Meet Joseph Jones | Personal Trainer, Health & Wellness Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joseph Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joseph, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
1. What was your thought process behind starting your own business?

I’m a Gen-X’er. Generation of the Latch-Key kid, gap bridgers between black and white TV and color, first kids to experience cable, home video game systems, personal computers, and malls. We’re highly independent, tech-saavy, and have a high entrepreneurial tendency. Having my own business, not just a side-hustle, is in my makeup.

I was a Track and Field athlete in high school and college. That’s a highly independent sport, yet I was still part of a team. My performance on the track was all on me, but my team depended on me to contribute and encourage. I take that same attitude to my work. I work with people solely from my own philosophy and ethics, yet I do so as a contribution to my community and larger society. When I did work for larger organizations I found myself needing to have the flexibility to make decisions that I believed were best to produce my best work and results but would, on many occasions, be relegated to following the dictates of someone else without even having input on decisions that affected my work. That’s a challenging circumstance. I find that I work best when I’m not constrained by other people’s vision of what I should do with my abilities.

2. What’s one thing about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?

Many believe that people in the fitness industry are paragons of health. That may be true for many, but not all. Gym culture, like any, has a very dark side. Particularly in this age of social media and feeling the need to create an online persona that represents near superhuman levels of fitness, strength, and physiques. Just open up any social media platform and look at some of the ridiculous things people are doing to get likes and follows. Some folks go to great extremes to promote a size and look; even taking and selling supplements to achieve and maintain certain aesthetic builds that, for the average person, is not feasible. The lower one’s body fat percentage, the more strict you have to be in watching and restricting the diet. There are far too many people who have developed eating disorders and body dysmorphia (Engaging in behaviors aimed at fixing or hiding the perceived flaw that are difficult to resist or control, such as frequently checking the mirror, grooming or skin picking. Attempting to hide perceived flaws with styling, makeup or clothes. Constantly comparing your appearance with others). Just the other day I had a young mother who’d been seeing some great results after we modified her diet, fall prey to a salesperson at a local supplement store. She was sold a bottle “detox” pills with the promise that she’d wake up the next day with a flat tummy. She came to me explaining that she almost couldn’t leave the house because she stayed on the toilet. That detox was primarily a laxative. The supplement industry in the U.S. is unregulated. Most of these supplements are untested and can, in some cases, be harmful. At best they’re a waste of money. Unfortunately, many people want to be healthy but are being lead to some really unhealthy physical, mental, and emotional spaces by folks in the industry who are either unlearned themselves, or are in it to take advantage for the sake of a dollar.

3. Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

The field of Economics teaches the concept of Opportunity Cost. In a nutshell it is the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. Example, I can put cash away in my sock drawer to save for a purchase. Doing so may cost me the interest I could have gained had I opened a savings account. There’s always a trade off.

Working for yourself means that you’re passing on organizational insurance, retirement, and other benefits for greater control and self-fulfilment. Anyone who decided to pursue a vision and a passion understood there would be risks associated with their decision; times of uncertainty, frustration, doubt, isolation. Deciding not to pursue that vision and passion presents other risks of dying inside and settling for regret and disappointment. I can decide to either live with the pain of hard work, or the pain of regret.

There’s always risk involved. Do I venture out to do my own thing and risk losing people who I once thought to be my loved ones and supporters only to learn that they’ll occasionally ask me how my “Little business” is going but never support me? Or do I stay in that company, using my skills, talents, and intellect to grow someone else’s dream, vision, and pockets? That’s a big decision, with major considerations on either side. For some the choice is crystal clear and fits their path. For others there may not be a clear answer, or the path is a bit more curvey. I’m actually doing a little of both. I realize that it takes a significant investment of time and resources, and some serious self-efficacy. You’ve got to not only believe but know that you’ve got the greatest product or service anyone has ever encountered, even before you’ve made your first sale.

4. Other than deciding to work for yourself what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?

My most important decision was to pursue my education. In fact it is an on-going decision. I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership, and a Masters in Higher Education Administration from Purdue University, yet I work in the Health and Wellness industry. Those degrees helped me land my career starter positions but they taught me that learning has to be a lifelong process. Everything changes. Each year I consider what new knowledge and/or skills I need to continue to grow and develop as both a professional and a person. Most often, education is more about learning to be open, inquisitive, and thoughtful more so than how to hammer a nail.

When I earned my Personal Training certification I passed the test and retained the knowledge I was taught; then I encountered people. Most of us are not textbook in our thoughts, movements, or lifestyles. My formal education equipped me with a platform to understand that I would need informal and continuing education to keep going and growing.

