Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Martinez.
Brian, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Since I was in elementary school, I always had this fascination with the human body. I was an athlete myself well through college, playing almost every sport possible. I was blessed with excellent hand-eye coordination which allowed me to do well in every sport I participated in, but there was one problem. Deep down, I wanted to look like the athletes I saw in the magazines and on the infomercials. Since I wasn’t the kind of kid that walked around ripped with a 6 pack year round, that was always the underlying fascination of mine. I was a great athlete but in my opinion, I still wanted to look like I performed.
In college, my roommate introduced me to a bodybuilding documentary about Ronnie Coleman, 8x Mr. Olympia. That’s when everything changed, maybe not right away, but the seed that was planted in my mind was enough to set forth what would later become my greatest accomplishment yet. I knew I didn’t want to get as big as a professional bodybuilder, but I knew if I wanted to get as lean as one, I would become a student of the sport and learn everything I possibly can so that I could achieve that look. Everyone who never had a 6 pack, pretty much knows that feeling. For myself, I didn’t just want to look the look, but I wanted to understand the process, I wanted to be able to explain it to someone else.
As I started researching different diets, cardio and training styles, I soon would come to realize that things are never so black and white, in fact, there’s nothing definitive about changing the physique. If I was going to change one physique I would have to know how to scale that to any person of any body type, gender or age. I acquired so much knowledge and along the way absorbed so much false information, I would go on to be the founder and president of the University of Oregon bodybuilding club. I was absolutely mesmerized by the lifestyle at this point. I decided to start my own YouTube channel to dispell some of the myths and express my opinion on relevant topics in regard to nutrition, training and fat loss. I called my channel Local Fit.
I knew in my mind I wanted this channel to stand as a community or a movement in a way, where information and content that I put out would be honest, original, and hold a certain style that’s embodied this vision I’ve had on fitness from the start. I made a promise to myself to never produce misleading or nonfactual content because I know how frustrating it is to try and navigate the truth in this industry. My channel grew and so did my Instagram. I was putting out videos that I enjoyed myself, and posting on Instagram according to how I would want to see, never paying much attention to what others thought or what people thought of me. I really had no other alternative, I knew I had to make my dream a reality so I put everything I had into it, all my time and all my effort.
As my channel became more popular I started to receive requests to coach them on their diet and into shows themselves. That’s when I began coaching and helping people lose weight. I knew that if I was going to be successful in such a saturated industry. I’m going to need to stand out, and I planned on doing that through my work and the transformation helped people achieve. That drive all stemmed back to my fascination with the ripped and shredded look that I always wanted to achieve. I also was obsessed with the crazy transformations that you had to look at for a minute just to see if its real or not. I wanted to be able to say I helped that person or I coached them into that physique.
Soon helping others achieve the physique of their dreams would become more important than spending all this time and effort on mine. I knew how to do it, I could easily transform my physique in 6 weeks. So the next 3 years, I spent focused on helping my clients, that’s where I would see my biggest success. I went from sleeping on my mom’s bunk bed and filming workouts with my brothers go pro to coaching almost 40 athletes into top 5 finishes in the NPC and over 100 lifestyle client transformations in under 3 years. Along the way, I designed an apparel line that honestly never made a lot of money (if any) but always used it to promote my brand if people weren’t going to buy my stuff, I figured I might as well just give it away.
Then at least if they’re still wearing it, whats the difference. I saw it as free advertising. In the beginning, I was writing out meal plans on a piece of paper, now I have developed some pretty incredible spreadsheets and documents that facilitate my programs. A gem that I think every client of mine. Its crazy looking back and seeing how far, in fact, Local Fit has come in such a short time, and when I think about all the sleepless nights that I’ve stayed up plugging away on formulas and editing videos I get a feeling that if you really want to make an impact like the one I am making and plan on making, you really have to have love for this.
This isn’t just a job you show up at, this is something that I literally wake up every day thinking about going to sleep, dreaming about, and spend all day working at. It started out as a passion of mine, grew into something that I could now make a living off of. And from there, I have the luxury of cultivating that and growing it into anything I want while staying true to the morals and the values I initially set for myself and my brand.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Its been anything but smooth along the way. When I first started I didn’t have a mentor or anyone really guiding me on business or in fitness. I was pretty much doing my own thing based on what I thought was the right way, and how I thought my business should be run.
With that mentality, it was evident that I would run into plenty of obstacles and hurdles along the way. I was always a very open and accepting person, that made a lot of friends wherever I went, so I made myself know pretty quickly within the fitness community of San Diego. But I still felt like I haven’t solidified myself as a successful business because deep down I wasn’t running a business really, I was just posting stuff on social media and hoping that someone would shoot me an email every once in a while and potentially get a new client.
