The Wealth Blueprint
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The Wealth Blueprint
Discipline, Legacy, and Living With Purpose – with Brandan Fokken
🎙 The Wealth Blueprint | Episode: Discipline, Legacy, and Living With Purpose – with Brandan Fokken
Hosted by @AddisonThom
In this episode, we sit down with Brandan Fokken—IFBB Pro, entrepreneur, and Shark Tank alum—for a conversation that goes far beyond surface success. From building his brand to leading with faith and presence, Brandan shares the mindset and habits that create true wealth—at home and in business.
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Welcome to another episode of the Wealth Blueprint. Today I have a really special guest, Brandan Fokken.
Brandan Fokken:Brandan
Addison Thom:really changed and transformed my life through health and fitness and he's an extremely accomplished individual on his own. He's been in movies, he's a fitness influencer, he's appeared on Shark Tank, he's appeared on the Titan Games and he's also a business owner, a father and just an overall really good human being that can share some very well thought out insights on how to approach your health, how to improve your life and how to make a difference and an impact in your community. So, without any more further ado, this is our guest, Brandan Fokken.
Brandan Fokken:Turning it down. Turning it down because I'm like I didn't want that image out there, but it was all artistic, it was beautiful imagery, yeah, and the family was like behind it. You know, go ahead and do it. And when my ex was pregnant with my son, I was like you know, I don't know where life goes after this, but so ahead and do it. And when my ex was pregnant with my son, I was like you know, I don't know where life goes after this, but so let's do it.
Brandan Fokken:So I ended up doing it and they're some of the best images I have and they don't show anything right, but I was so calculating of my image, meaning like what I put out there because you know, I was the wellness director for a billion dollar company like I never wanted anything to to damage that or have anything that could damage my credibility to somebody Meaning like I really wanted to help people and I felt like there's something detrimental out there about me. It would hurt me. So I was always careful about those things and in that, you know, so there is.
Addison Thom:There was a little like risk assessment.
Brandan Fokken:Yeah, so in everything. So I always called them the underwear guys. Yeah, early on in social media, all these guys were always posing in their underwear, thinking you know, these photographers were going to get them somewhere, and I was like I'm not, I'm never going to be that guy.
Brandan Fokken:Yeah you know what I mean and it never turned in anything, whereas I was signing relatively big contracts with major companies you know being not so much straight laced because I always had my damn shirt off in pictures, but I was more focused on creating value as opposed to just an image Like I was speaking, I was writing, I was doing articles, I was doing all sorts of stuff to bring value, because I always believed that I wasn't the best athlete, I wasn't the best looking, I wasn't the best looking, but I had a package in totality that really brought it together to create value for companies and that's why I signed so many contracts, beyond networking and whatnot. I was willing to do everything. I wasn't coming in and being like, well, what can you do for me?
Addison Thom:Yeah, you were like the Cal Ripken, you were like the workhorse. Yes.
Brandan Fokken:And I approach business and life like that today, but that's what it was like then. The industry was so different. I came into it right at the right time where opportunities that never existed previously existed and I took advantage of it. I look back in hindsight because I was offered so many other things that I could have done. I wish I would have understood other things like brand creation and stuff like that Trips I could have taken. Like I said, I could have grown my social media. I could have gone to tons of different countries. I could have created brands. I could have done so many things and in hindsight I mean, you could Google me and see a 10th of the things I did and it's impressive to a lot of people. Yeah Right, but it's kind of like the the, the one thing I always say to not do, the uncle Rico syndrome, the only, if you know you can't be the PE coach that tells you every day about how he could have made the big leagues If whatever exactly.
Addison Thom:So looking back on that, you know, 20 years ago, what would you have told yourself? What would you have done different?
Brandan Fokken:You know, when people say you know, if I could go back and I had all the information that I have today, I would do things so much different, right, I always say I would go back and I would just watch, I wouldn't change anything because I'm where I'm at and I'm happy with where my life is today. Of course we could say we want more money or more experiences or whatnot, and I believe, at 45, those are still to come and some of those things you still have to earn and you have to be in the right place at the right time to experience those things. So, from going back and doing it over, I could say, yeah, I wish I would have grown my social media more. Yeah, I wish I would have you know signed with more companies. Yes, I wish I would have traveled more. But where would my life be today? Would I be as happy? Would I be happier? Would I be utilizing those things?
Brandan Fokken:Like I said, I have a following that I don't utilize. I still get to do cool things, you know, and work with big brands. You know, just last week I worked with Hulu and Ariat and a TV show and Fox, you know, last week. So I still get to do things at a high level. But I look at some of the people that I came up with, so to speak, and the time that that part of the industry was really developing and growing and I was a part of it and I'm like I could have done that. You know, I think it's more of a challenge of did I have what it takes to be where they are right? It's not necessarily going back and doing it over, changing anything, it's just asking myself those questions and I think that if you can understand where things are today, you can still create some of those things. It's not not like I'm done.
Addison Thom:It's not like I'm not done improving or growing or developing or doing new things, yeah and so, and what did they sacrifice that you had? You know what that you have? I think that's always like the trappings of life, right, you look back and you're like, oh, I could have done this, could have done that. But like, would you have been the man that you are today? Would you be the father that you are? Would you be the leader that you are? Would you have you know, the perspective that you have and like the, even your self perspective, right, because you can get caught up in that Instagram world or whatever. You sacrifice your family, you sacrifice, you know a lot, so who knows what that path would have been.
Addison Thom:Yeah, it.
Brandan Fokken:There's aspects of that life where you know you lose yourself a little bit because you're so focused on an end goal. You know to have one of the top physiques in the world per se. Or you know compete at the highest level. Or you know getting ready for photo shoot after photo shoot after photo shoot. You know, at the time I was married to somebody that understood that. You know, and we did it together, so it made things easier.
Brandan Fokken:Most people in general don't understand what that life's like. So people that compete or really diet hard or whatnot, because you're so enthralled in it and you're in the middle of it constantly, that's often what you talk about, because that's really all you're doing. It takes up so much of your life. So when you try to talk to somebody that's just living a normal life, you know day to day and you just talk about that over and over and over, they don't want to talk about that anymore. They're like I've had enough of that, I don't want to hear that anymore, you know.
Brandan Fokken:So at those times I had to really find balance in work life, in friendships, in marriage and all those things, because for me, when I'm all in on something, I know you're like this too, when working with you, it's 110%, right, and you have to find a way to mitigate that 110% and put it over here to where you can still get those things done, but you still have to have these other things. You know, and I had to start to develop different habits, for, for instance, I didn't party, I didn't drink, I didn't do any of those things. But I started to set, like lunch dates with friends, right, so I had that social outlet.
Brandan Fokken:You know, I would have dinner with my wife every night, so I had that social outlet. I would have dinner with my wife every night, so I had that time with her. We took walks together. We found ways to make life work where there's some level of normalcy as opposed to chaos. And you see it, especially within the competitive world where these people put everything they have into going pro or after pro, doing pro shows or whatever, and you know there's there's no money in that, like unless you're at the highest level Um, but they put everything into it and they put so many other things at the wayside. And I understand that because I was willing to do whatever it took to and I've trained, you know, hundreds and thousands of people over the years and I've seen so many people lost um with no sense of who they are other than they're defined by I'm a competitor, or I compete, or I'm in the fitness industry or whatever that may be.
