Community Highlights: Meet Ryan Alling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Alling.

Hi Ryan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got started in financial services at a very young age because my father, now a top financial advisor at our firm, started to teach me about finance, money, investments, and wealth management at a very young age. He used to show me hypotheticals demonstrating how much money I would have made if I invested a particular amount of money at a specific time instead of mindlessly spending the money on unneeded goods. This was my first lesson on the time value of money and opportunity cost-and it was something I would never forget. I began investing the money I made from chores and small businesses I had in middle school, as well as money I would later earn at my first jobs in high school. This money grew significantly and gave me a taste of what financial freedom felt like in my early 20s while I was still a full-time college student studying Finance at San Francisco State University. Upon graduating from college, I began my own journey in the industry-which became a passion to me-and began to manage assets for both individuals and companies alike. Today our team consists of myself, my father and my brother-in-law, and we are an independent, family-oriented financial advisory practice located in the La Jolla financial building in the village. Our firm, Wedbush Securities, is the largest finance firm and investment bank headquartered on the west coast. Our team manages nearly a quarter billion in AUM(assets under management), and our goal is to surpass one billion in assets within the next 10-15 years by continuing to provide unparalleled service to our clients-shrinking costs and increasing returns.

I started my fitness company, Event Body Transformation Specialists, in January 2022 by partnering with two good friends of mine: Ross Sanzari and Josh Friedman. Our mission is to provide individuals with life-changing weight loss and body composition transformations to improve their overall quantity and quality of life. We help clients build muscle or lose weight for events such as weddings, birthday parties, etc. by guiding them through proper dieting, exercise techniques and supplementation regimens completely customized to their unique goals. My partners in the company are two other business professionals who maintain lean and muscular body compositions year-round despite having demanding careers, traveling, and being reputable community members and socialites in their respective city of Scottsdale AZ. We believe that being healthy and looking your best is foundational for success and living your best life, and we can help you achieve your health and fitness goals to change your life and improve every aspect of it.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road was not smooth whatsoever-as is commonly the case with any success story. Throughout high school and college, I maintained good grades despite having multiple learning disabilities-ADHD and dyslexia, to name a few. I had to read the book twice and work significantly harder than my peers in order to do well in my classes, but during that grueling process, I learned that no obstacle can stop me if I have the right mindset backed by a clear vision of what I want for my life. I fought the fight every day, graduated college with an honors-awards in English and a business finance bachelor’s degree. I subsequently passed all of my financial regulatory tests on the first try. Once I became a registered financial advisor, I was not handed any clients by my father-although he did share his 40 plus years of financial wizardry with me and was very much a part of the process of onboarding any new clients I sourced. Starting a business from zero is a scary thing-you have no revenue, no salary, no experience other than personal investments, and no understanding of the turmoil that can arise from making financial mistakes and being too aggressive with your investments. Over time, however, I began to build confidence and my business grew. My dad was a large part in the investment selection process, and this enabled me to learn from his mistakes opposed to making them myself and decreasing client satisfaction and retention. A few years later, we brought my brother-in-law onto the team, Mitch Loewenberg, a distinguished young man with a master’s degree in finance coupled with an unparalleled work ethic. He’s been an astounding addition to the team-particularly when it comes to sourcing and onboarding previously overpriced and underperforming company 401(k) and other types of qualified retirement plans.

My fitness journey was a massive struggle because I had “skinny fat” genetics and significant food allergies and autoimmune conditions of which I was completely unaware until my early 20s. However, once I became aware of these conditions, what causes them, and the importance of gut health and staying away from inflammatory foods, my life took a drastic shift-and not just regarding health and fitness. Over time my skin cleared up (I suffered from dermatitis partly as a result of eating the wrong foods) and my digestion and immune system became exceptionally strong (I never get sick, and my doctor said “You are the healthiest man I’ve seen all year” at my physical examination). I also experienced less bodily inflammation, better sleep, higher energy levels, and zero brain fog-which came as a shock for one who struggled with ADHD for so many years.

Balancing my active lifestyle and the high demands contingent with getting a finance degree and building a business from zero was another mammoth challenge which I surmounted and learned highly beneficial life lessons from. Through many years of perseverance and trial and error, I am now a sponsored athlete and fitness model at Cellucor, C4 Energy, and Xtend-three conglomerates and leading companies in the sports nutrition industry. If you wish to try any of their amazing products, you can get a 20% discount by using my code- “RYAN”-at checkout on all three websites. My journey is far from complete, however, as once you start you are always looking for new ways to improve and take your conditioning and health to the next level. My next goal is to land on the cover of a fitness magazine, open longevity clinics (I am already partnered with one) and continue to grow my presence within the industry and help many thousands of people improve their lives via health and fitness.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our familial financial advisory practice is located in the La Jolla financial building off Prospect St. right between the landmark La Valencia hotel and renowned “George’s at the Cove” restaurant in the La Jolla village. Our situation is the best of both worlds: giving our clients the both the level of service and customer experience contingent with the mom-and-pop cafe and store on your local corner as well as the deep, resources, advanced technology, proprietary systems, and client safety and security you would expect out of the largest finance and investment banking firm headquartered on the west coast-Wedbush Securities(our firm).

