From Oilfield Worker to Gym Owner: How Jace Lopez Built Apex

Website: https://matthewpearce.biz/

Jace Lopez joins Matthew Pierce on the Forprofit Podcast to share how he went from playing college football and working offshore to building Apex Training, a successful coaching business, and a community centered on personal growth.

Jace opens up about waiting months for his first personal-training client, working from 4:00 a.m. until late at night, and eventually growing from a small rented space into his own gym. He also explains why attempting to manage the business from California failed—and how systems, culture, mentorship, and business coaching helped him become a stronger entrepreneur.

Beyond fitness, Jace shares the personal transformation that changed the direction of his life. He discusses leaving the party lifestyle behind, strengthening his relationship with God, learning to lead his family, and coaching clients through the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical areas of their lives.

Matthew and Jace also discuss choosing the right mentors, investing in yourself, overcoming procrastination, raising the next generation, and the future expansion of Apex Training.

For Jace, success is not simply about revenue, clients, or assets. Real profit is having the peace and freedom to be present with the people who matter most.

Subscribe for more conversations with Louisiana entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals who are building meaningful careers and businesses.

Chapters

00:00 Meet Jace Lopez
03:25 From College Football to Offshore Work
06:10 Starting Apex and Landing the First Client
11:29 Why Managing the Gym Remotely Failed
12:48 Systems, Business Coaching and Scaling Apex
17:00 The Four Pillars and Jace’s Faith Transformation
27:43 How to Choose the Right Mentor or Coach
31:27 Procrastination, Growth and the Future of Apex
41:48 Fatherhood, Marriage and Building a Legacy
47:20 Entrepreneurial Lessons and the Real Meaning of Profit

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hey guys, before we get started, I've got a quick favor to ask. I need you to like, subscribe, and share this podcast if you feel you're getting value from it. That's how we're gonna get these conversations in front of more people. And just as important, if not more important, is your feedback. The good, the bad, the ugly. I want the critical information on how we can make this podcast better for you and deliver value every time. And if you know somebody in Louisiana who's doing big things in their field, industry, or business, please drop their name in the comments. We'd love to have the opportunity to bring them on the show. At the end of the day, this is all about the youth of Louisiana and putting local leaders in front of them and giving them something real to learn from. Now let's get it. What's up, everybody? It's your host for the For-Profit Podcast, Matthew Pierce, and I am so excited for today's guest. Drove all the way in from Lafayette. I have the honor and privilege to introduce Mr. Jace Lopez. What's up, Jace?

SPEAKER_01 1:07

The trip was um uh was laborous. There's some traffic. Uh Bad Rouge has different traffic than we do in Lafayette. Yeah. Made it here. I'm excited.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

I look, y'all don't know how pumped I am to have this man here because he he told me and I know this about him. He does not travel other than to go on vacation out of the country. He is hyperlocal in Lafayette. Proximity's key. Yeah, proximity's key. So um, Jace, we've known each other for a very long time, dating back to 2016. I kind of want to dive into that uh because we were connected through a very good friend of mine from college, TJ Randall. How is it that y'all came to know each other? Because TJ's from Missouri.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

