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After the Interview: Jeremy Smith
186 Plays2 years ago
In this bonus discussion, we discuss our episode 171 interview with Jeremy Smith, owner of The BAR Performance Gym.
To listen to the original interview, check out https://uncommonwealth.com/podcast/running-a-gym/
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Transcript
Introduction to Bonus Episode
00:00:03
Speaker
It's time for the Uncommonwell bonus content.
00:00:12
Speaker
Hello everybody. Welcome to another episode, a bonus episode of the uncommon wealth podcast. I'm your host, Philip Ramsey. And I'm Aaron Kramer.
Reconnecting with Jeremy Smith
00:00:20
Speaker
And we are going over Jeremy Smith. Oh man. What an amazing interview. Dude. I love this guy. And I haven't seen Jeremy Smith for years. 13 years. I haven't seen this guy. So what a blast from the past. Great guy.
Jeremy's Inspiring Story
00:00:37
Speaker
Always have been a great guy, but just to hear his like story of what he's had to go through. Yeah.
00:00:42
Speaker
I mean, we all have stories. That's where I like, I'm never really at a loss for who we're gonna get on the podcast, because everyone's uncommon. We just need to ask the right questions, because we all have a past, we all have a history. But to hear his was like awesome.
The Power of Vulnerability
00:00:56
Speaker
Yeah, to hear his story, because you don't hear, people don't get vulnerable. They're always scared to get vulnerable, open up about their past. And that's the thing, if we're just being blunt, God uses people that have had a past.
00:01:09
Speaker
Because I honestly to my core believe you haven't had a past I don't think he can use you as well because you're not gonna have grace for people in the future
00:01:17
Speaker
And the truth is we've all had a past. Yes. But are we going to be willing enough and transparent enough to open up with other people? Yeah. Obviously Jeremy was. I loved how he was getting emotional when he was talking about his past. Yeah. It's emotional. Going through your past and especially as, um, colorful as like, I know Jeremy's was, uh, it's, it's emotional. And to see, to see like the path that he was on only ended in destruction. Yeah.
Jeremy's Fitness Journey
00:01:45
Speaker
And then how God kind of rescued him out and just the overarching underlying theme of God and the faithfulness of that. Yes. And Jeremy's always had a good heart. That's probably why I liked him in high school. But he's always had a heart to impact other people, help people, try to help them get to where they want to go. It's a perfect spot for where he's at now. I mean, he owns his own gym and I love how edifying you speak of him. Like he's smarter than any physical therapist that you've ever talked to, or at least as
00:02:13
Speaker
as smart like I mean, but he's self-educated like yes, I would say like as smart like I mean I've gone to physical therapy before and Jeremy has told me like it's this and I just you know as early on in our friendship and I was like Oh Jeremy, I don't like your personal trainer. They're a physical therapist. I come back I had paid my copay and everything to see this like guy Specialists and then I'm like
00:02:37
Speaker
You just told me the same thing Jeremy told me. So he is truly, I tell people, I know all the top trainers here in Iowa and he's one of them. And we only have a few really good ones and he's there. Yeah. What a cool thing. Here's what
Individual vs. Group Training
00:02:55
Speaker
I'd like. And this is probably my main takeaway of the interview. Like God uses even our hardest moments.
00:03:01
Speaker
to help us to where we're at today, have shaped us and molded us into the person we are today. I thought this was a perfect highlight when he started talking about, hey, my one-on-one training actually set me up for my group training because I could be more specific on individual movements.
00:03:19
Speaker
And he was realizing enough that he said, if I was probably in a group setting right away, you just can't be as specific and focused on one individual. So he used that kind of building block, that stepping stool into like, okay, like understanding how individuals move and like things and quirks that maybe they're doing wrong or that he can coach. But he used that as a stepping stool to the next thing, which is then group
00:03:43
Speaker
sessions, which is way harder. So if you think about him just walking into a group setting, he even realized that I probably wouldn't be as good of a trainer without the past of me focusing one on one. Yeah. Cause he can pinpoint problems really fast. Yeah. So when he has like his group session, I know. And when he describes group sessions, it's not like a group session. Everyone's doing the same thing. Everyone's doing their own different workout that he's provided them. Yep.
00:04:10
Speaker
But they're all doing it at once, and he's going through and working with them individually as they need it. Like he said, he's like, I can see across the room something's going on around him. Because his office is actually up above everybody. So if he's up there staring, you'll hear him yelping and hollering at somebody to do something different. I've been that person. It's like, oh, OK, thanks. That's good. That's good.
Jeremy's Business Model
00:04:35
Speaker
Yeah, there was a lot of stuff. I also like that he even admitted like he's like, I'm probably not the best business owner, but the business that he's created is one that he himself could have thrived under. Yes. Because I would say I loved that.
