I have a feeling Scott won't be speaking at the next Perform Better Seminar.

Based on the positive feedback the last blog post on a PERSONAL TRAINER DONE REAL GOOD, Dana White, I decided to come back with another installment …

Now this choice may be a little more controversial than the last one (and considering Dana that says a lot), but you’ll find it’s a guy that has no doubt used personal training to accomplish a lot in his life and at the very least stand as a role model to lifestyle design in action.

I’m talking about Scott Alexander, a minor celebrity across the pond, with the title of being “the vainest man in the U.K.”.

I’m going to share a video of Scott with you in a second, and from it you’re going to see that he’s almost a caricature of a person; in some ways it’s hard to believe that people like him are out there.  But before you chalk him up as a over-tanned Jersey Shore type, there are a few things you should know about him …

He’s extremely ambitious and has the work ethic to match.  The quick and dirty on him is that he’s worth something like 50 million (in euros, pounds, or whatever you guys from the UK are using these days).  He started as a trainer to the highly affluent, and took this role and turned it into being their VIP concierge into all the finer things in life, particularly luxury cars and real estate.

And Scott practices what he preaches, staying in fantastic shape and building up his own personal wealth considerably.  When you really look at what’s behind the materialistic image, you see a guy that’s done a lot of things right as a trainer, and I’m sure many of us can or should relate to:

- realizing that fitness is a lifestlye service, and playing up that part of it

- partners with his clients to create an ideal lifestyle for himself and them

- used his clients to grow his career even further

In terms of personal image, we’ve got a lot of guys like Scott in New York, and in business terms, he reminds me of many TLTs  I’ve met over the years.  His marketing plan isn’t one of projecting that he needs business.  If you check out Scott’s site, you’ll notice that YOU probably have a better and more updated site than his.  In that case I imagine that his business is done through a lot of offline lead generation and referrals.

What television really needs is more role models like Christian Troy.

He’s kind of a real world example of Christian Troy from Nip/Tuck (now regrettably off the air).  If you’re on the UNDERGROUND NEWSLETTER you’ve heard me talk about the show.  There’s in fact a lot you can learn from that fictional character and high end plastic surgery in general.  I like especially how they lead every new patient toward a sale with their question “tell me what you don’t like about yourself” (very similar to the 100K question that we discuss frequently here).

So despite the kind of guy Scott strikes you as, the take home messages are to realize the bigger role you can be playing as a trainer, and from all of the people you’re trying to help, don’t forget to keep the spotlight on you on occasion.  Your clients won’t be mad at you for it – in fact you’ll attract more of them.  It was when I stopped being a valet to my clients and instead became a role model that things turned around.  If you haven’t stepped into that role yet, wait til you see what it does for you.

I’ll let this video tell you the rest.  It’s sure to jolt some kind of reaction out of you – let me know what you think at bottom.

The fitness lifestyle isn't quite as good as these guys, but it's pretty damn close

When I first got started as a Personal Trainer, I was excited as hell.  I heard the stories of trainers earning high incomes, charging $100 an hour, looking in shape, and doing what came easy and was fun to them. Could you imagine something more appealing than that?

And call me naive, but through the all of the many hard times and months of very little money, I still kept my eyes on that prize until it became a reality.  Since then, I’ve helped more trainers than I can count shave years of their growth track and earn outstanding incomes from training on their own terms.

So it wasn’t until I actually got into blogging and leading this “dump the gym” movement that I found out what the real figures were for trainers and their salaries.  When you take a look, you might be a little shocked too:

THE STATS

According to one broad set of figures, the median annual earnings of Personal Trainers and group exercise instructors in May 2004 was $25,470. The middle 50 percent earned between $17,380 and $40,030. The bottom 10 percent earned less than $14,530 while the top 10 percent earned $55,560 or more.

The way I see it, trainers are worth the money - how about you?

As you can see from those figures, those are hardly respectable numbers.  The only bright side I see to it is that I think the public still has a very positive view of the training profession through the glamorous “celebrity trainers”  that dominate television.  If they only knew the real figures out, they would realize that this field is really far from glamorous in actuality.

