December 9, 2024 • 19 mins
Jim White, the dynamic force behind Jim White Fitness and Nutrition, reveals how he turned his passion into nearly two decades of success in Virginia Beach. Discover the unique approach that sets his studios apart, seamlessly blending personalized fitness and nutrition guidance to create life-changing results. You'll hear how Jim's innovative concept quickly expanded, fueled by a dedicated team of registered dietitians and exercise physiologists. Plus, learn how Krista White's warm and welcoming presence contributes to the vibrant atmosphere that makes clients of all ages feel at home as they embark on transformative journeys.
We also explore Jim's inspiring community initiatives and the impactful Lift program providing fitness and nutritional support to the homeless. Jim shares his collaborative efforts with local businesses and chefs to make healthier dining options available, ensuring his clients have access to balanced meals both in and out of the gym. From corporate wellness programs to exciting fundraisers like the lift-a-thon and relay runs, Jim's commitment to eliminating fitness barriers is evident. Whether you're in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, or seeking virtual services, this episode is packed with inspiring stories and practical insights into the power of combining fitness and nutrition.
Jim White Fitness
Jim White
Virginia Beach
428 First Colonial Road
Norfolk
115 College Place
(757) 422-4728
www.JimWhiteFit.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Denise Taylor.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Thanks for being here today.
We have Jim White from JimWhite Fitness and Nutrition here
in Virginia Beach.
Welcome, Jim.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Thanks for having me, Denise.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Beach.
Welcome, jim.
Thanks for having me.
Denise, absolutely so, jim.
Tell me a little bit about howthis studio style idea came
about and how you.
This is your passion forfitness.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Wow, I mean so it's.
It's so crazy that next year isour 20-year anniversary.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
No way it started.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
I graduated from Youngstown State University with
a degree in nutrition and Iwent to ODU for exercise science
and got my ACSM certification.
I felt that nutrition andfitness was a marriage.
They had to be together, andwhen I opened up our first
studio, I moved from Ohio rightafter college to Virginia Beach.
(01:09):
It was one of the fittestcities in the United States and
there wasn't a lot of fitness inthe area at the time.
So I saw a need and I startedpersonal training locally and
after a year there was a gymthat came available.
It was a personal trainingstudio.
At that time, that boutiquestudio style was starting to
become really trendy.
(01:29):
So I opened up a studio inShore Drive and it was great.
Within a year we outgrew that,opened up a second location on
Laskin Road and within a year weoutgrew that and then we opened
up.
We actually moved our shoredrive location to Great Neck, a
bigger location and then in 2014we opened up our downtown
(01:53):
Norfolk location and then sincethen it's been a whirlwind.
We have our studios, we havemedical nutrition therapy so we
have over 30 on staff registereddietitians certified so we have
over 30 on staff registereddietitians certified personal
trainers.
We have a corporate wellnesscompany called JW3, jim White's
Workplace Wellness.
We have a nonprofit that we'vebeen developing for 14 years
(02:17):
called our Lift Foundation.
We provide exercise nutritionto the homeless, survivals of
domestic violence and at-riskyouth, and it's been just a
rollercoaster ride since.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
It's a great place.
It has changed my lifepersonally.
So, um, I love that.
Explain to people how your gym,because I've been to many gyms
but your gym is very differentthan other gyms.
Just in general.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Well, I think it's very unique because we have a
large staff of registereddietitians and exercise
physiologists and we reallycater to one-on-one.
You know we don't, we stick towhat we're good at.
You know we there's a lot ofplaces that go and do large
classes and that's not us.
We are one-on-one, we aretailored.
(03:05):
We realize that fitness,nutrition is a journey.
This isn't an overnight success.
So we hand hold our clients toget to their goals, and not only
get to their goals but to keeptheir success going.
So I think that marriagebetween that nutrition, fitness
the dietitians work hand in handwith our trainers and, you know
(03:27):
, getting that message to theclients to see success.
We all know that.
You know you can't all train abad diet and you always hear
like the abs are made in thekitchen.
