We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Steve Flintoff. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Steve below.
Alright, Steve thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
When my life completely fell apart and was devoid of any meaning, I experienced one of the best acts of unconditional love one can truly know. A few hours removed from telling my family about my substance abuse, Mom, Dad, and me sat in the living room of my childhood home and planned what to do next. There I wanted help, but I was so afraid. I was not scared of getting help, not scared of losing everything, not scared that I’d get in trouble. I was scared of telling the truth. Everything that came out of my mouth were lies. I didn’t want to hear, say, or admit, that I was an addict. I thought not being able to do something on your own made you look weak. Not only that, in my addiction, I was not an honorable man, nor an honest one. I was empty, selfish, vulgar, ignorant and closed-minded. There was a vacancy in me where my heart should have been. I was so ashamed and paralyzed by the truth. I broke down; I started sobbing. My parents came over to support me, we all embraced and cried together. This was such a surreal experience, because I wasn’t used to feeling loved or receiving any gifts of love anymore. I had done a really good job of pushing away the people that really cared about me. People wrote me off. I didn’t get hugs, people didn’t say they loved me and would be cold. That was the last thing that I expected to receive.
Steve, 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 am a personal trainer at State of Fitness (SOF), in Lansing, MI. I did not get into the fitness industry like many of my colleagues. Nine years ago, I was in the top 1% of my law school class, while simultaneous battling a severe drug addiction. When I finally hit rock bottom, I dropped out of law school. There I was, 28 years old, and feeling pretty lousy about my situation. I moved back in with my parents. I spent all my money on drugs. I didn’t have a job or sense of direction. Next, I went to rehab and my counselor suggested recovering addicts found success in early sobriety using fitness as a coping mechanism and suggested that I start lifting weights. Working out gave me a feeling of purpose, self-worth, confidence, and identity that I didn’t have when I was using drugs. Fitness made me feel healthy and alive again. What’s more, it gave me a whole new appreciation and perspective about my own health and well-being that I’d been missing. It wasn’t the endorphins, it wasn’t the physique, it was that what I was doing was making an investment in my life.
Several months later, I entered a 6-week fat loss transformation challenge sponsored by GNC and JYM Supplement Science. Surprisingly, my results won the grand prize: an all-expense paid trip to LA to meet the team. There, I shared my story about how fitness had a profound impact on saving my life. “Hey why don’t you become a trainer?” said Mike McErlane, JYM co-founder and CEO. I heeded his advice and passed my certification exam several months later. Even though I was green, I applied for a position at one of the top training facilities in Michigan, State of Fitness. In 2018, I was hired as a service desk associate and enrolled in the lauded SOF Trainer University internship program. This elite-level internship prepares both students and unpaid volunteers for a career in coaching or personal training. Since I studied Economics at Michigan State, I had no formal education in exercise science. Thus, this course was integral to exposing me to many areas of the fitness profession. Upon completion of the internship, in 2019, I was hired to a full-time training position.
As a trainer, I feel that my purpose in life and passion are in harmony. I leverage my drug addiction and channel all that energy to inspire and influence change in others. My career has flourished at SOF, I have multiple certifications and specialties. Notably, I am a Precision Nutrition Coach, Titleist Performance Institute Fitness Level 2, Certified Functional Strength Coach, and most recently I earned my Strongfirst Level 2 kettlebell instructor certification, regarded by many as the authority for kettlebell training in the fitness industry. Currently, I am one of two in the state of Michigan to hold this credential.
I get to train many youth and adults, athletes and non-athletes alike. While some are looking to take their fitness and sports performance to the next level, many just want to move and feel better. I have comprehensive experience in improving the health, wellness, and quality of life of various clients. I am an enthusiastic and client-centric professional with a proven background in delivering personalized training sessions aimed at addressing clients’ physical and mental needs while providing insightful feedback to continually improve outcomes. I try to create an all-inclusive, safe, and fun environment for my clients that cultivates unique relationships beyond surface level. My addiction is my best asset, fitness empowers me to feel alive and ultimately creates my relentless pursuit for knowledge, growth, learning, and personal advancement. My purpose is to help people and my passion is to train, put those together and I get to make a huge impact on lives, which is my livelihood.
While I like to think I have a well-rounded skill set, if there is one thing I specialize in, it’s hardstyle kettlebell training. I got exposed to kettlebells for the first time at SOF. Kettlebells are great because they’re so versatile, but I truly enjoy the proficiency required for mastering the techniques. They challenge me to study the body and movement to not only better my own training, but also increase my ability to coach clients.
