Community Highlights: Meet Eugene Williams of Infinit8 Fitness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eugene Williams.

Hi Eugene, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m from Austin and grew up in southside Dove Springs. When it comes to training, my belief is that there are Infinite new beginnings in fitness. To reach our highest levels of fitness, we need each other. Traveling alone is fantastic but traveling together guarantees longevity and success. At Infinit8 Fitness (i8), this core principle for growth is confirmed. Like most fitness professionals, fitness has been a part of my whole life. Initially, I watched my father and learned how to mentally focus on training your body consistently through his own dedication to it. I found myself working for a great company but sitting for most of my workday and then transitioning into the fire service and in need of some dynamic training. I used my then sedentary job to incorporate work break push-up contests or early morning workout sessions with co-workers, but only in small amounts of time and knew I was not able to stay long-term in a sedentary field.

My fire and passion for group training came through the fire service. I knew my gifts and talents were created to serve. I just didn’t know how. God has blessed me with the ability to connect with people and I value the opportunity to know, learn and support others. As my education in the fire sciences grew, my physical growth began. To stay ready for any fire opportunity, I needed to train dynamically. My amazing wife signed us up for an outdoor fitness Bootcamp. Wake-ups at 5:00 am for a 5:30 burn in the cold really taught me something. If you genuinely want to grow and find out who you are, take time to put yourself in situations that will challenge you. Who you are will show in time. The boot camps were led by a spirited coach and I thrived in them. The owner gave me an opportunity that I wasn’t prepared for, he mentioned how my connection with everyone was potent and he wanted me to cover a camp for him while he was out of town. I bombed horribly, but I tried and he saw something in me and continued to give me opportunities to teach. This grew from a fun hobby/part-time gig into a full-time career of training and growing with people on their fitness journey.

When the time was right, My wife and I decided to own our own fitness business, and that’s how Infinit8 Fitness was created. We have a great community! We started outside at Brushy Creek Park, rain, sleet, or snow we were there, happy and driven. One of my clients had a great relationship with Dr. Higgins, who owns Cedar Park Emergency Center and he had a facility with space to offer us. We are so thankful that Dr. Higgins offered us some flex space to begin growing. Infinit8 fitness doubled in memberships while we started toward our mission to strengthen our community. Flash forward a year later, we were able to move into the 3600 sq. ft building we are currently at, next to CPEC. Three years later, we are moving from that updated facility and working with a General Contractor to an even more updated building. I get chills thinking about it. To see where we came from to where we are is fantastic. However, the most critical part is our community’s growth and change. Over the last five years, we have celebrated new babies and also walked through hard losses with one another. We’ve socialized off-hours at numerous i8 happy hours and also registered and ran in groups at plenty of Spartan races cheering each other on. I’ve even had the joy of officiating client’s weddings, as most of us become friends and family. Along the way, hundreds of pounds of fat have been lost, health markers have improved for so many and strength goals have been reached. All stemming from a goal to help change someone’s life through fitness and community.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
If it’s ever been smooth then I take that as an indicator that we aren’t moving. I have a great team of coaches and partners who all lean into the success of i8.

Honestly, from the start the biggest obstacle was capital. I had a vision and met up with a friend, filmed a promo video to crowdfund for the gym. In that video, I mentioned bathrooms, a larger facility with brand new equipment and at the time, there was no capital but my conviction was so high I believed and began the work. We raised 10k in two months! We also set up a free BootCamp every Saturday, about 50-60 people would show up to support us. From there, our investors decided to help move this forward. God blesses faith. I believed and stepped forward. Things began to happen.

One of the other challenges has been finding like-minded coaches who understand our community. We’ve worked with great people along the way, we are grateful for, but the fit for our specific community demands a high level of relationship skills on top of training knowledge, so we work hard to keep that environment for all.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Infinit8 Fitness?
Our Mission statement

To infuse motivation and energy into individuals in an inclusive society through training, nutrition, and relationships.

The name is symbolic. 8 is the number of new beginnings and I believe there are infinit8 new beginnings when it comes to changing and growing physically, mentally and socially.

What should we know? We are a homegrown Central Texas business run by a local guy. I welcome the growth and new culture coming our way. Our focus in training is on relationships first. We want to develop a connection with you.

We are known for HIIT training, fun, energetic 45-minute power hit sessions. We also specialize in small group private training and one on one transformation training.

Outside of the three services we offer, we have created an environment where no one feels left out. We aim to create connections with new members and old members from the first day. Anyone at any level can come in, be vulnerable in our space and we look to protect this while traveling on a fitness journey with them. There is so much buy-in into creating relationships that it’s easy to bring people together.

It’s people feeling like the moment they experience our brand, they are highly motivated by the energy created in the room. The same energy we use to fill up an outdoor space is now present within four walls and it’s contagious. A community that is about the other person. We’ve helped develop baseball champions and college open golf winners.

The first thing is we want people to experience us. Come in, and see our facility. Experience the true genuine love each coach has for what they do. The passion is high here.

Our Services

Large group / Power HIIT Bootcamps with circuit and resistance training.

Small group Semi-Private Training VIP access.

1×1 Whole Wellness focused Private Training

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Trust your gut! You don’t have to have all the answers, simply take a step forward. I had to do this when I first began and I still do. The step forward is what we call faith. Faith is taking that step first and knowing that the answers will come after you’ve moved. Staying stagnant or frozen in indecision leaves you more confused than the clarity that comes after taking a step.

Truly be yourself! in the beginning, I tried to mimic the coach before me but it wasn’t who I was. I’ll never do this again. Furthermore, with anything you do, if you believe in yourself and in your dream, life will present obstacles that help you truly see if you want this. Welcome those moments of pushback as a sign of moving forward. No obstacles if you stand still or move backward.

Learn to dream big and trust those close to you with your vision. They will lift you when you need it. Your thoughts should be different than the fisherman who kept throwing the fish back. He was asked, “why do you keep throwing fish back in the lake?”, he responded with “they are too big for my skillet!” instead of getting a bigger skillet. Always dream of bigger, better and farther. And I don’t believe that bigger/better is money or success only, it is impact, healing, and connection with human beings on a never before imagined scale. Having everything at the expense of individuals around you, be it strangers, friends, or family really is meaningless.

Contact Info:

• Email: support@i8fit.com
• Website: i8fit.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infinit8fitness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/i8fit
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/info27900282
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4p5sF67FH5ZsyF_usBLnYA/featured

 

Image Credits
All photos are property of Infinit8 Fitness