Today's guest is Joshua Ford, CEO and co-founder of HipTrain. Joshua and his trainers work to make personal trainers accessible to everyone so that your health can be a priority again.
In our conversation today, we'll cover some of the key concepts behind the work at HipTrain such as having a personal relationship with your trainer and beating the guilt that comes with "falling off the wagon." Joshua's approach is highly personalized for each client because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for every health goal.
Try out HipTrain for a week free when you list Magic as your referral at https://hiptrain.com/
Today's guest is Joshua Ford, CEO and co-founder of HipTrain. Joshua and his trainers work to make personal trainers accessible to everyone so that your health can be a priority again.
In our conversation today, we'll cover some of the key concepts behind the work at HipTrain such as having a personal relationship with your trainer and beating the guilt that comes with "falling off the wagon." Joshua's approach is highly personalized for each client because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for every health goal.
Try out HipTrain for a week free when you list Magic as your referral at https://hiptrain.com/
Welcome back to a Magical Life. I'm your host, magic Barclay, and today Joshua Ford joins us. Joshua is the c e o and co-founder of Hip Train as the son of two teachers, he's passionate about creating more affordable and accessible services for people of all income levels. Prior to starting Hip Train, he was an early employee and served for three years as Head of Global Business Development at Candid, which is a venture backed company focused on making oral healthcare more accessible and affordable. He previously led strategic partnerships in Latin America for Uber. He also worked with the White House. He worked for FIFA, both in South Africa and Brazil. With I B M Endeavor and the Gap partnership. He has served on the board of trustees for Hobie, which is a youth leadership group, and so much more. I could keep reading this bio. Joshua has done so much. So, Joshua, welcome. You have done so much at such an early age. Tell us like, how did you get into all
Joshua Ford:
of this? Well, I like, I like you already magic. because it certainly doesn't feel like I, I'm, I'm at an early age, but I appreciate it and, you know, I think for me, I've, I've always been someone who is innately curious. I love. Sprinting down rabbit holes and, throwing myself into, you know, I've, I've never really tiptoed myself into anything. I've, I've kind of thrown myself into the deep end and figured out how to swim, uh, or hopefully figured out to swim in time, before I drown.
Magic Barclay:
And tell us a little bit about hip train. Like how did you start this? How did you get into this?'cause I think this is just such a fantastic initiative.
Joshua Ford:
Well, thank you. So, hip train, uh, at its core, hip train is a marketplace to better yourself. And so we wanted to make having a personal trainer, uh, a meditation coach, a yoga instructor, um, affordable for everybody. And quite frankly, the status quo was that it wasn't affordable. And, um, you know, we didn't invent. One-on-one personalized training, right? That's been around for decades and decades and decades. And if you're a movie star, a, a billionaire, a a famous person, you've taken advantage of that. But people like my parents who are school teachers just could never afford having a personal trainer. And so what we did with hip training say, how do we deliver this incredible movie star experience to normal people? Um, and so we created hip train. And, um, we're really excited. You know, we've done about 15,000 sessions, in just our first year alone, and we have yet to complete a full year. so we, we are, really excited to, to keep growing and, and keep offering hip train to,
Magic Barclay:
to folks out there. I think that's absolutely wonderful. Now, that's going to lead us into our first question, and that is, what can your expertise do to accelerate health, not just the physical, but also emotional and spiritual health?
Joshua Ford:
Yeah. Well, I think that one of the things that I'm really excited about in the world is people really thinking about their health in a much more holistic way. Right? And so I think traditionally people looked at health predominantly in, in the physical, right? Um, and I think people are realizing that, that there are so many more components to it and they all feed into one another. And so one of the things that as we built hip train, when we first started hip train, All we offered was one-on-one personal training. Right? And that's everything was kind of focused on, on the fitness aspect of, of your health. And what we quickly saw was that that wasn't enough. People loved it. But they were asking for more. And so, um, we added yoga and, and then we added meditation. And we, we kind of realized is, as human beings we're constantly kind of in and out of equilibrium. And so, we've got to deal with all components and all pillars of health. And, um, a a lot of people unfortunately get into these vicious cycles where they may be in a bad spot mentally, and then that. Gets them to, you know, they start eating poor and then they stop working out and they just kind of fall off the train. And then, you know, our job and, and what we really try very hard at is how do we start making virtuous cycles, right? And, and make things that, you know, you're taking care of yourself and you are carving out time for yourself. And a big part of hip training is just finding time to spend 30 minutes or an hour. Your trainer, right? And saying, Hey, I'm actually not gonna clean the house, or I'm not gonna do more work or play with the kids, or, you know, whatever that is. and just take some self care and some self love.
Magic Barclay:
I love that. And as someone who's recently fallen off the wagon of going to the gym, That is really resonating with me because sometimes you can get bogged down in life and then as humans, we beat ourselves up about that and then we kind of feel ashamed to get back on the wagon. So I love that you've got that accountability.
