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Being STRONG is more than just how much weight you can lift.
The Strong New York Podcast is dedicated to inspiring you to become your strongest self- in the gym, in business, in relationships and in life.
Join Kenny as he sits down with his strong as fuck buddies and shoots the shit on what it takes to be strong willed, strong minded and physically strong. Season one features everyone from entrepreneurs and local business owners to doctors and industry leaders in the fitness and wellness space.
With over a decade of experience, Kenny Santucci has made himself known as one of New York City’s top trainers and a thought leader in the health and wellness industry. After transforming his life at 15 years old through fitness, Kenny made it his mission to transform the lives of those around him.
Kenny has trained some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Jon Bon Jovi, Liev Schreiber, and Frank Ocean, and has been tapped as a fitness expert sharing his training approach with Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Runner's World, SHAPE, Well+Good, among other publications.
Kenny is the creator of STRONG New York, NYC's only Health and Fitness Expo. Strong New York is an immersive day of workouts, wellness experiences, panel discussions, and inspiring conversations with the best in-class wellness professionals, industry leaders, and change makers who are sharing their expertise on today's hottest wellness trends and first-hand experiences on how to optimize your overall health and life.
You can find Kenny at The Strength Club, his private training and group strength training facility in the heart of Manhattan located on 28th and 5th Ave in New York City.
Don't play the fucking victim.Yeah.Nobody wants to be around a victim.It's always somebody else.I didn't have this, or I didn't have that.I never once was like, "Oh, poor me."I just get up and I do what I can do.Mm-hmm.That's the mindset.This is radical responsibility.That's the mindset.Y- you have to have extreme ownership over everything you do, otherwise you will continue to be a fucking victim of all the shit you got going on in your head.Mm-hmm.Don't look for an excuse.Look for a solution and figure it out.So- Giovanni Vaccaro, here with us today on the Strong New York podcast.He's the creator of Glam Squad, which is very impressive, but now he's moved into the entrepreneurial space and he has a company called Peak Performance.My biggest thing that I think a lot of high performers, a lot of, a lot of men do this, right?It's like we overvalue intensity and we undervalue consistency.You work with a lot of high performers.What are the 3 things that you see that every, everybody's doing?To operate at that level, you have to be highly intentional.One of the last questions I wanna ask you, so- Well, I can tell you- Welcome back to another episode of the Strong New York podcast.I'm your host, Kenny Santucci, and as always, we're cracking cans of Celsius open and living fit.Also, go to MarekHealth.com, get your blood work done, and become optimal.I am a huge fan of it.I don't think anybody out there should go through life not knowing what's going on inside your body, so go to MarekHealth.com, use the code Kenny, and get your s- shit checked out.Also, on September 26th, we are throwing the biggest fitness and wellness event here in New York City called Strong New York.If you don't know what it is, go to strongnewyork.com.Check it out.It is the biggest fitness and wellness festival the city has ever seen.We've been doing it for 10 years, so this is our 10 year anniversary.We got some of the best speakers in the world coming.We have some of the best trainers in the world coming, and it's your opportunity to work out, hang out, meet people, and experience just the best of the fitness space.Giovanni?Vaccaro.Vaccaro.Here with us today on the Strong New York podcast.He's the creator of Glam Squad, which is very impressive, but now he's moved into the entrepreneurial space and he has a company called Peak Performance.We're gonna dive into a lot of this.Uh, he is a local New Yorker.Uh, so let's get right to it.How the fuck did you start something that just seems very, um, I wanna say more, I, I guess it's caters to women more.Mm-hmm.How'd you get into the space?How'd you get into the Glam Squad?So, yes, I- Because I've heard of it.I don't- Yeah, yeah, yeah.Well, so I, I grew up in Westchester, New York, and I grew up in a immigrant Italian family, so like work ethic was just everything.So your parents are right off the boat.So parents are right off the boat.Has anybodyHere's myPeople get so offended by stereotypes, and- Mm-hmm.I don't get offended by it at all.Well, me neither.So far.I, I think Italians- I feel like we might have the same stereotype, too.We're, we're the, we're Italians, we'reLike, Italians get shit on the most.We're always compared to, like, criminals.Mm.Right?There was, uh, there was a Subway Take, and they said thatOne of the Subway Takes.You ever watch that show?It's like a YouTube show.Not recently, yeah.Anyway, the guy goes, "Italians are the top of the Blacks and the bottom of the whites."And I said, "That is the "It's a funny thing, because it, when you look at movies, comic books, all through the 1900s- Mm-hmmItalians were always featured as, like, villains or bad guys or something.Yep, yep.And I just, like, people would always be like, "Oh, Guinea."My grandmother was off the boat.So people would call her, like, I remember I was younger and somebody was like, "Oh, you green horn bitch."And I was like, "Why'd he call you that?What does that mean?"But you know what it means, right?Dude, I, ISo the beauty of my upbringing was that I felt like being Italian was an advantage.Me, too.I always thought it was the best thing in the world.I was like, I love being Italian.Yeah.I loved it.I loved the work ethic.I loved the wayDude, I s- I was going to work with my father at years old.Mm-hmm.He, restaurant business.Again, stereotypical.Came off the boat.At 17 years old opened up his first pizzeria.Yeah.And I was working there when I was 8.And so I knew that that wasn't for me.Like, I was, like, learning about the business.Sure.And that was exciting, but I was, I wanted something more, something where I was actually one-on-one with people.So, um, one of my friends had a salon in, uh, Connecticut, and it was what his mom did.And I would go there after school every once in a while when I wasn't working for my dad, and I just saw this, like, energy of people coming in, music going, one-on-one.It just felt, like, glamorous and cool, and I was like, "I think I wanna be a part of this."And I always loved building people's confidence.Like, I felt like I had a knack for that.Yeah.And so I told my dad when I was 17 years old that, "I don't wanna take over the family business.I wanna become a hairdresser."That probably went over big.Well, what I did was I took him toNot I took him.He took me to Mexico with the family.Mm-hmm.Gave him a couple shots of tequila over in Mexico, and then I broke the news to him.And he was like, he was cool.He was like, "You know what?If you wanna do that, then, like, I support it 100%."And it was muchDude, I, I was villainizing my father, thinking it was gonna be the hardest conversation.Mm.And he ended up being incredibly supportive.So I went to cosmetology school, uh, and then from there I went to the number one salon in the city.It's the only salon.Which one was it?It's called Frederic Fekkai.Okay.And it was in Midtown Manhattan in the Chanel building, 19,000 square feet.Like, every single celebrity would go to this place.And- So, sorry to stop you right there.I, because we're gonna get into work ethic and you building your business, and the, the mentality that you have and the, the people that you work with on a very high level.Take us through, because I think a lot of younger people now wanna skip the, the first couple rungs of the ladder.No.And you working at the salon- Bad idearight?Yeah.You working at the salon, you probably did the shittiest fucking jobs for the longest time.Take us through what that was like when you started there.You're like, "Hey, I wanna work at the top salon," but you gotta fucking pay your dues.Mm.So what's that look like?So, so, I, today's culture- Today's society has this, like, it's a microwave approach.You gotta, you hit the button, and you think you're gonna have your success ready in a minute, and it's just not the case.When I went to Fakai, I knew at 20 years old that I was gonna have to start at the bottom.When I got the job, they said, "Great, you're gonna be shampooing hair, and you're gonna be shampooing hair for could be a year, could be 2 years.It just depends on how fast you grow."And I'm like, "Okay, cool.That's a part of my job.""No, no.That's your job.That's all you're doing.You wanna be a stylist, you have to shampoo."So I started from the way, way bottom, and dude, I was doing 25 to 30 shampoos a day.I mean, my hands were, like, raw by the end of the night, and I was living in Westchester, so I was commuting like crazy, 6 days a week working, and that's just what it took.And, and some of the stylists would look at me and say, you should ask to, like, move on to the next, like, you should ask to do blow-dries."And I said, "No, no, no.I think I'm exactly where I need to be."I was 20 years old.I was living at home.I didn't need to rush things.I was like, "I'm building relationships.I'm learning how to be the best shampooer.Some of these people that I'm shampooing are gonna start seeing me as a hairstylist once I become a hairstylist."That's exactly what happened.So- How many years did it take you to, like, get to the point where you were like- Took me two and a half years.Two and a half years.Two and a half years to go from shampooing, to blow-drying, to cutting hair, to becoming a stylist on the floor.But the beauty of it is, is that when you make it through, and at