THE CAUSES

What are some of the reasons for this big disconnect between potential and real world earnings?

First off, it’s an issue of location: most trainers work in health clubs. On a side note, one of the funniest things about success is that a simple change of location is all it takes for things to click and someone’s potential to take off.

That being said, earning a decent, stable income in a healthclub environment is difficult to say the least.  Making over 50K IS possible in this environment, but you have to work your ass of to do it (that bad kind of work, not the fun kind).  Putting in non-stop hours is encouraged.  There’s a very low ceiling on your hourly rates.  And there are way too many trainers, many of whom set a negative example.

THE PROBLEM

Being independent has the potential to be significantly higher paying.   The problem is many of these trainers don’t have the discipline to command those high rates.  They don’t put their professionalism first.

If your clients don’t trust your professionalism and credibility they are less likely to buy in to your high rates, they won’t agree to do group sessions where they are still paying full price, they are less likely to accept the fact that you require session minimums per month, or accept that fact they are charged regardless of whether they attend or not.  You also will never be able to EARN the respect of assistants and employees that you’ll eventually need the help of to gain more leverage in your business.

If you're not charging what you're worth, you're a pussy.

And professionalism and credibility is based on what you do and how you act.  It’s not based on your certifications.  It’s not based on you bad-mouthing other trainers.  It’s about the positivity and experience you bring to the table.  You want to make six figures, ie. what a graduate school educated individual makes after more than ten years of 50+ hours/week in the workforce?  You’re going to have to bring more of yourself to the table.

THE IRONY OF CHARGING LOW RATES

A Personal Trainer that’s earning at least $50 an hour should be able to earn 50K with just 20 contact hours a week – why doesn’t that happen either?

Here’s the irony – if you aim low and go for low rates, you end up selling yourself short.  $50 is below the industry average for training rates.  If you’re below average, you can hardly have the self-esteem it takes to fill up your schedule, earn a high income, and move up in the training industry.

When you’re selling yourself short like this, everyone knows it – your clients know it, you know it, and everyone watching knows it – everyone gets the feeling that you’re second rate. 

THE SOLUTION

Charge more and don’t make any excuses for it.  Train clients fewer times, once per week if necessary, but do not compromise on your rates.

Slowly IMPROVE the level of clients you actively market to.

Making deals is the fastest way to get ahead. Find out who can help you, and help them as well.

Pursue JOINT VENTURES.  Teaming up with other businesses is the fastest way you can get ahead out there.

Greg Justice’s multi-million dollar CORPORATE FITNESS business model is based on this.  So is Bedros Keuilian and Steve Hochman’s Fit Body BootCamp Business model, where they encourage you to make deals with gymnastics centers.

Beyond gymnastics centers, there are many other types of businesses and facilities that you can arrange deals and partnerships, among them are luxury condominiums, private gyms, local newspapers, tanning salons, nutrition centers, physical therapy clinics – the list is endless and dependent on the logistics of your area.  Just always make sure that in whatever JV you pursue, you look to make it a win for the other party, while still making it a win for yourself.

SUMMARY

Despite the potential definitely being there, trainers are earning very low incomes in the world today.  The good news is the money is out there – just bring more of yourself to the table.  Not more hours, not more work, just more YOU.

For more articles on earnings and personal training, check these out:

5/16/08 Article On Personal Training Salary Article

1/17/09 How To Charge $100 Per Personal Training Session | Part 1

1/29/09 How To Charge $100 Per Personal Training Session | Part 2

Do you have anything to add?  Leave your comments below:

And secondly, this is not really a new series of posts I’m starting on the blog about people that hate personal training (unless you want to see more of them) …

But I thought a little humor would be appropriate for the guy I’m profiling here right now – it’s my buddy Nate Green.

Now, I don’t think Nate hates Personal Training per se – he’s a guy that took his start in training and was able to leverage it into tremendous opportunities in the fitness industry.

Most of what Nate has been doing is online, but not in the typical, e-book, affiliate marketing, joint venture sense.

