Hidden Gems: Meet Patrick Dunlap of Rival Fit

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Dunlap.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ll take us all the way back for the sake of an origin story! I started my love for fitness about 12 years ago when I first started working out. I was bullied in high school for how skinny I was and then my home life wasn’t much better and pretty filled with neglect. I turned to fitness originally as an outlet to blow some steam and quickly found out just how beneficial it was for my mental health. We often think fitness is solely related to physical appearance or physical health but it’s so much deeper than that. What it does for our bodies is great but I am Justas intrigued by what it does for our brains and mental health. After high school, I started training for Special Operations in the Navy where I then earned a Special Operations Navy Diver contract which required me being in a certain shape and able to perform certain physical tasks and duties that were very demanding. Fitness was a vital component in me earning that contract. I ended up being medically discharged from the Navy and honestly, that took a major hit on my psyche. I rapidly became what I would call a “High Functioning Depressed” person. I got home and did what I knew best and that was to take myself to the gym through all the mental aches and used fitness to grieve and navigate that transition.

After that, I spent the next six years honing in on my craft. I learned from anyone and everyone I could find in the fitness world and applied it and sharpened myself and my skills. It was then that people were approaching me to train with me and I thought nothing of it so I would workout with many people and help them transform their bodies, mental health, and mental fortitude. Fast forward to the treacherous COVID-19 pandemic. That’s where Rival Fit, LLC came into fruition but it was not without the years and years of experience listed above. I noticed people’s mental health taking a downward spiral from all walks of life. Nobody was exempt from it. I noticed and realized it was the exact same way I felt in my transition from the Navy to civilian life. I immediately recognized I could make a difference and help the community around me in using fitness to transform people’s physical AND mental health in a massive time of need. That’s just what I did. The name Rival Fit was actually my Wife’s idea. I like to use the phrase YOU vs YOU and in the way that it means you vs the you that you want to be. Not you vs what you see on social media. Not you vs what you see on TV. You vs You. The real rivalry is between who we’ve been, who we are, and who we want to be. I love people so much and I believe everyone needs fitness and that it impacts more than just physical health but your mental health as well.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Not smooth at all! I arguable started a business in the worst time being the pandemic! I hear of lots of success stories but that definitely wasn’t mine. I moved here with my wife five months before the pandemic started and we knew absolutely nobody here. The few relationships we did had were brand new and when the pandemic hit, they quickly evaporated except for one couple that we are still very close with today. It was rough seas for sure because I had to build a clientele from scratch. People honestly had to go out on a limb to trust that I could be a good Personal Trainer and bring forth results for them because I had no track record here! I had to buy equipment which if any of you remember trying to buy gym equipment… well everyone had already bought it all so everything was sold out! I would train people in parks with three sets of dumbbells that I bought off of someone in a storage unit in Carson, CA. I made it work and my clients saw results which is all I could ask for! To get clients, I would do lots of cold calls, messages through Instagram, or even just reach out to the few people I knew and asked them if they knew anyone I could reach out to that would be interested in benefiting from Personal Training. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.

As you know, we’re big fans of Rival Fit, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Rival Fit is a fitness company that is centered around personal training and online training. I help you reach your fitness goals for yourself through 1 hour in-person sessions or through my fitness App depending on the direction or location of where you reside. The biggest thing is I want you to feel cared for and loved. Rival Fit got its name from my wife and it’s about bringing the rival back to its proper context. We get in the habit of comparing ourselves or rivaling ourselves against what we see in pop culture, on social media, or even in our own communities. Rival Fit’s mission is to bring the rival back to YOU vs YOU. Who you have been vs who you want to be and actually getting there together through fitness. I believe in you.

I specialize in Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Corrective Exercise, and General Fitness.

I’m known for the way I care for and love my clients as I lead and guide them toward their fitness goals. I feel like Personal Trainers get a bad rapport for being really militant and hardcore and I am just not that. I’m the opposite! We will work hard and go after your goals but you are going to feel supported, cared for, and encouraged the whole way through. All my clients see results and all my clients will tell you that exact same thing. They love the results but love how they feel after we train together. I love people a lot and love to encourage others and I’d say that’s my superpower that separates me from the rest!

I’m very proud of the work Rival Fit does because I am making a direct impact on people’s lives. It’s the most rewarding job in the world. I see people light up when they feel sexy again after fitting into that dress they last wore before they had kids. I see the person come in with the weight of the world on their shoulders from work, life, family, etc. and leave feeling so much lighter all while still seeing results and getting a step closer to their goals. I get to do this. I get to serve my clients through fitness and have a place in their life. It means the world to me and I do not take it lightly at all.

I want people to know that fitness and exercise is more than just having a six pack or toned legs. Those are great but it has the power to impact your whole being. Physical exercise releases chemicals in the brain that wash away the feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. If we could put the benefits of fitness into a pill, then it would be the most prescribed pill on earth. My brand, Rival Fit, believes in the whole person. The rivalry has always been you vs you.

I offer in-person personal training and the prices vary depending on travel. For pricing or any questions reach out to me through my website at Rival-Fit.com/lets-talk or you can find me on Instagram @rival_fit_ and message me there! My online training is $300 a month billed on the first and comes with my App that is very intuitive. It has messaging capabilities as well as the ability to connect your Apple Watch, My Fitness Pal and habit tracking so you can see real-time data of your progress from when the moment you start. It will have custom workouts geared towards your goals programmed in so all you have to do is open the app and click “Start Workout”!

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
That’s an easy one. I am an emo nemo swimming in an ocean of my own tears! I love Rom-Coms, emotional music from your favourite love song to your favorite heartbreak song. I have a wild obsession with pizza, so bad that I have an app on my phone that shows me all the pizza around me and what other users on the app rate that specific pizza place. I eat really clean but center my reward meals around pizza! And Tangled is my favorite movie, hands down.

Pricing:

• Online Training – $300/month

Contact Info:

• Website: rival-fit.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/rival_fit_

Image Credits
Leanne Cantelon