Discipline, Legacy, and Living With Purpose – with Brandan Fokken - The Wealth Blueprint

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Addison Thom (00:00):
Welcome to another episode of the Wealth Blueprint
.
Today I have a really specialguest, Brandan Fokken.

Brandan Fokken (00:06):
Brandan

really changed and transformed my life through
health and fitness and he's anextremely accomplished
individual on his own.
He's been in movies, he's afitness influencer, he's
appeared on Shark Tank, he'sappeared on the Titan Games and
he's also a business owner, afather and just an overall
really good human being that canshare some very well thought

(00:28):
out insights on how to approachyour health, how to improve your
life and how to make adifference and an impact in your
community.
So, without any more furtherado, this is our guest, Brandan
Fokken.

Turning it down.
Turning it down because I'mlike I didn't want that image
out there, but it was allartistic, it was beautiful
imagery, yeah, and the familywas like behind it.
You know, go ahead and do it.
And when my ex was pregnantwith my son, I was like you know
, I don't know where life goesafter this, but so ahead and do
it.
And when my ex was pregnantwith my son, I was like you know
, I don't know where life goesafter this, but so let's do it.
So I ended up doing it andthey're some of the best images
I have and they don't showanything right, but I was so

(01:14):
calculating of my image, meaninglike what I put out there
because you know, I was thewellness director for a billion
dollar company like I neverwanted anything to to damage
that or have anything that coulddamage my credibility to
somebody Meaning like I reallywanted to help people and I felt
like there's somethingdetrimental out there about me.

(01:35):
It would hurt me.
So I was always careful aboutthose things and in that, you
know, so there is.

There was a little like risk assessment.

Yeah, so in everything.
So I always called them theunderwear guys.
Yeah, early on in social media,all these guys were always
posing in their underwear,thinking you know, these
photographers were going to getthem somewhere, and I was like
I'm not, I'm never going to bethat guy.
Yeah you know what I mean and itnever turned in anything,
whereas I was signing relativelybig contracts with major
companies you know being not somuch straight laced because I

(02:05):
always had my damn shirt off inpictures, but I was more focused
on creating value as opposed tojust an image Like I was
speaking, I was writing, I wasdoing articles, I was doing all
sorts of stuff to bring value,because I always believed that I
wasn't the best athlete, Iwasn't the best looking, I
wasn't the best looking, but Ihad a package in totality that

(02:28):
really brought it together tocreate value for companies and
that's why I signed so manycontracts, beyond networking and
whatnot.
I was willing to do everything.
I wasn't coming in and beinglike, well, what can you do for
me?

Yeah, you were like the Cal Ripken, you were
like the workhorse.
Yes.

And I approach business and life like that
today, but that's what it waslike then.
The industry was so different.
I came into it right at theright time where opportunities
that never existed previouslyexisted and I took advantage of
it.
I look back in hindsightbecause I was offered so many
other things that I could havedone.

(03:04):
I wish I would have understoodother things like brand creation
and stuff like that Trips Icould have taken.
Like I said, I could have grownmy social media.
I could have gone to tons ofdifferent countries.
I could have created brands.
I could have done so manythings and in hindsight I mean,
you could Google me and see a10th of the things I did and

(03:25):
it's impressive to a lot ofpeople.
Yeah Right, but it's kind oflike the the, the one thing I
always say to not do, the uncleRico syndrome, the only, if you
know you can't be the PE coachthat tells you every day about
how he could have made the bigleagues If whatever exactly.

So looking back on that, you know, 20 years ago,
what would you have toldyourself?
What would you have donedifferent?

You know, when people say you know, if I could
go back and I had all theinformation that I have today, I
would do things so muchdifferent, right, I always say I
would go back and I would justwatch, I wouldn't change
anything because I'm where I'mat and I'm happy with where my
life is today.
Of course we could say we wantmore money or more experiences
or whatnot, and I believe, at 45, those are still to come and

(04:17):
some of those things you stillhave to earn and you have to be
in the right place at the righttime to experience those things.
So, from going back and doingit over, I could say, yeah, I
wish I would have grown mysocial media more.
Yeah, I wish I would have youknow signed with more companies.
Yes, I wish I would havetraveled more.
But where would my life betoday?
Would I be as happy?

(04:37):
Would I be happier?
Would I be utilizing thosethings?
Like I said, I have a followingthat I don't utilize.
I still get to do cool things,you know, and work with big
brands.
You know, just last week Iworked with Hulu and Ariat and a
TV show and Fox, you know, lastweek.
So I still get to do things ata high level.
But I look at some of thepeople that I came up with, so

(05:00):
to speak, and the time that thatpart of the industry was really
developing and growing and Iwas a part of it and I'm like I
could have done that.
You know, I think it's more ofa challenge of did I have what
it takes to be where they areright?
It's not necessarily going backand doing it over, changing
anything, it's just askingmyself those questions and I

(05:20):
think that if you can understandwhere things are today, you can
still create some of thosethings.
It's not not like I'm done.

It's not like I'm not done improving or growing or
developing or doing new things,yeah and so, and what did they
sacrifice that you had?
You know what that you have?
I think that's always like thetrappings of life, right, you
look back and you're like, oh, Icould have done this, could
have done that.
But like, would you have beenthe man that you are today?
Would you be the father thatyou are?
Would you be the leader thatyou are?

(05:47):
Would you have you know, theperspective that you have and
like the, even your selfperspective, right, because you
can get caught up in thatInstagram world or whatever.
You sacrifice your family, yousacrifice, you know a lot, so
who knows what that path wouldhave been.

(06:07):
Yeah, it.

There's aspects of that life where you know you
lose yourself a little bitbecause you're so focused on an
end goal.
You know to have one of the topphysiques in the world per se.
Or you know compete at thehighest level.
Or you know getting ready forphoto shoot after photo shoot
after photo shoot.
You know, at the time I wasmarried to somebody that

(06:32):
understood that.
You know, and we did ittogether, so it made things
easier.
Most people in general don'tunderstand what that life's like
.
So people that compete orreally diet hard or whatnot,
because you're so enthralled init and you're in the middle of
it constantly, that's often whatyou talk about, because that's
really all you're doing.
It takes up so much of yourlife.

(06:52):
So when you try to talk tosomebody that's just living a
normal life, you know day to dayand you just talk about that
over and over and over, theydon't want to talk about that
anymore.
They're like I've had enough ofthat, I don't want to hear that
anymore, you know.
So at those times I had toreally find balance in work life
, in friendships, in marriageand all those things, because

(07:16):
for me, when I'm all in onsomething, I know you're like
this too, when working with you,it's 110%, right, and you have
to find a way to mitigate that110% and put it over here to
where you can still get thosethings done, but you still have
to have these other things.
You know, and I had to start todevelop different habits, for,
for instance, I didn't party, Ididn't drink, I didn't do any of

(07:36):
those things.
But I started to set, likelunch dates with friends, right,
so I had that social outlet.
You know, I would have dinnerwith my wife every night, so I
had that social outlet.
I would have dinner with mywife every night, so I had that
time with her.
We took walks together.
We found ways to make life workwhere there's some level of
normalcy as opposed to chaos.
And you see it, especiallywithin the competitive world

(07:58):
where these people puteverything they have into going
pro or after pro, doing proshows or whatever, and you know
there's there's no money in that, like unless you're at the
highest level Um, but they puteverything into it and they put
so many other things at thewayside.

(08:18):
And I understand that because Iwas willing to do whatever it
took to and I've trained, youknow, hundreds and thousands of
people over the years and I'veseen so many people lost um with
no sense of who they are otherthan they're defined by I'm a
competitor, or I compete, or I'min the fitness industry or

(08:38):
whatever that may be.

Yeah, you know that's like a common thing with
like high achievers.
In general though I alwaysreferred to it as like my dark
passenger of like that part ofyour brain that you go into
where it's like hyper focused,almost like the rest of the
world doesn't exist and it's aselfish pursuit, but it gets you
a lot of results right, eitherfinancially or in business or in

(09:03):
the bodybuilding world.
But I've, I think, just gettingolder too and and being around
a lot of people that had thosesame pursuits as me and me going
through it personally also oflike then you get to the, you
reach the kind of thedestination that you originally
set out for, and then you lookaround you're're like, oh man,
like my whole personality iswrapped up in this pursuit or

(09:26):
thing, and there's like aloneliness or like an emptiness
that comes along with it.

