We recently connected with Rob Arambula and have shared our conversation below.

Rob , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Stay Strong Be Different is my business name. I came up with it years before starting my business. I was on the stair master, dripping sweat. I was upset at myself because I had quit trying to lose weight and I was back where I started. That’s where stay strong popped in my head. To stay strong when things got tough, and most importantly, I wanted to be different than I was in the past. I wanted to change and make it permanent.

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 was really overweight as a kid and when I turned 18, I finally decided to do something about it. I had no clue what to do so I would read bodybuilding magazines and do the workouts that were in the pages. They were usually way more advanced than what I should be doing but I always pushed and tried my hardest. I ended up losing close to 60lbs that year although it wasn’t really done the right way. Besides the magazine workouts I would run and eat very little. I had played high school football and I loved every second of it but working out and seeing results was something totally different that I couldn’t get enough of. From then on working out and going to the gym was a part of my life. I became a truck driver and had many truck driving jobs. I bounced from job to job never sure what I was after. I’d go for more pay or for better schedule. The more I grew the more I started to realize it wasn’t the jobs or the pay. It’s not what I felt I needed to be doing. After 10 years of driving I decided to quit and bet on myself… we had a 2 month old and it really didn’t seem like the best time but I felt like I had to do it. I wanted to help others lose weight and feel confident. I wanted them to see how much your life can improve from you pushing yourself and learning new habits. After quitting, I had no clients and wasn’t quite sure what to do. I found a power washer for sale on Facebook marketplace for $300. I went and purchased it and came home and YouTubed all there was to know about power washers and how to use them. Before I knew it I was power washing driveways, pools, detailing vehicles and boats. We made flyers and everyday I would walk around neighborhoods and put them on doors and just try to talk to people and hopefully find work. I could have never imagined that the little $300 power washer would help me so much. I had made some great relationships and had more work that I ever imagined. While all this was going on I was still in the gym and trying to find people to work with. I had a friend ask me to help and that was my invite to finally be a trainer. John got amazing results and before I knew it his results brought me more and more clients. So now I was a power washer/maintenance person and a personal trainer. People would tell me to stick with the power washing because that led to me to a lot more work and a lot more $. Although I knew deep down that it was going to come to an end. I wanted to be a trainer and when I got busy enough to not be able to do both I let one go. With may ups and downs for the past 2 years I have been only a personal trainer. I offer 1 on 1 and group sessions. My clients pay me per month and I keep them accountable with meal plans, check ins, and using my app to track progress. My main thing is I want to show you that it is possible for everyone to look and feel their best. We work together to reach your goals. I make the programs sustainable and tailored to you. I am blessed and thankful to have 15+ clients at all times. I recently started doing online/remote training. These are self led training programs that I am available for support 24/7. I want people to get results and I want them to feel great after working with me. I tell all my clients my intention is to teach you and then you can go on your own, although most of them don’t want to leave, I know they are now gym people who can navigate their way around any gym or any piece of equipment. I am truly thankful for that feeling I got years ago about what I wanted to do. Serving others this way is what I need to be doing.

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

The best source of clients for me has been word of mouth and other gym goers seeing me work with my clients. Social media does ok but I believe establishing relationships and working with your client and genuinely trying to help them will always bring you more.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve had to learn and adapt as I go. Being in the gym and working out were easy but turning that into a business was another story. I didn’t want people to work with me just because I was the cheapest and I felt that’s where I was headed. I needed to value myself and my knowledge a bit more. When I realized I needed to charge more. I needed to prove it to myself. I’ve changed from just charging a monthly fee to now counting sessions and charging accordingly. I have set business hours and a schedule. I have to learn more business and more ways of applying it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Rob_diesel89
• Other: You can find me on all social media platforms. The same handle for all rob_diesel89