Escape Your Limits & LIFTS

Rick Richey not only owns the WeWork of fitness but has co-founded the first studio in the world to use technologies that help fight cognitive stress, anxiety and sleep deprivation. His mission? To restore your body, reboot your mind and reshape your system. Used by NBA players, UFC and Bellator fighters, and other professional athletes, ReCOVER NYC also offers the value of great recovery to anyone in search of better wellness. This episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a lesson in longevity. Watch the full episode on YouTube Dr Rick Richey is a master of understanding how the human body works for the healthiest, natural results from any effort. He not only owns a chain of gyms with some of the best trainers that New York has to offer in the WeWork of fitness, but he’s pioneering self-care with the world’s first recovery studio. Host of the official podcast of the National Academy of Sports Medicine and co-host of the Omnia Fitness podcast, meet Rick Richey, owner of Independent Training Spot and co-founder of ReCOVER, on this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast. Independent Training Spot is designed for entrepreneurial personal trainers and physical therapists to develop their own businesses and brands of training. The mission is not only to help any trainer start their own business but to help them continue to build it on their journey or venture. In addition, if you’re an individual seeking out a trainer, ITS is a great place to start your search. It’s home to some of the best fitpros that NYC has to offer. In early 2017, Rick Richey and Aaron Drogoszewski had the realization that there was nowhere for people to go purely for purposes of recovery. In early 2018, ReCOVER opened as NYC’s first recovery studio, a concept that has sparked a recovery revolution and is changing the way people function.   To contact Rick email rick@recovernyc.com, or to hear more, download the Omnia Fitness podcast for industry business insight or the NASM CPT podcast for human movement science, concepts, flexibility and other exercise-related subjects.      Episode highlights -  How to manage the cost of a fitness business in one of the most expensive areas in the world, along with the biggest challenges you may not have thought about. What a WeWork style innovative fitness business venture offers to PTs and how it provides more opportunities than high-end gym spaces for trainers and clients. Training business models compared to membership models and how the risk versus rewards weigh up. Why it’s a good idea to give something away for free, even if that particular customer doesn’t come back. How your location’s cleanliness and storage efficiency will be linked to perceptions of a trainer/operator’s organisation and trustworthiness in the bigger picture. Why staying friendly and having a good relationship with people who work with you is paramount to an enjoyable environment and responsive team. How the body only benefits from a workout when it recovers, and how anabolic and catabolic states make a difference on the body’s condition. The new technology that’s allowing customers to alter bainwaves and reach a relaxed lucid dream state without feeling like they’re even asleep. Benefits on the body that can come from varying air pressure up to 23,000 feet high, and how it will improve workouts. Why the digital fitness space is going to continue to grow, and how it will access the majority of populations who don’t work out in traditional fitness spaces.   Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Rick Richey…

Jay Wright has built a business based on passion not only for the design of buildings around the globe, but also for the human body. Creating beautiful gyms, high-end luxury condominiums hotels and consulting for developments in many other world-class locations, The Wright Fit elevates experience everywhere it touches for the future of fitness. Creating opportunities to run, jump, lift and carry things, Jay and his team are naturally battling sedentary lifestyle trends with incredible fitness environments and training for life. Watch the full episode on YouTube   Formerly co-owner of the largest private training gym in Manhattan, Jay Wright has designed fitness spaces and wellbeing facilities for some of the most iconic locations in New York City, including 15 Central Park West and JFK Airport. His lifestyle brand continues to educate clients across the country with holistic design, consulting, management and operations expertise in luxury gyms and residential projects. Designs aside, today’s Escape Your Limits episode is a lesson in functional fitness to combat the sedentary evolution of the human race. Meet strength and conditioning specialist, celebrity trainer and gym designer, Jay Wright, CEO of The Wright Fit. As CEO and founder of The Wright Fit, Jay Wright’s role is to create and develop an extraordinary lifestyle brand that elevates the concept, perception and experience of fitness, health and wellness through design, education and service.  The Wright Fit is a premiere lifestyle brand specializing in health and fitness center design, management, operations and providing personal services (including personal training, soft tissue therapy, aquatic lessons, and group fitness). Its purpose is to educate clients and help them achieve their best body and wellbeing; both now and into the long-term. Through a holistic approach, the business’ expertise is unparalleled.   