GIVING VETERANS HOPE THROUGH FITNESS

Over the last 10 years as a NYC based Registered Dietitian & fitness professional, Christine Coen has transformed her practice from a traditional weight loss & aesthetic focus into a convergence of the powerful impact of movement & nutrition on mental health.  Christine’s own battle & eventual overcoming of depression, anxiety, & emotional eating sparked this change, as movement became her “anti-depressant” and was a major catalyst in her recovery.  

Today, coaching women to take empowered action & move their body every day to improve mental wellbeing, boost energy & mood has allowed her to help many clients struggling with depression, anxiety, and overeating issues.  Her non-diet approach to health, where weight loss focus is actually put on the back-burner, has surprisingly increased the success her clients have- mentally & physically. Her 6 month group coaching program, The Warrior Evolution, & her daily 22 Minute Warrior Workout are two ways she works with people to help them discover their deeper meaning for improving their wellbeing & create a solid action plan incorporating 4 pillars- movement, nourishment, fuel & mindset.

Get in touch with Christine:

@christine.coen

www.christinecoen.com

When you train over 200 plus sessions per month and a global pandemic hits, what do you do?  That was the question Ashton had to ask himself last year when COVID hit.  Ashton decided that in order to continue to take care of his clients, he would develop his brand digitally.  Although that sounds easy there is a lot that goes into building a digital brand and keeping the training aspect both motivating, as well as, high quality.

Listen to how Ashton was able to not only pivot to a digital platform but eventually create a hybrid version for all of his clientele.  

After starting his career in the supermarket business, Tom made the leap to the health market when he became a District Manager for GNC and ending his career as an EVP, GM, and CMO for GNC .

Then, when he met Mark Wahlberg, everything started coming together. The two became fast friends and bonded over their ideas for a line of all-natural, power-packed whey protein powders, energy bars and supplements for anyone who wants to perform at their best. “Our products are formulated to deliver incredible results, whether you’re a weekend warrior, a pro athlete, or a hardcore bodybuilder,” Tom says. “They aren’t junked up with things you can’t pronounce.”

Tom has seen firsthand that people are more active today and looking for products that help them feel more energized, get plenty of clean protein, recover quicker, get ripped, or drop a few pounds. “That’s why we started with a strong base of core products,” Tom explains. 

Tom and the team at Performance Inspired also pledge to donate 2% of net profits to charity and continue to grow the company, as well as, be ambassadors in the supplement industry.

Performance Inspired Nutrition

https://pi-nutrition.com/

Follow Tom Dowd

@bigdealdowd

Follow Mark Wahlberg

@markwahlberg

Having over 200 penalty minutes in the sport of lacrosse is not something that most people focus on when they think of Brian Spallina.  In fact, Brian will tell you that one of the best descriptions about his career was the word "misunderstood".  What does come to mind about a 17 year career in a sport that he basically helped put on the map was his 7 title championships.  He will be the first to admit, however, that every single one was a team effort and that is what makes the sport of lacrosse great.

Growing up with 2 older brothers and 1 younger brother and sister, Brian attributes his work ethic from both siblings and parents.  "You want a new pair of cleats" his Dad would say, "Ok first you need to rake all of the leaves in the yard".  

It was, however, during his High School years at Rocky Point that he really started to understand the game of lacrosse and was fortunate to have some great coaches along the way.  Fast forward, 7 championships later over a 17 year career, Brian founded 91 Lacrosse.  What started out with having 3 boys and 3 girls lacrosse teams in year 1, sky rocketed to 16 teams in year 2 and is still growing.  providing that support and education to kids from all over has been Brians greatest gift through it all.  It is one of the reasons why is biggest passion is his teaching career.  

Having dropped out of high school twice, owning his own business wasn't something that Darren even dreamed of as a kid.   Working part time jobs for most of his young career, Darren was trying to figure out how to balance his family and social life.  Once he did that, he was able to really understand what it took to compete in the sport of bodybuilding. So much so  that he competed in several shows.  

How do you go from competitive bodybuilder to owning your own business was the question.  For him it was a leap of faith.  For Darren it began with setting up a mini store inside a gym where he and a buddy would sell supplements.  This amidst the 2010 recession which made it all that more remarkable.  With some mistakes along the way and accepting that there is a learning curve, Darren now owns two NutriWolf Retail stores in NY.  Specializing in supplements, meal prep and smoothies, Darren has now come a long way from setting up shop inside gyms.

