We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kyle Mastropole a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kyle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Starting my own business was always a burning desire, but figuring out how to turn that dream into reality was a challenge I wrestled with for some time. Despite having experience and education that outranked many personal trainers in the area, I was concerned about the old saying, “it’s not what you know, but who you know.” As an East Coast transplant trying to establish myself on the West Coast, I was in unfamiliar territory without a local network.

The inspiration for The Bay Fitness struck unexpectedly while watching an interview with one of my childhood heroes, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He was on set for a movie, working out in a fully equipped gym that his team had transported just for him, allowing him to train without the chaos of crowded public gyms. That sparked an idea: How could I bring a similarly exclusive, high-quality fitness experience to clients in the Bay Area?

I began assembling a mobile inventory of fitness equipment that was compact enough to fit in my car yet provide the full experience of a personal training studio. This setup, which only requires an 8’x8’ space, includes everything from a squat rack, barbells, and dumbbells to kettlebells, resistance bands, a workout bench and more. I realized that few trainers would be willing, or able, to offer this level of convenience and service, which gave me the confidence that this could be the differentiator I needed to stand out.

How did it work out (pun intended)? In less than three years, The Bay Fitness has earned eight accolades, both as a business and for individual achievements. We have been named Best Personal Training and Wellness Company twice, Micro Business of the Year and our individuals on our staff have been named some of the top health and fitness professionals in the county five times. We couldn’t be more proud of the service we provide and the standard of care we’ve established for our clients.

Kyle, 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?

I have been in the health and fitness industry for well over a decade. I hold both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Exercise Science and am currently a Doctoral student in Kinesiology. To date, I have worked in three universities and two high schools as a strength and conditioning coach, a human performance lab as a research scientist, two physical therapy facilities as a physical therapy aide, one commercial gym as a personal trainer and two private facilities as a personal trainer.

The difference maker in my career has been my ability to spot the little details. For example, a NFL player was trying to work through an ankle injury before the start of training camp. He was a rookie and very worried that this would deter his chances of making the final roster. He was rushing back into his training and while he was technically cleared to participate because he could run at a fast speed, it was my assessment that his ankle mechanics showed a compensation pattern that didn’t allow him to fully plant his leg for maximal speed and would eventually land him back on the injury list. At this time, I had never earned a dollar as a strength and conditioning coach and was working for free to try and prove myself. Fast forward past that moment and I have now worked with thousands of college athletes to keep them healthy and thriving on the field.

On the flip side of athletes, I have a ton of experience working with seniors. Not the college seniors, but the 65+ seniors. A client of mine had a double hip replacement, single knee replacement, a hernia and needed a walker to get around. One of his goals was to take his youngest grandson to his first 49ers game, something he had done for his eight other kids and grandkids. After 4 months of working together, he not only took his grandson to his first 49ers game, but walked around the stadium without a walker!

It is a mix of my experience in strength and conditioning, sport science and physical therapy that comes together to help me best assess my clients and create the best program possible, with techniques backed by science, to help my clients achieve their goals

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

People come first, not money, always. It’s hard to not focus on the revenue coming in, but the real return on investment comes from creating the best systems, brand and team around you. My first ask of my employees is to provide the highest quality of care possible. With that in mind, I must be willing to accommodate them to the best of my ability so they can do their best job possible, after all, that is what I hired them for. I personally hired trainers that had credentials well above the industry standard and have compensated them as such, I want them to feel like they are exclusive trainers in the area just like our services are exclusive to our clients. If the morale is to remain high, my efforts for my team, and my levels of honesty and humility, must also remain high.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I put EVERYTHING into starting this business. I took all the money from my savings, closed out my 401k and maxed out my credit cards to make sure the product that was delivered to the client would be viewed as the best in the area. If someone is truly looking for the best to take care of the problem they are looking to solve, settling for second best will get you nowhere. I made it my mission to set forth a business that people would look at and just assume it was thriving, even when I was so far into debt as I got started and struggling to find clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thebayfitness.com
• Instagram: @the_bay_fitness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBayFitness
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-bay-fitness

Image Credits

Bob Schnell, Certain Gravity Photography & Kaare Iverson, Studio Iverson