Leaving a Senior IT Career to Build a Gym: Cory Carpenter’s Leap | SoulSpeak with Donna Karaba

SoulSpeak Episode 4: In this episode of SoulSpeak, we explore what it takes to leave the security of a successful corporate career and follow a deeper calling into purpose-driven work.Donna Karaba speaks with Cory Carpenter, founder of Iron Temple Strength Club, about his transition from a senior technical role in bank IT to becoming a full-time strength coach, gym owner, and entrepreneur.Cory’s journey into strength training did not begin as a passion project. It began through injury, pain, and rehabilitation. After multiple serious leg injuries, including a broken leg, ligament damage, and a mountain biking accident that fractured his tibial plateau, Cory began exploring movement and strength training as a way to support his recovery, regain function, and return to the activities he loved.Over time, that personal recovery process became something more: a calling to help others move better, feel stronger, and reconnect with what their bodies are capable of doing.In this conversation, Donna and Cory explore the internal and practical realities of reinvention: building a bridge from one career to another, managing fear, setting boundaries, creating business systems, protecting relationships, and learning how to keep going when the path is uncertain but deeply aligned.Cory shares honest insights into:✔️ Leaving a secure IT career to pursue purpose-driven work ✔️ Building a business while still working full-time ✔️ The sacrifices, long hours, and personal discipline required during transition ✔️ Finding courage while still feeling fear ✔️ Creating boundaries after saying yes to everything ✔️ Strength training as a path to resilience, confidence, and well-being ✔️ Building community through semi-private training ✔️ Supporting aging, bone health, mobility, and long-term strength ✔️ The role of systems, scheduling, and planning in sustainable entrepreneurship ✔️ Balancing ambition, relationships, self-care, and personal healthIf you’re navigating a career transition, considering entrepreneurship, recovering from injury, or asking what it means to build a life around meaningful work, this episode offers a grounded and deeply human perspective.About Cory CarpenterCory Carpenter is the founder of Iron Temple Strength Club, a strength training studio focused on helping people build resilience, move better, and become stronger in a supportive community environment.Before opening Iron Temple Strength Club full-time, Cory spent approximately fifteen years in IT and network security, ultimately working on a highly senior technical team in the banking industry. His path into strength training began through his own recovery from significant injuries, including multiple leg injuries and a serious mountain biking accident.Through years of personal experimentation, rehabilitation, and study, Cory developed a training approach that emphasizes strength, joint health, movement quality, robustness, and long-term function. His work is especially focused on helping clients build confidence, improve mobility, support bone health, and stay active throughout life.At Iron Temple Strength Club, Cory combines personalized strength programming with a semi-private training model that fosters connection, encouragement, and community.About Iron Temple Strength ClubIron Temple Strength Club is a strength training studio created around the idea that training is more than physical. The name reflects Cory’s belief in the connection between body, mind, and spirit, and in the power of strength training to support not only physical capacity, but also confidence, emotional well-being, resilience, and quality of life.Iron Temple Strength Club emphasizes individualized programming in a semi-private setting. Clients train alongside others while working on their own personalized goals, creating a supportive community where people of different ages and abilities can feel safe, encouraged, and inspired.The gym’s approach focuses on:• Strength and muscle development • Joint health and movement quality • Bone health and healthy aging • Resilience and robustness • Movement quality and everyday function • Community, consistency, and long-term progressCory’s mission is to help people move better, feel better, and continue doing the activities they love.Resources MentionedIron Temple Strength Club    https://www.irontemplestrengthclub.comMedical DisclaimerThis episode is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before beginning a new exercise program or making decisions related to injury, rehabilitation, or medical conditions.About Donna KarabaDonna Karaba is an executive coach and host of SoulSpeak: Where Purpose Meets Presence. After two decades in enterprise technology leadership, including managing global accounts at Applied Materials and leading worldwide strategic alliances at Sun Microsystems, she pivoted into executive coaching.For more than twenty years, she has coached C-level executives, founders, and leadership teams navigating growth, reinvention, and change. Her work explores the intersection of authentic leadership, alignment, and purposeful transformation.