Thursday, 23 July 2009
Bath Kettlebells: an interview with Chris Rogers
One of our EKI's Chris Rogers (CR) is doing really well at the moment in spite of the 'current economic crisis', recently I caught up with Chris to ask him about his business and how it is developing.
BJ: Hi Chris. Thanks for taking time out to answer a couple of questions and to tell people about your business.
CR: Not a problem BJ. Glad to have a chat.
BJ: Let's get straight to it- How long have you been in the fitness industry?
CR: I started working in the fitness industry back in 2002
BJ: What qualifications do you have?
CR: I have a BSc Science in Health, Exercise & Sport, N.A.S.M certified personal trainer, SMA level 4 Sports massage therapist, Muscle Activation Technique practitioner, N.A.S.M Pregnancy Specialist, Extreme Advanced Kettlebell Instructor and Optimal Life fitness Olympic lifting, Spin, Circuits and Aerobics!-
BJ: It's quite a list! What sports did/do you play?
CR: I am a Black belt in Tae Kwon Do, dabble in mountain biking and muck around on a snowboard as often as I can
BJ: Blakc belt- nice! What jobs/roles have you had in the fitness industry?
CR: I started off teaching classes to earn some beer money through Uni. That progressed to a studio managers job when I finished and I then landed the Fitness Managers job.
About a year later I became a general manager for a well known health club chain which was enough to get me looking for a change!
I was lucky enough to become Campus manager at the Australian Institute of fitness in Spain (Now the European Institute of Fitness). Although the sun, sea and Sangria was great I was really missing training people and being in that environment, I knew being behind a desk just wasn't for me anymore.
That's when I booked on the Optimal life fitness Extreme Kettlebell Instructor course in December 2007, came back to the UK to start my career as a personal trainer.
BJ: Your business look quite impressive. Tell us about the Bath Kettlebell Bootcamps . How long have they been running, how many attend?
CR: Bath Kettlebell Bootcamps started January 2009, we currently train around 40 people a month spread over 2 bootcamps who's main goals are fat loss, strength & Fitness. We run 3 week and 4 week bootcamps that include 3-4 sessions per week, email/phone support, a nutrition plan and activity logs for them to complete outside of bootcamp sessions. They also get support through a bootcamp blog with posts about training and nutrition. We have had some amazing results, which has been great for referrals & repeat business, one bootcamp member lost 14lbs in 3 weeks, we recently had 3 weeks to get a girl to fit into her wedding dress...she dropped a whole dress size.
BJ: Why did you set these up?
CR: Obviously times are supposedly tough at the moment so I wanted to create a second source of income just in case personal training was gonna be limited. I also saw a gap in what we offer as trainers. There are allot of people who cannot afford personal training 3 x a week with a nutrition plan on top it all mounts up. We can offer this at a fraction of the cost in a group setting. This works out allot better value for the customer and in terms of my business, I work 5 hours a week teaching bootcamps, to earn the same from just personal training sessions I would have to do 16-18 hours a week of pt. The bootcamps have added 50% to my yearly revenue so far and I'm only working an extra 5 hours a week!
BJ: How have your clients enjoyed using Kettlebells?
CR: They have seriously loved them. They are such a versatile tool for a personal trainer, there’s no mucking around with them either, they get the job done. Allot of my female clients have actually bought your pink bells to train with at home.
BJ: What kind of results have your clients experienced using bells in your classes?
CR: It's massively varied. Fat loss is probably the overriding result but strength also, it;'s great to see how much they come on in just 4 weeks. One member lost 2 stone over 9 weeks doing 3 back to back bootcamps. One client recently summed it up by saying that 'Training without kettlebells is boring now, nothing comes close!'.
BJ: You’ve also been on our OWL course have you put any of this into use?
CR: That was a tough course but great in terms of what we learnt and take away exercises. I use OL a fair bit with my sports specific clients. What I thought was great about the course and has helped enormously with clients is the way you built up each lift with the build up exercises like the drop snatch. Really useful when your teaching a client.
BJ: What are your training/ life philosophies?
CR: I definitely like to think of our body’s as temples, exercise and good nutrition is so important to a happy, healthy life.
BJ: What are plans for the future?
CR: I am looking to set up multiple bootcamp sites in the next 12 months in and around Bristol & Bath with trainers working for me, the first one is scheduled to open in September. I am also currently building a private studio for my personal clients which should be ready in the next 6 months in time for January.
BJ: Where do you see the fitness industry in 5 years?
CR: I think group training & small group training will get bigger and bigger. Personal trainers will start to realise that it's not about how many sessions a week you do but how much you can earn an hour that really makes a difference. Not everyone can train the rich & famous and not everyone can afford pt. Group training gives you the potential to earn big time money per hour and reach a whole lot more people. Imagine earning the equivalent of 30 personal training hours a week in just 10 hours? Bath Kettlebell Bootcamps has allowed me to do this which has in turn allowed me to increase my personal training rates and be more picky with who I train.
BJ: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
CR: Living in a hot country again! I want to be running a number of fitness themed companies, creating multiple revenue streams including a bootcamp holiday company. Multiple revenue streams are a sure fire way to recession proof a business, become wealthy and make life easier!
