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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.
Welcome to the Strong As F#ck podcast. I'm your host, Kenny Santucci, and join us for some strong conversations.
So when you're in the gym industry long enough here in new york city, you run into a lot of great people and Today my guest is just as one of those people i've been in the industry a long time and so has he and We've known each other for quite some time and over the past two years, you guys have all gotten to know him, know him a lot better because he's that man on the street asking everybody what they're doing for workouts.
And I'm happy for success. I'm very impressed with what he's done. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado. On the strongest podcast, my man body by Mark.
Thank you. How are we doing?
Good. Yeah. A
little cold, but
yeah, it is absolutely frigid here in New York this week. Um, thank you for the hat, by the way.
You're welcome. I appreciate that. I'll be wearing it proud. Awesome. Um, you know, we were both trainers here. Started in Equinox, worked our way up the ranks. We kind of took two different paths and then we kind of came together again. What was the, where did this idea come from?
I was sick of social media. I was just over the melting pot of narcissism that it had become.
And I, you know, was doing social media for, I don't know, 14, 15 years. And, you know, you know, I had like probably 30, 40, 000 followers and I was doing what everyone else does. You know, the shirtless photos, the videos of the clients, me doing pushups. And it's like,
I
just got sick of
it. Well, did you ever feel like this, this was you?
Because when we, when we started training, I mean, you're like my age, right? Yeah. Yeah. So. When we started, it was, one, you can never take pictures in an equinox. Right. Right? People forget this, that you weren't allowed to take pictures on the floor. Nobody wanted their picture taken, especially in a gym.
Right. And now, if you don't put somebody in a picture, they fucking hate you. They
get pissed.
Yeah. So we came from this world where it was like, It was looked at as a weird thing for you to put yourself up on social media.
Right. Yeah. And then
take pictures in general.
Right. Yeah. And you know, when, when you look at social media, it is really all like me, me, me, me, me.
You got to sell yourself. And I, it's not that I was sick of selling my business and my services. Like I really believe in what my company does, but I said, you know what, I'm done posting all about myself. I want to try something different. I'm done. And I had always been a person who would walk around the streets of New York City or wherever I was and I would look at someone and I would say, I wonder what that person does to get in such good shape.
And I'd walk by another person, but wonder what she does, wonder what he does. And it's not really socially acceptable to just walk up to a stranger and make a comment on their body. Um, you know, even though I'm complimenting them, it just seemed kind of weird. So I didn't do it. And then I thought about a little bit more and I was like, well, these guys are doing it with like, you know, what do you do for a living?
Yeah. How much do you pay for rent? Even though a lot of those is much more personal. Like how much money do you
make? I can't believe people answer. Right. How much do you have in the
bank? I'm like, wait, I got to see who answers this. I'm like, not me. Yeah.
That's what makes it so interesting because you're genuinely interested in that.
Right. Yeah. And so, one day I was in a, I was taking a dance class, one of those Tracy Anderson classes, don't laugh, I, I like to take different classes in the To see what people are doing. To see what
they're doing. One thousand percent, like, my thing is, if I was never bought into a lot of this stuff, I was just at Pura Vida.
And these two young ladies I know who work at SLT were like, you should come take a class this week. And I'm like, I haven't been there in Yeah. Five or six years. Yeah. I'm like, I'm gonna go back, I wanna see what, what the What the whole thing is now, right? Because it was, it's always done. Well, SLT is one of those brands.
I think that's been on top for, Got to be 10 years now.
Yeah.
And I want to see what they're doing to pivot in this market where now, they were one of the only few. There's maybe two or three Pilates studios. Now there's, everybody has a Pilates studio. There's one on every corner. So I want to see what they're doing to pivot, to differentiate themselves from other Pilates studios.
Right.
Right. And so I'm taking the class. There's this woman in front of me, probably around my age, and she's in the most ridiculous shape I've ever seen someone in and finish the class. We're both drenched in sweat. And I'm like, I can't go up to this woman. Like, it seems weird. It seems like I'm hitting on her.
I wasn't like, I just wanted to know what she did. I knew it wasn't just this class. I'm like, you got to do a lot more than just this class.
I, I sing her praises all the time. I think Tracy Anderson has done an unbelievable job in the space.
Yeah.
You know, it's one of those things where I don't buy into it.
I think it's a bunch of bullshit , but she's created so many brands out of her brands. Right. The amount of women that have come from her tree, right. I know. Is so impressive. A lot like, and she's empowered all these women to create massive, massive brands, so mm-hmm . Whatever the fuck she's doing. I, I watch it and I'm like, this is the most abdu, absurd.
I know women love it, but people love it. Yeah. Just charge a thousand dollars a month. I know.
Yeah. It's insane. So you're in this class and you go up to her. Go up to I, I actually, I didn't go up to her. I, but, but I, but I wanted to, but I, I went home that night and I was like, you know what, I'm gonna do this.
And I'm an introvert. Like, I, I don't just like walk up to people in a bar. I don't just talk to girls. Like I don't do that. And I went back to my place, I'm like, I need a microphone. They know all this fancy equipment, which I didn't need. Um, but I, I bought because I thought you did . And then the next day I'm walking around Tribeca and I'm like, this is the day.
And I walked up and the first girl I saw who was in really good shape. I was so nervous. My voice is like cracking because I'm so nervous. I'm holding the camera down here cause I'm like not confident at all. And I'm like, I asked people who are fit, what they do for their, I'm like holding it lower. Yeah.
I, she has to be thinking what is going on right now. And she was nice. And she answered me. She was a marathon runner and I got a little bit more confident. And then like two minutes later I went to the next guy and all of a sudden I saw like five jacked people in one day and I was like, Oh, okay. And like, I got a little more confident with each one.
Yeah. Do you find that people
who are in shape and take care of themselves are much more welcoming and friendly than the people who aren't? 100%. Right? 100%. I think there's a level of confidence there. There's a level of, um, you know, Warmth with a person who takes it because we've done it before when we're on the street and we're like, hey Would you guys ever want to come to an event?
Because I look for the people who are on the fence where I'm like, I don't know if they work out or not Right, but they would really benefit from coming to strong, New York. Those people tend to be dickheads
Yeah, they're
always like fuck off. Leave me alone, right? You know but like I think most people because I've watched a lot of your videos and people are like wait, hold on I And they're like, they want to hear what you have to say.
Yeah. Whereas there's a lot of people who just tell you to fuck off here in New York.
Right. Like I, I get turned down maybe 2 percent of the time. I was going
to
say because you're, it looks like your success rate. I, I have a pretty high success rate. Yeah. And I think the people that do turn me down, they actually don't hear what I'm saying.
And what I mean by that is like, you've been on the street corner and those people walk up to you and they're like, Hey, would you like to sign up to donate to, you know, feed these people? And you're like, no, no, no. Get away. Or they're like, Hey, do you want to do this? They're trying to sell you something.