Addison Thom:Yeah, you know that's like a common thing with like high achievers. In general though I always referred to it as like my dark passenger of like that part of your brain that you go into where it's like hyper focused, almost like the rest of the world doesn't exist and it's a selfish pursuit, but it gets you a lot of results right, either financially or in business or in the bodybuilding world. But I've, I think, just getting older too and and being around a lot of people that had those same pursuits as me and me going through it personally also of like then you get to the, you reach the kind of the destination that you originally set out for, and then you look around you're're like, oh man, like my whole personality is wrapped up in this pursuit or thing, and there's like a loneliness or like an emptiness that comes along with it.
Brandan Fokken:You know people that compete and I keep using this as a reference they work so hard for an end goal and they work, work, work, work, work, work. And a lot of times I always tell them, like you really need to be aware of the post show, not not the show itself, and they don't realize it until they get there. You know every waking moment is spent eating right and exercising and all these things, and then the show happens and then they're like, well, now what this level of depression hits? Because, well, that was I was defined by that. For the last 16 weeks, every single day, all day, that's all I thought about. And now what? Right, yeah, I don't have a girlfriend.
Addison Thom:I ignored my friend.
Brandan Fokken:So you know you have that part of it and you talk about, you know the dark passenger, so to speak. Unfortunately, my greatest strength and my greatest weakness is I'm never satisfied, like no matter what I've ever achieved. I look at it for what it is and then I move on. It's like you completely forget about all the work and time and everything it took to get there, because once you get there, you're like, well, now, what, right? And so I look at it and I move on. So that's a blessing because it's helped make me successful and and really achieve things, but it's a curse because what's enough? Is there ever enough? Yeah, you know.
Brandan Fokken:And if there's not enough, like well, what's the end goal, what's the end result? What do you end up 80 years old and happy? Yeah, because you've spent your whole life just fixated on what's next. What's next growth, growth, growth. How much money does one need, right? How much of this do you need? How many businesses do you need? And so I'm once on like I I said that's a positive thing having that, but on the opposite side, it's like you're never satisfied. And to know what that is like it's great because you'll achieve something and you appreciate it for what it is. I made myself do that and really look at okay, this has value. I achieved this. I did that, appreciate it for a moment, but regardless of what it's ever been, I was just moved right on yeah.
Brandan Fokken:Yeah, and you know again, like I said, where, where do you end up?
Addison Thom:you know, at the end of the day, Well, I think, that's why it's so important to have like gratitude, because, I mean, I'm the same way and a lot of people are like that, where you accomplish the goal and then it's like, okay, what's next? Or how do I improve You're, you're improving. Like it's like okay, what's next? Or how do I improve, you're you're improving. Like it's like being a Olympic sprinter right, it's like I run the fastest in the world, but I just want to improve the one 10th of the second.
Addison Thom:So, having the gratitude like I got here and then having the gratitude and love of family, which I think is so important, of like that really grounds you, like being appreciative of you know you have a son, I've got daughters of like that's where satisfaction is really apparent in the world. All of the other things are just means of exchange. Money is a means of exchange. Uh, success is a means of like self. You know, grant aggrandizement a little bit, but like what really matters is like you have a kid at home that loves you and looks up to their dad, or you have a wife that loves you, and like you guys are on that journey together and having gratitude for that, even though you're pursuing these other selfish things outside of it.
Brandan Fokken:You know that's true, and when you look at those things too, you you have to ground yourself and bring you back to being present. You know, because it's so easy You're there with your kid, you start scrolling your phone, you start working on something, you're stressed about something, and you know, bringing that home. I've devised, you know, methods for me. You know, I get to work, sometimes four or five in the morning and I'm not done until six or seven or eight at night, and coming home, and I literally have to take a moment to just decompress so I can open myself up to being present, right, because those times are fleeting. You know you have little kids and my son's eight, and if you continue to just let days pass by just to get through, just to get home, put him to bed and then you move on Right, with no real time invested, that'd be one of the greatest regrets I could ever have, sure, is not being there and being present and being a part of it and listening.
Brandan Fokken:He, my son, called me yesterday and uh, yeah, he has a phone and he left me a voice message and was the. He's had a phone for a few months and it's a way for he and I to connect um when he's at his mom's and he said he did his map reading and he was supposed to score like 175 and he scored like 198. Right, and you could hear the inflection in his voice, how excited he was and how proud he was and he couldn't wait to tell me and, uh, I saved that message. I'm like I got emotional, thinking. I'm like man like this is what it's about, Right, right here. It's not about what's in the bank, it's not about this, it's, you know, the work that we put in, day in and day out, at night, reading with him and spending time with him and encouraging him.
Addison Thom:And now he's in a space where he's proud of himself and he can't wait to share it with me you know, and, uh, I look forward to having many more moments like that, um, in the coming years so yeah, and I mean that's so well said, but also, yeah, I mean, just go like when you told that story, you weren't thinking about anything else, or the business that you want to start, or the one that you currently own that you want to improve, right, like that's the gratitude start, or the one that you currently own that you want to improve, right, like that's the gratitude and the aspect that that, I think, really grounds you and makes life worth all the other sacrifice right?
Brandan Fokken:Yeah, I've heard you say many times in the gym, besides cursing me.
Brandan Fokken:Brandon's my trainer, by the way, and he yes yeah, but you've said many times I see I see your, your kids come in and they're so excited to see you and they likely could have seen you an hour before that, but they're so excited to see you and you always walk away after seeing them or your wife and you're like I don't know where I'd be without them or they saved me or whatnot. It's like to look at you and to look at everything that you've done and created and your success and everything else, and to have you every single time I see you around them, state that shows a level of importance of what they they mean to you in your life. So you know, you're a good example to me too. You know, as a parent and, um, because I take that from people, I watch parenting styles, I watch how people interact, I watch people be present and it helps me focus to be a better parent too.
Brandan Fokken:You know what People don't realize that people are always watching right, and you can learn from anybody. You just have to pay attention. And so, within that I you know, never told you that, but I watched that stuff and it's admirable because you're like, I want to create a relationship like that with my family. Yeah, you know where my son sees me and he's excited, and my wife sees me and she's excited. And when they walk away, I'm so proud to be a parent or husband, but also knowing how lucky I am and knowing that I'm on this path in life because they're a part of it you know so um.
Brandan Fokken:So it's admirable man yeah well, I appreciate that.
Addison Thom:I mean, I wasn't always that way and you know you go through those ups and downs with your family and man, I remember, like during COVID, you know, I had to like shut down businesses and I was starting a new business and man, I just there was like probably three, four month period there. I don't think I slept at all. I was like taking Adderall. I wasn't, you know, paying attention to my health. My family might as well have like lived in another town because I was so hyper focused on that.
Addison Thom:And you know you talk about that dark passenger piece of it.
Addison Thom:I mean, that's like all I knew always was just like I have me to rely on and I'm in charge of providing for my family.
Addison Thom:And then I lost the forest, through the trees somewhere and Tracy had to sit me down and she was like I feel I'm just like alone. Your kids don't see you, I don't see you, and that broke my heart but also woke me up at the same time of like man, this is all for nothing. If I can't have this relationship with my wife and be the dad that I want to be to my kids, it's all for nothing. I'll just end up a dirty old man with money in my bank account and no one around that really genuinely cares or loves me. And from that moment on and it didn't happen overnight, but just like day in, day out, just making that effort, like you were saying you come home at eight o'clock, you have to, you know, decompress, but then it's phones down, it's hey, I'm all consumed with my son at this moment and helping them out and I don't know why it's so hard for us to get there or like that. That's not such an obvious thing.
Brandan Fokken:It's an instinct. I mean devices, calls, texts. You know, throughout the day I'm working and I'm working at the same time. I'm working on projects while I'm working on another thing, and so it's second nature to be doing those things constantly and so, and there's always another phone call too.