www.thewrightfit.com www.twfperformancelab.com    Episode highlights -   How to pick the most effective location that makes your business work and takes advantage of incredible levels of development across any neighborhood. Why your venture shouldn’t be driven from a business standpoint, but a qualitative perspective for the brand, and how you can achieve this. How to elevate the experience of fitness and wellness from a design perspective, from a service perspective and from a programming perspective combined. Why consulting is impressive but it’s still important to put your money where your mouth is and develop your own spaces with your own resources. How an athletic background and modeling career evolved into bigger passion for fitness and understanding everything to do with personal training, gym design and a world of wellness. How to develop your pursuit of a passion to grow from personal training to gaining operations experience and transitioning to the business side of the industry. Why there’s always opportunity to take advantage of if you’re willing to put the work in and you’re passionate enough to keep pushing for your success. The difference between staying small as a boutique business and growing really big, going along with the ride of development – how this decision offers two very different roads to success. The centrepoint philosophy and how it not only drives people to their goals, but also fills our emotional reservoir that affects what we know we should do and what we feel we should do. The intrinsic link between fitness and real estate, and how strategic partnerships can make or break any location decision or investment.   Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Jay Wright…

Cuoco Black came from a background of engineering and natural bodybuilding to rise an icon of interior and conceptual design. His work stands as a playbook for innovation with exciting branding that’s respected around the world. An Italian American, Cuoco also “recalibrated” his artistic ability after a professional visit to Paris, understanding how intellectual, cerebral, artistic and academic design can be, through a mix of the technical with the creative, blended together. Alongside his mission of trying to bring humanity back into fitness and wellness, Cuoco Black is breaking the mould of gym design, sharing his secrets in this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast.   Watch the full episode on YouTube    Cuoco Black grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. He studied engineering-based subjects before an epiphany led him to discover his passion for interior and architectural design through activities both in and out of education. He started teaching the subject, which gave him a good understanding of the technical side of things but soon moved on to helping business stamp a standout brand on any space. As a designer and academic in New York City, he began marketing himself to the fitness industry after realising how he could improve fitness spaces through conceptual design.  Cuoco Black is a trusted and respected master fitness facility designer, gym brand architect, design academic and natural bodybuilder. A former faculty member of the New York School of Interior Design, Black advocates for the development of conceptual and theatrical gym models that dominate consumer attention in any fitness marketplace. The designer promotes an ideal that fitness facilities must embrace design attributes, which embrace luxury, telegraph fitness, motivate fitness consumers to exercise; and most importantly, amplify the brand. His work includes independent gyms, personal training studios, women's only facilities, residential fitness centers and new franchise models.​     Episode highlights -   How any brand can improve its design influences, and why it’s important to create your own concept instead of borrowing them off other sources of inspiration. Why fitness consumers’ eyes move to whichever brand is offering something different and really standing out. How spotting trends may be just as useful in innovating by doing the opposite of what your competitors are doing, and not following the trend. Ways in which you can break the mindset that you need to go up against competitors with a similar offering – you need to avoid the blurred brand of similarity and do your own thing. What the 80:20 rule is and what it means for your construction budget in theory from a design standpoint. Why everything has to tag back to the brand concept in your interior space, to reinforce, strength and amplify your message and the experience for members. How social media platforms become an important part of your design when done properly. The key to longevity in design and experience, and how you can create a fitness space that lasts decades and still looks timeless. Why technology should have nothing to do with the fitness and wellness industry when it comes to gyms and studios.   Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Cuoco Black…

