We recently connected with Justin Pointer and have shared our conversation below.

Justin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I’ve always been a Nike head, near obsession. Everything that touched me had to be Nike. Since I was a kid, all of my athletic gear was Nike. It transitioned into my fitness life. All my workout clothes, socks, accessories, etc was Nike. I used to find hidden gems in Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls. I maxed out a Dick’s Sporting Goods credit card (smh lbvs). I used to pride on having items that nobody else had in the gym, the exclusivity of it. Then one day, one phrase, I said to myself, “I want my own exclusives, I want my own brand.”

That’s when 25FIT was created. With combining 256, the area code of my hometown, Talladega, AL & my current location Huntsville, AL, and FITness. That was the name. The original logo was something I wanted to have meaning. It included myself and my wife, Melony, with a rocket in the middle, symbolizing Huntsville, AL “Rocket City.” The colors just consisted of my favorites, Black, Red, Neon “Volt” Green.

When it was time to put everything into execution, I had a great support system. My best friend happened to do logos, so he created my logos and flyers. I had a friend/client, Tara, who was the foundation of teaching me everything I needed to know to start a business, from website, shipping, vendors, domain, etc. The rest was just my determination to chase perfection as I always do.

The logos have changed with the growth of the brand. From imaging, to promotion, to photos, to the quality of the material. The current logo is a digital combination of 256 & Fit. It’s smooth, simple, and effective.

The next step for the brand is securing a business loan, to have the ability to purchase inventory, and finally reach new potential.

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.

My name is Justin Pointer. I’m a high school special education teacher, who was a former athlete and coach, that started his own personal training & athlesiure wear brand.

I started 25FIT because I wanted something of my own, where I can have all the exclusives if I wanted to. I also started it, because I love fashion in the gym, and I wanted to help and make it easy for men and women to look good and confident at an affordable price. When you look good, you feel good, you lift good.

As far as personal training, I love when people start and progress through their journey as I remember once where I was. Being a former athlete where workouts wasn’t mandatory anymore, it was hard to stay consistent. People just sometimes need accountability. Sometimes people just need to know “what to do” in the gym, and I’m ecstatic to provide that.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

This is going to be tough to say, but I’m pretty sure at least 90% of business owners can attest. Strangers are going to support you more than your friends and family. There isn’t an explanation to why that’s so, it’s just been proven to me over and over, and have heard the same from other business owners. You have to lower expectations on what you think your friends and family owes you with your business. Take everything as gratitude and not expectation. You also don’t own them a discount, because friends supposed to support you at full price.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

With my brand being local in the same city I graduated college in, that gave me a jumpstart to access to different circles. Since I also had a large following on social media, it was easy to showcase my brand to my audience. So the reputation of my brand was already connected to me, and people knew of me, so it worked out. I also keep it professional at all times, whether it was with an unsatisfied customer or something unfortunate with an order, I made sure there was a positive reputation left.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.twofivefit.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/twofivefit
• Twitter: Twitter.com/twofivefit

Image Credits
Kenny Jones