the time it was, like, 5% that actually make it through.5%.When youThis is, it was a machine of a business.September 26th at the Glass House, do not forget, Strong New York, it's our 10th anniversary.Think of the food and wine festival, Comic-Con, the boat show, the car show, but this is the fitness version of it.Do not miss out.Strong New York, our 10th anniversary, September 26th at the Glass House.Go to strongnewyork.com and get your tickets today.When you make it through, y- you're like, you're, like, guaranteed to make real money.I mean, I got onto the floor, they call it the floor.You get onto the floor, and my first day, I've got 9 clients that were given to me by the salon.That's how busy they were.That's how many new customers they had over and over again.And so I was able to build my book, um, and take that on for, for 9 years I was there, and I was- Like, you know, people always think, like, you're working here in New York City, like, being a trainer, being a stylist, working any job.It's like, oh, you're dealing with celebrities.It's not even the celebrity clientele, it's the average everyday person that lives here.Mm.Right?Like, anybody who's here, like, part of the reason why we thr- we keep the event here is because the level of just everyday person here in New York is- Yeahat a higher level than anywhere else.You, like, you couldn't cut hair in Columbus, Ohio, and have the same level of clientele and experience that you would have gotten here.Well, I mean, I'm sure you experienced it with your business too.That's the beauty of being in New York- Yeahis that everyone is tapped into some sort of community.Mm-hmm.And you truly never know who is going to be sitting in your chair.So what I tell, you know, I've got this, a company, Glam Squad, that has 2,000 pros across the country, and when you're doing the same thing over and over again, training the same person, or training, or blow-drying the same, you know, 10 people every single day, you can sometimes forget and get complacent around who these people actually are.Mm.And that every single one of those is an opportunity to expand your growth in some way, shape, or form.Sure.It could be whether they're introducing you to somebody, it could be whether they have an opportunity for you.Mm-hmm.You don't know where it's gonna go.You don't know where it's gonna go.Wow.And so I, I have so many stories around clients that another stylist had said no to."Oh, I, I don't wanna take care of them.They're too difficult.They're too this."Dude, they've come sit in my chair, now all of a sudden I'm doing their daughter's hair for her wedding in Tuscany, because I said yes.And I was 22 years old, I said yes to everything.Mm-hmm.And I- Are you still like that now?Like, later on, you got kids, you got a wife.Like, are you still as willing to say yes to opportunities?Because you still wanna grow, you still wanna build your business.Like, as I was reading through your story and listening, watching you on other podcasts and stuff, you seem, still seem like a dog.Like, I love that.Like, that's how I am.Like, I want to, I want to continue to grow and build.Otherwise, I feel like I have no purpose.Yeah.So, so my circle has changed, and I think that has a really big impact on what you say yes and what you say no to.So as I've evolved, as I've changed my identity over and over again over the past 22 years when I got into the business, you start realizing that you have to be more selective to what you say yes to, because even more opportunities come your way.They present it as opportunities.Sure.But you'reI mean, I'm sure you see it in your own business, like, everyone has an event or an evening or something to invite you to, and you have to be more selective.Mm-hmm.I'm 40, I'm turning 42 in a couple weeks, and I have a wife, I have 2 kids, I have a couple businesses.I have to be very mindful about what gets, what gets my energy.Sure.And I don't wanna deplete my energy, so I wanna know, how d- how do I, how do I preserve my energy while still maximizing my impact?That's really, really important to me.Yeah.No, I, I think it's, I think it's aWhen I look at your story, 1, I see a lot of similarities in the way I was raised and the way I was, kind of my mindset is.Um, but it's impressive because so many people now think, just like I said, so many people think they could skip that step.But you waited it out, you did what you had to do.What I find the most impressive is that you went from doing this thing similar to a trainer, right?Trainers, barbers, you know, um, you know, stylists, whatever industry you're in.doesn't, just because you're good at that skill doesn't mean you're good at being a business person.Mm.So true.And you, you took this skill that you had and now you converted it into a business.Yeah.And I wanna kinda dive into that, because that's where, personally, I struggle, is, like, the expansion project.How do you do that?Mm.What does that look like?And giving people out there, like, there's probably great stylists that you know- Yeahwho couldn't be anything but a stylist.Like, I have friends who are the best trainers in the world.If s- if somebody was like, "Who's better?"I'd be like, "This fucking guy's way better."But they were never able to execute on owning a gym- Yepor having that type of- Different skill setsand it's a different skill set.Different skill sets, yep.So what made youBecause I don't h- you've clearly turned this thing, you have 2,000 people acro- or, right?2,000 pros across the country.2,000.Yeah.And you've served over 2 million people.We've, we've done almost 2 million services over 12 years, yeah.That's a lot- Mm-hmmto manage.Yeah.And that's a- Welltotally different skill set.Yep.What made you confident that you could do that, and how'd you do it?Well, uh, so l- let's go back, because, uh, when I was in the salon, I had an incredible roster of clients.I was, I loved what I did.Yeah.But I got reallyI mean, 9 years in, I knew, I knew that this wasn't the end goal for me.But I also didn't think that the end goal was just opening up a salon down the street.That wasn't really gonna be my style.I wanted to build something from the ground up, and I knew that.Like, I felt it in my bones, but I didn't know what it was.And so going back to, like, making connections, building relationships, and understanding people, I had a client of mine who I had gotten for years, a, a guy, and he had, um, sat in my chair once, and he was like, "Hey, do you think people would want your service, but, like, in their home?"I'm like, "Hmm, interesting you ask," because at least once a week, I'd have a client that would sit in my chair and tell me, "My hair looks amazing.I feel great.Like, I've got a big meeting tomorrow.If only you could come to my house and do this before work."And sometimes I would do it.Mm.But I'm one person.So I, light bulb moment, I was like, "Hey, I'm getting asked this pretty often.I think this could be a thing."Yeah.This is right around 2013.Uber, Rent the Runway, Grubhub, all this, like, come to you services, convenience.So I had to understand in that moment, I wasn't ready for it.Like, I was not ready for it.Mentally, I was still a stylist.My identity was like, "I am a hair stylist."I built a great business within a business, but I haven't built a standalone business yet.Sure.Which is a very, very different thing.Very different skill.Fakih had the name, the branding, it was feeding me clients all day long.Now try doing that yourself.Really, really hard.So, um, I had a mentor and I had a coach.That's why I love coaching, because I had somebody in my corner that was pumping belief in me before I even believed in myself.Like, truly, just like, Gio- Was this somebody at the salon?This is m- the cr- this, who's still a great friend of mine, an amazing friend of mine.How old of a guy is he?He's, now he's probably 56, but at the time, he was probably in his early 40s.Sure.And he was, he was a huge supporter of mine, saw just how I was with my client.I left, I left the salon, I had one of the biggest books in the salon.I left in my heyday.So he had said to me, "Hey."Like, I was, my brain was so messed up, I was just, I, I, I'm sitting on this dream for, like, s- 8 months now, a year.If you asked me 20 years ago what an entrepreneur was, I couldn't tell you.I didn't even know what the word meant.But I found myself building a business over the past 15 years of my life.And as a entrepreneur, I was always looking to be coached in business, right?I sell personal training and group fitness, and I wanna help people build their bodies.And as somebody who never really had any business experience prior to me building my business, I wanted to join a group or a class of people that were much more educated than I was, who've been through it, who had the experience, who could help me build my business.And that's what I found in the Founders' Club.I've been in the club now for about 6 months, and I've seen nothing but value.Every dollar that I've spent, I would double that, hands down, because I've found a network of people and a group of people that I normally wouldn't have access to or ever get to meet.I think they've done an incredible job of curating the people who are there.Everyone I've worked with has been either willing to help or has helped mewith my business, and I wanna be able to do the same for them.So it's a great network of people.I'm super excited to be a part of it, and if you guys are thinking about it, hands down, it's 1,500 people strong in North America, and only growing.So best decision I've made in 2026.And he's like, you've got this.Like, whatever worst possible scenario, this thing doesn't work out, and you, you have to cut hair.You love cutting hair.What's the worst that can happen?"Sure.And also, like, beauty meets technology, like, there's something so innovative about this.And, like, just total belief.And one day, it just, like, that's who I am.Mm.I'm, I am an entrepreneur.I am a business