Unveiling the Power of Leadership & Resilience: The Success of Fit Body Boot Camp with Bryce Henson

Thank you for tuning in to the True Grit and Grace podcast. I'm Amberly Lago, and I'll be sharing inspirational stories of resilience and empowering ideas to elevate your business and your life, ignite your passion, and fuel your purpose. Hey there. Thank y'all so much for tuning in to True Grit and Grace. I feel so Just grateful to have my guest on the show. You know, I only get to interview one person per week. We only do one show per week. So I try to make this time together with my guest just to really give value to you. And I've been looking forward to my friend Bryce Henson coming on the show. There's so many questions I want to ask him about mindset and leadership and fitness. He's an entrepreneur. He's a business owner. He's a motivational speaker. He is a badass MC too. I've seen him MC an event. Philanthropist. He is the CEO of Fit Body Boot Camp. He's been featured on so much media, everything from Fox to ABC, NBC, and so much more. And I love binging his reels on Instagram because I learn so much. So, Bryce, thank you for being here. I'm so excited to have you on.

Amberly, this is awesome. You are truly a special soul, and I'm super excited to be on the show today. So thanks so much for having me on.

Yeah, well, we met— oh my goodness, I met you for the first time in California. I flew out for an event, one of Bedros's events, and I was like, who is this, like, guy with all the energy getting the audience all pumped up? You emceed the event, and then I went to the headquarters and I got to talk with you and get to know you. And then I got to be on your podcast. So he's got an incredible podcast, and I was so honored to be on your podcast. And now I get to speak at one of your events here in Dallas.

Well, not just speak. You get to keynote the grand finale. We do many events throughout the course of the year, but our annual world conference is the be-all and end-all. And Amberly, super excited to have you keynote this coming, I guess, August in Dallas. So we're very, very excited, looking forward to it.

Yeah, I'm super excited too. I want to know, like, I love listening to all of your, like, the wisdom that you share on leadership and mindset. I want to know, how did you get into fitness? Were you always an athlete? Were you always fit? How did you get into fitness and the Fit Body Boot Camp?

A great story. No, I cannot say that I was always an athlete. In fact, the opposite. So similar to you, I moved to California later in life. I think I was 21. I believe you were about 18. But my foundation was actually in the Midwest, and that's why I have such affinity for you, Amberly. I mean, you're in the Southeast or, you know, the South, but ultimately, I, you know, I feel like the cultures are very similar. Great place, amazing people, and specifically in the state of Michigan where I grew up, but not the fitness capital of the world. So when I was younger, we are— 2 reasons why fitness wasn't really a big focal point. Number one, just the culture of Midwest. And then number two, my family comes from humble beginnings for first world standards, and we used to run out of money before we used to run out of month. And my mom was a single mom raising 3 kids on a secretary's salary. So typically fast food and Taco Bell was just a more affordable option. So, you know, I can't say that I was candidly obese. However, I did not grow up with a good kind of nutritional protocol and exercise science and, you know, athletics. So when I moved to Southern California when I was 21, I was excited to be in LA, probably similar to you, Amberly, all the blue skies and the beaches and the palm trees, everything that California had to offer. But when you're 21 years young, 3,000 miles from home, little professional skills to offer the world, you know, homesick, and you weren't— you're not fit like I wasn't. I had more dark days than good, being very candid with you and your audience. And I lived that way for a couple of years. And this is the most kind of embarrassing story, but also too, like, eye-opening story as well. You know, young people, they can be mean, especially the social pressures. But I wasn't, you know, fit by any stretch of the imagination. I had about 20 pounds of body fat. Very little muscle frame on my body, and we were at a pool party. One of my buddies called me out, just trying to be funny, but he told me that it looked like I had islands for nipples. And even today, I don't even know what that means. But really, what he was trying to say was my chest was undeveloped. And Amberly, it sounds so trite now, but like a lightning bolt through my body was the most embarrassing, painful moment ever. And I knew that I wanted to get fit, but ultimately, that was kind of like that pain that really woke me up, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. And I started looking around in a. Fitness mentor of mine moved to Southern California. His name was Adam. And a little bit about Adam, he was not on the COVID of Men's Health, but he could have been. He had the six-pack abs, the glistening muscles, all the girls loved him. I certainly looked up to that. So we ended up living together for a couple years. And to kind of put a bow on this part of the story, it really opened my eyes to getting in the fitness industry. After a few months, I finally mustered up enough courage to say, Adam, can you teach me about this little thing called fitness that you do? And he turns to me, he said, Bryce, I thought you'd never ask.

And he's like, but if we're gonna do this, I'm a coach, I don't want to waste your time.

I don't want to waste my time. I need you to commit for a solid 90 days because let's face it, you saw how many buddies asked me in college how to be fit and how many stuck with it— virtually zero. So if we're going to do this, I want to make sure that we do it right. And then after the 90 days, if it doesn't stick, well then hey, no worries, at least you gave it a best shot. And Amberly, really what he did is he introduced me to lifting weights, he introduced me to circuit training, clean nutrition, but most importantly accountability. And, you know, working with him over a period of about 2 years, but 6 months hyper-focused, I dropped 20 pounds of body fat, I put on 20 pounds Wow. So I got the physique I was looking for, but ultimately it changed my life. And that's really what kind of gave me the excitement and passion to really explore fitness as a career. And we can talk about that, but that was really like my foundation.

