Today we’d like to introduce you to Nate Bran.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I fell in love with fitness and what eludes from it since I was a teenager. I started working out at 14 for several reasons. Girls, I wanted to look like “Arnold” from Terminator, I wanted to be strong to defend myself if I ever needed to, I wanted to build confidence in myself, I was tired of being small, “weak” one in class. Unlike other hobbies in my life, I never quit the gym. There have been so many ups downs, but I never quit. As I got older, my body continued to develop, and I found myself inspiring others at the gym I went to. I never realized it until there were people coming up to me asking me for advice on “how to build their arms bigger” or “what kind of foods I ate.” In addition, strangers whom I became acquaintances with down the road would tell me how much I motivated them.
I’ve been working since I was 15 years old, and definitely, understand what hard work is. I always hated working for other people, especially corporations. At the age of 18, I was informed about a sales position at a cell phone company. I remember telling my friends how I wanted to apply and they laughed. They stated “I don’t think you’ll be good at sales” (They were already working in wireless) I applied and got the job. It was a seasonal position and if I performed well, they would keep me. It was a huge risk to leave my previous job in which I was comfortable and it wasn’t guaranteed. So I busted my tail off, and out of all the seasonal employees in the company, I was the only one to stay.
I got promoted within 6 months, and after a while, selling cell phones just got old. I never had a passion for it, and doubt anyone does. I always wanted to be a personal trainer, but never actually believed in myself. I had this habit of allowing fear to control my life. One day I was bored at work, so I applied at a High-end corporate gym. I received a call back based on my resume but was told that I needed to be certified and to call back when I had it. I used up all my savings to pay for my certification course and studied every day. I passed up opportunities to make money at my cell phone job to stay in the back and study. I was checked out and determined to become a personal trainer.
I remember my market manager at the time asked me “what are your plans within this company? Do you want to keep moving up?” I quickly responded “No” He then said with a confused face “Then what do you want to do?” “I want to be a bodybuilder, and I want to make a career out of it with fitness” I’ll never forget how he somewhat laughed at my response and said ” Come on, man? Really? Don’t you think you should shoot for something more realistic?”
Weeks later, rather than calling them I drove up there and asked to speak to the personal training manager, and told him ” You told me I needed to have my certification, and to call you when I did. Well, I’m here, and here’s my certification” He was impressed and interviewed me shortly after and before you know it, I was working as a personal trainer. Never in my life did I absolutely love going to work knowing I was going to do stuff I loved. My passion
Months passed and I struggled horribly. I knew I could be a good trainer, I simply couldn’t sign anyone up. I would have 5-6 appointments a day where each one was an opportunity to sign someone up, but I was constantly told “No” I would go home in tears asking myself “Why am I here? Should I go back to selling cell phones? (I was good at that)” I was told that corporate was going to be coming down to audit us and to let go of the ones who were not at goal. I was on that list to be let go. There was a new sales presentation that the company was going to launch and I happened to be the first to be tested out. Coincidence? I think not.
I prepared and studied the sales presentation like my job depended on it because it did. So there I was, the very first person to be tested out and shockingly to corporate, they stopped me before I could finish and said “We’ve heard enough. That was by far the best presentation we’ve ever heard. There’s no need to keep going. Can you teach others?” I found my niche. I discovered how to relay my passion and conviction for fitness to members, therefore, signing them up. At one point my closing percentage was in the 80% range. I got promoted, then promoted again to a different location. I managed a team of about 15 trainers and that was when I feel I truly sharpened the managerial saw and grew peoples business. I made trainers more successful and made the ones that were struggling increase their business.
I learned my gift, but during this time, I was demanded by upper management things that I did not agree with. Long story short, that company taught me to start hating personal training. That’s when I knew I needed to make a change. So stepped down from management and tried to sell insurance on the side. I worked part-time as a trainer (which wasn’t allowed, but they let me because my numbers were still more than the full-timers) I tried selling insurance for 6 weeks. I went from business to business, door to door, and got rejected 100% of the time. I was stressed, miserable, worried, and most of all, unhappy.
A client took me to Colorado with him February 2015 and asked me why I was selling insurance when I was such a great trainer. I told him I wanted to be better off financially. He then asked me “How much can you make selling insurance?” I answered “sky’s the limit” He then asked, ” How much can you make with a training studio?” “Sky’s the limit” I responded. He then said, ” Sky’s the limit is a common factor, so why not do what you love and what you’re already great at?”
It was an “Aha” moment for me. They went to a bar that night and invited me to go, I passed on the opportunity to go out. I stayed home that night and started looking up prices of equipment, how much I could make, spaces for lease. That’s the day I started working toward my dream of working for myself but more importantly, doing what I absolutely love. 6 months later, I quit my company and opened my own personal training studio. illumiNATE FITness was Born. We had so many ups and downs, first year, year and a half was so difficult. The bank account was always negative first of the month after bills were paid, I found myself saving every penny.
I honestly was worried, but always had faith. Courtney (my girlfriend) helped me keep my faith and continue to believe in myself. I now have 10 trainers that train out of my studio as independent contractors, and we all love what we do. We all have fun and truly enjoy what we were all put on this earth to do. Impact people through health and fitness.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not smooth at all,
-Previous company threatened to sue me
-My sister was diagnosed with stage 4 triple negative breast cancer
-My parents needed help financially as well
-I lost many “friends”
-Late nights, early mornings
Please tell us about illumiNATE Fitness.
We focus on personal training.Specialize in body transformation, weight loss, corrective exercise, group training, Nutrition coaching, program design.
I’m most proud of the fact that I provide a facility for trainers to make a living and feel appreciated in their workplace. It’s an amazing feeling.
What sets me apart from others? I go the extra mile for all my clients and the trainers there. I create a place where people want to be a part of through positive energy and encouragement.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing. I wouldn’t change anything. I’m very grateful for where I’m at today and will continue to work hard to where a year from now I’ll be more successful than I am today
If you asked me that then, I probably may have said some things, only because I was trying to understand why the bad times were happening. Why the struggles were there, but as Steve Jobs said ” You cannot connect the dots moving forward, you can only connect them looking backward”
Pricing:
- 1:1 personal training sessions starting at 65/session
- Bootcamp: 180/month for 12 classes (meal suggestions included) (15/class)
- Online coaching: 150/month – Covers weekly check-ins, biweekly program design updates
Contact Info:
- Address: 8560 Katy Fwy 170
Houston Tx 77024 - Website: www.illuminate-fitness.com
- Phone: 8322768428
- Email: nathanielbran@gmail.com
- Instagram: illuminate_fitness
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/illuminatefitness
Image Credit:
Wayne Ceasar
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