May 22, 2023

#208 - Joe Rosko - Founder of BFTS

1 hour 8 minutes

Joe Rosko / @builtforthestage

Tune in to hear how The Avengers lead to this week's guest accepting his claim to fame as “The Broadway Trainer.”

We even get a few off-the-cuff renditions of Shut the Eff Up Alan!

Joe Rosko is the founder of Built For The Stage, Broadway’s #1 online fitness training platform, and its accompanying podcast on Broadway Podcast Network (with over 200 episodes to date!). In the past six years, Built For The Stage has trained clients in over 50 Broadway shows and on international stages around the globe. BFTS clients can currently be seen in such Tony-nominated and Tony-winning shows as “Some Like It Hot,” “& Juliet,” “New York, New York,” “Wicked” and “Hamilton." Joe has some terrific fitness and overall wellness tips about preparing for this busy and exciting time leading up to Broadway’s Biggest Night.

Joe began his professional career as a trainer and actor at the exact same time in 2007. Since then, it has been his mission to build a bridge between the worlds of fitness and theatre. Joe believed that actors were truly professional athletes but didn't feel as though the theatre community was equipped with the proper resources to train like said athletes. This realization led to the creation of Built for the Stage. Joe and his coaches pride themselves on having the unique abilities to continue a performer’s fitness progress while being in or out of a show.

Connect with Joe on his website, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

Make sure to follow this podcast everywhere you find podcasts, leave a rating and a review, and slip into our Instagram DMs at @wasitchance.

More about Heather via @vickeryandco on Instagram, @Braveheather on TikTok, and listen to The Brave Files

More about Alan via @theatre_podcast on Instagram and listen to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales

EPISODE TAKEAWAYS

Broadway performers are the Olympians of theater.

It’s important to challenge your body in different ways to protect it during such rigorous work as eight shows a week.

How the hell did Joe get here? It was the perfect storm of three specific things:

He started playing sports at the age of 4

A middle school girlfriend talked him into trying out for the school play

An entrepreneurial spirit.

Joe studied theater in college and continued to do both theater and sports. While performing in school shows he was also playing football which is a little nuts, if you ask us.

Built for the Stage really started in college when he started training fellow actors at the age of 18.

Although his fellow athletes gave him a little shit, they were always supportive and sat in the front row when he did a show.

Everything in life is mental. It’s all about what you decide to make it.

After college training was a “survival” job.

He discovered Crossfit in NYC and ended up managing a gym which led to early virtual training.

In order to be accessible to Actors, no matter their work status, all of Built for the Stage’s programs have always been virtual.

During the pandemic, Joe lowered the cost of the Built for the Stage app and donated proceeds to the Actor’s Fund.

While it may look like it’s all rainbows and butterflies it’s not. Joe works countless hours, drives and flies thousands of miles, and puts his whole heart and soul into the work.

Although Joe does have a bit of a Midas touch, he embraces failure with the mindset of “never be afraid to ask” and this has helped lead to his massive success.

Having a really great niche is game-changing!

Built for the Stage Podcast on BPN.

Joe is a big believer in the power of no. Stay focused and don’t say yes to things that don’t serve you.

https://builtforthestage.com/ - fill out the form and ask about our next fitness challenge!

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By Broadway Podcast Network

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