owner.And the second that you can make that adjustment, which is, like, I wanna be, or somebody in your world might say, like, "I wanna lose weight," or, "I, I am trying to be more disciplined."No, no, no, no, no.I am a disciplined person.Once you start changing that framing- Mmit changes everything, your habits, your goals, your results, the way you look at yourself.And so I made that change, and then everything else followed.Dude, I would walk into rooms scared out of my mind.Like, it's not just like all of a sudden, oh, he made this move, and now he's super confident.Yeah.You didn't open up this new facility, and all of a sudden you're like, "I know exactly what I'm doing."Every day I have fucking imposter syndrome.E- every day.Like, I always, I always say, there, there's so many fucking losers that I know who brag about the most obsolete shit in the world that they've done, and I go, "I've done so much more.I don't have half the confidence these guys do."And that, it's my fault.It's my problem.Like, they'll do the dumbest shit.Like, guy's like, "Oh, I played fucking amateur fucking baseball."I'm like, "I was on television.I played a fucking, you know, I've, I've done so much more.I've opened multiple businesses."Yeah."I have so much shit going on," and I'm still like, "I gotta do something else to prove myself."Well, well, you don't have to do something else to prove to yourself.K- what I would say, Kenny, is when I think about imposter syndrome, I used to, I used to think about imposter syndrome as something that was, um, negative.Like, remove it.Get rid of it.And what I've realized through years of working on myself, of coaching, imposter syndrome is a beautiful thing.Mm.Because it means that you're playing a big game.Like, if you were doing some of the same shit over and over and over again, you wouldn't have imposter syndrome.When I was cutting hair 9 years in at the salon, I knew I was a great hairstylist.I didn't have imposter syndrome, like, "I don't know what I'm doing here."Yeah.The second that I was in a boardroom trying to raise millions of dollars with my, for my business with, uh, my business partner, who's from Columbia, Columbia Grad School, my other business partner, who's from Harvard Business School, and I'm from Capri Cosmetology, you better believe, dude, I had imposter syndrome.I was like, "What am I doing in this room?"Well, that's interesting.How'd you find these partners?The guy who brought me in put us all together.Put you, okay.Yeah, it's all his, all his, all his network.So he's, he's no longer with the business.Now it's me and my one business partner who are running the, the entire company.But you just, you, you, putting yourself in these positions where you're scared, but you go through it.Mm-hmm.You're scared, and you go through it, and that changes who you become because that next level of you is going to require a different version of you.When people hear about success stories, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, you know, Bill Gates, whoever it may be, I think because we don't have the men- the brain capacity to be like, "Oh my God, there must be multiple people involved," no one thinks of that.Like, no one person is solely responsible for building a business.Now, obviously, you had a great team with you.They manage the business.You are kinda maybe more the idea guy.I see a lot of similarities, and just by the way you talk, I'm like, we're very similar in the way we think- Mm-hmmand, like, our skill sets.I think it's, like, a kind of old school Italian blue collar, like- YeahI'm just gonna fucking chip away and work my ass off for this.Um, how important are those people?Because I know even in my business, like, I come up with ideas.I have, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have the business I have- Yeahbecause, and then with him, like, I need to rely on certain people to do- Mma lot of the things.And I get scared sometimes.I'm like, "Wait, fuck.If I had to do this for myself, I don't understand this part of the business like he does."Right.I don'tI can't do what she does.That's right.So, so many people are like, "Oh, this person found the whole company."I'm like, no, they probably have, like, a, a fucking good team of people- Yeahthat are somebody's logistics, somebody's marketing.Somebody does this.Mm-hmm.Take us through your team and, like, how that expanded.You started with one person- Mm-hmmwho kind of maybe handled the business side of things- Yeahthe shit that you didn't understand.Yeah, yeah, yeah.So, so s- that's why I struggle when, when I see people posting on Instagram like, like self-made.It's like, never, ever believe in that shit.Yeah.Ever.It's no such thing.Yeah.It's like there's a team behind you.There's gotta be, because there's no way you can get to a certain level by yourself.Well, you can't have all those skill sets.There's no way.You can't have all those skill sets.And so withSo my, my philosophy- Mm-hmmis that you, you have a business partner, and you have aMy business partner is basically, it's yin and yang, right?It's like you've got somebody who is w- incredibly analytical, is super data-driven, and then where I come in is the opposite side of that.It's creativity.It's relationship-building.It's understanding the, the beauty community.It's understanding the professional.It's all of the above.You gotta hire, when you're looking to build your team, you said it before, you got her, you got him, you gotta hire for your weaknesses.Mm-hmm.What are you not good at- Yeahthat you need in your business?Mm-hmm.And if you're trying to hire people who are just like you or people who are going to agree with everything that you say- I don't need 2 idiots.I know.But you know what?One's good enough.But it's real, because the ego gets in the way.Yeah.And when you're, when you're self-aware, and this is going back to the, the question you asked me before, when you are truly self-aware, 'cause that's the thing that held me back for a while, is I would get in some of these meetings when we were trying to raise capital, and, and I'm like, "Man, I, I don't have this skill or this language."You know, you get into business, and you get into a business with that scale, and you're talking to private equity and venture, it's a different language.Yeah.ComeI never heard this language before.So there was a couple times where I was trying to prove through ego that, like, "I'm just as smart as these guys, so I'm gonna, like, try and insert myself," when I had no idea what I was talking about.And so when you take a step back and say, "You know what?I'm just gonna be curious.I'm gonna be in the room.I'm gonna know my place in the room and not, like, overstep, because my business partner has got this," which is whatever they're great at.Mm-hmm."And then I've got this, so the second they, they start asking me about the service part of it or the beauty professional or the client side of it," which is the most important part, that's where my uniqueness comes into play.And now you could leverage some of the talent, let's call it, or, you know, clientele that you had to help grow this business.Right.That's right.So you took aSo take us through, like, you start this thing 2013.2014, yep.2014.When did you or when did you guys realize, like, "Holy shit, we have a real business on our hands.We're making-" Yeah"big money"?Yeah, yeah.So- You service two million people.So, so we haveSo in 2, 2014, we launched in New York, and we launched in New York with, uh, just hair.So there's hair, there's makeup, and then there's nails today.Mm-hmm.But we launched just in New York, and trust me, we were getting opinions from everyone, like, "Oh, you should go big.You should go in all these markets, all these pros, all, all these services, spray tan and facials and massages."And we're like, "No, no, no, no.We're gonna focus on one thing- Mm-hmmand we are going to be the best at it."And so we did that in New York, and after probably about, like, our launch party, our launch event, I should say, we invited all of the beauty editors and all of our contacts, and we've got a great, great group of people that we know.And we, we were, we were doing, like, 15 appointments prior to this launch, right?Like, a week.Like, there wasNobody knew about Glamsquad.And we're inviting all these people, and our hope and what we're betting on is that they're gonna leave this event, and they're going to write about us in Cosmo, in r- uh, Refinery29, PopSugar, whatever it is, and that we're gonna see massive app downloads, right?'Cause you can book through the app.And we have the event.People loved it, we think, and the next day, morning we wake up, and, like, app downloads are, like, 0.We're like, "Oh, my gosh, what a complete fail."Like, we hadWe spent, like, $15,000, and that was a lot of money to us back then.Sure.And then, like, 3:00 comes, and Refinery29 writes the first article on Glamsquad, and then another outlet writes one, and then another out- and then it gets repurposed, and now our app downloads are going from, like, 0 to, like, 400.Then the next day, it's 8.It just started to catch.Today's episode is brought to you by Marek Health.If you're someone who actually cares about performance, whether it's in the gym, business, or just your day-to-day life, you should be thinking about health optimization, not just fixing a problem when shit shows up.That's what I like about Marek Health.It's not just go see the doctor when something's wrong.This is preventative care.This is dialing in everything before it becomes an issue.They run full labs, break everything down, and you've got a coach that you get access at any time, not just every 6 months, like actual access to this person.It's basically a one-stop shop for health, blood work, hormones, performance, all handled in one place.If you're serious about feeling better and performing at your best, then go check out Marek Health.Use the code Kenny for 10% off.And what I knew we had was a