How was everyone’s weekend?!
Are you winding down, taking time for family, friends, and loved ones on this winter night?
Usually that is what is in the cards for me. Actually, it’s quite comical….I was talking to Meg yesterday about my routines growing up on Sundays…
It was always the same thing!
Big family dinners and watching Extreme Makeover and Funniest Home Videos on ABC.
Remember those days?
We made a point to do this because there wasn’t ONE day during the week where we could eat together.
The week was filled with mom and I traveling to Lancaster 2-3 days for soccer practice at Krider fields for my club team, while every other week day I was either at high school soccer practice, lacrosse, or basketball.
My brother was with my dad. He was on a similar schedule.
Every weekend we were in a different state and hotel playing.
I knew nothing different. I had no time to get into miscellaneous trouble. I had 100% of time time occupied with sports or friends.
So that Sunday night was important. It was time for us to come together, talk about our weeks, share a few laughs….and ultimately build our family.
Believe it or not…I was quite the dancer….mom had me convinced I was the happiest toddler growing up…..so I am hoping our child on the way is the same :) ….
Anyways, I wanted to the a second to relate this important family time to my GYM FAMILY.
Even more so, the “heads” of the gym family…..my trainers!
Over the years, I’ve seen the ups/downs that come along with employees and trainers.
I’ve had some steal from me, take clients from me, ridicule me, try to do things behind my back, and ultimately make me feel unappreciated.
Sometimes you could say I felt hurt, which got me reading, learning, and wanting to become a better leader so it wouldn’t happen again.
Why am I bringing this up?
Well, on this day I couldn’t be more happy with the crew I have now.
Truly EACH ONE of them are a blessing from God.
My “Dream Team” are my co-workers. We are a band of brothers. A team desparate to help others, before themselves.
Because that is what being a trainer is all about.
I’ve seen and had guys come to me thinking this job would be a piece of cake and they could just show up and workout whenever they wanted and make big bucks.
It’s the complete opposite to be honest. The first 3 years of being in business when I was doing all the training….I was working out either at 4am or over lunch…..but I could have cared less about my workouts….
I had booklets and notes piled to the ceiling of MY CLIENTS workouts/programs and needs.
I even had my phone number changed 3 times because I gave it out freely and would be up ALL hours of the night answering, texting, and comforting them.
I was never “present” or “in the moment” with Megan. We would be out to dinner and I wouldn’t even be able to look at her in the eye because of how fast my brain would be firing.
I never slept. I had locks switched to the inside of my room to keep me from leaving and working downstairs. I even had my food intake backwards….I wouldn’t eat all day and ate in the night while I worked so I had locks on the fridge to stop me from that habit. I remember making deals with China at 2am and having to be on my phone and emails constantly to make sure I got orders made and deals set.
All this ran me dry. It all compiled to a point of pure exhaustion….and my clients could see it. Is it was time to hire and get help and for years, I had the wrong help.
There were times I became MORE stressed, more paranoid, and ruthlessly tried to fix staff AND my gym….which made things worse.
I could go on, and on….
But the reason for this message today is to let you all know that I found my “dream team.”
My team TRULY loves helping OTHERS. They are followers of Christ and his belief in doing good by all means necessary!
They don’t skip a beat to ask me how I am doing. They learn from me, grow from me, LEAN ON THEIR OWN, and are 110% appreciative when it comes to ANYTHING I do.
Like yesterday, Donnie has been killing it this past week while I had a nasty sickness and I just gave him a small bonus so he could maybe take his lovely wife to dinner and he didn’t delay a SECOND to make sure he thanked me in person yesterday!
Gary has his hands FULL with his boys and their sports…yet makes time to design some AWESOME creative workouts, inspire me, my members, and…well….you all know Gary…
HE IS A ROCKSTAR! He breeds positivity!!! He lights fire where ever he goes! Couldn’t love the guy anymore!
Sam has so much on her plate working 3 full time jobs, having a FULL family to take care, and STILL making time to come into OAF, train, help, and be a superior accountability coach making sure my members are making it to their workouts each week. She is incredible at what she does, and everyone loves Sam!
Dontez is new to the game, and quite the phenom. Quickly I could tell he would be something special because of his passion for fitness and helping others. I see him working in 1-1 fashions with members and I just SMILE because of his care/support he provides. I am thrilled to have him on the OAF TEAM!
Then there is Justin…..just when I thought there were no good trainers who knew/studied and lived the game….I found him! Justin is a rare breed! He has worked with every type of person, and seeing his passion for what he does is incredible and it spreads all over the gym floor. He knows his stuff, helps members, inspires them, and truly cares about each person he trains…whether it’s Eric and getting him ready for the SWAT team….or our bootcampers and helping them lose weight….he gives 100% of his effort….and I couldn’t be more thankful for him!
And last but not least….there is my Momma! You guys know her! She always looks out for me, has my back, and learns from the “guy himself” haha….She was there when I first needed her. She saw me grow as a person and trainer, took my knowledge and learned on her own how to be the “right” trainer….because lets face it….female trainers are a hard position to fill. You have to portray the right emotions and motivational cues and she does it perfectly! She claims I “fed her to the wolves” when learning…but I was just doing what I knew would be best for her. I had her jump right into the mix when I needed help, and she learned to adapt and change on the fly, which made her one fantastic trainer! I love her to pieces and can’t thank her enough for everything she does for me and our gym family!
And finally, there is my manager….Aaron….
Aaron first came to me a boy. MOTIVATED as hell, but a lot of growing up to do in the “business world.”
He was eager to train, learn, and inspire….which made him the PERFECT trainer. He watched, learned and grew into an AWESOME trainer….and an even better friend. So much in fact, he became my manger a year after starting with us….and he hasn’t looked back!
This guys is the real deal. He multi-tasks like a wiz, takes care of people in a heartbeat, and has learned how to become the BEST leader.
Not to mention he too kit upon himself to get in shape…adding newly 15lbs of muscle to his frame….he has grown into a full blown leader! He listens to me, takes advice, and implements.
He is a rockstar, and I know OAF will be thriving with him behind the steering wheel!
Also, I have Mark as my Shredder leader! Mark started with me and has been an awesome trainer and friend! He is SUPER knowledgeable and has people in his workouts learning each and everyday because of his intelligence!
I couldn’t be happier to have him with our crew and know that he always will support me and OAF! He is a special guy and helps our members build strength like no other!!
Aside from all my trainers, I even get some serious help “behind the scenes” from Kim, Katie, Jen, Dee, Elyse and Gretchen with Spin and Lara with YOGA....April/Steve with cleaning as well as Tasha and Sharon with her MAMMA ways! They are all rockstars at what they do whether its member care, support, administrative work or even setting up equipment for workouts and whipping them down.
I couldn’t do this without them all, and I am sorry for the long post, but Sunday nights were always a wonderful time for family…..and I got just that right now in my life and have the best team behind me.
They are my family. They are what I get up each day at 4:30 for and work ruthlessly on my craft for.
They are the centerpiece of this “OAF CRAZE” ….they are the driving force behind the change happening in Franklin County.
They are….my Sunday night!
Hoping everyone has a wonderful & blessed evening!
Coach Mikey
