We recently connected with Stafford Green and have shared our conversation below.
Stafford, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?
I received my NASM certification in 2020. As a student of NASM, they help you find a job when you complete the course. NASM provided some suggestions to reach out to for potential internships. I contacted a recommended gym (Anytime Fitness) by email and got no response at first. I followed up with the email a week later, and the gym manager contacted me directly. She invited me in for an interview, and everything went great, almost too perfectly. At the end of the interview, she told me that she wanted to contact NASM to see how we get started. I was super excited. After that, I didn’t hear from her for two months. That’s after I followed up with emails and phone calls. So, I decided to go down to see what had happened. I went down to the gym and found out that the manager had quit and met the owner, who saw my resume and wanted to meet me. He hired me on the spot.
After finally getting started at “Anytime Fitness,” I worked there for about a year when the owner was forced to close the gym in 30 days, and just like that, my dream job was gone. I then immediately found a nearby smaller gym that took me in as a trainer. I worked in this gym for a month as a group training specialist, but just like that, the gym manager decided that the group sessions were not profitable and wanted to focus more on individual training. So I got down on myself, and my wife encouraged me to use social media to get myself out there. She was right, I started videoing my work, and people recognized me online and in person at the gym. I then started doing online HIIT workouts, which helped me get clients. I learned I couldn’t just rely on a gym. “I am the business,” so I have to market myself.
Stafford, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am an accountability coach who teams with individuals and groups to help them achieve their fitness goals. I consider it a partnership because no one wants to be on their fitness journey alone. The accountability I provide encourages perseverance and determination and discourages failure and giving up. I have been consistently active in fitness for about 20 years after getting out of the military in 2004.
I offer one on one personal coaching sessions, and I specialize in small-group fitness classes. What sets me apart is that I am over 40, married, a father, a 9-5 corporate employee, a volunteer 3rd-grade girls basketball coach, and have a chronic autoimmune disease, Chrons. I am incredibly resilient and dedicated to health and wellness, and I like my clients to know that life has many challenges and barriers, but by working together, we can push through together.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Being a fitness coach, being over 40 years old, and having Crohn’s Disease has its challenges. Most people don’t know that I have it or even know what it is. One of the most common triggers of Crohn’s is constant fatigue. I’m always tired. I have to keep my mind focused on the task at hand because my body does not always want to cooperate. Another drawback to having Chron’s is that I get stomach cramps, so I get an average of 4 hours of sleep most nights. But I never let that stop me from doing what I love. I like to show people that the mind is more powerful than the body and don’t let your mind tell you that you can’t do something. I was diagnosed with Chron’s in 2015, but I will not let anything stop me from enjoying my passion.
Consistency is the most important thing you must do in your fitness journey. Every day there will be a different obstacle that will try and stop you from reaching your goal. The biggest challenge is overcoming life obstacles and speed bumps. When people see a personal trainer, they automatically start saying to themselves. “they must spend all day in the gym, they must lift a million pounds, they must eat veggies and protein shakes”. But the best-kept secret is to show up. If you can make it to the gym or work out consistently, that trumps all. Showing up will not fix everything, but there is no magic pill you can take to get in shape. Showing up for yourself is more than half of the battle.
I feel I’m more of an accountability coach than a personal trainer because I partner with people to help them reach their fitness goals. I’m not the drill sergeant yelling at people to get in shape or to eat right. I am helping others in their weight and wellness journeys and sharing my experience and knowledge along the way. I tell people that no one wants to do it alone, so with me, you will always have a partner.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Aside from the logistics of training, consistency and having the right mindset is critical to success in this field. Consistency and an optimistic and goal-oriented attitude will help you accomplish much more than you think are possible. Make a plan and stick with it. You set yourself up for failure if you don’t have a plan. Prepping your mind beforehand is critical to success. For example, I pre-plan my gym days and prepare for those days the night before, sometimes days prior.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fitcoachsg.wixsite.com/website
- Instagram: Fitcoachstaffg40
- Youtube: Fitcoachstaffg40