great product.Our pros were fan-- We had 20, 25 pros in New York.They were fantastic.So none of this works if you don't have a great product.Yeah.Like, you can't scale it if you don't have a great product.You can get a one-time customer to come in, but to get a repeatable user Over and over again, it's gotta be a great product.So because it's such a important skill set to be a great hairstylist, because people go nuts.I mean, she came in one day, and she had, like, red hair, and I was like, "What the fuck happened?That looks terrible."Like, what do you do?'Cause you spent $400, $500 to have somebody color your hair the wrong way.That's it?No, I'm kidding.I- it was something like that.But I said, I go, "You need to be really good."So starting this business, you get 2 or 3 women who are fucking pissed off that their hair- Yeahis green or something.Yeah, yeah, yeah.Unless they're fucking protesters.Yeah.They'reIt's gonna be a problem.Yeah.And it's gonna be bad for the business.So take me through the hiring process of, like, you're a great stylist.Like, even f- here for me, when I hire coaches, there's, like, 5 questions that I ask people- Yeahthat I wanna know-who they are as a human being.That's great.And then they actually have to have the skill set.That's great.What is your- Q- quality is everything.They're going through skill sets where we watch what they do.We have them share their book, their portfolios, their Instagrams, their handles, all the above.Um, we do background checks on every single pro.And so we use th- and then we have them work together.So hair does hair, makeup does makeup, and nails does nails.And you have them work together so you see, how do they do this dance?When a client wants to book an 8:00 AM in the morning, and you, they have 2 pros coming, how do you collaborate as opposed to try and, like, own your territory?'Cause that's not what we're trying to do.So do you get it wrong sometimes when you have 2,000 pros?And we have 2,000 pros now, but pre-COVID, we had a team that was probably even a little bit bigger than that.You get it wrong sometimes, of course, but we get it wrong, we get it right, like, 98% of the time.From on time f- again, most companies that are mobile services, Time Warner, any of these companies that are, like, come to you, like, they're giving you a window of time.Yes.Be home from 9:00 to 5:00.Yeah, yeah.It's like you're ruining my day.Yeah, yeah, yeah.Glam Squad, we tell you, we're gonna show up at 8:00, your appointment's at 8:00 AM, our pro is there at 8:00 AM, and we're on time basically 95% of the time, literally on the dot.So all of that reliability, punctuality, skill set, and performance, h- it's a hospitality business.Sure.Every business is where you're dealing with people.Service- How do you s-is everythingit's everything.Mm-hmm.So I wanted to take what I learned from Fukai, which was super high-end, premium, luxe hospitality, and bring it to the mass community.Mm-hmm.And you do that through creating loyalty with your professionals.Yeah.They've gotta love working with you.If they don't, you're screwed.Because if they don't love working with you, they're gonna steal your clients, they're going to, uh, show up in a way that's not gonna be the standard of the brand.Sure.And, and little by little, your company's gonna fail.Do you find from running a big business like you have, and then the, you know, the kind of the, the other business that you're working with when you're working with these executives- Yeahand high performers, do you think that people are driven more by money or the culture of the business that they work with?See, because I feel like there's a lot of times where people are like, "All right.I have this job.I hate it, but I make money."That's one st- that's one type of person.And then there are people where, like, "I don't make that much money, but I love the culture and what I do, so I put up with- Yeahthe lack of money I might make."Yeah, yeah.Um, uh, so I think people, in my experience of people, um, people can be driven by different things.Sure.Uh, I know people that are driven, believe they're driven by money, but they're really driven by what does money give them.Because if money gave you nothing, money would be irrelevant.Mm-hmm.So when it comes to the money, it's what is it giving me?Is it giving me security?Is it giving me comfort?Is it giving me experiences?Is it giving me adventure?The high performers that I work with at Peak Mode Coaching, which is my, my coaching business, um, these are all people who are, have already experienced what life is like with money.Mm-hmm.They are high performers.They're successful in their own way.They are executives or founders or CEOs in companies, all different industries, by the way, not just beauty.And what's interesting about this group of people is that there is something, we all have this, we, these high performers always wanna get to the next level.We talked about that before.It's like you're never done.Yeah, yeah.So you wanna get to the next level.Okay, well, there's something that is holding you back.There's a gap.You today, you tomorrow, and then there's this space.Well, what's in that space?What is it?A lot of times it's a story that we have been telling ourselves over and over again that now has become belief.It's what I believe about myself.So for me, when I, my story was I'm just a hair stylist.Tomorrow I'm supposed to be an entrepreneur, but I don't believe that at all.So how do I get from hair stylist to entrepreneur?And that's what I had to work on.Mm-hmm.Was believing that story because that next version is gonna require a next version of me.So what I find, back to your question, what I find is that when somebody has had money, they're, what they're really searching for when they have it and they're like, "What's the meaning of all this?"Is like, "What's the purpose?What's the fulfill- like, what's gonna actually energize me?"Mm-hmm.And for some people, it's continuing to move up in their job, their work, their, their business.For some of it, it's just actually having goals and habits that need to be created because that's what that next version of you is actually gonna require.Sure.Well, because I think we have this idea of, by no means am I a millionaire or billionaire by any stretch of the imagination.I one day like to be.And there's this new kind of mentality amongst younger people, and even people our age, which is so surprising, that millionaires and billionaires are bad people, that they make all this money, and it, because they make so much money, nobody else can make money.last night I was at a charity event.It's called Back On Your Feet.So you know who Ann Malum is?Mm.She started SolidCore.Okay.Okay.She started this charity event, and in my opinion, like, she's, text me last night.She's like, "You donated $1,000 to this thing?"And I was like, "Yeah, because I thought this was the best fucking charity that I've ever heard of."It's great.She was running, this is like 20 years ago she started this thing.She's running through the streets of Philadelphia, and these guys were like hollering at her or whatever, and these homeless guys who lived in this shelter.And one day she's running by, you know, 'cause she would run this loop early in the morning.She's like, "You guys should come run withShe invites these guys to come run with her.Now she starts this charity event.And the deal with the charity is that if you go run with her early in the morning-that they'll start helping you become, get back on your feet, right?Wow.So they'll- Greatgive you money.They'll help you out.Yeah.That's what's missing today- Yeahis the buy-in that you're gonna sacrifice a little bit, get a little slightly uncomfortable- Yeahbut it's gonna teach you the skills that you need to do.Mm-hmm.Now, a couple months ago, I posted a, a video up.I go, "I go to the gym at 6:00 AM,"I get up at 5:00, 5:30.Me too.I go, "You'll meet a lot of jerk-offs in the gym, but you'll never meet a loser at 5:00 AM," right?And I said, "Anybody who gets up at that time starts to create those habits.You are gonna improve your life."So true.This whole charity, there's, it's got 15 chapters around the country, and their whole thing is, "Get up at 5:00 AM with us.We'll get you sneakers, clothes.We'll help you get back on your feet."On that, yeah."Get you a job."And I g- and the amount of suc- success stories they've had, I go, "That, that's what it is."Yeah.Most people don't have a purpose.They don't have a reason to get up.Yeah.And when you start to act like a high performer- Yeahyou become one.That's right.That's right.And I love that, and I s- I heard you say, uh, I heard you, it was another podcast that you were in, and you were talking about that same thing.Like, when you start to live that life- Mm-hmmwhen you start to do the things- Yeaha high performer does- That's rightyou become one.That's right.You bec- So, so I mean, it's, that's so, it's so good.Like, you talk about purpose.That's what happens when people retire, and then couple years later they're gone.They're dead.Yeah.They're gone.I've seen that 1,000 times.Because it's just, "What am I here for?""What's my purpose?What's my meaning?What am I doing all this for?"So you have to have a reason to get up every single morning.I'm up at 5:00 AM every single day, non-negotiable.Like, non-negotiable.I have my, I, I'm, I am wildly, wildly into a routine for probably about 15 years.And what does that look like?Take me through.So my, um, s- your, I, I'm, I'm sure you have a lot of high performers- Surewatching.Some people think it's crazy.My wife thinks it's insane.So I'm up at 5:00 AM, meditate first thing in the morning, okay?15-minute meditation, visualization, then prayer, then gratitude.Are you writing stuff down or?Meditation, you know, visualization is just, like, s- eyes closed, super focused.Like, what, what is it, what is that next level look like?Could be business.Could be something I'm training for.I'm- Yeahtraining