Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnny Castillo.
Johnny, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
For the past 12 years, I worked in the Hospitality business opening and managing multiple nightclubs such as Side Bar, FLUXX, and F6ix as part of the RMD Group located in downtown San Diego. During my time as a Nightclub Operator, health and fitness always remained an important aspect of my life, in fact, I believe that if it wasn’t for my healthy habits of eating right and exercising consistently, I would have never been as successful as I was in such a stressful industry centered around a lot of unhealthy habits.
Growing up, I was active in all sports but excelled at football where I earned a Division One football scholarship to play at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Upon graduating, I took my degree in Hospitality and started working in the Industry downtown.
While managing nightclubs, I remained very active in my training and would often put on boot camps for the employees at FLUXX to encourage team bonding and camaraderie. As I continued to excel in the hospitality business and age, I always had a feeling that my passion for people and health would once again meet and that’s when I discovered F45 Training. The first location opened up in La Jolla June of 2016, and I was invited to come take a class by some of our investors at Side Bar who knew how active I was and figured I would enjoy the workout. I immediately fell in love with the workout style and became a member. Fast forward to May of 2017, where I got a call from those same investors who I developed a good friendship with. They said that they loved the F45 brand so much and believed in the franchise model, that they purchased the rights to open up multiple locations and wanted me to join them as a Partner and active General Manager in charge of running the operations and opening of all locations. This was the opportunity I was waiting for and the call I could not pass up. So that’s where we are at today.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Well, anytime you open up a new business in an unfamiliar field there are challenges. For us, we are opening up multiple locations at once so that makes the learning curve a lot harder. Currently, we are building one in North Park, Scripps Ranch, and two in Austin Texas. The North Park and Scripps Ranch locations will open in February of 2018 and the two Texas locations will open in April 2018. While those are opening, we begin construction at a location in Little Italy in January inside the high rise “AV8” that is being built.
Because of so many locations being worked on at once, my partners and I have had to learn to adapt quick and pivot when necessary to stick to timelines and meet budget expectations. However, we believe that these early challenges and struggles will help us be more efficient in the future when we are opening up more locations. Our goal, is to open up 14 F45 Training studios in the next 4 years.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about F45 Training North Park – what should we know?
Born in Australia, F45 Training merges three unique cutting-edge training concepts into one all-inclusive workout. F45 Training combines elements of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), Circuit Training, and Functional Training. The fusion of these three training concepts has led to the development of over 27 different 45-minute workout experiences with more in development from our amazing F45 Athletics Department.
This combination of interval, cardiovascular and strength training has been proven to be the most effective workout method for burning fat and building lean muscle. The variation of our workout programming keeps our members challenged, eager to grow and ready to have fun.
With over 3000 unique exercises, each and every class consists of a different workout. Two certified personal trainers will motivate and ensure proper technique and form during class. Each class features a custom mixed soundtrack with Saturdays featuring a live DJ in every class. Always fresh and always challenging.
F45 offers the latest in fitness-based technology, innovative and evolving training methods, and most importantly – it delivers results. F45 incorporates multiple LED screens showing each exercise, heart rate monitoring technology and timing screens to keep you on track and seeing results.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My Partners deserve all the credit for having the vision and ambition to make this possible. Brooke Kloiber and Kimberly Krouse are not only amazing wives and mothers, but they are also successful business women in separate ventures, Health and Fitness also plays a huge role in their life and they saw F45 as a way to not only promote a healthy way of living to all walks of life, but also as a business opportunity that they were truly passionate about. They are the real MVP’s!
Additionally, my parents, Joe and Gloria Castillo along with my two older brothers Dave and Joe Castillo have had the biggest influence over me. I was raised by a village and was always told to go after my dreams and to be fearless. This passion was installed in me from an early age by them and has been reflected in everything I do.
From a business stand point, I was mentored by arguably the leading hospitality group in the city: RMD Group. Mike Georgopoulos, Dave Renzella, and Rodrigo Iglesias groomed me from the time I graduated college with a degree in hospitality and was put to work by them sweeping the floors at Side Bar – to opening and operating many of their new projects. If it was not for their guidance and influence, I would not have had the confidence to sit them down in July of this year and tell them that I was leaving their company to start my own business in a completely different field.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3800 30th Street, San Diego CA, 92104
- Website: https://f45training.com/northpark
- Phone: 619 535 5037
- Email: northpark@f45training.com
- Instagram: @f45_training_NorthPark
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/F45TrainingNorthPark
- Twitter: Spinx Promotions
- Yelp: Spinx Promotions
Image Credit:
Spinx Promotions
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