for my next training opportunity. Fate interceded, and I found Life Time Fitness. There’s a lot more to the story at LTF (I’ll save that for another time), but long story short, in my second year at LTF I was awarded the Most Valuable Trainer of the Year. Year number 3 and 4 was all about building one of the best teams in LTF history. As the Assistant Personal Training Manager I set many individual and team records in the company and we won the coveted Artistry Award (best team in the company) back-to-back. The next step was to run my own club. I did that with a bit of a twist.

In 2005, I was promoted to Life Time University Training Specialist. I had a dual role. First, I was to grand open and run the personal training department in the new flagship facility in Chanhassen, MN. Second, I was to develop and implement the training curriculum for new personal trainers and personal training department heads. That was a blast. Our club truly took the training and business philosophy to a whole new level. We set just about every record possible and changed a lot of thinking about the business side of PT. As the LTU-TS I got to travel all over the country and meet tons of awesome and inspiring people. I also got involved with R&D and helped develop many of the programs that still run today.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience, BUT the honeymoon wouldn’t last forever. Things changed as they always do. I found myself going in a different direction than LTF. I also got burned on a really big stock deal, but that’s another story. I found myself wanting more; wanting to move faster, create more time freedom and really make the big bucks – 150K was nice, but 1.5M just wasn’t in the cards

I began looking outside the walls and wanted to see what else was out there. That’s when I discovered PTU in 2008. I could go on and on with my story from here, but we can do that over a protein shake one day. All that matters now is I’m here, working MY business, learning a ton from you and the guys and having the time of my life! I’m halfway to my goal of replacing my LTF income through my boot camp business and can see great things in the near future that will help me eclipse what I was doing at LTF. It won’t be long before that 1.5M becomes a reality!!

Thanks for everything Pat. I’ll see you Friday.

Have Faith & Take Action!
Justin Yule

320 pound 7th grader. Aunt, grandma, aunt all died from diabetes. Went on a mission to lose weight and learn all I could on nutrition. Lost 130 pounds in 1 year. Poured over information I could get my hands on. My brother became one of the top endocrinologist in nation, picked his brain and research papers. Started lifting weights after high school—was the best feeling in world. Opened first gym 2 years later, and the rest is history. have helped thousands healthy. Competed nationally in bodybuilding and held world records in bench press and strongest man record in other presses. Have been personal training for 31 years. Life is great and so is business.
Randy
http://randywoody.com

I grew up playing sports, football, basketball track etc… Going into college I knew that I loved fitness and pursued a degree in this field. But after college I let life and excuses get in my way. I ended up working a bunch of jobs that left me unhappy and frustrated.

I let my bills anchor me down working jobs I hated and left unfullfilled. About 10 years ago I was working as juvenille probation officer and as much as l liked working with troubled kids I hated my job and working for someone else. My passion for fitness was boiling inside me so much I didn’t even want to go to work anymore I hated it so much, and it was killing me.

So I made a choice to pursue my dreams, with nothing but passion and the hunger to be a fitness professional, I just up and quit my job and started working as an independent contractor out of a local gym.

I had no clients, no idea how to run a buisness and never even been to this gym once in my life. I would wake up every morning scared to death, but I wanted this so bad, It was my passion and if I failed at something I loved then I would never forgive myself.

Every day I would get there early talk to everyone, something I was so uncomfortable doing it made me sick in the stomach I was so nervous, but again I could’nt fail, I wanted this so bad and I would not be able to live with myself if I didn’t make this work.

So after 4 months of cold calling and just getting to know every client who walked in that gym I built a pretty good base of clients, 30 one on one clients and was making some good money. But I was working 60 hours a week, training, no time to work on my buisness.

I started to get burned out, and was not enjoying my passion anymore, also I it was getting harder and harder for me to stay there because I now had a burning passion to own my own studio.

I got lazy and frustrated, I just was so burned out and let my client base dwindle because I just wasn’t happy anymore. So I knew I had to work on the buisness more and leverage my time with clients to balance things out.

So I joined a mentorship program about 4 years ago, they gave me some good insight on what was needed to take them next step and also the right mindset. So I started to utilize these strategies and started training semi-private groups making the same money with less hours worked, it was great, but I still was just an independent contractor, I still had this hunger to have my own buisness and create my own atmosphere.