Charles Chen’s weight loss journey saw him lose 100 pounds before continuing his discipline to help others and rise up as an influencing businessman in his own right. His ventures have drawn interest from serial entrepreneurs Gary Vee and Tom Bilyeu, motivational speaker Gabrielle Bernstein and he’s now moving into the corporate world, working with companies such as Microsoft and Google.   Watch the full episode on YouTube.   A chef and wellness entrepreneur, Charles knows how to fuel his success in every respect. Host of Kitchen Hustle, creator of Dinner-Club, and founder of wellness media company Zzeal, he also appreciates the importance of bringing value to an audience.   Episode highlights  Why you should always be creating content instead of sitting around and waiting for opportunities to come to you. The explosion of growth in markets such as the emerging CBD industry, and how these are going to affect the food industry. How Charles’ focus on food has developed from a need to heal himself, having lost such a great deal of weight before using his experience and knowledge to help others as well as himself. The ways that a side hustle can develop into a full time career rather than just a hobby or passion in addition to other workloads. Why the brands you associate with is so important, and how you need to extrapolate your own identity into who you speak to and engage with online. How building something and creating a business that’s valuable to people is more important than being famous or getting on TV. Longevity is key to real success. Why word of mouth is still so important in business, despite there being so many opportunities to promote yourself and others on Instagram and other social media platforms. Learn about Charles’ “Trifector of transformation” – spirit, body, kitchen – the three things that are core to change in anyone. Why you need to tap into the essential human needs to discover what people want and how you can make their lives better.   Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Charles Chen…

This week we meet a man who has not only brought in £50 million in revenue and stood alongside the most famous figureheads and influencers – including sharing the stage with American presidents – but he offers tools and techniques that that change lives. His courses offers insights and implementation of how businesses can improve their message, deliver the ultimate presentation, or discover a new level of understanding in anything they do with world class public speaking, free online classes and coaching at all levels. Not only does Andy Harrington show how he’s a master of mindset, marketing and message, but this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a lesson in the most important skill you can improve.   Watch the full episode on YouTube   Andy Harrington travels the world teaching business owners and entrepreneurs to unlock a secret revenue stream that they never knew existed. Creating new leaders at every event, he breaks clients out of a limited mindset to increase their earning potential by turning passion into profit. Understanding the significance of storytelling, he escaped his own limits of a call centre job to start a business that has brought in over 50 million pounds in revenue, helping raise people’s confidence in public speaking and influencing others both on and offline. After working in a call centre making and around £1500 a month at the age of 29, Andy decided enough was enough and borrowed 10 thousand pounds from the bank to start his own business, which has now pulled in more than 50 million pounds in revenue. Andy has a passion in raising people’s earnings and breaking them out of a limited mindset so they can realise their potential. He has helped thousands of people globally break though these restrictions and improve their quality of life.   Episode highlights  Learn the importance of value, how you can improve your offering and why business is more than just about selling. Why you need a structure for presentations, but not necessarily a script in order to create a flow and be flexible in the topic that you know well enough. Why presenting is all about asking yourself the questions almost rhetorically, but answering them yourself to invoke a conversational speech that deepens an audience’s understanding of your subject or sale. How to overcome your social anxiety fear of looking foolish in front of people. Why education needs to lead any positioning or sales method to give bigger benefit to any customer or audience, followed closely by entertainment and emotion. What you need to change and evolve in your sales approach as the world of social media and building your personal brand grows and becomes more essential than ever. How to chunk out your offering to three methods of delivery for your customers: do it yourself, do it with you, and do it for you. These will bring different levels of engagement and income, with varying amounts of effort and service provision taking up your time or using other resources. The interesting differences between push and pull factors, or compulsion and addiction, and how you can create these feelings to aid your problem versus benefit experience around selling. You have to know how to subtly build a picture. How to get the blend right between commercial and content, and why missing this balance will lose the attention of an audience or potential client.   Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Andy Harrington…

