Hey friends, Sean “Mayhem” Murphy here and I have something really cool that I want to share with you.
Yesterday (November 1st, 2012), Stephanie “Rock Star” Ward shared a very nice message on Facebook about her two year mark with us.
If you missed it, here is what she said along with the many of the comments she received.
Now, I LOVE all of these comments that Stephanie received but I’m particularly fond of the comment left by Stefanie O’Brien because many people don’t realize the journey we have gone through... and honestly are STILL going through.
We most certainly HAVE come a long way and both Stephanie and I are VERY proud of what we have accomplished AND what we offer to all of our members at MXT!
Each day seems to conjure up a new adventure for us and it always seems that yesterday was the easiest day yet! I’d like to share with you some of that journey as we still get questions of how we ended up where we are and what’s next for us at MXT.
So join me as I take you through a little history in which I’ll refer to as, “The Legacy of Mayhem!”
It all started back in 1999 when a back injury left a very active and motivated guy in a state of depression and obesity. (You can read my full bio by clicking this link here!)
From that spawned a decision, a simple yet life changing decision to lose the weight, get healthy again and strengthen my lower back not knowing this would then cause a new career path in Personal Training.
And yes friends... I will argue to the point of death that ONE simple decision in an INSTANT can be life changing! Too often, people dwell on the “what ifs” but everything and anything can change in an instant, just by making a decision and ACT on it. Another topic for another day!
Long story short, I lost the weight, strengthened up my lower back and was now a certified personal trainer and working for a local gym in Fredericksburg VA starting in 2001. This was definitely a fun time for me. I learned so much from other trainers and was truly having the time of my life. I was still a rookie and made some rookie mistakes which are totally embarrassing and laughable today.
Like when I had a barbell loaded up with a bunch of 10 and 5 pound plates on either side so I could do a Drop Set but yet lost the balance of the bar and next thing you know I’m filling up the gym with thunderous clank clank clank clank clank as the barbell teetered in my hands side to side and offloaded each plate from left to right and back again... yeah, that was THIS guy!! LOL!!
But its where I learned so much and got to experience helping my first clients achieve results with their health and fitness goals. I practically lived in that gym and found myself there even on my days off, just to hang out with my new friends and be a part of the gym atmosphere. I was loving every day but something inside me was burning do more... to be more.
I remember one Thanksgiving year as I was back “home” in Shallotte NC and saying to my cousin, “I’m loving this personal training thing I’m doing. I would love to move down here and open my own gym. Hey, I have an idea, start spreading a rumor that Gold’s Gym is going to open up around here and see what kind of attention that brings.”
I then started researching opening up a Gold’s Gym and other gym franchises and even started interviewing at some of these gyms in the local area from Wilmington on down to Myrtle Beach. I actually got one of the jobs with a World Gym in Myrtle Beach but after much discussion with my family, we decided against the move and starting over. The main factor was my son who was only 3 at the time. We had good jobs in Fredericksburg and didn’t want to take the risk of staring over.
So, I turned down that job opportunity but that passion of becoming MORE and doing something great was still in me. When we got back home from that family trip I had a letter in my mailbox. It was from a National Franchise who talked about opening up a private personal training facility. A spark went off and I immediately started investigating it.
About a week went by when I received a second letter from the same company. It was at that moment I decided to call to see what it was all about. I was VERY impressed when the President of the company was the one who answered the phone!
It wasn’t a personal assistant or an automated system, but the man himself. He presented a couple of options to me in which I could check out their franchise and I chose to fly out across the country to see what this was all about. To say I was impressed is an understatement. This company was top notch and I was hooked. I loved the idea of having a place where clients could come to me and train in complete privacy. So, I bought in. That was in the fall of 2003.
Now, let me be very candid and clear here, this was not a cheap investment. Here I was, barely a high school graduate with no college degree taking on this enormous challenge of business ownership. What I lacked in education however I made up for with passion!!
I had God, I had a supportive family, I had a corporate franchise, I had a vision, I had a plan and I had determination and with all that I took a HUGE RISK! NOTHING was going to stop me! And so the journey began and I learned immediately what small business owners sacrifice and put into their days each and every day.
I worked very long hours but that was nothing new to me. I’ve always worked hard but now I am doing this for myself! And even though I truly loved what I was doing, I quickly learned that Richmond VA is a very tough market to break into - especially if you’re an outsider coming in!
In fact, just about every networking event I attended or small business owner I talked to told me this.... “If you can make it here in Richmond, you can make it anywhere else in America.” You may want to remember that if you’re considering opening up a business here.
I also quickly learned that people in Richmond don’t really like driving very far. I remember one of the first clients who joined my personal training facility complained it was an 8 minute drive. I laughed, figured he was joking but no, 8 minutes was a BIG deal. Really???
Now, when I first opened here in Richmond I really didn’t think I would have that much of a struggle. After all, I was a great personal trainer, I had great trainers working for me. We knew our stuff, we delivered results but my lack of business knowledge and experience quickly caught up with me.
I can honestly say, if I didn’t have a franchise helping me out in those beginning years, I would of never have made it past my first 2 years, maybe not even the first year.
Now, that business model did make it, in one location for 5 years. But not without a lot of fighting, high stress, high debt (YIKES!!), very long hours and good friends, both as clients AND other entrepreneurs who were always willing to give good advice and a helping hand. Here is my mad props to you Mark D!
Now, even though I had the heart, the drive, the help and even a good solid base of clients, this first business NEVER got to the point that I truly needed it to financially. Debt was getting higher and I was sinking lower.
Then, we all remember what happened in September of 2008. The end of the economic boom and the announcement that we are in a recession. Stocks plummeted, 401Ks were gone, the housing market crashed! And where did that leave some of us small business owners? Either fighting for our lives or closing up shop!
I fought for 2 more years, even moving my location in a final attempt to save a sinking ship. Alas, that chapter of my life came to a close without ever making it one full year in the new location.
However, as you’ll soon discover, not the end of good things to come!
I’ll reveal much more in Part 2, coming soon!