So the people that turn me down, I think just don't hear me and they think I'm trying to sell them something. Like the video I posted yesterday, the guy's like, Nope, sorry, I'm busy. I'm not interested. And then I was like, but you're jacked. He's like, wait, what? I get to talk about how jacked you complimented me, right?
So it's like, if you pay someone to compliment, guess what? Nine times out of 10, you'll get them to stop in their tracks.
Yeah.
Have you ever thought about, do you ever do it in the subway? Um, I did it once and the funniest story, I was in the Hamptons and I was waiting for a train to go back into the city.
And I'm at the stop and there's a woman that comes up and puts her bag kind of right next to me. But when, you know, when you're at like a train stop, you can't really go anywhere, you know, you can't really escape. So I felt a little bit weird, like asking someone that's just like sort of standing next to me.
So this woman, she's got her dog, she got a suitcase. She's like taking her jacket off and she takes her sweatshirt off. She's like basically disrobing in front of me and she's really fit. But I just felt like, well, she can't really leave. I can't really walk away if she says no, it's really awkward. I overthought it anyway.
And the train comes. Both get on the train. She goes up there. I go down there that night. I'm sitting home. I open up my dms I get a dm and I get crazy dms every once in a while, but I just see and she said She commented on one of my videos and she said my newest fear is unlocked today when you're standing next to body by mark and he doesn't ask you what What what you do to stay fit and I click on her photo and i'm like, oh my god, that was her girl And then I wrote to her right away.
I was like, no, no, no, you, you're really fit. I wanted to talk to you, but I didn't because of this, all of what I said. And she's like, no, it's okay. You know? So you ever meet up where I, I, I didn't, but I am going to try and find her maybe next time on the Hamptons, but it's like you, you miss all the shots you don't take.
I know. And like, that's what I've sort of learned is that you have to get over your fears. Like just go and do it. Like, what's the worst they're going to say?
It's so funny that you say that. So. Last year, Jim Kwik spoke at Strong with us and Christy had sent me his profile a while ago. It was like, what, four or five months before that and she's like, we should try to get this guy to talk.
I go, he's never going to talk at our event. He's huge. Yeah. And I was like, I'm looking at his page and I had already been following him and two weeks before the event, he hits us up on Instagram and was like, Hey, I'd love to come speak. I don't want anything. Just give me a half hour. I go, I'll give you a fucking two hours.
And he did it and it was awesome. People loved him, but he's like, no, no. He's like, anytime you need me for an event, he's like, I love this. I love what you're doing. And that's when I was like, yo, I got to keep going with this because if somebody like this sees value in what I'm doing, I got to keep going.
Um, and there's value in what you do. I mean, clearly people want to, we all have kind of the same. Well, there's a dog in the room. Um, and uh, but no, clearly people have an interest in this stuff, right? We all want to see I I get sucked into those videos all the time You start scrolling through somebody's page and they're asking people what kind of car they drive or whatever it may be But yours is interesting.
We all live in this world. And when you look at Certain people you're like wait, there's no way they just do this Like I've watched some of your videos where the guys are just like I just do push ups and pull up Yeah, like that guy's got fucking great genetics. How the hell do you get that jacked right off push ups and pull ups?
I know um, but it's it's true. It's like some people have uh, some people just get really lucky When it comes to the roulette wheel of the body. So when did you start, because I noticed in the beginning, like you weren't very introvert, you weren't putting yourself on there. And now it's like we see in there, you're competing against people a little bit more.
Right. So here, here's what happened. Like my, my experiments sort of backfired a little bit in regards to like being a business promotion tool. And what I mean by that is a lot of people, they didn't know my background. As a personal trainer and business owner and like, because it grew so quick, all of a sudden these people are following me.
They just think I'm like this influencer interviewing people on the street. And I'm like, I think I need to tell people and show people like who I am, what I do that, you know, how old I am, that I'm relatively fit, like all these things, because like all of a sudden, like my business is going to get lost in these videos.
And I didn't want that to happen because like, as you know, social media is a tool as a funnel for your business.
It's the cheapest form of marketing. Yeah. Yeah.
And, and, and I found I was really missing that. So I said, you know what? I don't want to pivot completely and turn it back into what I hated about social media, but I needed to put myself out there a little bit.
And I started showing more videos of my clients, working out a little bit more videos of me, a little bit of my personal life, a little bit, just other things where people are like. Oh, or whenever I go live on Instagram, people are like, wait, so what do you do for a living? And I'm like, I'm a trainer. I'm a business owner.
I'm this, I'm that, I'm that, you know, it's like, this is a very small percentage of like what I do. But a passion
project has
turned
into
pretty
steady form of revenue for you.
Yeah. A little bit more than I thought it ever would. Like, I didn't go into it to be like, I'm going to make all this money on social media.
But like, once I saw that people really started liking the videos,
Yeah. Well, you know what? And I found the same problem sometimes. It's like you, you start doing the thing that you think you're supposed to do with social media. You're like, here I am. I'm in great shape. I'm a trainer. I'm going to show me.
Yeah.
But when you pivot it and you're like, wait, I'm going to think outside the box. I'm going to do what everybody, I'm going to show everyone else. Yeah. It's become such a lucrative thing for you because you've, you've now worked with. Uh, Jim shark, you've worked with a couple of like big brands and some projects.
Optimum Nutrition, um, I'm doing a partnership with Made Meals. They do like meal delivery, which is honestly a cheat code. And I'm not just saying that because they pay me. Like, that is a cheat code.
Oh, I have them at my events all the time. Right, right. Exactly. Did you meet them there? Yeah, that's actually And this is what I tell people all the time.
That's why I invite like different influencers, trainers and stuff. I go, guys, let's do this. If you're in the industry and you're not at this event, you're a fucking moron Because these brands are looking for you, right? I have huge brands. They're looking for influencers and they're like I would never, the same way we don't interact with people, hit them up in the DMs.
They, now you meet them in person. They're like, I've been wanting to meet you. Right. You know, and that's, that's where I see the value in it. And then everyone else benefits from us being a part of this industry and doing what we do. It's like, I invite people who, like I said, on the fence, who aren't sure about fitness, who weren't.
Those are your consumers. Yeah. You guys are the ones who are going to facilitate. You're going to get, Brand deals out of it. You're going to work, you know, you're going to interact with other people. I mean, how many people did you interview at the event?
I
mean, you can, uh, didn't you get an, you got a handful, a handful.
Yeah. I think like, but like good, like four really good interviews. Big names. Yeah.
Yeah. So that's why, and that's what I created the event for. It's like, you know, It's an incubator for anybody who has a business or wants to do anything in the health and wellness space. It's a day for all of us to come together.
And every other industry does it. It's like the food and wine festival does it, Comic Con does it, you know, they have ones for travel shows. All this shit happens all over the city and I'm like, why is there nothing for fitness? So that's what I, that's what I want.
It's a great event that you run. Yeah, I appreciate it.
It really is. It's really fun, but it feels, you know, intimate at the same time. But I know it's also growing and getting bigger. Like, I'm, I'm really impressed because I know the amount of work that it must take. It's a fucking nightmare.
