Fitness Business University Podcast

SPEAKER_01: What's up guys?

Welcome to another special
episode of the FBU podcast.

Remember, this year I am taking
a really, really cool angle on

the podcast and once a month
doing an interview with an SPF

member.

SPF is the name of my mastermind
group, and I have tons of gyms.

And the hardest thing for me to
do is only do 12 of these this

year, and needed to pick one gym
owner that's kicking ass and

taking names.

And I definitely couldn't have
had that list of 12 without the

guy I'm talking to you today,
and that is TJ Lopez from AMP.

He is out, and we have a bunch
of gyms actually that have the

name AMP.

So I gotta be I gotta be
specific one and only TJ Lopez,

who have mentioned in many other
podcasts, and I've talked about

him before.

He was our 2025 Gym Owner of the
Year Award, put up some monster

numbers last year and continuing
with some big ones over the

course of this year, too.

So super excited to have TJ on
the podcast.

TJ, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_02: Thanks, Vince.

Appreciate you having me on.

And yeah, it's been a long time
coming.

SPEAKER_01: Awesome, brother.

Give everyone like a little bit
of just 35,000-foot view of you

and name of your gym, where
you're at, and all of that.

SPEAKER_02: Cool.

Yeah, my name is my name's TJ.

My gym is called AMP.

AMP stands for athletic movement
protocol.

Started the business back in
2013 out of a converted bathroom

inside of a baseball facility.

So prior to that, I was working
with a lot of pro athletes,

baseball players.

Cece Sebatio was my main client,
you know, kind of my claim to

fame in the sports performance
world.

And back then when I started the
business, I was essentially

started from zero and was
working with, you know, mainly

baseball players, not even
mainly athletes, like

specifically college baseball
players.

So I had a very much of a
specific niche that I was

working with.

But prior to opening the gym, I
had always followed, you know,

people like UVance, people like
uh Alan Cosgrove, the people

that, you know, Tom Timmer that
were talking about these kind of

like hybrid gyms of you know,
adults and athletes.

And the thing that about my
business was especially that's

why I gave the name in the
beginning, because it was very

athlete-based, and I think it
was a little scary.

And it was probably a little bit
more of my opinion of my own

business, where it really took a
long time for me to really build

my adult programs.

Back in 2013, I was in a little
space by myself, grew the team,

grew the business, kind of
opened up inside of another

baseball facility and then
another baseball facility.

And I just kept kind of like
finding my way into like bigger

spaces until I finally signed my
own lease back in now it's been

2016, 2017.

Since then, we've expanded that
original location another two

times.

So we're right now we're in
7,500 square feet in Syasa, and

I had a second location going
back to my roots inside of a

baseball facility, and we're
growing that business now way

faster than I grew my original
business.

And the hoax and and uh is that
we're gonna be opening up an

adult program.

We have a few adult clients
there, but we're gonna be

opening up an adult program this
summer in that location.

And location number three is
hopefully right around the

corner.

We're in talks with a new
location that's actually five

minutes from my house.

Two of these locations.

One one's about 30 minutes, the
other one's about 50 minutes

from my house.

So it'd be nice to have one
right in my backyard.

And, you know, no announcements
yet, but but we're we're working

toward getting that third
location.

So it is a tremendously
different business over the last

13 years.

And my my frustrations of not
being able to get away from

training athletes only without
being a part of the SPF

mastermind, without being a part
of, you know, under your

tutelage and and the rest of the
group, I there's no way I'd be

where I am today in a business
that I'm just doing my my

finalizing my 2025 numbers.

And it looks like our adult
fitness is about 62% of our

total revenue uh in our main
location.

I'm at about 50% of our total
revenue overall.

That was the thing that, you
know, back in probably 2018,

2019, we would battle on, you
know, what am I gonna, what am I

gonna focus on?

But you know, without the growth
of the adult program, we again

we again we just wouldn't be
where we are today.

And that's you know, it's a huge
part of the success of the last

like five years for sure.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we were
talking about that before we

started recording about how many
gyms out there are doing you

know the split business that
they train athletes and they

train adults.

And typically the typical
pattern is just the pattern I

started with, and the pattern
you started with is I'm an

athlete guy, I'm a sports
performance guy.

And then your my season was
football, your season was was

baseball, right?

And all of a sudden we finish
our busy season, we like stack a

bunch of cash, we finish our
busy season, and all of a sudden

we're like, what that the the
the amount of emotional roller

coaster that I went on that I
know you've gone on, um an

athlete-only gym is tough.

It's really hard.

I can go on a limb and say there
are there are almost none

athlete-only facilities that
sleep well at night.

SPEAKER_02: The roller coaster
of emotion, yeah, like the ones

we could pick out, like Eric
Cressy, right?

Like there's a guy that I
followed.

Yeah, and I think him shut the
business down.

Like certain times of the year,
they actually shut the business

down so they would save costs.

They don't do that anymore.

And yes, they have added adults,
I think, in both of their

locations, but it's it's it, I
would say it's impossible.

