We were lucky to catch up with Holly Martin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Holly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

So stoked to be speaking with you guys and sharing my story! Thank you for having me.

Well, prior to working on my own, I worked as a contractor for a company making online content for runners. I learned a lot about what is required to make consistent, quality content that holds peoples’ interest over months and years. We were primarily on YouTube and in a mobile app.

When I first started at that job, I thought that every single piece of content had to be new information or innovative in some way. What I soon learned though, was that when you’re solving the problem of motivating or inspiring someone to be better (more fit, faster, to run longer in our case), it’s actually necessary to repeat topics. You can present the topic from different angles/titles, but I learned it’s important to remember how many new eyes fall on every new piece of content. You cannot assume everyone’s seen everything, and thus also not assume you’re being stale or redundant. Someone may have just sent their friend the link to that video and it’s the first time they’re laying eyes on you/your product at all.

Lastly, from a personal interest standpoint, as a contract worker who was only paid for the time it took me to initially make a video, I learned that while evergreen content will continue to make money via ads/etc for years to come, not being compensated in correlation with the rising views eventually removes incentive from making the content. As a face of many of our largest videos, the size and amount of eyes on the channel proved meaningless to me if I wasn’t going to see direct payback on the growth of what I’d created.

This is why a lot of creators go solo, despite maybe starting off behind a bigger brand.

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

Of course! Hey guys, I’m Holly – I currently live in Nashville, TN and am 31 years old.

Here’s my story:

I grew up in Northern Virginia as a serious, trained ballet dancer and went on to complete my senior year of high school up in New Jersey, where I had the opportunity to train with Susan Jaffe (American Ballet Theater icon). I then went on to major in Ballet performance at the University of Utah, and finally worked as a professional contemporary ballet dancer in San Francisco for 5 years.

Looking back now, I see that my favorite parts of dancing were the rehearsals and tough classes, not the performing. I enjoyed the grind and hard work behind the scenes…not as much being onstage.

That got me interested in doing other things that were hard (that I could do whenever I wanted and not have to audition or try out for) – ultramarathon running and CrossFit, and 12-24 hour hikes up some of the tallest mountains in the US with my family, to name specifics.

Because freelance performance work doesn’t tend to pay much, I eventually took up a run coaching gig and also got certified as a personal trainer, while I was in San Francisco after college. Around this time, I also discovered David Goggins, to this day my biggest source of inspiration behind my Dad (full-time badass, finisher of many Ironman triathlons). David Goggins is an ex-Navy Seal turned ultrarunner who inspires many daily. His harsh way with words mixed with his undeniably rock-solid work ethic makes him someone who makes me believe I am capable of anything.

He’s why I finished my first 100-mile run in October of 2020. Around that same time, I decided to start my own YouTube channel, where I aim to help others find their own source of self-discipline both in their workouts and regular life. I like to think of myself as a softer-spoken but just as hungry David Goggins. The channel is growing faster than expected!

Outside of my channel, I work directly with clients both in person and online. I help them find will power, consistency, weight loss, and overall confidence. I’ve seen people go from barely walking a mile, to running 13. I’ve seen people come out of the deepest depression to accomplish numerous professional and fitness-related goals.

I am most proud of my ability to use setbacks and plateaus as fire power for greatness. I think there’s a huge misconception out there that success needs to be flashy and built on initial luck or privilege.

My biggest goal for any client or viewer of my YouTube channel is to have them hold the discipline to be consistent and resilient in the face of any challenge, no matter how tired or ‘unmotivated’ they feel.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I try to be completely authentic and not annoyingly preachy. As I inspire others to take on big challenges, be it a marathon run or losing 50 pounds, I think I’m really good at relating to them. I know how traditional and overwhelming the concept of fitness can be. I speak to my clients and subscribers as an equal, explaining that just because we have different ‘100%s’ in our running or overall health, we both get up on two feet everyday with a beating heart and the ability to push ourselves. Consistency in showing up is the common thread and I feel like I’ve been able to teach that in a very low key, honest way. It seems to resonate with people of various backgrounds and ages.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Word of mouth! People trust people and there’s really no replacement for that. Be it online using real pictures and reviews from clients, or in person having the nurse I run with go tell her coworkers about her results and overall happiness with our sessions, the business builds within networks.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.martinholly.com
• Instagram: @hol_monitor
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCThXtUwx4SZklK6VVjfbaSw
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/holly-martin-nashville-2
• Other: Patreon: www.patreon.com/hollymartin

Image Credits
Dayne Davis (@fortimephotography), Christopher Peddecord (Peddecord Photo), Morgan Dallas.