Hopefully you'll That's why this guy in from Florida, just to come help us do like security and carry shit.
Like,
hopefully you make some money doing that because like the amount of work that must go into that. Like, I don't know how you do
it. So now, you know, What what's on the horizon for you? Like where do you see a pivoting next because you have this giant I mean you've done an incredible job within what two years.
No, not even it's been uh, 15 months ago Is when I started doing the interviews. Yeah, um, so I want to turn it into a little bit more of a fitness media company. Mm hmm. Not just, you know, Mark, the guy that interviews people. So, like, for example, I got a media credential for the New York City Marathon.
That's awesome. And so I went there, I was in the media tent, and, you know, I had access to, you know, all these top runners and celebrities, and it was great. And, My videos got more views than any of the traditional media that they had there. And you know, even when like
you could sell those interviews now to like news outlets that are like, Oh, Hey, we'd love an interview with Ryan Reynolds.
Who's run the marathon. Mark was in there. Let's get his interview.
Right. And so I want to do a little bit more of that with all sports. You know, I just received an invitation to apply to Augusta for the master's media credential. Now I still need to get it. I haven't gotten it yet, but I want to do more of those kinds of behind the scenes, but like actually ask questions as opposed to what did you feel on third down today?
You know, when the ball was here, it's like, no, no, no. Like I want to get behind the scenes and see what Tom Brady does for his workouts. What, you know, all these people do to eat, to sleep, you know, how they recover all these things that like people really want to know.
It's a hot topic now, right? And there's so much shit out there now.
Think about it. 10 years ago, 15 years ago, you would never see as many people in gyms. Nobody knew that cold plunging and all this shit was worth doing right now. Everyone's doing it right. When my mom's asking me, Oh, should I cold plunge? I'm like, all right. Everyone's involved, right? When 70, 80 year old people are like invested in their health and wellness, we've come a long way.
You know, I mean, we've been in the industry for a long time. I remember going to like hardcore bodybuilding gyms and powerlifting gyms and CrossFit gym. There were very few people, you know, doing those types of workouts and now it's everywhere. Right. It's great. Um, but give people a little background on like where you came from.
I mean, you were an equinox trainer. I mean, you've been in the industry, what, 15 years? Yeah.
More, I don't want to date myself, but, but, but more, but maybe more years than you. Um, I, the funny thing, I used to be a golf pro. So I, I was teaching a country club in Connecticut, did that for a year. That was not for me.
I needed something a little bit more entrepreneurial, creative, started working at Equinox up in Darien, Connecticut was there for two years. And I said,
you had to be, that probably was the first Equinox in Darien, right? Yeah. In, um, In, in that area. Oh yeah, definitely
in that area. And I, I worked my butt off there because I, I had just gotten my certification through NASM and here I am this like former golf pro but that actually turned out to be a really good thing because up in Connecticut you've got all these guys that are golfers.
Of course. And so they're like, I wanna work out with him. I wanna work out with him. And you know, the women are like, all right, he's in good shape. Like, I wanna work out with him too. And I busted my ass. Yeah. Like all these trainers who were like, I don't work before 7:00 AM or I don't work on on the weekends.
I knew we'd get into this topic. It's like, it's like, that ain't gonna work. I'm like, you know, like when I'm hiring people. 'cause like now I have people that work for me. I'm like, you're in the wrong industry. Yeah. Like I had a 3:30 AM appointment. Three times a week for two years. Mm hmm. 3 30. I had to be at his house in new canaan
Yeah,
and I lived in stanford like so I so I basically busted my butt at equinox said you guys aren't paying me enough This is ridiculous.
I can just go to people's homes because I lived up in the burbs and So that's when I started Body by Mark as an in home business. And I started just going to their home gyms. They had these mansions. So I'm like, why would I make my client go to a gym when they've got this gym already at their house and you can build, and they're probably willing to buy all the shit he's helped me get.
Yeah. So it seemed ridiculous. And so I then started hiring people because as you know, like you can only see a certain amount of clients in a day. So I started hiring trainers. Yoga instructors, Pilates, massage, everything. And it just kept growing through word of mouth. This is before social media. So now people see what you've
done and they're like, I want to have what Mark has, but it only came through the hard work.
You didn't say, Oh, I'm going to be body by Mark. I'm going to have Pilates instructions. You know, this is what people don't understand. Yeah. As a business owner, you get to a point where you're like, Holy shit, I need to pivot and do something else, or I need to hire more people to facilitate this project.
People are like, oh, well you said, I go, no, I was so embedded in the fitness industry. I think the same way you, if somebody's like, hey, I want to train at 2 in the morning, even 15 years in, I'm like, All right. I'll train you. You have to be hungry. You have to want to do it. And if you don't like doing it, how many trainers do you meet who are like, I don't work before seven.
Um, I don't want to be on the floor in four years from now. I go, well, that's like an attorney saying, no, I'm not going to be in the courtroom after like 45. Right. You're like, well, you're the most skilled at that point. Why would you stop doing what you spent your life doing to go and do something else?
Now, if you're going to pivot and like manage people and stuff, but now you're a manager. Now you're no longer a trainer. Like, as a business owner, I say this all the time, as a gym owner, the amount of people you run into who don't want to work certain hours, you know, they don't want to work weekends, uh, they don't like getting, I'm like, how are you going to work in this industry?
You have to work when everybody else is off. Exactly. That's your job. They need to find a
different business.
That's what I tell them all the time. But you've, you've pivoted so nicely through them and, and you still work. You still train people.
I do. I do. I I've definitely cut back significantly over the last, ever since COVID was over.
I mean, as you know, like during COVID everything went virtual. And so I went from before COVID maybe doing like 30 sessions a week, which like for me is like basically part time. And then during like COVID, it was like 45, maybe 50 sessions a week. Cause like I had nothing else to do. So I'm like, sure, I'll see more people.
I'm stuck at home. And then after COVID, I had to slow down. Cause you get burnt out a little bit. And then. That's when the corporate gym opportunities started coming up. And then at the same time, the corporate gyms, all of a sudden, my social media started growing and I'm like, Whoa, okay, I can make this money with this and I can do these corporate gyms, which is sort of something different for me.
And it's using a different part of my brain and it's a little bit more long term focused. And so, and it's a, it's a bigger, it's a bigger ticket.
Yeah, it is make a lot more money. Yeah. You know you and that's what a lot of people don't understand Like when I first started training i'm like, I really love this.
I want to I enjoy this. I like being on the floor Eventually. Yes. I want to grow but it Growing only comes out of doing the things that you need to do really well every day all the time So that you become a commodity and now you could hire other people to do right basically work underneath you,
right?
You
know Exactly. I mean, I I think that we've all You Yourself included have been burnt out at a certain point. Oh,
I said, I live in a perpetual state of burnout.
Yeah. And like, I know you're leveraging your time a little bit better by doing these events and doing these gyms now where it's like, you have to teach people how to do what you did so well so that you can replicate it.
