Escape Your Limits

Six-figure income, some of the most successful guests in the world, education and teaching others lessons he’s learned on his own journey… An incredibly successful entrepreneur in his own right, John Lee Dumas can often be found talking to other big names in business such as Tim Ferris, Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk as part of his Entrepreneurs On Fire podcast.  This episode is a lesson in inspiration, helping you to find your big idea and get better at it so you can scale through quality and communication. JLD can help you create the life you’ve always dreamed of. Watch the full episode on YouTube  John Lee Dumas left the US army to start a career in real estate. However, it didn’t take long before his passion for podcasts took over. This led the author, podcaster and host of Entrepreneurs On Fire to create an award-winning show with an audience of millions that generates six-figure sums with every episode. Passion, enthusiasm and transparency are the name of the game with John Lee Dumas’ podcast – Entrepre

John Romeo has industry experience through 40 years in fitness. In this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast, he talks about the importance of people, customers and employees alike, as well as giving insight on the birth of 24 Hour Fitness and the growth of the Crunch Fitness gym franchise. Watch the full episode on YouTube John Romeo got out of a rat race lifestyle as a Union worker in New York, even though he was having fun. He took up the offer of moving to California with just a week’s notice, before heading to Seattle and continuing his journey in the fitness industry. Starting out involved with Captain America’s Family Fitness Center, the beginnings of what would evolve into the 24 Hour Fitness empire that we know today, John has seen every level of the industry as it’s developed and his experience has increased. Now operating partner for Crunch Fitness and co-owner of Capital Fitness, John Romeo has excelled growth for multiple fitness spaces. He’s also worked closely with UFC GYM, driving franchi

Jerzy Gregorek has overcome incredible odds to escape from political troubles and alcoholism before coming to America and dedicating his talent in pursuit of changing lives. Through Olympic weightlifting success and implementing these fitness techniques in his own programme, he’s improving the mindset of clients and increasing both their physical ability and their happiness.  Today, this approach has earned him the attention of the most successful people in the world from his home in Silicon Valley. He’s also appeared on podcasts and in books by entrepreneur Tim Ferriss, and he’s still going strong over 60 years old. Watch the full episode on YouTube  In 1986, Jerzy Gregorek left Poland, together with his wife, as political refugees. Since then, they have both won numerous World Weightlifting Championships, founded the UCLA weightlifting team and coached and transformed hundreds of people. Developing The Happy Body programme in response to their clients wanting to remain youthful, Jerzy is in great shape at 6

Humble despite his achievements, the guest on this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast has a passion for performance not only in business, but in sport, community spirit and improving health across the nation. Malcolm McPhail has taken turnover from £3.5 million to a staggering £12 million as group CEO at Life Leisure. Living fitness, he’s also competed at an international level in athletics and the award-winning business is changing people’s lives for the better time after time. Malcolm McPhail was a PE teacher before immersing himself in the fitness industry on another level. In his own words he’s embraced opportunities where, despite not being au fait with how to do a job in the early days, said yes and excelled when faced with any responsibility. His paralleled athletics career saw him become Scottish 400m hurdles champion, and professionally in both the public and private sector he’s driven business, playing a key role in the growth of Next Generation Clubs, now merged with David Lloyd Leisure. Win

Paul Lubicz is a Hollywood trainer that has a passion and purpose to unlock positive personal growth. For the motivation to find faith and trust in yourself, this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast will enable you to flip your mindset to embrace and overcome fear, weakness, and vulnerabilities and learn how to move forward in a powerful and positive way.  Paul’s client list has included CEOs and celebrities such as Emilia Clarke, Natalie Portman, Rupert Murdoch, as he improves not just anyone’s fitness, but their wellbeing and mindset, too. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/xpRztw0vd5U Paul Lubicz grew up in Perth, western Australia. However, around high school he was still uncertain what he wanted to do in life. Adopted by parents that loved and cared for him, he met his biological family, aged 19. Their success influenced him to go into the medical world. Paul started as a manufacturing chemist but was a gym junkie at heart, played Aussie rules football and trained martial arts. It

