Today we’d like to introduce you to Schad Gibbons
Hi Schad, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, I was always overweight. I failed every PE test at school, was picked last for kickball, and embraced the fact that I was the fat kid.
Luckily, I had parents who really encouraged me to stay active with mountain biking, dirt bike riding, rugby, football, wrestling, etc.
To be honest, I really dreaded the physical exertion of the sports. What made it enjoyable was doing it with my friends and family. Looking back, I can see that my disdain for fitness came from being overweight and eating like a garbage can with an endless void.
Experiencing all the failures and celebrating being second to last did a number on my self-esteem. Instead of being made fun of, I flipped the script and decided to laugh at myself, feeling like I was part of the group. Which was beneficial to embrace the quality of humility as an adult.
The turning point for me happened when I was a senior in high school. Football season had just ended and wrestling was beginning, as a strong & big offensive tackle, I stepped on the scale and saw 290lbs.
It was at that moment I had to make a decision that would effect the rest of my life… I was going to quit and resign myself to a life of obesity, being okay with all the negative risks associated with it. Or, I was going to use wrestling as a catalyst to drop a ton of weight.
I painted the vision of what I would become at age 30 if I decided to quit… The image was of a 400lb man-child who could barely fit into his chair, eating the skin off of fried chicken with a video game console next to me. This image was also accompanied with great loss. Loss of my friends I enjoyed mountain biking with, and even worse, loss of a connection I had with my Dad who was very encouraging of my fitness. Although my parents would love me no matter what, I did NOT want to be the son & friend who gave up on himself. I wanted to make myself, my friends, and parents proud of who I was about to become.
This vision felt like a lifetime… Within 5 seconds, I committed to building a better version of me.
No more calling large pizzas personal sized, eating 15 tacos on a Tuesday, and crushing liters of mountain dew. I spent my evenings researching nutrition on bodybuilding.com and building a plan. I realized I enjoy all the foods that are beneficial to me and needed to remove the excess. I bought pounds of salmon, chicken, brown rice, and brocolli, making all my own meals. During wrestling, I lost 60 pounds over those 3 months.
This was the first time I actually felt like I WON. My efforts paid off! To add more fuel to my raging fire, I was awarded ‘Most Improved’ for the wrestling season.
With a newfound confidence, something I hadn’t felt much before started showing up… belief. Belief in my capabilities to rewrite my story.
I used the rest of my senior year to go ALL IN with my fitness. I showed up to school early to run 2 miles on the track, I had second period weight lifting, and I got a second job selling meat & freezers door to door which was 4 hours of walking. I continued to make all my meals and skip the value menu deals at Jack-in-the-box with my friends.
By the time graduation rolled around, I was unrecognizable.
The harrowing vision I had created saved me. I ran as far away from that person as I could. There was absolutely no turning back, I will NEVER let myself go. The feelings I had when I was overweight were depressing. If I can control my behaviors, habits, and mindset, then I control who I will become.
This led me down the path to helping others. I know I was not the only one dealing with the physical & mental difficulties that come with being overweight. Doing the work, aka exercising and eating what i needed instead of wanted, transformed my life for the better and I wanted to help others do the same.
Immediately after high school, I attended community college for exercise adherence, anatomy, physiology, and psychology classes in addition to studying for my Certified Personal Trainer certificate. 1 year of studying, I earned my certification and started training people at age 19.
Since then, I worked at several commercial gyms. It became very apparent that I do not want to work for a corporation and want to build my own business.
After 3 years of training at gyms, I made the leap and decided to go on my own. Unfortunately, all the studying did not prepare me for the other half of my career life, business.
I had to learn how to market, create offers, convert leads, finances, etc. Nothing that’s taught in the school or textbooks I had been reading. I struggled financially for 5 years, literally one bad decision away from being broke. And that bad decision came when I crashed my car. With only $1,200 to my name, I bought a $1,000 beat up 1989 Honda Accord and had $200 left with rent due in 5 days.