It's impossible to have
longevity.

A lot of the places that I
compete against that are kind of

like athlete only, even though
they might have a small adult

program, the owner usually is
not a full-time owner.

They usually have another job.

They're either a teacher,
they're a physical therapist,

and these are things that like I
didn't know.

You know, it's like, oh, if that
guy can do it, I can do it.

And but it's um, this is my only
thing.

It's not like I I have another
career that this is like uh an

afterthought.

So I think there are a lot of
places that just because you

know, maybe the owner doesn't
necessarily need to pull a lot

on a business and they don't,
it's not their only thing,

they're able to keep that up
long for longer periods of time.

But I would say that three to
five years of launching to like

that fifth year was when I
really had to make a decision of

what I was gonna do because it
was not sustainable.

It was essentially, you know,
exactly the five-year mark was

when I joined the group, and it
was we had just lost a big

contract.

We you know, I was training
CeCe, his career was coming to

an end.

Let me start in.

So there was so much more.

SPEAKER_01: I want to paint this
picture and and kind of tell

this whole story.

Yeah.

So you were training just
athletes, right?

And when did you join SPF?

What year?

2018, 18th.

So you came to an event, right?

You came to one of our things at
my gym.

I think was A B at the one that
you were at too.

A B, Joe Riggio.

God, that was like a heavy
hitter.

Yeah, that was a heavy hitter
group.

So you're basically, I used to
have these events in my gym, and

I'd bring like 10 guys into a
room and I would just tell them

at that point, it was just
here's what we do at Gabriel

Fitness.

Like, we do this and we do that,
and it was like everything.

But you were at that, and then
you joined SPF.

So so I want to paint the
picture because it's easy for me

to talk about TJ, you now, and
how great everything is and how

much money you're making, all of
that, but that sometimes

overwhelms people, right?

I think it's important to tell
people where you were in 2018.

So what's the podcast?

What were the challenges?

Yeah, were you listening to
this?

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, for
sure.

SPEAKER_01: So, what were the
challenges?

What were the struggles that you
were facing that made you

decide, like, I need to get some
help, I need to get some regular

guidance in terms of coaching
for what to do to grow my gym?

SPEAKER_02: Well, you know,
again, I had seen your your

progress in in the field and
essentially being mainly

athlete-only, former college
football player like myself,

opening up in your hometown.

You know, I saw that the uh
similarities there and you know,

just your ability to grow that
adult program and market to the

adult program.

I had no marketing experience.

I hadn't spent a dime on
anything.

You know, I was just working off
of referrals and you know, grit

just going door to door to these
organizations and whatnot.

And I not just that, I think,
you know, it I was getting

overwhelmed with the just my own
schedule and feeling like I had

to do everything.

I I was not a good leader.

I did not know how to, you know,
kind of, you know, delineate the

work.

And you know, that that was
probably a big part of my

frustration was feeling like if
I didn't do it, it didn't get

done.

And I think I would say, like,
you know, that the low-hanging

fruit for me was understanding
how to market and grow an adult

program.

I think that was the number one
reason why I had joined, because

I realized that the cyclicality
of making money three months out

of the year and then essentially
giving it all back in in losses

for the next three months or
four months, and then having a

decent summer.

It was just the ups and downs
were just too much.

I knew I had a kid on the way.

There was there were just so
many things that that made me

realize that I needed help.

And I have been seeking this
type of help for a really long

time.

And I had other business coaches
over the years that just never

resonated with me.

Part of it was that they didn't
own gyms and they were giving me

this advice that was more for
like virtual coaching and like

online and maybe social media
influencer type.

SPEAKER_00: You could wake up at
four o'clock, TJ.

Lazy bastard.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, let's let's
not let's not uh specifically

call out anybody individually,
but I think that those are the

types of things that, you know,
especially you from New Jersey,

you meet from Long Island, very
similar.

And then just that following
your career and seeing, you

know, you help other business
owners just like myself, you

know, and it took me a long time
to learn.

Even once I got in the group, it
took me a while to learn.

But it was because I had built a
business that was completely

reliant upon myself.

And and again, I was just I
thought I was a good leader, but

I wasn't.

You know, I thought that I was
clear and I thought that I was

really good with, you know, even
just with the numbers and

whatnot, but I wasn't very good
with predicting.

I wasn't very good with setting
good goals and and communicating

those goals to my team.

And I wasn't holding anybody
accountable, including myself.

So those are the types of things
that I saw, the lessons that you

were giving on a regular basis.

And five, six years later, we're
still we're still sitting here

today and I'm still learning
every quarter.

SPEAKER_01: I want to ask you
more about the ups and downs.

I know we were kind of
mentioning it before, but I

think this is important because
I think not people go through

this business of
unpredictability, which causes a

lot of stress.

For you and me, it was the
unpredictability of we had a

bunch of business coming in, and
then all of a sudden it dropped

off the face of the planet.