He broke the mold and took it by a different angle, by landing a full-time gig writing for the top online training magazine, T-Nation, getting a major book published, and then blogging about all of it.

Add to that serial networking, balls, and a good sense of humor, and you’ve got a fitness success story that is still really just in its starting stages.

There’s nothing more that can be said about Nate that hasn’t been covered in the TWO times I’ve had him on the blog – the first was a print interview, and the second was a full length audio call we did, going into Nate’s story.

If you’re one of the thousands of newcomers to the blog since the recent re-launch, I’ve put them both together into one super-post below – here’s the audio first, and you’ll find the print part of our first interview right below it

Whatsup Nate – From looking at everything you’ve accomplished in the industry at such a young age and short time, marketing and self-promotion seem to have been a driving force in your career. This is really interesting because way too many fitness professionals put this on the back burner and expect their marketing to just happen on it’s own – can you talk about that?

I agree with you; most don’t understand how important “marketing and self promotion” are to overall success in their fitness businesses. However, I think there are two distinct points often overlooked from non-marketers and ambitious people, alike:

1. You absolutely must be credible and good at what you do before you unveil your “brand” to your customers and fans. No wannabes allowed.

2. You have to understand that marketing is merely drawing people’s attention to your core values, your habits, your work ethic – everything that encompasses you – projected by what you do, what you say, who you meet, what you stand for, and if you continue to act congruently with that message.

“What I mean by that last point is simple: while you can dupe yourself, you can’t pull a fast one on others. They’ll notice if your message doesn’t “fit” with you.”

Don’t write an e-book about fat loss if you’ve never really produced results with actual people. Don’t try to write about physical therapy issues if you’ve only read an entry-level text about rehabilitation. And make sure to keep your charisma, your innocence, your wit, your sense of humor (whatever it may be), your arrogance, your whatever. Don’t be afraid to show who you are and what you stand for. And if you’re in a position where you can’t express yourself the way you like, I’d suggest figuring out a new career path.

I write about looking good naked, weight-training, girls, bourbon, travel, cigars, sex, steak dinners, Testosterone, and close friends and family. I’m not trying to re-write the basics of exercise physiology. And I never have to use the word “tummy.”

Yes, very true – that marketing must be grounded in reality. I don’t know why, but a lot of trainers are looking to make the jump before they’ve even developed a specialty, learned to deliver value to clients, or earned a stable income from fitness. Speaking of Personal Training, you’ve stepped away from the career for a little while – do you plan on going back?

Currently, no. While I loved training, I owned my own private studio and was actively training clients for the past four years, I realized how exhausting it was for me and how unmotivated I felt.

Now, that certainly wasn’t always the case. I had an amazing “job” and a great group of clients, but I started to lose my passion for my own fitness and health.

I was sulking through workouts, getting less than six hours of sleep, eating at random times, and succumbing to time-famine, causing my social life to sputter.

Does everyone in the fitness industry feel that way? Of course not. There are some who love to train one on one or in small groups; I prefer to speak to a different audience and help them through media, whether my blog, my articles, or my book.

Haha – you don’t have to sell me on that one- me and a lot of trainers are in or have gone through the same situation. Burn-out’s the mortal enemy for any ambitious Personal Trainer. Yeah, you mentioned the media – you’ve moved on to the role as a Journalist now with your job at Testosterone magazine – how did that happen and how’s it coming along?

Honestly, I was a journalist before I ever was a fitness professional; I’ve just combined the two.

A lot of people thought I just fell into my writing career: “It must just be who he knows!” some say. But I’ve always wanted to write. Personal training was a means to an end – a way for me to find out what inspired me and how I could share my idea of the ideal fitness and lifestyle with others.

When I was a junior in high school, I covered sports for my hometown weekly newspaper. I was the editor of my high school newspaper. I wrote for a handful of local publications before I ever had the opportunity to submit to a big magazine. And when I contributed to those magazines – namely, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, STACK and T-Nation.com – I was still training clients.

Fast-forward to last winter and I got my first book deal. Skip ahead to this summer, and I accepted a full time position as a contributing editor to Testosterone (T-Nation.com), leaving my training studio in the hands of my business partner. It definitely wasn’t planned out, but it wasn’t out of left field, either. They say “luck” is when opportunity meets preparation. I believe that.

