HOW I GOT INTO WELLNESS

WRITTEN BY ALEX FINE

I loved every minute of being in the gym while I was in college playing football for Central Michigan University. I knew it was something I was passionate about but had no clue where to start. My sophomore season I tore my labrum in my shoulder and required a massive surgery. I flew out to LA that summer to rehab with a doctor who would help me return the next season. I was at a gym in Long Beach called metroplex, and was approached by an enormous man saying “you tryna make some money? I need help training clients here and I like your style” I said “duhhhhhh."

I had no idea how to write a workout or work with a client but I needed the money because I was sleeping in a Spin Studio in the broom closet because I was too broke to even get a motel.  I started working the next day with CT Fletcher and that is where my career started.  I went back to school after a couple weeks and knew that was going to be my career path. A few years passed and after my senior football season still with no degree I reached out to hundreds of trainers asking for an internship.

Two weeks before I was supposed to graduate Jason Walsh who was a well known celebrity trainer called me back and told me to meet him in LA the next day. I borrowed money from a friend interviewed for him and got the internship on the spot.  My mom was so adamant that I fly back and graduate but I knew this is where I needed to be and I couldn’t wait another moment not doing this.  The job was not what I expected mostly cleaning the floors but I saw how to interact with high-profile clients and what was necessary to run a gym. 

A few weeks into my internship I walked by Unbreakable Performance a New gym on Sunset Blvd that worked with NFL clients and Actors. The day I walked in is the day they fired someone and I got the job do to great timing. I was 20 years old (no one ever knew my age) working with 30 NFL athletes and actors I had posters of in my dorm room.  I knew that I was on the right path and I was learning everyday I worked so I could move out and start my own company.  I worked weekends and I opened up the gym however early or late a client wanted to come in. This allowed me to work with my own clientele one on one because I was the most accessible.  I ended up quitting there a year later because it was time to make my own hours and build my brand on my own.

I had no backup plan after leaving unbreakable, but I knew if I stayed another day there it wouldn’t help me grow as an individual. I was living in a 250sq ft motel room and had no clients. I started doing construction on the side, I was one of the guys you see outside of Home Depot looking for a cheap hire. Then fate struck me one morning where I got a call from a friend to train Jennifer Anniston and this was the first step in building my business. I knew that I needed a private gym if I wanted clients like her so I saved up my money and got a deal with Hemp Hydrate where I could create a training center from my own home.

I built a gym in my garage and had clients sleep over who were preparing for movie roles and needed constant attention and 3 hour workout days. My business flourished because It was unique, private, and a comfortable vibe.  All of my clients came through referrals which I find the most flattering because people tell their friends to come train with me which is their reputation as well as mine on the line.  I never graduated with a fitness related degree, I never held any of the certifications required to train people but I offered a service that was unique. I don’t program workouts like most of the educated people in my field and sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason why were doing these workouts but one thing I can always guarantee is results. 

Results and personality is the biggest thing in business, Ive developed close relationships with all my clients and I consider some of them my best friends. I believe in pushing each person past their potential in the gym so their work outside of it seems easy.  My ethos in training is pushing the mental and the physical will come. There is days where the reps are around 1000 and it seems impossible but I believe that humans are so much more capable than what is expected of them.  I also workout with my clients a lot of the time because I want to make things competitive and show them it can be done.

The reason I love my job so much is because I get to work with so many amazing and brilliant people 1 on 1. For the most part I’m the only part of my clients day where they’re not surrounded by people, assistants, fans etc. so when they come into my home gym its a very real and humbling moment for the both of us and that’s why I love what I do.

 As mentioned before I believe in pushing people to the brink, because I believe that it drives people to success.  I can’t stand Gary Lee and other bullshit motivational speakers.  There is NOTHING in this world that should motivate you to do something. Success comes when Opportunity meets hard work, and hard work comes from your true self. Self-Motivation is the only form of inspiration that will last over time. You need to wake up and want to be great and want to beat everyone in your field.  Individuals who are Self-Motivated don’t find any excuses. If something falls down they find another way to finish and I think that’s what separates people in this industry and every industry.

I have been asked a lot of questions about how I have been able to succeed by myself in this industry and I accredit it to staying even keel when times are good and bad. I have had multiple deals fall through the table last minute and so many empty promises made but I have never made any excuses I work all day every day at 5am in the morning till I am done because I’m waiting on that opportunity. I think that everyone deserves happiness but it should be earned. Im working non stop because my happiness is my freedom.

Freedom costs money so I’m going to work until my family is good for generations. Freedom is my happiness because its the freedom to do whatever you want at any moment. The Freedom to take my daughter and wife to a foreign country and see a culture different from our own just cause its Monday, or the freedom to make others liberated around me like take care of my Mom and Dads bills or freedom to volunteer at charities. Freedom for myself so I can spend every special moment with my family is what inspires me everyday. 

For anyone who is lost I suggest they spend time at what makes you happy then make a career out of it. Were all given the same amount of time in the day so use it accordingly.  I was not given the silver spoon, I didn’t grow up with money, I made bad decisions, and I’ve had major setbacks but I always kept moving forward overtime when you get a second to look back those small increments of moving forward are crucial in the success of a person or company. I hope you enjoy ALMOST HOME, designed to make you the best version of yourself so you can help bring up the people around you.