But there's also people that
just train regular adults now,

too, that have this, you know,
one week they get, you know,

five leads, and then the next
three weeks they get zero leads.

Talk about the stress of the ups
and downs of a business and what

you were going through at the
time and kind of paint that

picture of that stress that you
were going through with the ups

and the downs.

SPEAKER_02: First and foremost,
I never really had a sound

foundation that I was working
off of.

I was renting from these other
facilities that that instability

and you know, there was no
certainty in what was going to

happen tomorrow.

Whether that baseball facility
was going to put up business,

they were gonna kick me out, or
they were gonna raise my rent.

Like I remember I first started
renting, I my first like

sublease was a supposedly it was
a legitimate sublease.

By month five or six, their
business wasn't doing well, so

they came in and they tried to
double my rent.

So, like those types of things,
I was very reactionary to

stress.

And I was, you know, making I
was focusing way too much on the

things I couldn't control, and
that was really throwing me off.

On top of that, the cyclicality
of the business and my only

source of leads were showing up
every day and prospecting inside

of the baseball facility or
emailing organizations or going

to organizations.

So it was like it was 100% my
effort that would get somebody

through the door.

And then obviously it was my I
was doing all of the sales, I

was doing all the programming,
the coaching.

So again, overwhelmed, not
knowing out how to really take a

step back and get out of my
business.

I probably I would think that
first event that I had gone to

was probably one of the first,
if not the only, business event

that I was able to kind of take
that step back and look at my

business without the distraction
or without the stress of being

inside of my business.

And I think that was pretty
eye-opening in just in itself,

just being me leaving the
business for a couple of days

and it not falling apart before
I left, you know, as I left.

And yeah, there was no, there
was no, you know, the only way

that I could predict was based
on what I did the previous year.

And because I was a smaller
business, there wasn't a lot of

a lot of data to go off.

And, you know, I didn't have a
CRM, I didn't have a marketing

plan, I didn't have, I wasn't
paying for any any type of

advertising.

So it was just flying by the
seat of my pants in in in many,

many ways.

And and yeah, I mean, that is
just very there's no stability

in that plan down to even being
able to put myself on payroll.

Like the first 18 months, 24
months of opening a business, I

didn't put myself on payroll.

You know, all of those budgeting
things, and I've learned so

much, you know, from you and and
Mike Waldron about how to budget

better, all of those things, the
discipline has come with just

repetition.

And I just didn't have any of
that for the first five years.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that's
great.

And and and you've we've worked
together so long, and there's so

much that you've done and well,
you know, since that time.

There's also plenty of mistakes
that you've made too, and as we

all have, right?

But I think one of the things
that the big defining thing, I

think, for you that really
exploded your business was

finding that balance of adults
and athletes, right?

You you had you you were like,
and way more than I was, like

you were like a known,
well-known, famous person.

You haven't mentioned it because
you're not a name dropper, but

you're you're CC Sabatia's
personal training, which brought

a ton of credibility to you in
the Long Island area.

So you had that, but you were
like the, you know, like what

Cressy was to his area.

You were like that in Long
Island.

And so you had this massive
reputation, but we still had

these uncertainties around
revenue because of it.

And it really wasn't until you
went all in on the adult

program.

And when I say all in, you still
train athletes, right?

But you took that seriously,
that's when we saw your business

go to another level.

So it's kind of stopped there.

And I want you to talk about
that process of getting that

adult program from an athlete
performance facility, getting

that adult program going to the
point where now how many

members, adult members do you
have now?

SPEAKER_02: In in this one
location, 180.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like 100, 185.

And you were like for a while
hovering around like 30 and 40.

And yeah, you would come to the
20 to 30.

Yeah, you would come to the
meetings and you say, I still

got 30, I still got 30.

And I was like, come on, let's
go.

Like, like, and now you're at
185, with like a they're paying

like four or five hundred bucks
a month.

I mean, so it's a monster amount
of recurring revenue that you're

generating now.

But there was a rut in a really
long time where you're hovering

of 20 to 30 adults.

Yes, talk about what was the
thing that got you.

It wasn't it happened pretty
quickly.

It there was an explosion for
you.

SPEAKER_02: Hundreds of it, it
was the who not how lesson.

It was essentially, you know,
prior to COVID, I was

essentially, you know, piecing
it together with a bunch of

strength and conditioning
coaches, sports performance

coaches that really were working
at AMP to train athletes.

And the adult program was always
an afterthought.

It would be coach would come in
Monday morning and then work the

rest, the rest of the week would
work in the evenings, and then

another coach would do Wednesday
morning, another coach would do

Friday morning, and I would be
doing most of those days myself.

So we were kind of like piecing
it together with staff, which I

would say was was a big mistake.

And it was never anybody's like
full focus, uh including mine.

You know, we we obviously did
our our we did our best with our

athletes.

We at times we were peeking out
around 120, 130 athletes, and

then it would go all the way
down to 40.

And then when whenever we would
go down to 40, that's when we

would really focus on trying to
build an adult program.