You know people that compete and I keep using
this as a reference they work sohard for an end goal and they
work, work, work, work, work,work.
And a lot of times I alwaystell them, like you really need
to be aware of the post show,not not the show itself, and
they don't realize it until theyget there.
You know every waking moment isspent eating right and

(09:53):
exercising and all these things,and then the show happens and
then they're like, well, nowwhat this level of depression
hits?
Because, well, that was I wasdefined by that.
For the last 16 weeks, everysingle day, all day, that's all
I thought about.
And now what?
Right, yeah, I don't have agirlfriend.

I ignored my friend.

So you know you have that part of it and you
talk about, you know the darkpassenger, so to speak.
Unfortunately, my greateststrength and my greatest
weakness is I'm never satisfied,like no matter what I've ever
achieved.
I look at it for what it is andthen I move on.
It's like you completely forgetabout all the work and time and
everything it took to get there, because once you get there,
you're like, well, now, what,right?
And so I look at it and I moveon.

(10:34):
So that's a blessing becauseit's helped make me successful
and and really achieve things,but it's a curse because what's
enough?
Is there ever enough?
Yeah, you know.
And if there's not enough, likewell, what's the end goal,
what's the end result?
What do you end up 80 years oldand happy?
Yeah, because you've spent yourwhole life just fixated on
what's next.

(10:54):
What's next growth, growth,growth.
How much money does one need,right?
How much of this do you need?
How many businesses do you need?
And so I'm once on like I Isaid that's a positive thing
having that, but on the oppositeside, it's like you're never
satisfied.
And to know what that is likeit's great because you'll
achieve something and youappreciate it for what it is.

(11:14):
I made myself do that andreally look at okay, this has
value.
I achieved this.
I did that, appreciate it for amoment, but regardless of what
it's ever been, I was just movedright on yeah.
Yeah, and you know again, like Isaid, where, where do you end
up?

you know, at the end of the day, Well, I think,
that's why it's so important tohave like gratitude, because, I
mean, I'm the same way and a lotof people are like that, where
you accomplish the goal and thenit's like, okay, what's next?
Or how do I improve You're,you're improving.
Like it's like okay, what'snext?
Or how do I improve, you'reyou're improving.
Like it's like being a Olympicsprinter right, it's like I run
the fastest in the world, but Ijust want to improve the one

(11:50):
10th of the second.
So, having the gratitude like Igot here and then having the
gratitude and love of family,which I think is so important,
of like that really grounds you,like being appreciative of you
know you have a son, I've gotdaughters of like that's where
satisfaction is really apparentin the world.
All of the other things arejust means of exchange.

(12:13):
Money is a means of exchange.
Uh, success is a means of likeself.
You know, grant aggrandizementa little bit, but like what
really matters is like you havea kid at home that loves you and
looks up to their dad, or youhave a wife that loves you, and
like you guys are on thatjourney together and having
gratitude for that, even thoughyou're pursuing these other

(12:33):
selfish things outside of it.

You know that's true, and when you look at those
things too, you you have toground yourself and bring you
back to being present.
You know, because it's so easyYou're there with your kid, you
start scrolling your phone, youstart working on something,
you're stressed about something,and you know, bringing that
home.
I've devised, you know, methodsfor me.
You know, I get to work,sometimes four or five in the

(12:57):
morning and I'm not done untilsix or seven or eight at night,
and coming home, and I literallyhave to take a moment to just
decompress so I can open myselfup to being present, right,
because those times are fleeting.
You know you have little kidsand my son's eight, and if you
continue to just let days passby just to get through, just to
get home, put him to bed andthen you move on Right, with no

(13:19):
real time invested, that'd beone of the greatest regrets I
could ever have, sure, is notbeing there and being present
and being a part of it andlistening.
He, my son, called me yesterdayand uh, yeah, he has a phone and
he left me a voice message andwas the.
He's had a phone for a fewmonths and it's a way for he and
I to connect um when he's athis mom's and he said he did his

(13:45):
map reading and he was supposedto score like 175 and he scored
like 198.
Right, and you could hear theinflection in his voice, how
excited he was and how proud hewas and he couldn't wait to tell
me and, uh, I saved thatmessage.
I'm like I got emotional,thinking.
I'm like man like this is whatit's about, Right, right here.

(14:06):
It's not about what's in thebank, it's not about this, it's,
you know, the work that we putin, day in and day out, at night
, reading with him and spendingtime with him and encouraging
him.

And now he's in a space where he's proud of
himself and he can't wait toshare it with me you know, and,
uh, I look forward to havingmany more moments like that, um,
in the coming years so yeah,and I mean that's so well said,
but also, yeah, I mean, just golike when you told that story,

(14:36):
you weren't thinking aboutanything else, or the business
that you want to start, or theone that you currently own that
you want to improve, right, likethat's the gratitude start, or
the one that you currently ownthat you want to improve, right,
like that's the gratitude andthe aspect that that, I think,
really grounds you and makeslife worth all the other
sacrifice right?

Yeah, I've heard you say many times in the gym,
besides cursing me.
Brandon's my trainer, by the way, and he yes yeah, but you've
said many times I see I see your, your kids come in and they're
so excited to see you and theylikely could have seen you an
hour before that, but they're soexcited to see you and you

(15:15):
always walk away after seeingthem or your wife and you're
like I don't know where I'd bewithout them or they saved me or
whatnot.
It's like to look at you and tolook at everything that you've
done and created and yoursuccess and everything else, and
to have you every single time Isee you around them, state that
shows a level of importance ofwhat they they mean to you in

(15:38):
your life.
So you know, you're a goodexample to me too.
You know, as a parent and, um,because I take that from people,
I watch parenting styles, Iwatch how people interact, I
watch people be present and ithelps me focus to be a better
parent too.
You know what People don'trealize that people are always
watching right, and you canlearn from anybody.

(15:59):
You just have to pay attention.
And so, within that I you know,never told you that, but I
watched that stuff and it'sadmirable because you're like, I
want to create a relationshiplike that with my family.
Yeah, you know where my sonsees me and he's excited, and my
wife sees me and she's excited.
And when they walk away, I'm soproud to be a parent or husband

(16:20):
, but also knowing how lucky Iam and knowing that I'm on this
path in life because they're apart of it you know so um.
So it's admirable man yeah well,I appreciate that.

I mean, I wasn't always that way and you know you
go through those ups and downswith your family and man, I
remember, like during COVID, youknow, I had to like shut down
businesses and I was starting anew business and man, I just
there was like probably three,four month period there.

(16:51):
I don't think I slept at all.
I was like taking Adderall.
I wasn't, you know, payingattention to my health.
My family might as well havelike lived in another town
because I was so hyper focusedon that.
And you know you talk about thatdark passenger piece of it.
I mean, that's like all I knewalways was just like I have me

(17:13):
to rely on and I'm in charge ofproviding for my family.
And then I lost the forest,through the trees somewhere and
Tracy had to sit me down and shewas like I feel I'm just like
alone.
Your kids don't see you, Idon't see you, and that broke my
heart but also woke me up atthe same time of like man, this

(17:33):
is all for nothing.
If I can't have thisrelationship with my wife and be
the dad that I want to be to mykids, it's all for nothing.
I'll just end up a dirty oldman with money in my bank
account and no one around thatreally genuinely cares or loves
me.
And from that moment on and itdidn't happen overnight, but

(17:54):
just like day in, day out, justmaking that effort, like you
were saying you come home ateight o'clock, you have to, you
know, decompress, but then it'sphones down, it's hey, I'm all
consumed with my son at thismoment and helping them out and
I don't know why it's so hardfor us to get there or like that
.
That's not such an obviousthing.

It's an instinct .
I mean devices, calls, texts.
You know, throughout the dayI'm working and I'm working at
the same time.
I'm working on projects whileI'm working on another thing,
and so it's second nature to bedoing those things constantly
and so, and there's alwaysanother phone call too.

Unfortunately, you know, it's not get stops.