It's so true, the fitness is ahuge part, but without the
nutrition part, you know, wedefinitely cannot get there.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Can you tell me a success story that you know?
Even for you may have, you know, blown your mind in terms of
what was achievable.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Oh my gosh, there's, there's so many.
Just recently we have agentleman that lost over 150
pounds and and you know it wasso watching his journal.
This wasn't overnight, I meanit's taken, you know it was so
watching his journal.
This wasn't overnight, I meanit's taken, you know, two and a
half years.
But just seeing the success isunbelievable.
And you know it's funny becausehe everyone wants to obviously
(04:18):
have the magic pill and wants tohave the.
You know a lot of people wantto.
You know get to those resultsfast.
But he did it through hard work, through, you know, exercise on
the daily and, you know,changing his eating habits and
it's really saved his life andhe's kept it off.
You know 80% of people gaintheir weight back within the
(04:39):
first year and 95% of peoplegain their weight back in five
years.
So it's so exciting to see thisgentleman recently do it and
keep it off and be aninspiration to so many.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
I definitely see the consistency in my life has
helped not only with, you know,physically, but mentally and
just being able to do a betterjob with my own work.
And you know my own life and myown relationships, and my own
life and my own relationships.
Tell me what people shouldexpect when they walk into your
gym, your studio.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
So what I hear from so many people is wow, there's
something about this place.
There's a light, there's like areal big energy.
I mean we see walks of life.
We have teenagers for sportsperformance.
We have every age possible, allthe way to 90 years old.
You know, there's a friendlysmile, there's motivation
(05:35):
everywhere, you know, and it'sreally something that is you
really have to experiencewalking into our studio and
being a part of the culture toreally see it.
It's quite amazing.
Everyone's there to work outhard, to have fun, to sweat and
to just have a good time.
And you know, and that's whatwe're all about, from our music
(05:58):
to our front desk people, youknow, and we really live that
out.
I mean, we show our passion astrainers and dietitians.
We give it, we are there, justwe're.
We're there to motivate ourclient.
We want our clients to succeedjust as much as they do.
So we give a ton into it and ittakes a lot to get people to
(06:19):
have an overall change inlifestyle.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Absolutely so, Krista .
Your wife works with you.
Guys work hand in hand.
She's one of those friendlyfaces at the front desk that
definitely brings the energy, asense of calm, to the gym.
And can you tell me, youraising your two girls, what
advice would you give to parentsabout fitness and nutrition as
(06:46):
they're raising children to havereally good habits through the
rest of their life?
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah, it's always tricky.
I have two young girls and, um,you know, a lot of people feel
that I'm probably like theperson that's like you know, you
, you can't eat sugar and youcan't eat that.
You know we take a differentapproach.
You know we did get rid of thescales in our house.
Um, we, you know, we realizedthat.
You know we did get rid of thescales in our house.
We, you know, we realized that.
You know, women, especiallyyoung men, can have, you know,
(07:10):
eating disorders.
So we're very cautious of that.
So we use that, we use theapproach that you know we're
eating healthy foods to give usenergy, to feed our stomach and
to give us muscles and thingslike that.
We never use the word weight andalso activity.
I mean, it's so important toget the kids moving, whether
(07:32):
it's walking, jogging, walkingthe dog Geez, the amount of
sports these kids are doing now,keeping them active in some way
and something that they like.
They don't have to necessarilygo to the gym and work out, but
doing something they like to getthe body moving.
Cause, obviously, childhoodobesity is on the rise.
You know, 33% of people andchildren are obese, you know,
(07:57):
and that can lead to diseases,especially, you know, type one
diabetes and a lot of otherdiseases out there, and we're
seeing kids in their twentiesand thirts get diagnosed with
high cholesterol, high bloodpressure, type 2 diabetes.
So, you know, it's not justpeople that are over 40 that are
getting these and it's from thehabits that they have growing
(08:19):
up and it's really important asparents that we model for that.
