May 8, 2017

Meet Sean Khoda of Basic Training PFC in Glendale

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Khoda.

Sean, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I became a trainer after going through my own weight loss journey. I played football most of my life. My coaches always encouraged us to eat and get bigger. After high school, football ended. My weight gain started. By my 2nd year of college I had gained 40 plus lbs. I finally had enough, I knew how to work out from all the years of football. I just needed a plan and nutritional guidance. Inherently, we know what’s good and bad so I stuck with that. Soon after, a manager at 24-hour fitness noticed how much I had changed and offered me a job. I was a finance major, I wanted to be a stock broker. At the time I was waiting tables, while a full-time student. I thought be a trainer might be more fun than waiting tables…I was hooked, my life went in a very new and different direction. After being a trainer for about 10 month, I was promoted to fitness manager. I did that for 3 plus years and then opened my first studio. One of the things I’m most proud of is, I gave a lot of good trainers the opportunity to start their own business. Most of which are still with me today. Instead of employing them, I decided to flip what the corporate world does to trainers. I charge them a small hourly or monthly fee to use my studio. They in turn can charge their clients whatever they want. Everyone wins!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Running a business is almost never a smooth road. Although I’ve taken the hard time and learned from them. Dealing with a lot of trainers is tricky, egos and attitudes can create drama. I try to create a culture in my studio that welcomes everyone and leaves all else out!!!

Please tell us about Basic Training PFC.
Basic Training Private Fitness Center is a personal Training studio. We do not sell memberships, only PT. I have a network of professional trainers that use my studio to train their clients. We welcome people of all fitness levels. We custom design programs for the individual. Our experience sets us apart, most of us have been trainers for almost 15 years. We are constantly learning and changing. Key to long term success. Although some things we like old school!

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I feel like the mistakes I made along the way were necessary for me to learn. Although a few purchases of equipment could have been avoided. Equipment Vendors are important to build relationships with. Doing research and choosing the right equipment and where you get it could be critical.

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