Joshua Ford:
Yeah, totally. And, and look like I'm not immune to it either, right? As the c e of this business, I, I have these like peaks and pits where, you know, I may have suffered a, a small little injury and so then I take a week off and during that week all I did was eat pizza and then I feel bad and then, you know, I'm stressed and then, you know, you just get in this vicious cycle. And so, you know, one of the things that you just said is, is that accountability and, and so the model that we have is that you work out with the same coach, with the same trainer every single time, and so you really develop this relationship and what happens is you actually end up showing up. Not necessarily because you wanna work out or you wanna do a meditation session or you wanna do yoga, but because you have a relationship, a social relationship with your coach, and you don't wanna let them down. And that's one of the, like the primary indicators when we did all this research on how do we keep people in these positive cycles. It's that social relationship, right? It's not willing to let down someone who's become much more than just a trainer. They've, they've really become a friend to most of our,
Magic Barclay:
clients. That's great. Now, look, we talk about wealth here as well, and many people see wealth just as financial wealth, but you can have personal wealth, emotional wealth, and also obviously we know that health is your wealth. So what are your top three tips to creating wealth?
Joshua Ford:
Yeah, it's a great question. I, I think one is, is fine. What makes you happy? I know, I know that sounds. kind of very rainbows and butterflies, but, but ultimately, finding what makes you happy. Whether, whether that's, you know, waking up early and, and carving out an hour before anyone else bothers you and, and have time for a nice cup of coffee and read the newspaper, or whether that's spending time with loved ones or traveling or cooking or whatever. That thing that kind of gives you joy, I think. One, one of the crazy things about humans is that we have a real propensity to not do what we love. Right. And, and I've never really understood it. And again, I, I'm, I'm putting myself in this bucket. for me personally, I love to read. Right? It's, it's probably the one thing that I like more than anything else. It's just to go find 30 minutes and read. And it's amazing to me how many days in a I can go without doing that. Right? And, and so I think the first thing is, is finding something that you really love and. Really holding yourself accountable to do that. I think the second thing is, you know, surround yourself with people who are supportive of you and who, who make you better, right? I think a lot of people have heard this before, but you really are the sum of the five or 10 people that you spend the most time with. And so, you know, if you want to better yourself, I think you wanna find people who are going to be positive influences in you and who genuinely care about you and take. Pride in the, the things that you do really well and, you know, fuel your pain when of the things, you know, if you get sick, they, they're there for you. And if you have a big triumph that, that they're triumphing with you and they're celebrating with you. Um, so I would say number two is, is create the right community and the right kind of network with people. And then I, I think three is, take care of your health. Right. And you said this, but at the end of the day, I think a lot of people. Nearly kill themselves working. Right? And, and they build this massive financial wealth at the end they would do anything to buy back their health. Right? And unfortunately, it just doesn't work like that. Um, and so I think just taking care of your, of your health and, you know, maintaining, good habits, you know, eating well, exercising a couple times a week, you know, doing some meditation, and just making sure that, Not only can you live longer, but the years that you have are quality years. And I think that that's something that you'll start to hear a lot more of is it's not just the length of your life, but it's the quality of those years. And so, you know, you may live up 70 years old, but if the last 30 years you were sick and ill and in and out of, um, the hospital and, and develop some bad habits. You know, your quality of life just isn't there. And so, um, I think the third thing is just making sure that you take care of your health and really just invest in that. And, um, that will open up doors for wealth. And I think if you're unhealthy, it's really hard to build wealth, if you're constantly having health issues.
Magic Barclay:
I love that. Look, we talk about weight loss here because many of us have battled weight or still continue to do so that something can go up and down. And I know for myself. I dropped a whole lot of weight because I was training really hard and an injury happened, and illness happened and you know, so the kilos came back. Yeah. So have you ever battled your weight? If so, what was that like for you and what can you offer the listeners who are on this journey?