"You have to take risks" according to Darren if you want to be an entrepreneur and willing to accept mistakes along the way.  That is part of the responsibility of owning your own business.  But for him, the journey was worth it.

Crossing over into entrepreneurship has always been on Tara's mind but actually doing it was a totally different step in her life.  Tara realized years ago when she was a Regional Group X Instructor that she wanted to own a business but was very hesitant moving fwd..  Tara says that the number one reason many athletes/fitness gurus do not cross over is because of fear both emotionally and financially.

Although her mindset with her various fitness roles helped her be a leader, it still doesn't take away from the fact that crossing over into owning your business is then all on you and you alone.

As far as her knowledge of F45 was concerned, the brand seemed to follow her wherever she went and so she started to inquire about the type of workout, as well as, the business side of the company.  From the moment she finished her first F45 class she said to herself "this is it".  She has always had a passion for an inclusive community when it comes to fitness and F45 was where she wanted to stake her claim as a fitness entrepreneur.  Listen to Tara's advice on how to make that crossover less stressful.

"It took me 17 years of just blind faith before I got to stand on the podium in the Olympic stadium".  That was Louise Hazels journey to fulfill her dream of competing in the Olympics as a Heptathlete.  Although she crossed the finish line in her athletic career, her business career has just bolted out of the gate.  

She now owns The Slay Gym and along with Director of Training, Eric Strangis, they have set out to help thousands of women worldwide to stay in shape with their online plan Slay Challenge teaching that if you learn how to train and not exercise you'll never fall off again.

There are 2 pieces of advice when crossing over from athlete to entrepreneur: 

1. Don't jump too soon because that first business for most entrepreneurs will fail.
2. Surround yourself with a Gold Medal team to support you

To see more of what Slay is doing:

www.theslaygym.com

www.slaychallenge.com

@louisehazel

@ericstrangis

@slayathletic

@theslaygym

@slaychallenge

Have you ever wondered how many times you should reach out to a potential member? Although it is important to understand how and when you should reach out to leads, it is also just as important to understand what your message should be. Whether it be phone, text or email, your messaging is just as important as how many times you are reaching out. In fact, I find that most of the time your actual conversation with a lead is different than your voicemail, email or text message. Generally speaking you want to have about 8-12 touchpoints with any lead. It is also about making sure that your messaging is all about the customer and less about your product/service. If a customer only hears what you have to offer they might feel like you are like you are just trying to sell them. You should make every touchpoint about the customer's "why" and their goals. Always remember, that the reason why a person joins a gym is to reach a goal. 
 

Ten years ago, Mike Nichols had a dream.  During his service in the Marine Corps he had always had a desire and passion to create a program to give active duty and Veteran service members and convert that experience into the fitness industry.  After meeting Carol Ann and Chas Rodgers through F45 they turned that idea of a program into a reality.

This reality is now known globally as the F45 V.I.P. which is short for Veterans Impact Program.  It is based on 5 pillars for success:

1.  Employment- creating  employment opportunities for service members to fast track into the F45 franchise network.
2. Internship- 12-week skill bridge program that helps active duty service members obtain the on-the-job training and education they need to work in the fitness industry.
3. Apprenticeship- this program is designed for coaches working in an F45 studio, who want to become Master Trainers.
4. Ownership-F45 recognizes that some of their best owner-operators are those that have served in the military.
5. Studios on bases- the ultimate dream has become a reality in having F45 studios on military bases.

Combining these 5 pillars makes the F45 V.I.P.  a Global first.

In sales, very often we ask many questions.  The problem, however, with asking questions is most often they do not further the cause of getting someone to say "yes" to purchasing your product or service.  In fact, many times we actually talk someone out of a sale because we end up sounding too salesy.  We spend most of the time talking about "what" and "how" we do things and less time about "why" someone would care.

Powerful sales questions, however, can have three profound effects on the outcome of a sale.

1.  Plant seeds.  Powerful sales questions can plant effective seeds for later on in the sales cycle.
2. Overcome objections.  Powerful sales questions can overcome objections early on so you aren't faced with them at the end.
3. Activate the emotional part of the brain.  The part of the brain that makes decisions is the most important part to tap into because sales is emotional.
4. When you combine all three of these types of questions you essentially make it as easy as possible for someone to say "yes" to a sale.