Escape Your Limits

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

Sam Bakhtiar escaped the bombs of Saddam Hussein to become a serial entrepreneur in the USA, providing for his children and helping thousands of people achieve their fitness goals. In this honest and emotional interview, we can all learn a lot from the founder of The Camp Transformation Center and One Percent Nutrition. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/MvEnYLsA82Y Born in Iran, Sam lived there until he was 11 years old. He grew up in conflict, hearing bombs and sirens throughout attacks by the Saddam Hussein regime. To avoid Sam being recruited for the military, his family left for the USA via France as refugees of war, with bag of luggage and $500 to their name. It was a culture shock.  In America, Sam’s passion for fitness developed from a little room full of bodybuilders, with an atmosphere of chalk, rusty weights and sweat. Working out improved his confidence and gave him a sense of belonging. It didn’t take long for Sam to start finding new ways of improving other people’s lives, as h

David Stalker pioneered change in the country’s not-for-profit health body for the physical activity sector, bringing a fresh face to its thousands of members. Today, he’s joined the Myzone team as CEO of EMEA, passionate about saving communities with fitness technology, experience and understanding. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/kMG-_n7f6D0 Born and brought up in Kenya, David Stalker has been in the UK since 1988, after falling in love. He joined the fitness industry on a YMCA fitness instructor course and started out as a PT before transitioning to eventually become an award-winning fitness manager.  David’s continued success saw him rise through the ranks of the UK fitness industry in successful chains on both sides of the corporate and local authority fences. As CEO of ukactive, he led the fight against the nation’s obesity epidemic, while pioneering change from the Fitness Industry Association through its rebrand. Even after his time at ukactive, David’s enthusiasm to get more peop

As founder director at The Gym Group, John Treharne is on the brink of one million members since starting it in 2007. He knows how to build innovative and inclusive initiatives that work for the people, and this episode will help you improve and develop any business. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/1s-Bfsuo0Rk  John is no stranger to the demands of fitness and working out, as he used to play squash for England. In business, his ability to meet and exceed the needs of members and his team has seen him win awards and continue a career of triumph after triumph. He’s floated a company on the stock market twice and explains how learning to run a business properly and managing private equity investors is key to success, sometimes even over a passion for the market itself. John knows the customer well, and has implemented his knowledge in both improving the experience of gym goers and staff alike over decades. To start with, John borrowed money against his house to open his first concept. His gr

From workouts and training advice to supplements and meal plans, Jim Stoppani’s goal is to provide the most complete system of fitness information – all backed by science – that delivers life-changing results. Passionate and professional, with an exhaustive level of knowledge, his self-imposed responsibility to educate, drives Jim to continue growing what he’s created and sharing it with as many people as possible. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/8hSboI6xZew Jim Stoppani grew up in the shadow of a very fit family – his dad was a professional boxer and his cousin was a US Olympic weightlifter. He’d always aspired to have strength. As well as being into bodybuilding, Jim was active playing baseball, racing motorcross and involved in other sports. He decided to study sports medicine and soon saw the transition between an industry concentration on cardio to the rise of weights and resistance training through new research and studies. From here, Jim took more of an interest in exercise physiol

Always growing and inspiring others on their paths to success, Frank Napolitano is passionate about personal development, new experiences and sharing knowledge with his peers for the betterment of everyone. In this episode, he gives us insight into how to survive and thrive as the president of the world’s largest fitness chain. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/uQ2JRZvLm7Q Frank Napolitano isn’t your typical fitpro. He started his career in public accounting before becoming a lawyer and then pivoting into real estate. It wasn’t until 1984 that he ended up owning a single gym almost by accident. From here, he began acquiring and adapting larger facilities previously used for tennis that had become unprofitable. Growing this network with his business partner, Frank also developed a chain of hotels. However, it was the fitness industry he fell in love with. Frank has developed an understanding to know what both employees and customers need. He also appreciates the differences between what peop

In this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast, we’re invited to experience a party on a bike with president of CycleBar franchising, Ryan Junk. Ambitious, intelligent and experienced, Ryan takes us all on a ride to further our personal growth and understanding of what makes a great entrepreneur. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/hRY8AxHXHig Bob Marley fan Ryan Junk grew up in a small town in Hawaii. While he didn’t graduate from college, his success has come following an original goal of becoming a district manager – Ryan has far surpassed that. He’s passionate about educating employees to sell in the right way, embracing historical approaches and adapting them to the modern fitness space and needs of clients. Through understanding and intuition, Ryan has implemented his logic and quick reaction times to go from success to success in 24 Hour Fitness, UFC GYM and more before joining another one of the most successful companies around today.  He explains the challenges and benefits of fra