Addison Thom:Unfortunately, you know, it's not get stops.
Brandan Fokken:The capacity of work is always there. You can always create and grow and develop and create a connection or what you know, whatever it is. You could do that 24 hours a day if you wanted to, but sometimes it just becomes mundane, busy work that you're not really doing anything. You're just going through the motions of going through emails, going through texts, going through this or oh, I forgot to do this or whatnot Things that could wait. I don't like to wait on stuff.
Brandan Fokken:I get anxious if I leave things, so I'm always trying to get two, three steps ahead on stuff, but I found that my level of success and happiness is much better when I do set the phone down, when I do disconnect. All my son wants is for me to be there, that's it. I lay on his bed sometimes and watch him play video games, and then he asked me for vbucks and before you know it, i'm'm spending $40 on fake money so he can buy a skin or whatever it is. But those things matter to him Him asking me something or telling me something.
Brandan Fokken:It's funny you bring this up about your wife and her talking to you, and I went through a phase with that, with my wife too, before we got married she moved here from Brazil to be with me and I had come out of a divorce and I was very guarded and I was very focused on growth and trying to grow business and whatnot. I was very cold and closed off often and she sat me down multiple times and said I just want you to be here, I just want somebody to love me and I want to love them and you know, I want you to be present and you know, I just want you in my life and it took me a while to assimilate to that because I was so wound up, trying to overcome what I felt I lost in divorce.
Brandan Fokken:Yeah, and you know, you talk about saving me Like those are some of the best conversations I ever had At the time. It's uncomfortable, you don't want to hear it, and maybe the first time she said it I was like you know, you bypass it and you start thinking about something else Because it's uncomfortable, you don't want to hear that. You don't want to hear that you're doing a bad job or that you're not connecting right or for what they need. You know her love language is different than mine completely and we found ways to communicate through that and get through that to build a better relationship.
Brandan Fokken:And life's much better today because we can talk about anything and if there is an issue and I had to focus on loving her in the way that she felt loved as opposed to me like I'm a gift giver, right, I'll just buy you something or give you something, and to me I'm like I love you, you know, but to her she's like I just want your time and I want, you know, you to hug me and give me a kiss, at the end of the day, like little things matter to her and for me I'm words of affirmation and unfortunately, based on how I grew up and how I view myself, my cup's always empty. So unfortunately she could tell me something and in the next second I'm like you know, here's the cup again.
Brandan Fokken:But I realize that about myself too, and so does she, so I don't take it too seriously about myself. I get, I get by with very little, if that makes sense in the scope of that Um. But it did start with her having those, those hard conversations with me that got me to open up and realize okay, this is the second part of life, right, this is my do over, so to speak, and this is how it should go. You know Um and, like I said, things have been better ever since.
Addison Thom:That's great. There's a discipline in that too. You know, like you, you're so disciplined in your everyday life and in the gym and how you run your business and everything's scheduled. You know, and there's a discipline in that. But then we forget that like we should be applying that same discipline to our relationships and our kids and like I don't know, I think the biggest mistake I ever made I'm like just thinking about this right now but like the biggest mistake I ever made was like thinking that because I was working so hard and being a good provider, that that would offset the lack of attention or love that I showed to my family Like, oh, she's just complaining about it, but she really likes the house that I bought or the vacations we get to go on, or the you know the handbag she buys, and my kids are going to love the fact that their college has paid for.
Addison Thom:You know you, you make those excuses for yourself and then at the end of the day, you're like I royally screwed that up and all they want is me to be present and be around and be a part of their life. They could care less about the bank account balance.
Brandan Fokken:I always equate that to old people and people like old people. Yes, old people, you ever gone around your grandparents? Yeah, what do they want?
Addison Thom:they just want your time yeah, they just want you to be right yeah, that's it.
Brandan Fokken:Yeah, they don't care about anything else. They don't care about you bringing them anything or cookies or whatnot. They just want you to spend time with them. Yeah, and that's what your family wants. They want the same thing.
Brandan Fokken:You know, and the way I grew up, I grew up with nothing. I didn't have anything, I didn't have nice, and I grew up very poor and dysfunctional, and so for me, it's like I'm giving you all the things that I never had. Why don't you appreciate it? Right, like, why don't you appreciate it Like? I give you everything, to the point where you know my kid will ask me for something like second nature and just assume it, just to show up Right, like, right, that's how things work, with no you know idea what you have to do to make that happen. And I set them up for that, you know, by giving them everything and whatnot. And I won't, I won't discontinue that, um, but you know people will say, okay, you know how do you live? How do you live a life where you raise your family and your children and whatnot, to where they're not, you know, not dysfunctional adults, right, and it's the time piece that matters most. It's not not not not giving them things, because people are like, well, if I don't give my kids anything, they're going to be better adults. Right, I'm like I don't believe that. I believe you can give them everything you never had, but I think you need to be present in their lives. You have to listen to them, you have to guide them, you have to. It's not an exchange for your time. No, yeah, no, the time is what matters most. I think it negates anything you could possibly give them, like buying a new car or whatnot. Of course, growing up the way I did, I think you know he should drive a 1989 powder blue minivan to start, but, but you know that has too many seats in it and then he's gonna be driving his friends around. That's what I did, so it was awesome.
Brandan Fokken:But that's what I'm saying, though. Like I don't think I need to hold back. I'm letting him live a better lifestyle. Like we take a lot of trips, we spend a lot of time together in that manner. He has nice shoes, he has nice clothes, you know he has toys. I Don't overdo it per se in my perspective, but to some who don't treat their children in the same manner, you know they think it's too much Um, but, like I said, I believe I offset that by the time spent with him because I believe he's a good human, I believe he's a good kid, I believe he's appreciative, I believe he's kind and generous and smart and all these other things. And I believe he's a good human. I believe he's a good kid, I believe he's appreciative, I believe he's kind and generous and smart and all these other things. And I believe, as long as I continue to walk that path with him, he's going to end up a decent and good adult that's going to do good things in life.
Addison Thom:Yeah, totally, and that's all that matters at the end of the day, right? It's not the shoes they had when they were eight or the video games. It's like what kind of human are you putting into the world? And I don't know. I've seen you with your son. You're a great dad, he's a good kid. So we're doing something right, by the grace of God. Yes, yes.
Addison Thom:So one thing I'm interested in that we kind of touched on this like a little bit earlier on you like coming up in the fitness industry and the business side of things. In the fitness industry and the business side of things, so much has changed in that industry in my opinion, from like when I was a younger kid, to today. Even in health and wellness of like you know, there's been 90 different crash diets. Since then. There's been a change in you know personalities that people get information from online where, like you know you're you mentioned earlier you're 45, you look 35, but you're 45. You've been in the industry a long time and there's so many people online now that are 22 years old giving fitness advice or like this is what works. Or and the guys like the Michael Hearns, the Jay Cutlers, the they're not the biggest personalities online with all the wealth of knowledge that they have, what, what do you think? That is why? Why are we? Why is it so hard to teach people something? Culture?
Brandan Fokken:Yeah, you know, we grew up in an era where for me to know something, I had to find the biggest guy in the gym and follow him around and bother him. You know, like that's how I I learned. We didn't have computers and all that stuff to teach us. Kids today have such an unlimited amount of information available at their fingertips, and with that comes the ability to skew things too. In the 80s it was like don't eat fat All the way through the 80s. In the last five years years there's been 45 different things that you do and don't do. Right, like creatine is good, creatine is bad, fat's good fast, but like right, everything there's.
