August 5, 2025 • 26 mins
In this episode, we engage in a profound discourse with Devan Gonzalez, a fitness entrepreneur and CEO, whose remarkable journey epitomizes resilience and leadership. Devan shares his transformative experiences, beginning as a martial arts instructor at the tender age of thirteen, and evolving into a successful gym owner and franchise leader by the age of thirty-one. He highlights the significance of fostering a supportive community that enhances both physical and personal growth, emphasizing that effective leadership hinges upon understanding the aspirations and motivations of one's team. Throughout our conversation, we delve into the pivotal role of mindset in achieving success, where Devin asserts that a leader's belief in their capabilities is paramount to overcoming challenges. This enlightening exchange not only illuminates the intricacies of leadership in the fitness industry but also serves as an invaluable resource for aspiring leaders seeking to cultivate their own paths to greatness.
The dialogue I partake in with Devan Gonzalez reveals a rich tapestry of insights into the realm of leadership and personal growth within the fitness industry. Devin's journey, which commenced at an astonishingly young age as a martial arts instructor, showcases not only his passion for fitness but also his profound commitment to mentoring others. The establishment of Strive 11 Fitness is emblematic of his philosophy that effective leadership is rooted in fostering a sense of community and purpose among both clients and trainers. Our conversation delves into the intricacies of maintaining a thriving gym environment, where understanding the aspirations of members and actively engaging with their feedback is paramount to success.
Throughout our discussion, Devan emphasizes the importance of a leader's role in guiding individuals towards their personal fitness goals while simultaneously empowering their team. He shares valuable anecdotes that highlight the significance of building rapport and trust, which are essential for effective leadership. We also explore the concept of the 'white belt mentality', a mindset that advocates for continuous learning and growth, regardless of one’s achievements. This perspective is particularly relevant in today’s fast-paced world, where adaptability and openness to new ideas are crucial for sustained success.
As we conclude our dialogue, Devan outlines his ambitious vision for the future of Strive 11 Fitness, aiming for significant expansion and the introduction of innovative products and services. His unwavering dedication to both fitness and community evolution serves as an inspiration for all leaders, emphasizing that true success lies in the ability to inspire and uplift those around us through genuine connection and shared goals.
Takeaways:
- In the realm of fitness entrepreneurship, cultivating a mindset of resilience and dedication is paramount for success.
- Developing a strong rapport with clients fosters trust, which is essential for effective leadership in any business setting.
- Understanding the motivations and dreams of team members enhances engagement and collective achievement in the workplace.
- An effective leader must continuously seek personal growth while encouraging their team to adopt a similar mindset of lifelong learning.
Links referenced in this episode:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:41):
Well, hello everybody andwelcome to another amazing episode
of the Unstoppable LeadershipSpotlight podcast. I am your host,
Jaclyn Strominger. And on thispodcast we hear from amazing leaders
and their game changinginsights. Our goal is to help you
become a better leader becausewhen we have better leaders, we have
better people out in theuniverse, right? And so today I have
(01:03):
an amazing guest. I'm likeDevan Gonzalez. And I'm going to
give you a little bit aboutDevan. So Devan is a fitness entrepreneur
podcast host whose journey hasbeen marked by passion, resilience
and growth. Starting as amartial arts instructor at age 13.
It's quite young. He quicklydeveloped a love for fitness and
(01:23):
mentorship. Devan hastransitioned to personal training
to building a six figurebusiness without relying on an online
model, which is absolutelyfantastic. And at by 28, he became
a gym owner, creating acommunity that prioritized both physical
and personal growth. And hefounded Strive 11. Or I should say,
is it Strive 11 or Strive 1 1?
(01:44):
Strive 11.
I figured, I just want to makesure, because, you know, some people
do crazy things with numbers.Strive 11 Fitness and scaled it to
a successful franchise,becoming CEO at 31. So, Devan, welcome
to Unstoppable Leadership Spot Spotlight.
Thank you so much for having me.
Oh my God, it's my pleasure.All right, so couple of huge questions
(02:05):
right off the bat. At 13.
Yep.
Were you instructing at 13?
Yeah. So at 13 I got my blackbelt. And that was when essentially
like the opportunity to becomea, an instructor or, you know, assistant
instructor was presented. Andit was, it was a nice rewarding feeling,
(02:28):
you know, and, you know, tobe, to get that, especially not loving
martial arts in the beginning,you know, because I was one of those
kids that was too old to be inthe little kid class, but too little
to be in the older kid class.So every time, every time we would
have to like spar and fight, Iwas always getting my butt kicked.
But then, you know, havingsome, some lessons and stuff from
(02:48):
one of the head coaches andmore. So like the mindset aspect
that he kind of gave to me andhe was like, look, you, you're getting
your butt kicked, right?Either way, why not just go out there
and swing? Why not just, youknow, try? What's the worst that's
going to happen? You still getyour butt kicked. And I was like,
I never thought of it likethat. And then, and then, and, and
(03:09):
then, so I did it and then Irealized I can actually hold my own.
And it was this huge, likelight bulb and like weight lifted
off My shoulders and selfaccomplishment and self, you know,
confidence I was built. And sogetting that opportunity at 13, I
wanted to be able to give thatto, you know, other kids.
Yeah, that's huge. That'shuge. So, I mean, we talked, you
mentioned mindset in there, soI do want to talk about that. But
(03:31):
I want to ask you, you know,something, you know, in your, you
know, in your journey. So youopened up your gym and now you've,
you, now you've, you'refranchising. So I want you to talk
a little bit about, and shareyour experience about being that
(03:52):
CEO and leading people at yourgym and, you know, and, and how do
you, you know, keeping them going?
