Meet Ryan Brennan | Owner Atlanta Personal Fitness

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

Hi Ryan, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
At first, working a job for someone else provided me with “structure” which was great at that point in time. Then, I became aware that I didn’t have the freedom I knew I could have. So, when I first opened Atlanta Personal Fitness, my personal training and body transformation gym on March 1st, 2020, I actually became even more tied down to long hour days and weekends. AND I was shutdown for a couple months due to the pandemic and really had to shift gears and adapt to the online space for a bit to survive and bring in revenue. While going through this startup personal training gym, I wore every hat from the janitor, trainer to marketer and sales person (I had no team, not even an assistant at the time). Needless to say, I had zero energy leftover to actually have a life outside of my business (or at least enjoy that time). At that point, I still didn’t feel like that was it for me. I heard a term from my mentor that I had the “golden handcuffs”. Meaning, I had a business but I didn’t have the freedom. I was told the goal I could have would be to have a business that could run 365 days of the year without me, thats when I went on a relentless pursuit to get that. Fast forward to December 1st, 2020 and my personal training gym success exploded. I ended up breaking the current lease I had to sign a new one with a space 2x bigger, hired an assistant and hired two coaches to take the training load off me so I could focus solely on growing the business (working on it versus in it). This was the gamechanger to my work life balance because I got a taste for making money while I wasn’t technically working (doing the personal training). Now its July 2021, 7 months later and I choose to work about 10 hours per week personal training because I enjoy it. I spend the majority of my time focusing on growing the business by setting up systems, focusing mostly on marketing & sales to grow our clientele. Here’s where this balance has changed: I shifted my most valuable resources (time, energy and money) to investing in ROI’s (paid marketing) which in turn does the work for me so I don’t have to work as hard (but smarter). Now, I have the time and energy to balance my work and life. Get this though, I love what I do so it truly doesn’t feel like work when I am. I am not feeling exhausted, burnout out or wanting to quit every other day like a rollercoaster of a ride it used to be. Everyone always told me to “slow down”, “it takes time”, “be patient” and etc. Guess what? I have been open for not even 1.5 years and I gross well over six-figures, personal train 10 hours per week (because I choose to), employ a coach and have developed the hardest part of any business which is the marketing and sales portion to bring in consistent members and retain them with the value we provide and results they get. If you don’t have marketing, you don’t have clients and if you don’t have clients, you don’t have money and therefore you don’t have a business. With everything said, don’t get me wrong, I work every day, but I have dialed in on the key things that make me money, not the busy work most entrepreneurs fall victim to like I used to. That has freed up my time to have time each day and do the things I love, take vacations, spend time with my loved ones and create the life I truly desire which was the purpose all along of having a business.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am the owner of Atlanta Personal Fitness, a private small group personal training & body transformation gym in Sandy Springs, GA. What makes us different is simply our results with members. I am a certified breakthrough coach that is trained in helping clients make permanent and sustainable changes instantly. And we have proof with tons of testimonials from them, so don’t take just my word for it! I am most proud of the awareness that my business is a reflection of me and it will only grow to be as much as I grow. This is what motivates me to constantly grow and help others transform from the inside out as well. Getting to where I am today was a rollercoaster of a ride. The obstacles I was presented with are responsible for where I am at today and the skillset I have to help others transform as well. I overcame these obstacles by having the relentless drive to figure out how to and doing it. I knew that change needed to happen from within, not external factors and so I went through a breakthrough course that changed everything. I had to release the emotional baggage that was preventing me from being all of me. Now, I am all in with a green light screaming at me to be relentless in getting what I want. The lessons I have learned are really simple, look from within when your external environment is not where you want it to be. This is simply what I want others to know, the most empowering feeling is being at cause for our results. Go within, do the internal work and the external environment (aka results) will be the by product of the internal world inside us.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First, I would take a walk along the belt-line, with my golden-doodles of course. Then, have some drinks at a brewery along there. By now, its time to eat dinner at Rumi’s kitchen in Sandy Springs. Followed by that, a night out at the battery walking around and playing games at the many different bars.

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?
I want to shoutout to my parents, sisters & Recalibrate360 with Nathan & Kristi who have helped me to breakthrough my own way and grow into the man I am now.

Website: https://www.atlpersonalfitness.com

Instagram: _ryanjbrennan

Facebook: @atlantapersonalfitness