You mentioned the people you know in this industry, and it’s a pretty impressive list. You maintain a social and professional circle of some of the top dogs. What’s the importance of networking in fitness?

It’s as important as networking in any situation. It’s how you get your foot in the door. It’s how you start word-of-mouth chatter, rumors (both good and bad), and cement yourself in the minds of others.

But remember, you must be good at what you do before you try to get “fast-tracked.” You don’t want to arrive at the top of the world to be reminded your skills are lagging way f*cking behind.

“Be honest, interesting, and humble. Be intriguing. Listen. Surprise them.”

Lou Schuler, my editor and good friend, once wrote me that at a certain point in your career, your experience and contacts will speak for themselves. Nobody will be talking if you haven’t introduced yourself, though.

Yeah that’s a good point – speaking of contacts, I checked your Flickr and noticed you recently met someone you’ve admired for some time, Tim Ferris, author of the best seller The Four Hour Workweek which is a really good book I’ve mentioned a bunch of times on the blog – what was that like?

Yeah Tim’s a friend. His book helped me straighten some things out and for that I am incredibly grateful.

He actually contacted me earlier this year and asked to see more of my writing after reading a post I left on his blog. We’ve been in touch ever since. That picture was just our first face-to-face meeting.

And speaking of blogs, you’ve got a great one – everyone can find Nate’s blog about fitness and lifestyle here. We’ve never met, but from reading your blog I get the feeling you’re a real high energy guy, but you also value peace and serenity – what’s your view on life?

High energy? Really? I should print that out and show it to my mom who calls me a “grandpa.”

I work effectively. I keep myself entertained. I have an amazing circle of friends and a very inspiring family. I love the company I work for – their mission and values are very aligned with my own. I value my health. I like to lift heavy shit. I enjoy looking good. I like bourbon, green tea, cigars, glazed doughnuts, Coke Zero, and helping people.

I have diversity and routine at the same time. That’s the “secret”, I think. It keeps me sane, at least.

It’s obvious you place a high priority on your lifestyle – I think people don’t put enough importance on this, and then end-up very disappointed even if they do achieve their goals. Is your lifestyle your first priority?

Absolutely. You and I only have a small, precious amount of time. We need to have the ability—the courage—to do what we want, when we want. We need to outline our “perfect life” and work like hell to reach it.

______________________________________________________________

In terms of combining fitness, lifestyle, along with his own quirky personality and views, Nate’s a guy that broke that’s really found a way to do it on his own terms.

I guess in that case, he must love Personal Training, because like so many other success stories, it’s what got him there.

What did you think of the post and what are your plans to create your own ideal fitness lifestyle?  Leave your comments below.

And hey, before you start laughing at the BRIDGE AND TUNNEL scene (this is the derogatory term NYC residents give to anything or anyone outside of  Manhattan), let me tell you a little bit about ASTORIA.

If anyone is familiar with this part of New York, you know how strange this neighborhood is – there are 2-3 upscale bars and lounges on nearly every single block, always full of good looking people at nearly every hour of the day and night (does anyone work?) – I’ve been almost everywhere and haven’t seen anything like this neighborhood.

I actually passed out in the banquet of my favorite place, CENTRAL,  for a couple of hours, but I had my shades on, and the owner is a former client of mine so it was all good.

Here’s why I was so wiped:

I was in Philadelphia all weekend shooting video for the new big-time web project for MEN’S JOURNAL TOP 100 TRAINER Jim Hart …

Jim’s one of the REALEST trainers in the country, and we’re working on a project with him that’s going to change lives and set a new standard for what’s possible online.

Well, this weekend we shot SIX MONTHS worth of video for his site:  all of his blog posts, his actual product, his continuity program, and promotional videos – everything!

It was all handled in just one weekend – we can now forget about that part and get to the most important thing, the marketing of it.

Well I just got back to NYC this morning, and as you can imagine, I was wiped out – I feel like I just got off an all night drinking binge, and I didn’t have a drop all weekend (I’m serious).