But then you meet people and you're like, I need to meet a dog. I need to meet someone who's willing to work all the time.
Right.
And it's so few and far between.
It's hard. It's really hard. Hiring. Would you say
that's the hardest part of your business?
100%. It's, it's hard. I used to think it was hard to find good qualified trainers and fitness professionals until, um, I started doing these large corporate gyms and finding a good minimum wage.
You know, I pay above that, but like finding someone who will treat your business like it's their own, but you're not paying them that much. Christy, what the fuck did I do?
So I, like I was saying out in the hall, when somebody, if somebody wants to accelerate in any field, if you start treating somebody else's business, like it's your own, you're going to go right to the fucking top because as a business owner, all you want is what two or three people who are just like, yeah, I'm doing the things you would hope they would do.
Right.
You
know, but the thing is, how do you get them to treat your business? Like it's their own when they know there's no, they don't have equity. Yeah. You're paying them 25, 35 bucks an hour. How do you get that? And I think the answer is like, those people are born with that type of work ethic. Like, you can't really teach someone to be, like, a hard worker.
Yes.
And there's all these people online and stuff who are like, You need to convince them that, blah, blah, blah. Just a bunch of, like, bullshit. All these charlatans who, like, never owned a gym or never done what you've done, who are like, This is how you run a business. This is how you make eight figures a year.
And I'm just like, What the fuck are you talking about? I go, You have a low level But then you look at certain restaurants and different things. Like I was at a restaurant with a buddy of mine last night and the, the girl who sat us down and the waitress, they were so, Like, in love with the space. They were like, oh, this is a great place, and blah, blah, blah, and our chef is this.
And I'm like, how the fuck, can I ask a question? How the fuck did they convince you to be this invested in this business? Because I'm trying to do the same thing. They were like, well, no, we really love the staff, uh, the management here, and the owner's such a nice guy, and comes in, and I'm like, Am I not a nice guy?
Am I, what am I doing wrong? Like the, the, uh, the mentality or like what, that's the hardest thing. Like, how do you convince people to love your business as much as you do?
Right. Because like, you can't really be their friend. Because they, they then they stop, then they start
slacking off. Yeah.
And they stop respecting you as much, you know, but you also can't be that guy who's like constantly yelling at them and nagging them because then they get sort of turned off by it.
Mm-hmm . So like, there's a very, very fine line like that you have to stay on
so many people. I've, and you know, Rick from, um. Independent. Yeah. Yep. We've talked about it a lot of times, too. Like, he rents his space. I have a couple trainers who I rent my space to. But he rents his, uh, space to the trainers.
And I always laugh because he puts up these videos of people leaving the bathroom sloppy, leaving towels all over the place, leaving weights out. And I go, Rick, I deal with the same thing, and I, I talk, we talk, we commiserate about it all the time. I go, how do we convince them that this is their home? Mm hmm.
And if somebody walks in and it looks like shit, it looks just as bad on them as it does on you. Yeah. So, What is it the way they were raised like because sometimes I'll walk into my gym I'm like who raised you fucking Adam. That's
what I say all the fucking time,
right? Yeah, I go who your parents Yeah, like what what are the what fucking cave did you dwell in before you got here?
Yeah, you know, so it's shocking to me. So but there are people who do it really well You know, I don't, you know, I don't have access to some of these people, but there are definitely people who've convinced people at a low level job to do really well. But I found, I think COVID and social media has given people this wrong outlook on life.
Everybody thinks, even my nephew, he's nine years old, he thinks he's going to be like an Instagram celebrity or some shit, right? This is the mentality that a lot of people have. They're like, I don't need to work as hard. Oh, right. Because I'm just going to be famous. Yeah. Yeah. Good. You have a lot of people who just don't want to work anymore.
Even when you're paying people a premium, you know, I've hired people for the event, photographers, uh, you know, staff for the event, whatever it may be. And I try not to negotiate with people.
Yeah.
If you say, Hey, I'm worth 15, 000 an hour. I'm like, alright, I don't want to pay that, but sure, if that's what you think, but I need this, this, this, and this.
Right. Sure, no problem. And then they don't deliver on it. I'm like, you're charging me a premium for what I'm asking you to do. Isn't really, you know, it's not Earth shattering shit.
Right.
How do you, how do you execute on that better? So I've found that there's, whether you're paying a premium or you're paying low, it doesn't matter.
It's, it's the mentality of the worker. Right. And how they were raised and what, what they want to represent themselves as.
Yeah.
You know, when, if somebody hires me to do something, I'm like, expect, and we talk about this all the time. Our first customer, when it comes to the event, is the brands. How do I over deliver for the brands, so that they're happy, they get everything they want.
The first question I ask, I'm like, Alright, what, what are you trying to What are you trying to do in 2025 that we could help you with, with the event? How could we leverage our, leverage our brand to help your brand? How could we leverage the other brands that we have to help you grow? Um, and they're like, Oh, that's a great question.
And that's where you want to start with most people. Like when I have, I just opened this new gym and I asked a couple of people, I'm like, what are you trying to get out of this? What do you want to do? You want to lose a little weight? Like, what do you, what's your goal here? And I think when you start with like, what's for them, it makes things a lot easier.
Right. And even when I hire employees, I'm like, what are you trying to do? Mm-hmm . Are you trying to be a trainer? Do you wanna be a fucking Instagram model? Are you trying to sell more shit on OnlyFans? Like, what are you trying to do?
Yeah,
because I have a, I have a couple trainers. I have one in particular who I go, if you look at your Instagram, would you say this is a trainer or would you say this is somebody who as
an only fan?
Yeah, only defenses
account. Like,
you know, so I said, I go, you are not doing yourself a service.
Right.
You want me to feed you clients, but they're like, this isn't
a trainer. Right. They go straight to his or her social media. And they're like, no, because again, if you're, as you know, in our business, a lot of husbands and wives both train with that trainer, like you immediately have like a built in possible referral when you start working with someone.
And even if the wife starts working with her and she's great and sweet, like the husband, she's not going to have the husband, like go, Yeah. Around that. So people have to be very careful. Like social media, it tells a story about you. I don't really know what story mine tells about me, but for most people that have like a personal one, I think it is just like going and doing kind of a reference check on a person because like you get to see like, Oh, is this person out partying every single weekend?
Like getting their head caved in? Are they fit? Are they active? Like all these things. I think
when you put up certain content. Basically about like your family like you want to convey a message even when you don't even plan on doing it You're telling people a story. How many people do you see who just have pictures up and never talk right like this person's personality is True no, and I've learned that the hard way it talks to certain people and you're like Oh, I'd love to get that person a part of the brand but then They don't really give anything but pictures, right?
You know that you can't get much else out of them. Right. And then you see some people who are crying on social media. Anybody who cries on social media, I'm just like, all right, they're a fucking loose can. This is going to be a problem
right away. Yeah. I, I mean, I, I sometimes cry in, uh, in private, I can't remember any one of those moments where I was like, let me grab my phone and let me show a million and a half people that I'm doing this right now.