So once again I made a choice to just do it. I didn’t have the best plan but I did have a system that I knew worked and my clients love.

So at the beginning of 2009 I opened my own 2,000 sq ft studio with the help of a client who actually just gave me $20,000 because of all I have done for him and the passion he saw in me.

But the mentorship program I was in, just wasn’t doing it for me, I just wasn’t clicking with their blueprint, too much advertising and things that just cost too much money. At this point I had already become a member of bootcamp blueprint, but was really using it, even at one point I tried to cancel my membership for the program and got the, no your committed.

So I logged in and started going over the previous modules and was amazed how simple and cost effective the bootcamp blueprint strategies were, it was more in line with my way of thinking.

I immediatley started putting the modules to use and started to see results in my buisness immediatley. I went from a 20 client base to now over 80 in as little 7 months since actually taking action and getting involved with bootcamp blueprint.

Also there are so many things on the horizon because of this program and my drive to not let my self down and do what I love. It is a constant battle for me each day, because just like your example above, I want to be better and do better, and try and be the best.

Sometimes this is unhealthy and those are the things I’m working on now to keep me positive and moving forward and accept small steps and that the there will be bad times and to learn from them. Fortunatley for me you guys have and continue to help with my mindset to improve my buisness.

My story isnt over yet, I still have alot of work ahead of me, but the fire inside and my passion keeps pushing me toward, educating myself and surrounding myself with people who can get me to my goals and a happy and fulfilling life and striving for bigger and better goals.

Pat, and anyone else who is interested:

I’ve been an athlete my whole life, and while that may seem a perfect fit for this line of work, it poses a lot of challenges, that I will get to shortly.

I began lifting weights around age 12, and did it primarily to improve my looks and performance on the field. I was pretty strong for my size, but I never got my diet under control to the point where the training had its maximum effect. I entered college weighing 152 lbs at 6 feet tall. Not exactly the ideal weight for a Div I football player.

After I finished my successful high school career, I was sold on the idea that I would become a professional kicker. I have to admit, I could really hit a football, and still can compete with some of the kicks that we see on Sundays in the NFL. But I did not have the size that I needed, and when I had my chances to get to the next level, I failed to perform.

It wasn’t until after I graduated college that I finally began to get my diet under control. Unlike most people, my problem was that I didn’t weigh enough, and when I started eating better, I was able to put on almost 60 lbs in about 6 weeks. That is when I realized that our education system didn’t get the job done for me, and countless others to understand how important the foods we eat are to our daily performance, whether it be on a field or at work.

I worked in the corporate world for about 5 years before I got so fed up with it that I decided to get back to an environment where I had been happiest. That was the gym, and around people who were looking to improve their bodies and performance. I spent 5.5 years in one of the chain gyms, and sadly learned more about what not to do than what to do. Regardless, it put me in a position where I could open my own facility, and did so in October of ’08.

My wife and I operate our studio, and offer boot camps, yoga, and private training to our clients. I love the fact that we get to save lives every day. There’s nothing like that handshake or thanks from a client who has seen great results, and changed their lifestyle in a positive way. I am always looking to improve the service we offer, and to touch as many lives as we can.

Personally, I’d love to leave behind a legacy where I have helped a hell of a lot more people than I haven’t, and made an impact in an industry that, to say the least, has had credibility issues. I want the efforts of our business to have a positive influence on our community, and build relationships that go well beyond a hello, or friendly email once in a while.

I want to dominate my area, do whatever I can to help people understand what they need to do in order to achieve their goals, and put a real beating on the chain gyms who do very little other than steal peoples’ money. If that is my legacy, then I will have lived one hell of a life.