OK – the shooting for Jim’s project isn’t specifically what I wanted to talk about right now – I have a blog post coming about it, and will send you another NEWSLETTER talking about the specific action steps behind how we condensed so much work into such little time.

Here’s what I wanted to talk about …

While at Jim’s place on Sunday, during a party he had for friends and clients, I met a top trainer named Michael …

Just like a lot of trainers, Michael is looking to expand the reach of his training, beyond just one-on-one.

He’s smart enough to know that with the technology we have today, we can do almost the same training we do on a one-on-one basis, but reach many more people and make much more money with it.

The first thing Michael made clear to me was profound, and is the same story I hear over and over again: that he just wants to spend more time with his wife and get out of his long, daily grind – it’s a very simple and honorable request, and something he deserves.

It’s a classic case of the best job in the world eventually turning into a prison – a phenomenon I’ve watched all the way to the highest levels of the PERSONAL TRAINING industry (this by the way is exactly what the new mission of the blog will be to tackle).

The second thing I learned from Michael is how confusing making this jump really is for a lot of trainers.

They don’t know where to start, and what’s worse is they’re really getting taken advantage of – in Michael’s case, he spent over $5,000 on a website that he was told would be the answer to his problems, but has turned into a vacant lot on the web.

Again, this is nothing new – I’ve heard this story a million times.

And here’s what I’m doing about it – I have a special COACHING PROGRAM I will be releasing soon that’s completely unique …

You will actually get UNLIMITED access to my team to work with you on the strategy and the implementation of your web and marketing project, no matter what it may be.

No longer are trainers going to get JERKED into wasting money on web projects that don’t work, or be completely lost as to how they can get their E-BOOK, ONLINE TRAINING, or MEMBERSHIP SITE projects launched and rolling.

This service will launch officially once the new SUPER-TRAINER site is up – we are looking at a BETA LAUNCH this week.

But I just wanted to give you a heads up about it, so you can start thinking if it’s right for you and letting us know if you have any questions.

If you’re looking to take the guesswork, trial and error, and wasted cash out of your web project, just contact us at support@super-trainer.com -

We’ll give you more details and get the ball rolling for you.

With everything that went on this weekend, it made me realize again how serious this is, and how I couldn’t afford to wait to get the word out to you.

Ok -my venting and sales pitch are over – I’ve got some funny video I shot from the weekend that I’m going to throw up, plus some killer info on how to really get things done rapidly online.

And of course, the new ST site is coming – we are REALLY going to shock the world with this one (no, really) – who’s down for a launch party on U-STREAM when we go live? Just let me know!

I’m having a blast hanging out with Kaiser and helping Ryan out with the event.

Everyone here is extremely nice – I almost feel like a VIP like I’m fitting in already, which is kind of crazy..

It’s very hard to consider this weekend work in the traditional sense, but since there’s money involved, I guess you’d have to call it that. Anyway, here are a few more video updates – With the videos, we’re trying to get you the more exclusive, behind-the-scenes type of stuff so that you can get a true feel for what actually goes on in these events during the times between speakers (which I’ve learned is actually the most valuable time).

Check out the footage below..

Here’s Joel Marion, who’s brining back the e-book as a way to make serious money in fitness:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Alex Moroko talks about how anyone in fitness can easily make a product:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

You’re in for a special treat with Kaiser and world famous author Mark Victor Hanson. (Watch Mark punk Kaiser at the end!)

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

We met this 20 year old genius marketer at the bar Friday night – hilarious:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

And this was only Friday!

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the weekend rolls on so keep your eyes on the blog!

Just eleven months ago, I remember sitting in my apartment a month and a half into my first personal training job when I stumbled across this blog for the first time.

Now, here I am less than a year later – I’ve dumped the gym (thanks Kaiser), moved back to the South, have already attended a big industry conference in LA at Bedros’ Event, and I have shaken hands and exchanged phone calls and e-mails with many of the current and future heavy hitters in the fitness industry.

