What inspired you to start this journey as a trainer?
I actually fell into this line of work very randomly and that’s why I believe it’s my calling. I was on the phone with my mom one day walking on the beach about a year into living in Miami. At the time, I was jobless and lost. I moved to Miami to rehab a knee injury in hopes to continue pursuing my dreams of playing professional football. After injuring it again, I became pretty lost in what I wanted, who I was and why I was even in Miami at this point.
I just vaguely remember her and I talking about either finding a job asap or moving back to Philly because I burned through most of my money and coulndt afford to live there at the rate I was going. It was a pretty intense conversation that lasted about 35-40mins before I finally told her I would call her back. I told her I loved her and as I hung up the phone, I sat in the sand right where I was. A few minutes later, a woman walked up and apologized for “bothering me” but wanted to ask me a question…
She began telling me about her health, being diabetic and really needing to lose weight. She asked if I was a trainer… I replied “yes.” Now, I don’t recommend this, but she needed help, I’ve had years of experience in the gym, I knew I could help her. The rest was history, I literally fell in love with the process and being able to give people something they had such a hard time giving themselves.
What is the experience like training the status of such celebrities like Dave Grutman, Grant Cardone, Rick Ross, Steve Aoki and more?
It’s an amazing experience it really is but probably not for the reason one might think. When I first started, I looked around and couldn’t believe I was around some of these individuals. It’s pretty surreal. Then you get to know them; as a trainer we build an entire relationship with clients built off trust. More often than not, clients become very open. I’m very street smart. Aware and always observing. That’s when I started noticing a trend. These people that everyone looks up to, they are always and I mean ALWAYS doing for others. They are always giving something, doing a favor, making something happen for someone else. People continuously take and take from these individuals. So for me, why the experience is so amazing, is because for a change I’m the one giving them something. These people that are always having something taken from them, they are finally being given something. To be able to do something like that, for me it’s an amazing feeling.
How do you advertise yourself and your business as a Personal Trainer?
My Instagram is a very strong marketing tool as people cannot only stay up to date with the results that my clients are obtaining, new clientele that i’m working with, programs that I’m dropping, ect – but they see first hand, the day in and day out grind that is accompanied along with achieving those results.
However, as strong as social media is, for the clientele that I cater to, there’s not stronger marketing than my clients referring me to someone personally. From personal experience at all levels but especially when dealing with celebrity or high net-worth/network clientele there’s a huge trust factor that is involved and a person to person referral from someone that they trust is extremely successful. My clients are walking billboards for me.
If you could give your younger self any bit of advice, what would it be and why?
I’d tell younger me, “Look, you’re going to go through a lot in life; high highs and lowest lows. But everything will happen for a reason. It’s going to make you a man with integrity and character. No matter what you do, don’t take your foot off the gas. Everything will work itself out.”
In life, we go through alot. It’s part of who we become. God puts his toughest soldier through the hardest times because he knows they will prevail. If I didn’t deal with things like my mother’s sickness, my father leaving, losing friends to the streets, my football career ending, becoming an addict, losing everything I had then going to rehab- Im not sure I’d be the man physically, mentally or spiritually that I am today.
How are your hours of work? Are they extremely taxing physically and mentally?
Monday-Friday my day typically starts between 3:45am and 4am, The weekend I sleep in until about 6am. First thing I do in the morning is mediate for 10 minutes then my day begins. My first client is at 6am; waking up the time that I do allows me enough time to do my fasted cardio/abs in the morning, shower and get to my client. I’m doing house calls straight through until 4:30/5pm. I have an hour gap around 12:30pm some days 1pm so I use that as my own time to train. After finishing with my clients, it takes me about an hour to get home during rush hour in Miami then I answer client emails, do online programming, film content if needed, ect. I try to get in bed by 9:30/10pm. Some days are easier than others for that. All in all the days can be taxing, sometimes I don’t even feel like working out but I know what I signed up for and I’m not afraid of the grind. That’s when it’s gut check time, stop feeling sorry for myself, put my head down and WORK. Everyone wants something bad until it’s time to put in the work that they don’t want to do. That’s what separates me from many people, I stay hungry and will do whatever it takes to get to the next level, then the level after that, etc. The growth I’ve seen in my brand, mentally, spiritually and physically is worth every second of it.
How did training celebrities open doors for you and your business?
Training celebrities definitely brought my brand awareness to a huge audience and it’s given my brand validity that’s hard to obtain. When people see you engaging with celebrities regularly it’s almost as if it validates you by association. What’s pretty cool in my case is that all my clients are SO different that I’m getting followings from people of all walks of life, different industries, different countries. Even walking in the mall being stopped by people saying “oh your so and so’s trainer, can I get a picture?” it’s definitely a gnarly experience that’s been getting crazier as time goes by.
What platforms are we able to find you and your business on?
Follow me on all social media platforms at:
- Instagram: anthony.rhoades
- Snapchat: anthonyrhoades
- twitter: anthonyJrhoades
- Tiktok: anthonyrhoades
- YouTube: Anthony Rhoades
- www.anthonyrhoadesfitness.com