The capacity of work is always there.
You can always create and growand develop and create a
connection or what you know,whatever it is.
You could do that 24 hours aday if you wanted to, but
sometimes it just becomesmundane, busy work that you're
not really doing anything.
You're just going through themotions of going through emails,
going through texts, goingthrough this or oh, I forgot to

(18:55):
do this or whatnot Things thatcould wait.
I don't like to wait on stuff.
I get anxious if I leave things,so I'm always trying to get two
, three steps ahead on stuff,but I found that my level of
success and happiness is muchbetter when I do set the phone
down, when I do disconnect.
All my son wants is for me tobe there, that's it.
I lay on his bed sometimes andwatch him play video games, and

(19:17):
then he asked me for vbucks andbefore you know it, i'm'm
spending $40 on fake money so hecan buy a skin or whatever it
is.
But those things matter to himHim asking me something or
telling me something.
It's funny you bring this upabout your wife and her talking
to you, and I went through aphase with that, with my wife

(19:39):
too, before we got married shemoved here from Brazil to be
with me and I had come out of adivorce and I was very guarded
and I was very focused on growthand trying to grow business and
whatnot.
I was very cold and closed offoften and she sat me down
multiple times and said I justwant you to be here, I just want
somebody to love me and I wantto love them and you know, I
want you to be present and youknow, I just want you in my life

(20:01):
and it took me a while toassimilate to that because I was
so wound up, trying to overcomewhat I felt I lost in divorce.
Yeah, and you know, you talkabout saving me Like those are
some of the best conversations Iever had At the time.
It's uncomfortable, you don'twant to hear it, and maybe the
first time she said it I waslike you know, you bypass it and

(20:22):
you start thinking aboutsomething else Because it's
uncomfortable, you don't want tohear that.
You don't want to hear thatyou're doing a bad job or that
you're not connecting right orfor what they need.
You know her love language isdifferent than mine completely
and we found ways to communicatethrough that and get through
that to build a betterrelationship.
And life's much better todaybecause we can talk about
anything and if there is anissue and I had to focus on

(20:45):
loving her in the way that shefelt loved as opposed to me like
I'm a gift giver, right, I'lljust buy you something or give
you something, and to me I'mlike I love you, you know, but
to her she's like I just wantyour time and I want, you know,
you to hug me and give me a kiss, at the end of the day, like
little things matter to her andfor me I'm words of affirmation
and unfortunately, based on howI grew up and how I view myself,

(21:09):
my cup's always empty.
So unfortunately she could tellme something and in the next
second I'm like you know, here'sthe cup again.
But I realize that about myselftoo, and so does she, so I don't
take it too seriously aboutmyself.
I get, I get by with verylittle, if that makes sense in
the scope of that Um.
But it did start with herhaving those, those hard

(21:33):
conversations with me that gotme to open up and realize okay,
this is the second part of life,right, this is my do over, so
to speak, and this is how itshould go.
You know Um and, like I said,things have been better ever
since.

That's great.
There's a discipline in thattoo.
You know, like you, you're sodisciplined in your everyday
life and in the gym and how yourun your business and
everything's scheduled.
You know, and there's adiscipline in that.
But then we forget that like weshould be applying that same
discipline to our relationshipsand our kids and like I don't

(22:12):
know, I think the biggestmistake I ever made I'm like
just thinking about this rightnow but like the biggest mistake
I ever made was like thinkingthat because I was working so
hard and being a good provider,that that would offset the lack
of attention or love that Ishowed to my family Like, oh,
she's just complaining about it,but she really likes the house
that I bought or the vacationswe get to go on, or the you know

(22:36):
the handbag she buys, and mykids are going to love the fact
that their college has paid for.
You know you, you make thoseexcuses for yourself and then at
the end of the day, you're likeI royally screwed that up and
all they want is me to bepresent and be around and be a
part of their life.
They could care less about thebank account balance.

I always equate that to old people and people
like old people.
Yes, old people, you ever gonearound your grandparents?
Yeah, what do they want?

they just want your time yeah, they just want
you to be right yeah, that's it.

Yeah, they don't care about anything else.
They don't care about youbringing them anything or
cookies or whatnot.
They just want you to spendtime with them.
Yeah, and that's what yourfamily wants.
They want the same thing.
You know, and the way I grew up,I grew up with nothing.
I didn't have anything, Ididn't have nice, and I grew up
very poor and dysfunctional, andso for me, it's like I'm giving
you all the things that I neverhad.
Why don't you appreciate it?

(23:29):
Right, like, why don't youappreciate it Like?
I give you everything, to thepoint where you know my kid will
ask me for something likesecond nature and just assume it
, just to show up Right, like,right, that's how things work,
with no you know idea what youhave to do to make that happen.
And I set them up for that, youknow, by giving them everything

(23:50):
and whatnot.
And I won't, I won'tdiscontinue that, um, but you
know people will say, okay, youknow how do you live?
How do you live a life whereyou raise your family and your
children and whatnot, to wherethey're not, you know, not
dysfunctional adults, right, andit's the time piece that
matters most.

(24:11):
It's not not not not givingthem things, because people are
like, well, if I don't give mykids anything, they're going to
be better adults.
Right, I'm like I don't believethat.
I believe you can give themeverything you never had, but I
think you need to be present intheir lives.
You have to listen to them, youhave to guide them, you have to

(24:31):
.
It's not an exchange for yourtime.
No, yeah, no, the time is whatmatters most.
I think it negates anything youcould possibly give them, like
buying a new car or whatnot.
Of course, growing up the way Idid, I think you know he should
drive a 1989 powder blueminivan to start, but, but you
know that has too many seats init and then he's gonna be

(24:51):
driving his friends around.
That's what I did, so it wasawesome.
But that's what I'm saying,though.
Like I don't think I need tohold back.
I'm letting him live a betterlifestyle.
Like we take a lot of trips, wespend a lot of time together in
that manner.
He has nice shoes, he has niceclothes, you know he has toys.
I Don't overdo it per se in myperspective, but to some who
don't treat their children inthe same manner, you know they

(25:12):
think it's too much Um, but,like I said, I believe I offset
that by the time spent with himbecause I believe he's a good
human, I believe he's a good kid, I believe he's appreciative, I
believe he's kind and generousand smart and all these other
things.
And I believe he's a good human.
I believe he's a good kid, Ibelieve he's appreciative, I
believe he's kind and generousand smart and all these other
things.
And I believe, as long as Icontinue to walk that path with
him, he's going to end up adecent and good adult that's

(25:33):
going to do good things in life.

Yeah, totally, and that's all that matters at the
end of the day, right?
It's not the shoes they hadwhen they were eight or the
video games.
It's like what kind of humanare you putting into the world?
And I don't know.
I've seen you with your son.
You're a great dad, he's a goodkid.
So we're doing something right,by the grace of God.
Yes, yes.
So one thing I'm interested inthat we kind of touched on this

(25:56):
like a little bit earlier on youlike coming up in the fitness
industry and the business sideof things.
In the fitness industry and thebusiness side of things, so
much has changed in thatindustry in my opinion, from
like when I was a younger kid,to today.
Even in health and wellness oflike you know, there's been 90
different crash diets.

(26:16):
Since then.
There's been a change in youknow personalities that people
get information from onlinewhere, like you know you're you
mentioned earlier you're 45, youlook 35, but you're 45.
You've been in the industry along time and there's so many
people online now that are 22years old giving fitness advice

(26:36):
or like this is what works.
Or and the guys like theMichael Hearns, the Jay Cutlers,
the they're not the biggestpersonalities online with all
the wealth of knowledge thatthey have, what, what do you
think?
That is why?
Why are we?
Why is it so hard to teachpeople something?
Culture?

Yeah, you know, we grew up in an era where for
me to know something, I had tofind the biggest guy in the gym
and follow him around and botherhim.
You know, like that's how I Ilearned.
We didn't have computers andall that stuff to teach us.
Kids today have such anunlimited amount of information
available at their fingertips,and with that comes the ability

(27:15):
to skew things too.
In the 80s it was like don'teat fat All the way through the
80s.
In the last five years yearsthere's been 45 different things
that you do and don't do.
Right, like creatine is good,creatine is bad, fat's good fast
, but like right, everythingthere's.
People always ask me a question.
They'll say well, what's theresearch on keto?

(27:36):
Or you know I'm like well,there's studies that show that
the side effect is death, rightliterally.
You can find studies that saythat.
But then there's other studiesthat show it's a positive thing
and if you're obese, it's thebest diet for you, right?
So there's always conflictinginformation out there, right?
And it's weeding your waythrough that to find what's
right for you.
And again, when you haveunlimited information, you know

(28:00):
what do you do with it, right?

And you overanalyze it and then you talk
yourself into the next bestthing, whenever it comes along.

