A Fitness Business Success Story
This is where I’d like to think I’ve earned my stripes. I started as a personal trainer making $6.00 per half hour session. No, you haven’t had too much chardonnay, you read that right. With my newly minted Personal Training certification that I earned after a laborious 15-minute open book exam over a random weekend in 1999, I was able to walk in my local gym and get a job. Yes, I was grateful, but I knew there had to be more. From there, I tried my hand as an advertising executive but was being pulled to what really made me happy: anything fitness and the thrill of helping someone make a decision that I knew in my soul was going to help them in their lives. Basically, earning a living by earning sales in the business that I loved.
I found myself winning a general manager position at a local, private-label gym nearby and found my first true mentor along with lifelong lessons in sales, management, leadership and organization. I also found my professional self, my leadership style and was able to translate that to a very successful tenure. Then, after 4 years, I heard a rumor. There was a new fitness competitor opening around the corner from us. All I heard was that it was like a class thing and it had orange lights in it. Little did I know that I would devote the next 8 of my most professional and productive years to this brand. Do I love Orangetheory Fitness? I can say with a full heart, yes. This brand gave me the opportunity to do what I love, to do what I do best and gave me the stage on which I could grow and share with others. And here I am, from a studio manager to the Sr. Director of Sales for a now billion-dollar fitness brand, yeah, you can say this is a success story that hasn’t even come close to an end, or how my high school English teacher taught us, the denouement. Yeah, I went there. Oh, and if you ever want to hear more about this story, ask me about the loudest audible gulp I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s a good one.
I have more but these three hit home
THE LOVE OF MY LIFE
Without family, what do you really have?
My first born son, this little feisty Yorkshire Terrier, is someone who has helped me and supported me for the past 8 years and I simply cannot imagine my life without him.
To say I love my little, oh I'm sorry Bear Face, to say I love my big boy would be the understatement of my life. Thank you Sebastian for being my best friend. I wouldn't be here or anywhere without you.
Yes Sebastian, you will get a treat for this. Geez, he's so bossy. But he always seems to be right. Damn it.
SAVE THE WORLD
Hello, my name is Manny and I am a FANATICAL recycler
When I’m not saving people with the best fitness product on the planet, I’m trying to save the planet. No literally. I don’t know where it came from but I have this innate ambition to save the world, one straw at a time. I’ve gone crazy and here’s proof!
I noticed that the cleaning crew at my office would just merge both the recycling bin and the garbage bins together. I know, right? I almost flipped my lid (pun intended). But that’s not my style. After making this disappointing and heart-breaking discovery you might be asking yourselves, what did he do? I bring my own and other people’s recycling items home with me every night so I can recycle them myself.
You want to hear another one? I brought my own utensils to the office so I would never use another plastic utensil again. Ok, ok last one. I bought metal straws. I know you saw the world’s most famous turtle. The poor turtle who had that straw stuck up his nose. That’s all I needed to see.
I’m not sure how or when but I’m going to make more of a difference in this world regarding this topic so stay tuned. In the meantime, bring your utensils to work, buy a metal straw and keep an eye on your cleaning crew. Let’s start simple. I know you heard this one before, “The longest journey begins with the smallest step”, Confucius. Take a small step with me.
SPEAK FOR THOSE WHO CAN'T
Animals feel more than you can imagine
I've been inspired to use my gift to help those who can't speak for themselves and find ways to make a difference in the way animals are viewed and especially how they're treated. I will not stop my drive to make a difference. Put it this way, anything I find creeping or crawling in my own home, I follow a strict catch and release policy. I hope you do too.
Join me in helping the most innocent creatures in the world live a happier and healthier life WITH us, not FOR us.