Our children love us, theylisten to us and by us modeling
that they're more likely to doit.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
So you majored in college in nutrition and fitness
.
Is that correct?
Yeah, how did you?
As a child or as a young adult,you must have been interested
in that.
How did you come to thatrealization?
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Well, I come from a full fitness family.
My oldest brother he was acollege track athlete.
My middle brother was afour-sport athlete bodybuilder.
And I was a skinny kid I wasthe 135-pound weakling.
So I got into sports but I gotpushed around in my ninth grade
(09:12):
and then my brother startedgetting me introduced in
strength training.
So in 10th grade I started andI was like, wow, my energy
increased, confidence soared andI realized this is, this is
amazing, Like it's reallychanged my life.
(09:33):
And, uh, I want to do this forother people.
I want other people to see whatthis feels like.
It was addicting, and there'sno better drug than you know.
They always say there's nothingthat tastes as good as fitness
feels.
And um, so I realized, wow, youcan do this in college.
So that's when the passion wasborn.
I ended up getting intonutrition, learning the
chemistry, the physiology of thebody and seeing how food works.
(09:56):
And it's amazing to me, what weeat changes our body, and not
only physically.
I think when we first startedGymWay Fitness Nutrition Studios
, everything was about weightand everything was about body
transformations.
It's much more than that now.
It's about how's your sleep,How's your stress, How's your
energy, How's your GI system.
You know these are questions weask even more than fitness and
(10:19):
nutrition.
So you know we want people tobe feeling good every day.
Why can't we feel good everyday?
And you know, I understand thatit's a stressful world and I
understand that we have vicesand that's okay.
You know, I think we got tohave a lot of grace for
ourselves.
We're not perfect.
It doesn't have to be perfectand we can still live a life and
still enjoy things and feelgood every day.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I love that.
So obviously you're living yourpassion.
It's not only your passion.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
So obviously you're living your passion.
It's not only your passion, butit's your business.
Tell me what you know.
A lot has to do with fitness,but we also love vegging.
You know the one thing aboutbeing an entrepreneur and you
know running businesses, youknow many, many businesses is
that we love the downtime.
I'm a big believer in recovery.
(11:22):
You know burnout is real.
I've been in the industry for25 years and you know you put in
10 hour days for 25 years.
My work age is I'm 45.
My work age is about 65.
So so we realize at this timethe body only can handle so much
.
So you know we have a lot ofrecovery, a lot of movie days, a
(11:44):
lot of traveling and relaxingand also, for me personally, a
lot of people ask a lot oftraveling and relaxing.
And also, for me personally, alot of people ask you how do you
keep this up?
You know, because I still workout five days a week.
But you know I do a lot ofrecovery, from chiropractor cold
plunging, infrared saunas, foamrolling using the Theragun,
using the Normatec pants for,you know, for leg compression,
(12:09):
using a lot of brace and heatrehab massage when I can.
You know there's a reason whythe body can keep up all the
years, and it's from a lot ofthe things we can do for
recovery now.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Absolutely so.
As an entrepreneur, one of thethings I admire about you is
some of the collaborations thatyou've created.
You kind of did that beforemany of the influencers were
doing it out there.
You used, you know, you were onmenus.
You helped create recipes forpeople.
Tell me a little bit about someof the collaborations you've
(12:41):
you've done over the years thathave, from an entrepreneur's
standpoint, really helpedelevate your brand.
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
I mean, we've been a community pillar for over 20
years and I've really number oneis with our Lyft program.
You know it started about.
We started Lyft program 10years ago.
We were at the oceanfrontproviding exercise nutrition for
our clients.
We were doing bootcamps andsome of the homeless started
jumping into it doing theexercise and our clients were
like you got to do something,let's get these people away.
(13:11):
We're in a private class.
So I went up to them and I said, hey, we have a private class.
But then I thought theseindividuals need fitness
nutrition more than anybody.
I started doing research and50% of the homeless are obese,
onethird have high bloodpressure.
