We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful James Lofton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with James below.
James, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Any advice for creating a more inclusive workplace?
I spent over a decade in college athletics, and I realized that besides athletes at Division 1 universities kids aren’t really receiving quality strength & conditioning training outside of larger metropolitan areas. Most Division 2 and Division 3 colleges aren’t offering quality strength & conditioning, much less high school and middle school aged kids in small towns and cities. That’s certainly the case where I live in the New River Valley of Virginia. Most people don’t realize that Exercise Science is indeed a science. I aimed to bring Division 1-caliber training to local kids – and not just kids who are on a college athletics track. Long-term I want to work with kids who have mobility challenges and movement differences. These are kids that would benefit from strength training beyond the scope of a therapist. There’s a huge need for that sort of training, and I aim to fill that void where I live.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I come from a sports family. My grandfather was a hall-of-fame high school football coach in Georgia. In my formative years, I played, baseball, soccer, wrestled, and ran track. When I was in the 7th grade, my grandfather came for a visit, gave me my first strength & conditioning program, and showed me some basic lifts. From that point on, I was hooked. Improving myself through strength & conditioning was something I could control, and I leaned into that. I played soccer in college and eventually started coaching soccer at the collegiate level. But my real love was strength & conditioning. I got certified as a strength and conditioning specialist and got CrossFit training. I loved the “off-season” when I got to work more specifically with my athletes in the weight room. As I moved up the coaching ranks, there were fewer opportunities for me to work with my players in the weight room, because we had a dedicated strength coach (not me). So I started leading the coaching staff through daily workouts. I began to think that the kind of strength training that is available to elite Division 1 athletes (and the staff who works with them) should be available to everyone. So I took the plunge and started Lofton Training, which is college-caliber strength & conditioning aimed at kids in the area where I live.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
My business partner, Adam, and I met at the gym I manage. He walked in, introduced himself, and explained that he had just moved to the area. I quickly got to know Adam, and when I heard that he had a coaching background, I asked him if he’d be interested in co-leading youth strength and conditioning. With his co-leadership, the youth class blossomed, and I realized that I have never made a better business decision than partnering with Adam.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Initially, I felt totally adrift marketing myself on social media, but I’m a box checker. So I put myself on a schedule: I had to make a certain number of posts per week, and I wrote down the times I had to make the posts. Eventually, I figured out the days and times that received the most attention, and I confined myself to those days and times. Now I have a reminder set every week at specific times to make a marketing post. That’s been a strategy that helped me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.loftontraining.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loftontraining/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566492352105
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LoftonTraining
