

Ep.68 - Sam Bakhtiar: Refugee of war to entrepreneur, the ultimate transformation
Sam Bakhtiar escaped the bombs of Saddam Hussein to become a serial entrepreneur in the USA, providing for his children and helping thousands of people achieve their fitness goals. In this honest and emotional interview, we can all learn a lot from the founder of The Camp Transformation Center and One Percent Nutrition.
Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/MvEnYLsA82Y
Born in Iran, Sam lived there until he was 11 years old. He grew up in conflict, hearing bombs and sirens throughout attacks by the Saddam Hussein regime.
To avoid Sam being recruited for the military, his family left for the USA via France as refugees of war, with bag of luggage and $500 to their name. It was a culture shock.
In America, Sam’s passion for fitness developed from a little room full of bodybuilders, with an atmosphere of chalk, rusty weights and sweat. Working out improved his confidence and gave him a sense of belonging. It didn’t take long for Sam to start finding new ways of improving other people’s lives, as he had his own.
Sam Bakhtiar started his first business through a passion for body transformation.
Camp Transformation Center is a franchise business dedicated to changing thousands of people’s lives, empowering communities through health and fitness. It’s also home of the free six-week weight loss challenge, and has 100+ locations with group training to inspire no-gimmick transformations.
One Percent Nutrition offers supplements for people who accept no compromise. With science-based ingredients and high standards, Sam Bakhtiar surrounds the business with the values of faith, family, fitness and finance to bring out the best in everything he does.
Episode Highlights -
- How the evolution of a business can flourish into an entirely new entrepreneurial journey bringing more success than you can ever imagine.
- The importance of mentorship and how other people’s experience can benefit whatever you do. Never work in an insular environment.
- This is the ultimate story of overcoming adversity, both in a war torn upbringing and dealing with credit mistakes and financial struggles.
- Why negative self-thought will do nothing for progress, and how to overcome stress.
- How to scale and 10x a fitness business from a small PT set up to further success.
- The importance of understanding when you’re not equipped to provide a particular service, and how you can better suit a customer by referring them to another partner or offering.
Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Sam Bakhtiar…