I mean, I think there's,there's definitely two, two phases
to that, right? Becauseleading the members is one thing,
right. And, and realizing withthem like they're, they're coming
in for a service, they'recoming in for a goal or a reason
(04:14):
why, and continuously tyingthem to it and essentially bringing
it to that, that forefront forthem, that's the easiest way to get
them to buy into theleadership, Right? Because you're
the expert, you're essentiallythe doctor prescribing them the solution
to get their goals, but makingsure that you are listening to the
(04:34):
clients or to the members,right. If they have feedback, if
they have problems, like the,the easiest way to lose credibility
as a leader and especially inthe gym space, is not listening to
the client's actual problem,right? If you're just kind of just
waiting for them to stoptalking, to give your next pitch
or give it, whatever you'regoing to say, it's like, that's not
what they're going to listento. They follow you because they
(04:57):
trust you. You have to buildthat rapport. But from the team standpoint
and from my trainerstandpoint, it is a little bit different,
right? Because now everyone'sthe experts, but having them to buy
into doing it a certain wayand to realize that it's about the
team and it's not about theindividual, right? So with that,
(05:17):
it's giving them differentanalogies, giving them different
perspectives on the sameissue. Like, for example, today one
of my managers told me thatshe had a conversation with one of
our trainers. Notuncomfortable, but a little awkward
on the way he said it. And sowhen my manager told him, you know,
(05:38):
about this situation, he gotsuper defensive and was. And said,
you know, I understand this isDevan's business and, you know, whatever.
And it was like, that's notthe delivery or the, the he didn't
take it the way it wassupposed to be delivered.
Right.
So she tried to reword it afew times. And so I went over with
her on how to say it a littledifferently, how to, you know, when
(06:00):
someone says X, you canrespond, respond with Y to get them
to understand because you wantto put yourself in their shoes and
like, and, and want them to bea part of the team, but not belittling
them.
Right.
And so what he had saidessentially was along the lines of
he gave advice to one of thechallenge winners and that's why
(06:20):
she won. And the delivery wassupposed to be where he. You don't
want to say the advice I gaveher or the supplement I gave her
made her win because you'rebelittling all of the work she just
put in for the last 11 weeks.Like this girl was coming in twice
a day, you know, busting herbutt. And now you're just saying
at the last two weeks you gaveher a piece of advice and that's
(06:41):
why she won. She was winningsince the five week mark.
Right.
You know, so it's that. Butwhen you say that and other members
hear it, they all of a suddenare looking at you like, do you really
think you're that good? Like,is it, you know, like. So it's, it's
giving it to, giving to thetrainer and having them come down
to understand it. And when youcan have them buy into why you're
(07:05):
saying it, the reason behindnot the what, but the why, then it
allows you to actually lead.Like, you don't want to just give
what's like, I need you to dothis, I need you to do that. It's
like, but why?
Right? Well, and it's actuallyif somebody's coming, if somebody's
at, at coming to your businessat Strive 11 Fitness and they've
(07:26):
had a challenge, you know,it's congratulating them for all
the effort that they've put inand make it a team thing. Because
you are here. We helped, youknow, yes, we helped you, you know,
take your vision and help youlead to get it. It's not, it's not
a, I helped you, it's a, wehelped you and we, we and you did
(07:48):
the work.
Right, exactly.
Right, exactly.
So that means. So thinkingabout that because. So now you've
got, how many, how many gymsdo you have?
We have three right now. Andthen when our FTD renews, because
every year you have to renewyour, your franchise disclosure documents
like taxes, E. Essentially.But we have three More that will
(08:11):
be on the tail end of May orbeginning of or, sorry, tail end
of June, once everything is.Is going. So we should be at six
by the middle of this year.
So six franchises by themiddle of this year. Okay, so now
I want to talk to you aboutthe. So you've got, you know, the
three right now, right? Yougot your. Probably your main one
(08:32):
and then the two. Are theretwo others that are franchises?
Yeah, exactly.
So how are you leading thefranchise owners.
Through? So, I mean, greatquestion. And. And so this is. This
is kind of a conversation thatI have with the franchise owners,
but also that I have with mymanagers as they go from trainer
(08:54):
to assistant manager tomanager. Because you may know how
to do something, right? Like,I could teach the franchisee how
to do everything. But it'salmost like that movie inception
with Leonardo DiCaprio, right?And there's a different next level
to it and deeper level to it.So now you have to explain the why
we do it. And then once you'rea manager, you have to explain the
(09:14):
why we do it and why we do it,why we explain it that way so that
the person can buy it in atthe base level.
Right.
And so with the franchiseestraining them on not just the what
and how we do things, but thewhy and the understanding and the
reason behind each andeverything. Because all of the different
services, the products that weoffer, there is a cycle logical aspect
to it. Everything we've addedthere's. From the M members standpoint,
(09:38):
what makes them cancel a gymmembership? What makes them feel
unfulfilled by, you know, apersonal training session by a, you
know, gym that they'recurrently attending, and how can
we solve that problem?
Right?
So understanding that reasonand not just using that as the pitch
because someone's like, oh,no, class times, cool. But then tying
(09:59):
it to. Have you ever. Have youever gone to a gym where you had
to book a class ahead of time?Yes. Have you ever ran late to that
class? Yeah, I have. Okay,well, when you ran late to that class,
was a little awkward when youopened the door and everyone turned
to look at you, right? Andthen all of a sudden they're like,
yeah. And like, is that one ofthe. One of the reasons that you're
kind of leaving that gym, yougot called out maybe at that. The
(10:19):
other gym and it made you feeluncomfortable? Well, yeah, that's
one of the reasons. Okay,awesome. That will never happen here.
Because you're never late to a class.
Got it. So. So tell me alittle Bit about what makes your
gym different.
So I mean it is a boot campstyle model.
Right.
