We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Torey Mcgaw a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Torey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The more we talk about good leadership the more we think good leadership practices will spread and so we’d love for you to tell us a story about the best boss you’ve had and what they were like or what they did that was so great?
Having an amazing mentor/Coach/leader/boss I believe is one of the most important aspects of growing in any field. I have had many mentors/coaches over the years and when I looked back at the ones that had the biggest impact on me, it was definitely the ones that I respected. They weren’t necessarily the easiest, most strict, most funny, etc.. but were the ones where I learnt the most. My most memorable coach when I was younger, was a coach who taught me to work with what I have. At that age there are things, and levels of play that are very hard for a team to achieve. He understood that, and instead of just putting out the best players on the team, he chose the team based on the roles each player could fulfill. I have learnt to take that lesson into all aspects of life. Set yourself a goal, and instead of only thinking about achieving the goal, break the goal into smaller, more achievable goals. From there you can assign these smaller goals to members of your team that have the best strengths to achieve them.
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?
Hi my name is Torey James McGaw, I was born in Sydney Australia and moved to San Francisco California at the age of seven. My father was a very successful rugby player in Australia, who turned to the fitness industry once retiring. He started a business certifying personal trainers. I also was a D1/professional athlete who always knew my natural progression would be in the fitness industry. But once retiring soccer, I fell into the corporate retail world. And as I kept moving up the ladder it got more and more daunting that I’ll be doing that the rest of my life. So I finally worked up the courage to quit and moved into the fitness industry full-time. I have started an online/in person training/coaching Business where I help men and women Reach their fitness/lifestyle goals through training and nutrition, I also Work with my dad to certify personal trainers, I work at lift society in Los Angeles as a trainer, And lastly I work with Umzu supplement company to help them create content for social media. Since starting this business, I truly have not felt like I’ve worked a day since. The beauty of starting a training/coaching business is it can have a zero dollar start up cost, No investment is needed, except your time, dedication, Passion, and consistency.
One thing that sets me apart from others is my passion for health and fitness, my experience in athletics and practicing what I preach. I try to teach clients that reaching their fitness goals isn’t about diets or workout plans, it’s about a lifestyle change. Making small consistent adjustments Overtime is Not only going to help you reach your goal, but make it more sustainable to maintain. I also try to teach the knowledge to my clients so they can eventually be their own trainer/coach, Thus leading to a much Longer, healthier, and stronger life. I truly believe that health and fitness is not looked at as an essential component of society today. We are more focused on a quick fix like medication, diets, surgery and treatments, When most issues of today could be fixed with just healthier more active lifestyle. That goes from mental and physical. I feel extremely fulfilled pursuing this career in this industry, knowing that the more business I do the more people are trying to live a healthier and stronger lifestyle. But if there is one thing you can take from my story, It is, if you have a passion, but have been too scared to pull the trigger to pursue it, just know it was the best decision I ever made. It was not all glorious at the beginning, but I can confidently say grinding those days/hours to get things started Was the most motivated, excited and happiest I’ve ever been working. And have not regretted it for a second.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
My father was a very successful professional rugby player in Australia, who turned to the fitness industry once he retired. So I always knew that would also be my natural progression. In my early 20s I found myself managing retail stores. As I kept climbing up the latter I kept realizing how miserable I was. I always knew I needed to pursue my passion for health and fitness. So I finally quit and pulled the trigger to drive full time into my health and fitness journey. Though scary to walk away from a solid job, I have never regretted it for a second. Since then I have never gone to bed dreading the next day.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
The beauty of social media today is many businesses can be started with hard work. Social media is the best marketing tool there is, and it’s free. Tie that to online coaching, that has zero start up cost expect hard work and consistency, and you have all the means to start a successful online fitness coaching business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Umzu.com/torey
- Instagram: @toreyjamesmcgaw