Well, you overcomplicate it for one and
two.
You kind of do a lot of.
A lot of younger kids todayfollow people that they look up
to, whether it's a ChrisBumstead or Sam Sulik or
somebody like that, right, andyou know their methodologies.
They go into, like I rememberwhen, if it fits your macros was
the big thing, right, and I caneat all this ice cream and cake

(28:31):
as long as it fits my macros.
Yeah, you know there's been amillion different things since I
got in the fitness industry andit continues to develop and
change.
And you know big brands don'tnecessarily make or break the
industry anymore, it's moresingular entities.
There's still big brands andwhatnot, but anybody can be
famous.
Now you know, anybody can be aninfluencer, anybody can be

(28:53):
whatever they want to be, aslong as they get your attention.

That's like the number one thing.

So it becomes down more about a gimmick or
marketing or connection thansometimes knowledge.
And you know, you've asked mequestions about what do I think
of this, what do I think of thisinfluencer?
And I'm not big on going infront of a bunch of people and
saying, well, I believe this, Ibelieve this, I believe this and
follow this and follow this andfollow this.
And in the past I would givetips and ideas and stuff like

(29:19):
that and I kept thingsrelatively simple, because
there's always somebody there todiscredit you and it just
causes conflict, right, like,look at all these influencers
that are always fighting witheach other, especially the ones
that know everything.
Right, like, yeah, I've gotthis or I've got that.
Or I remember there was aninfluencer that said some stuff
to um, dorian Yates, mr Olympia,yeah, he's like well, under

(29:41):
scientific principles, and blah,blah, blah, blah.
And dorian's like you know, sixtime mr olympia, yeah, and he's
and he tries to go back at himagain he's like six time mr
olympia.
Right, he's like I did it.
Right?
So I know, yeah, I don't carewhat your studies say, right,
you know.
And so I've avoided that.
I don't, I don't want to dealwith that.
I, I meet people face to faceand we find our way through

(30:05):
things together.
I take every little bit ofknowledge that I have with the
willingness to continue to learn, develop and grow for that
individual to make them theirbest.
I believe that everybody'sdifferent.
Everybody reacts different todifferent things and they react
different at different times.
You know, some people all of asudden have an allergy to
something, or they react good tothis, or they do better with
cardio, or they react better toless training or more training,

(30:26):
or I think it's an ebb and flow.
You know, as a person that hadto diet so many times for photo
shoots and all the things that Idid through fitness and
competitions and all that, mybody reacted different every
single time.
I had my body completelystagnate doing the same thing.
I did three preps in a row andall of a sudden my body's not
reacting to the exact same thingI did every other time and I
had to figure it out.

(30:46):
It's the same thing withclients.
You know Sam, who you know beingone of them.
You know she's a top bikini proand I have in the last five
years changed her protocols andprogramming so much.
You look at it today and youlook at it where she starts,
she's on a completely differentprogram.
I mean, the principles arestill relatively the same, but
how we train, what we train, howwe eat, a lot of those things

(31:09):
changed as she changed and mostoften you see people that either
one, they give you a protocolor plan that you live every day
for the rest of your life andthat's what works and you'll
always get better off of it,right, because that's what they
say.
Or you have the people thathave an ebb and flow of.
Let's take the cumulativeknowledge and make proper

(31:30):
changes based on how you'rechanging as you age, as you
develop, as this happens, asthis ailment hurts you know,
your elbow hurts, your shoulderhurts or this because that's
what I believe programming is isbased on the individual and
what you're going through inlife at the moment, as you're
developing, as you're changingin real time.
You know what I mean.

(31:50):
I had a kid that sat down withme and he's training with me now
a great kid and great athlete,and he's showing me all this
chat, gpt workouts, and he'slike, why should I hire you as
opposed to just doing this?
I'm like, well, that's a greatresource and it can mimic this
and it can mimic that, and Isaid, however, it doesn't change

(32:12):
things in real time, based onyou, right?
And after our first workout, hecalls his mom and he's like can
I do two hours?
He's like my workouts beforeweren't like this hours.
He's like my workouts beforeweren't like this.
And that hands-on approach andpaying attention to how his body
acts and reacts and how itdevelops and changes often makes
all the difference.
And same thing with you.

(32:33):
The first time we worked out, Ilooked at you and I'm like you
have an imbalance in your legand you're like really, and I'm
like yep, it's right here, andbeing able to see that, but then
correct it in real time.
And now do you have that issue?
No, no, because we did thethings necessary to correct that
.
And that's the thing withtraining in general is that
we're all different.
It should be a personal thingto us and I don't say a person's

(32:56):
right, wrong or otherwise whenthey're preaching things.
Right, I'm open to trying, I'mopen to interpreting it and I'm
open into implementing it.
Let's see if it works and alsogiving it enough time to see if
it works.
Sure, you know, because oftenpeople are like, well, I did
that for two weeks and thatdidn't work.
Well, you know, what do youexpect?
It was two weeks.
Yeah, how long have you beenliving unhealthy?
Like, well, I haven't workedout in three years?

(33:16):
Well, okay, yeah, you know,give it some time.

So, yeah, like treating the patient instead of
the disease.
Basically.

Yeah, you know, and pay attention to the body
and you don't have an agenda.

That's one thing that I really appreciated about
you is there is no agenda otherthan like my long-term health
and longevity and helping meaccomplish the goals I want.
It's not like this is theBrandon Fokin system that you're
just going to follow.
The system yeah, you know whicha lot of that's like.
I feel like there's a lot ofthe stuff online too, of like

(33:51):
this is the way to do it.
It's the only way to do it.
Do keto Carbs are the enemy.
Work out this way, you knowit's like very finite and, like
you said earlier, all of thepeople in the world have their
own individual code.
It's called DNA.
Nobody's code is the same asanybody else's, so why the one

(34:11):
size fits all thing just doesn'tfit.

And me even saying that opens up the door
for people to attack me.
Yeah, because this way is rightor that way is right, or you're
full of shit and you don't knowanything, right, right, well, I
also provide results and I canprove it over and over and over.
You know, with you, I watchedyou from afar for a long time.
You know I offered assistanceor help, just as a friend.

(34:34):
Hey, I can help with this or Ican help with that Anytime, just
let me know I wasn't asking foranything and that's how I work.
I don't do things for people togain something back.
I believe and I shared some ofmy list with you earlier that I
try to create more value inpeople than I ever take back,
and I believe when you do that,you're going to thrive in
whatever you do, right.

(34:55):
And, of course, you can'tcontinue just to give, give,
give, give without other thingspositively showing up in your
life, whether it's business orwhatnot.
But I believe if you go overand above for a person and
really care about what you'redoing, whether it's through them
or somebody else or whatever, Ibelieve that comes back to you
and with you.
When you were ready, that doorwas open and you came over one

(35:19):
day and you're like I think Iwant to do this and I said okay.
And then he came back again andhe said it again.
I said okay, so let's getstarted.
And we did the things that wedid and we developed it and we
changed it based on how you weredoing and how you're developing
, like even your nutrition.
I based a lot of that on whatyou were doing actively at the
time and we gradually gotourselves to a place that worked

(35:39):
, and the same thing with yourfitness.
I changed it.
This even this last week, andyou're like, did you really
change something?
I was like, yes, we took yourday from six to five.
We changed the parameters ofhow we were training based on
what your goals were and what Iknew already worked for you.
Right?
So then I took what we knewworked.
We pulled that into a muchsmaller unit and then we

(36:00):
expanded on it by adding newthings for the goals that you
now set for yourself.
And now what do we do?
We monitor that in real time tomake sure that it's working and
if it's not, then weincrementally make those changes
.
You don't want to just takewhat we know is working and make
a massive change and justassume it's going to work.
We pay attention to the littlevariables too, because I always
tell people that it's baby steps.

(36:21):
If you're going to do this fora lifetime and if you're gonna
do it for the right reasons,you're okay making incremental
baby steps over time to success.
You know, unfortunately, mostpeople want it now.
It's a fast food lifestyle,like I want it now.
Yeah, I want to lose 50 pounds.
I want to lose this.
I had a client the other daysent me a picture and it was him
.
One year, easter to Easter, helost 50 pounds and gained muscle

(36:42):
.
At the same time Looks 15 yearsyounger.
His blood markers are frickingperfect and before you'd be like
bro, like you're going to liveto 75.
Maybe, yeah, if you keep onthis path, bro, like none of
this looks good, right.

Yeah.