Frank Zane agreed to this special follow-up episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast to give us even more insight into the life of a Mr Olympia icon. He tells us behind the scenes secrets of the Pumping Iron era, Gold’s Gym and working out with Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as how bodybuilders regularly helped each other improve, despite competitive nature. This is the life of a constant creator, improving muscle, music, body and mind.  Watch the full episode on YouTube   In this two-part episode, Frank Zane returns. His original Escape Your Limits podcast interview has been popular with millions of people on YouTube, social media and blogs across the internet. His insight into maintaining success well into your ’70s, proves that we can all stay strong throughout our lives. Frank is still idolised by people all over the world for an incredible approach to life in both mind and body. His honest, logical and spiritual manner has brought levels of focus and success that most can only dream of, through perseverance and physical perfection. There are some great lessons here that have not been covered before by Frank. To see how we can all keep the fitness blues away, we hope you enjoy this second interview with bodybuilding and Mr Olympia legend, Frank Zane. Frank Zane has won all of bodybuilding’s major titles including Mr. Olympia (3 Times), Mr. Universe (3 Times), Mr. World and Mr America. Frank is one of the leading experts on bodybuilding and active ageing. He is a world-renowned performance coach and the most highly educated bodybuilding champion. He has been named as one of the “Top 10 Legends of Bodybuilding” and also was awarded “The Best Physique of All Time” by Muscle and Fitness Magazine.   Episode highlights -  How meditation will empty your mind to allow you ideas and concepts to enter and aid your progress. A deep dive into the complexities and details of mindset from a multiple-time Mr Olympia. The importance of not using “powerless speech” or language that removes your control over yourself and your actions. Why you need to take photos of yourself – good and bad – so that you can observe your body as the world does and work on improving your physique, your mindset or both. What the three poisons are that hold us back in everything we do. How the awareness of lifeforms that have come before us manifest in our own subconsciousness, and how they continue to exist, life after life. How the prospect of death can be scary, but realising ways in which you can understand your mind and how it affects how you feel about longevity.   Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Frank Zane…

Frank Zane agreed to this special follow-up episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast to give us even more insight into the life of a Mr Olympia icon. He tells us behind the scenes secrets of the Pumping Iron era, Gold’s Gym and working out with Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as how bodybuilders regularly helped each other improve, despite competitive nature.  This is the life of a constant creator, improving muscle, music, body and mind. Watch the full episode on YouTube    In this two-part episode, Frank Zane returns. His original Escape Your Limits podcast interview has been popular with millions of people on YouTube, social media and blogs across the internet. His insight into maintaining success well into your ’70s, proves that we can all stay strong throughout our lives. Frank is still idolised by people all over the world for an incredible approach to life in both mind and body. His honest, logical and spiritual manner has brought levels of focus and success that most can only dream of, through perseverance and physical perfection. There are some great lessons here that have not been covered before by Frank. To see how we can all keep the fitness blues away, we hope you enjoy this second interview with bodybuilding and Mr Olympia legend, Frank Zane.   Frank Zane has won all of bodybuilding’s major titles including Mr. Olympia (3 Times), Mr. Universe (3 Times), Mr. World and Mr America. Frank is one of the leading experts on bodybuilding and active ageing. He is a world-renowned performance coach and the most highly educated bodybuilding champion. He has been named as one of the “Top 10 Legends of Bodybuilding” and also was awarded “The Best Physique of All Time” by Muscle and Fitness Magazine.    Episode highlights Why Frank Zane chose not to play a bigger role in the filming of Pumping Iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger and other bodybuilding greats. How to overcome failure, even when you’ve failed to the point of your own embarrassment, and how to come back stronger every time. What Frank Zane dreams of, and how he interprets these dreams to influence his own experiences. The origins of Muscle Beach, and why it moved from its original location. Discover the training schedule that Frank Zane and other bodybuilding and Mr Olympia greats worked each week, and why Frank feels that it was too intense in hindsight. The importance of documenting your goals and saying them out loud to teach your brain the secret of winning. How posing is an art form and why many don’t appreciate this world of kinetic sculpture, instead thinking it’s narcissism. How Frank Zane personally dealt with losing, why perseverance will beat anything, and how important it is to stick to your goals even when you don’t achieve them first time around. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Frank Zane...