My father is our team leader and he has 40 plus years of experience in the industry and is one of the top financial advisors at our firm-a national firm founded 62 years ago with 100 plus offices all over the country, 1,000 plus employees, and a leading provider of liquidity on NASDAQ. We specialize in retirement planning, asset management, asset allocation, tax strategies, tax-free income investments, growth and income investments, estate planning, 401(k) rollovers, working capital management, corporate investment accounts, college planning, and help optimize company retirement plans-such as 401(k) plans, defined benefit and defined contribution plans, profit-sharing plans,etc.-by cutting costs, improving investment strategies, and teaching employees financial literacy and the benefits that come along with contributing to these tax-advantaged investment vehicles.

At Event Body Transformation Specialists, we utilize our 45 plus years of combined fitness experience to guide our clients toward their bodily goals with fully customized plans catered to their unique goals, needs and time frames. With our consultation, our clients become capable of changing their habits regarding exercise, nutrition and supplementation to achieve their health and fitness goals and enjoy the life-changing contingencies of doing so-all without the burnout so commonly associated with starting a new way of life. Our clients build confidence and improve all arenas of their lives because they look better, feel better and have more energy and superior mental acuity to thrive at their jobs, take care of their families, improve their dating lives, and much more. If you want to check us out, our Website is www.ebtsllc.com and our business Instagram page handle is @ebts.transform

Wealth is useless without your health and vice versa. I truly believe that in order to live your best life, you must attain both financial success as well as a strong foundation of physical and mental health. For this reason, I love what I do in both of my businesses; because once we are both healthy and have favorable financial situations the opportunities in our lives become boundless.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I am head over heels in love with the city of San Diego and cannot express how thankful I am to have been born and raised in America’s finest city. San Diego is a big city without the cons of living in a big city-we have minimal traffic in comparison to other large cities as well as clean air with beautiful nature and some of the best beaches in the country. I love the diverse cultures which compose our city and how you can literally get any kind of food here(and it is all top-notch). The many distinct neighborhoods around the city each have something unique to offer-and they are all easily accessible in under an hour because our expanded freeways limit traffic.

I especially love the patriotic nature of San Diego due to the inherent military presence here as well as the values that come along with it. We are blessed to share air with those individuals who are willing to sacrifice their lives in order to protect us, uphold our freedoms and ensure we have the privilege of chasing our own version of the “American Dream.” My Grandfather, Leon Walczak(SSGT USMC) was a marine veteran of WW2, firefighter at pearl harbor, and purple heart in the Korean war. He is an American hero who dove in front of a mortar to protect his squadron and nearly got his leg blown off. After dismissing the doctors’ prognosis by refusing to have his leg amputated, he spent three years in a full leg cast composed of metal and lived with shrapnel in his leg for the remainder of his highly fulfilling and inspirational 96 year life. He exercised every day up until his death and is one of my greatest heroes and inspirations. One thing I do dislike, however, is that he was not recognized with a medal of honor for the courageous sacrifice that left him with significant lingering pain for more than half of a century until his death.

Pricing:

• Use code ‘RYAN’ at checkout to save 20% on Cellucor, Xtend, and C4 Energy sports nutrition products
• Free financial consultation or portfolio review
• Custom fitness plan-including workouts, nutrition, and supplementation plans starting at $200 for a one month plan. The monthly cost decreases accordingly when purchasing longer plans(and the results attained increase)
• Free 401(K) rollover consultation-should you roll the money from a prior employer’s 401(k) into an IRA? We can teach you the benefits of doing so and how to did it in a cost efficient manner with professional management and unwavering service
• For business owners and 1099 independent contractors: Free analysis and cost comparison of your company’s 401(k) or qualified retirement plan; working capital and corporate cash management consultation; retirement plan options for 1099 contractors-particularly real estate professionals and other salespeople who yearn to lower their tax burden and diversify their assets

Contact Info:

• Email: ryan.alling@wedbush.com for financial matters and ryanalling18@gmail.com for personal and fitness inquiries
• Website: https://www.wedbush.com/advisors/RyanAlling/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryan.alling/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryanscottalling/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryan_alling
• Other: www.ebtsllc.com

Image Credits
Parker Sha: Instagram handle @rockamusic Connor Murphy: Instagram handle @condor_folklore