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.

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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 when it comes to hustle, the guy I have on the blog today has plenty to spare – it’s BJ GADDOUR, famous for the BOOTCAMP BLUEPRINT program and getting to the top of the fitness business in just  few short years.

I recently contacted BJ for a new product I’m working on that’s going to cover all of the world’s major bootcamp programs and the people behind them.  It was my first chance to really talk to BJ, and to say I was impressed is an understatement.

In this clip from the interview we recorded for my new product, you’ll hear about how BJ got himself and his wife out of his father-in-law’s basement by launching successful bootcamps, and how he parlayed his success with bootcamps into a major business venture with Pat Rigsby, Nick Berry, and Jim Labadie.

And as an added plus, you get to watch me interviewing him – ha!  If you have bootcamps, don’t miss how BJ explains how to grow one very rapidly in the middle of the interview.  And if you got anything out of this interview or have anything to add to the discussion, don’t forget to leave your comments below:

It’s my column in Personal Fitness Professional this month – since the content is there right now, it’s probably wrong for me to be publishing it again here, but  if you don’t tell them I won’t either …

The reason I’m putting it over here is because I wanted to bring the discussion about this subject over to Super-Trainer – it’s all about networking and the huge role it plays in your training career.

In the article, I was kind off talking about OFF-line training, since that’s what PFP wants – but you know what, when it comes to online fitness, the networking and relationships are probably twice as important.

To get your fitness information and services in front of people online, it’s going to take relationships, plain and simple.

I think when we’re kids we know this instinctively – 0ur social lives rule our lives, really to a fault.

But as adults, sometimes you fall way to far onto the other side of the spectrum, into a “cubicle” mindset – I know that was my mistake for a LONG time, and man, it held me back.

What you need to do is get somewhere in the middle, making sure you give equal attention to the work you do on your own and how it relates to others.

For some good tips on this, here’s the article:

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Have you ever wondered what separates the winners from the losers in the fitness industry?

It’s got to be something because salaries for full-time trainers range everywhere from less than $30,000 to over $200,000, and that’s only from training sessions.

I think I know the answer.  It’s a habit I’ve noticed in every successful trainer I’ve studied, and it’s what opened the floodgates in my career.

It’s networking.

By networking, I mean interacting, sharing information and forming relationships with other trainers and fitness professional at all levels. This word gets thrown around so much in the world of business that its importance may get lost on us sometimes.

For that reason, I’ve put together a simple networking game plan that should have you making more progress in your career over the next few months then you have in the past few years:

1. Give value first.

This is the number-one rule of networking: you should be looking to give value in your first interaction with someone new, not take it.  Offer to do something for them, such as provide a link to them on your site, or write a post about them on your blog. Do not ask for anything until you’ve given first.

2. Give credit where credit is due.

Another good way to make first contact is to give credit where credit is due. We all love to get praise for our accomplishments, so if you see a trainer doing or achieving something of note, send them a sincere message pointing it out; you’ll get instant respect.

3. Get a mentor.

I’ve never directly asked anyone to be my mentor, but there are lots of ways to do it indirectly. The best is to just ask a straightforward and intelligent question of the other person. This isn’t value-taking because it allows the other person to demonstrate their status, which gives them value. Just limit it to only one question!

4. Stay in touch.

Once you’ve made first contact with someone new, it’s your job to nurture the relationship. Send them information they may need; update them on your progress; and, most importantly, send them business when possible. You should be able to stay in touch with your entire list of contacts easily through industry events and social media (like Twitter and Facebook), allowing them to grow into very strong and positive personal and professional relationships.

Fitness is one of the most amazing industries with some of the most amazing people in it. Unfortunately, most beginning trainers fail to realize this (and most never learn).

But if you take the time and make the effort to actively network, you’ll find that as a fitness professional, you’re part of an amazing brother and sisterhood.

So don’t hesitate to seek out and learn from trainers more successful than you, and be sure to pay it forward when less experienced trainers come to you for help. If one of us succeeds, we all get carried a step forward together!