But now I'm sure there are going to be people who see this who are like these two old fucks don't get it because they're out of touch. But like, this younger generation, do you think it's like our generation? Do you think, is, should that be what we're doing nowadays?
I don't know. I think that, especially TikTok, it's rewarded people for being vulnerable.
Because they know that that will go viral,
but at the same time there, we look at it as like, okay, now you're just looking for it. You can't do it too much.
Yeah.
Right. It's like crying wolf. Yeah. Like eventually people are just like, all right, this fucking person's just how you always this upset.
Right, right.
You know, so I, I do think that is one of the reasons why that generation will overshare sometimes. Because like it's rewarded on these social media platforms because like it's really sick and twisted But when you think about it, why are those videos rewarded? Well because you're watching the entire video And the, the way the algorithm works is there's many different factors on where that video will get sent to more people.
So for example, if you watch three seconds and then swipe to the next video, it's probably not a good video. They're not going to show it to 10 more people. But when that girl's crying and she's like, you will not believe what happened on this first date. And I'm like, Ooh, what happened? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
She's like, you know, I went and then like my other ex boyfriend showed up and then they start. I'm like, Oh, and then what after that? And so we are voyeurs. And so I think that also relates to my channel a little bit as well, where it's like people like, wait, he just walked up to this stranger. What's he going to say?
Wait. Oh, now he's smiling. He was frowning two seconds ago. We want to get a glimpse into what this guy's doing. And so they like how raw. My videos videos are and so I think that's why those videos we're talking about on social media where someone is very emotional or someone is, you know, giving details that like you and I would never think to give in a video they do.
And then I look over at the view count and I'm like, Oh my God, that's been seen 50 million times. Like that's crazy. Where do you find more success on Tik Tok or Instagram? Um, Instagram. TikTok is harder to go viral. You think so? It's a little, it skews a little bit younger. Mm hmm. And the attention span of that generation, you know, basically sort of like the 35 and under, it's three seconds.
If that. So like people on, on Instagram, like I have a little bit more of a broad range of followers. You know, it's usually from about 25 to 50 years old. Okay, they have a little more patience and they're like, okay, what does this girl do? All right, i'm gonna listen to this I'm gonna sit down and interest it you ever watch someone who's 25 years old go through tiktok It's like boom.
Boom. Boom. Boom. They literally give it not even three seconds Yeah, so the other thing on why I think tiktok is harder. I don't follow anyone on tiktok Zero people.
Okay.
Yet, I still use it every single day as my form of entertainment, and it still sends me the videos that I would find most interesting.
The algorithm is that good. Dialed in. You don't need to follow people. That's the thing. It, it, it, it works so well. It knows that right now my phone's listening to me. We're talking about fitness and all these other things, and tonight I'm going to get sent all these videos that are relevant to what we're talking about.
The other night, and she could tell you this.
I spent like 1, 100 on TikTok. Whoa. Wow. And I just got sucked in. I bought one thing. These like, handles that you put on a barbell. Okay. And they like rotate. Wow. Like flex grips or something.
Okay.
Yeah. So I bought two pairs of them.
Yeah.
After I bought that, then I get served an ad for like NeuroGum.
It's just some girl being like, Oh, did you hear Joe Rogan was talking about this NeuroGum? And I remember hearing Joe Rogan talk about it. Podcast. And then, I'm swiping through, Five more videos, there's another NeuroGum. So I buy six packs of fucking NeuroGum. Right. Then, I got served some other shit, For like a hair, nasal sticks.
Hair, hair product. I'm like, I just spent 1100 fucking dollars. Yeah, I go. I mean You get like sucked in. Yeah, that's why I think like the the tick tock is like just so much more successful I'll get served the same shit on instagram.
Yeah,
uh, like the what? Blank basics or whatever the basics, right?
Right.
Yeah. And I like their stuff. I bought it before, but I'll see the same thing a hundred times before I buy something. Whereas like TikTok, you're like, Oh shit, this person. And it's the, I think the way they sell, it's not just an ad. It's not just, here's a new pair of pants on a fucking handsome guy that could, you could be him if you bought, buy these.
This is more like, Hey, so I bought this and this is who talks about it and this is who uses it.
Mm. So
they're paying people now that, yeah. Have you been getting at, like, have you been getting reached, do people reach out to you to sell a different shit on
tv? Oh, God, yeah. I, I mean, honestly, 15 emails a day. Really? Yeah. That's, and I mean, so basically in my, in my first, you know, year I did. paid ads. And the reason I did that, and I, and I got served probably, you know, a hundred companies came to me over that time.
And I did two because I wanted to focus on my growth. And I knew that if I started turning into sort of a home shopping network, like ad that I was going to lose that trajectory that I was on and that momentum. And so, and, and, I did. I wasn't doing this for the money. And so I said, you know what, that's when I started to learn that these platforms pay you per view.
So Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, I'm like, wait, when you hit a certain level and you get to a certain point, they start sending you a check every month for all the views you got.
Oh, what level? What is that? Like over a million or?
No, it's like, I want to say the, the, the TikTok program, I had to have 10, 000 followers.
Like, so it wasn't anything crazy really. And once you had 10, 000 followers and you've been online for, you know, 30 days, they're like, all right, you can apply to be to our creator program. And that pays real money, like real money. I'm
at that point on Tik TOK. Like I found it a little bit easier to grow on Tik TOK.
Like I have like almost 20, 000 followers on Tik TOK. And again, I'm the same way. I think I follow like 200 people just because like people are like, Hey, will you follow me? I'm like, sure. But like, I don't follow. And. On Instagram, I'm over the limit. I follow like 7, 500. Oh my gosh. It's like the limit of people you can follow.
Only because I've had it for so long. Yeah. I never unfollow people. Right. I think it's so lame.
Right.
But I'll start unfollowing people that follow new people. Yep. Um, but yeah, on TikTok I'm the same way. You get it served all these ads and you get served all the shit you think they think you would like.
Right. And it works so well.
Yeah. That's why I think it's a more lucrative thing, but now they're saying they're gonna shut this thing down.
I know there was just a press release I think came out today where I think it's been delayed the whole the whole tick tock thing. I don't see it getting shut down.
I think Trump's can do everything in his power to make sure that goes through. I think that was one of the reasons he won. It's
a, it's a lucrative business. I was saying, this is what I say all the time. You have to want to see other people win. I love when, especially guys our age, cause you're like, shit, I feel like my window to make money is getting smaller and smaller.
So when I see guys our age doing, Cool shit. I'm like, Oh fuck, there's hope for us. Right. We could still make money, you know, and you always think like people were going to want a younger, more attractive trainer and reality. They're like, no, I want somebody, but a little bit more wisdom, a little somebody who's been around the block a little bit.
So I always lean into that. I'm like, Hey, I'm a little bit older, but I know a lot of shit. I've experienced a lot. Absolutely. Um, when you see people, yeah. Lose well, then that eventually is going to affect you if there's less people out there with money Then there's less people buying your shit buying the products that you're pushing or buying into what you're doing So you got to want to see people win and I think this scarcity mentality that there's not enough Out there, for everyone.