Brandan Fokken:People always ask me a question. They'll say well, what's the research on keto? Or you know I'm like well, there's studies that show that the side effect is death, right literally. You can find studies that say that. But then there's other studies that show it's a positive thing and if you're obese, it's the best diet for you, right? So there's always conflicting information out there, right? And it's weeding your way through that to find what's right for you. And again, when you have unlimited information, you know what do you do with it, right?
Addison Thom:And you overanalyze it and then you talk yourself into the next best thing, whenever it comes along.
Brandan Fokken:Well, you overcomplicate it for one and two. You kind of do a lot of. A lot of younger kids today follow people that they look up to, whether it's a Chris Bumstead or Sam Sulik or somebody like that, right, and you know their methodologies. They go into, like I remember when, if it fits your macros was the big thing, right, and I can eat all this ice cream and cake as long as it fits my macros. Yeah, you know there's been a million different things since I got in the fitness industry and it continues to develop and change. And you know big brands don't necessarily make or break the industry anymore, it's more singular entities. There's still big brands and whatnot, but anybody can be famous. Now you know, anybody can be an influencer, anybody can be whatever they want to be, as long as they get your attention.
Addison Thom:That's like the number one thing.
Brandan Fokken:So it becomes down more about a gimmick or marketing or connection than sometimes knowledge. And you know, you've asked me questions about what do I think of this, what do I think of this influencer? And I'm not big on going in front of a bunch of people and saying, well, I believe this, I believe this, I believe this and follow this and follow this and follow this. And in the past I would give tips and ideas and stuff like that and I kept things relatively simple, because there's always somebody there to discredit you and it just causes conflict, right, like, look at all these influencers that are always fighting with each other, especially the ones that know everything. Right, like, yeah, I've got this or I've got that. Or I remember there was an influencer that said some stuff to um, dorian Yates, mr Olympia, yeah, he's like well, under scientific principles, and blah, blah, blah, blah. And dorian's like you know, six time mr olympia, yeah, and he's and he tries to go back at him again he's like six time mr olympia. Right, he's like I did it. Right? So I know, yeah, I don't care what your studies say, right, you know. And so I've avoided that. I don't, I don't want to deal with that. I, I meet people face to face and we find our way through things together. I take every little bit of knowledge that I have with the willingness to continue to learn, develop and grow for that individual to make them their best.
Brandan Fokken:I believe that everybody's different. Everybody reacts different to different things and they react different at different times. You know, some people all of a sudden have an allergy to something, or they react good to this, or they do better with cardio, or they react better to less training or more training, or I think it's an ebb and flow. You know, as a person that had to diet so many times for photo shoots and all the things that I did through fitness and competitions and all that, my body reacted different every single time. I had my body completely stagnate doing the same thing. I did three preps in a row and all of a sudden my body's not reacting to the exact same thing I did every other time and I had to figure it out. It's the same thing with clients.
Brandan Fokken:You know Sam, who you know being one of them. You know she's a top bikini pro and I have in the last five years changed her protocols and programming so much. You look at it today and you look at it where she starts, she's on a completely different program. I mean, the principles are still relatively the same, but how we train, what we train, how we eat, a lot of those things changed as she changed and most often you see people that either one, they give you a protocol or plan that you live every day for the rest of your life and that's what works and you'll always get better off of it, right, because that's what they say. Or you have the people that have an ebb and flow of. Let's take the cumulative knowledge and make proper changes based on how you're changing as you age, as you develop, as this happens, as this ailment hurts you know, your elbow hurts, your shoulder hurts or this because that's what I believe programming is is based on the individual and what you're going through in life at the moment, as you're developing, as you're changing in real time. You know what I mean.
Brandan Fokken:I had a kid that sat down with me and he's training with me now a great kid and great athlete, and he's showing me all this chat, gpt workouts, and he's like, why should I hire you as opposed to just doing this? I'm like, well, that's a great resource and it can mimic this and it can mimic that, and I said, however, it doesn't change things in real time, based on you, right? And after our first workout, he calls his mom and he's like can I do two hours? He's like my workouts before weren't like this hours. He's like my workouts before weren't like this. And that hands-on approach and paying attention to how his body acts and reacts and how it develops and changes often makes all the difference. And same thing with you. The first time we worked out, I looked at you and I'm like you have an imbalance in your leg and you're like really, and I'm like yep, it's right here, and being able to see that, but then correct it in real time.
Brandan Fokken:And now do you have that issue? No, no, because we did the things necessary to correct that. And that's the thing with training in general is that we're all different. It should be a personal thing to us and I don't say a person's right, wrong or otherwise when they're preaching things. Right, I'm open to trying, I'm open to interpreting it and I'm open into implementing it. Let's see if it works and also giving it enough time to see if it works. Sure, you know, because often people are like, well, I did that for two weeks and that didn't work. Well, you know, what do you expect? It was two weeks. Yeah, how long have you been living unhealthy? Like, well, I haven't worked out in three years? Well, okay, yeah, you know, give it some time.
Addison Thom:So, yeah, like treating the patient instead of the disease. Basically.
Brandan Fokken:Yeah, you know, and pay attention to the body and you don't have an agenda.
Addison Thom:That's one thing that I really appreciated about you is there is no agenda other than like my long-term health and longevity and helping me accomplish the goals I want. It's not like this is the Brandon Fokin system that you're just going to follow. The system yeah, you know which a lot of that's like. I feel like there's a lot of the stuff online too, of like this is the way to do it. It's the only way to do it. Do keto Carbs are the enemy. Work out this way, you know it's like very finite and, like you said earlier, all of the people in the world have their own individual code. It's called DNA. Nobody's code is the same as anybody else's, so why the one size fits all thing just doesn't fit.
Brandan Fokken:And me even saying that opens up the door for people to attack me. Yeah, because this way is right or that way is right, or you're full of shit and you don't know anything, right, right, well, I also provide results and I can prove it over and over and over. You know, with you, I watched you from afar for a long time. You know I offered assistance or help, just as a friend. Hey, I can help with this or I can help with that Anytime, just let me know I wasn't asking for anything and that's how I work. I don't do things for people to gain something back. I believe and I shared some of my list with you earlier that I try to create more value in people than I ever take back, and I believe when you do that, you're going to thrive in whatever you do, right. And, of course, you can't continue just to give, give, give, give without other things positively showing up in your life, whether it's business or whatnot. But I believe if you go over and above for a person and really care about what you're doing, whether it's through them or somebody else or whatever, I believe that comes back to you and with you. When you were ready, that door was open and you came over one day and you're like I think I want to do this and I said okay. And then he came back again and he said it again. I said okay, so let's get started.
Brandan Fokken:And we did the things that we did and we developed it and we changed it based on how you were doing and how you're developing, like even your nutrition. I based a lot of that on what you were doing actively at the time and we gradually got ourselves to a place that worked, and the same thing with your fitness. I changed it. This even this last week, and you're like, did you really change something? I was like, yes, we took your day from six to five. We changed the parameters of how we were training based on what your goals were and what I knew already worked for you. Right? So then I took what we knew worked. We pulled that into a much smaller unit and then we expanded on it by adding new things for the goals that you now set for yourself.
