Today we’d like to introduce you to Madison O’Brien.
Hi Madison, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up, I was always pretty active, I played volleyball for about nine years. I grew up with asthma and I really disliked the conditioning aspect of sports because I always had a hard time breathing. Once I graduated high school, I completely stopped playing sports and when I got to college, I would go to the gym 3-4x a week to do cardio, I didn’t want to gain the “freshman 15” and thought doing cardio here and there would help that. During my junior year of college, my friend Destiny and I decided we would start taking strength classes that our university offered, I took what I learned in those classes and started lifting on my own. I would workout 5-6x a week but still ate and drank whatever I wanted. I started to understand my body and I realized that nutrition as well as the way I trained would play a huge role in helping me reach my goals. I made a fitness page on Instagram, mainly for me to keep track of my progress. I was embarrassed about having the page at first, then people started to follow me and ask me questions about workouts and asked for help, this is when it became a little more serious. I graduated college with a degree in Environmental Science and shortly after headed to Hawaii for an internship doing conservation work. While I was there, I found myself more interested in fitness rather than my internship. I would write in my journal, “I think I want to get my Personal Trainer Certification”.
A month later, I finally took the step to start, from there I made a website and started training and selling workout programs. In July 2020, I left Hawaii and moved to Texas, where I started working at LA fitness. LA Fitness wasn’t a fit for me so I left. Down the line, Lifetime reached out to me and I began training there, awesome facility, still not a match for me, so I decided to leave. Since my departure at Lifetime, I have been building my online clientele as well as training clients in person. I have realized working at a corporate gym is not where I am meant to be, I am meant to build from the ground up. Being an entrepreneur is definitely scary and hard at times. It is also very rewarding and worth it. There’s one quote that has really stuck with me as I’ve made the decision to build my own brand and business, “Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs.”
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh my goodness, smooth? Absolutely not! I would say the biggest struggle has been self-doubt. Thinking that I can’t build my own business and be successful. It’s hard! You have outsiders, friends, and even family telling you that you should go apply for a job work for a corporate company. Why? Why can’t I start my own business? Are your loved ones scared to see you fail? Do outsiders not see your potential? All these thoughts add to the self-doubt, “maybe I can’t do this”, “maybe I should go work for another gym”. The biggest piece of advice I would give to any individual is believe in yourself and your potential because you are capable!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a fitness professional, I help individuals gain confidence not only in the gym but in their everyday life. Helping individuals learn lifting techniques helps with weight loss and muscle gain. Nothing feels as good as when your client hits a Personal Best in the gym, or they tell you their clothes are fitting better, to see a huge smile on their face and their mood shift every time they walk into the gym because they feel more comfortable and confident. That’s what keeps me going, that’s why I love what I do. I know how I feel when I get a PR, or when I feel good in the clothes I put on, so to be able to help individuals get that feeling as well is amazing.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Attitude. 100% attitude. I feel that when I have a positive attitude and I’m my energetic self, that rubs off on my clients and allows their sessions to be that much better. If I walk into a session and I’m sad and mopey, they are going to sense that and it will affect their session. Attitude is so important!
Pricing:
- Online training: $200/month
- 1:1 in person training: $85/session
- 1:1 virtual training: $65/session
Contact Info:
- Email: Workout.with.mads@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mad.muscles/