5. What is the most important factor behind your success/ the success of your brand?

I’ve found that being my genuine self has been my biggest asset. My work depends on my ability to establish solid relationships and establish trust. If my clients don’t trust me (that I’ll tell them the truth, admit when I don’t have an answer or am unsure, that I won’t ask them to do something that is beyond their capabilities) there’s very little we’ll be able to accomplish together. Personal Training/ Coaching is a partnership and all partnerships require all involved to be accountable to each other. My clients trust that I’ll be present, prepared, and listen. I trust that clients do likewise.

6. What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?

Hands down my decision to move to Georgia from Indiana was the most difficult I’ve ever made. I was born and raised in the Great Lakes (Chicagoland, Northwest Indiana) area. I earned my college degrees and worked in Indiana and at the age of 29 made a decision to move to Georgia. I didn’t know anyone and had never been to the state except for a 2 day job interview. I left behind all my family and friends and everything I had ever known. It was not only a strain on the heart strings, but a complete culture shock. Communication and the ways people moved and conducted their business was different. The move made me realize how inexperienced and unlearned I was when it came to relating to and understanding people. The phrase “a fish out of water” became very clear to me.

7. Work life balance: how has your balance changed over time? How do you think about the balance?

When I was in my 20’s and 30’s I’d stay up and out well past midnight, either just hanging or trying to get some work done, and get up to be at work by 7:30. I didn’t sleep much…to be honest, I still don’t. I realize now that the thing I was missing that kept me feeling restless was rest itself. Not only is sleep important, the mind has to find rest. I’ve learned that proper nutrition, getting enough sleep, and proactively seeking out times of both recreation and stillness give me the ability to tackle and manage the tasks for the week.

It’s really popular and catchy to say things like “I’ll sleep when I’m dead…” When you don’t get enough sleep coupled with poor nutritional habits and living a high stress life, you may be closer to getting that final sleep than you realize. Not getting enough sleep has been associated with health consequences including an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke.

I’m a proponent of exercise. Our bodies are biological machines and our nature is linked to work. Not a job, but work. Try this, sit still for 2 hours then get up. The need for a stretch, a knee pop, or neck flex is bound to be in there somewhere before you start moving away from that seat. The human body was designed to move.

**TRIGGER ALERT!**

The animated movie Wal-e addressed some “heavy” -pun intended, issues in a colorful way. Humanity had polluted the earth to the point that people took refuge for generations on spaceships. There their lifestyle of overindulge and dependence on automation (everybody sat in these hover wheelchairs) made them feeble and obese. Unfortunately, that cartoon is commentary on reality. The more we seek to avoid work the poorer our quality of life becomes. An appropriate amount of stress -physical exertion, allows the body to find rest and recovery.

8. Do you have a favorite quote or affirmation? What does it mean to you/ what do you like about it?

There are so many quotes and nuggets of wisdom I like. The one that really drives me on a daily basis, particularly when working with my over 40 clients comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, “Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever.” Talk about goals! To live a long and healthy life is what we all want. So many people in our time depend on a number of medicines to help regulate themselves daily, experience feebleness, and still die early. I don’t want that for myself or anyone I’m connected to. My work and attention to my own health spring from that.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a Personal Trainer/Health & Wellness Coach. and have worked in this industry for 10 years now. I got into the fitness industry, in this capacity, really through a series of circumstances. At the time I was unemployed, having made a decision to leave the field I’d been in, and a really good friend got me a 1-month gym membership so we could start working out together and get me out of the house. The gym was looking for new trainers at the time and since I had a background as an intercollegiate athlete and Coach I applied and was given the position. Starting out was tough. The pay was minimal and I needed to find my own clients and create my own schedule. I worked another job, bookending my time in the gym and other positions for a good while until I built up enough clientele to make the transition. It was still a struggle not to call it quits and just go back to a 9-5. Long hours without clients, giving away free sessions, working to promote myself and perfect my craft.

I learned how to approach people with the confidence to market myself and the services/solutions I offered, which is the one thing I had the most difficulty doing. What that experience of starting out taught me was to not only have the confidence in what you do but to ensure that what you do not only stacks up but produces the results you claim.

When I approach someone as an agent of Blan3y Fitness I am providing a solution to Health and Wellness concerns. I have invested the time and resources to ensure that the service I provide meets the need.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m a big fan of good music, especially Jazz. We’d plan to catch a few shows at City Winery ATL in the Ponce City Market, and St. James Live.

I also really like Afro-Cuban music and Salsa dancing so on Wednesday we’d head get some Salsa dancing in with SALSAthens in Athens. They teach lessons for beginners thru advanced dancers and then have a Salsa social after where you can put your skills to practice.

There’s a spot near Midtown called Loca Luna that has great Latin bands, DJ’s and dancing on the weekends.

One of my favorite spots to eat in the city is Negril ATL, a black-owned Caribbean eatery in Midtown housed in a renovated historic firehouse.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My son is the person I most admire. Such a humble and hard worker. His love for his family and his faith are my greatest source of inspiration

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