Escape Your Limits & LIFTS

Always growing and inspiring others on their paths to success, Frank Napolitano is passionate about personal development, new experiences and sharing knowledge with his peers for the betterment of everyone. In this episode, he gives us insight into how to survive and thrive as the president of the world's largest fitness chain. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/uQ2JRZvLm7Q Frank Napolitano isn't your typical fitpro. He started his career in public accounting before becoming a lawyer and then pivoting into real estate. It wasn't until 1984 that he ended up owning a single gym almost by accident. From here, he began acquiring and adapting larger facilities previously used for tennis that had become unprofitable. Growing this network with his business partner, Frank also developed a chain of hotels. However, it was the fitness industry he fell in love with. Frank has developed an understanding to know what both employees and customers need. He also appreciates the differences between what people want at different times in their lives. He's seen the fitness industry evolve and has implemented so much in the way of trend setting and decisions that have influenced business around the world. Today, with experience around the world in and out of the industry, he's perfectly placed to observe patterns of business, create culture underneath him in 24 Hour Fitness and continue to push the boundaries for both his own career and the success of others. Almost four decades of 24 Hour Fitness has seen the business nurture the career of countless fitpros. Many have gone on to build empires of their own around the world. This alumni is testament to the insight of founder Mark Mastrov and the ways of working that he created. Following the company's sale, Frank has been in 24 Hour Fitness for four and a half years, continuing the original journey of improving lives through fitness. With over 400 clubs in 13 states 24 Hour Fitness is showing no signs of slowing down, and Frank Napolitano explains why in this episode. Highlights include - Corporate lifecycles and how your position on a curve will affect your success if you don't act now. How to grow the industry on the back of fitness professionals. What clients need in order to keep motivation when personal circumstances change. Building the bones of a business, implementing the structure and identifying where you need to focus to lead your team to success. Why a good leader should lose the ego and be able to encourage and empower employees, making it possible for people under them to succeed. The importance of collaboration. Expand your circle of influence, surrounding yourself with good people and sharing ideas to continue to improve your business and that of others. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Frank Napolitano…

In this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast, we're invited to experience a party on a bike with president of CycleBar franchising, Ryan Junk. Ambitious, intelligent and experienced, Ryan takes us all on a ride to further our personal growth and understanding of what makes a great entrepreneur. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/hRY8AxHXHig Bob Marley fan Ryan Junk grew up in a small town in Hawaii. While he didn't graduate from college, his success has come following an original goal of becoming a district manager – Ryan has far surpassed that. He's passionate about educating employees to sell in the right way, embracing historical approaches and adapting them to the modern fitness space and needs of clients. Through understanding and intuition, Ryan has implemented his logic and quick reaction times to go from success to success in 24 Hour Fitness, UFC GYM and more before joining another one of the most successful companies around today. He explains the challenges and benefits of franchisee models, along with a revolutionary look at the evolution of customer experience, exploring how its link with sales is no bad thing. CycleBar is the world's first premium indoor cycling franchise, operating in over 400 territories around the world. Since being bought by fitness empire Xponential Fitness in 2017, the brand has seen mounting success, selling 365 studios in its first year under new ownership. Xponential is made up of eight different brands, and each one is run independently. Every CycleBar member knows it's more than just a spin class. The excitement and entertainment in the studio is backed by supportive stats delivered straight to their inbox afterwards. Episode highlights : The importance of implementing as many touch points as possible to service members or clients and enhance their experience. How to educate first-time members and provide a premium service at the same time. What members are going to the gym and to classes for, and why it's not information that they're after anymore. The difference between an entrepreneur and a franchisee, and how this can affect anyone's suitability at holding a franchise. How to hire and keep the right trainers that can provide the best instruction experiences and learn the ways of the business approach. Hear why business in the fitness space can easily descend into a downward spiral before closure, and how any boutique can avoid it. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Ryan Junk…

