Ep.16 - Miguel Aguilar of Self Made Training Facility

Through his construction and real estate background, whether weightlifting or in business, Miguel Aguilar is someone who has never stopped building. Now, with what could be the largest training facility in the United States at 18,000 sq ft, Self Made Training is proof of how establishing concrete foundations can lead to huge creations.                      Miguel starts his story with three hard-hitting words: abandoned, homeless and broke. His mother abandoned him when he was 12 years old, leaving him with an alcoholic, drug addicted father who soon became incarcerated. From there, Miguel and his brother were kicked out at 16-years-old by their step-mother. It's this hard start to life that left Miguel with the determination to overcome circumstances out of his control and accept responsibility for barriers to success that he himself has caused since.                    On a fitness front, wrestling was Miguel's family, keeping him away from the depths of the dark side before getting into the construction industry to put his work ethic to good use. Literally and metaphorically, Miguel wrestled to win. He soon moved on from his construction path and into real estate and it wasn't long before he was selling 98 homes in a year.  Now, as founder and CEO of Self Made Training Facility in California, Miguel invests his time and efforts towards the company he's built to ensure that his personal training staff members are successful in their own business ventures as well, giving them flexibility and entrepreneurial opportunity with clients in the Self Made family.  The Self Made Training business began as a creation in Miguel's garage. This is a theme that's continued through to the success we see today, in expansive fitness spaces that are very high end but stick with that garage feel. Through Instagram and Facebook, Miguel blew up engagement to create a movement that grabbed attention and cemented Self Made Training in the fitness industry. Within six to seven months of being fully functional and fully staffed, Miguel had his investment back and started to research if the model would work in another location 25 miles away. Today, over 90 personal trainers take to these non-membership gyms with a sales-free approach on high-end equipment that has motivation at the heart of everything they offer. In the company's own words… Self Made Training Facility has the tools you need to be a champion.   Episode Highlights:  How to overcome dark times and real challenges, plan your professional life and then have the courage to try something completely new. Use what you're good at to model your approach in everything else you do. This way, you can take inspiration and advice from a way of thinking that you may have previously discounted as being totally unrelated. Why it's important to give your PTs and self-contracters the flexibility to run businesses in the way they want to, and how this entrepreneurial approach brings big returns. How etiquette and understanding allows every division of a company to operate whether professionally speaking, or physically when sharing the same space for different goals.   Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Miguel Aguilar of Self Made Training Facility… Please like and subscribe.