Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joey Guz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Joey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?
I was working as a staff nurse, as part of the management team, in the ICU at a very busy hospital in downtown Detroit. I had been working with Amber Dawn Orton (now my boss) as she was my coach for a couple of years as I competed in bodybuilding as a bikini competitor. I also had my own clients, but I was basically coaching them for free because I loved it so much. Amber caught wind of that and with me having 3 science degrees, she gave me a chance. I was also attending school at this time working on my masters degree in science of nursing and obtaining my family nurse practitioner certificate/degree. I really was so unhappy managing others, so when this job opportunity came about I was beyond excited! I wasn’t going to quit my job, because I honestly never thought I could make a living by working from home, online, and being on social media. Boy, was I ever wrong! After a couple of months coaching clients, I realized I was making more money than I was being a nurse. I decided to give my two weeks and continue working full time for adofitness, which is Ambers company. I am so happy that I decided to take a chance and never look back! I did finish school and passed my boards in August of 2017 as a nurse practitioner and achieved my masters in science of nursing. I do work part time as an FNP to keep my license current and I really do enjoy helping my patients. However, I am SO happy I took that chance back in 2015 because I have been able to achieve so much. We own a supplement line together – protea nutrition, and we have other business ventures, such as resistance bands, a challenge we do 4x a year online incorporating the bands, yearly retreats in which we do photoshoots for content, and a leggings line (riyan). It’s been a lot of fun and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity and opportunities I can continue to achieve working for Amber.
Joey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was never into health and fitness. I grew up with parents who didn’t care if I played sports or was active in general. I moved out of my mother’s home and into my own apartment when I was 17. I needed an outlet to help me with stress and working out seemed to be the most helpful. I couldn’t afford a gym membership, so I bought a pair of roller blades, a cindy crawford, and billy blanks workout tapes. I would roller blade 5-10 miles every other day, and would workout to those tapes everyday. I started going to school to become a dental hygienist (graduated 2007), and I was working full-time as an orthodontist technician. After a couple of years I tried competing, I did it for 5 years and that definitely taught me a lot of discipline. During that time I ended up becoming my mother’s legal guardian (did this for 15y) because she became very depressed and had a lot of mental health issues. I continued to attend school and after obtaining my associates of applied science and dental hygiene degree, I obtained my bachelors of health human administration, bachelor’s of science in nursing, and finally my masters of science in nursing and my family nurse practitioner degree. In 2019 my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I became his DPOA and helped him with his end of life care. At that time I gave up guardianship of my mother to be able to focus solely on my father. I continued to focus on my health/fitness because it was truly an outlet for me and the only time I had to myself. Going through everything I have gone through in my life has made me that much a better coach for my clients. I ended up being diagnosed with hashimoto’s, chronic liver disease, and hypothyroidism. I was able to control this all with diet and lifestyle vs taking medications. With my personal experience and education, I now help so many woman and men with hormonal issues and overall health. I am able to help a lot of my clients get off of their medications, be more confident, and more importantly FEEL their best! I’m very proud of myself for pushing myself through all that I have and coming out stronger, I never make excuses and I always remind myself that others have it worse. So if they can do it, so can I! I had a fairly rough time growing up but I truly do believe it shaped me into the woman I am today. I decided I had to make a difference in my life and I wanted to help others do the same. In order to do that, I PUSHED through some very rough times. I did what I needed to be in a good mental spot as well. I went to therapy, talked to friends/loved ones, and focused on the positives. I love that I’m able to help so many people with their health/fitness goals. It truly brings me pleasure to know that I’m able to impact their daily lives, because when they FEEL good, life is GOOD!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I truly think my resilience comes from having no choice but to make a change. I could have easily said screw it and just stayed complacent. I knew that wouldn’t get me where i wanted to be though. My goal was of course to make a good amount of money, but I wanted to ENJOY the process of doing it. I wanted to wake up and be happy to do my job, knowing that I made a difference in others’ lives. An added bonus is that I make a good living while achieving those things.
Growing up I didn’t have much guidance on the right and wrong things to do in life. Many people around me were doing all of the bad things and just accepting their lives as they were. I couldn’t do that anymore. I do believe we all have a choice in life. It may be the hardest thing to do, but it can be done. It can be scary, but if you don’t take any chances, you will never know what you can achieve.
When I quit my nursing job, that was by far the scariest move I ever made with my career. But if I didn’t take a chance, I woudl have never known what could come of this opportunity.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Adofitness has built a great reputation because we really do care! We take more time with our clients than a typical online coach. We also don’t charge that much for our services and 9x out or 10 we are doing MUCH more work for our clients that isn’t “included”. I help read my clients lab results, with supplementation, self care, and lifestyle changes. It’s not just a “meal plan” or a “macro plan”. We strive to help others reach their goals in a healthy and sustainable manner. Even when it’s coming to just weight loss, we will never put our clients on a diet that isn’t going to benefit them for the longterm. Which is why we don’t call it a diet, it’s a lifestyle. If it’s referred/thought of as a diet, it will never work or last.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ado-fitness.com
- Instagram: joeyg_911
- Facebook: Joey Guz, ADOfitness Coach/Nutrition & CPT
- Linkedin: Joey Fattizzo
Image Credits
Eric Wainwright @portraitsbywainwright @wainwrightimages