Optimal Aging

Rick Mayo is a veteran fitness professional and entrepreneur who’s helping to change how the industry approaches the underserved over-50 market. 

Rick has two locations of his Alloy Personal Training studio in the Atlanta area, including one that focuses on mature women. Alloy has been licensing its systems to gyms everywhere for more than a decade. And, just before the pandemic, Rick launched a franchise system to create gyms everywhere that grow with the mostly untapped potential of this demographic.

He’s also a speaker and podcast host, and sits on the advisory board of the Association of Fitness Studios.

On this episode, we talk about the challenges of the past year for his businesses and the industry; why the over-50 market retains all its potential for business owners; and why businesses need to focus on their avatars more than ever.

Resources and Links

Alloy Personal Training

RickMayo.com

Functional Aging Institute

RV Life article

10 Podcasts to Help You Sleep

Dr. Sean Pastuch, a former gym owner and chiropractor, founded Active Life to create better solutions than the modern medical model can provide. It manages physical pain without considering the emotional ramifications of the proposed intervention, he says -- like when a doctor tells a patient to stop running, playing golf, having sex, enjoying life etc....

“It's unacceptable,” Sean says. “We take an oath to ‘do no harm,’ but how is harm defined? I believe it is harmful to tell someone they have to stop doing what gives them great joy so that they can eliminate pain. So I came up with a replacement, a solution.

“We are the only company in the world helping thousands of people to get out of pain WITHOUT going to the doctor or missing the gym. We also educate health care providers and fitness professionals on how to provide solutions to their clients the way we do for ours.”

Resources and Links:

Active Life

Sean on Facebook

Purple Carrot

Green Chef

Best Face Masks article in Runner’s World

Betty White in People

On today’s episode, we’re talking to entrepreneur Will Torrez, who had a furniture company in San Diego when Covid-19 hit -- and he had to pivot hard to survive. With no background in fitness, Will used his engineering skills and manufacturing resources to create a padded bench that’s loaded with resistance bands to provide a full-body workout. The tool is selling well and could become a strong option for millions of who want to exercise at home without spending a fortune on Peloton, Mirror, or the other high-tech, high-cost options that are getting all the headlines.

Will says his company, Zeno Gym, has sold 15 to 20,000 of the benches, which start at $345. And he hopes to double that figure in 2021. Zeno has upgrades and other products, too, but the bench is the star. 

Interestingly, Will says he was surprised when he learned that many of his customers are somewhat older than he’d expected. Now, he’s leaning into that and making the most of Zeno’s appeal to people in their 40s, 50s, and above.


Resources and Links:

Zeno Gym

Catalina Crunch cereal

Audible

‘One Night in Miami’

Dan John is a champion athlete and veteran trainer with a ton of knowledge, tips and encouragement to share on being fit over 50. Dan is an All-American discus thrower. He has also competed at the highest levels of Olympic lifting, the Highland Games, and holds the American record in the Weight Pentathlon.

Dan -- inventor of the goblet squat, frequent contributor to fitness publications -- now gives workshops around the world, writes books, hosts The Dan John Podcast, and works with private clients from all walks of life including professional athletes and military personnel.

He remains active and competitive at age 63, despite injuries and setbacks that affect everyone a little later in life, even elite athletes.

danjohnuniversity.com

The Dan John Podcast

Sober January

Veganuary

BHU bars

WebMD article: Will COVID Stifle Usual January Rush to Gyms?

Kate Bay Jaramillo wears many hats as a fitness entrepreneur. She’s a ketogenic lifestyle expert, a master fitness instructor, author, podcast host, and the force behind Ketogenicliving101.com.

In addition, she helps “mompreneurs” and nutrition coaches build, launch and grow their online businesses.

Kate has a wealth of experience running successful online coaching business, and she shares that knowledge on this episode of the Optimal Aging podcast. 

Here’s how Kate describes herself: “A ‘Philly’ girl at heart, my family and I have learned to love the daily dose of Vitamin D the sunny skies of Florida provide us with. My husband Mario and I love raising our three girls and know how to rock a princess dress-up party like a boss! When I’m not soaking up the sun, painting nails, braiding hair, or testing out a new Keto recipe, you will probably find me reading, writing, listening to, or recording a podcast... I’m kind of a learning junkie!”

Resources and Links:

Ketogenicliving101.com

Kate’s Facebook page

Everything But the Bagel Seasoning — Part of a boxed set at Trader Joe’s or way overpriced alone at Amazon 

“Take Care of Yourself” commercial 

“Atomic Habits” by James Clear

If you’re trying to market fitness, nutrition and wellbeing to people over 50, then you need to get over your fear of selling. No, it’s not immoral of you to tell people how you can help them and to share your prices. Even this year!

