Lift Free And Diet Hard with Andrew Coates

This episode could have easily been titled "Mindset Mastery" but it fails to grasp the intelligence and depth behind this conversation with Kait Callahan. Kait is one of the most intelligent, knowledgeable, and articulate guests ever on the podcast, as she explores and challenges our fundamental beliefs systems and the emotional underpinnings of our decision making. Kait explains her philosophy of investing in skill development as the best return on investment. This episode should make you think, challenge how you allocate your time in your career, and challenge you to ask better questions to create greater client impact.

Kettlebell master and expect educator Marcus Martinez makes his long overdue appearance to chat about the key inflection points that led to his brand growth. Marcus shares how he navigates making kettlebells accessible to more people yet exploring the fun and creative side of their potential. We talk about how Marcus regular spends social time with a community of like minded and successful fitness professionals, and how this materialized. Marcus shares why he feels it's important to establish strong values early in your career so you can learn when to say yes or no to opportunities. He also shares how he's never worried about what other coaches are doing, he's focused on creating to help people.

I'm honoured to have Adam Bornstein as a first time guest. Long overdue, Adam is one of the industry's most influential figures, coaches, writers, and teachers of sustainable nuanced lifestyle and nutrition habits. Adam answer why coaches will get a ton of value from reading his new book "You Can't Screw This Up", a book written to help the overwhelmed, frustrated, and confused end user. We talk about coaching, asking better questions, and communicating with our clients in a way that supports change. Adam also answers why he's deliberately operated more behind the scenes rather than lean into aggressive forward facing brand development. Enjoy this episode and check out Adam's new book out soon.

Beth Feraco shares her experience hiring help and building a business off the back of social media success. Beth approaches her work from a place of "who can I help today", but has also embraced a willingness to "ask for help" herself. Beth shares tactics to get started and navigate social media growth, and how to leverage social media into systems like an email list. Beth also highlights some of the more challenging sides to social media "success".

IFBB Pro and gym owner Santana Anderson joins me to share how a strong community supported his gym through closures and led to a stronger business that supports and invests in its coaches. Santana shares how getting an IFBB pro card shouldn't be an all encompassing mission and how it doesn't alone guarantee career success. Also pay attention to how Santana flips conversation to make it about the other person, a demonstration of a rare but trainable skill that showcases why he's thrived serving others.

Eve Guzman and I both spoke at The Real Coached Summit in Las Vegas in March. Eve was the speaker who brought the most attendees because she mobilized the women in her community and mentorship to show up. Everyone had an amazing time. Eve shares how she battled obesity from a young age, lost the weight, pivoted from a science career in a lab, took a leap of faith, and started coaching others through evidence based nutrition. She was so successful other women kept asking her to mentor them. Eve shares her career progression and how she's build such a strong community. Eve talks about leveraging the support from key people around her while learning to turn off the naysayers. We discuss the power of embracing hard truths instead of peddling comforting lies in the effort to help more people feel healthier and empowered.

Mike Doehla returns to answer the theoretical question: what would you do if you didn't need the money? Mike lives this discussion having sold the company he founded, Stronger U, and we talk about what are the options and future directions for Mike to continue to do what he loves, helping people. We talk about pricing your services, the right to earn a good livelihood, how hard work and luck interplay for career success, and ask do we have an obligation to help every way possible. We also talk about the potential value in hosting a podcast and how to approach it.

Nick Shaw, CEO and co-founder of Renaissance Periodization(RP) returns to share how 2 personal trainers became the architects of one of the most successful and respected coaching and educational businesses in the fitness industry. We share nuanced thoughts on training online early in your career, the challenge and sometimes discomfort of building a personal brand, and to underlie it all with a "be of service" mindset.

Dr. Trevor Kashey discusses focusing on high value efforts in fitness, navigating the industry, tribal behavior, reevaluating weight loss systems, expertise misconceptions, and importance of skill acquisition in coaching for lasting lifestyle changes.

Dr. Christle Guevarra of Renaissance Periodization guests to deep dive into injury and recovery management for our clients. Christle emphasizes the importance of communication, keeping clients positive, and ultimately keeping them in the game. We talk about training strategies and if there's a practical limit to trying to progress while also trying to recover from injury. Christle shares why she pivoted into the fitness industry and the potential to scale her impact.