And now in the same month, I’ll be helping out behind the scenes at Ryan Lee’s event in Stamford, Connecticut at The Continuity Summit.

Like I said, crazy..

Because of Ryan’s background, there’s sure to be a lot of other fitness business owners there.  Even one of the speakers, nutrition expert and creator of Warp Speed Fat Loss,  Mike Roussell will be in attendance, representing the fitness industry as a social media expert.  Goes to show you, there’s room to get involved online – even if you see yourself as more of an old school type of trainer.

From what I understand, this whole event is going to be focused solely on creating continuity and recurring revenue in your business and putting it on autopilot.

Sounds good to me.. Haha, where do I sign up?

It’s funny, Kaiser always talks about finding that game worth playing..

I’d have to agree that personal training is a darn good one.  And if there’s even a snowball’s chance in hell of taking your knowledge in fitness or experience as a marketer or business owner and creating a business that brings you permanent, reliable, automated income, then I don’t know about you, but I want to know how it’s done…

All B.S. and marketing hype aside, there are people doing this in real life and making a killing.. Paying their bills, living wherever they want.. from their computer.

And I want to meet them.

That’s the thing that hit home with me at the FBS two weeks ago..

This stuff is real. And I don’t want to be the one buying the info products my whole life – I want to be the one creating them and profiting.

Meeting the people in person who I’ve been following through the blogs and forums put this whole thing at a different level for me psychologically – I can now see myself being a part this world – and the longer I hang around, the more I’m beginning believe it can be done.

At some point, you have to jump up off the sideline and join the game, you know? That’s the way I’m approaching it – and it’s working out just fine so far.

Anyway, this event is going to feature loads of excellent speakers – Mark Joyner, Andrew Lock, Stephen Pierce, and a bunch of others.. Not to mention The Godfather himself, Ryan Lee.

And more than just the speakers – most of the people in attendance are already running their own online businesses.. So whoever you talk to, you’re probably going to learn something new and meet someone who can help you out in some way.

I’m also excited about the “Speed Networking” session that everyone’s talking about.  Apparently, it’ll be like speed dating (whatever that is), but instead of getting digits to meet for a date, the focus will be on connecting with as many other business people as possible.

Somehow, I know that this is going to be one of those experiences that changes my life forever.  I’m not sure exactly how yet .. Maybe someone I meet, maybe an idea I get, I just couldn’t tell you right now.. But I know it will.

I heard the quote somewhere,

“You can create your own luck by exposing yourself to as much randomness as possible.”

Well, you can’t get any more random than flying out last minute to some big internet marketing event where you only know a handful of the people.

I seriously doubt I’m going to strike any million dollar deals right off the bat, but maybe I’ll form a relationship where I can help someone out or do someone a favor.. And who knows where that can lead?

It’d probably be a lot less realistic if I were just sitting at home posting on the forums this weekend..

Anyway, it’s been awesome to have the chance write on the #1 kick ass training blog on the web – If you’re going to be in Stamford this weekend, hit me up!

And from my end, things were even more crazy – the event itself was just a backdrop for everything that went on.  For the first time I met a lot of industry heavy-hitters who I’ve gotten to know but have never met in the flesh.  And I also got to connect with a lot of the blog readers and people I’ve made friends with online.  The social part of the weekend was even bigger than anything I learned.

With all the hanging with friends, eating, and  partying, you almost forget there was a conference going on in the background!

Here’s a full recount of the weekend:

Thursday, April 30

Thursday was real cool.  Me and Doug Groce, who you probably know from the blog and is someone really on the rise in the inside of the fitness marketing world, met up at the airport because our flights were arriving at the same time.  Me and Doug have talked on the phone a bunch of times, and he was the driving force behind the entire TOP-LEVEL TRAINER PROGRAM launch recently.  He helped me turn it into a kick ass product and sell the whole thing out (although we’ve later had some fulfillment problems which weren’t his fault).  It was real cool to meet him for the first time.  We both picked up our rental, a brand new silver big-body Chrysler 300 C, and headed over to the hotel.

