We were lucky to catch up with Houston Fry recently and have shared our conversation below.

Houston, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Product knowledge, discipline, and believing in your self are extremely important to be successful. I started working in the fitness industry in 2003 when I was 16 years old. I became a person a personal trainer in 2005 when I turned 18 years old. Many people in my circle did not see fitness as a career type job. Most people see it has a fun hobby.

Although there are many fun aspects of the fitness industry it is still work and needs to be treated as work. I have worked in the fitness industry during the market crash of 2008 and during the 2020 Covid-19 closures. During those times, it can seem like the odds are against you and you are in a “David and Goliath” fight. In 2008, the gym and personal training were seen as luxury to most people. When times got hard, the gym and personal training was the first expense to be cut. Today, fitness is seen much more a necessity for physical health and mental health.

The 2020 Covid-19 closure was difficult because California has the strictest closures for gyms. We had no idea when we were going to be able to open up again. During the Covid-19 closures, we would live stream group fitness classes in order to stay engaged with our current members. Ultimate Fitness was the first large gym in San Diego to set up the large out door workout area. KUSI San Diego came by to do a segment on the club and out door area. It was our discipline that helped us through the Covid -19 closure and lead to us opening our second location in Imperial Beach California.

Fast forward to 2024, we have 2 successful locations and are currently working on plans to expand to a third location.

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

In 2003, I began working at Ultimate Fitness when I was 16 years old. I started working the front desk and I also cleaned the pool. In 2005, I became certified with IFPA (International Fitness Professional Association) as a personal trainer. I love the gym environment and fitness industry. It is a place where people come to grow physically and mentally. One of the best feelings of working in the fitness industry is being apart of the excitement when you see how excited a client/member gets when they hit their fitness goal.

I have met kids when they were freshmen in high school and now they are grown adults with families and working full time. It is a great feeling to hear back from them and they tell me how being a positive influence on them helped them in life. I have been blessed with mentors, family and friends. It feels great to have the ability to be a positive influence and role model to people.

As of today, I have been working in the fitness industry for a total of 21 years and have earned 11 different certifications with IFPA. I am very happy with what I have accomplished with my team in the last 21 years. We have 1 location in Chula Vista, CA and 1 location in Imperial Beach, CA and are planning to open more locations in the future. I am excited about the growth of Ultimate Fitness.

Success does not come easy. It takes a lot of hard work, time, discipline and believe in yourself to build a brand and a solid reputation people will trust. Having a positive support system, believing in the product and believing in myself were key elements. I would not have the success I have with out my support system and team.

Taking the time to build solid relationship/rapport with members and clients were key lessons to success. For example, as a personal trainer, my responsibility is to adapt to the client and help the client reach their goals in a way they enjoy . There is more than one way to build muscle or lose body fat, but one of the best ways is the way the client enjoys. Taking the time to really get to know clients and members is what made me success as a personal trainer and makes Ultimate Fitness Center success as a brand.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Building a strong referral basis has always been our best source of new clients. We started out as a small business and did not have a large marketing budget or corporate backing. Word of mouth is the greatest source of marketing. It takes time and energy to build a solid word or mouth base. If you are working with your customer/clients best intentions as a priority, you will be able to build that solid referral base.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I first started in the industry, there was no social media. We would have to go and physically pass out flyers in the community. When social media began to pick up, we would literally ask members one person at a time to follow our social media pages. As time went on, we built our page and audience by making our members the high light. We use our social media to celebrate their wins. Maybe the are happy about a weight loss goal or excited about a deadlift PR (personal record).

Taking this approach, has encouraged other members to tag or repost our social media accounts. In short, it is a digital version of word or mouth and flyer marketing.

My advice would be to post customer success stories and let your customers be the highlight of your social media page.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ultimatefitnesscenterchulavista.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theultimatefitnesscoach/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theultimatefitnesslife/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ultimatefitnesscoach
• Other: Link Tree:
  https://linktr.ee/theultimatefitnesscoach

Image Credits

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