Brandan Fokken:And now what do we do? We monitor that in real time to make sure that it's working and if it's not, then we incrementally make those changes. You don't want to just take what we know is working and make a massive change and just assume it's going to work. We pay attention to the little variables too, because I always tell people that it's baby steps. If you're going to do this for a lifetime and if you're gonna do it for the right reasons, you're okay making incremental baby steps over time to success. You know, unfortunately, most people want it now. It's a fast food lifestyle, like I want it now. Yeah, I want to lose 50 pounds. I want to lose this. I had a client the other day sent me a picture and it was him. One year, easter to Easter, he lost 50 pounds and gained muscle. At the same time Looks 15 years younger. His blood markers are fricking perfect and before you'd be like bro, like you're going to live to 75. Maybe, yeah, if you keep on this path, bro, like none of this looks good, right.
Addison Thom:Yeah.
Brandan Fokken:And so to see those things working with the same methodology that I'm I'm sharing, it works, yeah, and the thing is is it's it's different for everybody. Like I said, like a Sam, the way I work with her is different than I work with you. I don't do just one thing. The one thing that if I've done every anything right is that I've paid attention to people and I've learned from people directly what works and what doesn't. That's what. That's what an experiment is right. Like you, try methodologies to see if things work, and I've done that over the course of 25 years. I don't know it all, but I know people and I can pay attention to very minute details that I believe evoke change when you change those things and over time, again, I've been able to prove that. Does that mean that it's in a textbook? Or anybody's going to look at what I say and be like man, that's the Fokken methodology right there. Let's follow that. It's hard to follow.
Brandan Fokken:It is because it's an ebb and flow change based on the individual and it evolves with the person.
Brandan Fokken:It's not a standard set variable that you do for life. It changes with you, with your life, with your routine, with your injuries, with your energy non-energy, because you're working too much travel. It takes the variables of what you do overall and it puts it all together. And that's the other thing with that is, we work on all things. We don't just work on the gym, we talk about meaningful things in the gym, right, that's another part of what I do. Like I call it whole health training. That is what the Foggin Method is. It's whole health training.
Brandan Fokken:It's working on yourself, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, working through problems, being heard, having somebody listen to you, working on the physical aspects through training that is efficient for what you want to achieve, whether you want to be faster or stronger or more cut or more aesthetic or whatever right.
Brandan Fokken:We work on those things. And I also have thoughts regarding that. I get to later. But then it's also worth looking at our hormones and our blood panels and our nutrition and all of those things chiropractic care, massage therapy, all of it as a whole to make ourselves better, because sometimes one variable falls apart. Well, what happens then? Just like in a business, when one thing drops down, the other things have to pick up where it lacks. And so when you do everything as a program and as a whole and have as many things going in a positive direction for you, you're always going to be able to find some level of success or a path forward for you. You're always going to be able to find some level of success or a path forward, as opposed to if you rely on one thing and that falters, you most often fail and you quit.
Addison Thom:Well, that's the thing. I think that's the biggest learning. Like, I've worked out my whole life. I've been an athlete and an accomplished athlete my whole life. Then sports goes away and you don't have anything after that. So I was always in the gym but I was missing all the other things. And I think the biggest thing that I've learned and learned from you is like that whole approach. It's like it's like a wheel with a bunch of spokes in it. Working out at the gym is one of those spokes. You have to sleep, you have to get your blood panel done, you have to prioritize the diet and what you put in your body. Like that was, oh my gosh. I mean you've seen it, but you know you can do whatever you want to in the gym and go home and fill your stomach with garbage and you're not going to get anywhere.
Brandan Fokken:Unless you're some sort of genetic free. Yeah, or not enough, right, you know we most often under eat too, because that's what we've been told. Yeah, you know, people are eating a thousand calories or less, and they're a 250 pound person. Yeah, you know, and they're like well, I wanna put on muscle and lose body fat. I'm like ugh. Yeah, that's a little tough.
Addison Thom:So what's like your tried and true, like someone shows up to the gym and they're like, man, I've never worked out or, you know, I've had moderate activity, whatever. What are there? Is there just like a foundation approach that you can be like, hey, we need. How do you assess that person?
Brandan Fokken:So you have to assess the person as a whole. You know I do a questionnaire and I ask a bunch of questions, you know, and then I talk to them. At the same time, I do a physical assessment, I walk them through a workout. Most often I'm doing full body stuff. We start off slow, especially a person that's never done anything Right, and I assess them. I look for weaknesses, I look for imbalances, you know I want to know about their health history and their joints and their muscles and if they've been injured or hurt or they've ever played sports or I mean I want to get to another person that I'm working with and you know, throughout that we go slow and we let it build up. You, I don't just hammer them with stuff. Initially, like with you, I think you and I worked out a few times and just did a few sessions and you're like okay, like this is what it is right. And then I developed a program based on what I saw and what your goals were because at the end of the day, it's your goals which I could always, you know, interject and throw something and be like well, what about this too? You know we should add this. You know, interject and throw something in and be like, well, what about this too? You know, we should add this, you know, um, but that's where it starts. It's sitting down having an hour hour and a half conversation Most often I spend that much time with somebody and then it's it's going through the parameters of a workout with them, you know.
Brandan Fokken:And then it's especially with nutrition, which is hard for so many people. It's finding a balance in their life and what that looks like day to day already for them and incrementally making positive changes week to week. You know we do weekly check-ins. Anybody that works with me, obviously, can call or text or email me. They can see me in the gym if they're local.
Brandan Fokken:You know, I train people from all over the place, and then it's all real-time stuff and then we let it add up because, at the end of the day, if you want this to be a lifestyle and I go to you and I go, okay, all right, so we're going to go ahead and this is the diet you're going to use. It's going to be this bro diet. It's going to be exactly that you're going to work out six days a week and you're going to do 45 minutes of cardio every day Um, we're going to start tomorrow and you come in and you're just destroyed on the first day. Yeah, I hear that often. I got a woman right now that came to me and she's like I went to a trainer six years ago, six years ago, and he destroyed her. She had just come out of having breast cancer.
Addison Thom:Yeah.
Brandan Fokken:And she's like I couldn't walk for four days. It was terrible and I quit. She goes. I haven't been back to the gym since and she was so wound up going into her first workout, right, and we made it through, did a full workout, and she's like that was so different and I was like, well, we paid attention to you. I didn't take what I saw in a textbook or some preconceived notion of I need to absolutely smash you and make you sore, to make you feel like you got a workout in and we're going to work up from this. And it's also overcoming objections in the right way too, because she'll push back a little bit. We've done multiple sessions now and she'll push back and what it is?
Brandan Fokken:It's trauma from the past, what she's dealt with in the past through exercise and ridicule of herself or through others or whatnot, and it's a scary place to be for some people is on the gym floor and so, being as comforting and calm and articulate um in understanding as I can be, as I create a safe space for them and some people like, oh, they're pansy ass, we don't need safe spaces. The gym, no, a lot of people need that. A lot of people need that level of connection and confidence to be able to go into what scares them most. They have to trust you, yes, and so I've gained that over time with her. And she pushes back Well, I don't know, it's too hard, it's way too hard, I'm like, but yet you're doing it right. You just did that 10 times, but it was too hard, right? And one thing that I do overcome people with often is being calm but being funny, and I find what makes people laugh and I distract them most often, especially in the beginning, from what they're doing. By the time they look at the clock they're like I'm done, you know, and I'm like yeah, we have meaningful conversations while we're going through a workout, and I would say I've become an expert at being able to hold somebody accountable, doing the right reps, doing the right form, keeping them safe on the floor and getting an effective workout, while I'm building their trust verbally and letting them air some stuff out and decompress a little bit.
