Forked

Episode# 2 with Michel Babin on starting a successful fitness business

Forked podcast introduces Michel Babin; personal trainer, strength conditioning coach, athletic therapist, osteopath and naturopath. He has been working in the health and fitness industry for 12 years. 

Worked in the maritimes and moved to Montreal 6 years ago, to start his fitness business. 

He shares his 3 keys to being a successful personal trainer. 

1. You need clients to like you and you need to be someone who people can connect with easily.     

2. you need to get results with your clients. It will entice others to want to work with you through referrals. 

3. The experience of your session must be fun and motivational. 

00:04:00 I ask Michel what his feelings are on working with clients who are not getting results; working with clients who don’t want to commit to the full process. Are we willing to let go of a client who isn’t getting results? Isn’t it more important to keep working with a client, as exercising still has major health benefits even if the results aren’t necessarily there? 

00:07:00 Michels response to this is that the client inevitably must take accountability for the results they have. The trainer however must probe into the underlying reasons this client may not be getting results. Are they not being truthful about nutrition habits?  or are they being inconsistent with exercise? 

Michel states clearly that if you are doing the right steps you will get results. 

00:08:00 We discuss Michels interesting looking green liquid he showed up to the recording with. It is his vegetable powder supplement that he consumes regularly. His belief is that we don’t get enough nutrients in our diet especially considering the depleted nutrient values of fruits and vegetables that have been sitting in warehouses and store shelves. 

00:08:45 I ask Michel the big question about letting go of a client due to lack of results. Is this really a good idea especially in the beginning of our career when client scarcity is a problem and we are having financial struggles? 

Michel has never let go of a client. He takes his accountability, in that he he digs deep to find out why they aren’t getting results. He expects clients to be honest and recognize their own behaviour. Also he cautions us with pushing too many changes on people at once. Start with one or two changes. Let some cheating occur and work step by step. 

00:10:30 With Michels extensive background, I’m curious if his multidisciplinary approach helps in weathering the storms of change that are inevitably a part of business. 

His response is that it has certainly helped him to be more flexible in his approach to building his client base. 

20:00 Building our fitness business can’t always be smooth. I ask Michel about the transitions that were difficult and what prompted change in the direction of his practice? After experiencing the restrictions of working in a large corporate gym, he knew that he wanted to move toward something that gave him more freedom. 

He was able to rise to the top of his personal training business in the maritimes after branching off on his own. 

21:30 Michel moved to Montreal to be with his girlfriend. This began his efforts to build his business in a new city.

22:30 we recognize the importance of our partners in supporting us in our efforts. We give a big shout out to his girlfriend Veronique Cassey who works in Radio oncology at the Montreal children’s hospital . 

26:00 We discuss the challenges of starting over again from scratch. How do we rebuild our network? 

28:30 the pain of not earning money at the startup phase of our business. Having faith in our process and having gratitude. 

34:00 when we find ourselves doing jobs that test our determination to follow our dream. We can’t always leave the job we would like to leave. We need to transition,  respecting that we have responsibilities. 

40:00 we discuss the importance of purpose on our journey. Purpose helps to dictate the direction when we come to forks in our path. 

To find what our purpose can be, we can look to our past and try to recall the things that we loved and could spend endless time doing. Sometimes the hardest moments we went through can reveal what our purpose may be. Learning from our pain. 

48:00 coming from a small town and adjusting to the less friendly side of a bigger city. 

49:00 final words of weathering change and bringing your most flexible attitude forward. 

Get in touch with Michel Babin on Facebook. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Episode#1 With Matt Socholotiuk MMA, Boxing, athletics, self reinvention, and never giving up.

Opening: Forked podcast welcomes Matt Socholotiuk. He is a truly inspiring man. He’s 30 years old from Brantford Ontario. He moved to Montreal Quebec in 2013 with the intention of starting his fighting career in mixed martial arts. He is presently a personal trainer and boxing coach. He intends to open his own gym in the near future.

00:02:00 I jump right into the question of how Matt is able to reinvent himself so quickly and over come major career obstacles. He’s a guy that just doesn’t stay down.
His response is that he feels that having people who support you is a critical element. We also need to be ready to adapt and be flexible to the challenges that we encounter. Allow yourself to evolve and be flexible.

00:03:00 Matt shares his pre Montreal journey with us. His first major life challenge began when he was playing football for the university of Waterloo when he was 21 years old. He was tested positive for steroids and human growth hormone. He was the first Canadian football player to be tested positive for human growth hormone. Following his suspension, was when he came to Montreal. He previously boxed and wrestled in the summer months so his departure from Waterloo was to try his hand at MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) in Montreal.

00:05:00 He shares the background story that led up to his decision to take steroids and growth hormone for enhanced performance.

00:10:00 Matt helps us to understand what motivates him to duplicate success in multiple areas of performance. After his suspension from football, he rose to a high level ranking in the arena of MMA (mixed martial arts).

00:11:00 we inevitably touch on the topic of his tattoos and he tells us what they mean to him. His tattoos are very reflective of his moods.

00:12:30 Crisis is not solved by just reading a quote. It can take us to dark places that can be very difficult to emerge from.

00:13:00 The crisis of lost identity when we depart from something that was very meaningful to us.
He is a firm believer that we have to live through the emotional upheaval and experience it. We should never suppress our emotions.

00:15:30 How does Matt stay away from negative thinking? Hard work and being busy is a major key to keeping his mind in a positive place.

00:20:00 we discuss how Matt’s outward image is not an obstacle to his networking. He is able to connect to people rapidly and get past their first visual impression.

00:22:00 how do we move beyond the story of our past and allow a new paradigm to emerge?

00:23:30 we discuss the interview he had when he was suspended from Waterloo. The interview was highly judgemental yet Matt composed himself and maintained composure despite his anger.

00:27:00 we discuss the importance of building a solid reputation. Rebuilding a damaged reputation can be a painful path. Matt discusses how it is critical to owing the mess ups we make and also have people around us who support us.

00:32:30 what ways can we develop ourselves outside of the trendy and more popular norms?

00:33:30 we talk about spirituality and if Matt practices a spiritual life.

00:36:00 final departing words. Matt’s future ambitions and what’s coming up in the next 5 years. He looks forward to opening his own boxing gym and training studio.

00:38:30 final advice to people who are feeling trapped and not knowing where to start.

You can connect with Matt on Instagram. @ boxing_trainer_mtl