So we created an exercisenutrition program with the
homeless and since then we'veteamed up with companies like
Walmart that lets us do grocerystore tours and give us grants.
(13:34):
We've received grants allaround our community.
We've town betting sponsors,all of our clothes.
We have a ton of localbusinesses, such as Grid Fitness
and Bamboo Yoga that provideexercise to our homeless program
.
So that's one big communitypartnership is through our Lyft
program Also.
We were in 2015,.
(13:56):
We started having clients comein and ask us about restaurants
what should we eat healthy here,what should we eat there?
And we were printing out themenus and highlighting them.
And then I thought why don't wejust meet with the chefs and
let's work with them to providehealthy options at these
restaurants, and then it couldbe easier for us.
We wanted to do this.
We did a pro bono we nevercharged for anything like this.
(14:18):
So we started meeting with thechefs at restaurants such as
Citrus, such as Azar's, a lot oflocal places like Badass Coffee
and Bilardi's, and we startedcreating Gym White Fitness
approved items and these wereitems that were the healthiest
that were on the menu.
So it was a big hit.
It was great for therestaurants.
It would get them business.
It was great for our clientsbecause all we had to do is say,
(14:41):
go to this restaurant and trythe Gym White Fitness menus and
they were seeing an increase inthese items.
People were getting healthierand it was just a great
partnership.
And then corporate wellness.
You know we've been doingcorporate wellness for a long
time.
We've teamed up with so manyand you know these partnerships
are great because it's gettingthe customers and they're
getting the corporationemployees, you know, healthier
(15:05):
and happier.
So that's a big program we liketo promote.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Well, we are so happy to have you in the community.
You're such an asset toVirginia Beach and all the
things that you do in terms ofyour business, but also your
nonprofit, and you've alluded tothat a little bit.
Share one of the most excitingthings that you have done this
year with with that in terms offundraising.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
So we have three fundraisers.
The one is a lift-a-thon that'sat the shack.
It's every June and we had 120lifters, we raised over $30,000
and it's been going on for 10years and it's a bench press and
deadlift competition going onfor 10 years and it's a bench
press and deadlift competitionand we're going to be continuing
that every year.
(15:51):
A highlight is we had acommunity fitness party.
It was a night out at theKepler Country Club and we
raised over $70,000 there andthat was tours for our lift
program and supporting the localhomeless.
We had 350 people there.
It was a great gala.
And then our most exciting eventwas we do a run across the
(16:14):
region.
Originally it was called WhiteHouse to White House and we ran
from Virginia Beach to the WhiteHouse with 12 runners and two
RVs and two lead cars and we hada relay up there.
But just recently, the last twoyears, we uh started VB to NYC,
so we had 14 runners run 356miles in 36 hours.
(16:36):
So it's a relay.
Every runner has to run 30miles and we raised 35,000.
Um, we love that race.
And next year we're going toPhilly and we're going to go a
different state each year, justto change it up a little bit.
So three great fundraiserslooking for volunteers.
We're looking for people thatare interested in being a part
of it.
They can go toliftfitnessfoundationorg for the
(17:00):
Lift Foundation, and if theywant to hear more of Gym White
Fitness, they can go togymwhitefitcom.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
And tell us where your studio is located in
Virginia Beach?
Speaker 3 (17:11):
So we have our Virginia Beach studio on 848
First Colonial Road.
It's on Medical Row, right bythe Virginia Beach Hospital.
And then we have our secondlocation in downtown Norfolk
right off of Granby Street.
And then we do virtual trainingso we have clients here all
around the country.
(17:32):
And then we do virtualtelehealth nutrition.
So people they can verify withtheir insurance and CS.
90% of our insurance is covered, unlimited visits through most
insurances.
So um, and it's covered forfree.
So if they um contact us, um wecan verify and they don't even
(17:52):
have to leave their home.
We can see a dieticianvirtually or come into our two
studios.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
And some of your trainers do go out to homes.
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Yes, we are, we go everywhere, we go to
corporations and train, we dohome training, um, we do virtual
training and then we havein-house.