So I'm originally from Opalousis, Louisiana, and um, I mean great, beautiful cities, Cajun Country, and um the school system there isn't the best. And uh my main goal in life was to get recruited and played college football. Main goal, right? If like since I was younger, right? And um, it's cool once once I accomplished it, and and after life after that has been just ice on the cake, which was beautiful, you know. But um, so uh my my my mom got remarried to a guy from Kansas City, Missouri. And uh he's like, hey, you want to go to school over here? They just built a school in Lee Summit, uh, Missouri, which is outside Kansas City. I was like, Yeah, sure, you know. So my sophomore year high school, we moved out there and uh went to this beautiful school, good five-day program. Um, had had a really good coach, a really good uh uh team. Majority of people were were recruited out of high school was really cool, and um moved out there, played football. And TJ was a year younger than me. So TJ uh played D tackle. I played D-tackle as well, played one technique. I think he played through technique, and uh so I met him there, and then uh he went on to play at Arkansas State. Central Arkansas. Central Arkansas. That's right, central Arkansas. And and then fast forward, he uh, you know, he's done with football. He's like, hey man, I need to lose 100 pounds.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Yeah, yeah. I was telling Austin, our guy who's behind the uh equipment today, um, that I met you through TJ, and I guess y'all had stayed in contact, maybe social media. That's right. And just after college, TJ had gotten up to like 295, 300. Uh, you know, we both went to some regional combines. I think we went to Houston Texans, worked out for them. Um, but he wanted to get lean, right? Yeah, and probably within three to six months after college, like TJ had gotten down to like 250, his abs are starting to show. He was he had goals of getting to like 225, 230, and just being as big and swole and lean as possible. And I'm like, yo, TJ, what are you doing? Who are you working with? And he's like, Man, I got this guy. He does stuff online. I'm like, give me his information. Like, I need, you know, this is what's up. This is what's up. And that's how we got in contact back in 2015, 2016. That's right. Yeah, yeah. And um, we've worked on and off ever since. You were an integral part of my Iron Man journey in 2024. Uh, when I come to you, I remember your business from the very beginning, Apex training. You had that small gym to start. Yeah. Then you partnered with a facility. That's exactly right. And then you moved to California. I want to hear about all of this. So talk about the journey.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Let me let me reset here. Um I got done c playing college football, and like most athletes, you get done and you're like, okay, well, what now? Right? You know, you identify with a certain sports and a certain identity for so long, you you're like almost like like somebody dies, right? Almost like you're almost like you're just kind of lost, right? You know, so uh so after that, I was like, okay, well, I'm let's just see what my friends are doing, right? My friends at the time they're they're bouncing in bars, you know. So I'm like, okay, cool, you know. So I moved back down to Louisiana and I started bouncing, and I'm like, okay, well, let me get a real job here, you know. So I tried different stuff. Um down here in Louisiana, uh, the oil and gas industry is humongous, you know. And most younger guys who want to make a lot of money early on, well, I'll say a lot of money, a good amount of money early on, going offshore on land rigs uh is a good way to make money, you know. And and um I'm getting a hook up with uh some guy through a bar and says, Yeah, man, I can work for this company is cool, you know. So I started working offshore for about two years. Um I did well testing offshore. We tested well as fully put in production, and um it never really was my thing, you know. I I knew it was always temporary, I was doing it, and I never liked it, right? You know, because essentially you're just giving away days of your life for money, you know? So I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it for a period of time here, but I'm gonna find something else here. But offshore I'd work out, right? You know, no matter what I was doing, I was always working out, you know. And uh I would train with guys I was working with. And this guy was like, hey man, why don't you be a personal trainer? I was like, hmm, I was ever told that before, you know. So I was like, okay, well, I'm looking at this here, you know? And back in 20, what, 2011, 2012, that wasn't really a f a popular career. You know, it actually wasn't a career at all. It's something something you did during college into your next phase of life there.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

You always had like the fat guy at the gym trying to sell you training programs, right? That's what you thought of personal trainers. It's like this guy you didn't want to actually look like, but he's trying to lead you through workouts. That's what I think of when I think of personal trainers from back in the day.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Yeah, yeah. And and uh and honestly, man, there wasn't many. You know, like I I I I could think of a handful actually knew who actually trained people full time, you know. And uh so I was like, okay, cool. So I went online, you know, did my research and I found the certification. So um I bought it, I was working offshore, ended up being laid off about two years later because all feels you know so finicky. And um, I was like, okay, well let me let me certify now, you know. So I got certified, and then um once I once I got that certification, I was like, okay, well, I'm ready to go now, you know. So I sat my wife down, I was like, uh I was like, hey, baby, um I'm gonna be a personal trainer. She's like, okay. I was like, okay, cool, you know? And I was like, and then uh and I'm gonna start training people and I'm gonna make enough money that you're gonna quit your job. She's like, okay. I was like, okay, cool, awesome, you know. And I was like, and one day we're gonna have a gym and we're gonna build this thing together, you know? And she's like, okay, and do what shit that was, all right, let's go with it, you know. So, you know, once I knew like she was down for this journey I was I was about to embark on, you know, because I I'm like you, Matt. If I do something, I'm gonna go all in. You know, there's no like a hey, I'm gonna try this here. I don't try anything. I either do it full time or I say no, you know? Uh so uh in a certification and um this is back in 2014. Again, first training was wasn't that big. Uh I never wanted to work for a company, you know, because a lot a lot of the comp a lot of the gyms you work for, they want you to train a certain wait. Cookie cutter. Cookie cutter 100%. They're like, hey, here's how we do things. Put them on a treadmill for half an hour, then we train for half an hour. I'm like, I don't I don't want to do that there, you know? Yeah. So I was able to uh find a gym where I was actually contracted, I pay I pay a certain rent, and um uh that rent was was awesome. It was like 300 bucks a month. I was like, perfect, awesome. So I'll pay the rent, and um, and I sat there for three months, dude. I had to get one client.

unknown 7:27

Right?

SPEAKER_01 7:28

People walk in, like, hey, you want to train? No, no, okay. And it started me quite making me questions. I was like, man, this is what I'm supposed to do right here, you know? And then finally one day this this uh this uh chiropractor walked in. He's like, hey man, can you train me? I was like, yeah, let's do this here, you know. I'll put him through a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

I've been working for you my whole life.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

It really it really was God saying, it's pretty cool. But uh it's funny, you know. Uh I'll put him we it's something called a wow session. You wow him in the first session from sign up, you know. He saw certain my packages, but uh no, he did that, he signed up, and then from there, man, I it just really took off for me, you know. So I'll stay at the gym, I'll I'll be at the gym from 4 a.m. to like, I don't know, 8 p.m. most days, you know, like just like train 12 sessions, you know, totally overdoing it.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

And um well, what's funny is you got some trainers in these gyms that they don't even want to work out the clients in the morning. They're like, I only take afternoon clients, and it's like, how are you gonna grow your business?