There, we met up with Michael Duivis, who’s one of the all-star alum of Super-Trainer.  We then all headed over to a nice Mexican spot Michael recommended, and just hung out and talked for a couple hours.  Even though we’ve all known each other for months, we were all really meeting for the first time so we had a lot of catching up to do.

When I checked into the hotel (which turned out to be pretty good), I passed out for about five hours.  I think it was the  long flight getting to me, along with all of the Mexican food.  When I got up it was pretty late, but I was full of energy and didn’t want to stay in.  Me and Doug decided to go get something to eat and look for some trouble – we hit Newport Beach.

There wasn’t anything that looked too appealing, until we saw this big renovated theater that had those big “bat-signal” type lights in the front pointing toward the sky, a long line out front, and with what looked like a big party going on in the back.  We pulled into the parking lot in the back and decided to check it out.

It was some kind of exclusive party for the launch of a magazine or something – there was paparazzi everywhere – open bar and free food, the works.  Security was not very tight, because we managed to sneak in through the back.  We checked it out for a while, then headed out after a couple of hours.  We left at the wrong time, because on our way pulling out of the parking lot, we saw Brett Ratner (the director of the Rush Hour and X-Men movies) come in with what looked like a bus full of models.  He kind of stared me down with one of those “don’t you wish you were me looks”.  Ha, and I’ve kind of got to admit I did wish I was him at that moment.

We got back to the hotel, and by that time my other buddy, pro bodybuilder and major studio owner CC Mathews, showed up.  By this time it was way into the AM, so we all headed over to Denny’s to grab some grub, and just catch up on everything, and talk about what we were expecting from the event the next day.

Friday, May 1st

The next day was the first full day at the conference and it was crazy. I met for the first time my good cyber-buddies Steve Hochman, Bedros Keuilian, Chris McCombs, and Sam Bakhtiar – just like with Doug and Michael from the day before, it’s a real funny feeling meeting someone in person for the first time who you’ve gotten to know really well online and on the phone – it must be what using match.com is like!

Bedros killed it on stage – so did Chris – these guys must have dropped the F-Bomb at least 50 times that first day, but they didn’t care; Bedros put on the whole conference in his flip-flops with his hair messed up.  Even though everyone was here to learn, specifically about making money which is very serious business, the whole conference had a party atmosphere.  The crowd in general you could tell were all-stars, all here really hungry to do some damage.

I also met many of the TOP-LEVEL TRAINER PROGRAM owners – one of them John Thompson, came to lunch with me, CC, Doug, Michael.  We all piled into the 300 and went to some Mediterranean place in LA that Michael, who lives in Cali, recommended.  I’ve got to admit, cruising around LA felt a lot like something out of Entourage.  The only problem is since I was the oldest, that makes me Johnny Drama!

For the first night, Bedros arranged a big thing at Dave and Busters – most of the other attendees must have been incognito because I didn’t really see them around.  I did see Bedros though, who was trashed. But it was nothing compared to what was going to happen to me later that night …

Michael recommended we check out Sutra, a club over in Newport Beach, the general area where me and Doug were the night before.  I remembered driving past the place – it looked real good.  Me, CC, and Doug piled into the car and headed out.

Since there was just us three guys and we didn’t feel like waiting in line, we got a table and some bottles.  I’ve got to admit, the service at this place was some of the best I’ve ever had at any club I’ve been to, and I’ve been to some of the best in NYC. Whenever we wanted a drink it was poured to us by our gorgeous waitress, who we all agreed we’d marry, if only for a day.

I’m not really a drinker – the reason is I’m pretty sure I have a drinking problem.  I was right, because once I got started I didn’t stop.  I was downing Grey-Goose and Redbull’’s all night, and at a certain point I blacked out, because from what I heard from the guys I was doing some really stupid stuff I have no recollection of. Lucky for me the club closed 2 AM or who knows how trashed I would have got.  This is much different than New York, where the party doesn’t really get started til 2.

Although I don’t remember much, what I do remember is Doug macking with what was probably the hottest chick in the club – Doug got his initiation into the silicone and plastic world of California by fire after she grabbed him and hit the floor – they were gone for a long time, so I don’t even want to know what happened!

