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

Alex, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I started personal training about 6 years ago. I did it part time on top of my 9-5 job. I started with mostly high school athletes, because I played division 1 football at the University of Arizona. For 5 years I trained high school athletes and worked to transform their bodies to fit the sport (and position) that they played. I always loved the work. Even on days where I wasn’t feeling great about life, I was still excited to train someone!

Last year (2023), I taught high school english in Spain. That was a very transformative, healing year of my life. I realized that I really enjoyed teaching and working with that age group. That year in Spain changed and healed me as a human in so many ways. To tell the full story we would need another interview to talk about that alone! I had plenty of time to travel, grow, see the world, and experience a vastly different way of life. That one year in Spain taught me more about life than 10 years of school or work ever could.

After returning to the United States after having not touched US soil for 12 months, I was a completely changed man. My perspective on how to live, my purpose, and views work/life balance had completely changed. Before moving to Spain, I was the #1 Sales Representative at the #1 company in the world (Salesforce). I made very good money but did not love the work. Last October, I spent some time thinking about what I wanted to do for a career going forward. I thought about all the jobs I had done and which of them I enjoyed the most. The more I thought about it, the more I realized personal training was my calling. So less than 1 year ago, I started my own personal training business! Now my business is going very well and I truly love what I do.

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.

Sure thing! I am the owner of Coach Kos Personal Training. I specialize in weight-management and athlete training. I do 1on1, doubles, and small group fitness training. I primarily focus on strength training & conditioning. I do nutrition plans & coaching with every 1on1 client I work with. My business is transforming bodies, minds and spirits for the better! I have a great record of successfully helping countless clients reduce excess body fat, build healthy muscle mass and achieve the physique they have always dreamed of!

With athletes, I do sport and position-specific athlete training. This is both fitness training and functional field training that translates directly to their sport. My athlete program is the most challenging, but the results speak for themselves. I’ve helped many high school athletes go from barely making a roster to being a star player on their team. Since I played D1 football, I also help those dreaming of playing college sports turn that dream into reality! My first football player now plays college football in Missouri, and my first female athlete now rows women’s crew for the University of Wisconsin.

I tell my clients that I am a results-oriented trainer. I like to set clear goals with every client I work with. I work my hardest to help them achieve success. I am known for getting results and getting results quickly. I believe in three things towards optimal fitness. They are training hard, focusing on proper nutrition and knowing that it takes time to achieve what we set out to accomplish.

I DO NOT recommend ANY supplements or PEDs (performance enhancing drugs, such as steroids/TRT). I do not believe in short cuts and do not like working with those who seek them. My clients see results because they trust in my program for them and they trust in the process. There is no growth without struggle! But once my clients see they body they’ve always wanted in the mirror, they know their hard work has paid off.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Absolutely! It’s almost a miracle that I’ve achieved this kind of success in such little time. When I first started my business, I knew no one in San Diego. I had no clients, no referrals, no network, no visibility, no friends, and no help. I started from absolute zero. Because I train out of a private facility in which I have to pay to use, my first few months in business I was losing substantial money every month. My initial business plan was to run a 3 month deficit, then re-evaluate to see if it is worth it to continue going forward with my business.

The first 3 months of my business were brutal. I call it the panic & hustle phase of starting my own business. I was working 14 hours a day, 6 days a week to do everything I could to get my business off the ground. I had to fail numerous times to achieve success. My plan was to fail fast and learn fast. Every time I failed, I learned something. Every time I learned something, I improved my business. Starting out, I pitched over 10 clients and got 10 no’s before hearing my first yes. Something I kept telling myself was “Fall down 7 times, stand up 8.” Once I signed my first client, success led to success and things got easier on my end as time went on.

After month 3 I was still running a deficit, but was very close to finally making a profit and I felt much better about how my business was going. So I decided to push on. Months 3-6 were what I call my “figuring it out phase” of business. There were certainly some growing pains. It felt like there was a new challenge, issue, or thing to work on every single day. During that phase I had much doubt about if I could really push on and make this a success. I remember during months 3-6 thinking about quitting and going back to my 9-5 every single day. However, my faith in God and myself kept me pushing through the tough times.

After month 6, things really started to click for me. I had (through failure) figured out a very strong and successful sales process for myself. I figured out how to properly market myself and sign a new client. Things that were perviously challenging started to feel easy. Before I knew it, my business started to grow at a rapid rate. In months 6-9 I had my best months back to back to back! Once people could see that my clients were getting results and getting results quickly, it got to a point where I had more interest than I could even take on. Even better for me, my clients started to THRIVE at that point. I couldn’t be happier with what I’ve achieved in such little time.

I have always been, and will always be someone who is resilient. I took a BIG chance starting my own business from nothing. I kept working hard when things were not going well. More importantly, I kept working hard when things were going well. My philosophy in sports, life and business has always been “Out-work the competition.” That is my one key X factor that led to my rapid success in this industry.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

Sure! I would say that my favorite marketing and sales story would be the networking event that I pulled off in May. It was a first for the facility I train out of and wound up being a huge success for my business.

Through a client of mine, I got connected with a partner in the finance industry and we decided to co-host a networking event. We hosted a networking “Lunch & Lift” at Self Made Training Facility Del Mar (one of my two facilities). It was a first for the both of us, so I was a little nervous about how successful it would be. With the help of my business partner (and facility owner, shout out to Scott Schoenheit!) we promoted the event, got 20 RSVPs and 20 attendees. It was a huge success! I ran a 45 minute group lift during the lunch hour, and we followed it with a free lunch & networking after.

From that event, I signed a new client and successfully expanded to a second facility in Point Loma. That client is now doing incredibly well. Through his connections, I’ve expanded my business and my network incredibly well! Since my partner and I invested a lot of our time, money and efforts into hosting that event, it was. a big risk that paid off big time!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://delmar.selfmadetrainingfacility.com/personal-trainer/alex-kosinski-personal-training-coach-in-del-mar/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coach_kos/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552670857291
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kosinski74/