I also share my enthusiasm for nutrition and cooking with clients. I am notorious for making clients hungry because I am always talking about food! In my drug addiction, my diet consisted of gas station pizza and energy drinks. Once I got sober, I started eating healthy and cooking nutrient-rich meals for myself. My cooking creativity is featured on my Instagram and in several recipe articles published on Bodybuilding.com where I use protein powder to make desserts, breakfast foods, shakes, and even dinners.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In my addiction, I tried countless times to ration or cut back my drug use, but every time made me use more and I’d be worse off than when I started. That’s one of the paradoxes in life, the more you try to control, the more out of control you actually are. I had reached a point, where I asked myself, “Steve, is this how you’re going to live the rest of your life?” Since I couldn’t figure out my problem on my own, I was convinced that this was it, I accepted that I was to die at an early age. I vividly remember sitting in one of my law lectures and looking out the window, I noticed it started snowing for the first time that winter. Outside, the white snow draped against the dreary, gray sky paralleled perfectly with how I felt inside. As I watched the snow fall, my focus was drawn to a single snowflake. It was beautiful, I was in awe as I watched it carelessly float in the wind. It hit the window and as it melted, I felt something wet hit my face. It was a tear. I had never felt so helpless in my entire life.
Before I failed out of law school, I paused my education and medically withdrew, but I did not tell anyone. The last six months of my drug use, I completely isolated myself from society. I locked myself in my apartment and would only come out to smoke cigarettes, go to work, or play golf. My standard of living was reduced to animal-like. I didn’t wash for days. Trash littered my apartment floor and went up to your ankles, clothes were scattered everywhere, I didn’t sleep with sheets on my bed, stacks of dirty dishes piled high, moldy food rotted in the sink, paper cups full of tobacco spit would sit for so long it ate through the bottom and leaked all over my furniture. Thousands of new fruit fly roommates moved in, but I didn’t care.
Staying awake for 4-5 days in a row was the norm. My body started to shut down, my fingers and hands would cramp and calcify around my nail beds. I fell asleep at random as if I had narcolepsy. Because I did not eat, my body began to cannibalize itself. My skin turned pale yellow and I wore huge bags under my eyes. I would be depressed and not leave my bed until I had the energy to do it again. My short term memory was nonexistent. At my bartending job, I consistently forgot drink orders, I would easily lose my balance and spill drinks, and I couldn’t do basic math. I started to hallucinate and see things. I was constantly paranoid about roaches and spiders. I’d shine a flashlight up on ceilings and look in all my kitchen cabinets. I put a roach trap in every corner of my apartment, under every appliance and near each drain. I spent all night smoking cigarettes in my car out front of my apartment. I even kept a lead pipe tucked into my driver side door just in case I needed it. I became delusional, I even convinced myself to pursue a career playing competitive golf. I’d put myself into dangerous situations, I’d get behind the wheel and drive all the time after days without sleep. I wrung out every last drop of pain I could until God pulled me out. I entered treatment to get help and have maintained continuous sobriety since 4/13/2016.
Fast forward to my first months of recovery, my primary goals became staying sober and working out. I experienced one hell of a turnaround, I previously mentioned, in 2016, my results won a transformation challenge sponsored by GNC. The most important lesson: It’s not about looking a certain way or lifting a certain amount of weight, it’s making an investment in your health.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Most of my colleagues would say open-mindedness. While I understand the importance of remaining open to all training philosophies/ideas and that allows me to deliver the best information to my clients, my experience recognizes the impact of human connection. People have access to billions of free workout programs, instructional videos, and resources online, and clients typically come to me because they want to change in some way. That requires a of level of vulnerability and trust. Most of my success has come from emphasizing the “personal” side of my job title. I can be the best and most knowledgeable coach, but if I can’t connect with another person in a meaningful way, then they will most likely train with someone else, despite my excellent skillset. Today, I attribute my stellar retention factor to my connections that I make with clients. I openly share my struggle with addiction to make me more relatable, for you never know how your experience can benefit others. One of my strengths is cataloging personal details about each client. Not only can I remember weights they used in their previous workouts, but also I go above and beyond to remember personal things about clients, like their spouse and kids’ names, hobbies, interests, things they’re passionate about, etc. The Maya Angelou quote sums it up perfectly, “that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mystateoffitness.com/Steveflintoff/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flintmeister/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveflintoff/