Conversations with Eric Guilmette

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Guilmette.

Hi Eric, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. I’ve always been athletic; I played hockey, football and baseball in high school. I was also a good student and went on to college in Rhode Island to study mathematics and economics.

While I was in school, I started bodybuilding as a way to stay competitive with myself, as I wasn’t playing sports anymore. Academically, every single person that knew me thought I’d go work on Wall Street, myself included. But I had been bitten by the travel bug many times to that point in my life, and instead, I randomly (not-so-randomly) bought a one-way ticket to Australia, a country I had fallen in love with years before.

Along this journey, I had built my own online fitness coaching business. So while I was traveling through the Southeastern hemisphere, Asia, Europe, and anywhere else my jet setting appetite brought me, I was coaching clients online and helping them live healthier lifestyles all from my laptop.

Fast forward a couple of years and I landed in the suburbs of San Francisco. At this time, I was competing heavily in naturally bodybuilding shows, extremely busy coaching, and doing the best I could to set up a life-long term that allowed me to never stop traveling.

Then, life took a sharp turn. My girlfriend of 5 years and I split very suddenly and I was sitting in my car with all of my belongings in SF wondering where to go next… With next to no plan, I drove down to Long Beach, California.

I was seeking discomfort… I purposefully put myself in a place where I knew next-to-no one that was unlike anywhere else I’d lived before where opportunities were plentiful and motivation was high.

Just two days into arriving here, I booked a modeling test shoot with a photographer named Ben Veronis.

Little did I know that I had just ignited a flame that spread like wildfire and grew way bigger than I could’ve ever possibly imagined.

It’s funny because when I tell this story, I usually just say “And the rest is history…”

But that history has been roughly 800 days of pure bliss, loving and learning who I truly am and what my true purpose is in life… letting this path morph, change direction, and evolve into what it is today.

It goes without saying I’ve worked my a*s off every day of this, but going from fitness guru to fitness model to fashion model to commercial actor to actor-actor… and elevating every piece of my different art forms that all shape me now… that has been the greatest adventure I’ve been on.

And this story is still being written everyday. More pages to come. More bliss to find.

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?
Of course not. If this path was easy, everyone would take it.

But I feel every obstacle I’ve faced have made me stronger…. and enhanced my ability to help any other model/actor/artist that much more on their journey.

I’d say the biggest obstacle of them all is time. We all have a limited supply and how we choose to spend it is what ultimately shapes us.

I give so much of my time to modeling and acting that I can sometimes burn the candle a little too much. Just like most people, finding that perfect balance is something I’m always working on, but I’m also extremely happy with where my current balance sits because I love my career, I love my life outside of my career and I will always try to develop that harmony between the two.

Another obstacle I deal with is what I call “the unknown”. Ironically, I like and dislike this aspect of the industry… I love living 1 day at a time “where my feet are”.. but the flip side of that is it makes planning time with friends or family or a relationship difficult… so I’m oftentimes posed with the dilemma of putting my career or my relationships first.

Most weeks, I genuinely don’t know where I’ll be in the world by the end of the week, and that’s a tough thing for a lot of people in this industry to deal with. But finding comfort in the unknown… finding solace in the discomfort is what has gotten me to where I am today, so coming full-circle, I love uncertainty.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been modeling longer than I’ve been acting. I love both, but to this point in my career, I love the different ranges I can go to for modeling. I’ve done everything from fitness, swim & underwear all the way to high fashion, runway & beauty… and everything between.

One of my favorite examples of this is when I see a woman wearing lashes, I ask them “are those Ardell?”. Every woman usually takes a step back and is like “how do you know Ardell?”… and I was one of the first males to model Ardell lashes in their 50 years of existence.

Acting has opened me up even more. Being in tune with how I speak, how I think, my mannerisms – or as one of my acting coaches Shari Shaw says, “my -isms” – has lead me to become an even better Eric.

I have learned so much about myself by allowing my art to drive me to new disciplines I otherwise would’ve been closed off to… and I’m proud of the happy-little-hippie, jet-setter I am today.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
A lot of people chalked up 2020 (and 2021, for that matter) as a loss due to the pandemic…

But I learned early on in life that there is always going to be something in the world that is a limiting factor holding us back from our full potential.

Our environment is never going to optimal for anything… there’s never a “perfect time”… But our ability to adapt to our environment and react in a positive way says more about someone than anything else…

Would I rather not have to get tested every three days to make sure I’m COVID-free…? Of course.

But if I can thrive in a COVID environment, then dealing with any environment after this will be gravy.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/etfitnesscoach
• Website: https://www.etfitnesscoach.com

Image Credits
Eduardo Fermin, AlphaFit Photography, Marq Mendez, Lester Villarama, Arun Nevader, Brandon Jameson, Elizabeth Trujillo, Ben Veronis