Mark Mogavero

When I was very young my dream was to be a physical therapist. I had read 2 similar stories about people who were gravely injured and how they came back through the dedication of their physical therapists and then and there that became my chosen profession. Flash forward several years and aproaching college decisions there was no money and no studiousness on my part to attempt 6 years of college so the dream died and I became a hairstylist.
In my early thirties i decided to try to get in shape and began doing aerobics videos then moving into resistance training and continuing to grow and learn on my personal journey. As my physical fitness improved and I became noticeably more lean and fit (something I never was before) I began getting questions and requests for advice or help from people looking to improve themselves. I decided that if I was going to be giving out advice then perhaps I should be clear i knew what I was talking about so I got my first certification. Since then I have grown in the field allbeit slowly. I still cut hair full time but I train a few clients in my home, and again I’ve found my passion, in helping people be the best they can be.I feel like I’ve com almost full circle from the young dream of being a physical therapist. I love seeing the improvements and share in my clients excitement when they accomplish something they had not been able to do. I feel like I am actually making a difference, finally!! I love this profession! Stacia

Hey Pat. I met u this past weekend at the IYCA summit. I was the kid that drove from NY bc my flight was cancelled just to get out there. First I was impressed with Pat Rigsby himself. And if I could sum it up quickly Pat Rigsby is “The Man”. And I had never been to an event of any kind so I knew I needed to be there. It was well worth my drive and really expired me and adjusted my perspective on training and business.

My story is quite long so ill try to sum it up. When I was a young kid my father was stricken with Multiple Sclerosis. He was hit bad in the prime of his life and lost most of his function imediatly. And really out of no where. My mother who was a drug addict took off with my brother and I across the country to California. She had us around a lot of bad people and eventually we were taken away and put in foster care. We were 3 and 2 at the time. After several years of being bounced around we were brought back to NY to live with my grandparents who were also in care of my father.

I spent most of my younger years caring for my father. It was difficult and not the way any kid wants to know there father. Incapacitated unable to really do anything including talk. And this was the way I always new him. He died last year. And for 25 years he died slowly every day. Now im not a negative person but this is the reality of the situation.

In high school I was a Scholorship football player. Prob would have played at Hofstra or Maine but I tore my ACL my senior year in high school. It was devastating to me and pushed me into a deep depression.

The events of my life had left me with depressive issues and it would get worse after high school. I suffered from addiction, went to rehab and even spent time in jail. I hated myself and had no idea why.

It was a process but I finally got myself together. It took years to fix the emotional problems that I was having and even to this day I still deal with some forms of it.

But my outlook on life is 100% different then it used to be. I changed my perception on life and mostly stopped feeling sorry for myself. And today I stand as a confident, positive person ready to move to the future and forget about the past.

Ive always had a passion for training going as far back as high school when I would read BFS books all day and perform the movements. Unfortunatly i took a little detour to get here.

But im here now and my passion and love is training, athletics and helping people. And I hope through my story and experience that I can do so.

Frank

Hey Pat, I think this is great idea! It’s great for someone new to the industry to hear the different backgrounds of where these fitness professionals came from!

I’ve grown up and always been the chubby kid. I played all kinds of sports when I was a young, but in Jr. High and High School I didn’t because I was not a good athlete. When I went to college, I went from the chubby kid to flat-out obese. Within 3 years I gained over 100 lbs! I pretty much accepted the fact that I was going to be a “large dude” all of my life. A couple years after college, I got married and looked at my wedding pictures and was floored with how big I let myself get. However, even after seeing the photos, I convinced myself that it didn’t matter, my wife loved me and there is nothing I can do about being that big.

A year after getting married, we had a daughter and that’s when my mindset changed and it started to become clear that I needed to get healthy so I could not only live to see my daughter grow up, but so that I could enjoy being active with her.

I finally had the courage to call a guy that was just starting a fitness bootcamp where I lived. Needless to say after I met Ryan that day, my life took a 180 degree turn and I haven’t looked back since. I am constantly reading, learning, and studying everything I can get my hands on about fitness.

I realized that I was making a positive impact on not only myself, but my entire family. After a couple of months, I was getting friends and even friends of friends asking what I was doing because they were noticing a change both physically and mentally. I finally decided that I wanted to help others do the same thing. I know there are a lot of people that have a lot of work to do to get healthy, and it can be intimidating for them to get started, but I want to help them because it only takes one person, one motivating factor to finally open your eyes and make a positive change in your life.

I’m excited to continue learning as much as I can and help people, maybe even inspire people, to live a healthy lifestyle.