for a marathon right now.Yeah.Do you have anything that talks you through the meditation?Yeah, I do.Okay.I do a bunch of, um, gosh, I've done some Joe Dispenza stuff.I've done, I'll go on YouTube and just throw in some stuff in there.But usually it's guided, and sometimes it's not.But I like to play around, and if I get too, it's like a workout.If I get too stuck in one, I'll move on to something else.Sure.I love that.So I do meditation.I do prayer, and I have a gratitude journal.Okay?I have my gratitude journal everywhere, okay?Very simple 5minute, 5minute gratitude journal.Um, and that for me gets my mind right because for so long, especially as a, you know, a founder, entrepreneur, you've got people-pulling at you all day long.There's always a problem to solve.There's always a fire to put out every single day.That's why when people say, "Oh, everyone has entrepreneurial enter-"No, no, no, no, not everyone is built to be an entrepreneur.Some people are not, and that's totally fine.It's great to be a 9tofiver, and that's all good.But I had to focus less, not less, I had to shift my focus from just fitness and eating clean and thinking that that was like health and wellness to me, to saying, "I need to focus on my mind."Because I was like distracted.I was short-tempered.I didn't like who I was becoming, and I didn't like my thoughts.I didn't like the way I was thinking about things.So I started doing this practice for about 8 years, haven't missed a morning.Meditation, prayer, gratitude, then I go to the gym.So I'm at the gym probably about 6:00.I do an hour of hardcore fitness, whether it's HIIT, I'm training for a marathon, so I'm running crazy miles right now.Um, and then I make my food myself, and I've been doing this for 15 years.15 years, one habit that people think is absolutely insane is that when I go into my office or I'm eating at home, everything is made by me.Um, this morning I was in Westchester barbecuing my steak, making my broccoli, and whatever.I mean, I packed 4 different lunches.I'm never eating food from wherever it is.Dinner I'll splurge, but I do that probably about 90% of the time.Um, and then I do, I do at night after the craziness, I do a wind down.So what I found a lot of, a lot of my coach- clients that I coach that find this incredibly valuable is we don't take moments to reflect.I don't know if you do this, but for years I would never reflect.I would never, "How was today?"Like almost talk to yourself as, as, as if like you're your best friend.Yeah, yeah, yeah.How was today?Did you have a good day?And I never did that, and I've been doing that for about 7 years now, where you take a moment at night to reflect, what was great about today?What would you change?What did you learn?And when you do that, you start to pick and choose, oh, actually, today was a great day.Or, ah, I learned something, let me jot that down so I can commit that to memory.If you start doing that over and over again- Yeahthat habit compounds over time.And w- my, my biggest thing that I think a lot of high performers, a lot of, a lot of men do this, right?It's like we overvalue intensity and we undervalue consistency.And what I found is that if I can just be consistent every single day-that's the marathon.Yeah.I think most people get fucked up by this, is that they hear, "All right, this guy gets up every morning.He meditates.He cold plunges.He goes to the gym.He's cooking his own food."And they're like, "All right.Well, I got to overhaul my whole life and do all this stuff."And this is where people screw up.For me, I was a complete mess as a kid.I was fat.I was out of shape.I was awkward.It's been a tw- let's call it 25 years that I've been on this journey.One of the first things I changed was I started eating right.Hmm.I saw Ronnie Coleman eating fucking tuna fish out of the can.Mm.I started doing that.Then I saw guys who were like, "All right, this is the workout they do.All right."I started doing that.For me now, it's only been the last couple months that I get up at 5:30, 6:00 AM and get my workout in.Yeah.I've done, I dabbled in it in the past, but it's been pretty consistent.Like I hear the alarm go, I'm like, "I got to get up."Yeah.This is something I have to do for me because I operate better throughout the day.Yeah.And going back to what we were saying about like what high performers do, there's a reason why anyone successful is doing all these little things, because they start to add up, and they start to build- That's rightwho you actually are from the inside out.So true.So true.And so many people, and you hear people talk about this, and you're like, "Pssh, I'm not doing that."You don't have to do it all at once.No, no, no.It could be a gradual process.Make your food 2 days a week.Right?Then it becomes 4 days a week.Yeah.Yeah, you have to compa- look, when I firstYou talked about cold plunging.When I first cold plunged, I love cold plunging.Um, but co- cold plunging to me was actually not about the physical.It wasn't about like, oh, I wanna like recover.It was so mental for me.Yeah.I hate cold water.I can't stand it.J- probably like everyone else.My first time, my wife got me an ice barrel for Christmas, 'cause she knew I wanted to cold plunge.So I get the ice barrel, and I'm cold plunging, uh, outdoors in January, okay?My first time.And 30 seconds and I was just cursing my brains out, okay?That was the first week.Then the second week was 45 seconds.Then the next week was a minute.Now I could cold plunge for 3 minutes, meditating if I want to, or praying.This stuff just happens over time.I actually don't recommend somebody saying, "I wanna, like, flip my life around.I'm gonna do all of these things."You start with one, change the one habit, commit it to habit- Mm-hmmand then focus on the next habit.Yeah.That's, that is theWhat I find with high performers and, um, people who are successful in their fields- Sureis that they are, man, there's just an obsession.Like, there's just an obsession with whatever that thing is.I'm running aI'll give you an example.I'm running a marathon in 3 months.I've never run a marathon before.I've done half marathons.Which one are you doing?Cape Cod.Okay.So I've never, never done a marathon before, and I've done halves, and I'm pretty fast.I can do themThe marathons I've done has all been under 90 minutes, the halves, okay?Jesus Christ.So it's like a 6- 6:50- Yeah6:50 a mile.And, um, but a full is a completely different game, right?Sure.And so- I mean, I, I would say because I've done 12 fulls.12 fulls.Wow.Yeah.And I've done a lot of halves, and I've done- We gotta talkadventure races and stuff.I'd say after 15 is, like, the breaking point for a lot of people, where you're like, "Fuck, this is getting hard."Like, I got 11 more to go.Yeah.Oh, shit.Okay.Yeah.That's good to know.So yeah, definitely.And then it depends on, like, terrain and stuff, too.Yeah.But, like, for the most part, I'd say, like, anything beyond 15, you're like, "Fuck this."Yeah, yeah, yeah.Then, and but then it's a lot, it's a lot in here too.Becomes a mental game.Becomes a mental game.But the, so my point is that I'm obsessed about it now, so because I have a g- I have a goal.Mm-hmm.I've already created the identity that I'm an athlete, I'm a runner.That's what I do.And so it's not just the training.It's I w- I went on YouTube last night and I researched somebody who had run the marathon and had one of those GoPros on, 'cause I wanna see exactly what that run could look like.And now I'm gonna visualize that.that's what it requires.Because if I just train and then I show up and I'm like, "I've never done this before," the unknown is scary.I don't know what I'm gonna get into.Where are the hills?Are there hills?What mile are they at?So these are just the things that I think about when I work with executives and p- founders specifically.Mm.Founders have to be maniacal-about their business, their product, and their people.It's just, it, it just doesn't work if it, if it's, if you're not that.So this might be a cliche question, but obviously you work with a lot of founders.You're one yourself.You work with a lot of high performers.What is the one thingBecause I always say, I go, "If you're trying to be better, you have my full support.But if you're not even trying to fucking get better at business, at life, at, you know, controlling what you're eating, your, your body, you're not gonna be as good as you can be."Mm-hmm.So what are some of the things that you see a lot of these people do that are non-negotiables?Is it the, the wake-up?Is it the workout?Is it the way they kind of curate their teams and build it?Like, what are the 3 things that you see that every- everybody's doing really well?Yeah, so the, the, the commonality for me is actually, um, 2 things.One is how they, time.How are they spending their time?How are they putting blocks on their calendar?To, to operate at that level, you have to be highly intentional.So if your goals are, which let's be very generic about goals, okay?Let's say our goals are we wanna grow a business or expand our careers within a business, right?Everyone wants to grow up.That's one.2 is some form of health.can be somebody who wants a 6pack, 6pack abs or somebody who just wants to lose 20 pounds.Mm.Right?And then 3, a lot of times, is relationships.And that could be relationship with myself or relationship with the people around me, my wife, my kids.Those are kind of the 3 really common things that everybody just wants that to be vibrant and better.I wanna grow my business, I wanna grow my relationships, and I wanna grow in my personal and physical health.How you do that is by being super conscious about how you're spending your time.For example, I'll have somebody who starts working with me, and they'llWe start with business, but the beautiful thing is that from business, it actually goes into health.Like- Alwaysalways.Always.Because it's all connected.I've never met a fantastic leader who, uh, drives their