There's plenty, there's more people on the planet than ever before. And, when you see the stupid products that have flown through society, you know, Like, when you look back and think about, like, Tamagotchis,
and Beanie
Babies, and stupid shit. Like, the amount of stu Like, there are people wearing tape on their nose, tape on their mouth.
And they're selling it for like 90 a piece. You're, I go, it's a fucking piece of tape.
I tried it last night. It worked horribly. The mouth tape. Literally the first time I tried it was last night. Ironically brought it up. And like, we have a little bit of a beard. It's not meant for guys with any beards.
Like I put it on after five minutes. I was like, well, that's fell off. Like that was a great 10.
One of the things that I love doing about the event too, is I get to meet a lot of these founders and different people who, if I like shit on a product or talk about a product, they're like, hey, let me, Change your mind.
I go great. I love that because if you can then it's a viable product I want it at the event and if you could sell it to other people I say I'm spending the money and the time and the Effort to get thousands of consumers there people who want what you
have, right?
It's now you it's on you to sell them on what it is, right?
Yeah, educate them
am I into every product that we have there? No, but I see there's a value and there are people who want that stuff.
Yeah
Um, so it'd be a disservice to my clients to not have all this shit there. So it was like, you use all this shit? I was like, no, but most of it I do. You know, the, uh, you know, the, the donut place that I had there.
Like, if I'm going to go cheat and have a donut, I want to go to Donut Plant.
You know,
if I'm going to, if I'm going to go to get coffee, like when I go get coffee and stuff, my favorite coffee is left hand coffee
out in the Hamptons.
You ever
have it?
So I order their shit and have it sent to my house. I love them, and I, Begged yanni the guy who owns it.
I was like, dude, I don't care what you say I need to have you at the at the event. I want like a new york city a new york coffee company at my event I want you to serve coffee. So like there's different Uh, brands that I'm like, I need you there because I love it. But there's other brands where I'm like, I don't even know what the fuck they do.
Right. You know, they were like, Hey, we want to be at the event. And you know, there's everything from fiber companies to, uh, equipment companies, and I'm like, all right, like even the zero wheel, right. You hear about this? Zero wheel. What's this? They were at the event. So basically it's like a motorized ab wheel.
Abro.
Okay. I saw it. Yeah.
It's sick. It's like 800, but it's a cool little toy. Yeah. And they had sent me one and I was playing with it yesterday at the, at, um, at my gym. And I was like, damn, this is a pretty cool thing. Like, if, you know.
800?
Yeah. Right? Isn't it? It's expensive. Jesus. But, but it's a cool little toy.
Like, if you're into it and you have the cash, I mean, listen, there, there are peo I have buddies who have 12, 000 coal plungers at their houses.
True. So. Yeah. I guess. Yeah. I don't know. 800 for a toy. I guess we all spend our money on different stuff. I'm sure. Yeah. I
know. I'm, I mean, line items that I'm not proud of.
1, 600 sneakers in Shannon, Milwaukee and New York City streets. Oh,
those days are over for me.
Yeah. Um, so yeah, no, I mean, it's been really cool to see the growth and stuff. Who have you had on that you were like, oh shit, I didn't even realize who that person was in the Well. You probably stopped some people in the street where you're like, I didn't even know that person.
Cause I, walking with her, she knows fucking everybody, all these Instagram celebrities. Like, you could be famous on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and we've had people come through the gym and they're just like, you didn't know who that was? I was like, no, who the fuck was it?
Right, like, like, that's the thing, like, I'm sure I walked, Buy plenty of like YouTube celebrities and Instagram celebrities every single day.
But like, as you know, like I'm a little bit older, so like, I really only recognize like the true real celebrity. It's like, yeah, I'd recognize Mr. Beast and like Jack Daugherty, but like, I guess to answer your question, I, you'd be amazed at what you can see when you walk around New York city without your head down on your phone.
Oh yeah.
Cause all these people think all my videos are like fake when I meet a celebrity and I'm like, No, I'm like, if you walk around Soho in the summertime on a Saturday and just have your head looking up like this and not down at your phone, you'll see a thousand celebrities, I guarantee. But everyone's like so into what they're doing on their phone.
Who's the biggest celebrity, Hannah? I mean, J Balvin. I like kind of walked by and he's just sitting on the stoop next to, you know, like the, um, the, the singer. Yeah, yeah. And so he's sitting on the stoop outside of Equinox and I'm like, is that fucking Jay Baldwin? And like, there was like a paparazzi literally next to me.
And he's like, yeah. And I'm like, get the fuck out of here. And I go walk up to him and he had a great interview, but it was because I wasn't interviewing Jay Baldwin. I was interviewing a jacked guy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I didn't say, Oh my God, I'm a huge fan because like, it doesn't have anything to do with their celebrity and you know, David Ortiz, I saw him at the airport and I was more like, who is wearing all those diamonds?
Oh my gosh. And I was like, that looks like big poppy.
Yeah. And
like that one, I knew when I went up to him who he was, but I acted like I didn't know. And he's like, well, I used to play ball in professional. And I was like, well, for, for, for who? Yeah. Oh, the Red Sox. I'm like David Ortiz. He's like, yeah, I'm like, get the fuck out of here.
It's like, I did act a little bit there, but, but it wasn't set up. Like, I didn't like go up to him and call his agent or anything. So, um, you know, you just got to treat them like, you know, like regular, regular people, because like instantly their guard goes down when, when they realize that you're talking to them for their body that they work hard on, not just interviewing them because.
They're famous and you want clout and you want a picture with them or you want something from them.
Yeah.
So I think that's when they let their guard down.
I was, uh, I was up on 52nd and Madison not too long ago. I was leaving my doctor's office. I was walking down the street and Mario Lopez was getting out of a car and walking.
And I was like, dude, you look incredible. He's like, Oh, thanks man. I was like, you do jujitsu too. Right. And he's like, yeah, I love it. He's like, I've been doing it for years. I was like, yeah. It's so impressive. Like that guy's he's got to be in his mid fifties.
Yeah.
And he looks incredible. He does. Like he, he got out of the car and had just like a t shirt on.
I'm like, dude, you look great. I was like from one gym rat to another, it's impressive. 51. Yeah.
Yeah. I, I, I agree. He's definitely one person where I want to figure out what exactly he's doing. Yeah, because I mean, I know he's very active and fit, but like. Everything from like, what water are you drinking?
What skin lotion you using? Because he looks like he's 38 years old. And
that's the thing. He, he looks like he doesn't age. And somebody like, um, like Tom Cruise. I just saw an ad for the mission impossible eight or so. He's well into his sixties, right? He's got to be what? 61, 62. So Tom Cruise is 61, 62 years old.
62 years old. Yeah. The guy looks like he's 25. It's so impressive. And I'm like, What are you doing to your face?