Host of the Escape Your Limits podcast, Matthew Januszek, looks back on the year and gives valuable insight on how to start a podcast, how to overcome challenges, and how to always keep improving in anything you do. It’s been an incredible first year for the Escape Your Limits podcast. Across 60 episodes, guests range from Mr Olympia bodybuilding legends and UFC fighters to exciting new fitness entrepreneurs and veterans of the industry. Thanks to you, we’ve clocked up well over one million minutes of viewing time on YouTube alone. This final episode of 2018 aims to give a reflection on a successful year and more. Host Matthew Januszek will talk through how we got started, how we overcame challenges, what we’ve learned and how you can use the most important lessons to better your own life. Thanks for your support over the past year and thank you for listening. Watch the video – https://youtu.be/5L2pI4mUjXc   Episode highlights Lessons we’ve learned about patterns within the fitness industry from key entrepre

A world leader in both physical and digital fitness, Rasmus Ingerslev has founded innovative club chains, built business brands and successfully sold ventures to move onto the next entrepreneurial opportunity time and time again. Watch the full episode on YouTube - https://youtu.be/UgaOg8bxm3g Driven by looking after loved ones, Rasmus Ingerslev grew up with a single mother of three. He’s always had a desire to create a safe environment around his family. His mother passed away from cancer when he was 16. One source of inspiration to succeed was a promise Rasmus made to himself that he will never be in the position where he can’t afford to pay for any treatment relating to the health of his family. Aside from entrepreneurial ventures, he’s also been a martial arts athlete – a heavyweight in the national karate team, winning a national team title as payback for all the hard work he put in. Alongside every great man is a great woman; in the case of Rasmus Ingerslev he stands beside his medical doctor and neuros

Overcoming her own challenges and pushing herself at every possibility, Pauline Nordin knows the importance of physical wellbeing and mental health. As a competitive bodybuilder, top fitness model and television personality, she used her experiences to create Fighter Diet and prove that fitness is more about your mindset than the shape of your body. Defining both mental and physical strength, Pauline now runs her multi-million dollar fitness company, inspiring women to be the best versions of themselves. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/plSTV53PzAc Pauline Nordin travelled to the USA from Sweden in Europe after saving up to start a new life. To begin with while learning a whole new culture, she lived off a 99c store as that’s all she could afford. However, that wasn’t the start of her struggles. Pauline had been starving herself through anorexia between 12 and 17 in order to change her physical appearance based around a want for the contemporary skinny chic body. She would only eat one ser

 CEO and founder of LiveFit apparel, Randall Pich is a serial entrepreneur with a history of multi-million dollar success. Following a clear vision and strong brand values, he’s riding the wave of social media popularity through endless apparel innovation in fashion and fitness. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/cp1zMUQ_Nek Randall was born and raised in the mix of poverty and gang activity in Long Beach, California. His parents had survived the genocide in Cambodia and came to the USA, making him a first generation citizen. Randall started his entrepreneurial journey making t-shirts for his band at school. Along with taking an interest in bodybuilding, he graduated high school and got into college – discovering its kinesiology department before getting certified as a personal trainer. Following a PT career, he grew his business while still at college. It didn’t take long for orders to come in, business to increase, and the decision to leave a six-figure business and education for the life

International speaker and founder of Retention Guru, Paul Bedford, knows the importance of behaviour, because he knows what we all do. Through continuous research, he’s evaluated the effect of four million fitness space and gym member records across 40 countries.  He’s led data studies that change the way we think in the fitness industry, such as research from 357,000 customers over a four-year period from 100 different operators in a single retention report. This is how to get to know your customer. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/wudEgTwffaM Paul Bedford started in the fitness industry working in a YMCA as a gym instructor. He couldn’t understand why members would come into the gym full of enthusiasm but then either stop doing the programme or stop coming in altogether. Paul realised the need for a better understanding of psychology over kinesiology when it came to keeping people in the gym. He undertook a Master’s degree in exercise and health behaviour before following that up with a

Joseph McClendon III is an ultimate performance specialist that has impacted millions of people to change their lives for the better. In this open and moving episode he explains how to overcome fear, attract positivity, and dare to make your life magnificent. Watch the full episode on YouTube –https://youtu.be/RYOq6AAOCZc Joseph McClendon III used to be homeless, living in a cardboard box after being the victim of a racial attack by three men. It made Joseph feel worthless and he blamed himself. During that time, he was given a book called Think and Grow Rich that changed his life. He turned everything around thanks to a new look and approach before adapting these ideas for himself and sharing them with others. Joseph went back to thank the person that gave him the book in the first place to say thank you, and was inspired to help as many people as possible in the same way. His path to success was borne from his lowest point. Today, with a doctorate in neuropsychology Joseph McClendon III has changed the live

Eitan Kramer is a world record holding vert ramp inline skater. He has travelled the world with Matt Hoffman, Tony Hawk and other action sports stars to lead a movement before putting his experience into effect with a whole new way of skating – the Morfboard. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/kWqToAira8E Eitan grew up in a time where action sports were growing with every street meet, every event and every competition. At 12 years old, he noticed that rollerblading was getting more popular. He wanted to be a part of it. Throughout his youth, skating went from being a hobby, to a passion, to a profession. Alongside other skaters, Eitan began innovating in an industry that had evolved from other sports to become its own market and movement. He set a Guinness World Record for the highest air in a half pipe at an MTV festival in 1999, while continuously travelling the world, skating with communities and sharing the mutual love for movement, regardless of any language barriers. Action sports have