Matt

Hi Pat,

First of all thanks for all the info you’ve being throwing our way. Can’t tell you how much i appreciate it, i’m sure many of your followers feel the same way. Now on to my story, not much, but here goes: Honestly when i was much younger (high schoo) i never thought for 1 second i would be in the fitness industry. I started in sports really early. Playing soccer in grade school, a lot of basketball in high school and college. I got really serious with basketball, played for my college and even represented my state sometimes. Anyway, to help me perform better in basketball i started lifting weights and then got something like a gym in the back of my home. And thus began my journey, long story short, i ended up with a rotator cuff injury which ended my basketball dreams. Around this time i started getting more in strength training and fitness generally. I started studying about exercise, nutrition, weight loss and all.
At some point neighbors, friends, relatives, and even strangers would come to my home to workout and get advice from me. I did that for a few years (absolutely free of course). It didnt even occur to me that it was something i could pursue until a friend of mine pointed it out to me. Over the next several months, i started really considering it. With more research and studying came more interests. I studied engineering in school, but i was never really into it or school generally. Graduated and then made the bold decision to pursue a career in the fitness industry. Struggled (still kind of struggling) for a while (some years) mostly due to inaction and not following up.
Now though, i’ve got 2 bootcamps (total of about 15 clients, shameful i know) and a few online clients. I’ve got a bunch of things i want to achieve and i know i’ll do it. I’m going to have several bootcamp locations by the end of the year and thousands of online clients (obviously i have to get people to help with this). I want to run a real business. A business i work on not in. Bottom line, i want to be like you when i grow up (laugh).
Okay, thats the little i can share about me for now. Thanks again for all the killer info. Cheers.

Nana

Gday Pat,

Not dissimilar to a couple of stories listed above, I had a life-altering event that became the catalyst for my fitness industry career.

A former overweight, under-trained, sports loving Civil Engineer, in 2003 a seemingly innocuous motorbike ride with my faithful German Shepherd by my side took a turn for the worse. After he’d spotted a rabbit or something similar to chase, he decided to cut across in front of the bike, causing me to T-bone him and fly over the handlebars. Fortunately, the dog was fine, but I wasn’t.

Knee reconstruction a few weeks later once the swelling had subsided slightly left me faced with undertaking a rehabilitation program consisting of physio and gym work. Needless to say I fell in love with the feeling of a good workout, the physical impact it was having on me, the self-confidence that flowed on from that. Shortly thereafter I completed the studies required to become a personal trainer here in Australia, and a short time after that I quit the Engineering industry, never to return.

I’ve since been based in the heart of Sydney, where I was able to build an large and loyal client base, which is flourishing to this day.

My short term goal is to open my own studio/gym, and no small part has been played in this by my learnings from Plummer, Cosgrove, Rigsby, and even to the strength coaches like Boyle, Robertson, Cressey, etc.

I love the continuing education process, and I hope to complete one of the mentorships over there in the good ol U.S.A at some stage this year. I’m excited by the transformation the industry is undertaking, and I want to be at the forefront of it in Australia.

Thanks Pat for your daily motivationals, your “dedication to our success” is genuine, and I for one am definitely inspired daily from your succinct gems.

Michael

I started in this business to help myself first and foremost. I was a track and field athlete in college and was prepared to continue my career as a post-collegiate athlete. It seemed logical that starting my own training business would allow me the freedom to train for the Olympic Trials and allow for me to support myself while doing so.

A surgery or two later and my throwing career had ended and I wasn’t too sure what the path ahead held for me. I was a big, big guy at the time carrying over 315lbs for my sport (and due to my love for bad food and beer.)

After deciding that I would turn my competitive drive to my business I dove head first and truly became a fitness entrepreneur. I ingested and attempted to retain as much information as I possibly could from every source possible. I found PTU, Pat Rigsby, Jim Labadie, Nick Berry and a few others to really set themselves apart from the rest of the pack and decided to follow them closely.

The few years between then and late 2008 were filled with me investing everything I could into building a business that would make me proud. I spend hours reading and listening to all the products that the previously mentioned put out. I went to every conference and summit that I could attend. I emailed and called everyone that I thought might be able to teach me something. And most importantly I built relationships that are strong today.

I still remember the day that I had to make a very big decision. Would I travel down to Elizabethtown, Kentucky and possibly take a job with Pat and Nick or would I continue on my own. Well, I guess you have figured that I turned down that incredible opportunity and chose to continue on my own.

After this I decided that I truly wanted to own a training facility and begin brainstorming and mapping out a plan with my best friend and now business partner Wil Fleming.