And so to see those things working with the
same methodology that I'm I'msharing, it works, yeah, and the
thing is is it's it's differentfor everybody.
Like I said, like a Sam, theway I work with her is different
than I work with you.
I don't do just one thing.
The one thing that if I've doneevery anything right is that
I've paid attention to peopleand I've learned from people

(37:20):
directly what works and whatdoesn't.
That's what.
That's what an experiment isright.
Like you, try methodologies tosee if things work, and I've
done that over the course of 25years.
I don't know it all, but I knowpeople and I can pay attention
to very minute details that Ibelieve evoke change when you
change those things and overtime, again, I've been able to

(37:42):
prove that.
Does that mean that it's in atextbook?
Or anybody's going to look atwhat I say and be like man,
that's the Fokken methodologyright there.
Let's follow that.
It's hard to follow.
It is because it's an ebb andflow change based on the
individual and it evolves withthe person.
It's not a standard set variablethat you do for life.
It changes with you, with yourlife, with your routine, with

(38:06):
your injuries, with your energynon-energy, because you're
working too much travel.
It takes the variables of whatyou do overall and it puts it
all together.
And that's the other thing withthat is, we work on all things.
We don't just work on the gym,we talk about meaningful things
in the gym, right, that'sanother part of what I do.

(38:27):
Like I call it whole healthtraining.
That is what the Foggin Methodis.
It's whole health training.
It's working on yourself,spiritually, mentally,
emotionally, working throughproblems, being heard, having
somebody listen to you, workingon the physical aspects through
training that is efficient forwhat you want to achieve,
whether you want to be faster orstronger or more cut or more

(38:48):
aesthetic or whatever right.
We work on those things.
And I also have thoughtsregarding that.
I get to later.
But then it's also worthlooking at our hormones and our
blood panels and our nutritionand all of those things
chiropractic care, massagetherapy, all of it as a whole to
make ourselves better, becausesometimes one variable falls
apart.
Well, what happens then?

(39:10):
Just like in a business, whenone thing drops down, the other
things have to pick up where itlacks.
And so when you do everythingas a program and as a whole and
have as many things going in apositive direction for you,
you're always going to be ableto find some level of success or
a path forward for you.
You're always going to be ableto find some level of success or
a path forward, as opposed toif you rely on one thing and
that falters, you most oftenfail and you quit.

Well, that's the thing.
I think that's the biggestlearning.
Like, I've worked out my wholelife.
I've been an athlete and anaccomplished athlete my whole
life.
Then sports goes away and youdon't have anything after that.
So I was always in the gym butI was missing all the other
things.
And I think the biggest thingthat I've learned and learned

(39:52):
from you is like that wholeapproach.
It's like it's like a wheelwith a bunch of spokes in it.
Working out at the gym is oneof those spokes.
You have to sleep, you have toget your blood panel done, you
have to prioritize the diet andwhat you put in your body.
Like that was, oh my gosh.
I mean you've seen it, but youknow you can do whatever you

(40:16):
want to in the gym and go homeand fill your stomach with
garbage and you're not going toget anywhere.

Unless you're some sort of genetic free.
Yeah, or not enough, right, youknow we most often under eat
too, because that's what we'vebeen told.
Yeah, you know, people areeating a thousand calories or
less, and they're a 250 poundperson.
Yeah, you know, and they'relike well, I wanna put on muscle
and lose body fat.
I'm like ugh.
Yeah, that's a little tough.

So what's like your tried and true, like
someone shows up to the gym andthey're like, man, I've never
worked out or, you know, I'vehad moderate activity, whatever.
What are there?
Is there just like a foundationapproach that you can be like,
hey, we need.
How do you assess that person?

So you have to assess the person as a whole.
You know I do a questionnaireand I ask a bunch of questions,
you know, and then I talk tothem.
At the same time, I do aphysical assessment, I walk them
through a workout.
Most often I'm doing full bodystuff.
We start off slow, especially aperson that's never done
anything Right, and I assessthem.
I look for weaknesses, I lookfor imbalances, you know I want

(41:27):
to know about their healthhistory and their joints and
their muscles and if they'vebeen injured or hurt or they've
ever played sports or I mean Iwant to get to another person
that I'm working with and youknow, throughout that we go slow
and we let it build up.
You, I don't just hammer themwith stuff.
Initially, like with you, Ithink you and I worked out a few

(41:47):
times and just did a fewsessions and you're like okay,
like this is what it is right.
And then I developed a programbased on what I saw and what
your goals were because at theend of the day, it's your goals
which I could always, you know,interject and throw something
and be like well, what aboutthis too?
You know we should add this.
You know, interject and throwsomething in and be like, well,
what about this too?
You know, we should add this,you know, um, but that's where

(42:09):
it starts.
It's sitting down having anhour hour and a half
conversation Most often I spendthat much time with somebody and
then it's it's going throughthe parameters of a workout with
them, you know.
And then it's especially withnutrition, which is hard for so
many people.
It's finding a balance in theirlife and what that looks like
day to day already for them andincrementally making positive

(42:31):
changes week to week.
You know we do weekly check-ins.
Anybody that works with me,obviously, can call or text or
email me.
They can see me in the gym ifthey're local.
You know, I train people fromall over the place, and then
it's all real-time stuff andthen we let it add up because,
at the end of the day, if youwant this to be a lifestyle and
I go to you and I go, okay, allright, so we're going to go
ahead and this is the dietyou're going to use.

(42:51):
It's going to be this bro diet.
It's going to be exactly thatyou're going to work out six
days a week and you're going todo 45 minutes of cardio every
day Um, we're going to starttomorrow and you come in and
you're just destroyed on thefirst day.
Yeah, I hear that often.
I got a woman right now thatcame to me and she's like I went
to a trainer six years ago, sixyears ago, and he destroyed her

(43:12):
.
She had just come out of havingbreast cancer.

Yeah.

And she's like I couldn't walk for four days.
It was terrible and I quit.
She goes.
I haven't been back to the gymsince and she was so wound up
going into her first workout,right, and we made it through,
did a full workout, and she'slike that was so different and I
was like, well, we paidattention to you.
I didn't take what I saw in atextbook or some preconceived
notion of I need to absolutelysmash you and make you sore, to

(43:38):
make you feel like you got aworkout in and we're going to
work up from this.
And it's also overcomingobjections in the right way too,
because she'll push back alittle bit.
We've done multiple sessionsnow and she'll push back and
what it is?
It's trauma from the past, whatshe's dealt with in the past
through exercise and ridicule ofherself or through others or

(43:59):
whatnot, and it's a scary placeto be for some people is on the
gym floor and so, being ascomforting and calm and
articulate um in understandingas I can be, as I create a safe
space for them and some peoplelike, oh, they're pansy ass, we
don't need safe spaces.
The gym, no, a lot of peopleneed that.

(44:21):
A lot of people need that levelof connection and confidence to
be able to go into what scaresthem most.
They have to trust you, yes,and so I've gained that over
time with her.
And she pushes back Well, Idon't know, it's too hard, it's
way too hard, I'm like, but yetyou're doing it right.
You just did that 10 times, butit was too hard, right?
And one thing that I doovercome people with often is

(44:53):
being calm but being funny, andI find what makes people laugh
and I distract them most often,especially in the beginning,
from what they're doing.
By the time they look at theclock they're like I'm done, you
know, and I'm like yeah, wehave meaningful conversations
while we're going through aworkout, and I would say I've
become an expert at being ableto hold somebody accountable,
doing the right reps, doing theright form, keeping them safe on

(45:14):
the floor and getting aneffective workout, while I'm
building their trust verballyand letting them air some stuff
out and decompress a little bit.
A lot of people want that justas much as they want the
physical aspect in my level oftraining, and so once you build
that trust, I could get her todo anything at that point and if
she is sore, she's not going tobe afraid to come back Because

(45:35):
she understands the objectiveand what we're trying to do and
that I'm not trying toabsolutely crush her out there,
because I'll tell her beforewe're done.
I'm like, okay, you might besore, you might, you might feel
this.
I get her ready for thosethings, I said, but that's
normal and we're going to workpast that.
And so she's got this thing inher head already.
She's like, okay, like I getthat in business, for instance,
outside of me.
You know the way the humanbrain works.

