Good Neighbor Podcast: Youngstown

Ep 9: Kickboxing Your Way to Fitness- Joe Lantz

• Stacey Willis

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Transformations happen in unexpected ways—just ask Joe Lantz. After a promising boxing career was cut short by a devastating shoulder injury, Joe found himself at a crossroads. With no backup plan and years of training seemingly wasted, he faced the daunting task of reinventing himself. Today, that painful detour has led to over a thousand life-changing transformations at his fitness kickboxing gym.

The magic behind Joe Lantz Fitness Kickboxing lies in its dual approach: heavy bag kickboxing combined with targeted strength training. This formula creates rapid body composition changes that have clients looking almost unrecognizable in their before-and-after photos. What's particularly remarkable isn't just the physical transformations—though those are impressive enough—but the health improvements that accompany them. Many clients see such dramatic changes in their blood work after just six weeks that they no longer need medications for conditions like high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

One refreshing aspect of Joe's approach is his commitment to inclusivity. Forget the myth that you need to "get in shape first" before joining a serious gym. His facility welcomes everyone from teenagers to 70-somethings, and from those weighing 110 pounds to over 300 pounds. Every workout can be modified to match your current abilities while still delivering results. With a free first class offering and an impressive 85% signup rate afterward, Joe's confidence in his program speaks volumes. Check out Joe Lantz Fitness Kickboxing on social media to see hundreds of transformation stories, or visit their website to schedule your free session through their app—and discover how one former boxer's career setback became the catalyst for a fitness revolution.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Willis.

Speaker 2:

Hi and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of getting into a little shape? Well, I have somewhere you can go. It's closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, joe Lance, with Joe Lance Fitness Kickboxing. Joe, how are you Welcome?

Speaker 3:

I'll face you. Thank you, how are you?

Speaker 2:

I am doing. Well, we are so excited to learn all about you and your business, so we're just gonna jump right in and I going to let you tell us about your company.

Speaker 3:

So I opened Joe Lance's Fitness Kickboxing in 2019 and we're in the Austin Town Plaza. We use heavy bags, kickboxing punches, kicks on the heavy bag and strength training to rapidly change people's body composition. Um, so I have to work out will be basically a kickboxing type workout. Second half will be strength training, as you need both really to change people's body compositions and and give them the athletic physique that most people are looking for. Um, so it's been since 2019. We've had, you know, over a thousand um people come through that. We have over a thousand dramatic before and after pictures of people that are almost unrecognizable from when they started versus after working with us.

Speaker 2:

And how did you get in this business?

Speaker 3:

Well, I was a pro boxer in the mid and late 90s. I started boxing as a young teen and then I turned pro in my 20s and my goal was to be a boxing world champion. But I injured my shoulder in going to stand up you know, striking training for MMA fighters and after that the person I was working with suggested possibly a fitness kickboxing type gym, went to work there but decided that I'd be better off opening my own place so I could do things the way I wanted to. And, you know, opened my place in 2019 and we had 125 people signed up before we even had any equipment. So it's been successful and we've helped a lot of people change their bodies and their lives and some dramatic transformations over the last six years.

Speaker 2:

What would you say are some of the myths or misconceptions in your industry?

Speaker 3:

I think a lot of people think that the gym has a reputation of having very intense workouts, which is true to some degree, but not everyone is expected to do everything with maximum effort. Everyone can go at their own pace that they're comfortable with. A lot of times, some people think that they need to get in shape before they come to my gym, which isn't necessarily true. Um, you know, we've had people, um, from you know, 110 pounds to well over 300 pounds above, train with us, um, and do very well. We've had, you know, 13 years old to we have several members in their 70s. So it's really, you know, a myth that no one you need to get in shape first before you come to our gym. You know, and no matter what your level of fitness or health, we can work with you and modify and adapt things. So it's appropriate for any person of any age or fitness level.

Speaker 2:

And then you sort of answered my next question, which would, which was going to be who is your target customer and how do you market to them?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, basically word of mouth has always been our our strongest way of getting customers. Usually, when people come to us, their bodies change very rapidly and they get fit and very visible difference. A lot of people around them in their lives end up joining. We have like one family. We have six members that are, you know, members at the gym, six family members that all come to us and you know people basically become walking advertisements for us once we get their, their, their physiques transformed um. And then, through social media is basically like our facebook page, instagram page are probably the biggest way we reach people in the most numbers um outside of work.

Speaker 2:

What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3:

um work some more. Usually um it's. It's more than a full-time job. As I'm sure you can imagine, I have a 17-year-old son, who's my pride and joy, and I try to spend time with him whenever possible, and I recently got engaged, so I also try to spend as much time with my fiance as much as possible, as much time with my fiancee as much as possible, and those are definitely the top two priorities.

Speaker 2:

Well, congratulations on the engagement. Let's switch gears just a little bit. Can you describe a hardship or life challenge you overcame and how it made you stronger?

Speaker 3:

Does anything come to mind?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, when I was in boxing.

Speaker 3:

I started boxing when I was 14, and in my mid-20s, you know, I had some you know hopes of being a world champion boxer and being rich and famous and that was kind of a goal for you know well over a decade of my life, when I tore my labrum in my shoulder, which is basically a career ender, and I was really distraught and down and out and I didn't really have a backup plan of what to do next.

Speaker 3:

I had all my eggs in one basket, if you will. And then suddenly I had to think of something else to do and you know I'd worked with the best trainers and athletes in the world and I felt like I didn't want to abandon that. So I became a Youngstown fireman, then also a mixed martial arts striking coach, and while I kind of had my bout with you know sadness and, you know basically unsure of myself after my career ended, you know I'm a Christian and I had faith that God would find a path for me and you know, this is all. Things have all worked out for the best for me. For sure, I certainly feel very blessed and fortunate and that was a tough time, but it helped me, you know, get to where I am now joe.

Speaker 3:

Tell our listeners one thing they should remember about joe lance fitness kickboxing well, if you um check out our Facebook page or Instagram or our website, you'll see the hundreds and hundreds of before and after pictures.

Speaker 3:

I truly believe that there's no gym anywhere that can compete with how quickly we change people's body composition and their level of health and fitness and self-esteem and energy level. I mean people that come to our gym oftentimes have blood work before we do like a six-week challenge course, and after six weeks they have like completely different blood work from that, like a different person six weeks later and you get a lot of medications like end up not needing you know high blood pressure medication or you know cholesterol or things like that. Those things all change for the better normally when people come. So there's a whole different level of you know health and and not to mention, you know losing weight, getting muscle, being more healthy all around and feeling better about yourself, and we have some really dramatic transformations. I don't feel like there's another gym anywhere that can compete with how quickly we get results.

Speaker 2:

Awesome. And how can our listeners learn more about Joe Lance Fitness Kickboxing?

Speaker 3:

fitnesscom. Um, you can go there also and you can, um, you know, send messages to any of those places and we'll see them and respond, you know, as soon as we can look at them, okay so we have oh, go ahead, I'm sorry I'm sorry, that's okay.

Speaker 3:

I'm sorry, um, just remember um the the gym. We also have an app where you can actually um go there and see class times and also schedule a free first class. If you go to the gyms app available from the app store and the first class is free, and after that, usually you know 85 percent of people plus sign up after the first class, so and that's, first class is free for everyone.

Speaker 2:

OK, well, that's, that's good information, joe. Okay, well, that's good information. Joe, I really appreciate you being on the show and we wish you and your business the very, very best moving forward.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, stacey, always a pleasure. Thank you very much. Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP Youngstown dot com. That's GNP Youngstown dot com, or call 330-355-3122.