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What did you think of that? Be sure to leave your comments below – and get you free subscription to PFP if you don’t have one already right here (hopefully that little plug will smooth things out a bit!).

True, I’ve had some big names on this blog – everyone from Jennifer Lopez’ , Tyra Banks’, and 50 Cent’s Personal Trainers, all for LIVE interviews, and most have contacted me for the privilege (lol) of sharing their knowledge on the top online fitness marketing blog in the world (yes, that’s Alexa verified).

So I shouldn’t be excited about the guy who I’m going to be profiling now, especially since he’s not even here for a live interview (I’ll get working on that), but it’s hard not to be.  Not only is one of the originators of the training business – he’s taken the natural finesse, hustle, and street smarts that defines a Top-Level Trainer and parlayed it into mega-millions, and he’s not slowing down yet.

It’s Jake Steinfeld, aka BODY-BY-JAKE.  I remember flipping through Jake’s book a few years ago at a Barnes and Noble, but when I went into his history for this blog post, I was blown away by what I found.  When you read the progression and sheer DOLLAR FIGURES that Jake has behind him, you’ll be speechless too. 

Here’s the whole post – check it out:

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Jake Steinfeld, born on February 21, 1958, is an American actor and the most well known personal trainer of all time. He is regarded by many as the father of personal training and is responsible for creating the personal training industry more than 30 years ago.

Jake Steinfeld moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn, NY with the goal to win the Mr. America Competition. However, when he came in second in the Mr. Southern California competition he realized that he most likely wouldn’t achieve his goal. His friends had predicted that he would be back in six months and had no chance of making it big in the City of Angels. But, Jake was not about to give up so easily.

A chance meeting with a small time movie actress gave rise to Jake Steinfeld the personal trainer. He would soon go on to training some of biggest names in the movie business which included Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford.

In 1990, Jake soon realized that he was sitting on potential goldmine of opportunities and he just had to do something to exploit his success as a personal trainer. His unrelenting quest for success gave birth to Body-by-Jake, one of the most successful fitness products businesses with positive feedback from more than 2.5 million happy customers.

However, it was not all easy going. The road from being a highly paid personal trainer to a global business leader was fraught with mistakes and skepticism. Body-by-Jake was met with an equal does of enthusiasm and skepticism.  A the time he launched his brand, the economy was just entering into a recession and people were more interested in staying afloat than giving a new idea a go. Soon out of money, Jake could either throw in the towel or he could give this another shot somehow.

His wife being his biggest supporter, urged him to take a second mortgage on their recently purchased home to pursue his dream. This time around, Jake decided to take another look at his business model. He realized he was making mistakes and needed to target a wider audience. That’s why even though he personally considered infomercials as being cheesy, he decided to take the plunge. There was no looking back after that, and the tank for Jake was slowly moving from ‘E’ to the full mark.

A self confessed street-smart entrepreneur, Jake continues to develop successful products, brands, and businesses as Chairman and CEO of Body by Jake Global®. He entered the realm of web based businesses with the creation of Global Fitness Media®, the entity behind websites such as FitPlanet®, and Good Food Near You®. One of his most successful ventures included FIT TV, which he sold to Fox Network’s Rupert Murdock for $500 million in 1997. Another multi-media innovation of Jake’s was the launch of ExerciseTV®, the first fitness on-demand television network, with partners Comcast®, New Balance®, and Time Warner®. Jake also helped found Major League Lacrosse®, which indirectly fetched him sales worth $600 million for his Body by Jake brand.

Not to be left behind in the fitness publishing domain, Jake’s latest book, “I’ve Seen a Lot of Famous People Naked and They’ve Got Nothing on You!” was a New York Times® business bestseller and Wall Street Journal® best seller.