As if being a super heavyweight world champion powerlifter wasn’t enough, Big Boy of Strength Cartel heads up an apparel and nutrition line that’s leading the way with genuine passion, little ego and plenty of respect. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/8wi8hQrecvg Middle child of his siblings, Big Boy grew up in Pasadena, LA. He always liked sports and always loved working out. He took part in baseball, basketball, soccer, fighting, boxing, and more, but it was football that he was truly passionate about. Big Boy played on defence and had dreams of playing in the NFL. That’s how he originally got into lifting. By 17 years old, he’d dropped out of school, lived on his own and got in trouble. However, his explosive power and agility from a sports background and fast-twitch fitness meant that he had something to fall back on and develop into the business we see today. Big Boy’s come from a place where he didn’t like to put himself out there. He wasn’t a fan of social media and didn’t want his

An icon of MMA and keystone to the success of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Tito Ortiz overcame a tough upbringing to not only hold a UFC belt, but build business after business through hard work and dedication. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/Ixs6ovUUmxg Born to drug addicted parents, Tito Ortiz began life living in motels, cars, and other people’s garages. He started hanging out with gangs before his conscience kicked in. He ditched the life of crime to earn money fishing.  It didn’t take long at school for physicality to get his attention. A successful school wrestling record saw him starting out as a wrestling partner for UFC fighter Tank Abbott. At the time because of his education, if Tito got paid to fight, he’d lose his scholarship. So he fought for free, twice in one night at UFC 13, beating one Wes Albritton in under a minute, before getting caught in a submission by Guy Mezger in the finals. Tito Ortiz’s career saw him win a world title after one year of competition, befo

Heading up a seven-figure advertising agency for the fitness industry, Mike Arce knows why any advertisement or marketing effort needs to be more than just a short-term offer. Mike is responsible for the success of thousands of fitness spaces around the world. Having been in the industry for well over a decade, he’s learnt the importance of sticking to what you know and doing it well.  He’s been in fitness long before his advertising interests took hold. Before moving into marketing, his time at LA Fitness, Pure Fitness, and his own PT company taught him valuable insight into audience, behaviour and how to focus 100% on a customer or client’s needs.  Discovering a passion for sales, Mike felt that he could do promotion and marketing for any industry. This, however, soon became too overwhelming and a specialist approach was needed.  Niched back down into fitness, and now Mike’s company is responsible for the success of fitness and wellness companies worldwide. He’s also the host of video podcasts, The GOAT Sho

Chris Luera has spent a lot of time behind bars, but now he swings from them. From gang life and drug abuse to competing for glory in fitness, he’s not only turned his life around to influence others with his positive change, but he’s also risen to the top of his fitness game as a world champion in calisthenics. It all starts with hope. Born into a family of drug addicted parents, Chris Luera was surrounded by social services and abuse from day one. His birth mother died when he was 18 months old, and he went into foster care aged two and a half. His biological father couldn’t cope.  Chris’ great aunt, aged 56, adopted Chris and took him in. His aunt and uncle became his mother and father. Despite this new loving environment, he’d began to experimented with drugs and was arrested by the age 11. He was smoking crack cocaine by 13, and descended into a life of gangs, crime and meth addiction between multiple prison sentences. What followed was an incredible turn around of positivity and giving back to the world

Investment is more than just about the stock market. Money makes the world go round, but it’s education, fitness and wellness where private equity investor Gregg Wilson is placing his bets for the future. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/qbbP-2UUEKE In his own words, Gregg Wilson has always valued the dollar. He grew up in a family-held business and got to grips with the highs and lows before wanting to get involved more with the finance side. From there, he took a further interest in banking, starting as a generalist before finding his passion for entrepreneurialism in wellness and education. Gregg has had continued success throughout his career, having founded two private equity firms, worked with CIVIC Partners, which managed over $1 billion of capital for Bank of America, invested in LA Fitness at a time when profitability had soared to $40m due to revenue growth, and more. Gregg is no stranger to this world, as he has 40 years of investing under his belt. His company, Maxim Partners,

Change is hard. Storyteller, speaker and coach, Bobby Cappuccio, educates us on how to roll with resistance and be objective in order to bring out the best, whether personally or professionally. Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/6P4iuKGrdPA Overcoming a number of hardships in an abusive Brooklyn upbringing, Bobby took to fitness as a way of not getting noticed. It was something he could do by himself. With Tourette’s and physical disfiguration as a child, the limelight was the last thing he wanted at the time. He’s passionate about both performance and movement, but also communication, empathy and training people to make the world a better place. Bobby has a rich history within the fitness industry. As co-founder of PT Academy Global and through his work as a presenter and author, he’s leading change from the front and educating the industry with every seminar or publication. Prior to that, he’s worked in influential positions at 24 Hour Fitness, FitPro and the National Academy of Sports Me