Host of the Escape Your Limits podcast, Matthew Januszek, looks back on the year and gives valuable insight on how to start a podcast, how to overcome challenges, and how to always keep improving in anything you do. It's been an incredible first year for the Escape Your Limits podcast. Across 60 episodes, guests range from Mr Olympia bodybuilding legends and UFC fighters to exciting new fitness entrepreneurs and veterans of the industry. Thanks to you, we've clocked up well over one million minutes of viewing time on YouTube alone. This final episode of 2018 aims to give a reflection on a successful year and more. Host Matthew Januszek will talk through how we got started, how we overcame challenges, what we've learned and how you can use the most important lessons to better your own life. Thanks for your support over the past year and thank you for listening. Watch the video – https://youtu.be/5L2pI4mUjXc Episode highlights Lessons we've learned about patterns within the fitness industry from key entrepreneurs worldwide. The most common advice that we've heard from CEOs, PTs, celebrities and other fitness icons; how this has benefitted their businesses and how it can help yours. Behind the scenes explanations of the challenges faced and overcome at the start of creating a podcast, and how to use these lessons to improve. Why anything you do needs to add value to the audience, customer or client, and how it can't just be about what you want or your business needs. The importance of goal setting and the real reason why so many successful entrepreneurs do it. How to overcome nerves in front of a camera for the first time, whether on a vidcast or on social media. Discover the importance and appreciation of feedback, and how it's vital for the continuation of improvement with anything. Join Matthew Januszek to look back on the Escape Your Limits podcast and what lessons we've all learned…

A world leader in both physical and digital fitness, Rasmus Ingerslev has founded innovative club chains, built business brands and successfully sold ventures to move onto the next entrepreneurial opportunity time and time again. Watch the full episode on YouTube - https://youtu.be/UgaOg8bxm3g Driven by looking after loved ones, Rasmus Ingerslev grew up with a single mother of three. He's always had a desire to create a safe environment around his family. His mother passed away from cancer when he was 16. One source of inspiration to succeed was a promise Rasmus made to himself that he will never be in the position where he can't afford to pay for any treatment relating to the health of his family. Aside from entrepreneurial ventures, he's also been a martial arts athlete – a heavyweight in the national karate team, winning a national team title as payback for all the hard work he put in. Alongside every great man is a great woman; in the case of Rasmus Ingerslev he stands beside his medical doctor and neuroscientist wife, Mouna Esmaeilzadeh. This performance power couple has gone on to rise above and beyond competition in either of their respective fields. Once a fighter, always a fighter – Rasmus Ingerslev's martial arts success has only been matched by a fighting spirit on his entrepreneurial journey. He holds many senior positions as chairman of Barry's Bootcamp Nordic, urban fitness chain REPEAT, investment group Stockholm Leisure Partners, and he's also Executive Vice Chairman of Wexer Virtual. Rasmus is a global leading businessman, forging the new path in digital fitness and sharing as many of his experiences with others along the way. Episode highlights - Understand determination and how a fighting mentality will set you up for success and help you overcome when times are tough. Knowing when to rest, both mentally and physically, so that you don't burn yourself out in business or in fitness. The same goes for the business itself – realising the timing of when to invest and add resources, or when to let productivity rest to find better timing in any market. The importance of written goals and how they'll fuel you to achieve your long term plans as well as celebrating the quicker wins, too. How Rasmus believes that martial arts is the best education in the world, thanks to the discipline and patience needed to succeed and progress. Why leadership, your location and your people are the three most important things to surviving any market trends and changes in the industry. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Rasmus Ingerslev…

Overcoming her own challenges and pushing herself at every possibility, Pauline Nordin knows the importance of physical wellbeing and mental health. As a competitive bodybuilder, top fitness model and television personality, she used her experiences to create Fighter Diet and prove that fitness is more about your mindset than the shape of your body. Defining both mental and physical strength, Pauline now runs her multi-million dollar fitness company, inspiring women to be the best versions of themselves. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/plSTV53PzAc Pauline Nordin travelled to the USA from Sweden in Europe after saving up to start a new life. To begin with while learning a whole new culture, she lived off a 99c store as that's all she could afford. However, that wasn't the start of her struggles. Pauline had been starving herself through anorexia between 12 and 17 in order to change her physical appearance based around a want for the contemporary skinny chic body. She would only eat one serving of beans a day. It was Arnold Schwarzenegger on the cover of a magazine that inspired her to learn more about diet, discipline and bodybuilding. That started a journey to success that has seen Pauline inspiring millions of others herself. Pauline launched Fighter Diet in 2015, to help people ignite the fight within, finding strength to push past the comfort zone. Fitness is an uphill battle that's worth fighting for! With a range of workouts, supplements, books and more, the Fighter Diet resource pool is full of inspirational information and education to change the lives of millions. Pauline hosts challenges every three months to drive progress and performance for her clients to reach their goals. Her social media engagement is second to none, and followers are keen to share their incredible results. Over a range of platforms, Pauline is driving people to make a real difference, whether they want to lose fat, improve nutrition, build muscle learn more or all of the above. For more information visit fighterdiet.com Episode highlights - Hear how some of the current trends in what is perceived by many to be attractive, such as the "thigh gap," directly contradict what fitness is all about. Find out how you can decipher the differences between diets, and how impatience is the driver of falling off the nutritional wagon. Why you need to think about fitness as a lifestyle rather than a project for an outcome, and how the industry can sell the benefits of fitness with much more longevity. How people are addicted to the extreme, thinking that a tougher workout will counteract bad behaviour when it comes to nutrition. How to overcome health issues, low metabolism, hyperthyroidism, and many other issues of wellbeing to improve your mind, body and life overall. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Pauline Nordin…