Well, it says so much about you. You said you had darker days in the very beginning and you weren't happy with the way that you looked and someone even made fun of you. And it goes to show, like, you used that painful moment to push you into the person that you are into the best version of yourself. But also it goes to show how much accountability really does make a difference and who you surround yourself with. Because I'm sure that if Adam didn't move out and y'all didn't become roommates, if maybe somebody moved out and you decided to be roommates with somebody who was a partier or a drinker or ate fast food all the time, little by little, You kind of can start to develop those bad habits just by being around them. You kind of cave into that. So, wow, thank goodness you had that moment where you're like, nope, I am getting into fitness. Teach me about this, and stuck to it. And then was he involved with Fit Body Boot Camp, or how did you get involved with Fit Body Boot Camp?

He wasn't. So interestingly enough, he's an engineer for a construction company, has a thriving career. He actually moved up to Sacramento a few years ago, but I basically, you know, got invigorated and passionate towards fitness. But, you know, even at that time, I didn't actually think I could make fitness a full-time thing. It didn't even occur to me that I actually want to be, you know, become a professional. Because really what happened, I told you my transformation, my aesthetic and all that. But really, from a work perspective, I became one of the least performing sales reps in my company, which is really a sales position that took me out to California all the way to the highest performing sales rep in the company.

Wow.

12 months.

See, it all goes hand in hand. When you feel better, you can do better.

The only thing that changed, Amberly, was just my fitness, like my energy, my confidence, my enthusiasm, all because of the foundation for fitness. So that's really what inspired me. But it wasn't until about 2 years later, because I really trained with Adam for about 2 years, 6 months hyperfocused was when I got the result. But I'll never forget, some guy walks up to me at the gym and says, hey, I want to introduce myself. I've been watching you train. I was curious how you eat, how you train. And Amberly, like a light bulb, I was like, oh wow, like that my identity actually started to change. Maybe I can actually give this back, give this gift of fitness back. And I did the most logical thing to do. I mean, I went home. I was like on cloud nine. I was thinking, oh wow, Adam helped me. I actually now can help other people. But you know, ultimately, my sales career was firing at all cylinders because of my fitness transformation. So I thought maybe I would, you know, become a certified personal trainer, train some guys on the nights and weekends to kind of give back, just like you know ultimately was given back to me. So I did my coursework. I you know got certified through National Academy of Sports Medicine, their certified personal trainer course. And then interestingly enough, where both of our coaches come into play. Right here. I think I updated my Facebook profile to certified personal trainer, and I started receiving ads from this gentleman named Bedros Krulian, who—

Really? Are you serious?

And he was, you know, positioning himself as a fitness mentor and a consultant. This is back in 2010, 2011. So Bedros, you know, as you know, is just— his career has exploded, and, you know, his authority and his knowledge and his wisdom and the value he adds to our space is incredible. But at the time, he was still kind of, you know, getting his, uh, making his own mark within the fitness consulting role. But I followed along. I was interested how to launch a business, how to, you know, get clients better results. So I started following along to this little thing called Fit Body Boot Camp, and I actually took a 2-year hiatus. I moved to South America to like scratch off a bucket list dream. I always wanted to learn another language and live another culture. I ended up meeting my wife there. Absolutely incredible story. But back in 2012, and I've been on, you know, Beatrice's email list for about 2 years at the time when I knew I was coming back to California and had all my stuff in storage and in a little storage place in Orange County, I started paying attention to Beatrice's emails a little bit more. and he talked about Fit Body Boot Camp transitioning from a licensee program, relaunching as a franchise program in 2012. And really one thing led to the next. I followed the application process, ended up finally, you know, connecting with B in person. And I did probably the most scariest, but ultimately one of the most rewarding things in my life. And I invested my life savings into this little dream, this little dream to open a business through Fit Body Boot Camp. And that's actually what got my start as a franchise partner back in 2012, as a franchisee from the Fit Body Boot Camp franchise led by Bedros Koulian. time.

Oh my goodness. Well, how many facilities do you run or do you have?

So personally, I have one today, but really in 2012 when I launched the first one— and I'm going to give you the highlight reel, there's a lot of lows and, you know, setbacks, as you would imagine with any entrepreneurial journey— but I scaled from, uh, to 5 locations from 2012 to 2018, majority of them in Orange County. Made it a family affair, brought in my wife, my brother, my mom, my sister, just to really kind of build this, you know.

So 5?

So I scaled to 5 locations with that 6-year clip.

Oh my gosh, that is incredible. Like, one is a lot, but 5?

Well, you know, it's, uh, I'm a passionate soul, you know. I'd like to think, just like you, a high achiever. Really am called, if you will. Like, my personal mission is inspire fitness and change lives every day. The transformation I went on, and, you know, ultimately also want to be a very successful, you know, business owner and entrepreneur. So the model works, and I'm just really latched on to Bedros. I latched on to Fit Body Boot Camp and really let the process be my guide. And, you know, Certainly had a lot of challenges as well, but, you know, had a lot of success with the first 6 years.

