Meet Kevin Kreider

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Kreider.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was a shy, introverted, skinny Korean adopted kid growing up in Philadelphia, to an international model, lifestyle coach who focuses on helping clients with their personal growth, and fitness expert being featured in various magazines and articles such as the Huffington Post and the Men’s Health Big Book of Exercise.

I immediately felt like I was different and felt out of place growing up and remember wanting to be anything but Asian. I grew up with a ton of self-hatred and inferiority complexes. I was always made fun and bullied for being Asian, hearing things like “ching-chong,” “chinaman,” and “bruce lee” all the time.

I was rejected by girls because I was Asian, and even by Asian girls, so I developed a fear of people. I started to get into changing my body from skinny to winning natural bodybuilding competitions, deciding to take actions and my destiny into my own hands. I worked hard and tried everything I read to get the body I always dreamt of, and this was before all these great online educational platforms.

I became a trainer to a future model named Parker Hurley, a good friend of mine and he was named People’s Magazine’s sexiest model of the year in 2014, but before that, I was in Men’s Health Magazine, and we both encouraged each other in our modeling careers. I decided I wanted to become a fitness model, and also dropped a few pounds of muscle to fit into clothes, giving up bodybuilding for a while.

After a few years in NYC, fighting the stigmatism of Asian men in fitness at the time (because many Asians believed that it was a white western thing and that we were being whitewashed), I wasn’t booking jobs, was depressed, anxious, broke, and turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain and emotions.

It was all too much, and in 2012, I lost most of my hair from a condition called “Alopecia Areata” an autoimmune disease that gets triggered through stress, and you lose your hair. I was defeated and lost my identity. I then decided to skateboard across America, trying to find a soul searching experience, and found none… then I stayed in Philadelphia after getting kicked out of the house by my dad and owed him money, and credit card company 15k plus, and decided to get back into health, fitness, and sobriety.

This changed my life forever and I was able to get a start booking modeling jobs more consistently, get out of debt, build an online presence and brand, to help other’s who felt like I felt, to get past their challenges through a more mindful fitness approach using steps I’ve learned through sobriety, nutritional wellness, and my life experiences.

This part helps people grow in their lives and excel in their personal success, and then the grooming is a more holistic and more minimal approach to styling and looking their best. Yes, I’m a model, yes, I love to help others feel their best and part of that is looking their best. And yes, I’ve learned the skills to help others help themselves through fitness and lifestyle modeling.

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?
It has not been…I’ll bullet point the struggles along the way…

Asian identity and not fitting in:
-Self-hatred
-Depression
-Anxiety
-Alcohol and prescription drugs that were supposed to medicate my anxiety and depression.
-Homeless skateboarding for three months across the country.
-Credit card debt after having a successful personal training business.
-Alopecia Areata.
-Take pro hormones and compete and bodybuild with the pros or stay natural and not have the same careers and exposure.
-Last Breakup with an ex.
-Skateboarding 3200 miles across the USA from LA to NYC.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I specialize in helping people help themselves, but more specifically, in their personal growth and confidence while providing strength and hope. I do it through nutrition, movement, and behavioral changes. Because I’ve been fitness/lifestyle model my whole life, I’ve specialized in using the skills and talents learned from the career and my own personal experiences in sobriety, in helping others in personal growth and confidence. I’ve started to help provide strategy for personal brands to stand out and tell their stories on social media.

What I’m most proud of as a company is when I clients text me how much it’s changed their lives, and how they can stand up for themselves now. When I watch them grow their careers from performing in weddings to hundreds, and even thousands of people. To listening to how their relationships with family and dating have transformed and they are happy and never thought it was possible.

It’s when I see how much I’ve changed, my peace of mind, my energy, the light behind my voice and eyes, and when I see it in others who I’ve coached and helped through either my own personal coaching or online courses, that it lights me up because I really become more confident in that 1.this stuff really works and 2.The pain that I went through was the lesson, and I get to share it with others.

What sets me apart from others is that  implement the principles of the 12 step program to help people live a more meaningful, direction-oriented life.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was quiet. I rarely spoke in high school, I was the last person who wanted to speak. I remember during Quaker School at Penn Charter in Philadelphia, we had meeting for worship where once a week, the whole high school would sit in silence, and you could stand and share whatever what was on your mind. I didn’t stand once for four years, and now, I can’t wait to speak and share in front of a crowd of people.

The bigger, the better. I had a difficult time getting girls attention and dating growing up. I didn’t even lose my virginity until 21. Now, finding dates isn’t difficult, guys and girls are attracted to me, and I’m loving who I am more and more than ever. I was skinny, had no coordination, was called names, and now I’m an international model, recognized even in South East Asia, and guys want my lifestyle and to be more like me.

I was called a mental midget growing up, and now I’m smarter than other and people come to me for advice and information. I was into comic books and magic the gathering before it was cool and even drew comic books growing up. Now I just want to play a superhero in a Marvel movie just once. I know it doesn’t take many lines to learn or dialogue, you just have to move around and look cool. I want that just once!

Pricing:

• Online courses for fitness and nutrition range from $49-$97
• Personal Coaching is $200 a session and comes in packages

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kevinkreider.com
• Email: coaching@kevinkreider.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevin.kreider/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.taejin
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/c/KevinKreider

Image Credit:
K29style – Kien Chan, Dennis Kwan

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