(45:59):
I've got a therapist right and Isat down with them and I said
what you're doing, you're,you're taking your people and
you're working them through andyou're creating a solution to
their problem right by workingon them.
She said, yeah, I said you'rehurting your repeat business
because you're going through andyou're trying to teach them
immediately thereafter, aftertheir first session, how they

(46:21):
can fix themselves.
So, even though they're notreally educated enough to do
some of the things that you'retrying to get them to do in
their head, they think they cando it right.
And so in a one-off, what I'msaying is build up to that Like,
build up to doing a fewpositive things to create a
better environment for yourself,moving forward, so you don't

(46:41):
always need help.
Same thing with training.
Like I want people to be ableto do stuff on their own, but
she was immediately trying togive them a solution outside of
herself, when the person wasjust trying to get through the,
the session itself.
Does that make sense?
Yeah, so she would be like okay, I've fixed you, this is how
you fix yourself.
Well, they're in the process ofyou working on them.

(47:03):
They're not paying attention toall that.
It takes time with anythinglike that to learn like this
Okay, I have to do this exerciseand I have to do these bands
and I have to do this Right.
So in their head they're likewell, I know the solution,
they're not going to do it Right, but I'm also not going to come
back because I know thesolution.

You see what I'm saying, and so with this I don't

(47:39):
create a lasting need for me,but I much so verbal.
You, you're like putting methrough the workout and there is
some like alleviation, becauseI feel like we're doing it
together, right.
And you always kind of likework out harder when you're with
somebody else too.
There's like just kind of likea little bit of an extra gear,

(48:02):
yeah.
And what I noticed is like whenI first started working out
with you, when I'd go do theworkouts by myself, I had to
like mentally push myself to getto that same gear, yeah, right.
So there is a little bit oflike when you leave them to
their own devices, you know youwant to make sure that you're
preparing them, that they canget themselves to the same place

(48:23):
, whether you're in the room ornot.

Yep, and that's hard.
Um, so at first, when younoticed a difference, right, and
whatever it is that we'retraining that day, I don't train
you based on what we previouslywrote.
As I get to know you, I try togo within the capacity of what I
know you can do, which mostoften a person's capacity is
much greater than what theythink they can do.

(48:47):
Right, most people hold backout of discomfort, fear,
whatever.
Sometimes, being there andtelling you you can do it one
the mental part of you like,well, you're saying I can do it,
I trust that I'm going to do itright.
The second part when I'mtraining you is I'm paying
attention to what your body'sdoing and how it's reacting to a
workout.
Right, like I can tell whenthis part's gassed or when

(49:08):
you're failing here or whatnot,or how to compound a movement to
make it harder or whateverwe're trying to do right.
So I'm paying attention toreal-time bodily cues as opposed
to a written workout that it'slike, okay, this is about within
the capacity of what I know youcan do.
This is what we're working on.
This is, this is going tobenefit you, but it will be
different because, again, it'snot in real time and every day.

(49:31):
You asked me earlier like doyou ever wake up and you're just
tired and bogged down and can'tget going.
We're going to have those days,right, and on that day you're
not going to push as hardbecause you're tired, you don't
feel good.
Right, and you're going to lookat that workout and instead of
doing 30 pounds, you're going todo 15.
Right, because you're like I'mtired today and you've convinced
yourself that you can't do more.
Well, maybe someone else woulddo it.

(49:52):
I would never do that, never dothat.
And I and I see you work out.
It's, it's fun to watch.
I told you, working withsomebody like you is awesome,
because when I talk about beingin the lab per se and running
experiments in real time, as I'mon the floor, I can see you
moving through things and doingthings and figuring things out

(50:13):
on your own and being able to becomplex in training and add all
sorts of different variablesand different styles of training
and types of training andwhatnot.
As a trainer, that challenge towork with a higher level
athlete that's willing to pushthemselves but wants to push
themselves is awesome.
On the other hand, having a 77year old female client that just

(50:38):
wants to be able to get up offthe floor and be active is just
as exciting for me because inboth ways I feel and hope that
I'm benefiting you in a positiveway.
That's going to make your lifebetter.
That's going to make you moreconfident, stronger, um, allow
you to be more active and live amore positive life, either for
yourself or with the otherpeople that you care about, and

(51:00):
that's rewarding, um.
But to be complex thiscomplexity is on both sides and
people don't realize sometimesrealize that it's just as
complex for me to train.
Again, I've got a couple thatare in their seventies.
Um, train that man who's hadthe stuff that he's gone through
in to train an athlete like you.
You know you really got to putyour thinking cap on and what a

(51:24):
person's capacity is, what theycan do and and what we need to
do to get them to a place wherethey can live an efficient life
the way that they want.
They still have goals oflooking a certain way and
feeling a certain way and beingproductive, no different than
you.
They're just not dunkingbasketballs and rolling around
on a mat doing jujitsu and stuff.
You know you're just solving adifferent puzzle.

Yes, so how do you ?
Because, I mean, I think yourphilosophy is one, I know it to
be effective, but also I justthink that that's how you should
approach just about anythingbut how do you apply that to the
businesses you run and like thebrands that you've started?
So, like, most people don'tknow this about you or maybe
they do, but you know you havestarted several brands.

(52:05):
You're the owner of a gym,you're you're about to open
another one.
How, how is what you've learnedlike in training and being in
the people business?
How are you applying that toyour companies when you start
them?

You know, I wrote an article called your
health is your business yearsago.
Right, and I would say, if youcan be healthy at the highest
level of health, or what youdeem that to be, and all the
parameters it takes to be thereright at the highest level, that
you can run a businesseffectively, because it's very
similar.
Right, you got to save here,you got to give there, you got
to spend time doing this, yougot to research all this stuff.

(52:40):
Right, and when you take oneprotocol that works, you can
also take it from one thing tothe next, to the next.
Like, as a business person, youhave a methodology on how you
make things work.
Right, you simplify processesover time and that's what you
have to do when you're doingfitness.
That I did at a highest levelbecause I was working for a

(53:01):
billion dollar company and ontop of it, I had a wife and I
had to get ready for photoshoots and competitions and
everything else.
Like, I had to juggle all thesethings.
I don't know what life is likewithout that now.
Right, but if you can do that,I believe that if you have that
work ethic and the ability tofigure things out and willing to
figure it out rather than justjump steps just to get a job

(53:23):
done.
I think that you're going to besuccessful.
And paying attention tovariables is no different than I
would pay attention to a clientor myself and how my body's
changing or whatnot.
You have to pay attention toincrement things over time that
matter over the long term, right, like what your profits are,
what your margins are.
Like what you're spending ontoilet paper, right, you know

(53:44):
what it costs to.
You know, uh, to bring in a newmember.
What you're I mean, whatever itmay be Right, and within that,
you know, I, I've, I've createdvarious businesses and, like I
said, there's, there's so manycommonalities between the two

(54:06):
and taking your care of yourselfand taking care of a business
yeah that fitness has truly beenone of the biggest reasons why
I have been able to find thatlevel of success.

Yeah, you know that's, that's one thing that
the Instagram crowd has right, Ithink, is, like, regardless of
where you are in your life, ifyou get in the gym and you work
hard and you discipline yourselfwith like diet and sleep, your
life is only going to get better.
And it connects to all theseother aspects of your life that

(54:37):
you start finding these likedeeper.
You've always talked about thislike the mind, body connection
with the workout that you'redoing.
Like just the fact that my mindis connecting to the movement
that I'm doing helps themovement and helps the growth
from the resistance that it'slike receiving If I'm just in
there mindlessly, you know,doing a curl, versus like really

(54:59):
concentrating on the thing.
The reason I bring that up isbecause I've started applying
that to other parts of my lifetoo, of like the discipline
aspect of it and then just likethe mind connection to what
you're doing, the presence thatit requires.
So I think that they they getthat message right.
Yeah, for the most part.

Well, it's, you know the the grit that comes
from it.
I had one client I like to usehim as an example.
He's one of my favorite people.
He's that guy when you'rearound me, just feel good, right
, and he was a high-functioningguy real smart still is and I,
you know, started working withhim.
He was pretty much overweightand we got his weight down.
You know he's looking good,feeling good, and I just watched

(55:40):
him just on a meteoric rise,you know, in and it came with
that confidence and feeling goodand your clothes fitting right
and, you know, being your ownbusiness card, so to speak,
right, like showing up and youlook credible and you feel
credible and you've got thatwork ethic and like everything
he was doing in fitness.
He was applying to the businessworld and I look at him today

(56:00):
and how far he's come.
You know the company that hewas working for way back when
now he's, you know, a majorpartner in it, right, and
providing a life for his familythat many would would admire and
be like, wow, I sure wish I wasat that level in life, right,
yeah, and you know, to seepeople take one processes and
apply it to another is awesometo see, you know, and watch that

(56:25):
that person invest inthemselves in one area and then
watch that investment pay offinto so many other things.
And uh, you know, I'm, I'm anexample of that.
You know, like I said,everything that I've done in
fitness trying to just figure itout, right, like, as I said,
like I'm never, never, satisfied.

