Future Aspirations and Democratizing Fitness

Ultimate Performance by name and nature, in this episode Nick Mitchell explains how his business is leading the field in not just traditional personal training, but app development, nutrition tracking, team management and growth plans that benefit clients by raising the standard of trainers in fitness.

With worldwide coverage, Ultimate Performance is pioneering personal training based on results, operating in Australia, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai, UAE, Spain, The Netherlands, US and the UK. In this episode Nick directs his straight-talking attitude to tackle some huge industry issues that many operators and thought leaders won’t acknowledge.

Watch the full episode on YouTube.

Nick Mitchell has had a passion for good physique from a young age. The catalyst forming his opinion of what a man should look like was Arnold Schwarzenegger on the cover of a Dungeons and Dragons publication – a gift from his dad.

It may come as no surprise that Nick’s been a bodybuilder, competing in the ’90s. However, he also trained as a lawyer/barrister before pivoting into investment banking. Furthering his former career, he started his own business in headhunting for the financial service sector. Nick sold the company as his heart wasn’t in it, and left his career to found Ultimate Performance in 2009.

Since then he’s been continually building the business, where personal trainers can hone their craft. He’s created an environment of positive accountability that delivers results through marketing with authenticity and employing the best of the best.

Episode highlights - 

• How Arnold Schwarzenegger inspired Nick’s career of not only personal achievement but professional success around the world in fitness.
• What fuelled the progress of Ultimate Performance as a future dream from an early age, and how you can avoid compromising with yourself in order to follow your vision.
• How the fitness industry in Los Angeles is a more mature industry than anywhere else in the world, with different protagonists and motivation.
• Why you might question everything you’re doing if you’re not following your authentic passion in any career or venture.
• How social media is fooling so many people in trying to live another man’s dream instead of having an honest conversation with themselves about what they really want.
• How your mindset will change as your entrepreneurial career develops, leading to you moving the goalposts for further growth.
• Why personal training is such a tough job to do properly, from the fickle nature of career development to how much attention a PT has to pay to every single client at any given moment.
• How to avoid the stereotype pitfalls of the end of a PT career by finding an environment where you can grow.
• Why the best employees need opportunities for managing, mentoring, writing, education, presenting, commercial activity and other outcome potential through an evolved business around the world if they want it.
• How it is critical to success to bring people through the ranks instead of hiring externally and getting new people into the business.
• What the benefits of technology are when it comes to running a business from anywhere in the world.
• How the personalities, approaches and mentalities of personal training teams not only differ around the world, but also around specific countries in different cities.
• Which emerging markets are going to see the biggest growth for world-class personal trainers, and what attributes are going to lead to this success?
• What studies the Ultimate Performance team are undertaking to change the industry for the better, from working with research fellows to using the company’s own big data for exhaustive results and new insights.
• Why if you want to be a vegan then you have to supplement, and how this diet or lifestyle choice affects your body compared to other nutritional decisions.
• What can be done through sharing research, knowledge and big data to help national obesity epidemics and work done through institutions such as the NHS.
• Why there’s a subtle difference between fat shaming and not celebrating obesity, and how the biggest results from personal training follow a client’s wake up call.
• How the only person that can hold you down is yourself, and why you’re the source of your own success through hard work and self-belief.

Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Nick Mitchell of Ultimate Performance…