But the difference is that wedon't have class times. So unlike
traditional models where youbook a 5am class, a 6:15 class for
(10:42):
us, you just come in duringoperating hours. When you come in,
one of the trainers will showyou the warmup and then you can jump
into one of the 11 stations.That's where the Strive 11 comes
from, but one of the 11stations. And all of these stations
are on a singular timer forthe room. So everyone's rotating
together. Right. So each daythere's a different muscle split,
a different workout. So it'snot just the same repetitive thing
(11:05):
day after day, but you'regetting that group energy, you're
getting that group, you know,camaraderie like you would at a boot
camp, but you're getting thatflexibility like you would at a big
box gym.
Got it? Okay, got it. So it'salmost like, you know, so you're
kind of, you're combining adifferent couple of different models
(11:25):
all into one.
Correct. It's like, it's likebig box corporate gym blended with
boot camp, blended withpersonal training.
Right, got it. And so isthere, you know, in that same model,
can somebody buy into like a,like specifically one on one where
they don't necessarily want togo through, like jump into, you know,
(11:48):
I want to get there whenever Iget there, but I actually want someone
to whip my ass kind of thing.
Yeah, I mean, believe me,every workout, even myself, we just
had a member appreciate amember appreciation day, which is
where we work out with all ofour trainers, work out with the members
and you know, they, they getto be the, you know, train the trainer
kind of thing. They work outalongside us, but they're yelling
at us the whole time. But theworkout is designed essentially to
(12:11):
fit any fitness level. Right.So that personal training aspect
comes from each station beingable to be modified easier or harder
depending on the individual.But if you did want to do one on
ones, we do have those timeallotments which is usually off hours
of our normal workout program.So like we have the six hour block
block in the morning, thenthere's a four hour gap in the middle
(12:32):
of the day. There's no, youknow, classes essentially. And then
that's where that one on onecan happen. Or on the weekends essentially
it could happen after we closeat 11am and then our evening block
is 3 to 9. So members can comein anytime, 3 to 9, get this drive
workout, you know, and go thatRoute So interesting.
So, so you know, one of thethings that you also shared, you
(12:55):
know, is and being the CEO ofa company and sharing your vision,
you know, how, how do you findthat you're able to not only share
your vision, but capture thevision of the people, I mean that
are not only like yourmanagers but also your, your franchise
(13:17):
owners.
I, I like to ask questions,right. So my main thing is knowing
why they're coming on, why asa franchisee or you know, getting
hired. Let's say they're partof my team and I'm hiring them. One
of my questions in theinterview process is what is your
dream job?
Right?
And because being a fitnesstrainer might not be their dream
job, they might want to be amarketer, right? It's like, okay,
(13:40):
but, but if I know your dreamjob and as we continue to grow, if
that alignment opens, thatmight be able, something that you
can kind of lateral transferinto, right? I want to continue your
buy in and, and create yourdream job where possible. From the
franchisee standpoint, it'slike why, why do you want to come
on as a franchisee? Why do youwant to open your own business?
(14:01):
Right?
And asking those questions sothat I can understand what their,
what their reason is.Otherwise if I just think that their
reasons are the same as mine,they're, I guarantee they're probably
not.
Right.
Like the money isn't it forme, like I actually enjoy seeing
people grow and seeing peoplelike my team, the franchisees. But
then also even from highschool, you know, way back when when
(14:22):
I had a T shirt company, Ilike seeing my logo in all over school,
all over town. And so justseeing my logo, you know. Yeah. Seeing
my logo in a different city,like that's the rewarding aspect
for me.
Right.
So I know that's not going tobe a franchisees. Why and so I need
to understand what their, whattheir reason is so that I can sure
that I align all the trainingsand all the, you know, analogies
(14:45):
to that.
Yeah, you know, it's veryastute that you say that. And, and
so I, I, I really want tocommend you and, and listeners and
leaders. This is an, I thinkthis is a critical point and I want
to say game changing. Yes, butit's, and it's, it's pointed and
it's not that this is new, butit's something that I think a lot
(15:08):
of people forget about. Youknow, knowing what the people who
are in your fold's mission isand their dreams are, is going to
Help you as a leader find whatis going to motivate the people on
your team. And it's so key toknow that. That's so, it's really
(15:29):
great. So you talked a littlebit about, you know, you know, and
you shared. Mindset is reallyimportant. And you shared, you know,
when you're 13 and those, youknow, you're getting beat up and
all of a sudden your mindsetchanging, changing. Right. Like having
somebody help you with that.How do you see mindset now? Like,
you know, like in thedifferent stages, you know, from,
(15:53):
from student to, you know,working, so to speak, to deciding
to own your gym to now beingthe CEO.
I think, I mean, the titlesare the only thing to me that differentiates
the stages. Like the mindset,the, the personality traits, the
(16:15):
skill, all those things arepretty much the same in, in the fact
that mindset is the beginningand the ending of anything. If you
believe that you can achieveit, you can.
Right?
In the moment you stopbelieving you can achieve it is the
moment it becomes impossible.
Right.
Because you're going to seeevery reason why you can't versus
every reason why you can. Butat every stage, essentially you should,
(16:38):
you should be a student.
Right.
I, I had, I was talking withsomeone and they have a metaphor
that they like to say or youknow, kind of a little tagline. It's
white belt mentality.
Right.
And the reason for white beltmentality is that in martial arts
it goes white belt to black belt.
Right.
And you would think that blackbelt would be the ending, you're
(16:58):
a master and so forth. But inmartial arts, there's black belt
first degree, black beltsecond degree, black belt third degree
and so forth. So that's thepoint where you're now you're really
starting to learn, right? Soyou always have to have that white
belt mentality and always be astudent because if you think you
are the best, that's themoment you're actually getting worse.
Exactly. Right, yes. Youalways have to. Because we all, we
(17:22):
always have to. We always knowthat there's something that we can
learn from or do. We're.Nobody is the be all, end all. Nobody
has the ultimate knowledge.
Exactly.