business, drives their team, and loves themselves and loves what they do, but they consistently neglect their health.I just haven't met them.Doesn't mean they're not.I haven't met them.So the focus finds its way into health.And one thing that becomes super clear is that that's the one area that people will always, and you probably experience this in your world, is like there's always an excuse.Always.It's the easiest way.Business is a little bit harder.But with health, it's, "Oh, I, I wanna go to the gym, but then it w- I, I had to take care of the kids," or, "I wanted to go to the gym and- No, no, no, no.That's why coaching works.Mm-hmm.Is because there's somebody- Truethat you spoke to that is now gonna hold you accountable and say, "No, no, no, no, no.You wanna be that way, you do that on your own.But with me, you have to show up a certain way."And what, my goal always when I'm working with clients is, my goal is, and this is how confidence gets built, is you're keeping the promises that you make to yourself day in and day out.Dude, there's moments I wake up where, I went for a 10-mile run yesterday.Do you think I wanted to go to the gym this morning at 6:00 AM?Mm-mm.I stretched last night, I went into the sauna last night.My legs were burning this morning.I didn't wanna go to the gym.I went to the gym.Not because I wanted to.Motivation was low.Inspiration was low.I was excited to come here.The point is, is that y- do, your mind doesn't get a vote.Like, you're not here to negotiate with yourself.And when you can get your client or your, or your client to that level where it's like, "I know something is going to suck, but I'm still going to do it because I made this promise to myself," that's when it becomes so powerful.I love that.Yeah.I mean, there are so many people here where they're like, "You're mean."I go, "I'm not mean.I give a fuck."That's right.Call it selfish in a way, but you are a by, you're a product of what I create.Mm.So, if you're going around and you're telling everybody, "Oh, he's my trainer, blah, blah," if the only way I could get through to you is to let you see what your reality is, well, I couldn't.Don't play the fucking victim.Yeah.Nobody wants to be around a victim.That's right.If you're, if you're, it's always somebody else, or I didn't have this, or I didn't have that.The amount of fucking arguments that I've had with people where they're like, "Well, you don't get it because you're a white male."I go, "Well, l- let me give you my fucking privilege story.I grew up in Newark, New Jersey."Mm-hmm."We were the only white family on the block.The first time I got beat up was 7.""The first time I got my bike taken, I was 11."That's right.Yeah."People broke into my house 4 times.My family has 0.My father died back in 2019.He left me with a bill."I hear about people all the time who are like, "Oh, my dad died, left me $12 1000000."You're like, "Fuck, I wish."There has been 0 fucking privilege.The point is that I never once was like, "Oh, poor me."I'm like, "Okay.The only way- Yeahthis is getting figured out is if I do it."That's so good.So good.Shut the fuck up- That's rightand do it.That's right.And when people come in here, and they're like, "I, you know, if I just had this," you have everything you need.Mm-hmm.I know people missing limbs.I know people who have- YeahI just had a guy on who's a UFC fighter, who has serious brain damage.I just get up, and I do what I can do.Totally.And I do as much as I can, and I try to get better than I was yesterday.Mm-hmm.That's the mindset.This is radical responsibility.That's the mindset.Y- you have to have extreme ownership over everything you do, otherwise you will continue to be a fucking victim- Mm-hmmof all the shit you got going on in your head.Mm-hmm.Don't look for an excuse.Look for a solution, and figure it out.So good.And that's, and that's what I tell m- you know, my team all the time.No, but, but, but you, I mean, there's so many.I've heard so many quotes and stuff like.There's the one that it's like, um, I, I relate so much to your story, by the way.It's so good.Uh, but it's like, "No one's coming to save you."And you really take that and break it down.Oh, m- it's so powerful.Yeah.It's like, there's no one out there that's going to protect me, that's gonna comfort me in a way that, first of all, I don't want it.Me neither.I don't want it.Yeah.I want to expect and demand more from myself than anybody else expects from me, all day.Mm-hmm.And that to me gives me confidence and fulfillment, and makes me feel like that's where I'm expanding.You know, I, it's not, money, w- I love money.I love money from a place of adventure and p- and experience.Yeah.That's what I, that's where I love money.But outside of that, I don't need much more.I love training myself.I love taking my career and my businesses to the next level, because it makes me feel like I'm impacting people in a way that makes me feel really, really good.Yeah.I think money is a great tool to do more, to experience more, and to help more.That's right.But for me, it's, I've never been a watch guy, a car guy- Yeaha fucking fashion guy.I mean, I look like shit 90% of the time, but I enjoy it because- Be so hard on yourself, man.No, but like, I mean, my clothes and stuff, like I make my own- You know what it is?When you have a body like that, you don't need- That's what I- You don't need fashionbut that's what I said.Yeah.I tell people all the time, I go, "When you look good, you could wear fucking-" Anythingyou know.Yeah, yeah.You could wear anything.Anything.Yeah, yeah, yeah.Tell it to clients all fucking day long.Well, you're, you're a good example of that.But I tell people, I'm like, "Take better care of yourself, and then you're not as worried."Because then when you- Yeahwalk into a room-if people judge you on the clothes you wear, which, yes, it's, it's important, you wanna show up the way you want people to see you.Yeah.But at the same time, when you look fitYeah.I remember being a kid and watching Fight Club for the first time.Oh, my gosh.Right?And you're, and I'm wa- And I'm looking at it, I'm like, I've talked about this many times, I think Brad Pitt is probably one of the most handsome men on the planet.Um, and I'm looking at this guy, and I, he's, in Fight Club, he's wearing, like, a, a Bahamas-style shirt.Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.You know when they sell fucking floral shirts?Yeah.And, like, Adidas track pants.Mm-hmm.And I go, "Who the fuck would ever wear that?"Mm-hmm.I go, "But he looks so good in it."He looks fantastic.And I'm like- Yeahwhen you look good, you could wear anything.Yeah.You could get away with anything.So, I tell people, I'm like, "The first thing, take care of your body."That's right.And then all the other shit starts to fall into place.Yeah.And, and, and on, on that point, when you see somebody, like, when I look at you, you walked into the room and I said hello to you.Yeah.The first thing I thought to myself was, "This man is disciplined."Because you can't look the way you look- Yeahwithout being disciplined.Maybe at 25 you can.Yeah.But at 40, 45, you cannot.Because everything is fighting against you.And I, I, I say that all the time.I go, when people are like, "I want respect, give me respect, blah," I go, "You know how you get respect?"I go, "When The Wa- Rock walks in the room," or let's say it's not The Rock, but it's a guy who looks like him, tall, jacked, fucking, everybody in the room is gonna be like, "Oh, I don't wanna fuck with this guy."Like, guys are im- immediately gonna have respect for him.Mm-hmm.And women are gonna be like, "I might fuck this guy."You look at him and you're like, he didn't ask anybody for respect.Yeah.It's the way you carry yourself.Yeah, yeah.It's the way, it's the way you show up in the room.So, it's like, if you look a certain way and carry yourself a certain way, and you get that by doing hard shit-and building that into your soul- yeahpeople start treating you the way you want to be treated.You can't ask for it, because you can't run around the world.I always tell people, if you're, if you're running around being like, "Well, this one hurt my feelings, that one hurt me," okay, you have 2 choices here.1, you could accept what your reality is and deal with it, and be like, "I'm a fat fuck."That, people are gonna say it, they're gonna say it online, they're gonna say it in person.You're now running from the rest of the world.Or, how's this?Change your fucking reality.Mm.If you have the ability to change something you don't like about yourself- Mm-hmmwhy don't you go and do that instead of telling the rest of the world, "Don't call me this, don't say that, don't do this."Right."I'm offended."Yeah.Right?If somebody's making fun of you for your religion, your skin color, something like that, then they're ignorant and you could just write it off.Right.But if you, if you, you're like, "I hate it when somebody calls me fat."Right.Well, then don't be fat.It's, did it strike a nerve.Yeah.Yeah, yeah.You could change that.Yeah, yeah.I don't like the way somebody makes fun of my shirt.I'm like, "All right, maybe I should change this shirt."Mm-hmm.Or I smell.I'm like, "Eh, I should probably fucking put deodorant on."Yeah.Those things are tangible things- Yeahthat you could change.Yeah.You know?And now more than ever before, like, I was always, you know, I grew up very heavy.I always struggled with my weight.It was always something that was, like, on my mind.Yeah, yeah, yeah.And I tell people, I go, "Well, now, there's drugs, there's information."I go, "I changed my weight at 13 years old, in 1996."Mm.When the only way to figure this out was in a magazine or a book.Nobody was doing it online.Yeah, yeah, yeah.There was no- Yeahinternet.Yeah.So- When, when did you, when did you shift your weight?I was- How old were you?I, like it was yesterday, I remember.I was 13 years old.Okay.I'm looking in the mirror, and I'm like, "I fucking hate myself."Ah."I look like