And then the athletes would get
in the way, and it was it was

always kind of like an a
secondary goal, and it had to be

at least one person's main goal.

And that's when in 2020, I hired
a former intern of mine, her

name is Hannah.

And when I brought her on full
time to only focus on the adult

training, that's when the
business, when that's when I was

able to switch back into a
building, having a mindset of

building something, as opposed
to just like juggling too many

things at once.

And we were able to really
double down on focus, on getting

referrals from our adult
clients, on marketing, paying

for marketing.

You know, we kind of launched
the program with a challenge.

We had been doing challenges,
never really focused too much on

it.

In that challenge itself, I
think we went from it was

post-COVID.

So we were even at times we had
like 30 or 40 clients in the in

the program.

COVID brought us down to like
18.

So we might have been around 25
at the time when we launched our

first challenge.

We went from 25 to 40 clients
right then and there.

And then we just grew.

We actually, I'm looking at our
numbers because I'm doing our

our document for the next for
this week, and we almost doubled

every single year since COVID,
except for this year, because we

have grown so much it's kind of
hard to double.

But we had grown, we had doubled
every year for three straight

years in revenue and numbers.

And it it was all because I was
able to hire one person that was

the head of personal training of
our adult program, and we really

just focused on on building that
through you know paid mark

marketing was a big help, but
also just referrals from our

adult program and for our
athletes, you know, parents of

our athletes.

And that thing, especially with
the cadence of having the three

challenges every year, we're
running more events now, but the

three challenges per year, we do
our our summer shred, we do our

new year, new you, and our fit
for fall.

So those three throughout the
year, those three, every time we

do a challenge, we come out with
more clients after that.

The fact so having that's
essentially like the basis and

the foundation of our marketing
calendar.

And I've always found for myself
having deadlines and having an

event-based marketing calendar
has really helped us because it

puts some urgency behind what
you're doing.

Hey, we're launching this
program, like we just launched

it, it started today, our New
Year and New Year's challenge.

And those things have really
been able to, you know, every

nap for the last two years,
three years, really focus on

getting the adults or the
parents of our athletes into

that program.

And I would say that our growth
has happened almost like in

steps, where we'd kind of we'd
have 40 clients, we'd grow to

55, and then we'd keep those
clients 55 to 60.

And the next time we're in a
challenge, we went from 60 to

80.

And then we we we coast for a
while, and then we go from 80 to

100.

And it was like, you know, with
a very good, really focused

ground retention, we've been
able to just gradually increase

by that 50 or 60 or 80 percent
in numbers.

And over that period of time,
we've also been able to raise

our prices.

It's just been a lot of just
consistency over the last five

years and and you know, getting
the ideas from the group and

implementing in the next 90
days.

Like that's been like the stupid
power for the last six years

now, since since COVID.

SPEAKER_01: You said who not
how, and I think that sums it

up.

What can you explain?

That to the listeners, what what
is who not how?

SPEAKER_02: Yeah.

So in the beginning, when I was
when I would be faced with a

challenge, I would look at like,
how am I going to get this?

How can I figure this out?

I have to figure out marketing.

I have to figure out how to grow
this adult program and make it

something that I'm proud of that
I can sell.

How can I sell more people X?

How can I?

It was always, how do I do it?

And the who not how is
essentially who.

It said, okay, this is my
problem.

Who can I either hire to fix
this issue?

Who can I something like it hire
an agency, hiring a marketing

agency so that I don't have to
figure out Facebook ads myself?

I was trying to figure out
Facebook ads myself wasn't

working.

And then, you know, just
leveraging your team,

leveraging, you know, the the
relationships that you have in

the community.

How can I build my adult
program?

Well, I have uh, you know, 120
athletes that all have two

parents.

So that's, you know, right then
and there I have 250 leads that

I'm not really marketing to.

So all of these things that just
switch and kind of like change

your thought process to making
it as like putting on more work

on your plate as opposed to like
collaborating with someone and

still putting in that same
amount of effort but getting top

double or three times the
result.

And you know, you have an idea
and it's always going to stay in

that idea phase if you don't
have someone on your team that

can take an act action on it.

SPEAKER_01: Was that difficult
for you to make that higher?

To because at the time, like it
was a situation where we're only

at what 20 adults.

You didn't need a full-time
person to focus on the program.

So it was kind of like an
investment, I guess you made

into the business.

What kind of you do that?

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, it was
a tough decision, especially

coming out of Boga to, you know,
keep mentioning that.

But I had just brought on my
first kind of like full-time GM,

and you know, that was an
investment in itself to really

help the stability of the
business.

And then on top of that,
investing in a full-time

employee when we really, like
you said, were piecing it

together with what we have,
right?

If I if I wanted to keep it
where it was, it would have been

fine.

But in order to really grow it,
I knew that we had to make that

investment.

So yeah, I think it had a little
bit to do with, you know, just

take making a bet on myself and
the right person.

You know, that was always a
tough thing for me.

Was we've always done a really
good job hiring through our

internship program.