And, and things, and thingsare changing so frequently. And so
it's like you have to realizethat just because things are going
well right now, your team'sdoing awesome right now, doesn't
(17:44):
mean it's always going to belike that doesn't, that doesn't mean
you need to look for problemsthat aren't problems, but you also
need to keep your ears open,your eyes open, because there is
other stuff you can improveon. Like, my thing is always trying
to get 1% better each andevery day in, in one area of life.
Right.
And if you can do that, you'regoing to be so much better next year,
two years, five years from now.
(18:06):
Yep.
So how do you do that? How doyou get 1% better?
I mean, the, the things thatyou're doing now that aren't fulfilling
or aren't leading you to yourgoals, just, you know, try to minimize
or limit, eliminate them.
Right.
Because I know telling someonenot never to go on social media again
(18:26):
isn't really going to happen,but it's like if you looked at your
screen time on Instagram or onsocial media, like, how often are
you really on it? And it'slike, well, let's take an hour of
that and put it towards goingto your, you know, something to your
goal, whether it's reading, doyou know, listening to podcasts such
as this one, you know,watching a YouTube video. Like, I'm
a huge, you know, advocate forYouTube University, right. I've learned,
(18:50):
I learned a ton, a ton overthe years through YouTube.
Right.
Especially not havingtraditional, like, selling skills.
Right.
I did at the corporatelocation, you know, I worked at as
my first personal trainingjob. But it wasn't real selling.
Like, they had their scriptand it was only, follow this, don't
stray away, no reasons why.And so I used to kind of watch YouTube
(19:12):
and take it my own way. And Iwas getting better sales than majority
of the salespeople. And then Iwas getting in trouble for not following
the script. I was like, Idon't, I don't understand. Like,
I'm getting, I'm doing thesame, saying the same thing a different
way, and I'm getting introuble. Like, do you not want the
sales? I'm not getting salesyour way. Like, can I do it?
That's a management problemand we need to like, figure out who
that is and I can go and help them.
Exactly. So that's, I mean,that's the big thing. I, I'm huge
(19:35):
on like YouTube University,right? And be careful though, don't
get stuck on clicking thethumbnails, which I am very guilty
of is, you know, the littleclickbait things you click on the
side. And now you're down arabbit hole that you have. It's just
not even about what you'retrying to learn anyways. But if you
can watch something, right, Asales video or you know, how to build
A website, whatever it is, onething, one thing a day, one thing
(19:59):
a week makes you so much better.
Right?
And now that becomes commonsense to you. And this is one of
the lessons that I want to sayas a leader, I learned through my
own mistakes, and it wasalmost like a light bulb to me. My
former business partner, youknow, was kind of getting frustrated
when I stepped away to do thefranchise side, and he was running
our gym, and there was issuesarising, and I was like, why didn't
(20:20):
you just let me know? He'slike, cause I know you have a lot
on your plate. And I wastrying to figure it out. And I was
like, yeah, but it's commonsense. And he's like, common sense
to who? And he's like, I don'tknow, like. And I was like, oh, man.
And then I realized commonsense is only common to the person
that knows it. Right? So ifyou watch YouTube, listen to podcasts,
read a book, if now thatinformation is now common sense to
you as you start to see it throughout.
(20:41):
Your life, you know, it's sotrue. Like, in. In common sense,
there's common sense and thenthere's almost like common knowledge.
Right. You know?
Right.
And short supply of both.
Yeah, but I mean, both commonsense, common sense and common knowledge
both are the same. They'reboth only common to the people that
(21:03):
know it. Like, you didn't. Youdidn't know a stove was hot until
you touched a stove that washot, you know?
Right. Somebody could tell itto you. But, hey, stoves can be hot.
But how do you know it's hot?Right? So it is. It's. It's quite
true what people know anddon't know. And learning is so important
in reading and. And listening.Like, I'm a huge. I love audiobooks.
(21:26):
I absolutely love audio. Like,just sitting there listening to a
book, you know, I listen toamazing leadership books. Just all,
you know, just listen to greatpeople and hearing what they have
to say. As long as it's a goodstory, too. Otherwise it can put
you to sleep. But, you know,it's. It's great way to learn and
absorb. And absorb. So I lovethat. So, Devan, what is. What is
(21:52):
your next big agenda?
I mean, I think I. I kind ofam on my next big agenda. Like, this
is going to be my. Like,there's so many tangents from this
that my current path that Iwant to do that just had a lot of
entrepreneurs, just a lot ofleaders. You got to make sure you
kind of stay in the zone firstand not get, you know, distracted
(22:14):
by every sparkling object.
Right.
But for me, it's, you know,getting from the three locations
we have now to hitting 100plus locations. But throughout that
time frame, essentially we'llbe launching our own supplement line.
We'll be launching a fewdifferent versions of our franchise
model. Meaning like in alicense version, meaning like in
(22:36):
a big box gym, they couldessentially have our model within
their model. And so there'ssome different tangents, but for
me, like, I, I love what I'mdoing and I'm not trying. Some people
build businesses to exit them.Like, and I understand that's what
you should build it so thatyou could exit it. But I don't see
myself not working. My ADDwon't let it happen.
You know, it's so funny. Wehave, along with podcast, I have
(23:00):
another, I have anothercompany called Missing Link Network.
And it's a, it's a networkingcompany anyway, but we talk about
that. You know, it's likegrowing that and it's like, you know,
I think of it more as a legacyoffer hand over eventually, maybe
one of these days to my, youknow, teenage children that they
could take over. And I nevereven think about it from the standpoint
(23:25):
of selling it.
I mean, and I think, I mean,there's no right way to do business,
right? And it's. Some peoplebuild, sell, and start something
new. For me, this is what Ilove. I love fitness and I love business,
you know, and it's justawesome that I've been in already
in both industries. So it's.For me, it's building it. If it,
(23:45):
if I do sell it one day, youknow, it's not something that it's
designed to do right now,like, I'm not. That's not in my game
plan, you know, but buildingthe business, continuing to build
my family. I have a newborn, asecond one on the way. So that's,
that's a big one coming.
