Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joey Bellus . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joey , 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.

The most profound risk I have taken as a business owner is opening my own business. I started OPT in 2008, inside a small 13-foot by 13-foot room in a chiropractor’s office. this was the beginning of the recession and everyone thought I was crazy. looking back I was definitely crazy, I was 23, had no money, and was still in school but I knew what I wanted to do and went for it. here we are in 2022 and I can’t even begin to tell you all of the lessons that I have learned and how dramatically better of a human I am because I chose to stick with my heart and open my business. there have been many failures and huge setbacks along the way but me opening my business was the gateway to me healing my relationships with my family, healing my addictions, traveling the world, and raising more than $100,000 over the course of the past 14 years for various non-profit, local and international service projects. taking the risk and opening my business led me down the path of finding deep and meaningful work and has helped me discover, fine-tune and share the gifts I have to help better the lives of people physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into the health and fitness industry when I was 19 years old. I became a certified trainer for 24-hour fitness. I have fallen in love with it ever since. in 2003 I started my business and in 2009 I graduated from ASU with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science & Wellness. I wanted to start my own company because I wanted creative freedom to cater to my client’s needs and create custom programs that would be more applicable to people looking to change their health and fitness. I am really proud of the results we have seen and the people we have worked with, from people losing 100lbs to rehabbing people post-stroke and multiple surgeries that require rehabilitation. I am proud to know that we have worked with professional athletes at the highest level and helped them continue to excel in their sport. its been so fascinating and exciting watching our community grow and the many different types of people and backgrounds we have come into our studio and become a member of the OPT family AKA the OPT Bird Tribe. We have always been ahead of the fitness industry when it comes to helping people get results and implementing methods that are cutting edge and practices that have been proven to work over decades of results. We are a studio that lets our core values (Love, faith, integrity, courage, community, humor, innovation, and sacrifice) guide our decision-making and perspective and because of that we can always adapt and find solutions that work for us to ensure our clients are in a position to maximize results. Over the last 14 years, our philosophy has unfolded into something that has allowed us to grow and separate ourselves from the competition. We offer small group training, large group classes, nutrition coaching, sports performance training, sauna, and cold plunge therapy, meditation & breath work classes, and our genesis program is for people who are looking to transform their lifestyle. we created programs to help solve the main health problems in our country; weight loss, heart disease, and many forms of sickness that can be prevented and healed by taking control of their health and fitness. we provide our athletes with professional training while cutting out the nonsense. We added our mental well-being programs to help people rid themselves of anxiety, stress, and fear and empower them to take control of their minds. Our team of trainers is qualified, dedicated, and carries the same passion, love, and humility to help each of our family members feel welcomed, taken care of, and aid along their path to success.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

this is something that none of my teachers told me, no books talked about it, and none of my co-workers mentioned it. in the world of health and fitness, it is NOT about the “exercises” or the “program” it’s not about the “calories” some of these pieces play a factor but the single most important thing about being a coach in the health and fitness industry is your EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. you need to get to know who YOU are and how that directly affects your clients and getting to know how your client emotionally responds to their approach to health and the outside factors that affect it is the most important, least talked about aspect of this industry.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’m sure there are many people that have a similar story but in 2020 when health “gyms” had to mandatory shut down or there would be fines, we had a huge awakening. we had to pivot everything about the business or else we wouldn’t have survived. we had calls with our clients, set up ways for them to be trained, and took a hard look at the fragility of our business. we then expanded our business with breathwork and meditation and started to work with people online and offsite to work with people who were struggling with high amounts of stress, anxiety, fear, and isolation. coming out of 2020 we had a new business model, new clients, and new strategies to help us create a stronger more well-rounded business foundation.

Contact Info:

• Website: optimalaz.com
• Instagram: @optfitness
• Facebook: Optimal Performance Training
• Youtube: Optimalaz
• Other: The Joey B. Podcast find it on iTunes, spotify, youtube, SoundCloud.

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