Perry Lieber Professional Fitness and Health Entrepreneur with more than sixteen years of experience in all business development processes for health and wellness businesses. Located in Santa Barbara, California, Perry is extremely organized and efficient with experience in management, operations, and team development. He is passionate about giving his consistent, maximum effort. Perry is detail oriented, hard working, and a fast learner. “Sweat every day” is Perry Lieber’s motto. Perry’s love of sports and fitness and his refusal to quit make him a perfect fit for his career in personal training and wrote a book called Workout and Grow Rich.
Perry is the President of “Foundwellness: the Workplace Workout” and a member of the National Academy of Sports Medicine. In 2012, he opened an elite training facility called “The Workplace”. Perry received his Bachelor’s in English and a Minor in Sports Science and Nutrition from the University of California, Santa Barbara during which time he completed his first Ironman competition. He continues to compete in everything from paddle boarding, running, and cycling events. Today, corporate clients join in these events as Perry helps set goals and establish milestones so that participation is fun, competitive, and healthy. Perry believes that charity events and walks are a great way to bring people together for a great cause.
Perry Lieber and Foundwellness bring more than 10 years of personal training expertise with some of America’s top 1%. He’s worked with celebrity clients, professional athletes, and powerful executives. Each of these clients have their own story of what it takes to be successful. It is through these relationships that Perry’s vision for Foundwellness took shape: taking the commonalities that we all face and creating programs that promote a sustainable lifestyle that allows us to reach our dreams and success.
Perry believes that being excellent at your job and putting in long hours, regardless of what you do, should not have to be a sacrifice of your health and wellbeing. Through engaging programs employees are motivated to prioritize healthy choices. It’s good for business. Everyone can win.
In the last few years, what lifestyle, habit, or behavior change has had the biggest positive impact on your life?
Getting up in the morning to meditate and also reading more have been two huge game-changers for me. I like to read memoirs and self-help books. I like to learn from other people’s experiences. My favorite recent book has been Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty.
When you feel unfocused, what do you do?
I work out with an intense circuit, with intervals that lead me to being out of breath. I work out so hard that it forces me to just focus on my breathing.
What advice would you give a smart and ambitious recent college graduate? What advice should they ignore?
Find people who are smarter than you, ask a lot of questions, read a lot of business and self-help books, and create your “mentor board of directors” to help bounce ideas off and learn from. One example of this was when I wanted to do an Iron Man triathlon, but I had no past experience of doing them. I found the two fittest people in town. One of them, Mike Swan, owned a physical therapy business in town and the other, Peter Park, owned a private gym in Montecito. I asked them to coach me, and then I started interning at their facilities. I shadowed them everywhere they went, taking a lot of notes and asking questions. I originally wanted to become a physical therapist, but after working at the two facilities and seeing the differences in the businesses, I decided that I would rather do personal training. I learned so much from them that I was able to build my business shortly after that.
What is one lifestyle trend that excites you?
I’m excited that people are having the opportunity to create a better work/life balance. Especially now with COVID, it is even more import to create healthy work boundaries and a space to work out at home.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life and why?
I have been fortunate to have three men that have been great influences in my life.
Andy Puzder: I met him by training his kids and his wife. He was super-intelligent, a lawyer and CEO of Carl’s Jr. for a number of years, and he’s a big political contributor as well. He always knows what to say and how to say it. He came from nothing and built a huge life for himself. He’s like family to me. He and his wife are my kids’ godparents. They’ve always been there through the good and bad.
Greg Renker: The co-founder of the company Guthy-Renker. His company creates infomercials and Proactive was one of their products. I trained his kids. They travel all over the world, and I handle their training sessions over Zoom. He hangs out with even smarter people than him because he wants to learn from them. It’s good to be humble and know you’re never the smartest person in the room. He’s always reading two or three books a week.
Ed Snider: One of the first people I started training. He passed away recently but he was the founder of the Philadelphia Flyers and Comcast Spectator. He was a referral of one of my mentors, and he was one of the people that told me to go out on my own. He encouraged me to put it all on the line and go for it.
What’s one of the biggest life lessons you’ve learned?
Talk less and listen more.
What do you think it is that makes you/someone successful?
Routine. I moved out of my house at 15, and I think the only way I survived was creating a routine. I knew a great many things had to be done for me to eat that day. You have to put the time in and create a plan and stick to it or you won’t succeed. Routine creates a balance where you can stay in line and accomplish everything you need to.
How do you stay motivated?
My kids and my wife keep me motivated, especially now with COVID. I don’t want to take too many things for granted. Everything I do is to support them.
What legacy do you hope to leave behind?
I want to be an awesome parent and husband and eventually a grandparent. I always want to go out of my way to help people. I want to have enough money to support my family and lifestyle but also give back to my community. I don’t need a plaque or a statue. I just want a simple life and to raise my family correctly.