Jake did his bit for the society by creating “Don’t Quit! Foundation” to support and educate youth about the value of physical fitness by providing state of the art fitness centers for schools. Jake was also appointed to serve as Chairman of California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports by Governor Schwarzenegger (another fitness trainer turned entrepreneur – hint-). His goal was to inspire kids to have a ‘Don’t Quit’ attitude and be more active.

His TV appearances included Body by Jake TV show and a bunch of other small roles in different sitcoms. He also lent his to voice Git, a lab rat in the latest Disney animated feature Ratatouille.

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What an amazing story, and what an amazing ride!  What did you think of that?  Leave your comments below.

And remember this is only PART 2 of the special five part series on trainers turned entrepreneurs.  There’s some more amazing people so stay tuned.

But it’s only right for me to do an official WELCOME TO THE BLOG type of video – so here you have it.

Oh, and check out the new segment I’ve added to the second half of the video.  I’ve got to admit I totally hacked it from someone else who’s real popular on YouTube – let me know if you can figure out where I got it from:

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

Now that it’s official, let me tell you about what we have inside:

First there’s the GRAPHICS section …

What I’ve learned is the major things holding back nearly every trainer from getting their business moving is getting their hands on high quality graphics.  That’s why I’ve put together both the lowest price and highest quality graphics service available ANYWHERE, and I’ve made it available to you here right now.

Then we have the SERVICES section …

Here we have a quick and easy way to have any web service you need handled for you quickly and easily.  Do you need a blog or sales page put up in one shot?  Are you looking to put a shopping cart on your site?  Do you need CLASSIFIED AD posting to promote your training business?  We’ve got it all here, again for low prices and high quality service.

And finally we have the MASTERMIND FORUMS …

If your fitness business hasn’t changed in a while or it’s just been stagnating, that’s probably because you’re not around the right people.  With the MASTERMIND FORUMS, you’ll get to deal with other hungry, like-minded fitness entrepreneurs that are just as committed to finding out the money-making and growth potential in fitness as you are.

And if you haven’t gotten them already, I also have some incredible free gifts for you so be sure to checkout the FREE VIDEO.

Ok I’m out for now – and newsletter subsribers, you know what you’ve got to do

On that note I bring you the first a special five part series I’m calling THE TOP FIVE TRAINERS TURNED ENTREPRENEURS OF ALL TIME.

Here you’re going to be able to follow the stories of five of the biggest names in fitness marketing – and I mean some big names are going to be on this list, so be ready to have your idea of what’s possible get blown open.

In no particular order, first off we have Bill Phillips, a man who needs no introduction.  In case you’re not familiar with Bill’s whole story, here’s a brief history of his rise to fame and fortune.

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Bill ‘William’ Phillips is one the top five personal trainers turned fitness entrepreneurs in the history of the personal training and fitness industry. He is also the author of one the most inspirational fitness books – ‘Body for Life’ and former owner and CEO of EAS, a well known nutritional supplements company.

Born in 1964, Bill started his bodybuilding career in 1982. A year later he decided to make the move to the Mecca of bodybuilding – Gold’s Gym Venice beach. After struggling for nearly three years in bodybuilding, Bill moved back to his home town of Colorado and decided to take the plunge into the world of fitness publishing and entrepreneurship.

And that’s how Bill Phillips the fitness entrepreneur was born. His first and one the most popular fitness newsletters of its time was the ‘The Anabolic Reference Update’, which was incidentally printed out of his mother’s garage and funded with $180 which he and his brother, Shawn made from mowing lawns in the neighborhood. The newsletter taught bodybuilders how to effectively use anabolic steroids.

Following the success of his first fitness newsletter, Bill moved out of his mother’s place in 1992. His newsletter was later rebranded into the largely successful Muscle Media 2000 (popularly referred to as MM2K). MM2K provided honest and frank opinions and discussions on the underground aspects of bodybuilding and the use of steroids. It also contained columns by accomplished bodybuilders like Dan Duchaine (The Steroid Guru) and TC Luoma.