Ryan McKenzie is a fitness business consultant from Orlando, Florida where he has worked with some of the best trainers, gyms and corporations in the world.

Ryan is an author, speaker and industry leader. His book "I Hate Selling for the Fitness Professional: 6 Steps to Making Serious Money in the Fitness Industry" has reached No. 1 on Amazon in the US, Canada, The UK, Australia, and Japan. 

Ryan helps large corporations and smaller fitness businesses apply the I Hate Selling sales system to every part of their operations, drastically increasing their member retention, lead acquisition, and new member/client sales.

Resources and Links:

I Hate Selling (book)

https://www.trainingwithryan.com/

Connect with Ryan

Virtual Walking Tours of New York City

Tim Cook on Outside podcast

Grippy socks 

David Rachal III studied Recreational Therapy and earned a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare. 

His HEALTH-E-FIT company is the first credentialed in-network provider of medical fitness services with the ability to direct health insurance reimbursement. That could give countless people over 50 more support than ever in getting fit -- and bring untold revenue to gyms and studios.

In 2019, David was named the first MedFit Professional of the Year in 2019 by the Medical Fitness Network.

Resources and Links

Health-E-Fit
David on Facebook
MedFitNetwork.org

Nathan Sports Safety Collection
What Is Aquafaba?
“Mank” trailer

A lot of gyms and studios couldn’t make it through the pandemic. But these three did -- and their diverse range of businesses, approaches, and methods will offer lots of lessons for anyone who wants to build a disaster-proof business that provides fitness over 50.

Join me for the roundtable discussion with:

Beth Donnelly opened Sarara Fit in the Washington, DC, area in February 2020, right before the coronavirus hit. She provides virtual and in-home training to older people.

Jackie Bachmeier has owned her studio, Evolution Fitness & Wellness in Houston, for more than four years. She specializes in small group personal training and one-on-one.

Paulo Andalaft has owned his studio, Fit Factor in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for about 20 years, offering one-on-one and small group training.

Resources and Links:

Sarara Fit

Evolution Fitness & Wellness

Fit Factor

Resistance Bands, Amazon’s Choice

Apple Watch 6

“His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope”

Everybody’s a writer in the Internet age, whether you like it or not. So take a few minutes to learn how to do it better, with more ease and confidence. 

Do you feel pressure to write more and more in your business? Between emails, social media, work proposals, performance evaluations, marketing materials and more… are you frustrated by how much writing you have to do? Do you wish you could do it better?

That’s what we’re talking about on this week’s episode of the Optimal Aging podcast, the first in an occasional series that will help you write better. And when this show is over, you’re going to feel like a stronger, more confident writer, no matter what the task. You’ll be armed with a bunch of no-nonsense hacks you can use right away to improve your communications and further your goals in any situation.

Join me, your host, Jay Croft, as I share a few tips culled from decades as a professional writer, editor, and content creator in media, corporate communications, and the fitness industry.

Other resources

“The Elements of Style” by Strunk & White

Grammarly

“Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content”

16 Ways to Write Better from Prime Fit Content

Weight-loss expert Amy Lang ran a successful gym in San Francisco for 15 years. But toward the end of 2019, she made a big change. She parted with Pacific Heights Health Club and went online -- which, back before Covid-19, was a pretty radical and very brave move. Then, after the pandemic hit, Amy realized she was an unlikely trailblazer, having already successfully transitioned to her Moxie Club, which helps women maintain a healthy weight and live a healthy lifestyle.

Prior to her fitness career, Amy had a successful tenure in high-tech, which might be why she seems fearless in transitioning from brick-and-mortar to her virtual business.

Here, she gives tons of great perspective on her journey that others will be able to apply to their own online business, as well. Her Moxie Club is a model for offering courses -- and then keeping graduates involved as paying customers.

The Episode at a glance:

[1:05] Introduction of the show

[2:45] Amy Lang’s background

[7:30] Involvement in weight loss solutions

[8:30] Pacific Heights Health Club

[9:30] Health club mission and kind of clients

[12:50] Closing her gym to virtual business even before COVID

[20:44] Reaching more people through online training

[23:20] Moxie Club - Lasting Weight Loss For Busy Professionals

[26:00] All about Moxie Club modules, meal plans, course trainings, etc

[30:00] Helping women over 50 with better eating and weight loss

[40:29] How her business deals with COVID

[42:39] Amy’s resources

[44:13] Three Things I liked this week

Resources and Links:

Moxie-club.com

Happy & Healthy Podcast

Amy on Facebook

America’s Turkey Trot

Right Rice

Should You Have Cheat Meals?