So, um, we are, we goeverywhere, we go to
corporations and train, we dohome training, we do virtual
training and then we havein-house.
So we want to take out thebarrier of you know, because
time is one of the biggestreasons why people skip out on
their workouts.
So we want to try to minimizethat and have as many options as
possible to cut down on that.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
So tell us your website one more time on that.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
So tell us your website one more time.
So for more information, theygo to jimwhitefit.
com for our nonprofit liftliftfitnessfoundation.
org.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Thank you so much, jim White, for being here today.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpvirginiabeach.
com.
That's gnpvirginiabeach.
com, or call 757-797-8852.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Denise Taylor.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Thanks for being here today.
We have Jim White from JimWhite Fitness and Nutrition here
in Virginia Beach.
Welcome, Jim.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Thanks for having me, Denise.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Beach.
Welcome, jim.
Thanks for having me.
Denise, absolutely so, jim.
Tell me a little bit about howthis studio style idea came
about and how you.
This is your passion forfitness.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Wow, I mean so it's.
It's so crazy that next year isour 20-year anniversary.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
No way it started.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
I graduated from Youngstown State University with
a degree in nutrition and Iwent to ODU for exercise science
and got my ACSM certification.
I felt that nutrition andfitness was a marriage.
They had to be together, andwhen I opened up our first
studio, I moved from Ohio rightafter college to Virginia Beach.
(01:09):
It was one of the fittestcities in the United States and
there wasn't a lot of fitness inthe area at the time.
So I saw a need and I startedpersonal training locally and
after a year there was a gymthat came available.
It was a personal trainingstudio.
At that time, that boutiquestudio style was starting to
become really trendy.
(01:29):
So I opened up a studio inShore Drive and it was great.
Within a year we outgrew that,opened up a second location on
Laskin Road and within a year weoutgrew that and then we opened
up.
We actually moved our shoredrive location to Great Neck, a
bigger location and then in 2014we opened up our downtown
(01:53):
Norfolk location and then sincethen it's been a whirlwind.
We have our studios, we havemedical nutrition therapy so we
have over 30 on staff registereddietitians certified so we have
over 30 on staff registereddietitians certified personal
trainers.
We have a corporate wellnesscompany called JW3, jim White's
Workplace Wellness.
We have a nonprofit that we'vebeen developing for 14 years
(02:17):
called our Lift Foundation.
We provide exercise nutritionto the homeless, survivals of
domestic violence and at-riskyouth, and it's been just a
rollercoaster ride since.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
It's a great place.
It has changed my lifepersonally.
So, um, I love that.
Explain to people how your gym,because I've been to many gyms
but your gym is very differentthan other gyms.
Just in general.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Well, I think it's very unique because we have a
large staff of registereddietitians and exercise
physiologists and we reallycater to one-on-one.
You know we don't, we stick towhat we're good at.
You know we there's a lot ofplaces that go and do large
classes and that's not us.
We are one-on-one, we aretailored.
(03:05):
We realize that fitness,nutrition is a journey.
This isn't an overnight success.
So we hand hold our clients toget to their goals, and not only
get to their goals but to keeptheir success going.
So I think that marriagebetween that nutrition, fitness
the dietitians work hand in handwith our trainers and, you know
(03:27):
, getting that message to theclients to see success.
We all know that.
You know you can't all train abad diet and you always hear
like the abs are made in thekitchen.
It's so true, the fitness is ahuge part, but without the
nutrition part, you know, wedefinitely cannot get there.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Can you tell me a success story that you know?
Even for you may have, you know, blown your mind in terms of
what was achievable.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Oh my gosh, there's, there's so many.
Just recently we have agentleman that lost over 150
pounds and and you know it wasso watching his journal.
This wasn't overnight, I meanit's taken, you know it was so
watching his journal.
This wasn't overnight, I meanit's taken, you know, two and a
half years.
But just seeing the success isunbelievable.
And you know it's funny becausehe everyone wants to obviously
(04:18):
have the magic pill and wants tohave the.
