We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mannie Ogletree Jr. a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Mannie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?
The biggest challenge to profitability in my industry is demographic. Working out is a key component to changing your body but no amount training can overcome a bad diet. In my area there isn’t a variety of health conscious foods, and it’s rare you can find a vegan restaurant or even a restaurant that serves fresh vegetables and fruits. I feel as if we have to change the narrative for healthy eating so we can normalize it. Some people say it’s boring or the taste isn’t appealing, but they don’t understand all the modifications and unhealthy contents that’s being added in our everyday food. Getting individuals to buy in to the fact that health is wealth and that movement of the body is important is another challenge presented by the demographic. I try to emphasize that training your body is a form of self love. We all should be dedicated to improving ourselves as much as possible. My goal is to make fitness as big as it is in larger areas like Arizona, California, and even closer areas like Atlanta. From the athletes’ perspective the passion for the game isn’t there like it used to be. When I was younger me and my teammates would be looking for anyway to get better for the upcoming seasons, we would go to the field together before or after mandatory team workouts to try and gain that competitive edge on our opponents. I don’t feel as if this is a “football dominant” town in a sense of the raw talent we have aren’t developing a solid skillset. Unlike bigger cities we don’t have natives from the area that played professionally coming back to the youth giving them insight. In this demographic it is difficult to find a suitable field to train on for multiple reason, it can be the grass is bad on the field so it’s mainly sand, the field may be uneven and lumpy leaving the athletes prone to injury, or it’s no fields that have the yardage lines marked off. It’s been many times that we have been kicked off a field while training whether it be because of other events being held there or management said we were distorting the grass. That’s leaves us with limited availability to use the fields.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am Mannie Ogletree a Personal Trainer, Defensive Back Specialist, and Owner of TreeHouz Performance. Born and raised in North Augusta, South Carolina, graduated from North Augusta High School. College graduate of Limestone University with a Bachelor’s in Sport Management. Most people have to find their niche for me it came pretty natural. I been playing football since middle school (which may seem like a late start to some) and I been training guys since 2016, only a year after I graduated from high school. Many of the guys I trained were only a year or two younger than me, some were even older than me, but respected the grind and skillset I possessed. Not knowing that years later I would be a NFL prospect,named 2019 All-South Atlantic Conference, 2019 & 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-District, and 2019 Week 5 SAC AstoTurf Defensive Player of the Week. These accolades give my players a level of confidence knowing that I teach from experience. Football is a physically demanding sport, in order to perform at a high level it requires a substantial amount of weight training. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not the biggest fan of lifting weights I’d rather be on a field crafting various techniques, but with anything in life balance is a key necessity. Throughout my football career I have completed diverse weight training programs which has given be a solid foundation to not only train for football but to achieve optimal health. In 2019 I was named a NSCA Strength & Conditioning ALL-AMERICAN.
Although I specialize in football training I do train all athletes. My goal is to help them enhance and hone in on their agility and sport specific movements. I also own a gym where I train clients with intentions on losing weight, gaining muscle, toning , and overall obtaining the best version of themselves. Sometimes I come off as a hard trainer but it’s from a place of genuine love because once I see potential I try my best to bring out the best version of my client as I would want someone to do for me.
The name of the gym should tell you everything you need to know “The Jungle”. The biggest thing that separates me from others is that I have a genuine connection with all of my clients. It’s not all about the money for me, seeing the joy clients get from reaching new heights and progressing is what makes it all worth it. It’s a different vibe than you get from your prototypical gym. To sum it up in the simplest form you’re partying while working out. The vibes are unmatched and there is literally never a dull moment whether it’s someone hitting a new PR or hitting a new dance for TikTok.
I’m not sure if you ever watched a dream manifest but there’s nothing like it!!! At one point there was no building, no clients, no social media accounts, it was only me and my brother training a couple of our family members (founding members). The part that I’m most proud of is the growth and staying persistent. Like with anything it’s ups and downs but time doesn’t stop and neither does the grind. I’m proud and appreciate anybody that has contributed,supported, and participated in any way shape or form. I want any potential clients to know that this is nothing like your average gym experience we push you to your limits in order to get the results you want while having fun with it. The Jungle is basically a family away from home we all are here for similar goals and know what it takes to get the job done.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My story of resilience turned out being one of the greatest blessings in my life. After a successful high school football career I committed to Catawba College to play football. Just like every other offseason I trained my butt off to ensure I’d be in great shape and ready to handle business at the next level. My position coach made it clear I was expected to make contributions to the team my freshman year so I knew I had to do my part and come ready to perform. Within my first two weeks of fall camp at Catawba College I received news that I was having a son at the age of nineteen. After hearing the news I was feeling so many emotions I was unsure of my next move. The pressure of remaining the starting cornerback for the team or coming home to provide for my son was weighing on me heavy at this time. After playing 3 games I decided to withdraw from college and come home to get a job. Shortly after coming home I began working at UPS and was fully dedicated to that thinking my days of being a football player was over. A couple months after my son was born I received a call after a normal day of work from Mike Furrey, Head Coach for Limestone University. He told me how he wanted me to come join him as he turned around the program, but the spot on the roster had to be earned by competing in a walk on tryout. Now I was torn between the decision of giving up on my football dreams or giving it another shot. At this point in time I was no longer training just going to work everyday like the average guy. Now I had to get back in grind mode while also balancing being a father and working a full time job. A month after applying I was accepted to the school and was headed to compete in the tryout. I feel like that’s one of my best moments of resilience and true test of faith while being blessed with a son, withdrawing from college, and betting on myself to earn a spot on the roster.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Being a personal trainer wasn’t the job I envisioned as a kid growing up. Like most kids, my dream career was to play ball professionally. I was aware of the likelihood and the low probability of it becoming reality. I still trained every off-season as if the odds didn’t matter. I put in countless unseen hours in addition to mandatory team workouts. The proof is in the pudding I earned multiple accolades at the high school and collegiate level. After my senior season of college, I was in contact with multiple NFL and CFL teams. The dream seemed so close i could almost feel it, but since I played at a smaller school the scouts wanted to see how my combine numbers would look compared to players from bigger schools. I was scheduled to compete in the South Carolina State Pro Day which would have been hosted at the University of South Carolina. A week before the Pro Day it was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the uncertainty of the pandemic not knowing if there would be an upcoming season I grabbed my brother along with a couple of younger players and got to work, staying prepared for the whatever came next. Throughout the pandemic, some of my family members began telling me how they wanted to lose a couple of pounds that they put on while sitting in the house quarantined. That’s how the personal training began and the rest is history.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/treehouzperformance?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mannieogletrees.thp?mibextid=b06tZ0
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/treehouzp?s=21&t=sOJKkaYM9a43-eNcmPEb4Q
- TikTok Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@treehouzperformance?_t=8eWIe3j8Pda&_r=1
Image Credits
Zay Miles Tyler Nichols John Robinson