Love that. Okay, so telleverybody how they can get in touch
with you. You've got greatinformation, you're a great leader,
(24:08):
love what you're doing. Andfitness is so important also in general.
So how can people get in touchwith you and learn more about you
and maybe even becoming afranchise owner?
I mean, the best way to get incontact is probably just Instagram,
but it's Devan Gonzalez. Andthen if you want to check out the
gym, it's just Strive 11 Fitness.
(24:28):
Got it. Okay, well, we willhave those in the show notes. So,
guys, listeners connect withDevan. He is a wealth of information.
He's got great, greatknowledge. And, you know, it's always
great to follow people who areon the path to success. So that is
Devan. So do me a favor,connect with him. And I'm sure you've
(24:51):
gotten something good out ofthis podcast. So do me the next favor
and hit subscribe to this andshare this with your friends, families
and colleagues. Because again,it's the Unstoppable Leadership Spotlight
podcast, and we want to helpmake great leaders, because great
leaders make great people andhappy people, too. I'm Jaclyn Schweizer,
your host, and thank you,Devan, for being a great guest, and
(25:13):
thank you, listeners, for listening.
Well, hello everybody andwelcome to another amazing episode
of the Unstoppable LeadershipSpotlight podcast. I am your host,
Jaclyn Strominger. And on thispodcast we hear from amazing leaders
and their game changinginsights. Our goal is to help you
become a better leader becausewhen we have better leaders, we have
better people out in theuniverse, right? And so today I have
(01:03):
an amazing guest. I'm likeDevan Gonzalez. And I'm going to
give you a little bit aboutDevan. So Devan is a fitness entrepreneur
podcast host whose journey hasbeen marked by passion, resilience
and growth. Starting as amartial arts instructor at age 13.
It's quite young. He quicklydeveloped a love for fitness and
(01:23):
mentorship. Devan hastransitioned to personal training
to building a six figurebusiness without relying on an online
model, which is absolutelyfantastic. And at by 28, he became
a gym owner, creating acommunity that prioritized both physical
and personal growth. And hefounded Strive 11. Or I should say,
is it Strive 11 or Strive 1 1?
(01:44):
Strive 11.
I figured, I just want to makesure, because, you know, some people
do crazy things with numbers.Strive 11 Fitness and scaled it to
a successful franchise,becoming CEO at 31. So, Devan, welcome
to Unstoppable Leadership Spot Spotlight.
Thank you so much for having me.
Oh my God, it's my pleasure.All right, so couple of huge questions
(02:05):
right off the bat. At 13.
Yep.
Were you instructing at 13?
Yeah. So at 13 I got my blackbelt. And that was when essentially
like the opportunity to becomea, an instructor or, you know, assistant
instructor was presented. Andit was, it was a nice rewarding feeling,
(02:28):
you know, and, you know, tobe, to get that, especially not loving
martial arts in the beginning,you know, because I was one of those
kids that was too old to be inthe little kid class, but too little
to be in the older kid class.So every time, every time we would
have to like spar and fight, Iwas always getting my butt kicked.
But then, you know, havingsome, some lessons and stuff from
(02:48):
one of the head coaches andmore. So like the mindset aspect
that he kind of gave to me andhe was like, look, you, you're getting
your butt kicked, right?Either way, why not just go out there
and swing? Why not just, youknow, try? What's the worst that's
going to happen? You still getyour butt kicked. And I was like,
I never thought of it likethat. And then, and then, and, and
(03:09):
then, so I did it and then Irealized I can actually hold my own.
And it was this huge, likelight bulb and like weight lifted
off My shoulders and selfaccomplishment and self, you know,
confidence I was built. And sogetting that opportunity at 13, I
wanted to be able to give thatto, you know, other kids.
Yeah, that's huge. That'shuge. So, I mean, we talked, you
mentioned mindset in there, soI do want to talk about that. But
(03:31):
I want to ask you, you know,something, you know, in your, you
know, in your journey. So youopened up your gym and now you've,
you, now you've, you'refranchising. So I want you to talk
a little bit about, and shareyour experience about being that
(03:52):
CEO and leading people at yourgym and, you know, and, and how do
you, you know, keeping them going?
I mean, I think there's,there's definitely two, two phases
to that, right? Becauseleading the members is one thing,
right. And, and realizing withthem like they're, they're coming
in for a service, they'recoming in for a goal or a reason
(04:14):
why, and continuously tyingthem to it and essentially bringing
it to that, that forefront forthem, that's the easiest way to get
them to buy into theleadership, Right? Because you're
the expert, you're essentiallythe doctor prescribing them the solution
to get their goals, but makingsure that you are listening to the
(04:34):
clients or to the members,right. If they have feedback, if
they have problems, like the,the easiest way to lose credibility
as a leader and especially inthe gym space, is not listening to
the client's actual problem,right? If you're just kind of just
waiting for them to stoptalking, to give your next pitch
or give it, whatever you'regoing to say, it's like, that's not
what they're going to listento. They follow you because they
(04:57):
trust you. You have to buildthat rapport. But from the team standpoint
and from my trainerstandpoint, it is a little bit different,
right? Because now everyone'sthe experts, but having them to buy
into doing it a certain wayand to realize that it's about the
team and it's not about theindividual, right? So with that,
(05:17):
it's giving them differentanalogies, giving them different
perspectives on the sameissue. Like, for example, today one
of my managers told me thatshe had a conversation with one of
our trainers. Notuncomfortable, but a little awkward
on the way he said it. And sowhen my manager told him, you know,
(05:38):
about this situation, he gotsuper defensive and was. And said,
you know, I understand this isDevan's business and, you know, whatever.
