Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlie Dannelly II.
Charlie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Feelings and stress are part of our connection with gravity. The earth exists because of gravity. Everything we are is because of gravity. We have evolved into the beings we are by adapting to the universal, gravitational force as defined in the laws of physics. NASA scientists, the experts on gravity, have explained how gravity effects our muscles and bone growth and even our blood regulation. We’d lose five percent of our muscle mass every week and one percent of our bones density per month if we didn’t move through the forces of gravity. These same experts have also explained that gravity is not just a force but a signal that tells the body how to act. Although scientists are still exploring how this signaling transpires to make us stronger, they just know that it does. The fact is gravity exists to help us get stronger, evolve, and succeed!
So how is gravity relative to your life as a whole and to living a life of wealth? It is my belief that if we use gravity to our best advantage, we can learn to adapt and further our own personal evolution and have the life we desire. You’ll see, in your own fitness mind, how gravity is important for you to get better and better at everything. The more weight you move or the more times you exercise, the stronger you get. Period. And in life, this same principle applies.
In fitness, using gravity will increase your ability in the adaptation process. In other words, when you work out there are two things that your body will use: oxygen and energy. Whether you are doing cardio, lifting weights, or any other form of exercise, you are moving through and against gravity, pushing and pulling away from that which pushes, pulls, weighs, or stresses you. It is then when you apply this movement combined with the alternate definition of gravity which is the severity or desire of something, that occupies your mind, that you can begin to use that exerted energy to become stronger, more agile, and more adaptable in all areas of your life.
Therefore, in a fitness mind that is pulling, pushing, and moving weight through gravity, whatever weighs heavily on your head, heart, and body will lead you to success.
This concept is not to be confused with the metaphysical law of attraction. However, I am using gravity in its terms of physics with mass combined with its literal meaning of attraction. In the law of attraction, to put simply, you are drawing to you something in which you dwell on most profoundly. And in this law, you control what you attract.
Gravity is factual and scientific, physically attracting mass to mass. However, once you’ve drawn that thing, that goal or desire, through the law of attraction, there will still be challenges, struggles, tests, trials, and situations, i.e. “your gravity,” that you will have to work through to achieve more success and further goals.
When we have a challenge or a stressor, that is the gravity in its metaphorical sense that pulls on us constantly and to varying degrees. This is where gravity in terms of physical mass is met. This gravity will pull you to a person, place, and/or thing in which you’ll use to improve yourself and your situations, and that is where the work begins. That is where you begin to chart your course to succeed. At times, we are drawn to each other because of our feelings and explore emotions. For instance, we are drawn to the gym or a health regimen because of gravity’s pull on our physical body and our mental state. We all have different reasons to deal with its force, but two things are certain: gravity is constant, and it is variable in its intensity based on the weight of the mass or the situation.
Every situation in life is a weight that you have to lift. Every problem is a weight that you have to lift. Every need is a weight that you have to lift. Every goal is a weight that you have to lift. Life is a workout. Every day is a training session, and every decision is a repetition in a set in the exercise of life. And what’s so great is that every effort, no matter big or small, is rewarded!
Many people, when faced with tough times, think it is a test from someone or something greater. In fitness, that “something” is the gravity in you. When you start pulling away from it instead of letting it pull on you, you get stronger and stronger until one day, you pull through and break free. The severity no longer has a hold on you, and facing that situation is a nonissue. You’ll feel free as though soaring through space and time with very little effort. Then, by maintaining your strength or only making little adjustments here and there, you’ll start experiencing happiness and satisfaction in your universe. In my new book, “Power of The Fitness Mind”, I will reveal strategies to help activate your strength in your spirit, mind, and body through fitness. My hope is that you’ll never approach your workout regimen the same as you have before.
Helping you to stay consistent. I always believed I had a calling for fitness. As an early teenager, I began weight lifting thanks to a Charles Atlas comic book ad. During that time, I convinced my father to buy me a set of weights. The discipline of fitness wasn’t an academic course in grade school at the time, so I proceeded to find and educate myself on the subject with as much effort that was required to study and pass courses in school. My exercise routines started with the basics like jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, and running. I always felt great after a workout. My results were good, but I wanted more. I went on to play football for high school then track and field in college.
Upon graduation, I immediately enlisted in the United States Military. The physical discipline I learned there still sticks with me today. However, having exited from the military, I had not decided on a career path. After confiding in my cousin Jackye, who knew my affinity for fitness, she suggested that I take a closer look at working in a health club. While driving down Interstate 10, I saw a sign. The sign said, “Family Fitness: Now Hiring.” I proceeded to that location where I was told that if I was hired, I could use the gym for free. I filled out an application and was hired.