Bill can be credited with the title of ‘Father of the Fitness Supplements Industry’ title. Using the reach of MM2K amongst the bodybuilding community, he single handedly promoted MET-Rx to becoming one the best selling supplements of all time. However, it was later revealed that Bill in fact had a partnership agreement with the creator of MET-Rx, Dr. Scott Connelly and all those endorsements were just really clever marketing tactics. However, this highly successful partnership did not last very long.

Bill and Connelly did not see eye-to-eye on certain important points related to the distribution of MET-Rx. This resulted in them parting ways. Separating from Connelly, rather that being a set back for Bill, gave him a new lease of fitness millions. In 1996, Bill acquired EAS – a nutritional supplements company. Using MM2K, Bill made EAS, one of the most successful nutritional supplements company in the late 1990s. Myoplex (a MET-Rx copy) was considered as the top selling protein supplement for many years. By this time, Bill had become a multi-millionaire and a celebrity trainer.

In 1999, Bill struck his pot of gold by selling his majority stake in EAS for $160 million to North Castle Partners. He continued on the Board, with a focus on writing and promoting his books and EAS through his publications business. In 2004, he sold his remaining stake in EAS and is no longer associated with them.

In 2005, Bill finally took the plunge and married Amy Molen, an anorexia survivor and a success story from his ‘Body for Life’ documentary.

Now out of the nutritional supplements business, Bill is busy promoting his books such as Eating for Life: Your Guide to Great Health, Fat Loss and Increased Energy and “Transformation: Now and for LIFE”. He is also actively promoting his “Great American Transformation Experience (GATE) with a goal to completely transform America’s fitness from the world’s worst to the world’s best in 10 years.

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In case you were wondering, that picture of Bill at the top is with marketing guru Joe Polish.  So it’s obvious Bill was smart enough to get help with his marketing, a mistake a lot of trainers make and instead just try to do everything on their own.

That’s the main mistake I’ve found the trainers I’ve come in contact with through this blog are guilty of – either doing too much on their own, or not knowing where to get the right help.  That’s what the new Super-Trainer is all about – being THE SOLUTION.

So be sure to check out the GRAPHICS, SERVICES, and FORUMS section of the site.  You’ll find just the support you’re looking for to get your own success story in full swing.

And let me know what you thought of this profile of Bill. Oh, and be on the look-out for the next four parts of this series – you’re not going to want to miss a single one!

If you’re just visiting the blog for the first time in a couple of days, you’ll notice something major has changed: WELCOME TO THE NEW SUPER-TRAINER!

We’re not officially rolling it out yet because there are still a few things to take care of on the back end – but feel free to let me know what you think …

What I’m working on now is the major project I have going with one of the top trainers I’ve partnered with -

I don’t know about you, but with me sometimes this marketing stuff can get overwhelming.  Lucky for me, I don’t have to look any farther than my own blog archives for motivational wisdom from some of the world’s top minds on the subject.

I’ve picked out a couple of choice tidbits from some of the brightest people in the business – you can come back to this too the next time you need a virtual pep talk to keep you going hard:

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CHRIS McCOMBS – My good buddy Chris runs the extremely popular personal training marketing blog kickbacklife.com.  Although he’s the head of a lovely family, Chris is known for his profanity and love of near-naked women.  He’s a rockstar in this business, and it’s not uncommon for his loyal fans to leave 50+ comments on one of his blog posts.

Here’s what Chris had to say about how he gained the skills to become a kick-ass marketer:

There is a lot to Internet Marketing … it’s not just like you’re gonna throw a website up and the whole world’s gonna come to it and the phone’s gonna start ringing up. There’s a lot more to it than that.

I personally learn stuff better one thing at a time.  I just kind of accomplish one thing at a time instead of tackle 16 things at once – just get good at one thing first.  Now I didn’t become a super master  expert, at any of then. Like in any of the things I’m good at, there are people who blow me away. However, I’m good enough in enough different areas to be real dangerous.

I think this is something everyone should know… to be good enough to make a lot of money, you don’t have to be the best guy in the world ’cause there’s always people  who are gonna be way better – but if you’re really good at certain things, you can still get there.