Saturday, May 2

So the next day I was super-hung over and stumbled into the conference room a couple of hours late.  I had breakfast with Zach Hunt and Chris that morning – I got smarter just from talking to those dudes, although I also curse more now because of Chris.

The conference that day was stellar as well – Steve Hochman went up, and his presentation was fire and his videos were hilarious.  He also revealed Project X for the second time anywhere – the first time was on THE TOP-LEVEL TRAINER PROGRAM.  There was also some other very good speakers who I can’t really remember since I was so hung-over.

Saturday also featured Mr. X -  I think that cat’s out of the bag so we can say who it is – Vince Del Monte, who’s made close to a mil teaching skinny guys how to bulk up through his e-books and DVDs.  He broke down the entire blueprint to getting affiliates to do all the selling for you.

The content on Saturday was excellent – it had to have been my favorite day.  At night I was totally wiped out and fell asleep early.

Sunday, May 3

Sunday had some good speakers, like PFP editor Shelby Murphy, and Greg Justice.  What I was waiting for was when Vince went back on stage at the end of the day – him and Bedros hit the stage for the recording of an info product on how to make info products!  I’ve gotten interested in this, as you can tell from the many recent people we’ve had on the blog, guys like Craig Ballantyne, Joel Marion, and Ryan Lee.

Speaking of Ryan, next week I’m going to be at his Ozworth event – I recommend everyone come on down to Connecticut to check it out.

But back to Bedros, tremendous props to him for throwing what was a crazy event.  And thanks to everyone that told me they loved my blog, and all of the other people there that I got to talk to and hang out with.

To anyone on the fence, you’ve got to check out Bedros’ events – he’s got another one coming up in October which I’ll be at, and hope to see you there.  And I’ll probably be goofing off and getting trashed at that one, but what else is new!

I just got over here to sunny California for the big FBS Event!!!

And like I promised, there’ll be a few networking events for Super-Trainer readers that are going to be a lot of fun. I’m looking to organize lunch for us on Friday with a special guest for everyone that purchased their ticket for the event through my link, and there will also be a lot of things going on Friday and Saturday night for those of you that want to check out the scene here.

If you signed up through my link, just email me here for the special lunch on Friday (remember, I won’t be paying for your meal, but will look to have a special guest attendee to answer any questions you might have).

Here’s the email you can reach me at: kserajuddin@super-trainer.com -

And everyone over here in the area, even if you didn’t sign up through my link, please come over to hang out and we’ll surely find some time to meet up and chat.

Ha! Heading over to sunny Cali, to a fitness business conference, and getting to hang out with other likeminded trainers – that’s the FITNESS LIFESTYLE at it’s finest!!!

Normally, we’d say if a trainer had only one client, she or he wasn’t doing too good …

But I talked to a trainer recently that you could describe exactly like that, with just one client, who’s at the top of his game –

That man was Jay Cardiello, the private, live-in trainer to 50 Cent –

If that doesn’t sound like the strangest, most exciting, challenging, stressful, and maybe even dangerous training situation you’ve heard about on this blog or anywhere else, I don’t know what is …

Ha! But before you go looking for a gig like this yourself, pay attention to what Jay has to say about it –

Because there was a lot of dues-paying beforehand, and a lot of work that goes into it now.  Believe that Jay sacrifices plenty for this challenging and rewarding work arrangement.

And by challenging, you just have to understand what’s riding on Jay’s shoulders – he’s responsible for a major part of  the image of one of the most marketable stars in the world today.

As you could imagine, I had to find out everything about what Jay’s up to, and he was extremely open in talking about his unique situation -

Jay rarely does interviews  so this is a real exclusive you won’t want to miss:

As you probably got to understand from listening to him, Jay’s an extremely cool guy.  Just like he said at the end of the interview, he welcomes you to contact him with any questions you might have (but hey, don’t go bothering him for autographed pictures or anything!).

Woah!  There’s a lot of ways to do this personal training thing isn’t there?   It never ceases to amaze me!

______________________________________________________________

Want More Killer Info? Check Out:
Click Here To Get In On The Action!