He's, he's had some work done. For sure, but like
he's still, like his hair, does it, like he has no greys. I mean, look at what a 62 year old looks like. Yeah. Right. That's impressive. She looks great.
Hers looks a little more natural. Like, True. She's beat up. Yeah. She looked
old.
Yeah. She
Oh, yes. Right. Hold on. Oh, so I'm meaning to, I, I been meaning to bring this up to you because you stopped one of my best friends. Okay. He's been working out with me forever. When I, when we first started hanging out, this is, I've known him 15 years. Okay. I met him. I had just started training in equinox and stuff, and then he would never work out with me.
When I started at Solace, 2014 maybe. He started coming to the gym. He'd wear elbow sleeves, knee sleeves, right? He only did like soul cycle and like double floor at Barry's Wow And then I started getting him to CrossFit. I helped him now He you know, he doesn't wear any sleeves or anything. He looks better than he's ever has before.
Yeah Ripped you stopped him on the street the guy with all the tattoos. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay bald headed guy. Yeah, it's it's amazing Great guy, right? He looks like he should be in the Hells Angels, but he's the guy in the world. Yeah
You
And I said, I go, Dickhead, you couldn't have told him that you work out at my gym.
He goes, I didn't even think of it. I go, what did you tell him?
Right.
Yeah. I go, you didn't even mention that you work out. You're like, yeah, I work out with two guys. And I was like,
right, right. He's like, I got two guys. They're buddies of mine. They're trainers. And I'm like, most of the time, like you'd want to drop their name to get a little bit, like they didn't.
And I would've kept your name. And I go,
this piece of shit didn't even drop my gym. Rob. But no, it was so funny because we were talking about it for weeks and he's like, yeah, this guy stopped me and started asking me what I do for a workout. I was like, that's Body by Mark. I was like, he's huge. He didn't even know who the hell it was.
He was
really nice.
But it's cool because even somebody like him, I mean he's a little bit older, he's not even on social media anymore. Right. And he's like, I love those videos. Yeah. Like people see value in the video because you see somebody, like I saw you had a cop on one day and I was like, damn, that's some, walking around New York City, rarely will you ever see a cop who's in shape.
I know. You know, that's why there's so much, when people are like, how'd this happen in New York? No one caught that guy who shot somebody. I go, have you seen what a New York City cop looks like? Right. When everybody's like, defund the police, I go, no, you should fund them more. Give them more money. So that you get somebody who's actually in shape and takes care of themselves and wants that job.
Yeah, you know because you have all these short little fat fucking people. How you how they gonna catch anybody?
I know it is it has been hard to find but if you look you look hard enough, there are some fit cops out there. What do you think? I mean the mayor's pretty jacked. I, I DM'd him. He did not DM me back.
No shit.
Cause like, there are certain like, you know, people that I know that I'm probably never going to meet by chance. Mm hmm. And I would like, again, like trying to evolve into a little bit more of a fitness media, I'm not, you know, Above setting up interviews with certain for sure. Yeah, because like, I know I can't just walk up to Eric Adams.
I'll probably get tackled by his bodyguard and like, you know, but he seems like he's in great shape. I don't know how old he is. Like mid fifties, late fifties, early
60, 61 or 62, I think.
Right. And, and so, uh, yeah, I, I, I'd love to interview 64. 64, wow. Dude,
I'm telling, I met him a couple times, I've had dinner with him a couple times.
Okay. Actually, the girl I had on the show, uh, last week, she's good friends with him. She worked on his campaign and stuff. Okay. And we've had dinner with him a couple times, and he's in good shape. Right. He's at the gym every morning at like 7 a. m.
Yeah.
You know, and he, I think he's pescatarian. Okay. Um, so he doesn't eat any red meat and big fish eater.
Uh, but he's, he's pretty impressive, but I mean, listen, walking around New York City, it could go one of two ways. You could meet somebody who's doesn't even think about going to the gym. And then you have all these people who are just gym rats.
Right. And it gets hard in the winter time, you know, because, you know, I fly to Miami a lot or LA a lot in the winter time, but like, I can't do it every weekend.
Um, That's sort of where, I don't know if you saw one of my recent videos where, and this is more out of curiosity, this isn't to go viral, just out of curiosity. I had two pictures and of different body types, because I'm curious, like what women find attractive. And I forgot
of a guy.
Yeah. Yeah. And one was a picture of a guy that was actually JFK jr.
Like back in his like prime and he looks like, you know, he's about 165 pounds, a little bit of muscle lean. Mm. Hmm. And then there's like a big jacked like bodybuilder guy and I just walked up to a couple of girls and I'm like, which body type do you prefer? And I recorded their responses and video went well.
I actually want to see that. Yeah, the video went well, but it's, it really is out of curiosity because like a lot of guys, I think in their mind, they're like, the more jacked I get. The more girls I'm gonna get.
No. Girls don't give a shit. Right. I look at, I was at Mr. Olympia this year. Oh, you were, yeah. And Chris Bumstead walks in.
Jeez. And I'm like, I had the most homosexual moment of my life. I'm looking at this guy, I'm like, he looks fucking incredible.
Yeah.
I couldn't believe it. I was like, I, that's, I, I literally text my doctor. I'm like, how the hell do I look like Chris Bumstead? Give me whatever he's taken. I want that.
Yeah.
And she's like, no, you're not taking fucking Sarah.
But he looks incredible. Right. Like to a guy. You show his picture to most girls. They're like, I don't want a guy who looks like that. Exactly. But I think it's, I think guys, after a certain point, you get to a point where you're like, you're no longer working out for women, you're working out for dudes.
Yeah, because I used to be really fat as a kid. So all I was like, I just want a girl that like me. Right. You know, so I just need to not be fat.
Right.
You know, and I think my success, whether I was like, Not in great shape or really great shape, but really doesn't matter. But it's, you start working out for guys when you get to a certain size.
And I think,
cause you're pretty lean, you're pretty shredded. You're, yeah,
yeah. I mean, I, I've sort of eased off it a little bit, I think over the years, because like it was getting to be like a little bit,
Like hard to live that life.
Yeah, exactly. And now it's more important just to have balance and just to be in, just to not be injured, to be honest.
Like, yes, I like being in good shape, but like the thing as you get older, I don't know if you've felt this way is just like how much we took for granted in our like twenties and early thirties. How much
you get away with.
Yeah. Yeah. Now it's like I have to warm up for like 35 minutes before I can even like look at a weight.
Yeah. So
the question that you ask everybody else, like, what do you typically do on a daily? I mean, what is, what is your ideal workout?
My ideal workout is if I have just a couple of free hours and I can warm up properly, I'm on the treadmill. I walk, I'll do my dynamics. I'll do, My band work, I'll do my foam roller work.
I'll go and I'll do weights, you know, usually depending on timing, sometimes I'll do full body workout other times I'll try and do, you know, like upper body one day, lower body the next day and then repeat, but it really, it really depends. Like we both have busy schedules. Like you get in when you get, yeah.