Over 900 episodes and one million downloads per month are impressive figures by anyone’s standards. If that wasn’t enough, with over 20 million views on YouTube, Mind Pump is a broadcast that’s changing the fitness industry and bridging the gap between education and entertainment. Meet Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, Justin Andrews, Doug Egge of Mind Pump Media. Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, Justin Andrews and Doug Egge have decades of combined fitness experience as personal trainers, club managers, IFBB competitors and fitness thought leaders. They started as PTs in 24 Hour Fitness under Mark Mastrov, instilling successful business ideals and the mindset needed to make it as an entrepreneur. Their podcast is a seamless blend of education and entertainment, with combined experience of the trio of hosts. Mind Pump started in the days where podcasts weren’t known by the masses. Today, the market has become more competitive and they’re standing out above the rest with a first class studio and an authenticity that’

Harley Pasternak has an expansive education in wellbeing and nutrition, with a hunger to know more than anyone else about the science of fitness, movement and more. His dedication and understanding has seen him work with more celebrities in Hollywood than anyone else, with a client list including Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Halle Berry, Katy Perry, Megan Fox, Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys and more. Watch the full episode on YouTube Harley grew up in Canada as an avid hockey player; that’s where his life in fitness began. He started reading muscle magazines and looking up to bodybuilders as having the ideal physique, especially in Hollywood with Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Van Damme all regularly featuring in starring roles.  It didn’t take him long before he began bodybuilding himself and studying the science behind it through degrees in kinesiology, exercise physiology, nutrition, a Master’s in exercise physiology and started working on a PhD. Following his education, Harley got recruited by the military

Dave Hancock is a high performance coach with an impressive track record. Through an exhaustive knowledge of the human body and movement, he’s worked with some of the most successful athletes, celebrities and businesspeople, such as U2, Daniel Craig, David Beckham, Odell Beckham Jr, England national football team, the New York Knicks, Washington Nationals, Chelsea FC, and more. This episode is a lesson in high performance living. Watch the full episode on YouTube – YouTube Hard work has been instilled in Dave Hancock from his parents. Through paper rounds, washing cars and working behind bars, effort brought Dave respect for the money that he’d earned. Dave has always into fitness and sport. He was injured playing rugby to a high standard. From this, he saw a physio at a club and began taking an interest in helping others. For work experience after school, Dave attended an RAF rehabilitation centre and saw how they rehabilitated soldiers coming back from serious injuries – he was hooked. He studied hard for h

Positivity is paramount when it comes to defeating self-doubt and fear. Our guest knows how to bring out the best in anyone. In this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast, founder CEO of Mi365 and motivational speaker, Pete Cohen, delivers truth after truth to not only change the fitness industry, but change the world and create a revolution that will better the lives of us all. Watch the full episode on YouTube Pete Cohen started out in the fitness industry as a fitness instructor, aerobics instructor and personal trainer. He then became manager of the largest gym in Europe at the time. Pete loved fitness but became disillusioned with the industry because people sign up to gyms despite not enjoying exercise. To find a way of understanding members, Pete ventured into studying psychology in order to better influence behavioural change, confidence, believe and will power, but found that the industry wasn’t as open to evolution. Instead he concentrated on making change where he could. Sadly, his wife got dia

Larry Nolan is the CEO Hardcore Fitness Gyms, founded in the suburbs of Los Angeles, where there are more gyms per square mile than any other city in the United States. Larry is also creator of Hardcore Nutrition supplements and host of the Go Hard podcast; he’s all about being real to his clients and adding value wherever he can. This episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a lesson in risk for reward, overcoming adversity and always staying true to your customers. Watch the full episode on YouTube At 16, Larry Nolan got diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and Raynaud's phenomenon, a circulatory condition. Doctors told him that he couldn’t work out. Through a passion for fitness and the rebellious nature of being young, he got back to exercising anyway. He soon found that, for him, working out and understanding the importance of rest periods could combat the symptoms of his conditions. Through his own experiences, Larry found passion in personal training to help others appreciate what their own bodies c