(56:46):
You know, I had to find ways tomake things happen, right, I had
to figure out, you know, when Istarted getting on magazine
covers, you know those thingscost 100, 200, $300,000 to get
on a magazine cover, way back inthe day.
You know it was one of the mainsources of advertising.
And who the hell was I?
You know, I wasn't anybody inmy head.
So I had to network and figureit out.

(57:08):
How can I, how can I get on oneof those things?
Or how can I create value for amajor brand to sign me?
How can I?
You know, do this, that orwhatever?
Right?
So I, I got really good atfiguring things out.
How did you do that?

Which part Like how did you create value for the
brand and get on the magazinecovers?

So, you know, I started competing at 30, started
in bodybuilding, didn't haveanything else, and I came up in
a time when, you know, it wasall bodybuilders people like me
never had an opportunity.
And then Instagram started andFacebook and all that, and I was
competing and I randomly wonthe muscle and fitness male
model contest to compete at theOlympia and while I was there,

(57:50):
bodybuildingcom was king at thetime.
You know they have like 40million unique visitors and back
in the day, you know brandsneeded.
There was far fewer brands butthey needed.
You know they did the expos,magazines for advertising and
places like bodybuildingcom toadvertise, promote and sell.
I went through their line andJamie Eason, who was the top

(58:12):
female fitness model at the time, thought she knew me.
I was like, oh my God, sheknows me, knowing well enough.
She didn't know me but she toldme she's like I really think
you can make it in this business.
I was like what?
Just a regular guy from southdakota, right?
And it was that one sentencethat made me believe, well,

(58:33):
maybe, maybe I could dosomething right.
And so I signed up for thebodybuilding council's model
contest and won to go compete inla um and then ended up getting
signed to them and to me.
I thought, okay, well, if I'mgood enough to be with them and
I'm credible, I can utilize thatas a pedestal to the next thing

(58:53):
.
And so then I started puttingmyself out there with kind of a
resume of I can write, I canspeak, I can do videos, I can
model, I can do all these things, like anything you need I can
do it.
And I started to reach out to alot of these companies that,
would you know, put self-helparticles or training stuff, you
know, and I'd be like I'll writefor free, I'll put that out

(59:14):
there, I'll do this, I'll dothat.
And I just kept putting myselfout there in positions where I
could offer value, right and andto get your foot in the door
for other opportunities.

Exactly, that's awesome.

And so over time I was able, I was the face of
esports nutrition.
I did that for a few years andyou know those companies invest
tons of money into you.
You know they get you onmagazine covers and they, you
know, put you into videos andthey do all these things.
You know.
That helped me create an imageof who I was.
So that became easier andeasier for me to sell myself to

(59:44):
people, because I started togain a reputation that I worked
hard, that I was professional,that you could rely on me, that
I was willing to go above andbeyond.
I never made it about me.
I never came in like a diva,like I want this, this and this.
It was always about what can Ido for you?
And because I had that mindset,companies never took advantage
of me.
They always.
They treated me well, they gaveme amazing opportunities, paid

(01:00:07):
me extremely well, had amazingcontracts, and it continued to,
like I said, just evolve.
And with bodybuildingcom, Icould only work with companies
that worked with them.
But they had every brand therewas right.
But I couldn't work withconflicting companies, meaning I
couldn't have two supplementsponsors, right.
So B Sports Nutrition when Istarted with them, they didn't
have protein bars.
So then I was one of questnutrition's first athletes, okay

(01:00:28):
, so I was able to compoundthings.
So then I had a bag company andI had muscle egg, and I had a
cup company, and I had all thesecompanies that I was an athlete
for, you know, and I keptcompounding and compounding them
and then I ended up becomingthe face of diamond ties.
I decided to leave Beast a fewyears later and they had just
been acquired by Post.
So now you're working the bigleagues right.

(01:00:50):
And it just continued tocompound and more opportunities
happened, but I never stoppedhustling, no matter what
happened.
I never stopped.
I continued to buildrelationships with photographers
, I continued to ask my brandsto send me to places to do
things, to do that, to invest inthis, and if you do this, I'll
do this.
And it just continued tosnowball to create opportunity

(01:01:11):
for me.
And we talked earlier aboutgoing back and doing more or
redoing it.
I wouldn't redo it.
If anything, I would have donemore.
Uh to to have had thoseexperiences at the time.
Um, but again, I would stilllook at it today, even if I
would have done all those things.
I'd be like well, there wasmore.
There's always more.
So would I have been anyhappier?
No, I wouldn't have been.

(01:01:31):
I could just say that I did itright and so, taking all of that
over the years that I did it,at some point I was like at 10
years of that, I was like I feellike I've kind of had enough,
right, my son's here, I want tospend more time with him.
I'm going to step away.
I'm going to find other ways tointeract and do things that

(01:01:52):
take less time, and so if youwatch my social, you'll see me
post stories and stuff.
I rarely post anything anymore.
Um, regarding, you know,promotions and stuff like that.
I still get to work with bigbrands and do cool stuff.
I try to do things incrementallymore so, or like, like I was on
Shark Tank last year, right,I'm in the process of possibly

(01:02:13):
being cast for a show now.
I was in a movie last yearwhich actually comes out next
month.
Like I do things bigger and I'mmore selective with things that
I do that hopefully continue toimpact me in a positive way, to
continue to open up doors to domore things.
So really, what I guess I tryto do now is to continue to
create credibility where.

(01:02:33):
If somebody's like, well, whathave you done?
I'm like, well, this soundsarrogant and cocky, but you
could Google me and you'll see alittle bit of it.
You know, get an idea of who Iam if you haven't heard anything
and when people will see youknow he was on the Titan games
or he was on Shark Tank or he'sbeen on magazine covers.
Oftentimes there's been onething you know whether I work
with a celebrity or I knowsomebody famous or whatnot,
there's usually one thing thatallows me to connect with

(01:02:55):
somebody, to create anotheropportunity and that's what I'm
working on now is to createpositive relationships, which
I've always fostered, andcontinue to create credibility
in myself where I can continueto add value, either through my
networking or connections toother people, or I can help you
in some way connect you tosomebody else that can help you,
or I can give you knowledge oradvice or help or training or

(01:03:16):
nutritional guidance, orwhatever it is that can help me
connect with you to continue tobetter whatever movement I feel
like I'm on.

Addison Thom (01:03:29):
Yeah, I feel like, well, I feel like you've earned
that.
But also the thing that I'mtaking from this conversation
that you said, which I think isso powerful, is you start with
adding value, and I think that'spart of the problem with, like,
the younger generation now andthe social media thing is that
there's this sense ofentitlement that they get to
just fast forward and jump towhat took you years and years

(01:03:50):
and years to build.
But the story of you reachingout to these companies and
offering value where you're notmaking any money to be like I'll
write the article for free,I'll show up on time and be
professional and do that You'reeating shit for years before you
actually get to the part wherenow, hey, I get to pick and

(01:04:11):
choose, I'm going to go on thisgame show where I get to work
with these big brands.
Like the story starts with Iadded value first and I was
willing to grind it out, andthen that mentality never left
you.
Now you just have opportunitieswith applying that same thing
to larger brands and biggeropportunities.

(01:04:32):
Yeah, and getting your foot inthe doors.
Like you know, most kids aren'twilling to do that.
They're not willing to be likeeat humble pie and be like I
will literally work for free fora year just so I can learn from
you and get my foot in the door.

Brandan Fokken (01:04:52):
You know I started off my fitness career a
guy named Todd Tryon smart,smart guy.
I give him a lot of credit,great dude.
He kind of had the 24 hour gymmodel before anybody really did.
And I don't think sometimes heremembers, but he had a gym and
I wanted to be a part of it.
So bad that he wasn't staffedon Sundays and I volunteered my
time to go in and I would juststand at the desk just all day
on Sundays and eventually hemade me a manager of a store and

(01:05:15):
then it really took off fromthere.
But I was willing at thebeginning to do a lot of those
things and I've learned alongthe way and I've messed up and
done the wrong thing a milliontimes over and continue to pick
myself up from that and continueto move forward.
And you know where I'm at today.
You know I'm able to bless otherpeople with a lot of the same
things that he did for me andhelp people and mentor people.