So having someone that I knew
was going to be a good fit, when

I wrote the job ad, I wrote it
to Hannah.

And I told her that after the
fact that she she took the job.

She didn't apply until like week
three or four in that job

posting.

You know, in the beginning, I
was very, you know, I was

interviewing and not not coming
up with a one.

SPEAKER_01: And wrote it to her
knowing that she was she you

knew she was.

SPEAKER_02: She was an intern.

So she interned with us the the
summer prior, right?

So in in 2019, she had interned
with us.

And she had took taken a job
after graduating with another

gym.

And when I put this job ad out,
I I had, you know, I didn't want

to reach out to her because she
was already working somewhere

else.

I didn't want a poll trip in
another gym.

But I was like, the the and I I
remember telling you know the

rest of my team, I was like, the
right person for this job is

her.

And that's just you know who I
was writing it to in the, you

know, when I had on top top of
mine.

And she she wound up reaching
out, applying, and the rest is

history.

So, you know, that was you know,
the first step is getting the

right person.

And then step two was really
like putting myself now in an

actual leadership role and
putting myself into that CEO

role to actually oversee the
business and focus now on

building something as opposed to
just trying to hold it up.

And I think that you know, that
that change really in in just

like that mindset shift allowed
me to then actually test my

abilities as a leader and test
my abilities as a marketer.

Because obviously we hired, we
hired KISS Marketing, but that

it doesn't start and end right
there.

You have to be involved, you
have to build it, you have to

make sure that it's that it's
that it's it's done the right

way.

And and then that was a la that
allowed me, taking that

financial risk in the beginning,
allowed me to then build a

business that, you know, the the
adult business still wasn't

really profitable until about
like a year or two later.

Because, you know, we did we did
hire Hannah full-time, and then

we we had to hire another coach,
you know, as a part-time, and it

was like it was kind of just
breaking even, but it was

growing.

And that was kind of like the
you know, the the letting me

know, okay, we're we're on the
right path.

It's just gonna take a little
bit of time.

And and that's one thing about
me that you know, I guess I've

always been consistent and I've
always kind of like kept my head

down and I've been patient,
sometimes too patient.

I think sometimes like I've just
allowed things to take too long,

but I always had faith in it, I
always had confidence in it, and

it only took a couple of years,
but it did it did turn around

and you know become the biggest
part of our business that you

know that it is today.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I want to
I want to shine the light on

where the business is because
it's really, really impressive.

You won and with going against
some pretty tough competition,

some really good gym owners last
year.

You uh were uh one of three
candidates of the SPF Gym Owner

of the Year Award, and you took
the crown, you raised it, you

raised the belt over your head,
and it was really I was really

proud of you.

I really uh loved to watch uh
that moment and see you so happy

and see you dressed up as Stone
Cold Steve Austin at the same

time, which is funny.

But just paint a picture of of
where the business is right now,

from where's the revenue at,
where's the location's at?

Like where what is AMP today?

Where's like before it was a
stressed-out guy trying to keep

everything afloat, and now you
know you're a legit CEO, you're

a legitimate CEO of a large
business in a large company.

I know you're respected by
people in your community as a

business owner, you're respected
in our group tremendously.

People come to you for advice
all the time.

You give, I've always said this
to you, even when you were

struggling, though, you were
always very good at giving

advice.

You always were very insightful
with the advice that you gave

other business owners.

I was always super impressed.

I always said, if I need another
business coach, I was gonna hire

TJ because you do you do a
really good job of that.

But paint it, paint a picture,
things are going well for you

right now, pin picture of where
everything's at.

SPEAKER_02: Awesome.

Yeah, no, I appreciate all that.

And 2024 was essentially the the
year that I won business.

SPEAKER_01: So the year was
2024, but we announced it in

2020.

unknown: Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: So beginning of
2025.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, and
that was probably the first year

where everything started to come
together for us as a business.

You know, numbers-wise, we did
just over 1.5 million last year.

In I'm sorry, in 2024, we did
just over 1.5 million.

And the previous year we hadn't
broken the million dollar, so we

were just like$9,000 shot.

We had just broken through that
million dollar mark, and we had

also added a second location,
which was a huge help.

And uh and it was a it was a
profitable year for us.

And this year, we're we just
we're in our second location,

second, second year of our
second location.

We are just under$1.5 million in
our main location.

So we almost you know kind of
hit what we did as a business

completely in one location.

So we did 1.85 million this
year.

And you know, that's if if I had
known that like five years ago

as to like where I was today or
where I was five years ago, I

would have said probably not,
even though I was a an optimist,

you know, at times, you know, I
I was it was a struggle to to

kind of see through it all.

And so yeah, I mean, right now,
I would say like the major

difference of my business is
focus.

You know, I was one of those
tiny object guys that would

always chase, you know, the next
partnership, chase the next

facility, chase the next
program, whatever it might be.

I I would never met an idea, a
bad idea in business.

And I was just trying to do too
many things.

You know, my business was just
very disjointed.