And it was like, that's notthe delivery or the, the he didn't
take it the way it wassupposed to be delivered.
Right.
So she tried to reword it afew times. And so I went over with
her on how to say it a littledifferently, how to, you know, when
(06:00):
someone says X, you canrespond, respond with Y to get them
to understand because you wantto put yourself in their shoes and
like, and, and want them to bea part of the team, but not belittling
them.
Right.
And so what he had saidessentially was along the lines of
he gave advice to one of thechallenge winners and that's why
(06:20):
she won. And the delivery wassupposed to be where he. You don't
want to say the advice I gaveher or the supplement I gave her
made her win because you'rebelittling all of the work she just
put in for the last 11 weeks.Like this girl was coming in twice
a day, you know, busting herbutt. And now you're just saying
at the last two weeks you gaveher a piece of advice and that's
(06:41):
why she won. She was winningsince the five week mark.
Right.
You know, so it's that. Butwhen you say that and other members
hear it, they all of a suddenare looking at you like, do you really
think you're that good? Like,is it, you know, like. So it's, it's
giving it to, giving to thetrainer and having them come down
to understand it. And when youcan have them buy into why you're
(07:05):
saying it, the reason behindnot the what, but the why, then it
allows you to actually lead.Like, you don't want to just give
what's like, I need you to dothis, I need you to do that. It's
like, but why?
Right? Well, and it's actuallyif somebody's coming, if somebody's
at, at coming to your businessat Strive 11 Fitness and they've
(07:26):
had a challenge, you know,it's congratulating them for all
the effort that they've put inand make it a team thing. Because
you are here. We helped, youknow, yes, we helped you, you know,
take your vision and help youlead to get it. It's not, it's not
a, I helped you, it's a, wehelped you and we, we and you did
(07:48):
the work.
Right, exactly.
Right, exactly.
So that means. So thinkingabout that because. So now you've
got, how many, how many gymsdo you have?
We have three right now. Andthen when our FTD renews, because
every year you have to renewyour, your franchise disclosure documents
like taxes, E. Essentially.But we have three More that will
(08:11):
be on the tail end of May orbeginning of or, sorry, tail end
of June, once everything is.Is going. So we should be at six
by the middle of this year.
So six franchises by themiddle of this year. Okay, so now
I want to talk to you aboutthe. So you've got, you know, the
three right now, right? Yougot your. Probably your main one
(08:32):
and then the two. Are theretwo others that are franchises?
Yeah, exactly.
So how are you leading thefranchise owners.
Through? So, I mean, greatquestion. And. And so this is. This
is kind of a conversation thatI have with the franchise owners,
but also that I have with mymanagers as they go from trainer
(08:54):
to assistant manager tomanager. Because you may know how
to do something, right? Like,I could teach the franchisee how
to do everything. But it'salmost like that movie inception
with Leonardo DiCaprio, right?And there's a different next level
to it and deeper level to it.So now you have to explain the why
we do it. And then once you'rea manager, you have to explain the
(09:14):
why we do it and why we do it,why we explain it that way so that
the person can buy it in atthe base level.
Right.
And so with the franchiseestraining them on not just the what
and how we do things, but thewhy and the understanding and the
reason behind each andeverything. Because all of the different
services, the products that weoffer, there is a cycle logical aspect
to it. Everything we've addedthere's. From the M members standpoint,
(09:38):
what makes them cancel a gymmembership? What makes them feel
unfulfilled by, you know, apersonal training session by a, you
know, gym that they'recurrently attending, and how can
we solve that problem?
Right?
So understanding that reasonand not just using that as the pitch
because someone's like, oh,no, class times, cool. But then tying
(09:59):
it to. Have you ever. Have youever gone to a gym where you had
to book a class ahead of time?Yes. Have you ever ran late to that
class? Yeah, I have. Okay,well, when you ran late to that class,
was a little awkward when youopened the door and everyone turned
to look at you, right? Andthen all of a sudden they're like,
yeah. And like, is that one ofthe. One of the reasons that you're
kind of leaving that gym, yougot called out maybe at that. The
(10:19):
other gym and it made you feeluncomfortable? Well, yeah, that's
one of the reasons. Okay,awesome. That will never happen here.
Because you're never late to a class.
Got it. So. So tell me alittle Bit about what makes your
gym different.
So I mean it is a boot campstyle model.
Right.
But the difference is that wedon't have class times. So unlike
traditional models where youbook a 5am class, a 6:15 class for
(10:42):
us, you just come in duringoperating hours. When you come in,
one of the trainers will showyou the warmup and then you can jump
into one of the 11 stations.That's where the Strive 11 comes
from, but one of the 11stations. And all of these stations
are on a singular timer forthe room. So everyone's rotating
together. Right. So each daythere's a different muscle split,
a different workout. So it'snot just the same repetitive thing
(11:05):
day after day, but you'regetting that group energy, you're
getting that group, you know,camaraderie like you would at a boot
camp, but you're getting thatflexibility like you would at a big
box gym.
Got it? Okay, got it. So it'salmost like, you know, so you're
kind of, you're combining adifferent couple of different models
(11:25):
all into one.
Correct. It's like, it's likebig box corporate gym blended with
boot camp, blended withpersonal training.
Right, got it. And so isthere, you know, in that same model,
can somebody buy into like a,like specifically one on one where
they don't necessarily want togo through, like jump into, you know,
(11:48):
I want to get there whenever Iget there, but I actually want someone
to whip my ass kind of thing.