shit."And I couldn't ask my parents, 'cause both my parents were fat.Right?Yeah.So I'm like, "They don't know what the fuck- YeahI'm, I wanna do."So, I was going to school one day, I was going to high school, and I'm walking by this, um, newsstand, and there was this muscle magazine.Mm.It was like muscular- Muscle Fitness?It was muscular- Muscular Development, yeah.His fucking- Yeah, yeah.It was probably Ronnie Coleman or somebody- Yeahon the fucking cover just- I knowand I go, I didn't have the money to buy it at the time.So I opened my book bag, and I took 3 magazines, threw them in my bag, and ran off with them.Mm-hmm.I treated these things like a Bible.Yeah.I'm in high school, and I'm like, "Oh, fuck.Okay, I gotta do this, and he's saying to do this."And they have the workouts next to them.Yeah.Yeah, yeah.And they had the workouts, and I'm like, "Okay,At the time, I'm like, "All right, I'll do 3 sets of 10 reps and blah, blah."And I just did what they said.And there, there were articles, like Jay Cutler, I remember re- reading this, I remember reading this article, and Jay Cutler's like, "I get up at 5:00 AM, I eat, I go to the gym, I go back to bed."Yeah."I get up again, I eat, I go to the gym."Yeah."I go back to bed."And I'm like- ObsessionI go, "That sounds like a miserable life."Yeah.That's what made him the best.Mm.That, that's what makes him the greatest bodybuilder.Mm-hmm.You know?Mm-hmm, totally.I was, I was listening to a, uh, something on Ro- uh, Cristiano Ronaldo, and i- he, he basically says, "I can give you"You know, everyone alwa- "Oh, Ronaldo is so handsome.He's got this incredible life, his wife, all his money, billionaire," whatever.I can give you the playbook.I'll give you the blueprint, exactly what I do every single day to get my life.Put yourself in my shoes.Nobody would do it.Nobody would do it.Yeah.'Cause what we see is this, the soccer player, the guy who's got 500 million followers, the guy who's got this glamorous lifestyle, but the work that he's doing behind the scenes that nobody sees is the work that nobody wants to commit to to get that lifestyle.Yeah.Well, I mean, listen, I c- I talk about this constantly.You know, if Daniel Boulud gave you his recipe to the fucking best steak in the world- Yeahyou're not gonna do it the same way.Yeah, yeah, yeah.He could give you the exact way he does it- Yeahand you're not gonna do it the same way.That's right.That's right.And y- one, I, I was never, like, a huge Knicks fan.I was never, like, a big basketball guy, watching the stories of some of these guys who are just competing- Mmwho just won.Yeah.There's a reason why they won.That's right.You watch the stories- So-like Jalen Brunson- Yesand his dad.I'm like- Yeahthe fact that this man realizes how much his father sacrificed for him.Mm.The fact that he was there every day with him- Incredibleand pushed him and pushed him and pushed.People are like, "That's child abuse."I'm like, "Well, fuck, I wish my father abused me like that."My father used to just kick my ass.He didn't help me fucking do anything.Yeah, yeah, yeah.You know, but you take the lessons you learn.That's right.I realized what I didn't want out of life.I didn't want a blue-collar job.Mm-hmm.I didn't wanna do something that I was, like, just collecting a paycheck.Yeah.I realized that at a young age.I go, "There's people getting paid to do cool shit that I wish I was doing."Mm.That was never an option for me when I was a kid.Yeah.My parents were like, "Go become a cop or a fireman or some bullshit like that," and I go, "That's not for me."That's right.I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that job.I, there are people who are great at that job, and I respect them, a- and they allow us to do the shit we want to do.Mm-hmm.I go, "But it's not for me."And when I leaned hard into what I want to do, and different story, right?When you were, when I asked you about, like, how'd your, how it go over with your dad.I remember when I told my dad I wanted to be a trainer, and he's like, "What are you, a fucking loser?"He's like, "How are you gonna make any money?"He goes, "Trainers don't make money.There's no money in training."Yeah.Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.And I go, "But if I could become really good at it- YeahI could probably make money."He goes, "Are you an idiot?"Yeah.Yeah.You know- That didn't go over too bigy- you know, it's, it's, uh, but what I will say is when, when I was, when I was, when I was in cosmetology school, I was the worst student that they had ever seen.I mean, you're talking about somebody who's one of 3 boys, never touched hair before, outside of my own.And I'm in class with 30 other girls- Mm-hmmwho all have sisters, who have their own hair, and this goes back to just, like, the athletic mindset.Um, my teacher in the school said, Miss Lucy, I'll never forget her name, she says, uh, "Giovanni, are you sh- are you sure you wanna do this?"I mean, I didn't even know how to hold anything.It was like, uh, it was so foreign to me.I was like, "Miss Lucy, I, I definitely wanna do this."Now I'm like, now I, now I, now I definitely wanna do this.I would go home, and I would take brushes, and I would just roll the brushes in my hand to just start, I would, hours.hours, I would be in bed laying down, I'm looking at my ceiling just rolling brushes, 'cause I had to get the dexterity down.Yeah.And I said, no one, and this goes back to the w- to the, the values of my upbringing.I knew that no one would be able to outworkThat I knew I had.It's like I, I understand people at a very deep level.Mm-hmm.And no one can outwork me.Now all I need to do is what am I deficient in?I need to build a skill set.Yeah.So they have the skill set.I don't have it, but they don't have my work ethic.So I would do that.I would open and close scissors for hours, and then one day I just show up, and I'm, I'm a different stylist.Mm-hmm.And, and then I became one of the most requested stylists in the school.Mm-hmm.Because I built the skill while having the work ethic, which is so important.Well, you have the attributes.The attributes you have to, they, those are the things that you have to teach yourself, the skills you need to learn from somebody else.Yeah, that's right.Like, for me, I remember being a kid, and, uh, what sports did you play as a kid?I played soccer, I played basketball, and uh, 16 I started playing tennis.I think in any sport, I wrestled all through high school into college.But I remember going, we had, like, this little walkway underneath my house, and the ceiling was low.It's just, like, a storage unit.And I was like, "I'm gonna go down there, and I'm gonna spend the next 20 minutes just"You know, re- like, when you wrestle, you have to stay low.You're, you know, you're in this position.And I'm like, "I'm just gonna walk around there for 20 minutes."Mm.And then I started making it a habit, but I think that's what most people don't realize- That's itis that, like, it's the time, y- like, yes, everybody, when we were growing up, like, you went to practice, you did that, but what were you doing outside of practice?That's right.When were you spending more time- Yeswhere you spend that extra time learning that.So, like, you're sitting- Mm-hmmin a room and fucking- Yeahplaying with brushes and scissors.You're like, that's the time that makes you an expert.That's so true.Every- and the last thing I'll say about this is I was listening to one of Kobe's, uh, coaches, not head coaches, but one of his own personal coaches, and, um, he was saying that- Tim Grover?Not Tim.It was somebody else.Love- But I loved Tim.Tim is amazing.Love him.I love him.I knew you loved Tim.Yeah, yeah.So this guy's, he was, like, 15 years in with Kobe, and he was saying that he, Kobe would show up at the gym, and he would practice pivoting.Like, the most basic, fundamental- Uh-huhthing in basketball that somebody who's Kobe Bryant you would think would never even practice this, because he just knows it.But he would just practice this move over and over again for hours, because he said my, h- his success was that he never gets sick of the fundamentals.And I was like, "Oh, that is, I need to in- I need to reincorporate that into my life," because I remember being that kid and do, those are the fundamentals.Yeah.Rolling the brush, rolling the brush, rolling the brush.What's that version of us today at 41, 42, 43 years old?What are the fundamentals that we need to keep reminding ourselves and focusing on to get to that next level?Yeah.I mean, part of the reason why I started doing jujitsu was because I was like, "All right, I wanna do something hard.I wanna put myself in an uncomfortable place."Yeah.I wanna do something that, like, it's not easy to show up every day.But I'm not gonna get better unless I do it.Yeah, that's right.And it puts me in a dangerous situation, 'cause now I'm like, "Okay, if I go out there and try to compete or do anything, I'm gonna get my ass kicked."Mm.Which is not fun.Mm-hmm.It's not comfortable.Yeah.So I'm like, "How do I become better at this thing and show up for myself every day?"That's great.You know?So one last question I wanna ask you.So y- you, obviously you grew this business to, I mean, w- what's, like, what was best year you guys had with Glamsquad?Well, I can tell you the worst year we had at Glamsquad.What's the w- 2020.Okay.We, um, we had just launched a product line.AndProducts seem sh- should be good in 2020, people buying shit at home.Terrible.Really?Terrible.We were a, we're, we're, we launched a bunch of stylers.So yeah, shampoo, conditioner, body care.Of course, great.Yeah.But we launched hairspray, texture spray, things where people weren't going out.Ah, shit.So why would you need hairspray if you're not leaving your house?Why would you need texture spray?WhyNo one's blow-drying their hair.So there was that, which, uh, was, uh, just the timing- Awfulwas awful, and then our s- our business went to 0.So our business went to 0 because