You know a lot of people wantto.
You know get to those resultsfast.
But he did it through hard work, through, you know, exercise on
the daily and, you know,changing his eating habits and
it's really saved his life andhe's kept it off.
You know 80% of people gaintheir weight back within the
(04:39):
first year and 95% of peoplegain their weight back in five
years.
So it's so exciting to see thisgentleman recently do it and
keep it off and be aninspiration to so many.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
I definitely see the consistency in my life has
helped not only with, you know,physically, but mentally and
just being able to do a betterjob with my own work.
And you know my own life and myown relationships, and my own
life and my own relationships.
Tell me what people shouldexpect when they walk into your
gym, your studio.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
So what I hear from so many people is wow, there's
something about this place.
There's a light, there's like areal big energy.
I mean we see walks of life.
We have teenagers for sportsperformance.
We have every age possible, allthe way to 90 years old.
You know, there's a friendlysmile, there's motivation
(05:35):
everywhere, you know, and it'sreally something that is you
really have to experiencewalking into our studio and
being a part of the culture toreally see it.
It's quite amazing.
Everyone's there to work outhard, to have fun, to sweat and
to just have a good time.
And you know, and that's whatwe're all about, from our music
(05:58):
to our front desk people, youknow, and we really live that
out.
I mean, we show our passion astrainers and dietitians.
We give it, we are there, justwe're.
We're there to motivate ourclient.
We want our clients to succeedjust as much as they do.
So we give a ton into it and ittakes a lot to get people to
(06:19):
have an overall change inlifestyle.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Absolutely so, Krista .
Your wife works with you.
Guys work hand in hand.
She's one of those friendlyfaces at the front desk that
definitely brings the energy, asense of calm, to the gym.
And can you tell me, youraising your two girls, what
advice would you give to parentsabout fitness and nutrition as
(06:46):
they're raising children to havereally good habits through the
rest of their life?
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah, it's always tricky.
I have two young girls and, um,you know, a lot of people feel
that I'm probably like theperson that's like you know, you
, you can't eat sugar and youcan't eat that.
You know we take a differentapproach.
You know we did get rid of thescales in our house.
Um, we, you know, we realizedthat.
You know we did get rid of thescales in our house.
We, you know, we realized that.
You know, women, especiallyyoung men, can have, you know,
(07:10):
eating disorders.
So we're very cautious of that.
So we use that, we use theapproach that you know we're
eating healthy foods to give usenergy, to feed our stomach and
to give us muscles and thingslike that.
We never use the word weight andalso activity.
I mean, it's so important toget the kids moving, whether
(07:32):
it's walking, jogging, walkingthe dog Geez, the amount of
sports these kids are doing now,keeping them active in some way
and something that they like.
They don't have to necessarilygo to the gym and work out, but
doing something they like to getthe body moving.
Cause, obviously, childhoodobesity is on the rise.
You know, 33% of people andchildren are obese, you know,
(07:57):
and that can lead to diseases,especially, you know, type one
diabetes and a lot of otherdiseases out there, and we're
seeing kids in their twentiesand thirts get diagnosed with
high cholesterol, high bloodpressure, type 2 diabetes.
So, you know, it's not justpeople that are over 40 that are
getting these and it's from thehabits that they have growing
(08:19):
up and it's really important asparents that we model for that.
Our children love us, theylisten to us and by us modeling
that they're more likely to doit.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
So you majored in college in nutrition and fitness
.
Is that correct?
Yeah, how did you?
As a child or as a young adult,you must have been interested
in that.
How did you come to thatrealization?
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Well, I come from a full fitness family.
My oldest brother he was acollege track athlete.
My middle brother was afour-sport athlete bodybuilder.
And I was a skinny kid I wasthe 135-pound weakling.
So I got into sports but I gotpushed around in my ninth grade
(09:12):
and then my brother startedgetting me introduced in
strength training.
So in 10th grade I started andI was like, wow, my energy
increased, confidence soared andI realized this is, this is
amazing, Like it's reallychanged my life.