(01:05:37):
And of course I don't have allthe time in the world, but even
if I can add something smalllike, for instance, I was a
terrible speaker All the fear inthe world couldn't do it and
he's a person that is one of thebest speakers I've ever seen in
my life.
He took me to an event to speakand he just told me he's like
you're the expert.
They don't know if you mess up,talk about what you know.
And after that I've done ahundred speaking engagements

(01:05:57):
right.
Just recently I did for theyoung business professionals
here in Lubbock, but it took hisbelief in one sentence that
changed my life, and I believethat we have that ability in us,
that innate ability to look atsomebody and say something that
either they haven't heard or theperson that said it to him
wasn't credible enough, but youwere, and that one thing that
you said changed their life forthe better, and you just need a
nudge sometimes.

Yeah, you do.

So it's, uh, it's one of those things.
Now, with where I'm at, as yousaid, we're creating another gym
.
I'm looking at partnering amedical clinic.
I want to do some more TV stuff.
It's not because I want to befamous or anything like that.
I love the process of thosethings like the TV stuff.
It's funny.

(01:06:40):
I don't share a lot of thosethings.
I show some highlights andstuff, but I love the challenge
of that.
It's making something that younever thought possible possible
by utilizing the same parametersof what enabled me to do other
things that I thought wereimpossible too, like coming from
South Dakota.
There's so many things I didand I never thought would be
possible, and so I feel like Ihave a bit more of that in me.

(01:07:03):
Again, like I said, creatingpositive relationships here in
Lubbock.
I just got brought in.
I'm part of the board of health.
Now, you know, don't want toget into politics someday, I
don't know.
You know the sky's the limit,but I think we've got a great
community where there's a lotmore growth to be had.
What does it look like beyondthat?
I don't know.
Um, we're doing fun stuff atthe gym, um, you know, I I

(01:07:27):
actually spoke to a celebritythis morning that's going to
come into the gym here real soon.

And one thing I want to say who is it?

You can't, it's we have some we've had a lot of
celebrities in actually Um,sometimes we post them,
sometimes we don't.
We don't promote those things,um things.
I like to show that it's almostseamless as a part of what we
do, we cater to people that needto be catered to, because
oftentimes some of those peopledon't get it to live the

(01:07:57):
normalcy that we call life.
You know, they're inundatedwith people harassing and
following and pictures and allthat.
They don't get a chance tobreathe, and that's what I.
I don't ask for anything back inreturn.
I want to create a positiveenvironment for them to where
they can just chill.
You don't require anything ofthem.
I ask for nothing Like let usservice you.
We ask for nothing in returnand I'll be honest, 90% of those

(01:08:20):
people often try to dosomething positive for you and
I've met a lot of great peoplein doing things that way.
But yeah, you know, just todaywe we connected with somebody
great and we'll be connectingwith them here soon.
But you know, creating thoseand fostering those positive
relationships with people andbuilding trust with people
creates trust in other people,and I believe if you do things

(01:08:41):
the right way and my way may notbe the right way.
You know you can do a lot ofthings with credibility and
trust that oftentimes moneycan't buy and we'll continue to
do things that way and we'llcontinue to foster growth and
and relationships and helppeople and put positivity out
there and we'll see where we endup.

Do you think that's the difference, the gym
culture difference?
Because I mean, do you thinkthat's the difference, the gym
culture difference?
Because I mean, from myperspective, gym culture is a
big success and it was a bigrisk in a town like lubbock that
didn't have anything squarefootage wise or price wise,
right, like in that model.
Yeah, and there's a lot of gymsall over the country.

(01:09:21):
There's a lot of gyms inlubbock.
If you look at that, what makesa good gym?
Because, at the end of the day,the buildings are similar, the
equipment's all going to besimilar, right?
So what makes a gym successfulversus one that's not Culture.

Yeah, 100%.
You know it's being what theperson coming there to be needs
it to be, whether it's afriendship, it's a piece of
equipment, whether it'scleanliness, whether it's
childcare, whatever that is.
You know we cater to the peoplethat come in and we listen,
right, I'm always present, asyou know.
I'm always there, and when webuilt that, it was as bougie as

(01:10:02):
one could get my opinion, myopinion for the city of Lubbock.
There are bigger gyms here,corporate gyms that do what they
do, but I wanted to bring adifferent experience.
Everybody has equipment.
Not everybody has the childcare, for instance, that we have
, not to the level that we do.
A lot of gyms don't have thecleanliness that we do.
The cleanliness that we do, wesacrifice sometimes the bottom

(01:10:30):
line in a way to be able to givemore to our customer, if that
makes sense.
You know we give coffee andfruit and you know we pay our
staff more.
We spend a ton of money oncleaning crews and what it takes
to keep that place clean andget the carpets clean, and I
mean there's so much that goesinto that facility to cater to
the person that comes in.
Right, and you know, as yousaid, it was a risk in Lubbock.

(01:10:53):
I mean, how many businessescome here, national franchises
that make it six months and theyclose down, right?
I knew that Lubbock embracedcommunity and it embraced locals
and Lubbock is a proud city inmy opinion.
People make fun of it and whywould you want to live in
Lubbock?
And I don't want to live hereand it's a terrible place and
all that.
But at the root of it, there'sa lot of good people here and we

(01:11:16):
have a lot of great people atour facility.
There was things that I had tokind of chime out in the
beginning.
You know different culturesthat came in and the beginning.
You know different culturesthat came in and by culture, you
know the kids taking theirshirts off and flexing in the
mirror and whatnot.
And people weren't happy withme because I'd walk over and be
like put your shirt on right,it's no disrespect.
I know that culture better thananybody, right?

(01:11:37):
You know, I lived it at thehighest level.
But that's not what we weretrying to do.
We were trying to create anenvironment that people together
could cumulatively come intogether and feel good about the
space that they're in, whetheryou're a 55-year-old surgeon or
a 25-year-old college student ora mother with three kids and
wants to take a class.
We tried to really create anoffering and a space for a vast

(01:12:03):
group of people and we found ourpeople.
When we go to Gym Culture 2,it's going to look different.
It's going to be the Starbucksmodel, and by that that doesn't
mean we're sacrificing anything.
We're going up another level.
Right when we came and opened,there were people that said we
weren't going to make it.
They made fun of our pricestructure and all this stuff and
said we charged too much andand uh, you know, now they're

(01:12:27):
copying the same thing.
And if you're a local business,I hope you all make it, all of
you.
You know that's why we have ourblock parties and stuff.
That's why everybody shows up.
We want all the local gyms andfacilities to show up and be a
part of our fitness community,and by ours that's all of ours,
cumulatively, as as a whole, notjust ours but everybody.
And there's enough foreverybody to go around.

(01:12:47):
You know we have 300,000 pluspeople here and there's enough
to go around even with all thefacilities we have.
But the next one is theStarbucks model.
It's gonna go up quite a bit inin what that vision looks like,
you know more equipment, biggerchildcare.
You know it's gonna have adifferent look and it it's to
have the same feel, though thefeel is not going to change Same

(01:13:08):
culture, same feel.
But it's going to go up another, another level.
And you know, if you know me,you know we're looking at Dallas
, we're looking at Abilene,we're looking at other places,
because I think once number twocomes up, I think three and four
come up faster.
My goal is to have 10 of thesein the next five years.
And will that happen?
Who knows?
But I believe and I know thatI'm willing to do what it takes.

(01:13:33):
I think we've got a fantasticmodel and I think we have a
great culture and I think wehave something that people will
embrace in any and all of thosecommunities.
And if, um, if anything I lookforward to, to trying.

Yeah Well, I think what you've built is pretty
remarkable, and you know myopinion is limited, but uh, you
know I've been in a lot of gymsand a lot of different sit big
cities, small cities, all overthe country and gym culture is
definitely special.
So looking forward to the nextiteration of that Um.

All Episodes

Discipline, Legacy, and Living With Purpose – with Brandan Fokken

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

24/7 News: The Latest

Crime Junkie

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Discipline, Legacy, and Living With Purpose – with Brandan Fokken