We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Morgan Layton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Morgan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I had been involved in fitness my entire life from sports growing up through grade school, to running half marathons, and learning different ways to be active and become stronger and creating challenge and enjoyment in my fitness routine. Fitness was always something I was passionate about and enjoyed experiencing with others. It wasn’t until 2020 when COVID hit that I (along many others) decided to take a step towards a professional future with fitness. I worked hard to get my National Academy of Sports Medicine License over that summer while leading virtual workouts for my family and their co-workers and friends.
Upon completing my certification it was time to decide if I was going to jump into an in-person personal training position in September 2020, or go back in the corporate world. I decided then to pursue an opportunity in Commercial Real Estate in order to create some better steadiness in my career and keep fitness on the side. Upon going back in the office fall of 2020, I was determined to keep creating a fitness platform, so birthed the idea of virtual workout challenges. This idea came together because during COVID, while many online trainers, gyms, and programs offered a plethora of online workouts and fitness materials, community and accountability was incredibly lacking.
My virtual workout programs were created to build in a sense of community and accountability through live online classes, all based within a 6-8 week challenge program timeframe. This gives people a limited time window to really hold themselves accountable and show up, while also enjoying the presence of other live attendees to the workouts on zoom. Many people who dived into my programs during 2020 as well as now in 2022 gain a community that is uplifting, encouraging, fun, and challenges them to prioritize their health.
My programs have evolved and grown a lot over the past two years, but the basis of the programs have remained the same, which has kept people re-enrolling in multiple MGF challenges over the course of each year. I have thoroughly enjoyed creating the MGF Virtual Workout Challenges, and the theme that each one holds, but more so it’s been amazing getting to know such incredible people who have enrolled in each one, with the desire to grow and be challenged in their health & fitness journeys.
My passion is to help guide people towards a healthier, more well balance lifestyle and therefore into a more confident and stronger version of themselves. MGF is a fitness community and home for people to be and feel inspired, equipped, challenged, and uplifted in their fitness journey, but while having fun along the way!
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 background and context?
I am a very intentional person. I care deeply and am very empathetic towards others. I try to understand each person’s journey with their health and what has caused the creation of unhealthy habits. This level of understanding and shared compassion can be the game changer for helping people wanting to grow in their health & fitness journey, but who might feel intimidated by the world of fitness and unsure where to start.
MGF workouts invite people at varying fitness levels and ages to join in, give their best, and strive for growth in their journeys. My workouts are HARD, BUT my desire is for each workout to feel challenging enough that I as an advanced athlete feel challenged, yet also provide ample modifications to moves so that nearly all fitness levels would feel comfortable pushing themselves through.
Fitness to people is so much more than just working out. Each person has a social & emotional relationship with both fitness & food, and that is something I am deeply aware of for others and speak to often in my communications with MGF Challengers. Anyone can sign up to do a fitness challenge and maybe see some killer results, but does that fitness challenge address various topics and parts of one’s health & fitness journey that helps them to create long term transformed habits both in their fitness and food journey?
These are things that set MGF apart from the crowded fitness industry. And it is not just topics and things that I cover, but the care that I have behind addressing important aspects to fitness & health that hopefully help people to create REAL CHANGE in their lives through becoming a part of the MGF community.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I created a growing and successful online virtual workout program and community throughout the height of COVID. I did this while managing a full time in-office job, all because of my desire to build a new type of fitness community that wasn’t present in the industry, but yet there was and continues to be such a high need for!
I hit many roadblocks in starting a program when I didn’t know 100% what I was doing. I knew how to make and lead transformative workouts that build strength, muscle, and cardiovascular endurance. And I knew how to connect with others and to coach them. But my tech knowledge was crap. My very first challenge I had crap voice and music audio, and dealt with mic issues and poor internet connections.
Now, I have a beautiful website that hosts an on-demand library of 100+ workout videos and I have streamlined my mic and music features so that each live or on-demand workout feels as live and engaging as an in person workout!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2020 I was working in construction and got laid off as my company at the time took a huge hit from COVID. While I could have used that time to slowly figure out what to do next, I instead got to work pursuing my passion. It was in this time that I decided to study and test for my personal training certification. Upon getting it I was then left with the decision to find a Personal Trainer job, or to venture into a new opportunity in the corporate space where I had been. My gut was telling me “not yet,” in regards to heading into the fitness industry in fall of 2020 – probably a good thing!! So that’s when I took an opportunity in Commercial Real Estate, which led me to create my Virtual Workout Programs that would fit around my 9-5 job, yet also provide me with the time and space to provide life changing workout programs to people through MGF.
It wasn’t until March of this year that I jumped into an in-person personal training opportunity here in Denver, yet I continue to create and manage the MGF Virtual Workout Challenges, Community and Platform. There is a lot to be said about timing, and I think when difficulties or opportunities come our way, when we take time and space to think and process, and talk with others, we really can come out knowing what the best decision is for that time. At times that might mean “not yet,” and other times, it might mean yes now!
I am very happy with how the MGF Community and Programs have and continue to grow and am even more excited for the future ahead! We have more challenges, programs, workouts, and content coming that will give you everything you need to grow and transform in your health and fitness journey whether you are a seasoned athlete, or a beginner! For more information, head on over to my website linked below and subscribe to MGF On-Demand today to begin your journey of transformational workouts!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.morgangracefit.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgangracefit/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morgangracefit/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCodoNt8hTkl7hfOlh8OP3Ow