Today we’d like to introduce you to Colby Gibson.
Hi Colby, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I’ve been involved in the fitness industry for over 15 years now. I started working out when I was a teenager and realized pretty quickly that I loved to work with clients and help them achieve their goals. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma, where I played football, and later became a personal trainer. I eventually moved to Houston and became the Personal Training Director for LA Fitness. It was there that I got promoted to District Manager, but everything seemed more about numbers than people. So, I started my own studio in 2020, now widely known as Illuminate Sweat, and developed a phenomenal program design that we call “The Perfect Workout.”
That first year was tough, but we were fortunate enough to retain roughly 85% of our members during the height of the pandemic. We switched from an in-person model to a temporary virtual platform until we were able to resume “normal”. We’ve been blessed to have a loyal clientele who understood what happened and still wanted us to be their personal trainers. We couldn’t help but feel proud—it’s not often that people stick around after something like that happens! Ever since then, we’ve been growing every single day and have become one of the top HIIT studios in Houston because of it!
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?
When we started Illuminate Sweat, it looked like things might be smooth sailing for a while. We had a great workout that was catching on, and we were really excited about the momentum of our company.
The challenges we faced were in the beginning stages of scaling the business: we opened just weeks before the pandemic took over our lives and had to quickly adjust to new regulations and shutdowns. But even though things were sometimes tense at work, it was also a lot of fun seeing our workout transition into a virtual platform to grow in popularity and hearing from all of you who loved it as much as we did.
We’re really proud of what we accomplished with Illuminate Sweat in those early stages and I’m so happy to see it continue to grow.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Here at Illuminate Sweat, we are personal training in a group setting. We focus more on metabolism-boosting by building lean muscle so we can make these changes a little more permanent. We split up muscle groups throughout the week so that we are able to isolate and build the lean muscle needed to tone and boost metabolism. We utilize 4- 10 minute rounds and have 4 types of cardio equipment split up into 2 rounds including an impact-resistant treadmill, water rower, fan bike, and skiers. We incorporate 2 rounds of strength training with our Floor and Rack Group. Our Floor Group uses aerobic steps, dumbbells, medicine balls, kettlebells, bands, and sliders for 10 minutes. Finally, the thing that sets us apart from most studios is our Rack Group. This group has 6 full-size racks with barbells, bumper plates, landmines, TRX straps, and hex bars. We are able to do a little more complex exercising here with the program design we utilize. We take a lot of pride in our studio and building genuine relationships that help us get more buy-in from our great clientele base. This helps them understand that we really want them to reach their goals as much as they do! Our coaches are able to coach someone with little to no experience all the way to super advances. There are modifications to every workout due to injury/illness, experience level, or lack of range of motion. We want this to be a getaway for our members. A place where they can come to have fun and relieve some stresses of the world! You’ll always be greeted with a smile and friendly face here at Sweat. We offer nutrition coaching, supplement advice, and testing to make sure we are providing every tool to reach goals as quickly and safely as possible. WE are the perfect workout in an hour!
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Our coaches are the best in the business because they genuinely care about their clients and want to see them succeed. They’ve been through our program and know firsthand how effective it is. Our coaches will work with you to design a program that fits your needs and goals, no matter where you are now.
What’s more, we have a mission that is bigger than just getting you results: we want to help you be the best version of yourself possible. We won’t just help you meet your weight goal—we’ll help you create the life that YOU envision for yourself and get there faster than ever before.
Pricing:
- Your first class is absolutely free!
Contact Info:
- Email: teamsweat@illuminatesweat.com
- Website: www.illuminatesweat.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/illuminatesweat
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/illuminatesweat
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzomjfiEFhntObjIktraH6g
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/illuminate-sweat-houston-3?osq=Illuminate+Sweat
Image Credits
Jay Jackson (@shotofjay on Instagram)