It sounds like you're the kind of person that when you want to do something, you've got the passion, you've got the dedication, the motivation to do it, but you're really smart in that you're like, who do I need to help? Who do I need to teach me? Who do I need as a mentor? Who do I need as a coach? And that is what is so important. And also, You are such a good leader, and I listen to what you share. But one of the things that really sets you apart as a leader is you practice what you preach and you walk the walk and you do things that separates you from other gym owners or entrepreneurs. And I think that if more entrepreneurs knew how fitness would make them not only happier but more successful, Everybody would be latching onto it. Everybody would be working out. I mean, and look, I woke up today and I was, uh, I'm doing this, uh, reset, like a 3-day fast. So I didn't feel as energetic. Um, I'm, I'm a little tired. It's been a lot going on. I just ran my first big event. And honestly, I could have skipped the workout, but I didn't because I knew how it would make me feel. It was going to give me more energy. It was going to help me build confidence. It was going to calm my nerves and anxiety. So I do it. But you You do this thing that you take it to another level. You do a cold plunge every day.

I do. Before we get into that, Amberly, I'm not going to let you off the hook because you're an incredible charismatic leader as well. You just talked about executing an awesome event. I want to hear about this event. I know your audience does as well. So I want to table the cryotherapy. We're going to hit to that. But tell me about the event that you just ran.

Oh my goodness. So I've done, you know, mastermind events with with 50 people. Actually, Bedros came out and spoke at my mastermind event here in Dallas. But I decided I was going to be in a kind of a high achiever, peak performance, got to do more. I love a good challenge. I thought, I'm going to fly 22 speakers out to Raleigh, North Carolina, put them on the most beautiful stage and have an event. And it was amazing. But just coordinating that many speakers and schedules and hotel and airfare and everything, it was a lot. There were some technical issues the first day. The second day completely made up for it. Oh my gosh, Bryce, there were breakthroughs right on the stage. I just want to tell you this one part. This was the best part of the whole event.

Well, I was going to ask you, I was going to ask you what was the biggest highlight and also the biggest learning lesson. So fire away on the highlight.

Okay. Yeah. The biggest highlight was So I not only have my mastermind where I teach people how to get up and speak and teach them how to launch their podcast and write their book, I then give them a platform. So I give them a stage and I teach them how to put together their talk, put together their slides, and get on stage. So they got to share the stage with Rebecca Zung and Katherine Gordon. I mean, several world-class speakers. And one of my mastermind members gets on stage and she goes, I can't breathe. This is so scary. I don't think I can do this. I think I'm gonna pass out. I'm just gonna pass out. This is so scary. And so I went out on stage and I put my arm around her and I just like held her up and I looked at her and I was like, you have got this. Okay, you've got it. Take a breath. And she took a breath and then she stepped forward and she started speaking. And then all of a sudden, she—you could see she was getting the audience all stood up and went wild. They were clapping and yelling and screaming for her and rooting for her. And then she just like had—you could see the breakthrough moment where she just was her bubbly, amazing self. And then she finished, and she started dancing like doing the running man on stage, saying, "I did it! I did it!" So it was just like. This amazing breakthrough that the audience got to see right on stage. And it was just like going from so much fear and anxiety to how— what it means to have that, that support and that accountability and how we can borrow that courage from someone.

Oh yeah.

And then she stepped forward and gained more confidence and courage, and then the freedom she had and the pure bliss afterwards. It was The— she got a standing ovation. Like, everybody was hand— like, they were freaking out over her. It was amazing. So that was like the biggest— I can't wait to see it on video. It was amazing. Everybody— people were crying, people were laughing. She was crying, she was laughing. And then some of the things that I want to talk to you about, because you have been running events and especially running these businesses.

Mm-hmm.

And I also see how you were an emcee at Bee's event and you were amazing.

Thank you.

And then I also see how you work and you're so focused. Like, when I was at headquarters, I'm like, oh, you were just recording a podcast, right? You just finished recording something? You're like, yep. And then you're on to the next and on to the next. So I was like, gosh, this guy's incredible. But the thing that I learned is I want to develop my leadership skills more. I want to have— I know What I lacked was I lacked a better team. I needed, and believe me, I've done something about it. I've got sheets of paper listed out that are checkmarks of what I need for the next one. But I need someone who really loves people, who loves events, who's there to help me make the speakers and the attendees feel good and have a good time and make sure they're taken care of. And I was running everything. Kind of solo figuring out. I was doing so much of the backend stuff. Like we had problems with ActiveCampaign shut down. We had some technical issues like the music wouldn't play when a speaker walked on stage, that kind of stuff that, that, that happens. But I need to really work on my leadership skills. And I think that you can only be as successful in your company or your business can only grow to how good of a leader you are. And so that's something that I really want to work on. And so So that's what I really selfishly want to ask you about, especially when you're hiring people. Like, just for instance, for your business, let's take this for instance. Like, let's just take somebody who you want to be a personal trainer at Fit Body Boot Camp. They come in, they want a job. What is the process that you go through to decide if they would be a good fit for your company?

Oh, amazing question. Before I hit that, taking a step back, I love that story. So passionate. I was like ingrained in a huge win. And actually, like, the biggest highlight, seeing, you know, your mentee kind of on stage having the fear, the anxiety, but then you'd be able to provide her coaching. Credit to her, of course, she nailed it. But then credit to you. And actually, when I'm taking this and listening to this, that's the power of coaching. That's the power of outside eyes. That's The power of hiring someone who's been where you want to go. Yeah, it happened with me in fitness with Adam, and it happened with you on stage right there. So that is my biggest takeaway from your particular lesson there. And of course, from a leadership perspective, leadership is always the problem. It's always the solution. And, you know, I really buy into John Maxwell's Law of the Lid, which to your point is your business and your life can only grow to you as the lid of your business and your leadership ability. So, yeah, 100%.