It became abundantly clear, I need to level up and learn about the business side of fitness. Instead of going through more college courses which would take years and thousands of dollars, I decided to seek help through mentors. I always knew that the best investment was in myself, so I invested what little money I had into a business coach.
It was one of the best decisions I made, because my coach, Steve Krebs, gave tough love and clear direction with what I needed to do. After a few years of his mentoring, I had grown my business into a very positive place and left the land of scarcity. I was making a greater impact by helping more people because I was marketing effectively. Living well below my means, I decided to transform my garage into a gym.
2020 was a wild year for fitness. In California, gym owners were forced to close their doors, many which never reopened. Being a rebel at heart, I said ‘fuck it – if people want to train, i’m here to help’ and I opened my garage doors to train people from my home or virtually via zoom. Thank god for all of my committed clients, because I went from a positive business to ZERO within 1 news segment. 2 weeks of nothing, many of my clients reached out seeing what we could do, so I pivoted the business and within 1 month, I was back in business. 6 months later, I was doing better than ever.
With the boom of clients, very low overhead, I stacked my chips to open my own gym. I could only do so much in my garage, it served it’s purpose, but it was time to level up.
With $12k in the business bank account, I began looking for places. Emailing landlords / agencies weekly, I heard NO more times than I can count. Turns out, gyms are not something that landlords like to rent their space to. I knew exactly what I wanted for a gym, what the rent would be, and the area.
After 6 months of hearing no, I get a yes… Finally! I go through all the steps, get approved, sign the lease, only to hear nothing. 2 follow up emails ‘Sorry, we decided to rent this space to another tenant’ – back to square one. This happened on December 24th, 2023. The Christmas present I wanted most was replaced with coal.
Sleeping at night became tough, every fiber of my being knew I was meant for more. I must step up and become the man I know I can be! My mind kept ping-ponging between ‘you can do this’ and ‘nobody wants you’ – that fat kid in me, no matter how much I starve it, still whispers doubt into my ear.
Ignoring the doubt, I kept moving on. In May of 2023, I was alerted of a space that is a gym and needs out of the lease. It was $800 over my monthly budget, but it was in a nicer area and really well done. Plus, the landlord would accept me because it’s already a gym. Upon meeting the owner, I asked why he needed out of the lease, turns out he was having a family and wanted to get rid of the overhead. This was a blessing in disguise, because I was able to purchase the floors from him, which saved me tens of thousands of dollars (by this point, I had $18k in my biz bank and I did not want to take out a loan).
I received the keys on June 1st, 2023 and opened the doors on June 4th, 2023. Since then, I have helped dozens of people in the city of orange create resilient bodies & unbreakable mindsets.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The first obstacle is the person I see in the mirror. I was in my own way, creating problems through self-sabotage and doubt. I had to build my confidence by creating challenges for myself and overcoming them. I deal with this obstacle literally every single day of my life. Sometimes, the old fat kid inside wins, but more often than not, my stronger self reigns victorious.
Money was always an issue, I didn’t come from much, so I was financially independent since 18 years old. Having learned nothing about financial literacy in high school, I dug myself into a modest amount of credit card debt at age 19. Quickly learned that lesson, don’t spend money you don’t have. And, looking at the bank account to see the money I do have feels WAY better then spending it. Many years were spent eating tuna, eggs, and oatmeal. Numerous times i had overdrawn accounts, my phone was shut off because the bill was unpaid, and had to choose between groceries or rent.
Covid radically changed things, but it was all for the better. It was a blessing in disguise, because I was driving from OC to West Hollywood from 5am-8pm 3 days per week. When everything shut down, I turned my garage into a gym and did not need to drive to West Hollywood, I could service many of my clients virtually. This gave me so much more time and actually produced more income.
I spent 11 months searching for a location to rent, only to hear no, without any reason, to every request. The one time I heard yes, it turned into a no on the 1 yard line.