00:04:50
Speaker
he has always been unemployable. Like where he is always kind of a buck authority. I know that because I've always been that guy too. So he's always been kind of unemployable. And so everything would work until like he would feel like, I just want a buck authority. Me too. Uh, but he's created such a business where people like himself and me could thrive under. Yeah. Remember how he was like, yep, all the people underneath me that want to use my gym and be trainers. I mean, I do a percentage up into this point. It's like, I mean, I'm not going to say the percentage cause like,
00:05:20
Speaker
It's not my business, but I know Around what it is and it's like probably not much. It's not much. Yeah, cuz like he said he caps it at a thousand dollars So I would say that if the cap probably doesn't come for a while, but if you're hitting that cap It's probably because you're making pretty good money and you're using all of his equipment. So it's like a win-win I think you can hit that cap pretty well if you were
00:05:42
Speaker
a decent, like you're working, you got a pretty decent full schedule. Yeah. You hit that cap pretty fast. Like, but that's, think about these commercial gyms. Yeah. Like that's how these uncommon, these commercial gyms take like, you get 40%, they take 60. And the, the,
00:05:57
Speaker
The uncommon part about it is like at the end of the day, he's realized that, yeah, he's probably gonna, he's probably gonna leave some dollars on the table, but he's doing an uncommon thing for those people underneath him because I think that he sees a lot of himself in those people. So he was like, I don't want that owner to do this to me. So I'm not going to do it to other people. Yeah.
Rochelle's Role in the Gym
00:06:15
Speaker
He's attracted good trainers. Like one of his trainers there like has placed in the world a few times and strong women, you know, like, wow, that's cool. He has some, he's done well.
00:06:25
Speaker
Yeah, and then just Rochelle and his wife and his spouse. That's something that we could gong that. Dude, I forgot to tell this story. I gotta say this for everybody on this. Do it. Rochelle's one of her roles in the business is more to call people out. She's so fun. Every time I show up to the gym, because I haven't been there a lot lately, she's like, hi, my name's Rochelle. Who are you? And she can play it so well. I was like, Rochelle, I'm Aaron. I was like, oh, I've never met you before. It's great to have you here.
00:06:54
Speaker
That's good. Yeah. It seems like they're a perfect mix. And then after we hit stop, he was just like, you know, the cashflow that Rochelle helped, you know, when I was starting my business was just priceless. It's just, there's a consistency to that when you're going off in this uncommon world. Yeah. It's everybody's me. Like my wife supported us. And it's a lot of the times I hear that. So.
00:07:17
Speaker
Man, what a great, uh, one individual, but great business and like, I couldn't be more excited. I hope we stay in touch. He's at the end. He's like, let's do this, you know, more than 13 years in a row. And I totally agree.
Overcoming Drug Struggles
00:07:30
Speaker
Yeah. Cause I mean, the biggest takeaway is he hit rock bottom. Like he said, like waking up every muscle hurt. Didn't remember what happened.
00:07:39
Speaker
Like you're thinking like, whoa, maybe a seizure or seizure. Something bad happened. Right. You know, like he said all the drugs he was taking and those are real drugs. Those are hardcore drugs. But like now he's like, right. Killing it. Yeah. You know, I would say there was a, I don't know who this was, but he's like a pretty popular rock star. He was part of like a drumming group, like corn or something to quote me, but he is now a believer, but he was in all the stuff like method.
00:08:10
Speaker
Anyway, one of the things he has said, he's like, I'm pretty sure the only reason why meth is on the world is because the only way that you can conquer it is like having a faith, like having an understanding of who God is. And that's the only way that you can get out of that drug. And I thought about that with Jeremy of like, wow,
00:08:28
Speaker
Maybe God did turn around that specific thing, because it's not easy to get off those things. No. And it sounded like it was probably a harder transition than he made it sound, but he did. And he's doing great. Yeah. He's a thriving family, amazing wife. Yeah. Just, it's fun to see somebody like that succeed.
Hosts Reflect on Interview
00:08:47
Speaker
Yeah. I could totally see why you wanted him on the podcast. Yeah, he's amazing. I would have wanted him too. Yeah. I just think it's funny, like, it still just got me going to hell.
00:08:56
Speaker
both of you have never put the two and two together. I've talked about him in the past, but prior to this, being my coach and stuff. And then I'm still like, man. Yeah. And then I was talking to Jeremy Smith helped me when I was talking to him about making the move and everything. And I had told the whole story about grabbing breakfast with you and all that stuff.
00:09:18
Speaker
He never made the connection. For the record, Philip Ramsey is way more uncommon than Jeremy Smith. Yeah, that's very true. But still, all the way to the fact that he hit the bottom of the stairs and he both saw each other. That was great. Good interview. Jeremy, good luck. We're right here. If you need anything from us, we're huge fans and want
00:09:40
Speaker
The bar performance gyms do amazing.
Conclusion and Thanks
00:09:43
Speaker
We want your life to do well. We want your whole, everything that you're into, we want you to do well. So thank you for sharing your gifts with the world. Thank you for impacting others. Love you, buddy. Yeah, good job. You've been listening to the Commonwealth Podcast. I've been your host, Phillip. And I'm Aaron Kramer. Thanks. Bye.