Do you know I got to meet— I got to share the stage with John Maxwell, by the way?

I did not. It doesn't surprise me considering how credentialed you are. But that is amazing because he's one of my heroes.

Oh my gosh, mine too. I was dying that I got to share the stage with him. And I— he could see me. People were waiting to talk with him. And I was like standing over like a little giddy schoolgirl, like so fangirling over him. And I was just— and he looked over and he could see me like Smiling, waiting to talk to him. And he was just so sweet and took so much time just to, like, talk to me. And, you know, but yes, I— there's not that many people that I get really like, oh my gosh, I'm like, I admire and respect him so much that, yeah, I was like, I cannot believe that I get to share the stage with John Maxwell. But yeah, his leadership skills and everything are incredible. But yeah, you're exactly right. You can only— to the lid. Is that what you said? Say that. To the lid. quote again?

It's the— it's, uh, one of his leadership rules or laws is the law of the lid. So your business will only go as far as you are the lid on your business and you're the lid on your life. So your business will never outperform the lid of your business, which in this case is you. Um, so that's one of his, you know, key principles, which I absolutely love. And kind of going back to your point about leadership and about hiring, which it kind of all comes, you know, hand in hand, I want to take this full circle. It starts actually, Amberly, with the process. And, you know, I say this having made many mistakes throughout the years, and we did not have the process originally, but really the hiring process. And you talked about, you know, a hypothetical coach coming through the doors. It starts way before that. It actually starts with a recruiting perspective, the messaging that we put out to make sure that the message that we put out in terms of attracting the right candidate is very, very strong, that market-to-message match. We also then just have a really a 10-point checklist where we start with a Zoom interview to kind of check just the normal, just the personality check. Does this person have, you know, a pulse? Are they engaging and all that? Because From a coaching perspective, more than being in a fitness perspective, we're in the people industry. Yeah. You need to be able to inspire and connect with people. And if you can't really inspire and connect with someone on Zoom, how are you going to do that in person? So it starts there.

Yeah. And Bryce, you know what? I had somebody working for me, and I had no idea that she had extreme social anxiety. And I did not know that until it was too late. And I was like, how did I not ask that question in the interview? But it was one-on-one.

Yeah.

With her, and I didn't think to ask. Now I know to ask, but I'm in the people industry too. I do events, I speak at events where there are a lot of people, and I can't have somebody on my team that can't function around a lot of people because I need somebody that can be a go-getter and loves to be around people. I mean, I'm all for having time to myself, but I was just like, What? You've got social anxiety? What? What? You're telling me now that we are at the event? That's a little too late. Holy crap, I'm in trouble.

Well, it's a good learning lesson.

And you learn so much.

Similar to our businesses though, because what you're saying is— what I'm hearing is, you know, you need probably a few people on your team with the different skills, different types of skill sets. Number one, you need someone who's connecting with people, who gets charged up with people, because you're putting on a people-oriented event. So that's really important to be able to have that connectivity and energy around the event. You also though need someone who's detail-oriented because let's face it, with like events, there's— what's the famous adage? The devil in the details. Like, that is so, so true. And for us at Fit Body Boot Camp, what you just asked was, okay, if you're hiring a coach, it's a different onboarding process and interview process than if you're hiring an admin. Because an admin, yes, they need to be able to connect with people and get charged up, but more importantly, they need to be very detail-oriented, handle tasks in the back end. So our onboarding and our basically a mock assignment is very different than a at an interview for a coach who we start with the Zoom process, but then we need to check their energy. Then we give them a sample workout for them to basically take back, study, and then we set up a mock interview to make sure that they can come in and actually provide the coaching on that sample workout. And, you know, in that particular process, are we looking for a fire-breathing dragon coach from day one? No, that's just not possible. However, we're looking for someone— did they pay attention? Did they follow the assignments? Were they prepared? Um, did they actually seem— they actually put some time into this, or are they just winging it on the fly? Also, one thing that we do in the process is we do 2 intervals of that mock process. So they basically execute the first interview of the mock session, and at that point they should be prepared, they should be engaged. But the biggest thing we're looking for is we take a 10-minute, you know, break in the middle and we actually give them feedback— what you did well, and then what, what's one or 2 things they can improve. And then we ask them to do the exact same mock process again, which is just a 10-minute—

Wow, that's amazing. But the repeat— but wait, I want to go back to the very beginning before you even start with the Zoom. And I'm big on energy. Like, I want to talk to somebody, see somebody, and see what their energy is like, because energy is everything. Everything's energy. Everything. But you said you put out there. So do you put out— how do you recruit people? How do they even know you're hiring? What is that process like? Do you use a recruiter or how— what do you do?