I had a rental business, I had a
pretty much a physical therapy

business, I had too many things
going on all at once.

I was still training pro
athletes.

So it was like now I have focus.

It is I focus on my main
location, obviously, is the main

thing.

And my second location is able
to thrive because of the

stability of my main location.

And I just have an amazing team.

And the people that have been
with me, now I've got, you know,

more than half my team has been
with me for more than three or

four years.

So, you know, I've been able to
really build an amazing staff

that understands and sees the
vision.

And that was something that I
really struggled with early on,

too.

Like you said, you know, I do
feel like a CEO today.

You know, even three or four
years ago, I wouldn't have

called myself a CEO, uh, but I
truly am in that in that seat

now.

And I think the biggest thing,
you know, was integrating

everyone into more of a having
off-site meetings, being able to

sit down and and and show the
vision and have them be a part

of the vision and then have them
grow the business in their own

view and having, you know,
having those off-site

discussions, you know, even
having our Monday morning

meetings.

We never had that prior to
joining the group, you know,

having a level 10 Monday meeting
every Monday, just had it at 11

o'clock.

It's every Monday for the last,
I don't know, probably like four

years now, five years, that we
haven't missed that meeting.

We do our quarterly offsites
now.

We we have staff development,
and we have projects that are

built out of ideas that I didn't
even come up with in the first

place.

So they're essentially coming up
with the idea, creating, you

know, the plan for it and
executing on it without my

involvement.

And, you know, those are the
types of things that I've always

wanted to be a part of, but I
wasn't able to get out of my own

way.

So I think that, you know, now
having the team really lead and

having myself be in that in that
driver's seat of making sure

we're getting everything done,
that we're dotting our T's,

cross, you know, we're dotting
our I's, crossing our T's.

And yeah, it's it's it's a
completely different world than

the chaos that was, you know,
four, five, six years ago.

SPEAKER_01: TJ, I watched you as
a young gym owner trying to make

things work.

I've seen you become a dad.

I've seen you grow a monster
business all throughout.

And I can see the difference in
you, not all obviously in your

financial results, right?

But I just see a difference in
you as a person, as a human

being.

And so what are the things that
this journey of being, and not

even the journey in SPF, just a
journey as a business owner and

going, getting through COVID,
getting through plenty of uh

relationships that you know fell
by the wayside.

You've had some things fall
through, some things were about

to go through, and they didn't
go through.

You've been through a lot.

What is the difference about TJ
Lopez, the person, you know,

today versus where you were and
what have you learned?

SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, I would
say the biggest thing is is the

amount of emotion that you know,
I was acting off of emotion

mostly.

I was constantly stressed.

I was physically, you know, you
could just tell by you know, I

I've just recently lost about 30
pounds and I've been able to

keep it off for the last year or
so.

And that that was uh you know
directly correlated with the

amount of stress in my life.

And today I'm able to, you know,
really be way more measured in

my decision making, share the
responsibilities of the business

with the team.

And it's allowed me to, you
know, to live the life that

every entrepreneur wants to live
and having the time freedom,

having the flexibility to focus
on what you want to focus on,

you know, have passion behind
what you do, grow a business

with some amazing people.

And I was not there five or six
years ago.

I was extremely stressed out.

I wasn't happy with my team, I
wasn't happy with my own

business.

I was, I felt like I was kind of
a prisoner to my own creation.

And, you know, again, the the
CEO mastermind specifically,

without that cadence of every
every three months getting in a

room with some of the best
business owners that I know, I

wouldn't have gotten out of it.

I wouldn't have.

And now I'm able to provide not
only that that insight or you

know, maybe the coaching to my
other business owner, but I can

I can say it by experience and I
I can I can you know share my

own growth.

Because, like you said, I I
always proud of myself on on

helping others in the room, even
if I had a smaller business.

There were times when I was
helping people that that had

businesses four or five times
the size of my own.

But now that I'm I'm able to
grow, you know, with with the

group and be in that that that
upper tier of businesses, now

not only can I help on the
strategic side, but also on like

the the experience side of
having gone through it and

again, you know, just staying,
staying with it, staying in the

pocket.

You know, many times I was
thinking about leaving and doing

something else, but wouldn't
even come across my mind today.

And that's you know, that that's
the biggest change I would say

for myself in having that kind
of like yeah, having this new

word that uh that actually one
of my good friends, the

basketball coach that I just
started my own podcast, and and

he used this word called
solidity.

And I was like, that's a great
word.

I was like, is that a real word?

He goes, I don't know, I think I
might have just made it up, but

it actually is a real word.

So I found more solidity in my
life where I have been able to,

you know, have conviction and
stick with it and not be like,

ah, am I doing the right thing?

Am I not doing the right thing?

Like I have confidence now that
I've hadn't had in the past.

And I think that that's waking
up every day having that, as

opposed to waking up every day
with worry and and not knowing

how the next month or the next
week is gonna go, is a really

scary place to live.

And it's not fun.