Yeah, I mean, believe me,every workout, even myself, we just
had a member appreciate amember appreciation day, which is
where we work out with all ofour trainers, work out with the members
and you know, they, they getto be the, you know, train the trainer
kind of thing. They work outalongside us, but they're yelling
at us the whole time. But theworkout is designed essentially to
(12:11):
fit any fitness level. Right.So that personal training aspect
comes from each station beingable to be modified easier or harder
depending on the individual.But if you did want to do one on
ones, we do have those timeallotments which is usually off hours
of our normal workout program.So like we have the six hour block
block in the morning, thenthere's a four hour gap in the middle
(12:32):
of the day. There's no, youknow, classes essentially. And then
that's where that one on onecan happen. Or on the weekends essentially
it could happen after we closeat 11am and then our evening block
is 3 to 9. So members can comein anytime, 3 to 9, get this drive
workout, you know, and go thatRoute So interesting.
So, so you know, one of thethings that you also shared, you
(12:55):
know, is and being the CEO ofa company and sharing your vision,
you know, how, how do you findthat you're able to not only share
your vision, but capture thevision of the people, I mean that
are not only like yourmanagers but also your, your franchise
(13:17):
owners.
I, I like to ask questions,right. So my main thing is knowing
why they're coming on, why asa franchisee or you know, getting
hired. Let's say they're partof my team and I'm hiring them. One
of my questions in theinterview process is what is your
dream job?
Right?
And because being a fitnesstrainer might not be their dream
job, they might want to be amarketer, right? It's like, okay,
(13:40):
but, but if I know your dreamjob and as we continue to grow, if
that alignment opens, thatmight be able, something that you
can kind of lateral transferinto, right? I want to continue your
buy in and, and create yourdream job where possible. From the
franchisee standpoint, it'slike why, why do you want to come
on as a franchisee? Why do youwant to open your own business?
(14:01):
Right?
And asking those questions sothat I can understand what their,
what their reason is.Otherwise if I just think that their
reasons are the same as mine,they're, I guarantee they're probably
not.
Right.
Like the money isn't it forme, like I actually enjoy seeing
people grow and seeing peoplelike my team, the franchisees. But
then also even from highschool, you know, way back when when
(14:22):
I had a T shirt company, Ilike seeing my logo in all over school,
all over town. And so justseeing my logo, you know. Yeah. Seeing
my logo in a different city,like that's the rewarding aspect
for me.
Right.
So I know that's not going tobe a franchisees. Why and so I need
to understand what their, whattheir reason is so that I can sure
that I align all the trainingsand all the, you know, analogies
(14:45):
to that.
Yeah, you know, it's veryastute that you say that. And, and
so I, I, I really want tocommend you and, and listeners and
leaders. This is an, I thinkthis is a critical point and I want
to say game changing. Yes, butit's, and it's, it's pointed and
it's not that this is new, butit's something that I think a lot
(15:08):
of people forget about. Youknow, knowing what the people who
are in your fold's mission isand their dreams are, is going to
Help you as a leader find whatis going to motivate the people on
your team. And it's so key toknow that. That's so, it's really
(15:29):
great. So you talked a littlebit about, you know, you know, and
you shared. Mindset is reallyimportant. And you shared, you know,
when you're 13 and those, youknow, you're getting beat up and
all of a sudden your mindsetchanging, changing. Right. Like having
somebody help you with that.How do you see mindset now? Like,
you know, like in thedifferent stages, you know, from,
(15:53):
from student to, you know,working, so to speak, to deciding
to own your gym to now beingthe CEO.
I think, I mean, the titlesare the only thing to me that differentiates
the stages. Like the mindset,the, the personality traits, the
(16:15):
skill, all those things arepretty much the same in, in the fact
that mindset is the beginningand the ending of anything. If you
believe that you can achieveit, you can.
Right?
In the moment you stopbelieving you can achieve it is the
moment it becomes impossible.
Right.
Because you're going to seeevery reason why you can't versus
every reason why you can. Butat every stage, essentially you should,
(16:38):
you should be a student.
Right.
I, I had, I was talking withsomeone and they have a metaphor
that they like to say or youknow, kind of a little tagline. It's
white belt mentality.
Right.
And the reason for white beltmentality is that in martial arts
it goes white belt to black belt.
Right.
And you would think that blackbelt would be the ending, you're
(16:58):
a master and so forth. But inmartial arts, there's black belt
first degree, black beltsecond degree, black belt third degree
and so forth. So that's thepoint where you're now you're really
starting to learn, right? Soyou always have to have that white
belt mentality and always be astudent because if you think you
are the best, that's themoment you're actually getting worse.
Exactly. Right, yes. Youalways have to. Because we all, we
(17:22):
always have to. We always knowthat there's something that we can
learn from or do. We're.Nobody is the be all, end all. Nobody
has the ultimate knowledge.
Exactly.
And, and things, and thingsare changing so frequently. And so
it's like you have to realizethat just because things are going
well right now, your team'sdoing awesome right now, doesn't
(17:44):
mean it's always going to belike that doesn't, that doesn't mean
you need to look for problemsthat aren't problems, but you also
need to keep your ears open,your eyes open, because there is
other stuff you can improveon. Like, my thing is always trying
to get 1% better each andevery day in, in one area of life.
Right.
And if you can do that, you'regoing to be so much better next year,
two years, five years from now.
(18:06):
Yep.
So how do you do that? How doyou get 1% better?
I mean, the, the things thatyou're doing now that aren't fulfilling
or aren't leading you to yourgoals, just, you know, try to minimize
or limit, eliminate them.
Right.
Because I know telling someonenot never to go on social media again
(18:26):
isn't really going to happen,but it's like if you looked at your
screen time on Instagram or onsocial media, like, how often are
you really on it? And it'slike, well, let's take an hour of
that and put it towards goingto your, you know, something to your
goal, whether it's reading, doyou know, listening to podcasts such
as this one, you know,watching a YouTube video. Like, I'm
a huge, you know, advocate forYouTube University, right. I've learned,
(18:50):
I learned a ton, a ton overthe years through YouTube.
Right.
Especially not havingtraditional, like, selling skills.
Right.
I did at the corporatelocation, you know, I worked at as
my first personal trainingjob. But it wasn't real selling.