Joshua Ford:
Yeah. Well, well I laugh because I think I battled my weight every day. And I, and I don't say that in jest. I think, um, you know, I, I am, um, a classic yo-yo, right where I will. Put on weight quite easily and, and then, you know, work really hard, but also get weight off pretty easily. And that's been really the story of my life since I was 12, 13 years old. Right. So this is not, uh, in the last decade or the last two decades. Right. It's, it's been something pretty constant for me. Um, and, and just like you, magic, I think a lot of it has come from kind of innocent things, right? You sprain an ankle or you. get plantar fasciitis and you can't do something or you, you know, you have some health issue or you're traveling a lot, or you're working a lot, and so you kind of accidentally start to put on pounds and again, it, you, you get into these vicious cycles. so I think the first thing is, Not being ashamed. Right. Because I think a lot of people feel, and I'm talking from personal experience too, right? A, a deep shame and it can be embarrassing to, you know, you look at photos and if you look at photos from me and once period, and then six months later it's almost, you're like, oh my gosh. Like what? You know, there's a, a 10 kilo difference, right? And, So I think the first thing is, is to not be ashamed, but, I have found personally, one of the things that really helps me is, is finding accountability partners that are friends, right? Whether that's doing weight loss challenges with them, whether that's sharing, you know, your workout regimen or what's your plan on your plate or, I do find that, Just keeping a food journal right, in general is a really healthy thing and um, it can help you reduce kind of unnecessary snacking. And the bottom line I think is everybody has their own metabolism. Everybody has their own kind of ways. You know, there is a isn't when it comes to health and weight, kind of a one size fits all. Like do this and it will work. Right. I think one of the things, I think that's something that I'm focused on right now is how do you find a sustainable. Way of eating, right? I don't even like using the word diet so much, right? But how do you create something that you can do for the next 40 years, right? And, and do it and not suffer through it, right? Because you do wanna enjoy your life while you've got it, right? And so that just might mean that instead of having, I don't know, cookies or cake every night, you, you say, okay, you know what? I'm gonna give myself two nights a week to, to have that. And, um, or, you know, cookies are the thing that I love more than anything in the world, then that just means that. I'm gonna take the bread off the sandwich and, and not have bread for lunch. and, and just have, you know, the meat of the sandwich or the vegetables in the sandwich. And, um, and, and so I think that like one of the things is, is just trying to find what is something that you can maintain. Um, and, you know, look again, you wanna enjoy it. And so I'm always someone who's a big proponent of if you're on vacation or if you're celebrating something, like, go ahead, like. Don't kind of be so rigid that you can't enjoy it. Um, but just know that, you know, maybe you have one scoop of ice cream and not, not five right? And, and, and everything in moderation. And, but yeah, I mean, I think the bottom line is for a lot of us, myself included, this is a lifelong battle that we'll go in and out and sometimes we'll, we'll look like we're winning the war and sometimes we'll look like we're losing the war. But, um, I think just trying to stay accountable to yourself and. You know, as much as you can bring in other people that will be there for you and trying to build those sustainable habits. And, you know, again, just trying to develop these cycles, right? So, um, I know for me, when I'm working out a lot, I don't want to be heavy, right? It's, it makes my life harder when I'm working out, right? So if I want to go for a jog or if I want to go for a long bike ride, or if I wanna do, you know, play tennis, Well, if I'm carrying around five extra kilos, that's a lot, right? Like, imagine putting a five kilo weight in your pocket and trying to play tennis, right? And it, it, it makes your life a lot harder. And so I think just trying to stay active as much as you possibly can, because I think for me, it's generally when I'm physically inactive that I see weight start to go up. And then as my weight starts to get up, it starts to actually make being physically active far more difficult.
Magic Barclay:
I think that's, you know, quite key there is to realize that it's not a linear journey with your fitness, with your weight, with your health. It, it, none of this is linear. There are peaks, there are troughs, there are valleys, there are, you know, momentous looking mountains to climb. And then there's those moments of calm where everything seems linear. So it's important to not kind of get sucked into that. Everything should be perfect all the time. Ideal.
Joshua Ford:
A hundred, a hundred percent. And I think if you think about just the human journey in, in general, it is exactly that, right? You've got peaks and trus and, and, and it's, you know, if you think about the, the stories that we've all heard hundreds and hundreds of times, you know, the hero, the story is generally not someone who just had an easy life, right? The hero kind of goes through and they've gotta suffer and they've gotta have all this pain to become the hero, right? Somebody who's just had this miraculous life. Isn't that interesting to us, right? We need someone who's, who's kind of been in the, in the lows and then figured it out and, and gotten up in the highs and maybe they fall again. Right? And you know, I think humans particularly love a redemption story, right? Someone who's. Gotten to the pinnacle of whatever it is that they do, and then fallen off that pedestal and then climbed their way back. And, you know, I think it's, it's the same thing when it comes to health and, um, you know, weight and, you know, just making sure that, um, you know, as much as you can, make sure that those peaks and the, and the pits are just, you know, as level as you can possibly get and not as extreme as, gaining 50 kilos and then losing 50 kilos and shocking your system over and over and over again.
Magic Barclay:
Now, before we go on, our listeners love freebies. So what can you offer the listeners and where can they find
Joshua Ford:
it? Sure. Yeah. So we'd love to give everybody a, um, a free week, of training or meditation or yoga, whatever you, you know, whatever makes sense to you. Or if you wanna try a little bit of each, that's totally fine with us too. So, um, you can just go to hip train.com, H I P T R A I n.com. You'll see a big button that says Sign up, uh, and try it out and just click that, fill in your information. Um, just put magic on there as your referral, and we'll hook you up with, with a free week. And, you know, we don't ask for a credit card. We're not gonna, you know, we, we make it totally impossible to charge you for that week, so you don't worry about getting locked into this terrible long term contract. We don't believe in any of that. We're kind of the anti. Jim in that, in that sense. And so, it's kind of a no strings attached offer for you to try it out. And, um, it's also not an offer that you need to take advantage of right now. We hope you do. But if you need to think about it for a couple weeks and you're on vacation or you're whatever, we'll be there for you. And whenever you decide to come on by, we're we'd be happy to help you.
Magic Barclay:
Fantastic. Now, I'm gonna finish this episode here, but I would love you to join me in our next episode because there's Sure. So much we can explore. Excellent listeners, this was your episode 2, 2, 1. Thank you so much for your time. Go forth and create your magical life