A sought after mentor, analyst, advisor and consultant, David Minton, director of The Leisure Database Company has seen it all. Through exploring data, research and insight, he knows what it takes for companies and entrepreneurs to thrive, embracing the catalysts of evolution for member benefit. This deep dive into health and wellbeing is a lesson in understanding of the real state of the fitness industry, through data driven information and years of experience. Watch the full episode on YouTube – David Minton has unique insights to share from decades in health and wellbeing as an analyst, advisor, mentor and fitness futurist. A man that knows the importance of finding your target market, his company has spent years helping operators maximise potential, improve strategies and unlock the secrets to growth. Through customer profiling, site analysis, market data and in-depth reports, he can identify fitness industry intelligence trends for investment opportunities or to benefit members and gym goers before even they know what’s around the corner.   The Leisure Database Company is passionate about leisure market intelligence because David Minton and his team know that an understanding of your target market and customers enables good decision making, better investments, better strategies for success and happier, more loyal customers. All of which lead to a greater competitive advantage! The business seeks to maximise your potential in the leisure market. Providing the best market data, the best site and customer analysis and the best advice to develop your customer potential, it is the leading leisure market intelligence specialist.   Episode highlights Discovering developing algorithms and spotting trends in the days before social media and how these have become more intelligent over the years. How, even if you hate a particular subject at school, you can come to appreciate its application later on in life and use those skills every day for something you love. How the fitness industry has benefitted from David’s experience with supply and demand in his television background. Insights from the early days of Apple and how these relationships have developed into a longstanding relationship with offerings in the app store. How technology has evolved through television, radio, computing, GPS and more to lead data advancements that bring further insights into behaviour. Why boutiques have become better at offering personalisation and positivity through data use for member messaging, compared to traditional clubs that are often more general and even negative at times. The effect of ageism in the industry and how this can be avoided through understanding what older generations want from a fitness initiative; how the industry is missing the biggest demographic for success. Why public sector fitness spaces are not interested in who’s using their gyms, pools or studios, compared to the boutique model, which is incredibly personalised. The importance of brand and consistency, no matter where you are. What are the reasons why the fitness industry struggles with consistency or quality around the world? How the main sources of innovation comes from outside any particular industry, and why this brings the biggest user benefits that changes how we see businesses work.     Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with David Minton…

Kali Muscle is a master of money and motivation. Whether it’s building his body or building a business, he’s known for outworking anyone. Turning his life around after a prison sentence, he kicked his PT career off at 24 Hour Fitness before ‘making it’ as a larger than life YouTube star, inspiring millions and preaching that there’s no excuse not to get motivated.   Growing up, Kali Muscle was a youth pastor and man of God. At home, he wanted to prove to his mother that he was just as good as his high-flying brother. Through this motivation he became a great student until something horrible happened. His brother committed suicide. As the only man that Kali looked up to, it really affected him. However, despite the family tragedy, Kali he was still incredibly driven. He achieved a scholarship at Fresno as a strong safety in American football, going heads-up against the biggest running backs in the team. Through football, wrestling, or track, Kali would train until nobody else was working, even though he suffered from migraines, sickness and numbness every time he trained hard. Still angry about the death of his brother and out of money, Kali went down the path of robbing people before going on the run from the police. He was handed seven years in San Quentin prison, aged 19-years-old. Following his prison time, Kali started on a journey to become a professional bodybuilder with a job at 24 Hour Fitness, and eventually achieved YouTube, television and film fame. Whether heading up religious groups, prison gangs, or YouTube followings, Kali Muscle has always been in a position of leadership. Here’s his story about how he’s motivating millions today.   