Like, they had their scriptand it was only, follow this, don't
stray away, no reasons why.And so I used to kind of watch YouTube
(19:12):
and take it my own way. And Iwas getting better sales than majority
of the salespeople. And then Iwas getting in trouble for not following
the script. I was like, Idon't, I don't understand. Like,
I'm getting, I'm doing thesame, saying the same thing a different
way, and I'm getting introuble. Like, do you not want the
sales? I'm not getting salesyour way. Like, can I do it?
That's a management problemand we need to like, figure out who
that is and I can go and help them.
Exactly. So that's, I mean,that's the big thing. I, I'm huge
(19:35):
on like YouTube University,right? And be careful though, don't
get stuck on clicking thethumbnails, which I am very guilty
of is, you know, the littleclickbait things you click on the
side. And now you're down arabbit hole that you have. It's just
not even about what you'retrying to learn anyways. But if you
can watch something, right, Asales video or you know, how to build
A website, whatever it is, onething, one thing a day, one thing
(19:59):
a week makes you so much better.
Right?
And now that becomes commonsense to you. And this is one of
the lessons that I want to sayas a leader, I learned through my
own mistakes, and it wasalmost like a light bulb to me. My
former business partner, youknow, was kind of getting frustrated
when I stepped away to do thefranchise side, and he was running
our gym, and there was issuesarising, and I was like, why didn't
(20:20):
you just let me know? He'slike, cause I know you have a lot
on your plate. And I wastrying to figure it out. And I was
like, yeah, but it's commonsense. And he's like, common sense
to who? And he's like, I don'tknow, like. And I was like, oh, man.
And then I realized commonsense is only common to the person
that knows it. Right? So ifyou watch YouTube, listen to podcasts,
read a book, if now thatinformation is now common sense to
you as you start to see it throughout.
(20:41):
Your life, you know, it's sotrue. Like, in. In common sense,
there's common sense and thenthere's almost like common knowledge.
Right. You know?
Right.
And short supply of both.
Yeah, but I mean, both commonsense, common sense and common knowledge
both are the same. They'reboth only common to the people that
(21:03):
know it. Like, you didn't. Youdidn't know a stove was hot until
you touched a stove that washot, you know?
Right. Somebody could tell itto you. But, hey, stoves can be hot.
But how do you know it's hot?Right? So it is. It's. It's quite
true what people know anddon't know. And learning is so important
in reading and. And listening.Like, I'm a huge. I love audiobooks.
(21:26):
I absolutely love audio. Like,just sitting there listening to a
book, you know, I listen toamazing leadership books. Just all,
you know, just listen to greatpeople and hearing what they have
to say. As long as it's a goodstory, too. Otherwise it can put
you to sleep. But, you know,it's. It's great way to learn and
absorb. And absorb. So I lovethat. So, Devan, what is. What is
(21:52):
your next big agenda?
I mean, I think I. I kind ofam on my next big agenda. Like, this
is going to be my. Like,there's so many tangents from this
that my current path that Iwant to do that just had a lot of
entrepreneurs, just a lot ofleaders. You got to make sure you
kind of stay in the zone firstand not get, you know, distracted
(22:14):
by every sparkling object.
Right.
But for me, it's, you know,getting from the three locations
we have now to hitting 100plus locations. But throughout that
time frame, essentially we'llbe launching our own supplement line.
We'll be launching a fewdifferent versions of our franchise
model. Meaning like in alicense version, meaning like in
(22:36):
a big box gym, they couldessentially have our model within
their model. And so there'ssome different tangents, but for
me, like, I, I love what I'mdoing and I'm not trying. Some people
build businesses to exit them.Like, and I understand that's what
you should build it so thatyou could exit it. But I don't see
myself not working. My ADDwon't let it happen.
You know, it's so funny. Wehave, along with podcast, I have
(23:00):
another, I have anothercompany called Missing Link Network.
And it's a, it's a networkingcompany anyway, but we talk about
that. You know, it's likegrowing that and it's like, you know,
I think of it more as a legacyoffer hand over eventually, maybe
one of these days to my, youknow, teenage children that they
could take over. And I nevereven think about it from the standpoint
(23:25):
of selling it.
I mean, and I think, I mean,there's no right way to do business,
right? And it's. Some peoplebuild, sell, and start something
new. For me, this is what Ilove. I love fitness and I love business,
you know, and it's justawesome that I've been in already
in both industries. So it's.For me, it's building it. If it,
(23:45):
if I do sell it one day, youknow, it's not something that it's
designed to do right now,like, I'm not. That's not in my game
plan, you know, but buildingthe business, continuing to build
my family. I have a newborn, asecond one on the way. So that's,
that's a big one coming.
Love that. Okay, so telleverybody how they can get in touch
with you. You've got greatinformation, you're a great leader,
(24:08):
love what you're doing. Andfitness is so important also in general.
So how can people get in touchwith you and learn more about you
and maybe even becoming afranchise owner?
I mean, the best way to get incontact is probably just Instagram,
but it's Devan Gonzalez. Andthen if you want to check out the
gym, it's just Strive 11 Fitness.
(24:28):
Got it. Okay, well, we willhave those in the show notes. So,
guys, listeners connect withDevan. He is a wealth of information.
He's got great, greatknowledge. And, you know, it's always
great to follow people who areon the path to success. So that is
Devan. So do me a favor,connect with him. And I'm sure you've
(24:51):
gotten something good out ofthis podcast. So do me the next favor
and hit subscribe to this andshare this with your friends, families
and colleagues. Because again,it's the Unstoppable Leadership Spotlight
podcast, and we want to helpmake great leaders, because great
leaders make great people andhappy people, too. I'm Jaclyn Schweizer,
your host, and thank you,Devan, for being a great guest, and
(25:13):
thank you, listeners, for listening.
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