March 27, 2017

Meet Matt Bahntge of FightFit Personal Trainers in Westside Los Angeles

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Bahntge.

Matt, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I first found wrestling in my search for competitive combat sports in 2000 at 14 years old. Unsatisfied with wrestling and intrigued by the up and coming sport of MMA, I migrated disciplines and began training in Muay Thai, Boxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Ohio at the age of 17. A passion for competitive MMA grew into a move to Los Angeles to pursue the sport as a career.

Since arriving in Los Angeles in 2004, I’ve garnered a total of 10 wins and 4 losses in amateur and professional MMA competition while earning my BA in Psychology from UCLA. I have taught everyone from professional fighters to law enforcement at gyms such as Werdum Combat Team, PKG, Hollywood BJJ and have built a system that makes it easy for anyone to train like a pro.

I started FightFit Personal Trainers with the realization that individuals could really only learn so much in a group setting. My business is now exclusively private and semi-private training that caters to the needs and schedules of our clients. I and the other trainers I employ train people the only way we know how – like professional fighters.

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?
The hardest stumbling block for me was retiring from MMA competition because I had to give up something I loved. Injuries and concussions are guaranteed in a professional fighting career, and when my undefeated streak ended after a major knee surgery, my perspective and priorities had to adjust accordingly. In retrospect though, I’m glad I retired when I did. Injuries build up to the point where they will cripple you if you don’t take a step back and realize when it’s time to make a change. Now I get to enjoy the sport and help others enjoy it every day with no more threat of injury, and it’s really wonderful.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the FightFit Personal Trainers story. Tell us more about the business.
Getting in better shape, losing weight, building muscle and anything else to do with improving your body all require one thing: using your body. This is the hard part about fitness, finding a way you enjoy using your body. For some people it’s going to gym, lifting weights and running on a treadmill. For the people we train, it’s Muay Thai and boxing. Having fun is the most important and most overlooked key to a good workout and not only do we give people an intense workout, but they learn a real, useful and physically demanding martial art in the process.

Beyond the intense workout, we teach the intricacies of Muay Thai, kickboxing and boxing – technique work, pad holding, partner drills, throwing combinations and eventually sparring. It is *impossible* to train in this sport and not get a good workout.

In addition to all this we use functional and fun equipment to round out the conditioning: ropes, ladders, medicine balls, bands and, most importantly, peoples’ own body weight. Every workout is a challenge, and no two sessions are the same.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck might be present in the unpredictability of meeting new people. We’re always encountering different individuals, every day from all over the city (and the world considering how many people come through Los Angeles); and it’s just impossible to know who is going to open doors change your life in some other drastic way, and who is going to just pass through it. But luck doesn’t matter if you’re not ready to handle what it brings you, so I try to stay open and friendly with that in mind.

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