Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Mata.
Hi Carlos, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Most of my life as a kid, I was very insecure, shy, and unconfident in who I was growing up. At 18, like most young men, I had a really tough heartbreak and really bad depression that lead me to attempt suicide. In my lowest moment, I had this strong moment, a voice, guiding me to just go home and think about things. When I got home, I searched online about how people coped with suicide and depression. I remember reading an article about a man who lost his family and was so upset that he took his anger out in a positive way. He would go to the gym every day and express himself without hurting himself and others and that led to him moving on with purpose in life to continue to live.
I left the next day to a 24Hr Fitness nearby and signed up for a 1-year membership with all the money I had left from my high school job and made a commitment to never feel down again. I went in every day to express my pain and to prove to myself my own value without doing anything bad. I was very little (130lbs) and very weak, however, what mattered to me was to just escape my pain. Every day I went in and tried my best. I search for little programs online, studied what others did in the gym, spent 2-3 hours a day in the gym to just get away for myself. Slowly after, people would come up to me and compliment my lifts, say hello and talk to me, people who knew me complimented my appearance. Slowly, I started to feel really good.
About a year later, an individual saw me lifting and asked if I was a powerlifter. I didn’t know what that was and he explained I should look into it and give it a shot. I looked it up and shortly after, I decided to sign up. I won my first powerlifting meet, spent the next few years growing in the sport and led all the way to a world championship in 2011. To this day, I still compete after 18 years!
Now lifting has saved my life in more than just the gym. It taught me how to be confident in my abilities, to be humble about others because you really never know where they are in their progress/journey, but more importantly, everybody has value.
Powerlifting and training was a hobby for years because my full time job was working in healthcare in the supply chain (what I got my bachelors in) but was always miserable. I didn’t find value in the roles but it was a job. I always dreamed of being a trainer because I wanted to help people see that fitness is more than just working out. That it can save lives and give people purpose. It made me happy to think of doing it for a living. But the pay never seem to make sense, as the average salary was under $40k.
Eventually, I decided to quit my job and take a jump to be a full time trainer. Within my first 6 months, I was the leading trainer in 24 Hour Fitness and then one of the leading fitness professionals at Lifetime Fitness.
Now, my business partner and I are opening our own fitness center to revolutionize fitness for people who want care, quality, and results. All of this was a chain reaction to when I was 18 and truly an experience
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As a fitness professional, the hours are very long, sometimes 15-hour days. Starting off, you have to find your own book of business, really devote yourself to the craft of training, and hustle. But the hardest part is when you build relationships with your clients and try to find ways to help them. Obviously, you want to have them be successful but its also depends on what they are willing to do without you, and that is the hard part.
As an entrepreneur, raising capital was really the hardest struggle for the business. In fitness, gyms fail 90% of the time, so raising capital in an unsteady economy and with a vision without a product was very difficult.
I bring these two subjects up because at the root of it all, confidence and problem-solving is what made both challenges something I was successful in solving. You have to be confident in being able to pivot and solve solutions for your business and your clients. Any great trainer and entrepreneur will tell you have to have strong confidence and believes in your abilities to overcome and thrive
We’ve been impressed with Sigma Performance Training, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As the owner of Sigma Performance Training, we wanted to bring technology and fitness together to help drive results as fast as possible in one’s fitness journey. We provide the best of personal training utilizing every tool from Metabolics, labs, DexaScans, and top fitness professionals to be able to not only forecast how to get an individual the goals expected, but also to build a community of care and respect.
Most training facilities look at training as another revenue target to their business without really listening to the clients’ needs, wants and information. Sigma Performance Training was created with the client at the center of the business.
The objective we had was simple, give our clients every tool possible to achieve their desired health and fitness goals by providing all the information needed, in house, while truly making the client enjoy the experience.
Sigma Performance Training wanted training to be as a team, meaning, every client knows every fitness professional, as we feel a community can help the client rather than just an individual.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Fitness professionals really know 2 things.
1) Never stop studying. Most fitness professionals get their certifications and quit studying at that moment. Training is always evolving. Never stop learning and applying to your business or else you’ll be no different than the norm in the fitness industry.
2) Know your business. What I mean by that is, review your clients weekly and track their progress. This shows professionalism, care and respect for your clients’ hard-spent money. Secondly, review how many sessions weekly you train and how many clients you have. Also, evaluate your charge rate. Many fitness professionals undervalue their work IF they are providing a quality product. Lastly, learn business and finance to understand how to improve your own fitness business.
I really wish I knew how much fun and excitement with being a fitness professional was. I would have left my corporate career sooner!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Alchemyofstrength
Image Credits
Chris Gillett