And like using machines or free weights a lot. You know, I'm doing a little bit more machines now. Yeah, me too. Just, just because again, like injuries, aches and pains. And I've also eased back on how heavy a weight I'm doing.
So I was just telling somebody this yesterday. These two older guys had joined the gym and they were like, you know, we started working out with this guy over the past couple months.
And he's like, just go heavier for like five sixes and sevens. And I go, when you start to work in that rep range and you're going heavy. Yeah. It's only a matter of time. I feel like before you're going to. Start to feel some aches and pains. I go, I've done it enough times to know that when I'm working in those smaller rep ranges as I've gotten older, my elbow starts to hurt, my, you know, my shoulder.
So I go a little bit more high volume.
12,
15, even 20. I'll stay in that rep range. And that's where I find to be a little bit more comfortable. Functionally safe.
100%. And a lot of people don't realize you can produce the same result. Yes. And that's something that I've definitely learned as I've gotten older is that there's a lot of different ways you can get there and it's not just by like heavy, heavy weights.
A lot of it, as you know, is diet. Like, like if you really do want it, want to get bigger or more shredded, it's eating more, eating better period.
I told my, uh, All the people who came to my new gym yesterday, I said, listen, I go, if you're coming to this gym as a excuse to eat like shit and as a weight loss program, I go, you're in the wrong place.
I'm going to help you build muscle. I want to get you in better shape and I want to increase the, the health span of your life. You can't go out and eat pizza and eat pasta because it's a very Italian neighborhood. Right. And I go, you can't eat like that and expect to come in here, burn two, three hundred calories on the assault bike, and be like, oh, I could go eat like shit again.
Yeah.
I go, you're never gonna outwork that. You're eating thousands of calories, overeating a thousand calories.
Right. And
only burning off two hundred. I go, what you need to do is change your diet. If you want to look better. So I go, I can help you with diet, but that's separate from what you're expecting to get out of this.
Right.
Here we build muscle, in the kitchen you'll build your abs. Yeah. So.
Absolutely. Yeah. I agree. People, people underestimate that and they're like, Oh, I can just work it off, work it off. It's like, no, it's like you, you end up literally just staying in the same place. Cause you take two steps forward, two steps back, two steps forward, two steps back.
And you do that every single week. You're not getting anywhere at the end of the
year. Exactly. And I think one of the things I think people don't realize is you go out to eat and this is why anytime somebody's like, you want to go out to eat? I'm like, I guess I will if there, there's no other, uh, you know, no other way around it.
But waitress comes up, she's like, Hey, do you want a drink? Sure. Sure. Any drink, whether you drink wine, you know, mixed drinks, whatever, you're looking at 150 to 300 calories.
Yeah.
Does anybody want any appetizers? Now, most appetizers at like a high end restaurant will be cooked in butter or oil. You'll have some sort of cheese or bread with it.
So you're like, all right, now you're looking another, let's say, two, three hundred calories. Yeah. Get your main meal. It's probably going to be drenched in butter or oil or some sort of creamy sauce.
Now dessert comes and you're like, well, I had all that other shit. I'm at this restaurant. It's the first time I'm here. I should try the dessert. Yeah. Now you're looking at another three, 400 calories. So now you've eaten over a thousand calories more than what you would have. Now add that up over the course of three, four days.
in the week, especially if you work in finance, or you work in sales, taking people out to dinner. You've now eat over eaten three 4, 000 calories, right? That's a pound a week. Yeah. You know, so now, and now you think you're going to go to fucking Pilates and work that off once a week, twice a week. It's like,
no,
come on.
The math doesn't add up. No, not
at all.
Um, so, but, I mean, listen, most of your successes, I mean, aside from social media is building out these facilities and stuff.
Yeah. I mean. It, I would say the reason I was able to start doing these facilities is because of the name that I made for myself with my in home business.
And that's the one nice thing when I build these businesses, these gyms within these corporate buildings, they know that I can then provide the staffing, the trainers, the yoga, I can do the classes. We can do one on one training like so. And they also know that I've been in gyms for the last 20 something years of my life.
Like I know what equipment's the best, what to design, what's a waste of money. You know, a lot of these gyms, they, they hire, uh, A company. Contractor.
Yeah. Who doesn't know shit about the gym space.
Exactly. And a lot of times they're incentivized like just buy more stuff, buy more stuff. It's like they buy all garbage.
Well, and what happens I think is when you have a contractor build out a gym and they're like, Hey, we have a hundred thousand dollar budget. They're like, well, let's just order 12 treadmills. Cause those are 10, 000 a piece. Right. And we'll stick those in there and everybody will be happy. But in reality, you just built the gym.
The world's worst gym,
right?
You know,
right. You know, so it's, it's something that I, I really, again, it's only started a little over a year ago. I love doing, I've got a couple of them now, a couple more on the way hopefully. And I, I love it
where I would see the headaches in your business. And like we talked about before is like hiring people.
We're Where are you headhunting? Where are you finding the best people and where are you finding people in general? Because even for my, I was lucky enough that two people had reached out to me for the new gym and they're who I'm basing the gym off of, aside for myself, but finding trainers who actually want to work.
Everybody's a fucking trainer online, but people who actually want to work are rare.
Where
do you find them?
Honestly, the best place is the gym. My social media is like having like a LinkedIn Indeed all wrapped in one really like that's the one aside from the money the one benefit of having a big social media is I could put out something right now this moment and I could say I need a trainer in Melbourne Beach, Florida To see a client for me, they must be certified in this, this, this, I'll put that out.
I'll get 10, 15 DMS within an hour. So the social media has really helped her. Oh my God. Like, like I, I really can get a lot of applicants, whether it's trainers, whether it's front desk, whether it's anything else I need, because like when you look at it, like you're reaching kind of like a targeted base of people, um, you know, so I have a lot of trainers that follow me again.
So.
That's the best another business plan for you selling that service to other Companies and
yeah,
you know because that to me is priceless and I was just talking about that with somebody last night My buddy I was out to dinner with last night. We were talking about that. Like how do you source those people?
How do you find how does? Even at Equinox, Lifetime, these places, they're looking for good front desk people. Trainers. How do you source them? And I think it's through social media accounts, like yours, that people are dialed into. You have eyes and ears on you that people are like, oh, he must Know somebody or know some things in the industry that I don't.
Yeah, that's it's definitely been a blessing I think that's one of the nicest things is I know that I can just put put an instagram I don't have to post it on my page. I can just do a story.
Yeah,
and i'll get hundreds of emails People like I want to work. I want to work and like as you know, like a lot of people also like They just want to work for you because like you have a big social media following.
So like a lot of people are just like, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Like they don't even care about like the job or the money or like I've had people from different countries be like, I want to move to New York, like just so I can work for you. And I'm like, wait, you live where like, no, like I'm not for a front desk, like, no, like chill.
That's
great. Mark, I'm excited for you, man. Thank you. Awesome. I'm so glad you came to Strong, New York. I'm glad. I appreciate you doing the podcast It means a lot. Yeah Holding it down for us old guys. I appreciate coming by guys if you don't already follow