We recently connected with Megan Johnson McCullough and have shared our conversation below.
Megan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
My career as a fitness trainer began on the corporate route. Working for minimum wage with a Master’s Degree was not my ideal situation, but at the time being so young and needing experience, I did it. Over the next couple years, I accumulated varies certification in Group Exercise and added onto my resume. The gym I had been working at had me both personal training and teaching group exercise classes. The more I could do, the more I could fill he hours of my day. Upon request, the gym wanted to me to add a Yoga certification to my repertoire. I was interested, but the nearest and soonest course behind held was in Merced, CA. As a San Diego gal, going up to Merced wasn’t exactly something to look forward to. However, my husband had a rental car at the time, so we said let’s take it and go. Eight to ten hours later, we made it to Merced. The studio the Yoga course was behind held at was small, cute, and private. The owner was a female not too much older than me. As we got to know each other and I chatted about my corporate training life, she told me I was too talented to settle for that. Little did she know, she lit a spark. On the drive back to San Diego from Merced, I turned to my husband and told him I wanted to open my own fitness studio. For the next 8 to 10 hours we mapped out the game plan. The very next morning I woke up and searched no other than Craigslist for a studio location. I wanted to be located in Oceanside where I was born and raised and would have some community support with existing clients. Low and behold, there was a karate studio up for rent. I made the call and met the property manager that afternoon. There I was at age 26 coming from a minimum wage job and with no credit to my name, telling the gentleman I want to open a business here. He saw the glow in my eyes and the vision I had, so he told me he would give me a shot. I had to sign a one-year contract, so I did. I took the risk and never flinched. Now almost to the exact date of 10 years later, my studio Every BODY”s Fit is thriving and survived Covid. These walls have helped countless individuals reach their fitness goals from all over Southern California. I’ve also helped a Raiders player, Chargers player, and Nascar driver. The risk turned into so much more. I have now become an NASM Master Trainer, Professional Natural Bodybuilder, Fitness Model, have published 6 books on Amazon, and I’m just about to wrap up my Doctorate in Health and Human Performance. The list of certifications has continued to include AFAA Group Exercise instructor with certifications as a Drug and Alcohol Recovery Fitness Specialist, Senior Fitness Specialist, Corrective Exercise Specialist, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, Wellness Coach, and Weight Management Coach. The risk to go out on my own and become a small business owner has changed my life in every single way. I’m changing lives while improving my own. What better career could there be?
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve been an athlete my whole life and received a full ride scholarship to play basketball at Metro State in Denver, CO. After graduating I returned to Oceanside to earn my Master’s in Physical Education and Health Science. I began personal training in 2010. My mission is to help every BODY (which is the name of my studio become the best versions of themselves. I have also published 6 books on Amazon to help with this (https://bit.ly/MeganJohnsonMcCullough). What sets me apart from others is that I lead by example. I have competed and won natural bodybuilding competitions all over the world. I’m very proud of helping three clients lose over 100 pounds, helping females embrace strength training, improving body image for my clients, and teaching how to make sustainable lifestyle changes.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
My original career plan was to become a high school P.E. teacher and basketball coach. Therefore, I got my Master’s in Physical Education and Health Science. Soon thereafter, health was eliminated from curriculum and P.E. jobs were hard to come by. I kept getting temporary positions and substitute taught for a few years hoping somewhere I would slip in. I became the head Varsity Girls Basketball coach at two local high schools, but the teaching jobs to go with it just weren’t happening. With budget cuts and seniority as barriers, I had to make a decision how long I would live in such uncertainty. I was literally working out at the local gym and the manager recruited me off the treadmill to be a personal trainer. He told me which certification to take with the most credibility and said I would need at least a couple months to study to pass. Two week later, I passed and was hired. I decided that the teaching route wasn’t a lost cause but would take a backseat and i would see where personal training led. Now, here we are.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
Owning a small business is a 24/7 entity. I am the owner, sole operator, front desk, assistant, trainer….everything. I work nearly 10-12 hours a day and 7 days a week. If I had become a teacher, I would have weekends and summers off, not to mention be done by 3pm every day. Yet, this studio is my passion and my ability to help others has far surpassed any experience I did have when I tried teaching. In college I took the LSAT to go to law school to become a sports agent. After a short stint as a paralegal, I quickly learned that was a desk job without the glam like T.V. I’m right where I am supposed to be and that I am 100% certain of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.everybodysfitoceanside.com
- Instagram: megan_everybodysfit
- Facebook: – Personal https://www.facebook.com/megan.johnson.374549 Business https://www.facebook.com/everybodysfit
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-johnson-mccullough-1b603a80
- Twitter: everybodysfit
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/fitlifeeverybodysfit
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/every-bodys-fit-oceanside
- Other: Amazon https://bit.ly/MeganJohnsonMcCullough Tiktok @everybodysfit Linktree linktr.ee/everybodysfit
Image Credits
Kathy Magerkurth, Lorenzo Gaspar, Sonja Hults