We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Thomas Belliston. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Thomas below.

Thomas, appreciate you joining us today. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

I had just moved to Houston with my wife in October of 2017 and was looking for a job. I had just graduated with a BS in political science but was basically applying for any job I could, in any field. I landed a job at a senior living center as the “Fitness Director.” But that’s not where the story begins. I was miserable there, and it was just an unhealthy place for me to be mentally and emotionally, so I immediately started looking for employment anywhere else. During this time, my stress relief was the gym. I would get off work, then head straight to the gym to blow off steam. I’m a pretty friendly and outgoing person, so naturally started making friends at the gym. One day, the director of sales came up to me while I was working out and just asked me flat out if I would like a job doing sales for the gym and possibly training a few clients. I immediately said yes and began working there the following Monday.

Fast forward a months and I was the top performer of sales at the gym, but was in a difficult position because all of the people I signed up for the gym wanted me to train them one on one… but I wasn’t a certified trainer. I knew a lot about fitness just because I was obsessed with it as a hobby, but it became pretty clear to me that I could start making a career out of fitness if I just got certified. So one Friday I decided to just go for it and took an online certification test and passed! I immediately had about 15-20 clients that needed training and I dove head first into building programs and nutritional guidance for them.

I was loving life. Training others, training myself, making friends, but I was exhausted and knew I was going to burn out soon, and then my life changed forever. I received a message on Instagram from a person named Chris, whom I didn’t know. He told me he/the company he worked for was opening a fitness studio in Houston and asked if I was looking for a job. I told him I already had a job but was willing to sit down and chat. We met for coffee and he told me all about Barry’s boot camp and what they were hoping to do in Houston. Everything he told me sounded like a blast and a great way to challenge myself in new ways! I told him I’d love to move forward if they were willing. A few weeks later I met the CEO Joey for coffee with Chris, and a few weeks later was on a plane to New York, with 7 people I didn’t know who would later become some of my best friends, to learn the ins and outs of being a Barry’s instructor.

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?

My name is Thomas Belliston, but most people call me T. I grew up always being apart of sports/athletics, from baseball, to basketball, track, and competitive gymnastics and cheer, which gave me a special appreciation for the human body and pushing it’s capabilities from an early age. One of my first jobs ever was coaching gymnastics and so it felt natural to pursue a career in fitness when the opportunity arose.

Due to this upbringing I became fascinated by every style of working out and wanted to try them all! Because of my background in gymnastics I explored the world of calisthenics. After a while I wanted to focus more on building my physique and putting on as much muscle as I could, so I started studying body building and powerlifting. From there I tried my hand at CrossFit and olympic lifting. After trying so many avenues of fitness over the years, I really settled into more of a hybrid style of training for myself focusing on hypertrophic training and running, which I’ve done consistently for the past 3-4 years.

Because of my coaching background and curiosity for every facet of fitness, I have worked with literally every age group, from preschool to high school, college and young adults, to being a Fitness Director at a senior living center, so when I say i’ve worked with every ability and body type, I mean it. And that is what I think sets me apart from other personal trainers and other professionals in my field, is that I have worked with so many different ages and abilities, and have personally tried every type of fitness, that I always train my clients to their specific needs and the specific way they enjoy working out.

With every client I work with, I try to really understand what they enjoy about working out because I truly believe that working out IS for every single person, they just need to find out the way that makes them feel good about themselves. Because if you feel good about yourself, you’ll be able to do it more consistently, and the more consistent you are, the healthier you will be in all aspects of your life. So I try to mold what they NEED to do to improve and meet their goals, with what they ENJOY doing. And I feel like because that is my focus I’ve been able to build a very loyal clientele that genuinely enjoy working out, and have been able to achieve their goals and more.

I think what I’m most proud of, is the fact that I’ve been able to show people that there is not just one way to exercise or achieve health goals, and that it doesn’t need to be a “chore” or something to be dreaded. I’ve built a training business solely off of word of mouth from my clients, because they begin to truly feel confident about themselves and bring others with them so they can feel the same. From not knowing a single person when I moved to Houston in 2017, to having a solid name in the fitness industry in Houston I feel like I have a lot to offer this industry and a reputation that backs it up.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

It sounds kind of cliche, but learning to actively listen to people. I can’t count the amount of times clients have told me how much they appreciate that I listen to their concerns, goals, and things that are going on in their lives outside of fitness. If you really learn how to listen to people you will also be able to understand what they need, more than any training or fitness class can teach you. You can study and know all of the information from the books and professionals, but the only way that you’ll be able to make a difference for your clients is if you listen to them, and use that information to help them. It builds trust and loyalty with your clients which is something that a book can’t teach you.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Being authentic to what I really believe will help people, instead of getting caught up in what is trendy. It is relatively easy to start a career in the fitness industry, but the most successful people are the ones who stay consistent and passionate about what actually works. Getting caught up with what is trendy might keep you relevant for a little while, but to build a solid reputation you have to help people actually change and reach their goals, which is not done by following trends, its done by producing consistent results. I always try to stay on top of the developments in the fitness industry and dissect what is useful and what is a fad, so that I can always produce the most effective and efficient results for my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thomasbelliston.com
• Instagram: @thomas_belliston