So we have a few different partnerships here at Fit Body Bootcamp just because the leverage was, you know, normal job postings like Indeed or CareerPlug. But ultimately, because of the size of our brand, we're able to kind of get to the top of the list, etc. And then from an HQ perspective, we're able to execute a lot of video production, reels, you know, uh, video content to kind of showcase, you know, what it's like to be a coach, to kind of obviously make it sexy and appealing and really connect there. Uh, so historically, I guess the last 3 years of actually running the process, we really put a lot of energy from a media, from a marketing perspective Really to make the the average or the the opportunity attractive. Additionally, it's about framing as well. So what we learned is it's one thing you know putting out to the ethers. Hey, we're looking for a part-time coach or a full-time coach, but that's really more of a transactional job position. Really, what we're trying to do from a highlight perspective Fit Body Boot Camp is show them actually the training, the vetting, the recruiting, all the the personal development coaching that we're going to pour into them. This is far more than basically a job that you're you know punching the time clock, you know training a few clients. Clients, we're gonna pour so much development into you, so much personal growth into you that this is way more than just basically a job. It's a full career. And the last thing, Amberly, which is a new innovation, and if your audience hasn't read, if they're business-minded, there's a book called $100 Million Offers by Alex Hormozi, which is absolutely game-changing. It's about how to structure your offer, how to create the right marketing message match. And we actually created 3 programs within this particular concept. The first is our client-facing. So as an example, we used to have what's called a 28-day program. If someone, for example, Amberly, you're based in Southern California, in Thousand Oaks, California, and you're like, hey, I need to get fit. I want to basically, you know, look into, uh, joining Thousand Oaks Fit Body Boot Camp. It's one thing to say, hey, we have a 28-day jumpstart program. It's another thing to say, we have a program, Amberly, which again, most of our clients are coming for fitness and fat loss. We'll guarantee that you lose 10 pounds within 6 weeks, or you'll train for free until you do. Which is a more attractive offer? That latter offer is way more compelling. So it's about basically creating the right market-to-message match and really figuring out what desired outcome you're looking for and then speaking to that desired outcome. And then of course, in the back end, making sure that your program or your services, you've actually reverse engineered that and you can actually guarantee or hit that guarantee. So that's more of the consumer-facing example. On the back end, from a business-facing example, which again is the framework is taught in that book that is referred to by Alex Hormozi.

And what the book is called, $100 million, what was it called again?

$100 Million Offers.

$100 Million Offers. Okay. Yeah, that's the title. That's awesome. So I'm buying it.

So give me a second example how we do this. So we've gotten really so good at our onboarding process at Fit Body Boot Camp that we're opening new, new locations with north of 100 members from day one at their grand opening. Not trial clients, but basically 100 paying full-time members.

You are kidding me. You are opening and you've already got 100 people there.

We've done this for 12 years now in terms of running Fit Body Boot Camp locations. So we've learned a lot, we've made a lot of mistakes, but we've also been able to construct really, really amazing programs and also offers. Same thing in terms of the offer. What we realized is our— the engineering in the backend is so strong, our new owners are coming out of the gates with such success. We actually guarantee them— we have a 100 members or 100 lives change guarantee. And what that means is we will guarantee a new franchise partner coming through our doors that they'll open their gym in on their grand opening from day 1 with over 100 paying members, or we'll run their marketing until they do. So again, it's a very— it's a— that's a business-to-business offer. But again, it's reverse engineering the process and then manufacturing an offer that's very compelling to pull them in. The last example, which I'm gonna showcase, which we're in testing right now, but actually to your point about attracting interns and full-time coaches, which is really the essence of really what I was trying to articulate year. It's one thing to kind of put out the message, hey, we have a part-time position or full-time coaching job. It's another particular framing, especially if we're looking to recruit, you know, young people in high school and college, that we will pay you $5,000 to become a certified personal trainer, guaranteed. So that market-to-message match is really strong. How we do this is we have partnerships with NASM, National Academy of Sports Medicine, in addition to some other, you know, work in progress that we're you're connecting with. And normally, if you're going to get your certified personal training, you know, certificate off the streets for, you know, someone in high school and college or basically wanting the industry, it's going to cost you $1,000 or $1,500, whatever the case may be. But the value of Fit Body Boot Camp, we can actually leverage and get a huge volume discount. So we can get a, you know, we'll say an 80% discount for owners because our owners are purchasing these certifications for their new interns, for the new teammates, you know, at a volume play. So if you take like the value of that certified personal training perspective. Also, we— I was talking a little bit about our mock interview process, but once the, the new prospect becomes a coach at Fit Body Boot Camp, we have what's called a 12-week new coaches onboarding playbook. So we basically have a 12-week done-for-you, week by week, step by step, to really take an average Joe who has no experience ever and then turn them into a fire-breathing, you know, dragon coach within 12 weeks. It's a very structured approach. But when we put that offer out there that will guarantee, will pay for their certification, will also basically bring them on, take them through our 12-week new coaches onboarding playbook, and then pay them obviously a competitive rate in the process. That's how we actually take, take a step back. And we've always done this, but we actually never really kind of put some proper messaging and wrapping around it to make the offer way more attractive. So to put a bow on this, it's one thing to have a product or service and offer that as a commodity. It's another thing to take a step back, figure out what's the desired outcome of who you're trying to attract, figure out a way to guarantee that desired outcome and put some conditions on it. And then actually, that's your market message. That's the message you put out. You're gonna attract way more qualified people from day one. But then, of course, it's still your duty, obligation, responsibility as a leader to put them through a training program. So not only can you recruit them, but within a 12-week period, you can get them spun up to be a very strong asset to your team. And in our business, our team is our product in the same way.

Have you ever had somebody, you put them through all this training, you taught them everything you know, and then they decide to go on their way? They're going to be getting their own clients. They're going to train people in their garage. They decide they're not going to be with Fit Body Boot Camp. How do you keep them with you?

The answer is a big fat yes, Amberly. That has happened and it will continue to happen. That's a big part of humanity. Nature. But there's a famous adage actually, which I'm so glad you brought this up, where a CEO is talking to a CFO and a CFO is so concerned talking to a CEO because the CFO, the chief financial officer, is looking at the books, looking at the accounting, and says to a CEO the same question. Oh my goodness, Bryce, we're spending all this time, energy, and money investing our people, training our people. What if we all do all this and they leave? The CEO, the chief executive officer, turns to the CFO and says, I totally get that, but what if we don't provide any training and they stay?

