February 12, 2019

Meet Josh and Haydee Graves of Fitness on Fire

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh and Haydee Graves.

Josh and Haydee, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Josh and I met at 24 Hour Fitness in 2007. I was working the front desk, and he came in as a member. He was friends with my friends from Cal State Fullerton. A month later, Josh was recruited to become a Sales Counselor at my location.

A month after that, we started dating! Josh and I progressed our careers within 24 Hour Fitness over the next eight years. During that period, we got married in 2013 and on our Honeymoon in Costa Rica, we knew if we wanted to live the lifestyle we’ve dreamed of, have kids, buy a home, etc., we had to do put our live’s in our own hands and create something bigger than ourselves.

In 2014, Josh decided to leave 24 Hour Fitness and start Fitness on Fire. He started off by renting space at a local studio. Six months later, he signed the lease to our brick and mortar in January 2015. I decided to leave 24 Hour Fitness February 2015 and join him on this venture.

We started off with a 1,500 square foot facility with a TRX frame, dumbbells, kettlebells, and two treadmills. We are a Personal Training Studio focusing on everything functional fitness; essentially teaching people how to move better, feel better, and live a good quality life. We are now a 6,00 square foot facility and offer Private, Semi-Private, Group Classes, and Spartan Race Training.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Struggle #1: When we both left our stable income, we knew we would not be able to afford to live on our own while we built our business. We moved in with my parents and moved back into my childhood room. We lived with them for three years, but that allowed us to get back on our feet, so we are extremely grateful.

Struggle #2: Josh and I had always understood the same language when it came to our professional lives from working at 24 Hour Fitness together. Our careers have taken us to different clubs throughout the years, but we’ve always been able to connect and talk about our victories and struggles and help each other in that aspect. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows working with your spouse, and we don’t always see eye to eye.

He calls me “the wet blanket” but I call him the same LOL. We spend A LOT of time together. Sometimes we forget we are two separate identities, but it’s hard to realize that sometimes when you just focused. We believe it’s very important to have two identities and understand that what he likes doesn’t have to be what I like and be okay with comprises.

We’ve also learned that we are not only business partners, but lovers as well. Separating the two isn’t easy at times and requires intentional action. We read “The Love Dare” every night, actively love each other, and always respect each other.

Struggle #3: You don’t know what you don’t know. We’ve learned to be humble and ask questions when we need help. Seek masterminds, networking groups, etc. Surround ourselves with individuals and entrepreneurs who know more than we do.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Josh and I met at 24 Hour Fitness in 2007. I was working the front desk, and he came in as a member. He was friends with my friends from Cal State Fullerton. A month later, Josh was recruited to become a Sales Counselor at my location.

We have three main missions:
1. Coaches Matter. We want to provide careers for Personal Trainers because they make such a big difference in people’s lives! They deserve to live the lifestyle they want while doing what they love to do.

2. Self- Development. You only go as far as you grow. Self-development practices and books such as “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” “Think and Grow Rich,” “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” etc. have gotten us to where we are now. We are firm believers that how you treat your health and fitness is a direct reflection of how you treat your life. Teaching people basic principles in this spectrum helps them in every area of their life.

3. Community: We only have 1 rule at Fitness on Fire: “Everybody Loves Everybody,” and we NEVER start anything until everyone gets to meet. This rule has gelled our community and has created a culture that welcomes all levels of fitness where people can feel safe and welcomed.

People seek us for Spartan Training and it that has really set us apart from everyone else. When we first opened, one of our clients told us she wanted to complete her “Spartan Trifecta.”

We had NO IDEA what she was talking about but wanted to help her with this specific goal. We did our research and decided that if we were going to help her, we had to understand what she would be doing. So Josh and I decided to fly to San Francisco and do the Spartan Stadium Sprint.

WE WERE HOOKED. We completed our trifecta that year, she completed her trifecta that year and convinced a handful of our clients to do the same. We slowly added all the obstacles you would see at the Spartan Race, and it immediately started to gain traction.

Three years later, we’ve expanded our location twice, have put over 300 athletes through a Spartan Race and are now people seek us specifically to train for this race that has taken over the fitness community.

Now Spartan Racing is not all we train for. About 60% of our clients seek us for everything else health and fitness. Most of the time when they accomplish their goal, whether it be weight loss, strength gain, corrective exercise, etc. – because we meet with our clients frequently and harness the idea of “self-development and goal setting,” they create new goals to accomplish. Sometimes it’s their first 5k, powerlifting competition, the list is endless!

We offer Private Sessions, Semi-Private Sessions, Group Classes, and Open Gym. We have eight Coaches, three First Impression Specialists, and one Massage Therapist. All of our Coaches are Nationally Accredited and have specific niches to tailor to every type of goal.

What were you like growing up?
Haydee: Growing up, I was very athletic and loved being outside and creating. I was an only child growing up, so my imagination was endless. I grew up watching basketball, specifically The Lakers, with my dad and never missing a game. I thought I would grow up to be in the WNBA.

I stopped growing height wise in 6th grade, that’s when I knew my dreams of that were over lol. I went to an All-Girl Catholic High School called “Rosary High School” in Fullerton and went to “Cal State Fullerton” where I received my BA in Business Marketing.

Josh: As a kid, I had a huge imagination. Love to pretend I was a superhero and the whole world was my playground. Climbing trees and jumping fences always had to be a part of my superhero origin story.

I also loved to draw. Play with action figures and build LEGO sets. As I got a little bit older, I started collecting comic books, and Pokémon cards. It wasn’t until 7th grade when all my friends started disappearing to go to football practice that I decided to try out sports.

At that time football became my new obsession. I committed to myself that I would play at the college level or better. That obsession kept me focused on good grades and helped me to avoid drugs and alcohol. My new love for exercise and strength eventually led me down a career path in the health and fitness industry.

Pricing:

30 Day Personal Training Experience: $129 (includes 1 Private Session, 2 semi-private sessions, and unlimited group classes

Contact Info:

Address: 1350 Reynolds Ave. #105 Irvine, CA 92614
Website: www.fitnessonfireoc.com
Phone: 949-502-5815
Email: haydee@fitnessonfireoc.com

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.