Meet Bryan Mistretta of Versatile Fitness in Pacific Beach & Clairemont

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryan Mistretta.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I moved out to San Diego on a whim 8 years ago from NY. Shortly after getting settled in I began my own business as a private trainer. I would train clients in the local parks and at their homes, traveling all over San Diego. After 5 years of running around from one client to the next, I decided the only way for me to grow is to leverage my time. The universe led me into a small space in Clairemont where the current tenants had broken their lease and it allowed me an opportunity to take over. Two weeks after getting the keys, the first Versatile Fitness studio was born!

Myself and my business partner Mike Hastings slowly but surely began to build a clientele, while we improved our processes and developed our unique workout system.

We had no money for marketing, advertising or even putting a sign on the building so we just focused all of our energy on taking care of our members. It took a few months of lonely nights and mornings at the gym, but one by one our classes began to fill up. Social media and word of mouth especially began to bring more and more people through our doors. Everyone seemed to love the fun group environment and the individual attention as they pushed through our circuit workouts. I wanted to give people the feeling of having a personal trainer, but not having to pay the crazy private training prices!

So we developed this high energy, strength training model where any person of any fitness level could come in and get an amazing structured workout. Just show up and we will guide you through a 45-minute super-efficient workout. Fast forward 2 quick years and our classes were at capacity. Another opportunity led us to an even bigger facility in Pacific Beach, so we opened up VF number 2! From the first day, we opened the second location the classes were packed and we haven’t looked back since. In 3 years, Versatile Fitness went from one lone trainer in the park to having 2 locations with 6 trainers. We have a super loyal client base and I am so extremely grateful to have attracted such an amazing community of members that have become my VF Family!

Has it been a smooth road?
As a broke trainer in the park, the transition to taking on a commercial lease space by yourself was anything but smooth. I scraped together every penny, launched a crowdfunding campaign, and gained the trust of some good friends for a small loan.

California does not make it easy for you to start a business and there were always a ton of unexpected costs in the start-up phase. The first 6 months were absolutely brutal. Those times were the true test of my faith in the business, especially when I put everything on the line. I just remember always remaining positive and having this crazy belief that everything was going to work out. I’ll never forget all the mornings I would show up at 5 am and I would sit in the gym for 5 hours alone. Not one single person coming to any of my “classes”. It takes a certain amount of discipline to show up no matter what, with nobody signed up, just in the hopes that someone might walk through the door.

This went on for weeks and weeks, but I never stopped showing up. The few people that would show up started to tell their friends and our retention was so good that 9 out of 10 people who walked through the door stayed with us. After a few months of nerve-racking terror and being at the end of the line financially the small snowball started to form. Then it started rolling… and growing little by little, month after month.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
We offer unique strength training workouts in a high energy circuit. We pride ourselves on giving clients the individual attention in a group training environment. The way we developed our circuits along clients to work out in small groups alongside their friends while a trainer guides them through the circuit. We are able to cater to any fitness level so the classes are always very diverse, motivating and each individual can build at their own pace.

I believe we provide a great deal of value at a price point that is significantly less than our competitors. We want to help the most people possible and create a fun workout environment that everyone can enjoy. The energy the trainers create, the heartbeat raising music, and the amazing community of people create the perfect storm for our group training classes. Our classes bring you a new workout and a new challenge every single day, no workout is ever the same!

Strength training plays such an important role in fitness and most people are either intimidated or uneducated on how to train properly. Our classes take out the guesswork, so all you have to do is show up, have a positive attitude and be ready to work! Our 200 plus 5-star reviews on Yelp in our short lifespan shows how we treat our clients and take care of them. Our price point, our personal touch, our class environment and our trainers are the best in the business.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I feel like San Diego makes it very tough for new businesses in general. Obviously, in the fitness world, San Diego is the Mecca. There’s every kind of fitness studio and big box gym on every corner out here. The commercial spaces are very expensive and California forces you to jump from one hoop to the next taking more hard earned money from business owners. However, none of this matters if you have the right mindset.

Everyone here has the same playing field so it ultimately relies on the individual. I pride myself on my absolutely insane work ethic, consistency, belief system and personal development that gives me my competitive advantage. I didn’t have all the knowledge or the experience when I first started but I knew I could find a way to get it done and no one was ever going to out-work me.

Pricing:

• 7 day trial for $10
• Unlimited monthly memberships from $99-159/ month
• 10 and 20 class packs from $10-13/ class

Contact Info:

• Address: 2710 Garnet Avenue San Diego, CA 92109
• Website: www.versatilefitness.com
• Phone: 845-558-1667
• Email: Bryan@versatilefitness.com
• Instagram: Versatilefitness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VersatileFitnessUSA/
• Twitter: @versatilefitsd
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/versatile-fitness-training-san-diego
• Other: www.fatshredchallenge.com

Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.