Meet Mike Morrison | Personal Trainer & Coach

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

Hi Mike, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I began my career in as a sports performance coach for Division I and Professional Sports. In high level athletics, assessment, implementation, and performance are key factors in both distinguishing yourself and measuring success. We used assessments to identify and quantify potential risk factors to health and performance in the athletes.

When I left the sports world, I began training clients 1-on-1. I quickly realized that while the specific goals were different – a higher vertical jump vs. jogging without knee pain, for example – they were still goals that could be quantified and worked towards systematically. I came to the realization that the human body is the human body, and there was no reason why the same diagnostic tools we used on the high level athletes could not also be used on everyone.

Once I developed a system where I could more accurately identify the underlying causes of chronic pain or dropping performance, I felt I was able to set myself apart in two ways. One, I could help my clients understand the “hows” and “whys “behind their nagging injuries or plateaus in performance instead of giving them exercises without context and limits without input. Two, I was able to truly tailor their programming to match what they specifically needed for themselves and not just give them a cookie cutter program that a hundred other people were also doing.

I truly believe the attention to detail, meeting the client where they are at, and personalizing their training plan has helped my clients achieve things they previously believed simply were not for them. It has been a pleasure to help them on their journey.

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.
Outside of training, I am also an Actor. I began by doing Improv comedy for fun at The Basement Theatre, run by JStar. Doing so re-ignited a spark in me that had been pretty dormant since middle school when I was talked out of joining drama club by one of my coaches. After I became a Main Stage Player at The Basement I began considering jumping fully into acting on-camera. Luckily, I had made some friends making a living off of their acting talents who gave me some great advice and guidance for how to begin. I was pointed towards Drama, Inc. to begin learning the basics of on-camera work and have been training there ever since. While I do not have a ton of notable credits yet, I truly have enjoyed the journey behind building a second career from scratch. I think the lessons I learned from the first go around – the importance of networking, persistence, and learning your craft – have been instrumental in my approach to acting. This stuff doesn’t happen overnight and oftentimes you don’t get the nod for reasons completely out of your control. Had I tried doing this ten years ago I very likely would have quit already. Now I know that I simply need to continue putting in the work so that I am ready when I get my opportunity.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
An ideal trip would include the following spots: bottomless mimosa brunch at Kaleidoscope in Brookhaven, a day at The Battery to take in a Braves game and the surrounding attractions, the Rooftop at Ponce City Market, a walk around Piedmont Park, a nice steak dinner at Marcel’s, and then a trip down to Inman Park for some craft cocktails at Little Spirit. If that’s all in one day then so be it.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to give a shoutout to Amber Goppert, the owner of The Training Room ATL where I do a lot of my training out of. She gave me a space to develop my business while I was just starting out and also gave me the freedom to do things my way. I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without her help.

I’d also like to give a shoutout to J Star at The Basement Theatre for helping me to find and reignite a passion for performing that I thought had been extinguished a long time ago. Knowing him has changed my life for the better.

Finally, to my best friend and partner Emily Emory. We weathered a global pandemic together and have come out stronger than ever. Her unwavering love and support is undoubtedly the reason my life is the best it’s ever been. I love our life and I can’t wait to see where it leads us next.

Website: https://thetrainingroomatl.com/personaltraining

Instagram: @_mikemorrison_ for Training and @mikevmorrison for Acting

Twitter: @mikevmorrison

Image Credits
Jason Vail Phaedra Williamson Amber Goppert