(09:33):
And, uh, I want to do this forother people.
I want other people to see whatthis feels like.
It was addicting, and there'sno better drug than you know.
They always say there's nothingthat tastes as good as fitness
feels.
And um, so I realized, wow, youcan do this in college.
So that's when the passion wasborn.
I ended up getting intonutrition, learning the
chemistry, the physiology of thebody and seeing how food works.
(09:56):
And it's amazing to me, what weeat changes our body, and not
only physically.
I think when we first startedGymWay Fitness Nutrition Studios
, everything was about weightand everything was about body
transformations.
It's much more than that now.
It's about how's your sleep,How's your stress, How's your
energy, How's your GI system.
You know these are questions weask even more than fitness and
(10:19):
nutrition.
So you know we want people tobe feeling good every day.
Why can't we feel good everyday?
And you know, I understand thatit's a stressful world and I
understand that we have vicesand that's okay.
You know, I think we got tohave a lot of grace for
ourselves.
We're not perfect.
It doesn't have to be perfectand we can still live a life and
still enjoy things and feelgood every day.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I love that.
So obviously you're living yourpassion.
It's not only your passion.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
So obviously you're living your passion.
It's not only your passion, butit's your business.
Tell me what you know.
A lot has to do with fitness,but we also love vegging.
You know the one thing aboutbeing an entrepreneur and you
know running businesses, youknow many, many businesses is
that we love the downtime.
I'm a big believer in recovery.
(11:22):
You know burnout is real.
I've been in the industry for25 years and you know you put in
10 hour days for 25 years.
My work age is I'm 45.
My work age is about 65.
So so we realize at this timethe body only can handle so much
.
So you know we have a lot ofrecovery, a lot of movie days, a
(11:44):
lot of traveling and relaxingand also, for me personally, a
lot of people ask a lot oftraveling and relaxing.
And also, for me personally, alot of people ask you how do you
keep this up?
You know, because I still workout five days a week.
But you know I do a lot ofrecovery, from chiropractor cold
plunging, infrared saunas, foamrolling using the Theragun,
using the Normatec pants for,you know, for leg compression,
(12:09):
using a lot of brace and heatrehab massage when I can.
You know there's a reason whythe body can keep up all the
years, and it's from a lot ofthe things we can do for
recovery now.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Absolutely so.
As an entrepreneur, one of thethings I admire about you is
some of the collaborations thatyou've created.
You kind of did that beforemany of the influencers were
doing it out there.
You used, you know, you were onmenus.
You helped create recipes forpeople.
Tell me a little bit about someof the collaborations you've
(12:41):
you've done over the years thathave, from an entrepreneur's
standpoint, really helpedelevate your brand.
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
I mean, we've been a community pillar for over 20
years and I've really number oneis with our Lyft program.
You know it started about.
We started Lyft program 10years ago.
We were at the oceanfrontproviding exercise nutrition for
our clients.
We were doing bootcamps andsome of the homeless started
jumping into it doing theexercise and our clients were
like you got to do something,let's get these people away.
(13:11):
We're in a private class.
So I went up to them and I said, hey, we have a private class.
But then I thought theseindividuals need fitness
nutrition more than anybody.
I started doing research and50% of the homeless are obese,
onethird have high bloodpressure.
So we created an exercisenutrition program with the
homeless and since then we'veteamed up with companies like
Walmart that lets us do grocerystore tours and give us grants.
(13:34):
We've received grants allaround our community.
We've town betting sponsors,all of our clothes.
We have a ton of localbusinesses, such as Grid Fitness
and Bamboo Yoga that provideexercise to our homeless program
.
So that's one big communitypartnership is through our Lyft
program Also.
We were in 2015,.
(13:56):
We started having clients comein and ask us about restaurants
what should we eat healthy here,what should we eat there?
And we were printing out themenus and highlighting them.
And then I thought why don't wejust meet with the chefs and
let's work with them to providehealthy options at these
restaurants, and then it couldbe easier for us.