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CYNTHIA CONDE – Now we have my local home town girl from New York City, Cynthia Conde.  Cynthia is the queen in the business of offline fitness marketing.  She’s used her personality and hustle to get a bunch of celebrity clients, a book deal, reality TV show, and recently opened her own fitness studio.  Cynthia breaks down the complete winner’s mindset and competitive edge it take to make it big in fitness:

If you see an opportunity, do not second guess it off.  WE get that enough, we get enough negative things around us, whether it be the media or people we know who try to break you down. You need to think positive and just look ahead. You just never know, and if you try something and you fail, try  something else.

Fitness is just amazing. Why? Because there will always be a market for people like us, for trainers like us.  We all know that a basic workout, with weight training, a cardio program, coupled with a nutrition program, will get you results.  But the average person is  finicky. They’re bored,  and they don’t want to do just weight training, or they don’t want do average cardio. So we as trainers have to come up with really cool ideas to motivate our clients – whether it’s a bootcamp, blogging, sports specific training, you name it, you create it, you’re in charge.

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CRAIG BALANTYNE – Now we have a guy that I got to hang with a lot this past weekend, Craig Ballantyne.  I call Craig the father of the modern e-book, because it’s fact that he’s inspired and guided many of the online fitness success stories you see and hear about today.  I’ve worked with Craig on several projects in the past, and we have many more coming – here’s what he had to say the last time he was on:

There’s a lot of people that need help with fitness and there’s a lot of ways to deliver your message.  The things is, with all of this internet, multimedia, and social networking stuff, you really only have to connect very strongly with a small number of people in order to create a very comfortable lifestyle.  You don’t need a hundred thousand people, you don’t need to be on national TV, you don’t need to be the best biggest wizard trainer, and you don’t need to have the greatest success story.

I know lots of people doing well that ninety nine percent of fitness trainers have never heard of.  I still go to the gym and I never get recognize, so I mean nobody knows Craig Ballantyne.  You only need to get your hand in a tight leash with a great product and a really good story, and a connection with the people who have a problem, and you give them solution, and you need just a few thousand people paying twenty five bucks a month on a membership site – that’s it.

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KAISER SERAJUDDIN – Call me vain, but sometimes I just read some of my own stuff to get pumped up – trust me, when you have thousands of page of content (when did I write all of that) and articles floating around, you’ll do the same thing too.  Here’s something that came from my TOP-LEVEL TRAINER MANUAL, and it always keeps me grateful for the lifestyle fitness has given me:

If you grew up in typical household, you probably don’t feel like you deserve to have it so easy. Watching my parents wake-up every day at 6 AM and come home exhausted, I started to feel that this is the way life was supposed to be.

If your upbringing was similar, you also watched your parents consumed by their work, losing touch with their own lives and interests. As you enter adulthood, you begin to believe this is normal. This world-view is reinforced through the media and popular culture; the idea that you’ve got to go to school for many years, and after that get started in a career where you’ll be overworked and underpaid for several more years after that.

You’re also led to believe that you have to work for a jerk-wad boss and look forward to your 2 week vacation every year. If you work especially hard and are really successful, you might even get a promotion, where you can work even more hours and hopefully make a little more pay.

And if you’re really lucky, one day when you’re old and overweight, you’ll be able to make enough money to live comfortably and retire a few years early; but at this point your youth has passed you by and all you have to show for it are a bunch of possessions, but no real life experiences.

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It’s always great to have something motivational to look at to get you back in the zone.  And that’s very important, because belief and a positive attitude are essential if you plan to get anything done.  Okay!  I’m good now, and ready to get back to work – which one was your favorite?  Let me know …

I’m doing something new here – I decided to try out the whole VIDEO BLOGGING thing.  I busted out the flip-cam while at Michael Duivis’ place this past weekend in California to get some important ideas out to you – let me know what you think of it:

So as you learned, the  new S-T site will be dropping any day now …

And also important to your fitness marketing efforts, I broke down the tremendous value in three very inexpensive books (or in my case, audio-books) that you can purchase right now on Amazon:

• The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
• Ready Fire Aim by Michael Masterson
• Simple-ology by Mark Joyner

Get these books right now if you haven’t read them already – I guarantee you they’ll be worth it.