Sue Anstiss has a lot of strings to her bow. In addition to her MBE for services to grassroots and women’s sport, she’s CEO of Promote PR, trustee for the Women’s Sport Trust charity, a Women in Fitness Association UK council member and host of The Game Changers podcast. This episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a vital lesson in equality, dedication and a lifetime of getting a nation engaged in sport and wellbeing. Watch the full episode on YouTube – YouTube Sue Anstiss studied at Loughborough, graduating in Sports Science and English. After working in sales for Cadbury’s, she’s since honed her sports sponsorship background, having worked for Gatorade before facing redundancy. Sue set up on her own aged 26, bringing Bupa into the fitness industry along with other contacts she’d developed relationships with through her previous experience. It was the start of a journey of hard work and putting the hours in, striving for perfection in everything she’s done. Promote PR, now celebrating 25 years in busin

Dennis Yu is more than just a digital marketer. As CEO of BlitzMetrics, he’s built a company contributing to tomorrow’s future, partnering with schools to teach young adults. With his experience, they’re learning the processes that saw him making $80,000 a day on Facebook ad serving a decade ago and more. Watch the episode on YouTube. Dennis Yu has lived a life of learning. As a child, his father encouraged him to the point where he was doing calculus by the time he was eight years old. Dennis’ passion for numbers continued to develop through struggling with English, growing up in a Chinese family. Dennis could communicate better through figures and equations than he could with words. That is, until he studied the Oxford English Dictionary for three hours every day and went on to represent California in the national spelling bee. This drive and determination fuelled his natural entrepreneurial ability, from selling candy and sweets at school to selling traffic and attention online. Through his parents, Dennis

Jason Worthy, president of Life Fitness, has lived the life of both an entrepreneur and executive. Now, his 20 years of fitness experience have led him to the top of the biggest fitness company in the world. This episode of Escape Your Limits is a lesson in staying relevant and keeping your finger on the pulse of fitness market trends. Watch the full episode on YouTube Jason Worthy grew up in the UK with hardworking parents, the youngest of five children. He discovered an entrepreneurial spirit from an early age, retrieving golf balls and selling them back to golfers. Since then he’s always had a desire to work hard and create something from his efforts. Following his education, Jason moved to London to become a fitness instructor and personal trainer with LA Fitness before going it alone. Entrepreneurially, Jason has faced business opportunities that haven’t worked out, discovering new strengths as a result. He has learned how to deal with failure, rejection and how to be resilient. Climbing the ladder of su

An A-list master trainer, author and lifestyle consultant, Ashley Borden has faced both personal and professional challenges in her life to overcome them all and forge an incredible entrepreneurial career for the benefit of others. From a teenager with eating disorders, she’s recovered to push her clients with understanding and empathy. It’s a list that’s included Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling, Reese Witherspoon, Rumer Willis, and she’s also appeared on TV show Revenge Body with Khloé Kardashian.  In this episode, we learn how it’s never too late to create the best version of you.   Watch the full episode on YouTube    Ashley Borden grew up in fitness. Her mother owned health food stores, while her father owned sporting stores. Both parents were into fitness so Ashley grew up around movement and an understanding of wellbeing, but she was a dancer at heart.   She suffered with eating disorders in her teenage years – compulsive exercise, compulsive eating, anorexia, bulimia – and overcame them through treatm

As an aspiring bodybuilder in Birmingham, Dorian “the Shadow” Yates never thought he’d compete at the level of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Haney, Frank Zane and other Mr Olympia winners. That attitude soon changed with success, winning Mr Olympia six consecutive times. His is a story of confidence, determination and belief that we can all learn from for anything that we do. Watch the full episode on YouTube Dorian Yates had his sights on becoming British Champion in bodybuilding. Little did he know he’d be placed among the greats such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Haney, Frank Zane and other Mr Olympia muscle icons. Dorian lived in the countryside, losing his father when he was quite young. He moved and grew up in Birmingham before his mum decided to leave and he wanted to stay, aged 16. He got into a bit of trouble as a teenager and was sent to a detention centre, but it was here where he cemented his love for hard physical exercise. Always wanted to gain new experiences and travel around the world. Since win