Brandan Fokken:A lot of people want that just as much as they want the physical aspect in my level of training, and so once you build that trust, I could get her to do anything at that point and if she is sore, she's not going to be afraid to come back Because she understands the objective and what we're trying to do and that I'm not trying to absolutely crush her out there, because I'll tell her before we're done. I'm like, okay, you might be sore, you might, you might feel this. I get her ready for those things, I said, but that's normal and we're going to work past that. And so she's got this thing in her head already. She's like, okay, like I get that in business, for instance, outside of me. You know the way the human brain works.
Brandan Fokken:I've got a therapist right and I sat down with them and I said what you're doing, you're, you're taking your people and you're working them through and you're creating a solution to their problem right by working on them. She said, yeah, I said you're hurting your repeat business because you're going through and you're trying to teach them immediately thereafter, after their first session, how they can fix themselves. So, even though they're not really educated enough to do some of the things that you're trying to get them to do in their head, they think they can do it right. And so in a one-off, what I'm saying is build up to that Like, build up to doing a few positive things to create a better environment for yourself, moving forward, so you don't always need help.
Brandan Fokken:Same thing with training. Like I want people to be able to do stuff on their own, but she was immediately trying to give them a solution outside of herself, when the person was just trying to get through the, the session itself. Does that make sense? Yeah, so she would be like okay, I've fixed you, this is how you fix yourself. Well, they're in the process of you working on them. They're not paying attention to all that. It takes time with anything like that to learn like this Okay, I have to do this exercise and I have to do these bands and I have to do this Right. So in their head they're like well, I know the solution, they're not going to do it Right, but I'm also not going to come back because I know the solution.
Addison Thom:You see what I'm saying, and so with this I don't create a lasting need for me, but I much so verbal. You, you're like putting me through the workout and there is some like alleviation, because I feel like we're doing it together, right. And you always kind of like work out harder when you're with somebody else too. There's like just kind of like a little bit of an extra gear, yeah. And what I noticed is like when I first started working out with you, when I'd go do the workouts by myself, I had to like mentally push myself to get to that same gear, yeah, right. So there is a little bit of like when you leave them to their own devices, you know you want to make sure that you're preparing them, that they can get themselves to the same place, whether you're in the room or not.
Brandan Fokken:Yep, and that's hard. Um, so at first, when you noticed a difference, right, and whatever it is that we're training that day, I don't train you based on what we previously wrote. As I get to know you, I try to go within the capacity of what I know you can do, which most often a person's capacity is much greater than what they think they can do. Right, most people hold back out of discomfort, fear, whatever. Sometimes, being there and telling you you can do it one the mental part of you like, well, you're saying I can do it, I trust that I'm going to do it right. The second part when I'm training you is I'm paying attention to what your body's doing and how it's reacting to a workout. Right, like I can tell when this part's gassed or when you're failing here or whatnot, or how to compound a movement to make it harder or whatever we're trying to do right. So I'm paying attention to real-time bodily cues as opposed to a written workout that it's like, okay, this is about within the capacity of what I know you can do. This is what we're working on. This is, this is going to benefit you, but it will be different because, again, it's not in real time and every day. You asked me earlier like do you ever wake up and you're just tired and bogged down and can't get going. We're going to have those days, right, and on that day you're not going to push as hard because you're tired, you don't feel good. Right, and you're going to look at that workout and instead of doing 30 pounds, you're going to do 15. Right, because you're like I'm tired today and you've convinced yourself that you can't do more. Well, maybe someone else would do it. I would never do that, never do that. And I and I see you work out. It's, it's fun to watch.
Brandan Fokken:I told you, working with somebody like you is awesome, because when I talk about being in the lab per se and running experiments in real time, as I'm on the floor, I can see you moving through things and doing things and figuring things out on your own and being able to be complex in training and add all sorts of different variables and different styles of training and types of training and whatnot. As a trainer, that challenge to work with a higher level athlete that's willing to push themselves but wants to push themselves is awesome. On the other hand, having a 77 year old female client that just wants to be able to get up off the floor and be active is just as exciting for me because in both ways I feel and hope that I'm benefiting you in a positive way. That's going to make your life better. That's going to make you more confident, stronger, um, allow you to be more active and live a more positive life, either for yourself or with the other people that you care about, and that's rewarding, um.
Brandan Fokken:But to be complex this complexity is on both sides and people don't realize sometimes realize that it's just as complex for me to train. Again, I've got a couple that are in their seventies. Um, train that man who's had the stuff that he's gone through in to train an athlete like you. You know you really got to put your thinking cap on and what a person's capacity is, what they can do and and what we need to do to get them to a place where they can live an efficient life the way that they want. They still have goals of looking a certain way and feeling a certain way and being productive, no different than you. They're just not dunking basketballs and rolling around on a mat doing jujitsu and stuff. You know you're just solving a different puzzle.
Addison Thom:Yes, so how do you? Because, I mean, I think your philosophy is one, I know it to be effective, but also I just think that that's how you should approach just about anything but how do you apply that to the businesses you run and like the brands that you've started? So, like, most people don't know this about you or maybe they do, but you know you have started several brands. You're the owner of a gym, you're you're about to open another one. How, how is what you've learned like in training and being in the people business? How are you applying that to your companies when you start them?
Brandan Fokken:You know, I wrote an article called your health is your business years ago. Right, and I would say, if you can be healthy at the highest level of health, or what you deem that to be, and all the parameters it takes to be there right at the highest level, that you can run a business effectively, because it's very similar. Right, you got to save here, you got to give there, you got to spend time doing this, you got to research all this stuff. Right, and when you take one protocol that works, you can also take it from one thing to the next, to the next. Like, as a business person, you have a methodology on how you make things work. Right, you simplify processes over time and that's what you have to do when you're doing fitness.
Brandan Fokken:That I did at a highest level because I was working for a billion dollar company and on top of it, I had a wife and I had to get ready for photo shoots and competitions and everything else. Like, I had to juggle all these things. I don't know what life is like without that now. Right, but if you can do that, I believe that if you have that work ethic and the ability to figure things out and willing to figure it out rather than just jump steps just to get a job done. I think that you're going to be successful.
Brandan Fokken:And paying attention to variables is no different than I would pay attention to a client or myself and how my body's changing or whatnot. You have to pay attention to increment things over time that matter over the long term, right, like what your profits are, what your margins are. Like what you're spending on toilet paper, right, you know what it costs to. You know, uh, to bring in a new member. What you're I mean, whatever it may be Right, and within that, you know, I, I've, I've created various businesses and, like I said, there's, there's so many commonalities between the two and taking your care of yourself and taking care of a business yeah that fitness has truly been one of the biggest reasons why I have been able to find that level of success.
Addison Thom:Yeah, you know that's, that's one thing that the Instagram crowd has right, I think, is, like, regardless of where you are in your life, if you get in the gym and you work hard and you discipline yourself with like diet and sleep, your life is only going to get better. And it connects to all these other aspects of your life that you start finding these like deeper. You've always talked about this like the mind, body connection with the workout that you're doing. Like just the fact that my mind is connecting to the movement that I'm doing helps the movement and helps the growth from the resistance that it's like receiving If I'm just in there mindlessly, you know, doing a curl, versus like really concentrating on the thing. The reason I bring that up is because I've started applying that to other parts of my life too, of like the discipline aspect of it and then just like the mind connection to what you're doing, the presence that it requires. So I think that they they get that message right. Yeah, for the most part.
Brandan Fokken:Well, it's, you know the the grit that comes from it. I had one client I like to use him as an example. He's one of my favorite people. He's that guy when you're around me, just feel good, right, and he was a high-functioning guy real smart still is and I, you know, started working with him. He was pretty much overweight and we got his weight down.