I didn’t follow any model of business or have any real plan because I lack in guidance and leadership, and that’s where I found myself making the most mistakes. But then I also have to look back and see all of the things I’ve learned having done everything the hard way. I think to myself sometimes it would have been nice to be able to map out a plan and market like a successful business should, but on the topic of learning from those mistakes, that’s something that I now realize is so important.
Having seen the impact it had on my company when neglected all this time. I wish I wasn’t so stubborn and willing to ask for help. I just always knew deep down, in order to live my vision out and see my dream unfold, it had to be done my way, at least my way first. I didn’t want to be a sellout and take peoples money without giving them what they paid for. I know what I have to offer and that’s knowledge that they won’t get anywhere else and in a way, no one else can explain it. I knew it wasn’t about making money, it was about teaching people and getting results that spoke for themselves.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Local Fit – what should we know?
Local Fit is a premier competition and lifestyle team in San Diego. It is my brand that I coach under not just competitive athletes but regular people trying to lose weight. I specialize in developing online nutrition and weight loss programs as well as personal training on the side. Initially, Local Fit was just a brand name and a youtube channel, but that grew rapidly into the competitive bodybuilding team and online program it is today.
Ultimately, I want it to grow into one of the larger online programs, with gyms in several locations in the United States. I think what sets Local Fit apart from other apparel companies or fitness brands today is the subtlety and the casual vibe that’s not too “fitnessy”. I wanted people to be able to wear my brand in the gym and in the streets. I wanted my logo to stick out and be recognizable to those who have seen it before but I didn’t want it to fall under the “fitness” category if you had just seen it for the first time.
I think what sets myself apart from other coaches or other weight loss programs available today would be in my knowledge for one. I think a lot of trainers or prospective coaches do well in obtaining a good looking physique, then turn around and all of a sudden they’re qualified to start training others without ever learning the real science behind the process.
For me, it was always the science behind fat loss that I found fascinating and I spent thousands of hours doing research so that when someone asked me a question I not only knew the answer but could explain it to in a way that a child could comprehend. A good coach has to know what they are teaching, otherwise, in my opinion, they aren’t qualified. After knowledge, I think what separates me from other coaches is my ability to push my clients to a point that they wouldn’t be able to push themselves to.
Knowing the information is critical but also being able to explain it in a way that doesn’t confuse or belittle them is equally as important. Knowing how to push someone to their limits but not so far that they break and lose their drive, how to encourage them but not to a point where they feel complacent and stop striving for success every day. I think my ability to teach is my biggest asset. I never settled for average my entire life, it was always an all or nothing mentality.
I guess that’s translated in my clients in a big way, I don’t settle for average results, we are either going to make a statement and completely transform the physique and the mindset or realize that anything less will yield the same results that they’ve been getting their entire lives. Transforming the physique is no easy task and it has to be taken very seriously. Only when you can get yourself or others to step outside of their comfort zone and push themselves to a point that they have never reached before.
Can you truly make changes to your physique, the changes that I think all of us desire deep down? I know how most people want to look, so I make it my goal to do everything in my power to get them there as fast and effectively as possible. A lot of people start coaching to make money if I wanted to make money I’d be selling supplements, but I coach to make a difference. It’s nice to know that complete strangers have heard of my team and not know who I am.
It’s nice to also know that people reach out to me with an expectation to get a certain level of results based on my previous work. That reputation was difficult to create but one of the most gratifying feelings imaginable, having a reputation that speaks from my work and the results I can get, not of me as a person.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think the most important qualities for success, especially in this line of work, is a true passion for this lifestyle. If you’re just doing this to make a living, you will eventually lose your love and fade. I know I’ll never lose that passion because it continues to grow every day even years later. The more I succeed the more I want to learn more and the more I love it by the day. It’s a cycle that favors those who work from the heart, and weeds out those who are trying to make it work because they were bitten by the iron bug.
I also think that if you really want to succeed in this line of work you have to care about others, and know how to put others first. I have had countless clients approach me for coaching because their last coach or trainer didn’t give them the attention that they deserved.
A lot of the time its because they too are athletes or fitness competitors working on achieving their goal physique or success in the competitive scene. I know that having a beautiful physique doesn’t make me a better coach, so I make sure that my clients come first. I built my values as a coach based on the shortcomings of my competitors, that’s where I’ve been able to achieve what so many haven’t in this industry.
Pricing:
- Contest Prep Coaching – $350 / +$100 setup 1x only
- Lefestyle (fat loss) Coaching – $250/ month +$100 setup 1x only
- Personal Training $25/half hour- $40 /hr
- Ebook = FREE / Ebook + workbook – $19.99
- Video/Photo Filming & Editing – $50/hr (New client first hour FREE)
Contact Info:
- Website: thelocalfit.com
- Phone: (858) 382 – 1309
- Email: brian@thelocalfit.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brian_localfit/?hl=en . https://www.instagram.com/local_fit/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brian.Local.Fit
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