BJ: Thanks for your time Chris and bext of luck with finding some sun!!
BJ: Hi Chris. Thanks for taking time out to answer a couple of questions and to tell people about your business.
CR: Not a problem BJ. Glad to have a chat.
BJ: Let's get straight to it- How long have you been in the fitness industry?
CR: I started working in the fitness industry back in 2002
BJ: What qualifications do you have?
CR: I have a BSc Science in Health, Exercise & Sport, N.A.S.M certified personal trainer, SMA level 4 Sports massage therapist, Muscle Activation Technique practitioner, N.A.S.M Pregnancy Specialist, Extreme Advanced Kettlebell Instructor and Optimal Life fitness Olympic lifting, Spin, Circuits and Aerobics!-
BJ: It's quite a list! What sports did/do you play?
CR: I am a Black belt in Tae Kwon Do, dabble in mountain biking and muck around on a snowboard as often as I can
BJ: Blakc belt- nice! What jobs/roles have you had in the fitness industry?
CR: I started off teaching classes to earn some beer money through Uni. That progressed to a studio managers job when I finished and I then landed the Fitness Managers job.
About a year later I became a general manager for a well known health club chain which was enough to get me looking for a change!
I was lucky enough to become Campus manager at the Australian Institute of fitness in Spain (Now the European Institute of Fitness). Although the sun, sea and Sangria was great I was really missing training people and being in that environment, I knew being behind a desk just wasn't for me anymore.
That's when I booked on the Optimal life fitness Extreme Kettlebell Instructor course in December 2007, came back to the UK to start my career as a personal trainer.
BJ: Your business look quite impressive. Tell us about the Bath Kettlebell Bootcamps . How long have they been running, how many attend?
CR: Bath Kettlebell Bootcamps started January 2009, we currently train around 40 people a month spread over 2 bootcamps who's main goals are fat loss, strength & Fitness. We run 3 week and 4 week bootcamps that include 3-4 sessions per week, email/phone support, a nutrition plan and activity logs for them to complete outside of bootcamp sessions. They also get support through a bootcamp blog with posts about training and nutrition. We have had some amazing results, which has been great for referrals & repeat business, one bootcamp member lost 14lbs in 3 weeks, we recently had 3 weeks to get a girl to fit into her wedding dress...she dropped a whole dress size.
BJ: Why did you set these up?
CR: Obviously times are supposedly tough at the moment so I wanted to create a second source of income just in case personal training was gonna be limited. I also saw a gap in what we offer as trainers. There are allot of people who cannot afford personal training 3 x a week with a nutrition plan on top it all mounts up. We can offer this at a fraction of the cost in a group setting. This works out allot better value for the customer and in terms of my business, I work 5 hours a week teaching bootcamps, to earn the same from just personal training sessions I would have to do 16-18 hours a week of pt. The bootcamps have added 50% to my yearly revenue so far and I'm only working an extra 5 hours a week!
BJ: How have your clients enjoyed using Kettlebells?
CR: They have seriously loved them. They are such a versatile tool for a personal trainer, there’s no mucking around with them either, they get the job done. Allot of my female clients have actually bought your pink bells to train with at home.
BJ: What kind of results have your clients experienced using bells in your classes?
CR: It's massively varied. Fat loss is probably the overriding result but strength also, it;'s great to see how much they come on in just 4 weeks. One member lost 2 stone over 9 weeks doing 3 back to back bootcamps. One client recently summed it up by saying that 'Training without kettlebells is boring now, nothing comes close!'.
BJ: You’ve also been on our OWL course have you put any of this into use?
CR: That was a tough course but great in terms of what we learnt and take away exercises. I use OL a fair bit with my sports specific clients. What I thought was great about the course and has helped enormously with clients is the way you built up each lift with the build up exercises like the drop snatch. Really useful when your teaching a client.
BJ: What are your training/ life philosophies?
CR: I definitely like to think of our body’s as temples, exercise and good nutrition is so important to a happy, healthy life.
BJ: What are plans for the future?
CR: I am looking to set up multiple bootcamp sites in the next 12 months in and around Bristol & Bath with trainers working for me, the first one is scheduled to open in September. I am also currently building a private studio for my personal clients which should be ready in the next 6 months in time for January.
BJ: Where do you see the fitness industry in 5 years?
CR: I think group training & small group training will get bigger and bigger. Personal trainers will start to realise that it's not about how many sessions a week you do but how much you can earn an hour that really makes a difference. Not everyone can train the rich & famous and not everyone can afford pt. Group training gives you the potential to earn big time money per hour and reach a whole lot more people. Imagine earning the equivalent of 30 personal training hours a week in just 10 hours? Bath Kettlebell Bootcamps has allowed me to do this which has in turn allowed me to increase my personal training rates and be more picky with who I train.
BJ: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
CR: Living in a hot country again! I want to be running a number of fitness themed companies, creating multiple revenue streams including a bootcamp holiday company. Multiple revenue streams are a sure fire way to recession proof a business, become wealthy and make life easier!
BJ: Thanks for your time Chris and bext of luck with finding some sun!!
posted by bj rule @ 12:06
1 comments
1 Comments:
Chris also has another domain :
Bath Kettlebell Bootcamp
Post a Comment
<< Home