Brandan Fokken:You know he's looking good, feeling good, and I just watched him just on a meteoric rise, you know, in and it came with that confidence and feeling good and your clothes fitting right and, you know, being your own business card, so to speak, right, like showing up and you look credible and you feel credible and you've got that work ethic and like everything he was doing in fitness. He was applying to the business world and I look at him today and how far he's come. You know the company that he was working for way back when now he's, you know, a major partner in it, right, and providing a life for his family that many would would admire and be like, wow, I sure wish I was at that level in life, right, yeah, and you know, to see people take one processes and apply it to another is awesome to see, you know, and watch that that person invest in themselves in one area and then watch that investment pay off into so many other things. And uh, you know, I'm, I'm an example of that. You know, like I said, everything that I've done in fitness trying to just figure it out, right, like, as I said, like I'm never, never, satisfied.
Brandan Fokken:You know, I had to find ways to make things happen, right, I had to figure out, you know, when I started getting on magazine covers, you know those things cost 100, 200, $300,000 to get on a magazine cover, way back in the day. You know it was one of the main sources of advertising. And who the hell was I? You know, I wasn't anybody in my head. So I had to network and figure it out. How can I, how can I get on one of those things? Or how can I create value for a major brand to sign me? How can I? You know, do this, that or whatever? Right? So I, I got really good at figuring things out. How did you do that?
Addison Thom:Which part Like how did you create value for the brand and get on the magazine covers?
Brandan Fokken:So, you know, I started competing at 30, started in bodybuilding, didn't have anything else, and I came up in a time when, you know, it was all bodybuilders people like me never had an opportunity. And then Instagram started and Facebook and all that, and I was competing and I randomly won the muscle and fitness male model contest to compete at the Olympia and while I was there, bodybuildingcom was king at the time. You know they have like 40 million unique visitors and back in the day, you know brands needed. There was far fewer brands but they needed. You know they did the expos, magazines for advertising and places like bodybuildingcom to advertise, promote and sell.
Brandan Fokken:I went through their line and Jamie Eason, who was the top female fitness model at the time, thought she knew me. I was like, oh my God, she knows me, knowing well enough. She didn't know me but she told me she's like I really think you can make it in this business. I was like what? Just a regular guy from south dakota, right? And it was that one sentence that made me believe, well, maybe, maybe I could do something right.
Brandan Fokken:And so I signed up for the bodybuilding council's model contest and won to go compete in la um and then ended up getting signed to them and to me. I thought, okay, well, if I'm good enough to be with them and I'm credible, I can utilize that as a pedestal to the next thing. And so then I started putting myself out there with kind of a resume of I can write, I can speak, I can do videos, I can model, I can do all these things, like anything you need I can do it. And I started to reach out to a lot of these companies that, would you know, put self-help articles or training stuff, you know, and I'd be like I'll write for free, I'll put that out there, I'll do this, I'll do that. And I just kept putting myself out there in positions where I could offer value, right and and to get your foot in the door for other opportunities.
Addison Thom:Exactly, that's awesome.
Brandan Fokken:And so over time I was able, I was the face of esports nutrition. I did that for a few years and you know those companies invest tons of money into you. You know they get you on magazine covers and they, you know, put you into videos and they do all these things. You know. That helped me create an image of who I was. So that became easier and easier for me to sell myself to people, because I started to gain a reputation that I worked hard, that I was professional, that you could rely on me, that I was willing to go above and beyond. I never made it about me. I never came in like a diva, like I want this, this and this. It was always about what can I do for you? And because I had that mindset, companies never took advantage of me. They always. They treated me well, they gave me amazing opportunities, paid me extremely well, had amazing contracts, and it continued to, like I said, just evolve. And with bodybuildingcom, I could only work with companies that worked with them. But they had every brand there was right. But I couldn't work with conflicting companies, meaning I couldn't have two supplement sponsors, right. So B Sports Nutrition when I started with them, they didn't have protein bars. So then I was one of quest nutrition's first athletes, okay, so I was able to compound things. So then I had a bag company and I had muscle egg, and I had a cup company, and I had all these companies that I was an athlete for, you know, and I kept compounding and compounding them and then I ended up becoming the face of diamond ties. I decided to leave Beast a few years later and they had just been acquired by Post. So now you're working the big leagues right. And it just continued to compound and more opportunities happened, but I never stopped hustling, no matter what happened. I never stopped. I continued to build relationships with photographers, I continued to ask my brands to send me to places to do things, to do that, to invest in this, and if you do this, I'll do this. And it just continued to snowball to create opportunity for me.
Brandan Fokken:And we talked earlier about going back and doing more or redoing it. I wouldn't redo it. If anything, I would have done more. Uh to to have had those experiences at the time. Um, but again, I would still look at it today, even if I would have done all those things. I'd be like well, there was more. There's always more. So would I have been any happier? No, I wouldn't have been.
Brandan Fokken:I could just say that I did it right and so, taking all of that over the years that I did it, at some point I was like at 10 years of that, I was like I feel like I've kind of had enough, right, my son's here, I want to spend more time with him. I'm going to step away. I'm going to find other ways to interact and do things that take less time, and so if you watch my social, you'll see me post stories and stuff. I rarely post anything anymore. Um, regarding, you know, promotions and stuff like that. I still get to work with big brands and do cool stuff.
Brandan Fokken:I try to do things incrementally more so, or like, like I was on Shark Tank last year, right, I'm in the process of possibly being cast for a show now. I was in a movie last year which actually comes out next month. Like I do things bigger and I'm more selective with things that I do that hopefully continue to impact me in a positive way, to continue to open up doors to do more things. So really, what I guess I try to do now is to continue to create credibility where.
Brandan Fokken:If somebody's like, well, what have you done? I'm like, well, this sounds arrogant and cocky, but you could Google me and you'll see a little bit of it. You know, get an idea of who I am if you haven't heard anything and when people will see you know he was on the Titan games or he was on Shark Tank or he's been on magazine covers. Oftentimes there's been one thing you know whether I work with a celebrity or I know somebody famous or whatnot, there's usually one thing that allows me to connect with somebody, to create another opportunity and that's what I'm working on now is to create positive relationships, which I've always fostered, and continue to create credibility in myself where I can continue to add value, either through my networking or connections to other people, or I can help you in some way connect you to somebody else that can help you, or I can give you knowledge or advice or help or training or nutritional guidance, or whatever it is that can help me connect with you to continue to better whatever movement I feel like I'm on.
Addison Thom:Yeah, I feel like, well, I feel like you've earned that. But also the thing that I'm taking from this conversation that you said, which I think is so powerful, is you start with adding value, and I think that's part of the problem with, like, the younger generation now and the social media thing is that there's this sense of entitlement that they get to just fast forward and jump to what took you years and years and years to build. But the story of you reaching out to these companies and offering value where you're not making any money to be like I'll write the article for free, I'll show up on time and be professional and do that You're eating shit for years before you actually get to the part where now, hey, I get to pick and choose, I'm going to go on this game show where I get to work with these big brands. Like the story starts with I added value first and I was willing to grind it out, and then that mentality never left you. Now you just have opportunities with applying that same thing to larger brands and bigger opportunities.
Addison Thom:Yeah, and getting your foot in the doors. Like you know, most kids aren't willing to do that. They're not willing to be like eat humble pie and be like I will literally work for free for a year just so I can learn from you and get my foot in the door.
