We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gigi Meyer Pruett a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Gigi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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’ve been an athlete ever since I can remember. There really was no choice with the family I was born into! I grew up playing every sport, until I landed a D1 scholarship to play volleyball at FGCU. After college, I then went on to be a professional wakeboarder for a couple years in Orlando, FL.
When that chapter came to an end, around 23 years old, it was the first time in my life I no longer was training as an “athlete”.
That’s when I switched gears completely. I moved from Orlando, Fl to Columbus, Ohio & took a 9-5 job working for my sister’s corporate wellness company in Columbus, OH. I absolutely loved working for her, but it was just a huge life transition.
I wasn’t nearly as active & I was way less motivated to stay in shape. It was like I had lost myself for a little bit. As a result, my body started to change. I was losing my muscle & putting on weight. & for the first time in a while, I hated the way I looked & had major insecurities about my body. It consumed me.
I got motivated to get back into shape again, but all I knew was the extremes of being an athlete. I didn’t know how to do it as a normal adult. So, I looked at what everyone else was doing. They were doing Orange Theory, cutting their carbs & calories, & different juice cleanses. They were doing HIIT workouts every day, where they’d work until they’d be drenched in sweat & completely exhausted. So that’s what I did, thinking that’s what it would take.
After a few weeks, I didn’t see any difference. If anything, I was more exhausted, starving, & miserable. Each time the weekend came around, I’d get frustrated & would totally derail, binging on everything & completely giving up. I’d tell myself, “Well, maybe this is just how it’s going to be from now on.” But when Monday would come around, I would be angry at myself, get motivated & start all over.
I got stuck in this miserable cycle for months.
But for some reason, my body kept getting fluffier, more tired, depleted & destroyed than ever. I even went to the doctor to get my blood tested, thinking my thyroid is dysfunctional, because I wasn’t losing weight. Or thinking there was potentially cancer in my bones, because my body was so achey all the time.
My blood work came back just perfect.
I got so desperate, so I hired a coach. I was determined to figure this out.
My coach basically flip flopped everything I was doing. I went from eating tiny portions of food & starving myself… to eating full, real-sized meals that’d fill me up & gave me energy. I cut the cardio/HIIT (which I hated anyway) & dialed in on strength training.
But the best part was he completely shifted the way I thought.
At the time, I was so lost because I was no longer an athlete. It was like I’d lost my identity. But he helped me find passion & purpose again in fitness again. But it was about more than just fitness. I found my passion & purpose to become the very best me. As a wife, a daughter, a friend, a sister… & now as a CEO, a future mother & wherever else I need to be my best.
It changed everything. The way I felt, the way I looked, the way I lived & the way I impacted everyone around me. The things I do to be in my best shape aren’t a “grind” anymore, it’s just become a part of me. So it’s easy.
After going through this, I knew then what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to coach women into actually doing what is RIGHT for their body & their fitness, & avoid the nonsense I got stuck doing. Nonsense that was only hurting me, when I thought it was actually helping me.
So that’s why I started GFIT, my online fitness & nutrition coaching business, where we coach women on how to actually do what is RIGHT for their body & their fitness goals, & avoid the nonsense. Nonsense that is only hurting them & not helping them. But not only that, we help ladies find passion & purpose in their fitness & physicality, so it doesn’t feel like a “grind”, but feels simple & will 100% lead them to become the very best version of themselves.
Gigi, 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?
A little more about myself… I live in Sarasota, FL. I’ve been married to my husband, Brian Pruett, for 3 years now. We recently got a new golden retriever puppy, whom are obsessed with. We’re also 31 weeks pregnant with our first baby, who I know we will be more obsessed with! But you can imagine how quick life is changing for us!
We both live very active lifestyles! We love being outside in the sun, going for walks, & doing all kinds of beach activities. Both of our families live here in Sarasota, FL as well, so we spend A LOT of time with them. We are both also very strong in our faith, which is a huge part of our lives.
My husband, Brian, does what I do but for men! He was a baseball player at FGCU, which is where we met & now has his own online fitness, nutrition & lifestyle coaching business.
Our mission with our businesses is to essentially equip people with the tools & knowledge they need to achieve their fitness & life goals & be their absolute best mentally, physically, spiritually… not only for themselves, but for their families & those around them.
I’d say one of the biggest issues we see with the people we work with is so wasted time & energy in the wrong areas. In other words, we constantly see people working SO HARD just to get minimal results.
So we help people clarify the goals they want to achieve, simplify the process to achieving it, make sure they’re being effective & efficient with their time & energy, & then establishing a realistic lifestyle that leads to the results they want long-term. Fitness is just a portion of this. It’s truthfully about become the best all-around person you can & that’s what we help our members do.
I think I’m most proud of the people my husband & I have become while working in an industry that can be so superficial, scammy & materialistic. There’s plenty of so-called “fitness gurus” I see that are straight up just taking advantage of naive customers in the fitness, diet & health industry.
At one point, I was one of them because I didn’t know any better. & with what I know now, I’ve become so passionate about exposing the nonsense & scammy people in the industry, in an effort to save other’s from making the mistakes I made, one person at a time.
Because of our faith, how we were raised, & our fundamental beliefs in authenticity & integrity, we’ve been able to help hundreds of people the sustainable way, which has been so incredibly fulfilling to us as we’re serving people the way God calls us to serve.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Reputation is built through having an IMPECCABLE product/service & being ultra consistent with marketing & the message your portraying as a leader in the industry.
I had prioritized from the start, & continue to prioritize, giving my members the BEST experience & the BEST results with us.
When I first started GFIT, I had zero testimonials. So at the start, it took a lot of sacrifice. I had to work with people for free or charge a very low amount, so I had could…
1, Get some experience
2. Get feedback so I can make it better
3. Get some real life proof
From that point on, with experience & proof, it was no longer a guessing game. I had proof that my program works & consistently backed it up.
The other important piece is showing up consistently on all marketing platforms as my authentic self. I have been consistent on social media for years & have always been an open book.
It helps when there is PROOF that the program works, but people also have to TRUST you. People can see through the BS. It takes courage to show up as your authentic self every single day too. But the more you challenge yourself to do it, the better you get at it.
People are WAY more likely to buy your product/service if they trust you. & you have to build that trust by being authentic & consistent.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Books & podcasts have been a great way for me to learn… but the BEST way I’ve learned is by investing in myself & hiring mentors.
I’ve invested nearly $200K in the past 3 years in business mentors, mindset coaches & programs that have helped me develop 100x faster than I would if I tried to do it all on my own.
It was terrifying to invest that much at first, but I value time more than money. So I’d rather spend money & save time, rather than spend time & save money.
But here’s a list of my favorite books I’ve been able to apply to business & life in general
5AM Club by Robin Sharma
Chop Wood, Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf
Pearls of the King by Lee Dominigue
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
Expert Secrets by Russel Brunson
$100M Offers by Alex Hormozi
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gigimeyergfit.com/free-training
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gigimeyerfit/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gigimeyerfit/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/gigimeyerfit
- Other: Email: gigimeyer@gfitteam.com Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/live-limitless-with-gigi-meyer/id1555951437 Private Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/toned4eversecrets
Image Credits
1. Anne Ciotola 2. Josh Bodkin with Solar Wave Media