With such a back story of positive and negative influences, overcoming all the odds and turning his life around, today Kali Muscle is motivating millions to achieve success in whatever they want to do. On top of his prison stories, workout regimes, and inspiration for anyone to stay on the right path, he spends his time inspiring everyone through daily videos relating to fitness, gaming, cooking and vlogs for his two million YouTube subscribers. His life story is also available in his book – Xcon to Icon: The Kali Muscle Story.   Episode highlights -    Part one The importance of captivating attention on YouTube with engaging thumbnails and titles to create a real source of income. How it’s possible to be a one-man production company online. How even prison gangs have values and structure to their social groups and hierarchy, and how even the most desperate situations offer opportunities for negotiation and understanding. Why you must be aware of your own weaknesses and how to avoid letting them lead you down the wrong path, whether it’s because of tragedy, missed career aspirations or anything else. How even crime can be done by the book, and why Kali ensured that he’d be able to cope in the real world business when he came out of prison. How to pivot your career in the most extreme of ways based on your strengths, including how to turn your life around if you’re on the wrong path. Why success in anything depends on you doing your homework. Always stay hungry and surround yourself with great examples of whatever you want to be great at. How celebrity and fame may come from just concentrating on being successful and wanting to make enough money to be financially comfortable.   Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Kali Muscle…

Kali Muscle is a master of money and motivation. Whether it’s building his body or building a business, he’s known for outworking anyone. Turning his life around after a prison sentence, he kicked his PT career off at 24 Hour Fitness before ‘making it’ as a larger than life YouTube star, inspiring millions and preaching that there’s no excuse not to get motivated.   Growing up, Kali Muscle was a youth pastor and man of God. At home, he wanted to prove to his mother that he was just as good as his high-flying brother. Through this motivation he became a great student until something horrible happened. His brother committed suicide. As the only man that Kali looked up to, it really affected him. However, despite the family tragedy, Kali he was still incredibly driven. He achieved a scholarship at Fresno as a strong safety in American football, going heads-up against the biggest running backs in the team. Through football, wrestling, or track, Kali would train until nobody else was working, even though he suffered from migraines, sickness and numbness every time he trained hard. Still angry about the death of his brother and out of money, Kali went down the path of robbing people before going on the run from the police. He was handed seven years in San Quentin prison, aged 19-years-old. Following his prison time, Kali started on a journey to become a professional bodybuilder with a job at 24 Hour Fitness, and eventually achieved YouTube, television and film fame. Whether heading up religious groups, prison gangs, or YouTube followings, Kali Muscle has always been in a position of leadership. Here’s his story about how he’s motivating millions today.   With such a back story of positive and negative influences, overcoming all the odds and turning his life around, today Kali Muscle is motivating millions to achieve success in whatever they want to do. On top of his prison stories, workout regimes, and inspiration for anyone to stay on the right path, he spends his time inspiring everyone through daily videos relating to fitness, gaming, cooking and vlogs for his two million YouTube subscribers. His life story is also available in his book – Xcon to Icon: The Kali Muscle Story.   Episode highlights -    Part one The importance of captivating attention on YouTube with engaging thumbnails and titles to create a real source of income. How it’s possible to be a one-man production company online. How even prison gangs have values and structure to their social groups and hierarchy, and how even the most desperate situations offer opportunities for negotiation and understanding. Why you must be aware of your own weaknesses and how to avoid letting them lead you down the wrong path, whether it’s because of tragedy, missed career aspirations or anything else. How even crime can be done by the book, and why Kali ensured that he’d be able to cope in the real world business when he came out of prison. How to pivot your career in the most extreme of ways based on your strengths, including how to turn your life around if you’re on the wrong path. Why success in anything depends on you doing your homework. Always stay hungry and surround yourself with great examples of whatever you want to be great at. How celebrity and fame may come from just concentrating on being successful and wanting to make enough money to be financially comfortable.   Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Kali Muscle…