Hmm.

And I thought to myself, like, that is a big aha. You're gonna lose people. You're gonna basically take people through the training program that basically go off, they do their own thing. But in the grand scheme of things, taking a step back, you will win. Your organization will dramatically win if you take a really focused approach on pouring in your people. And you're gonna have that one-off person who gets all the training and then goes off. But at the end of the day, when you look at it from an aggregate perspective, it's going to be a big net win. That's been our philosophy at Fit Body Boot Camp, and it's served us well over the last, going on a decade and a half.

That's amazing. You know how I used to find the trainers that worked for me back when I had my fitness business is I taught a class. It was a 6-week trainer preparation certification course. And so for 6 weeks, I taught this course. They paid to take it, and I taught them everything about training and to get certified and the business. And then we did hands-on and they got to go on the gym floor and I would handpick. I was like, ooh, that person's good. I want them working for me. Oop, they're good. So I got to see them in action. I got to spend 6 weeks with them before I would go and they would pass their certification and then they would work with me. And how I kept them working with me is they constantly got a raise. Every like 30 sessions they did, they got a bump in the raise. Every 30 sessions they did, they got a bump in the raise. And I never had anyone leave me.

They feel that growth. They feel like there's a—

They are like, it was something to— yep, something to work towards. Yeah. It's so much about the leadership and the relationships though, too. What would you say to somebody if they're like, well, I want to be a better leader? What should I do? What books should I read? How do I become a better leader? What would you say to them?

It's an amazing question. There's a lot to it. I would say from a personal development perspective, it's watching podcasts like this. It's basically when I think of leadership, I think of John Maxwell, who you obviously shared the stage with. There's an incredible amount of books. 21 Laws of Irrefutable Leadership, The 5 Levels of Leadership. Those are really strong foundational leadership books. So that will help from a curriculum perspective. But honestly, Amberly, if someone's like, hey, I want to be a better leader of other people and how do I develop these skills? My first kind of pushback is, can you lead yourself? Literally one of the easiest things to do. And actually, we'll talk about this because I kind of took a right turn when you talk about the Polar Plunge. But can you keep the promises you make to yourself?

Yeah.

If you can't do that, and let's face it, human nature, we're all on a sliding scale, right? So it's really what you do the majority of the time. But if you can't, if you're not making the promises to yourself, well, then you're not going to make them to other people. And there's no way you're going to get buy-in from other people. So it starts with you. Leadership is a personal development program. Yeah, it's walking your walk. It's basically talking your talk. It's making the promises to yourself. It's keeping those promises. And for me, you know, it starts, you know, my daily process, which is basically up at 4:00. I'm working out by 5:00.

Hey, what time do you go to bed at night?

I'm pretty early. I go to bed by 8:30 every night, definitely sleeping by 9:00. So that allows me—

Really? Okay. I thought about you this morning because right out my office, there is a pool and it was 32 degrees out there this morning. And I was like, I know Bryce would jump in that pool.

Oh, yeah.

But I'm just— I'm not going to do— I'm not going to get in that pool. I will go work out, but I will not— I'm not ready for it yet.

Yes.

How long have you been doing the cold plunges?

I've probably been doing cryotherapy. In fact, I actually launched a business in 2015, a cryotherapy business with a machine the liquid nitrogen, all that was incredible. It was actually a profitable business, but ended up, um, the time— I guess the opportunity cost.

It's expensive. The nitrogen's very expensive.

Yeah, that too. In the grand scheme of things, it was actually a win. But what I realized, especially with the growth of Fit Body Boot Camp, there was more of an opportunity cost to spend more time in the cryotherapy business than there was to basically continue to grow Fit Body. So it was a good decision. But that said, I've been doing cryotherapy probably for the better part of 10 years. But I moved to my new house, which I did the end of 2021, and live in Southern California, which is, you know, we have very nice weather, as you know, for living here for quite some time, but especially in the winter, but even in the nights because we don't really have too much humidity here compared to the rest of the country, it gets cold and the water is cold as well. It's sub-50. So when I moved into, you know, my new house about a year and a half ago, I started doing these 3-minute plunges. about 5:30 in the morning once I get done with my workout. And I do it for many reasons. There's incredible health benefits of cryotherapy. It reduces inflammation. It increases your immune system, increases your cardiovascular activity, your blood circulation.

It wakes you up.

It wakes you up and gets you ready to go.

It does.

But the biggest thing for me, Amberly, the biggest advantage, it's basically a challenge that I put myself through. No one else is watching. No one else is there. Okay, but it's a challenge I put myself. Can I keep the promise I make to myself? And when I do, I know the CEO of McDonald's, the CEO of Burger King, who are true competitors, are not doing this. They don't have the mental fortitude to do this. And good on them. They've created incredible businesses. But for me, it's a leadership test every single day. Can I make that promise I keep to myself when no one's watching? And when I do, the biggest benefit aside from the endorphins, the health benefit, the immunity, the reduce the reduction of inflammation in increase cardiovascular system and blood circulation. All that's great, but it just invigorates a higher level of confidence in me. So really, my call to action for you, Amberly, and your audience specifically, whether it's cryotherapy, whether it's working out, it doesn't actually matter in the grand scheme of things. Pick something that you can incorporate at your daily process that's going to challenge you, that has a benefit, and then stick to that. You will increase your confidence exponentially, which will also lend itself to increasing your I might try jumping in the pool.