And the way I'm wired, you know,
I'm very dumb to if we have a

bad week, man, bad month, like I
would always kind of look to

that.

And now I'm able to kind of go
through the ups and downs and

kind of stay steady.

And that's for me tremendous
because you know, I wouldn't be

able to be the father that I am
today or anything like that.

So for sure, it's been a huge
help.

SPEAKER_01: So you mentioned you
know, the CEO mastermind and

getting together with a group
four times a year.

You you're the you're an origin,
you're an OG in that group.

You joined, I believe, when it's
first started, I think in 2020,

2020 or 2019.

SPEAKER_02: It was the day
before COVID hit.

It was, I believe that first
meeting was March of 2020.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and then we
had some virtual ones.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

Or no, I've actually been
January 2020.

It was the second meeting I
think that it was a little

shotgun.

SPEAKER_01: So you so you have
been in that group ever since.

I don't believe you've ever
missed a meeting, have you?

That's pro that's really
impressive for a five-year run

in a mastermind four times a
year.

It's a big commitment.

But you miss for you're the only
one in the group.

Everyone else has kind of said,
Oh, I got a wedding.

I'm having a kid.

Uh you did not miss uh any
meeting.

SPEAKER_00: So tell us, yeah,
you need a minute.

SPEAKER_02: Sorry, kids.

We're doing we're doing our our
pickups.

SPEAKER_01: No, okay.

What what what is the group
provide for you?

What's the biggest thing that,
you know, hey, that's a big

commitment, not only
financially, but in time.

Why do you keep why do you stay
a part of something like that?

Whereas most masterminds, people
are in and out in a couple

years, you know, you've been in
this five years plus, as many of

the other guys have.

What what what why is that so
important to you?

SPEAKER_02: Well, I'd say it's
two things.

Number one is I don't trust
myself.

I don't trust that I will get
this work done that I need to

get done every quarter.

The planning that goes into just
building my document every

quarter that I'm doing actually
today, my whole day is just

building the document and
reflecting on the last 90 days

and this year, you know, and the
the last year, that's when most

of the work is done.

You know, I usually show up to
the meetings, at least recently,

in the beginning, maybe not so
much, but more recently, I I

show up to the meetings with my
answer because I've already kind

of done the work and I've
already put in, you know, the

time to like reflect.

And, you know, in years past
when I first started in CEO, I

was getting the document done
like the day of, like the

morning of, or like while we're
getting started, I'm still

finishing my document.

And now I've I've done most of
the work, you know, even last

week and week before, and I'm
able to then obviously have

really think about what
presenting in front of the

group.

So that that amount of work, I
don't know if I'd be able to do

that on my own, is what I'm
saying.

I don't trust myself that I
would get that done without

having like the accountability
of the group.

And second to that, maybe one A
to that is the friendships that

I've built in that group.

You know, like the the the true,
you know, lifelong relationships

and friendships that we built in
that group is I wouldn't have

had that anywhere else either.

You know, we're all you know,
rooting for each other every

quarter, seeing you know what
we've gone through, seeing what

we can do to hey, what what can
we do to help TJ with this

problem or you know, Eric with
that problem, or Devin, you

know, it no matter who is in
front of that room, everyone is

trying to give their own
insights and their own their own

side of it, and having those
outside eyes of the group,

obviously including yourself and
Joe, is invaluable.

And you know, that's why I need
to show up.

I need to show up.

And that if I don't show up
there, I feel like I'm not

showing up for myself and my
team.

So it's a big part of it.

You know, having that it, you
know, if I hadn't signed up in

one word, it's accountability.

That's it.

Without the accountability of
the group, my business wouldn't

be where it is today because I'm
a very competitive person.

So I can't show up and not have
my stuff left.

I can't show up and not at least
hit 80% of my rocks, you know,

and and and sometimes that
deadline is what you need.

And it's hard to set that by
yourself.

It's hard to do it, you know,
for yourself and hold yourself

to it.

SPEAKER_01: TJ, what do you have
to say to a gym owner that

possibly was where you were at
in 2019, struggling, stressed,

and they're thinking about
getting help with their

business.

They know they're getting help,
but they're looking at the cost,

they're looking at the time, and
they're just like, I don't know

if I can do this.

What do you have to say to that
gym or that's home thinking I

can't afford it or I can't get
help?

SPEAKER_02: The way that I think
about it even today is that the

investment that I've made is
essentially I've invested in

almost a pseudo-boss.

We're all strength coaches,
personal trainers, former

athletes, whatever we might be.

It's really hard to hold
yourself accountable.

So if you're not going to invest
in someone to hold you

accountable and at least show
you the path, then it's going to

be really hard to get there by
yourself.

So, yeah, the finances were
really tough in the beginning.

There was a large portion of my
revenue was going to SPF and

then CEO.

There was probably a time, even
while I was doing it, that I

felt like I wasn't necessarily
financially benefiting from.

But the learning and the
compounding effect of that

learning.

Is what today is a fraction
percentage wise of what it was

back then.