CEO of LiveFit, Randall Pich has been in the tshirt game since he was 14 years old. Today, he's implementing his years of knowledge, experience and lessons learned to build and expand on a brand that's heading for great things. LiveFit's lean machine of employees having been in business for six years. Through this efficient set-up, Randall and his team can turn brand assets around incredibly quickly, but it's not just about clothing. In this video, we discover the corporate side, including a first-look into LiveFit's new supplements line. Within LiveFit's premises, Randall also heads up a side project of his – Skylab Prints – for luxury printing services that's been scaled and made into a business of its own. Customers even include celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone. CEO and founder of LiveFit apparel, Randall Pich is a serial entrepreneur with a history of multi-million dollar success. Following a clear vision and strong brand values, he's riding the wave of social media popularity through endless apparel innovation in fashion and fitness. Join Randall and host Matthew Januszek on this tour of LiveFit and more. Watch the full podcast episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/cp1zMUQ_Nek

CEO and founder of LiveFit apparel, Randall Pich is a serial entrepreneur with a history of multi-million dollar success. Following a clear vision and strong brand values, he's riding the wave of social media popularity through endless apparel innovation in fashion and fitness. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/cp1zMUQ_Nek Randall was born and raised in the mix of poverty and gang activity in Long Beach, California. His parents had survived the genocide in Cambodia and came to the USA, making him a first generation citizen. Randall started his entrepreneurial journey making t-shirts for his band at school. Along with taking an interest in bodybuilding, he graduated high school and got into college – discovering its kinesiology department before getting certified as a personal trainer. Following a PT career, he grew his business while still at college. It didn't take long for orders to come in, business to increase, and the decision to leave a six-figure business and education for the life of a successful entrepreneur. The mission of LiveFit is to help people lead healthier and more fulfilling lives through active lifestyles. The brand represents a movement of empowering individuals to better themselves physically and mentally. Randall saw how the skate industry always created a team around products and talent, and spun that off into the fitness industry, leveraging on social media. For a long time he felt uncomfortable in front of camera until he knew it was key to scaling and growing his brand. He has since grown the social media following of LiveFit to over 500k followers, while also building his personal brand to 300k+ followers, both on Instagram alone. Episode Highlights - How vital it is to have a support network, whether it's growing up or in business, for personal or professional help. Ways to inspire trust from clients and find the need for your business. How a small business goes from popular products and restocking based on supply and demand before suddenly developing a clothing line out of almost nowhere. How deprived areas can provide a sense of hope and a seemingly endless source of success in multiple industries. How easy it is to waste time creating content that doesn't work, and how important it is to try, test, and react accordingly. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Randall Pich…

International speaker and founder of Retention Guru, Paul Bedford, knows the importance of behaviour, because he knows what we all do. Through continuous research, he's evaluated the effect of four million fitness space and gym member records across 40 countries. He's led data studies that change the way we think in the fitness industry, such as research from 357,000 customers over a four-year period from 100 different operators in a single retention report. This is how to get to know your customer. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/wudEgTwffaM Paul Bedford started in the fitness industry working in a YMCA as a gym instructor. He couldn't understand why members would come into the gym full of enthusiasm but then either stop doing the programme or stop coming in altogether. Paul realised the need for a better understanding of psychology over kinesiology when it came to keeping people in the gym. He undertook a Master's degree in exercise and health behaviour before following that up with a second one in research behaviour and finishing with a PhD. Paul Bedford and Retention Guru specialise in big scale studies over long periods of time, looking at member behaviour. In addition to industry benefit, he does a lot of work for individual companies such as Anytime Fitness, Mariott Hotels, The Gym Group, Lifestyle Fitness and more. It's all about traditional, statistical analysis to increase the lifetime of each customer in regards to retention. He uses this data to develop strategies, predict trends, and split members into groups based on behaviour. For example, he splits gym users into three groups – savvy, yo-yos or new – and understands how their needs greatly differ in what will keep them interested. For more info visit retentionguru.com or follow Paul Bedford's activity on the company's social platforms. On LinkedIn and Twitter, you'll find "lunchtime lessons" – a short point of information to help you better understand your members. You can also attend the Retention Convention in Birmingham, UK. Episode highlights : The difference between retention and attrition, and why many gym owners have probably been measuring statistics incorrectly until now. How to measure the activity of members to determine its effect on the business, and how you can interpret this information to decide how you need to react. Why physiological changes don't keep every member on board all the time, and how a psychological approach is needed to grow the industry and benefit more people. Learn the difference between member types, how much support they need and how they use fitness spaces. How to mitigate risk through multiple products, but also why you should brand them separately. How behaviour influences thought processes and not the other way around as many had previously assumed. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Dr Paul Bedford…