We wanted to do this.
We did a pro bono we nevercharged for anything like this.
(14:18):
So we started meeting with thechefs at restaurants such as
Citrus, such as Azar's, a lot oflocal places like Badass Coffee
and Bilardi's, and we startedcreating Gym White Fitness
approved items and these wereitems that were the healthiest
that were on the menu.
So it was a big hit.
It was great for therestaurants.
It would get them business.
It was great for our clientsbecause all we had to do is say,
(14:41):
go to this restaurant and trythe Gym White Fitness menus and
they were seeing an increase inthese items.
People were getting healthierand it was just a great
partnership.
And then corporate wellness.
You know we've been doingcorporate wellness for a long
time.
We've teamed up with so manyand you know these partnerships
are great because it's gettingthe customers and they're
getting the corporationemployees, you know, healthier
(15:05):
and happier.
So that's a big program we liketo promote.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Well, we are so happy to have you in the community.
You're such an asset toVirginia Beach and all the
things that you do in terms ofyour business, but also your
nonprofit, and you've alluded tothat a little bit.
Share one of the most excitingthings that you have done this
year with with that in terms offundraising.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
So we have three fundraisers.
The one is a lift-a-thon that'sat the shack.
It's every June and we had 120lifters, we raised over $30,000
and it's been going on for 10years and it's a bench press and
deadlift competition going onfor 10 years and it's a bench
press and deadlift competitionand we're going to be continuing
that every year.
(15:51):
A highlight is we had acommunity fitness party.
It was a night out at theKepler Country Club and we
raised over $70,000 there andthat was tours for our lift
program and supporting the localhomeless.
We had 350 people there.
It was a great gala.
And then our most exciting eventwas we do a run across the
(16:14):
region.
Originally it was called WhiteHouse to White House and we ran
from Virginia Beach to the WhiteHouse with 12 runners and two
RVs and two lead cars and we hada relay up there.
But just recently, the last twoyears, we uh started VB to NYC,
so we had 14 runners run 356miles in 36 hours.
(16:36):
So it's a relay.
Every runner has to run 30miles and we raised 35,000.
Um, we love that race.
And next year we're going toPhilly and we're going to go a
different state each year, justto change it up a little bit.
So three great fundraiserslooking for volunteers.
We're looking for people thatare interested in being a part
of it.
They can go toliftfitnessfoundationorg for the
(17:00):
Lift Foundation, and if theywant to hear more of Gym White
Fitness, they can go togymwhitefitcom.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
And tell us where your studio is located in
Virginia Beach?
Speaker 3 (17:11):
So we have our Virginia Beach studio on 848
First Colonial Road.
It's on Medical Row, right bythe Virginia Beach Hospital.
And then we have our secondlocation in downtown Norfolk
right off of Granby Street.
And then we do virtual trainingso we have clients here all
around the country.
(17:32):
And then we do virtualtelehealth nutrition.
So people they can verify withtheir insurance and CS.
90% of our insurance is covered, unlimited visits through most
insurances.
So um, and it's covered forfree.
So if they um contact us, um wecan verify and they don't even
(17:52):
have to leave their home.
We can see a dieticianvirtually or come into our two
studios.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
And some of your trainers do go out to homes.
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Yes, we are, we go everywhere, we go to
corporations and train, we dohome training, um, we do virtual
training and then we havein-house.
So, um, we are, we goeverywhere, we go to
corporations and train, we dohome training, we do virtual
training and then we havein-house.
So we want to take out thebarrier of you know, because
time is one of the biggestreasons why people skip out on
their workouts.
So we want to try to minimizethat and have as many options as
possible to cut down on that.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
So tell us your website one more time on that.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
So tell us your website one more time.
So for more information, theygo to jimwhitefit.
com for our nonprofit liftliftfitnessfoundation.
org.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Thank you so much, jim White, for being here today.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpvirginiabeach.
com.
That's gnpvirginiabeach.
com, or call 757-797-8852.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.