Today we’d like to introduce you to Caitlin McCurdy.
Caitlin, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As a life long athlete it seemed inevitable that my passion for sport would turn into teaching/coaching. I grew up practicing martial arts and playing every sport available to me. I went on to play field hockey at the division 1 and national team level for a little over 15 years. It was at Stanford in 2009 that I got my first opportunity to coach right after graduating from the University of Iowa.
My social circle become sports performance experts and I loved learning, talking, and practicing new skills sets from the coaching and delivery side after being on the athlete/executing side for so long.
During this time, I also ran a youth field hockey club in Northern California. We proudly developed and sent multiple athletes to division 1 universities (such as MIT, UC Berkeley, Stanford, etc.) to play hockey.
I got a chance to change colors and went on to coach at UC Berkeley. We won our conference the first year I was there- it was awesome. However, after that season I realized I was really itching to expand my skill set beyond the sport of field hockey.
I found my interest in coaching growing more specifically in the realms of strength training, mindset training, nutrition, sports performance, Injury prevention and rehabilitation.
I had an incredible opportunity to spend time working with some of the BEST coaches in these fields. I got so into learning and testing things out with athletes— I wanted to dive into developing these strong foundations with all kinds of athletes and eventually started working in a gym setting with mostly adult general population.
I made a friend in my Kinesiology class in 2012. We needed out a popular screening tool that day and about two weeks later I was at Equinox in San Francisco interviewing to be a personal trainer on his team.
The education, support, and coaching I received at Equinox Pine street and Union street was unlike anything I had done before. I couldn’t wait to get up at 4:30am and see clients each day and I started spending any free time I had studying, testing things out, earning certifications, anything I could do to stand out among some of the best trainers in the game. Just when it was all coming together in San Francisco- my partner got a rare work opportunity in Juneau, Ak.
I found the ONLY big gym in Juneau (The Alaska Club, haha) and interviewed for a job. Thanks to Equinox’s mentorship I was more than capable delivering amazing client experiences and started building a solid reputation for results.
Once my client schedule got full, I started helping in sales to make some extra money. I got promoted to PT manager within my first six months at the Alaska Club.
At that point I knew I wanted to and was ready to run my own business and deliver great results in more ways By luck- I got connected with a sponsored climber and crazy athlete, Ryan Johnson, who at the time owned then Tongass CrossFit in Juneau. I started coaching CrossFit classes as well as my personal training clients. I stayed true to my passion for completeness in coach support. We started building a fitness culture at our gym we were super proud of that blended our strengths as coaches and best supported the needs of our members.
Unfortunately, on a sunny March day in 2018 Ryan and his partner perished in climbing accident in Juneau. We had had our last conversation at his gym. My friend and hopeful business partner were really gone.
I wasn’t sure if Juneau was the right place for me to remain professionally after Ryan was gone. Eventually- I knew in my heart I belonged back in California. I needed to meet crazier Ryan’s.
I moved to San Diego in November of 2019. I didn’t know where I would end up working with clients again. I didn’t know anybody when I first got here. But, again by luck, I was blessed through a friend to be introduced to Junior Leoso owner of Pacific Beach Training. I have not looked back since!
Has it been a smooth road?
You have to deeply and truly love coaching to be a coach and teacher. There is a lot of thankless work that you do behind the scenes to ensure your client has the best experience and chance at great results. It’s not an easy job but it’s incredibly rewarding! The fitness world is an interesting industry and finding a good fit for your personality, style, and skills sets can really influence yours and your clients’ success.
Just like sports- I have won and lost a lot of games along this road. I lost a friend and mentor. I ventured to the unknown with nothing but my skills, client testimonials, and self-belief. As a young entrepreneur- I’m very proud of that!
We’d love to hear more about the business.
I am a Fitness and nutrition coach. My goal for business is to be a good listener/connector, creative problem solver, and communicator with clients. I am proud to continuously grow my skill sets that allow me to fully support clients. It is challenging to make changes and adopt a new program! I look at the whole client not just the person who shows up at class.
Our client success comes from truly connecting with and understanding the person and then collaboratively creating a plan with a focus, frequency, intensity, and fun factor that matches the client and their goals. I also work to maintain a professional referral network for my clients should they need support outside of my scope and ability.
I currently coach a kettlebell class and a mobility class at Pacific Beach Training. I also offer 1 on 1 and group private training, and nutrition coaching. Throughout the year I run fitness transformations for clients and newbies.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
As we have recently experienced- Our routine and needs can change at any time. Staying flexible and cognizant of what’s most important and what’s next is a skill that can be learned. With that in mind I am currently working through an online certification to expand my remote online offerings. I am also working through a Chi Gong course to add some de-stress skills to the toolkit for clients.
I am always working to connect with other pros and learn from their experiences or be coached by an expert. Did you know…. Pacific Beach Training is a gym and also basically the fitness tool incubator of SoCal?! Since connecting with Junior Leoso there I have had the chance to learn a variety of new training tools and their appropriate use with training clients. Not everyone needs all these tools, but having more tools expands the ways your client can interact with exercise and offers fun and creative options to stick with it! Our clients are currently really digging the HydroCore and Breathe Belt to name a few!
Pricing:
- $2600 26 pack private training
- $800/mo 3x/wk remote training
- $1799 Nutrition Transformation Program
Contact Info:
- Address: 909 Grand Ave, San Diego
- Website: Ironrootsstrength.com
- Phone: 7402787664
- Email: caitlin@ironrootsstrength.com
- Instagram: @ironrootsstrengthacademy
- Facebook: Facebook.com/ironrootsstrengthacademy
Image Credit:
Coach Caitlin supporting her clients
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