Brandan Fokken:You know I started off my fitness career a guy named Todd Tryon smart, smart guy. I give him a lot of credit, great dude. He kind of had the 24 hour gym model before anybody really did. And I don't think sometimes he remembers, but he had a gym and I wanted to be a part of it. So bad that he wasn't staffed on Sundays and I volunteered my time to go in and I would just stand at the desk just all day on Sundays and eventually he made me a manager of a store and then it really took off from there.
Brandan Fokken:But I was willing at the beginning to do a lot of those things and I've learned along the way and I've messed up and done the wrong thing a million times over and continue to pick myself up from that and continue to move forward.
Brandan Fokken:And you know where I'm at today.
Brandan Fokken:You know I'm able to bless other people with a lot of the same things that he did for me and help people and mentor people.
Brandan Fokken:And of course I don't have all the time in the world, but even if I can add something small like, for instance, I was a terrible speaker All the fear in the world couldn't do it and he's a person that is one of the best speakers I've ever seen in my life. He took me to an event to speak and he just told me he's like you're the expert. They don't know if you mess up, talk about what you know. And after that I've done a hundred speaking engagements right. Just recently I did for the young business professionals here in Lubbock, but it took his belief in one sentence that changed my life, and I believe that we have that ability in us, that innate ability to look at somebody and say something that either they haven't heard or the person that said it to him wasn't credible enough, but you were, and that one thing that you said changed their life for the better, and you just need a nudge sometimes.
Addison Thom:Yeah, you do.
Brandan Fokken:So it's, uh, it's one of those things. Now, with where I'm at, as you said, we're creating another gym. I'm looking at partnering a medical clinic. I want to do some more TV stuff. It's not because I want to be famous or anything like that. I love the process of those things like the TV stuff. It's funny.
Brandan Fokken:I don't share a lot of those things. I show some highlights and stuff, but I love the challenge of that. It's making something that you never thought possible possible by utilizing the same parameters of what enabled me to do other things that I thought were impossible too, like coming from South Dakota. There's so many things I did and I never thought would be possible, and so I feel like I have a bit more of that in me. Again, like I said, creating positive relationships here in Lubbock. I just got brought in. I'm part of the board of health. Now, you know, don't want to get into politics someday, I don't know. You know the sky's the limit, but I think we've got a great community where there's a lot more growth to be had. What does it look like beyond that? I don't know. Um, we're doing fun stuff at the gym, um, you know, I I actually spoke to a celebrity this morning that's going to come into the gym here real soon.
Addison Thom:And one thing I want to say who is it?
Brandan Fokken:You can't, it's we have some we've had a lot of celebrities in actually Um, sometimes we post them, sometimes we don't. We don't promote those things, um things. I like to show that it's almost seamless as a part of what we do, we cater to people that need to be catered to, because oftentimes some of those people don't get it to live the normalcy that we call life. You know, they're inundated with people harassing and following and pictures and all that. They don't get a chance to breathe, and that's what I.
Brandan Fokken:I don't ask for anything back in return. I want to create a positive environment for them to where they can just chill. You don't require anything of them. I ask for nothing Like let us service you. We ask for nothing in return and I'll be honest, 90% of those people often try to do something positive for you and I've met a lot of great people in doing things that way. But yeah, you know, just today we we connected with somebody great and we'll be connecting with them here soon. But you know, creating those and fostering those positive relationships with people and building trust with people creates trust in other people, and I believe if you do things the right way and my way may not be the right way. You know you can do a lot of things with credibility and trust that oftentimes money can't buy and we'll continue to do things that way and we'll continue to foster growth and and relationships and help people and put positivity out there and we'll see where we end up.
Addison Thom:Do you think that's the difference, the gym culture difference? Because I mean, do you think that's the difference, the gym culture difference? Because I mean, from my perspective, gym culture is a big success and it was a big risk in a town like lubbock that didn't have anything square footage wise or price wise, right, like in that model. Yeah, and there's a lot of gyms all over the country. There's a lot of gyms in lubbock. If you look at that, what makes a good gym? Because, at the end of the day, the buildings are similar, the equipment's all going to be similar, right? So what makes a gym successful versus one that's not Culture.
Brandan Fokken:Yeah, 100%. You know it's being what the person coming there to be needs it to be, whether it's a friendship, it's a piece of equipment, whether it's cleanliness, whether it's childcare, whatever that is. You know we cater to the people that come in and we listen, right, I'm always present, as you know. I'm always there, and when we built that, it was as bougie as one could get my opinion, my opinion for the city of Lubbock. There are bigger gyms here, corporate gyms that do what they do, but I wanted to bring a different experience. Everybody has equipment. Not everybody has the child care, for instance, that we have, not to the level that we do. A lot of gyms don't have the cleanliness that we do. The cleanliness that we do, we sacrifice sometimes the bottom line in a way to be able to give more to our customer, if that makes sense. You know we give coffee and fruit and you know we pay our staff more. We spend a ton of money on cleaning crews and what it takes to keep that place clean and get the carpets clean, and I mean there's so much that goes into that facility to cater to the person that comes in. Right, and you know, as you said, it was a risk in Lubbock. I mean, how many businesses come here, national franchises that make it six months and they close down, right?
Brandan Fokken:I knew that Lubbock embraced community and it embraced locals and Lubbock is a proud city in my opinion. People make fun of it and why would you want to live in Lubbock? And I don't want to live here and it's a terrible place and all that. But at the root of it, there's a lot of good people here and we have a lot of great people at our facility. There was things that I had to kind of chime out in the beginning. You know different cultures that came in and the beginning. You know different cultures that came in and by culture, you know the kids taking their shirts off and flexing in the mirror and whatnot. And people weren't happy with me because I'd walk over and be like put your shirt on right, it's no disrespect. I know that culture better than anybody, right? You know, I lived it at the highest level.
Brandan Fokken:But that's not what we were trying to do. We were trying to create an environment that people together could cumulatively come in together and feel good about the space that they're in, whether you're a 55-year-old surgeon or a 25-year-old college student or a mother with three kids and wants to take a class. We tried to really create an offering and a space for a vast group of people and we found our people. When we go to Gym Culture 2, it's going to look different. It's going to be the Starbucks model, and by that that doesn't mean we're sacrificing anything. We're going up another level.
Brandan Fokken:Right when we came and opened, there were people that said we weren't going to make it. They made fun of our price structure and all this stuff and said we charged too much and and uh, you know, now they're copying the same thing. And if you're a local business, I hope you all make it, all of you. You know that's why we have our block parties and stuff. That's why everybody shows up. We want all the local gyms and facilities to show up and be a part of our fitness community, and by ours that's all of ours, cumulatively, as as a whole, not just ours but everybody. And there's enough for everybody to go around. You know we have 300,000 plus people here and there's enough to go around even with all the facilities we have.
Brandan Fokken:But the next one is the Starbucks model. It's gonna go up quite a bit in in what that vision looks like, you know more equipment, bigger childcare. You know it's gonna have a different look and it it's to have the same feel, though the feel is not going to change Same culture, same feel. But it's going to go up another, another level. And you know, if you know me, you know we're looking at Dallas, we're looking at Abilene, we're looking at other places, because I think once number two comes up, I think three and four come up faster. My goal is to have 10 of these in the next five years. And will that happen? Who knows? But I believe and I know that I'm willing to do what it takes. I think we've got a fantastic model and I think we have a great culture and I think we have something that people will embrace in any and all of those communities. And if, um, if anything I look forward to, to trying.
Addison Thom:Yeah Well, I think what you've built is pretty remarkable, and you know my opinion is limited, but uh, you know I've been in a lot of gyms and a lot of different sit big cities, small cities, all over the country and gym culture is definitely special. So looking forward to the next iteration of that Um.