we weren't even allowed to go into people's homes for s- call it 5 months.So you're talking about a business that has 2,000 pros, that has a team of 90 employees, and now our business revenue drops to 0 for multiple months.The absolute worst time in our business.Now, what I would say is, like everything else, sometimes the worst can help you become the best.So for us, we had to completely reshift the way that we thought about ourfirst of all, we had to decide, are we gonna actually relaunch this business?Because some of our competitors are no longer around.Um, so we had to figure out, do we res- do we wanna keep doing this?Mm-hmm.We decided to do that.We had to get back all of our pros, as many as we could.We had to get our clients back, and that just happened over and over and over again.And finally, we were able to actually show up to people's homes, launch in new markets, and, um, be really proud of the pro community that we have.So I was, the, the best times for me are actually right now.Because we feel really good about our business as a profitable business.It's exciting.We're expanding into new services, into new cities, uh, looking to go overseas.So there's, there's a lot of, like, exciting things to do, and I feel like my circle now, I'm learning from so many different people that that's what energizes me.So you moved, I mean, obviously you have this successful business.You have 2 kids, you have a wife, you have enough shit on your plate, and then you start Peak Performance.Yep.Why take more shit on?And, like, what made you wanna do this other project?Like, what, why?Because there's a million assholes online telling you, like, "Oh, I'm an executive coach.I help high- Oh my goshperformance.I'm a life coach."The, the, the, the, the, the, the entry, the b- the, the, the bar to entry is so- Is 0It is so low.Yeah.It's z- it's actually 0.Yeah.You're exactly right.Yeah.I could, you could literally go online today and find you 15 people that have never, never- That are saying they can do this.But, like, it's unbelievable unless you've done it before.It's, yeah.It's like a guy who's like, "Oh, I'll teach you how to make a seven figures in your gym."I'm like, "You don't have a gym, though."That's right.What the fuck?That, and that's my problem with today's world, is that people want to teach you when they've never done the thing themselves, and I struggle with that.I do.I think there are great- Me toothere are great psychologists, there are great, there are, there are great coaches who have studied coaching for so many years, but they've never been the entrepreneur.They've never been the executive.They've never been the peak performer or whatever it is.And so I take a, I take a very different approach to it Which for me is so much more about i- s- identity first.Who are you t- who are you today, who do you wanna be tomorrow, and then how do we work within that gap?That is so critical to re-engineering the people that I work with.So we eliminate what's holding you back, and then we build the new identity for that next version of you, whether it's impact, income, or fulfillment.And a lot of times, it's, it's all 3.But to answer your question, I love working with high performers.I love working with people who I, I know I can help.And so- Would you, do you find it inspires you as a person?Uh, it makes me a better leader.Yeah.It makes me think differently.It he- it's helped me with my own business.My clients help me with my own business.Yeah.Really.Because you're just, you're seeing things from the outside world.Sure.And you're hearing about how people perceive their world.It's a fascinating thing.So when I decided to start, um, Peak Mode Coaching is whenI had my own coach, so I've always had a mentor or coach.So I, if, if, if s- if a coach doesn't have their own, their own coach, they don't believe in coaching.I was gonna say, how do you find a per- a good coach?How'd you find your coach?I found my coach through my wife, whose friend is a founder.Okay.And grew a tremendous business and said, "Oh, you have to work with my person."Sure."She's fantastic."And so my coach, and I've, I've gone through a couple different coaches, and they were just right f- sometimes your coach is right for you in this moment, and then you have to move on from that person.Uh, but I've had mentors that I didn't pay and coaches that I have paid.Now I have 2 coach, 2 coaches.I believe in coaching so much, I have 2 coaches.And it's like going to a doctor and they don't have a doctor, that's a problem.So, um, I saw the value in it 5 years ago, tremendous value in it, and so I was starting to build, I was having my coach mentor me to build my own coaching program.I run, I ran a men's group in Westchester, 15 guys sitting around my fire pit, going deep, talking about challenges, opportunities, work, business, family, all this stuff.And that was a few years ago, and in that moment was when I realized that I can help these people.Like, I just m- I felt it.I always, I was always a feeler.I was an incredible listener.As a hair stylist, you have to be an incredible listener.As a fitness instructor, you have to be- Surean incredible listener.Um, and so there was the listening, and then it was recognizing patterns.What's this, what, what are the 3 to 4 things that everyone is talking about that is a challenge, a problem, an opportunity, what's holding them back?Sometimes they're the same, sometimes a little different.And I started to analyze that and then put my own spin on it, and then I'd meet with them one on one and just talk through.Once I realized that these people were actually transforming, they're, they're changing their lives, whether it was health, whether it was, "Oh, I never thought of myself as a leader in my, in my company, and now I'm showing up differently.I'm a leader."And now they're, they become an executive in their business 6 months later."I can do this."Yeah.And I find crazy fulfillment out of it.Like, when I get off of, off a coaching call, I'm like, "This is, this is, this is money for me."Yeah.It's fantastic.So I do that, and then I also do group sessions as well.I love your approach.I mean, listen, I listen to a ton of self-help books.I listen to a ton of podcasts on the s- Same.I've never heard somebody frame it the same way you did, and it's got me very intrigued because the fact that you're saying it's like, okay, take it for the things that you're doing in your life on a daily basis, and if you could change those.'Cause just as, like I said, I went to that thing last night, it's like when you start operating differently, it's not gonna happen right away, but if you start operating differently and doing the things that winners do, you're gonna be in a better place than you are today.For sure.For sure.And it's, it's that simple, and so many people need to hear that.You know, just this morning I was arguing with one of my clients, we butt heads all the time about politics and 100 other things, but I was saying, I go, "I am 1,000% down to help anyone who's willing to help themselves."That's right.Now, different people have different points of their lives.Yeah.Right?Like, even for myself, I wasn't ready to fucking wake up at 6:00 AM and, you know, work out and- Yeahdo all those things 10 years ago.I am now.I'm at a different point in my life.So people have different points in their life.But at that point 10 years ago, I wasn't like, "Well, give me this and give me that."I'm not doing anything to do it.That's right.I don't deserve it yet.Yeah.Now I'm like, "Okay, I'm gonna do everything I could."And now it's like the universe will give it to you- Mm-hmmbecause you're trying for it.Mm-hmm.You're in the fight.Yeah.If you never fucking put yourself in the arena, then you can't consider yourself a competitor.And you're building momentum.Yeah.And that's the other thing is, like, you might not hit that exact goal that you wanted, but look at how much further you got.And, and that momentum, like, "Oh, I did the thing that I said I was going to do over and over and over again."You put that on repeat, and it's just shocking.Yeah.We just, we keep getting in our own way.That's the biggest thing is that every story that I've heard from my clients is we're justWe have a belief.We've marked that belief.We believe it's true, and, and that has changed our state, and that change the, that changes our strategy on what we, what we do or, or don't do.And so if you can break all that down and you start with identity, then people start looking at themselves differently, that then they can create a different version of themselves in the future.I love that.Well, we're gonna finish on that.What's, uh, where can everybody find you?What could, uh- Yeahhow can we support?Uh, Giovanni, uh, giovannivaquero is my Instagram.And then you can go to, um, giovavaquero.com and check out Peak Mode Coaching.And if you wanna get a blowout or makeup or nails done, you can go to Glam Squad.Could I ask real quick, like, if somebodyLet's say I have a client who's gonna get married, or she's going to a big party.She needs hair, makeup, nails.What's that run somebody?It's still, it's still an affordable luxury today for us.I mean- Yeahy- to come into your home where we're 60- we start at $65 for a blowout.Okay.Um, and I know you're, you're, you don't know whether that's good or bad.Yeah.I saw your eyes like- So-"I don't know what that means."Yeah.But- Sounds crazy.Yeah.Oh, 65 bucks.Yeah.I'm like, "You're gonna come to my house?"Yeah, yeah.Exactly.Yeah.See, so s- uh, 65 for a blowout.And, um, and then makeup is, uh, starts at 95, and nails is 55.Okay.Yeah.So all in, 3, 400 bucks plus tip.3, 400 bucks to have all of those services plus tip.And somebody comes to your house and does it.Somebody comes to your house and does it, yeah.That's crazy.Pretty awesome.Well, yeah, I get why you fucking made some money off that thing.Christ.Well, guys, as always, like, share, subscribe.Thank you guys for listening, and stay strong.