I will text you if I do. I did do cryotherapy before and I actually liked it, but I got in the machine and I stick my leg up out of the top of the machine because I've got the CRPS in my right leg and I'm not— and it's full of metal. So I was like, oh, I don't want to take a chance in flaring this up. So I got into the cryotherapy machine with my leg sticking up out of the machine and people were like, what is wrong with her? Like, that's just crazy. But there's a place actually here in where I live near Dallas, that they have IV therapy, cryotherapy, like the IV therapy around here is a thing. Do you ever do any IV therapies?

I just did on Friday, actually, we're just chatting about that off camera. But I have a subscription just to local IV therapy. And, you know, I really buy—

Which one did you get? What did you get If you don't mind me asking.

No, no, not at all. I always use— they have like a plethora of certain cocktails they have for the different, uh, or the different—

I just had one. They came to my house. I was getting over being sick and I had to go. I was getting ready to go to my event and I was so sick. I was— so I was like, get me the IV therapy. I don't care what it costs. I need to be better.

Oh, and it works. Oh, I get the immune booster, um, and there's one for cold and flu, and there's, there's also like hydration and all that. Which one did you get?

I did the immune booster.

Yeah, yeah, which is my, which is my go-to. And really, I mean, I buy in the philosophy like my body is my vessel, and, you know, I love it. I work every day. That fulfills me, so it's not a drag. Um, but I run my body hard. I work out daily. I do my plunges daily. You know, I work hard, like really, really challenging hours. I get up super early, and I say 4 o'clock, that's at the max. Sometimes, you know, my wakes me up earlier. But because of that, I need to make sure that I invest in my recovery because I got this one body that's going to take me through. So it's like a huge investment, right? If you had, if you had a car going from LA to New York, okay, in a big journey ahead of you, and you trash your car and don't get an oil change and all that, that's not a good situation. But ultimately, that's unfortunately how many people live. So while I do really demand a lot for myself, I do really try to take care from a recovery perspective. So I think that's really important, which is really, I guess, what I'm trying to articulate.

Yeah, that's so great. And, you know, a friend of mine had told me I was getting sick. I was in the ER over and over and over for an infection. And she said, Amberly, your impact is only as strong as you are healthy. And I was like, whoa, that hit me hard. I was like, so yeah, I really do my best to take care of myself too. But I go hard. I work hard. I travel. And I've been traveling so much that I'm kind of on a different— I'm trying to get my sleep just right again. So I've been waking up about 3:30 and like, no, just go to sleep for a little bit longer. You know, I'm just curious as to what kind of, what kind of meal plan that are you on?

Yeah. So again, from a timing perspective and making sure that my meals are dialed in healthy, I link up with a local meal prep provider. So basically I have a very regimented schedule. I have a very regimented meal plan. Uh, all the meal service drops their meals off to me every Sunday and then rinse and repeat. So my meals are structured. Um, you know, I have, uh, 1 or 2 protein shakes a day, um, and, uh, lots of water and hydration. That's actually a huge, huge, uh, reason for, I guess, my overall health and success, like not only in the gym but outside the gym as well, because I feel like most people are just chronically dehydrated. So yes, the nutrition, the food are extremely important, but if you're listening to this right now and you're struggling to take the first step in terms of living a better, better and a healthier life, actually, the 2 things that you can do is invest more in hydration and then get to sleep. Make sure you're sleeping at least 7 to 8 hours. And you know this to be true, but honestly, it's the foundation for everything else. And as for as much as I run my body hard, those 2 things are non-negotiable for me, which really set me up for success.

It sure does. And I got really serious about my rest, and I even wear this Oura Ring. Oh, me too. Oh, don't you have it?

Kindred spirits, Amberly. This is why I love you so much.

I know, I know. I could talk to you all day, and I know we're running out of time, and I had a whole list of questions to ask you, and I've just been like, well, what do you do for this? What do you do for that? Because I could just— you're just so amazing, and you're such a great leader.

Thank you.

And I mean, I really love listening to your podcast, but also just the clips that you have on Instagram as well. So y'all tell everybody where they can find you, first of all, because I want y'all to go binge his stuff. Because yes, it's about fitness, but it's so much about self-development and mindset and being a good leader. And as you can see from all the value that he's dropped. So tell people the best way where you like to hang out the most. I follow you on Instagram, but what's the best way for people to reach you or connect with you?

Thank you. Yes, we are Instagram buddies in addition to other platforms. So the best way you can connect on my social media handles are real Bryce Henson, not to be confused with fake Bryce Henson. So that's where you can find me on Instagram and Facebook and LinkedIn, all that. And aside from that, we talked about the podcast. If you're listening to some podcasts, I'm sure you love podcasts. And the Fitness CEO Podcast is my podcast. And to your point, it's very fitness-focused. However, the vast majority of content that I really love is leadership. It's about, you know, overcoming adversity. It's about business. It's about thought leadership. It's about personal development and growth because I really do strongly think, believe that that's actually the foundation you need to be a stronger business owner and entrepreneur, just like in order to live a healthier life or live a more fulfilled life, I should say you need a strong foundation in fitness. So that's where you can find me.