In late 2008 we opened the doors to Force Fitness and Performance in Bloomington, Indiana and now are a very successful training facility. We did a few things wrong, a few things right and got very lucky a few times but the journey has been fun.

I am fortunate to have Pat, Nick, and Jim in my corner along with everyone else that has helped us along the way.

I have an incredible passion for helping people and being the best fitness entrepreneur that I can possibly be in the present and future. I have big plans in 2010 and will be working closely with the best in the industry to build Force Fitness, Athletic Revolution, AR Bloomington and many other projects that are in the works.

Pat

We’ve talked several times but never broke it down for you…

Training for me started in 7th grade. Grew up a wrestler working on a 230 acre farm. Life for me was surrounded by ‘tough love’. I had jobs that needed to be done – and was instructed to do so. Never really realized any athletic potential until my senior year but enough to play FB in college.

I graduated from Slippery Rock University with an Exercise Science degree, honor student, and was selected as the first SRU advisory board member.

Through some stokes of luck and busting butt I’ve coached at the Olympics, Division 1, a major medical center, and started my own business at age 26.

All that sounds great but let me take it a step further… At the Olympics I earned $1.94 an hour after room & board and food. While at the University of Pittsburgh I earned $1200 a month, before taxes, paid the last day of the month. At Pitt Medical Center I was salaried $30k (the medical center is a $5 Billion company.. that’s with a ‘B’).

The good part is I’ve coached every arena where sports performance is found. Bad part… not for much cash. That is all starting to change. With the help of others and changing some personal actions, my business is really gaining ground. 2010 is a coming out year for me and I look forward to working closely with you and your team.

Since I’m still working on not doing everything myself, I have to keep this short.

I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, even after I grew up. Although I graduated from college with a degree in sociology, for a few different reasons, I never worked in the field. For years, I worked various temp jobs because I couldn’t figure what I wanted to do.

After one temp assignment that turned into a full time, well paying job I ended up getting laid off. Construction industry with no work = no job.

I started working out again at my local gym and after winning a fitness challenge based on accumulated time doing various types of exercise (something like that is pretty easy when you’re unemployed), they offered me a job.

I’d always been active as a kid but over the years had put on probably 40 pounds, at least. (Not sure of the amount because I wouldn’t get on the scale.)

I started working at the front desk and in the fitness center and went on to get certified. I worked as an independent trainer for a few years and opened up my own small women’s fitness center. It’s been a struggle and I really need to stop treading water and start making some money.

The good news is that although I’m no fitness model, I’ve lost most of the excess weight and my members love the gym. My evening bootcamp is picking up and I’m in the process of starting two daytime sessions.

Pat, thanks for all the free info you provide.

I’m in on this late! My apologies.

Like most who train in the athletic world, I started out an athlete myself. I competed in college for 1 year in basketball (d III) and was perparing to transfer to a d1 school but I eventually got burned out. I hated basketball and actually decided to not transfer because I didn’t want to play. I’m not your typical basketball player, I’m 5’10″ (roster height) and weighed about 170lbs when I was transferring. So I’ve been below the radar so to speak my entire life.

After not transferring I decided to get into coaching high school basketball and did so for 4 years before my training business started to take off. Because training paid my bills and high school coaching didn’t, I had to give it up and impact kids through my coaching in the weight room instead of the court.

Shortly before that happened I was actually so close to giving up on training that I had sat down and applied for a desk job at a local corporation, thinking that I could earn decent money and get benefits. About that same time I had a co-worker at my gym sit down and give me a fatherly talk about how I was wasn’t good enough to make it in this business and that I should start to look for jobs in other places because they were more stable. I appreciate his comments, but in what seemed like 1 night (more like a couple months) my business literally took off. All of a sudden my reputation spread like wildfire and I started to make a good living off of training. Fast forward about 3 years later and I have now built a reputation so that we typically draw the most motivated athletes around and are helping athletes just like myself make their dreams come true. I am paid to speak and write regularly for multiple websites in hopes of helping to spread my love of coaching and teaching to others.

Some days it’s crazy to think that I was so close to giving up what I was doing and what I loved, but I hung on just long enough so that my passion turned into something that I now consider a “career.” I feel very blessed for that.