During my six years working at Family Fitness in the 1990’s, I worked as a sales rep, talking thousands of people into joining the fitness revolution. I convinced them that getting in shape would be the best thing for them and their families. I was so good that I made General Manager in less than a year.
As GM, I noticed that our fitness assessment and workout programs were minimal at best. Members had more questions about weight loss, strength training, exercise technique, and how to stay motivated, and the idea of a personal trainer did not even exist at the time. So I took to the idea of training some of our sales staff to receive exercise class certifications to validate their interaction with the members.
I also convinced the gym owner to implement a one-on-one training session with members for a fee, so they could get the missing elements of training, giving them the attention they needed to do more than they would on their own. This one-on-one training helped to develop a relationship with that trainer for inspiration, encouragement, and accountability and gave them someone to trust in. I told my first clients that what they are doing was going to improve their health and even change their lives forever. The implementation was a huge success!
Now personal training is a multimillion dollar industry. I was on the forefront of the American fitness revolution. People were flocking in and searching for ways to become better, stronger, sexier versions of themselves. Americans were seeking to evolve. It’s a time I call, “The Great Search.”
Our culture was becoming more inspired to improve the quality of its existence, to become stronger, defy the effects of age, look better, own a sense of self-pride, accomplish a personal goal that no one could take from them, and strive to feel both dominant and unconquerable. Even health supplements and muscle building supplements were hitting the shelves of stores in record numbers. Companies were experimenting with all sorts of protein combinations.
Bodybuilding had hit the mainstream, and the fitness magazine craze was at an all-time high. Sure, I didn’t realize it at the time because I was so busy, but “The Great Search” proved to create a booming business. It seemed everyone was motivated to get fit! It was then that I started my own personal training fitness company, after another 6 years at Paramount pictures as the director of fitness, and after seventeen years in the business, I’m proud to say I’ve had success and successful clients ever since.
Since becoming a personal trainer, I’ve helped countless people achieve their fitness goals by applying a practice and philosophy that I had been building upon over the years. Training has exposed me to all walks of life, from Hollywood A-listers and professional athletes to Hollywood hopefuls, from industry executives to business professionals and even the average moms and dads of the world. Through this, I learned a wealth of information, including the strength of the human spirit.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My life was pretty good as the director of fitness at Paramount pictures. I was doing what I have always loved. Helping people with fitness. Working with production staff, company executives and movie stars. Keeping them in shape. Providing information that would help them look great and feel awesome. Then 9/11 struck. That changed everything. Paramount decided to tighten up its security and outsourced its services leaving me on the streets. One day I was gainfully employed the next day I was out. I tried for months to get back into corporate fitness and it just didn’t work out. And to make matters worse this happened right after I got married. I’m not one to get down on myself, being ex-military, but that was a pretty hard hit to the chest. With the encouragement of my beautiful new wife, I was able to find direction as an independent personal trainer. I had no clue how I was going to run my business but I had the knowledge to help people get in shape so I started with that. Soon I was able to use some of the business practices I learned from managing mega gym like recruiting new customers for myself and It started working. Now I am back to loving what I do while making a respectable living. My wife and I have a new house and we are on the rise of success.
Alright – so let’s talk business. What should we know?
I am a Degreed Professional Personal Trainer specializing in custom fitness, body contouring, weight loss, bodybuilding, peak strength, and overall wellness and positivity. Patented inventor of the Butt Constructor exercise machine. Empowerment Speaker and Author.
Utilizing the latest, most effective equipment and techniques to increase strength and overall health for elite clientele. Providing one on one personal fitness training at exclusive private gyms throughout Los Angeles and Beverly Hills.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
For those who need a fitness professional in their life. Personal training is your kind of fitness need. If you’re willing to put the time and effort into maximizing your fitness results, and you need that push or don’t want to do it alone. You need the right expert in fitness, health, and diet. And the right equipment (Free weights, machines, everything in between) and the right facility (Personal training only, no crowds, exclusive, comfortable, always clean, well-lit) to partner with you. You’ll get, Personal training, weight loss, custom fitness, motivation, accountability, and proven results. Charlie will also help you shift your focus on fitness and align your mind to achieve the results you so desperately desire.
Contact Info:
- Website: charlietrainer.com
- Phone: 323 739 4348
- Email: [email protected]

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