Oh, yeah. And y'all, his podcast is so good. And if you're out running or you're driving, all his links will be in the show notes. But just speaking about starting with that strong foundation, what is success to you? What is your definition of success?

Living on your own terms. At the end of the day, it's about what fills your cup. Because again, you might be passionate about Amberly. Explore that passion, like attack that passion. If you do, that's true success. I also, as we know this to be true for human nature, comparison is a thief of joy. So if you're, you know, which we all succumb to, right? But if you're looking for this person or that person and they're living a life that maybe they have the glitz and the glamour and the money and all that, but it's really not actually speaks to you, it's not going to fill your cup, that's actually not success. So for me, it's about living life on your own terms, about being satisfied with the output that you provide every day, and why I love, you know, what I do not only a business perspective, because I'm very business and success-oriented from a financial perspective, which is the reason I went into business. But more so than that, why I love what I do from a coach consultant in the fitness space is because I can give back, because I strongly believe that fitness is a foundation of someone's life. And with a stronger foundation, the world can open up. So that's, you know, how I look at success.

Yeah, you are so amazing, and I can just tell that you love what you do and you're so passionate about it. And man, you really walk the And don't just talk the talk. You really lead by example, and it shows. If y'all are listening, you'll have to head over to YouTube and see how fit he is. Bryce, you're amazing. So now I know you run masterminds and stuff, and, and if somebody is like, oh my gosh, this sounds amazing, I want to work with him, I want to be one, I want to be a coach with him, or I want to go into a franchise too, what would be the best way for them If I don't even know if you need any more coaches right now, but is there a way for people to— the best way for people to connect with you if they want to work with you or learn from you? Do you do one-on-one coaching or is it just in the mastermind that you do coaching?

Well, to your point, so I run what's called Mastermind 3.0, which is basically an inclusive Fit Body Bootcamp mastermind. It's a leadership coaching program that really teaches the soft skills about personal development, personal growth, and leadership to our franchise partners. But it's really, I guess, specific to our Fit Body franchise partners. So at the moment right now, the best way to connect with me is @realbrycehenson at Instagram. But that said, and we were kind of talking offline, our dear friend, my mentor and business partner, Bedros Koulian, him and I are actually going to be launching a mastermind called Ignition Mastermind in Q4 of 2023 this year. Bedros is going to be talking or teaching more of the sales and marketing. I'm going to be teaching more leadership, management, personal growth aspect of it. So you can reach out to me, stay in touch. That will launch at the end of this year. But that's really where you can find me.

That's amazing. Amazing. So is that gonna be for both female and male entrepreneurs?

It will.

That one? Okay. Awesome. Well, this will probably be coming out around that time. So, I mean, I've worked with Bedros. I love him. I just, you know, and that's, I'm grateful that I met you through him. So.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah.

Yeah. So I'll be looking out for that as well. But my goodness, Bryce, one last question because on this show we do like to talk about resilience. What is resilience to you, the definition of resilience? Because with as much as you do being an entrepreneur, and you've had, you know, dark times, you've had failures, and now you have achieved such luminous success. What is resilience, the definition of that to you?

Well, this is why I connect with your message so much, like true grit and true grace. And I think that's the dichotomy. You need both. You need to be You have a gracious look, but you also have that grit, and you need to be able to overcome adversity. This is actually why I buy into Stoic philosophy, which is really taking tragedy and turning that into triumph. And you've done that in spades. That's why, Amberly, like, I was so connected with you from the very beginning, hearing your story, seeing how you took a tragic situation and actually probably made it one of the best things in your life, and the empowerment and the value you've been able to provide other people. Thank you. People. And I feel like it's the same, same for me, you know, growing up. And I talked about the Midwest. My first 10 years were, you know, in the South. I used to, uh, spent many years in a trailer park in Atlanta, Georgia. My father was a, a wife beater. He was a drug addict, an alcoholic, you know, not the trifecta for a really positive family upbringing. And despite that, through also a lot of family support and coaching, but also a mindset of, hey, if it has to be, it's up to me, um, I've made some, you know, good things and good decisions and, you know, made, made it all right for myself. But I think really, you know, kind of bringing it back to having that resilience mindset. For me, it's all about can you take whatever comes, whether it's COVID, whether it's this tragedy, which is that tragedy. And actually, I'll finish with like the, uh, the analogy I like for Stoicism, which is the fire. So you have a fire, right, you know, burning outside, and all the obstacles in life, okay, the challenges in life basically get thrown in the fire— the debris, the wood, the brush fire, the gasoline. Does the fire, Amberly, stop and say, poor me, all these obstacles, all these challenges, okay, are being thrown No, the fire says, give me gasoline, give me brushfire, give me wood. I'm actually going to become bigger. I'm going to become brighter and become bolder. And for me, Amberly, that's really having a resilient mindset, the tragedy turning tragedy into triumph.

Wow. Mic drop on that. That— you're incredible. Well, Bryce, thank you so much for being on the show, and I am so excited that I'll get to see you in person in Dallas. And like I said, if you You need anything between now and then, or if you need me to store some stuff in the garage or whatever y'all need, I'm your girl. Um, but I'm just so glad I'll get to, and so honored that I will get to be there and, and do a keynote there. So thank you for being on the show, and thank y'all for tuning in to True Grit and Grace. And go ahead and share the Real Bryce Henson and Amberly Lago Motivation on Instagram and tag me, and I'll, I'll put it in my story. too. So thank you, Bryce.

Thanks, Amberly. It was awesome. Appreciate you.