We were lucky to catch up with Shaq Thomas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shaq, thanks for joining us today. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

When i first started training i worked at LA fitness in Cypress tx , i absolutely hated it because the pay was bad mostly . Besides that i had pretty great clients and i loved the experience and great feedback , one of my favorite clients had recently lost her husband due to brain aneurysm while working out . She had a hard time getting back in the gym but decided to live out his legacy and enter the police force . i had the pleasure of being her trainer and guiding her in this journey, i felt like i hated my job because it wasn’t a profit at all and putting me in a hole but she let me know that she felt God sent me there to save her and she appreciated me being her trainer and i felt grateful that i could contribute in anyway in such a hard time . reminded me of why i choose to be a trainer , she passed the test and got into the force!

Shaq, 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 graduated college with a bachelors in psychology and i’ve always loved working out . not saying i’m anyone’s therapist or it’s remotely the same but i love being there for my client and guiding them to healthier life choices and being able to hear them vent and just relieve stress. This hasn’t been the easiest journey because it’s definitely hard to find committed clients who believe in your skill but it’s worth it when you do. the positive feedback the gratefulness for just changing someone’s life in a healthy way. i love the excitement when clients realize that their goals are achievable and now they’re hungry for more . i’m here in anyway professionally possible i offer private and group, along with virtual and online training so no matter where you are in the world i would love to help . i think what sets me apart is my energy and hunger for knowledge you can learn something new everyday and just because you’ve done something for so long doesn’t mean you know it all . i’ll go above and beyond to make sure my clients achieve their goals . it’s more than just personal training it’s a friendship, family a positive bond to help you achieve not only physical goals but mental goals as well .

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

being able to connect with people and having empathy, put yourself in someone else’s shoes and figure how to help them if it were you in the situation. you have to care about more than the money

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

if i could go back i would still be a trainer absolutely, it’s freedom , healthy, fun, universal, it’s art.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @8to24fitness
• Other: you can like facebook page “8to24fitness”