And I think that you have to
really look at it that way.

And especially just like on a
time commitment.

I was on, and not only so I
haven't missed a CEO.

I know I I haven't made too a
lot of calls recently, but like

I don't think I missed a call.

And it was a weekly call.

I don't think I missed a call
for two years.

I was on that Wednesday call
every single Wednesday for two

straight years.

And the only times I ever missed
was like my kid was in a hostel

or something like that.

Like it was, it was not
happening.

Like it was a part of my day,
and it was because it was so

important.

And you have to treat it that
way, right?

And it's one of those things
like when you pay, you pay

attention.

You know, we say that to our
clients all the time.

And we also are asking our
clients to hire coaches.

If you, as a business, business
owner and a and a coach yourself

don't understand the value of
hiring a coach, then it's hard

to be somebody in that position
for someone else, too.

And you know, the reason why I'm
still here today is because I'm

still getting results, I'm still
growing my business.

And again, we're talking about
six years or more, actually.

No, 2018, it's almost eight
years.

Yeah, somebody that that's you
know, maybe the revenue isn't

where they think it needs to be
or where it has to be to make

that investment, I would highly
recommend getting started

because that investment will
return if you put the work in.

It guaranteed you will see a
return on that investment.

But I do see some people that
put investment in, not just this

group and other groups, and they
don't put it to work in it.

They don't put the action behind
it.

Um, that's the only time that I
would say if anybody has not

gotten the result, it's because
they're not putting in the work.

And and that's, I'm telling you,
you know, what I've learned in

this group, and not only from
Vince, but the people that are

inside of the group and the, you
know, just the gr the gratitude

and how gracious people are to
share, share ideas, share full

marketing, like just download
and just change out the facility

name to your facility.

I mean, it's it there's certain
things that are that are just so

plug and play that you know that
will change your business.

And again, we might all have the
idea, the right ideas, and we

might all know what we need to
do, but we need somebody to hold

us accountable.

And just like everybody knows
that you're how to lose weight,

move more, eat less, right?

Like it's pretty simple.

But you need a coach, you need a
coach to hold your hand and and

to at least like give you the,
you know, for us when it's like

our first time that we kind of
sat down, it was like you're

giving me permission to do
things I already knew I should

have been doing.

And you know, sometimes you need
that, you need that little bit

of a push, but not there's not a
better community out there than

SPF and you know the CEO groups,
not a better community in

fitness.

SPEAKER_01: Awesome.

Well, this was a really, really
exactly what I was expecting

from someone like yourself to
come on.

And obviously, this is a podcast
of you telling your SPF story,

but really it turned into you
spitting a ton of really good

knowledge and sits and real.

I have a whole page of notes
down here of things I I want to

kind of reiterate to to my
audience of the things that you

mentioned and and said, But the
big one was emotional

resilience, right?

You have learned that and I've
worked with you on that.

I remember a lot of
conversations we had, especially

during COVID.

But I think also, too, like
getting in front of a room with

your numbers and having to
display everything about your

business and to keep yourself
cool, you know, while you're

doing that, especially if it's
not exactly looking great and

everyone else is pretty looking
pretty good.

It's like it's a hard thing to
do.

So you've done a beautiful job
with that.

You got a great family, you're
you're a dad, you're an involved

dad.

I see with your kids.

You came and saw my man Joey had
a jujitsu tournament on Long

Island.

You came and you came and
surprised him and saw him get

submitted in about 43 15
seconds.

Although it's funny that that
kid is like the kid that he lost

to is like he travels the world
doing jujitsu.

He like couldn't have pulled a
tougher opponent from when you

saw it.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I hope my kids
get into it too.

I love that.

That's great.

SPEAKER_01: It's really, it's
really awesome.

Uh, but you're just a stand-up
dude, TJ.

I appreciate you.

Very proud of you for all you've
accomplished and all you

continue to accomplish and all
the people that you're helping

along the way.

So, TJ, great job.

Thanks so much.

Where can people get in touch
with you?

Thank you.

I bet you there's people that
would want to reach out.

I know you're busy, you don't
have a lot of spare time, but

yeah, I would say the uh what's
the Instagram or whatever.

SPEAKER_02: Number one, yeah,
coach TJ Lopez on Instagram.

That's I mean this best way.

Maybe follow some of my stuff.

AMP underscore athlete on
Instagram for my athlete

business, amp underscore
personal training for our adult

program.

And you can reach out to me, TJ
Lopez at ampathletes.com.

That's my email.

And yeah, I I'd love to hear
from you.

I'd love to help.

And open invitation to every
everybody that's in that SPF

group as well.

Had a lot of really good
conversations over the couple of

years.

I've been able to get up on
stage and and share some of my

stories, share some lessons that
I've learned.

And I always appreciate that.

It's always something that I
love, you know, doing is doing

my best to kind of give back to
the community that's given me so

much.

SPEAKER_01: Awesome.

Great episode, TJ.

Thanks so much.

Thanks, Mr.