What are some of the most important books you’ve read in the world of marketing?  Would love to hear about it …

And let me know what you thought of the video blog – I promise to shave and have better lighting next time!

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!

It’s coming along great and is going to set the industry on fire, just like the original Super-Trainer did almost two years ago -

Instead of being so shady, let me tell you a little bit about what to expect so you know what you’re looking at once it arrives ….

Til now, S-T has been a fun project for me …

It’s allowed me to stay in touch with everyone at every level of the fitness industry -

But the new site is going to be brand new, hi-tech, and have a new mission -

It will based on all of the feedback I’ve been getting from you about what your real needs and interests are.

It’s going to have some great services you’re going to love that will help you get to your goals more quickly and affordably -  they won’t make me much money, but they will help you make serious progress in your fitness career.

In terms of an expected date of launch, I haven’t really set one yet – I’ve been doing a little bit every day with my designers and programmers and it should be ready soon.

One thing that’s been really speeding up the process is that I’ve been modeling the success of others - that’s what I wanted to talk about now -

Whenever we want results at something, we all tend to try to reinvent the wheel, but that’s a mistake ..

No matter what you’re trying to do, someone has done it already -

With my site, I’m “copying” my buddy Michael Dunlop’s site – if you saw my videos from the CONTINUITY SUMMIT, Michael’s the brilliant 20 year old entrepreneur with a blog that gets into the millions in hits, brings him hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he only works one hour a day to maintain it -

What’ s funny is Micheal sells no actual products of his own – it’s all smoke and mirrors.

And he has loads of fun making the whole thing work.

I will be sure to have Michael on as a guest on the blog in the very near future, and if I get around to throwing an event myself, I’ll have him as a speaker for sure …

Now the point wasn’t to drop Michael’s name – it was to point out how I’m “copying” his site for my new S-T build – he knows it, and since I’m in a completely different “niche” from him, he’s cool about it -

Of course I’m not copying his text or passing off any of his stuff as my own – that would be scumbag behavior.  But in terms of the look, I am modeling his success, the same way dozens of trainers worldwide have copied my current Super-Trainer site to design their own sites – I take it as a compliment.

The lesson is there’s more than one way to learn from others …

The first way is to learn through courses and products - if they’re good, you can “copy” the information in them and get success quickly yourself.

But the second way is through observation – look at what’s working, what you like and can relate to, and learn from it –

Become a student through observation – the best part about this type of learning is it’s free -

So I recommend the next time you see something you like or that’s working for someone else, you stop, take out a pen and paper, and start taking notes on what you see – almost like you’re at a seminar taking notes from a live speaker -

Because whoever or whatever you’re modeling, they’re speaking to you powerfully – just not in words.

That’s why you’ll notice even though we were goofing off and doing shots in the video I shot with Michael at the CONTINUITY SUMMIT, I broke out a piece of paper and was taking notes – because I know valuable info when I see it.

If you didn’t see our interview check it out here:

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Just ignore the fact that the bar was serving us rounds of Patron even though both Micheal and Alex Maroko, who was also in attendance, are  both underage.  What’s worse is Michael looks like he’s 14!  But hey, what do you expect from the HILTON?

Model success – that’s your little lesson for today -

No matter what you’re trying to do, someone else has already done it – just do what they’re doing, give it your own personal twist, and you’ll make progress worlds faster.

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The Design Services and Web Services we’re offering here in “soft” release are going like crazy – we’re currently doing work and consulting with last year’s national personal trainer of the year, and the biggest bootcamp program and community owner in the world, along with many independent trainers looking to upgrade their image and earnings – for more info, contact support@super-trainer.com.