It’s time that we spark up some debate between fitness industry leaders! As IHRSA is when the world of fitness comes together, what better time to discover fitness trends, the future of what boutique will become over the coming years, and how other sectors of the industry will react? Our guests this week have a combined 80 years in business and entrepreneurship. The biggest question we want answered? Has the boutique fitness industry peaked? Let’s find out. Video Version - YouTube David Collignon, senior VP Blink Fitness Consistency in marketing, branding, and reaching out to people who may not have felt comfortable approaching big box gyms in the past.   Josh Leve, founder and CEO of Association of Fitness Studios Ways in which the industry can make fitness a lifestyle, instead of just an activity of coming in to a location and working out.   Dave Wright, creator and CEO of Myzone Reasons why boutiques as a buzzword is not sustainable, but gym experience anywhere is about group training, functional training

George Foreman III may be the son of the two-time world heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist, but it’s the business lessons he’s carried forward from family more than anything. Today, George feels passion for both boxing and business, with foresight and fortune of an entrepreneur. In this episode, we get a lesson in discipline and putting your ego aside. Watch the full episode on YouTube George “Monk” Foreman III says that it was always weird watching his dad on TV, but the fight game didn’t get in the way of family life, as his dad gave his kids all the attention they needed and more. George’s own boxing career saw him go 16-0 as a heavyweight, with 15 knockouts. Managed by his father, he spent training time learning how to grind and never give up, dragging vehicles and performing functional fitness movements such as digging and chopping wood. This not only gave George Foreman III his endurance and strength for the ring, but taught him determination and perseverance for his entrepreneurial journey,

Do you know your HIIT from your SMIT training? Fitness studios offer every niche of wellbeing. At ukactive’s Sweat event, we talk to operators at the top of their game for a great understanding of what a boutique offering truly is, and what’s to come.     The Escape Your Limits boutique fitness expert panel:   Jason Tubbs, MD of Another Space Olivia Brafman, head of business at Ministry of Sound Fitness Michelle Dand, group health and fitness manager at David Lloyd Steve Scales, director of client services at ukactive   Watch the full episode on YouTube –      Jason Tubbs, MD of Another Space Joined a panel at Sweat discussing whether the boutique sector has reached saturation, and what the future holds.   Olivia Brafman, head of business at Ministry of Sound Fitness How to understand the journey you’re being taken on in other experience-led industries, and why this works in the boutique fitness market.   Michelle Dand, group health and fitness manager at David Lloyd How gyms and chains can learn from the bou

Descendant of fitness industry royalty, Josh Leve is the founder and CEO of the Association of Fitness Studios. An expert in strategic development, he helps thousands of individuals and businesses all over the world.  Watch the full episode on YouTube Josh is the third generation of family members starting a fitness association, following in the footsteps of his grandfather who started the National Court Clubs Association and his father who started IHRSA. He had a background in the management side of fitness studios, scaling and improving health clubs through consulting, advertising, marketing and more. When it came to AFS, Josh embraced his entrepreneurial drive and acted on a big opportunity. The Association of Fitness Studios is made up of a team of people all over the USA. Through combined experience and input from all its members, AFS as a body has become an expert in maximising space and experience for clients. Josh Leve views everything he does with AFS from the pathway of a trainer just starting out t

Brendan Cosso’s temptation to smuggle drugs landed him in the most dangerous prison in South America. He rebuilt his life and dedicated it to education, events and helping people take a positive path. In this breathtakingly graphic and candid interview, we learn the value of decision-making from the CEO of the World Calisthenics Organisation. Watch the full episode on YouTube Growing up in a middle class family in California, and living a life of luxury working the VIP clubs of Hollywood, Brendan made one bad decision that saw his life come crashing down.  Tempted by a lot of money and the lure of the Brazilian party scene, Brendan strapped himself up with cocaine and headed back to the US. Caught at the border, his decision landed him in the most dangerous prison in South America. Brendan rejected the idea that he would remain ‘a criminal’ and spent his term learning and educating himself. Improvising with whatever was available, he made a pulley system to work out on, improving his strength and movement – t