Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Truman Griffin . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Truman thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I believe I am happier as a business owner, but at times I have thought about what it would be like to have a regular job. I started my personal training business Truman Griffin Fitness 4 years ago. I’m an actor, so for most of my career I’ve had multiple side jobs so I could have a flexible schedule to audition. A few years ago bartending was my main side gig. I was making pretty good money and working with some great people, but the hours were tough. I realized I wanted to do something where I would be making a difference in people’s lives. I also wanted this job to be flexible so I could continue to audition. I have always had a passion for fitness so I got my personal training certification through the American Council of Exercise. My first client was someone I trained in his condo living room with a pair of 35 lb dumbbells and an adjustable bench. His belief in me as a trainer gave me the confidence I could do more of it, so I started advertising on Facebook. After a few months I built up a solid client base which kept me busy. For that first year of training in 2019, I was able to balance my time between acting gigs and personal training. During the pandemic my business grew even more and for the first time in my life I was very proud of myself financially. What started as an idea to keep me supported as an actor quickly became my main source of income.

Working for myself was great, and whenever I had an opportunity to get a new client, I said yes. But about a year ago I started to feel burnt out. I had said yes to too much. I was seeing 8-10 clients a day for hour-long sessions and I was exhausted. My schedule was 6 am to 8 pm. I was tired of struggling to give myself a day off because of the money I would lose if I didn’t work. I was also a little bored with the repetition of my job. So, for the first time in my adult life, I started to play with the idea of what it would be like to have a regular 9-5 job. No more super early mornings. Weekends off. Holidays off. PTO. I was craving a lifestyle change. I wanted to challenge my brain in something new and not physically exhaust myself everyday.

My wife, Rachel, works in the corporate world and is very successful. She helped me with my resume and after a few weeks of applying on LinkedIn I had an interview lined up with a tech company. I did everything I could to prepare for my first corporate world interview. I rehearsed my story to sell myself on how I’m the best fit for the role. I researched the company to death. I had questions lined up for the interviewer. I even talked to a few of Rachel’s colleagues who were skilled in interviewing. I was overprepared. From the start of the interview on Zoom, I had this weird feeling; a feeling like I was doing something inauthentic. As the recruiter talked more about the role I realized there was no way I was going to do this. During the interview he asked me “It sounds like your business is successful and you’ve built something incredible, are you really prepared to give it up?” That was a really hard question to answer, because at that moment I realized that I wasn’t. A few days later they asked me to move forward to the next round but I decided not to pursue it further. I went back to personal training. A few months later, I went back down the rabbit hole and interviewed for another company, but I had that same feeling as the first interview.

I discovered I’m incredibly lucky to be making a living doing what I do. I love being in the gym. I love helping people with exercise and encouraging them to fit it into their lives. The days are long and tough at times, but I believe my business gives me a lot of career fulfillment that would be tough to find elsewhere.

Truman , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into the fitness industry because I wanted to do something where I was making a difference. I had always had a passion for exercise and I wanted to show people how a regular exercise routine can benefit all areas of your life. Through my personal training services I provide training to clients one at a time, and sometimes two people, for hour long sessions. I lead them through workouts that are individualized to their goals. I make sure they are safely executing movements. A large part of my job as a trainer is to provide the encouragement and motivation that someone might not get from working out by themselves. A lot of people want to be pushed harder than they can push themselves on their own.

The main problem I solve for my clients is taking the guesswork out of their time in the gym and helping them reach their goals in the most sustainable way possible. When they show up they don’t have to think about the workout because I have it planned out from the warm up to the final exercise. I teach them that to achieve true, long term results, they have to keep showing up week after week. Once someone gets in shape, the work is not done; it continues for the rest of your life. I educate people on how to make exercise a regular part of their life without making it their whole life.

I believe what sets me apart from other trainers is I focus on building rapport and connecting with my clients. I ask questions and I talk to them. I want to get to know them, learn how they function in the gym, so I can ensure they make progress. It’s important I keep them engaged so I can keep them motivated and excited to be in the gym. We have fun, but we also work really hard during the workout.

Since I’ve started my business, there’s a lot I’m proud of. I’ve helped multiple clients change their habits and lose over 30 lbs during the course of the year. I’ve had people build muscle, strength, and improve their confidence. I think the thing I am most proud of is I have helped several of my clients feel comfortable enough to go to the gym and workout by themselves.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When gyms shut down during the early days of the pandemic, I knew I had to pivot fast to keep income coming in. I was living a few blocks from a park so I started doing outdoor workouts with some of my clients who were still comfortable training in person. In the beginning I had a set of adjustable dumbbells and some resistance bands. After a week, carrying the dumbbells the quarter of a mile to the park was getting tough, so I bought a dolly, loaded them on, and pushed it down to the park. Eventually I got more equipment, and after two months I had about 90 lbs of workout gear I was pushing to and from the park every day. It was important I made sure my clients had enough weights and equipment so they could keep making progress. Instead of being frustrated, I used this opportunity to create workouts I wouldn’t normally get to program in a gym. I hung TRX straps on monkey bars. I had battle ropes looped around trees. I even bought a yellow sled, stood on it, and clients would push me across the park for conditioning work. We couldn’t be in a gym for months, but we were in the fresh air, exercising, and staying in shape during a crazy time. On top of training people in the park, I was getting interest from other clients who wanted me to train them in their driveways at home. Some days I would wake up at 5:30 am, push my weights to the park, train people, then come back, load the weights in my car, and drive to several houses in Atlanta. I did absolutely everything I could to keep my business going, and I’m glad I did.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

In the beginning of starting my business, I told people I was an actor who works as a personal trainer. Now I tell people I am a personal trainer who works as an actor. My personal training business has turned into my full time career and it has helped me accomplish the goal I set in the beginning: transition into a field where I would make a living, make a difference, and have the flexibility to pursue my acting career. I have had a lot of help in the process of my business growing as much as it has. My wife has a great business mindset and she’s given me some great ideas on scaling. She had the idea of creating training packages, where people can purchase sessions in bulk and be committed to training with me for 1-3 months at a time. Brian McGuire of https://bmcguiredesigns.com/ has helped me with all things marketing. He built and designed my website, and even created an online store where clients could purchase Truman Griffin Fitness T-shirts. As I got busier and started to see close to 10 clients a day, I realized there weren’t enough hours in the day to see everyone. So I started offering the option of training couples or two people at a time so I could see more clients. I also took some additional training courses, improved my skill set of training, and raised my prices to meet the demand I was receiving. The most exciting milestone is the installation of my home gym in the house we just moved into. I’m in the process of transitioning my business to a new city and doing all of my training in the home gym. I’ve spent the past four years training in peoples homes, the park, apartment and condo gyms. It feels really good knowing someone can show up at my home gym and we can do the exact workout I have planned that day. No waiting for equipment, no crowds to deal with, and I can be 100% focused on them without distractions. I can do the kind of training I have always wanted to do. Last year I had my best year yet, and I’m really excited to see my business grow even more this year. In the future, I plan to open my very own Truman Griffin Fitness location.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://trumangriffinfitness.com/
• Instagram: @the.trucrew
• Facebook: Truman Griffin
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/truman-griffin-222864202/

Image Credits
Rachel McGiboney – My Red Lens Photography Society Imagery