Joseph McClendon III is an ultimate performance specialist that has impacted millions of people to change their lives for the better. In this open and moving episode he explains how to overcome fear, attract positivity, and dare to make your life magnificent. Watch the full episode on YouTube –https://youtu.be/RYOq6AAOCZc Joseph McClendon III used to be homeless, living in a cardboard box after being the victim of a racial attack by three men. It made Joseph feel worthless and he blamed himself. During that time, he was given a book called Think and Grow Rich that changed his life. He turned everything around thanks to a new look and approach before adapting these ideas for himself and sharing them with others. Joseph went back to thank the person that gave him the book in the first place to say thank you, and was inspired to help as many people as possible in the same way. His path to success was borne from his lowest point. Today, with a doctorate in neuropsychology Joseph McClendon III has changed the lives of over three million people in 40 countries. His belief system helps individuals and audiences overcome fear and inhibitions to really get results. In this episode he explains how the beliefs about ourselves, other people, and the world around us are what make up our psychology. We learn about how every living thing puts out electromagnetic energy, captured by Kirlian photography, and how another goal of Joseph's was to become a successful musician, which he has also achieved through his passion for music. Episode Highlights - The importance of literally moving your ass to change your attitude – asstitude. Why you need to drink more water in order to hydrate yourself as often as possible; the effect of this on your motivation, and other simple hacks for positive impact in your life. How to overcome adversity, fear or anxiety to rebuild your life for the better. If your outcome in life is to go out and offer as much value to as many people as possible, then it will come back to benefit you in ways you can't imagine. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Joseph McClendon III…

Eitan Kramer is a world record holding vert ramp inline skater. He has travelled the world with Matt Hoffman, Tony Hawk and other action sports stars to lead a movement before putting his experience into effect with a whole new way of skating – the Morfboard. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/kWqToAira8E Eitan grew up in a time where action sports were growing with every street meet, every event and every competition. At 12 years old, he noticed that rollerblading was getting more popular. He wanted to be a part of it. Throughout his youth, skating went from being a hobby, to a passion, to a profession. Alongside other skaters, Eitan began innovating in an industry that had evolved from other sports to become its own market and movement. He set a Guinness World Record for the highest air in a half pipe at an MTV festival in 1999, while continuously travelling the world, skating with communities and sharing the mutual love for movement, regardless of any language barriers. Action sports have continued to evolve, led by approaches that Eitan and his friends put in place. Today, it's been taken to a new level with the 30ft air ramps that we see at events. Since skating, Eitan tried a stint in entertainment and acting before realising that show business wasn't for him and moving on to another pathway to success – the Morfboard. As a multisport introduction to numerous platforms, the Morfboard is a cost effective way to keep fitness and fun going no matter what you enjoy at any age. It's a modular system, with accessories that can attach and detach for skateboarding, scooting, balancing, commuting and more. Not only is Eitan and his team addressing movement in an exciting way to combine fitness and fun, but the Morfboard is forever adapting, with new boards, new colours and new accessories. Check out morfboard.com for more info. Episode highlights - How brands can be influenced by the consumer's influence vertically, as with the rollerblading community making improvements to their skates. The origins of influencers. The importance of providing for a consumer's needs, rather than promoting a product or message that you want to get out for any other reason. How creativity and talent in sports breaks down all other barriers of age, demographics and other interest. Discovering how much of a baseline of education is required in order to inspire comfort with a product and remove the fear of looking stupid. How you could be ruining your own control group when you present ideas through market research. Instead of a product's reality, you could be pushing your own enthusiasm across feedback instead of it being organic and reliable. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Eitan Kramer…