I was in a toxic relationship for 6 years from 21 – 27. As an overweight teenager, all I wanted was a girlfriend, someone who loved me (not my parents / family, I get plenty of love from them). I was always ‘friend zoned’. When I entered my first relationship, I was ecstatic, my dream has come true. The person I dated shared a similar background, overweight as a kid and changed herself for the better, but inside she was broken. I spent too many years trying to repair her and mend the relationships of her having an abusive father. This took so much of my mental & emotional space. I’d have to cancel sessions and put my business on hold while I tended to her needs. Her roots were rot with ruin and I could not grow with her. It was hard, but I had to rip off the band-aid and let her go so I could become who I needed to. Since then, I have met my wife and have been happily married for 2 years.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I own & operate a Semi-Private Personal Training studio in Orange, called Force3 Fitness. Semi Private training fills the gap between group workouts & one-on-one training. We keep our class sizes capped at 6 people so everyone receives an individualized program based on their goals. Our overall focus is on Longevity, Injury Prevention, and Performance.
What makes us different is our addition of mindset coaching. The biggest battle we have to win is that of the mind. Do we choose to create an excuse or show up? Do we choose to be a victim and cry or do we be the hero and persevere? When clients have a difficult time breaking through barriers, having a conversation to enhance their mindset can be extremely beneficial.
At the end of the week, we give clients a report card called Sunday Strategy to reflect on the past week to discover their wins, areas of improvement, and obstacles they might face in the upcoming week. This gives the client an opportunity to work on themselves and receive more coaching.
Our training method is unconventional, we use a lot of kettlebells, bodyweight exercises, athletic development drills, mobility, and other tools not found in common gyms. We place a large emphasis on building strength, flexibility, and muscle so people can perform, look good, feel good, and do it for life.
Oh yea, FUN! It’s a requirement to have fun in the gym, from the raw & in your face heavy music we play, to the fist bumps given to every member. Each person knows everyone, while they might be working on their own goals, there is an element of a team.
I’m proud of all the members that show up, week after week, year after year. I’m incredibly grateful for the loyal clients I have coached for 3, 4, 5, and 7+ years, and for the clients who gave it a try for a few months but can’t commit or find something else they enjoy.
I’m very community forward, looking for ways to give. Just recently, we hosted a charity workout that raised $1600 for a local stroke & cancer survivor! I’ve been donating my time to help him rehab and gain function to the left side of his body.
From the start, I never wanted to be the best in the world, I want to be the absolute best in my area and known as the local hero. I will continue to serve, lead, coach, and give my ALL to what I do in the gym. It gives me so much in return.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Don’t give up on yourself. It’s okay to pivot or quit doing things that aren’t serving you. Seek help & ask questions, nobody is ‘self-made’. I have had MANY mentors in my life that have helped me avoid potholes that they stepped in.
It’s never going to end. If you’re waiting for the day when you can be done, find a new path. Of course, there are days where you will want to burn everything to the ground, that’s part of the game. It’s getting your ass up and moving, every day, that moves you forward.
When you have set backs (because you will), give yourself a 5 minute pity party, then move on.
Build & nourish relationships. The more people you can positively affect, the more likely you are to provide your service to others. It’s hard to help people who are unfamiliar with you.
Play the long game, do not trade long term fulfillment for short term gains, they rarely end well.
Be smart with your money, it’s a tool that you use to build a life you want to live. Hide it in multiple places so you can’t touch it, always save for the ‘oh shit’ moments.
Own your shit and take responsibility for EVERYTHING in your life. You cannot own your success without first owning your failures.
Before pointing the finger to pass blame, look in the mirror and be brutally honest with your involvement in the situation.
Never be a victim, be the HERO in your story.
Pricing:
- 4 sessions per month = $240/mo
- 8 sessions per month = $420/mo
- 12 sessions per month = $600/mo
- Individualized DIY workout program = $179/mo
Contact Info:
- Website: https://force3fitness.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/force3fitness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/force3fit
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@force3fitness