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Like, well, you say that back then it it was almost the opposite, it was very toxic. Like if you didn't train all day, you were like lazy, right? You know, it's very old school, you know. So different. But nowadays, nowadays, 100%. I mean, I I'm I'm the guy who's like, hey, don't train all day, train like four hours, you know. So, you know, because I I know the balance you have because you know, there is a certain emotional energy that's taken to train people high level, you know.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Oh, absolutely, because you gotta be on one hundred percent every time, all the time. I lead uh, you know, we I've talked a lot about this business networking, my group that I lead that I'm the president. I'm the talking head of the group. I gotta lead that group every week, and there are new people coming to visit our chapter, and I cannot take a day off. Like for that two-hour time block, I gotta be mean. But that's only one time a week. Personal training is every day, five, six hours.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Yeah, and and uh and and you you you know when you get done with that, you're like, oh, right? You know, it it really does uh drain your battery there. But um, but uh again, I after once I built that, I actually got to a place where I was making like $10,000 a month, which is really cool. And you know, back in 2014 is a lot of money, right? You know, yeah, yeah. So my wife's like, okay, well look, we're doing really well here. She quit her job, she's working, uh, she's doing a few things, but when we see she's a bartender, right? You know, so she quit her bar job, and um I was I was like, okay, let's find a lease now, you know. So we're able to find a lease, which is my first gym, which you came visit the first time back in 2015 or 16, which is Austin there, you know. And from there, just like any other business, you scale. You know, I hired other trainers, I created systems, I create classes.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

I remember Keelan Williams, former LSU great, the guy with the best hamstrings in the world. That dude.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Dude, yo freak, absolute freak. So if you guys don't know Keelan, uh he uh he won the national championship his freshman year at LSU in 2007 under um oh Lord, what's his name? Uh Miles. Mick Saban. No, Les Miles. That's right, that's right. Uh so yeah, that the uh he uh our recruiting back native or something? He he he was uh I believe a close to life hit native. Uh he's around there, but he was actually training at the gym close to us. I said, hey bro, come to eight pecs. He's like, uh, let's go. So that's my boy, man. We had some really good training sessions in, and uh it was really cool to have him. You know, you know, actually, we were training back in like 2016, 17, and he was like, Yeah, dude, I'm gonna go back to school, be a physiotherapist. I'm like, all right, whatever, Keelan, right? You know, yeah. That dude went back to school and now he's a really good PT in Lafayette right now. Heck yeah. So it's a really cool story, bro. It's awesome. And uh it's awesome to see that success uh breed to other places too, you know. But um, fast forward, uh, I I I I I get um I get I get a gym and the opportunity to uh you know actually build a bigger gym, right? You know, so we have four trainers. Uh it's about 2018. This guy approached me, he's like, hey man, I'm actually building a really big gym, a 32,000 square foot facility. I want you inside there.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Yeah, that that place was serious. It had the track, all the equipment was in the center. You had the half basketball court. That place was intense.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

So 32,000 square feet is pretty is is is vast, right? I mean, there's literally it's literally three gyms and one gym, which is awesome. And uh we had the blessed opportunity to have one side of the gym, which is really cool, and and built and scale to even larger uh place there, you know. So um, but as far as my journey to get there, and of course moved to California, uh to I took a 10 uh what 2017 to 18. I moved to California for one year. Uh trained under uh Charles Glass, uh some really good other uh bodybuilding coaches over there, you know, got some really good experience, made really good connections, but I did move back uh because we tried to run the gym while we weren't there, it wasn't working out too well, you know. So yeah, but that was a good time, man. And I I started coaching Matt in 2016 in Waltzme, we get here to 2026 now.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

Yeah, yeah. What uh what do you think was the challenge to managing from afar?

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Uh so any business you run, man, um any small business you run, sorry, if it doesn't have the uh the systems, the SOP, the people in place to be successful over time and lit literally scale over time, it it's it's it's not gonna work, right? You know, as in it's it's you're gonna regress over time. And you know, um I think as as the economy uh continues to go through tough times, as you know, business tax go up and it's harder to start a business, that you're gonna see more owners have to be there more often here, you know.

SPEAKER_00 12:06

Yeah, I think uh sweat equity.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

100%, you know. I mean, especially a gym environment, man, where like you know, your culture is built from the owner, right? You know, essentially like you know, culture comes from the top and drips down there. So um not being there in person and influence people to train a high level, um, you know, continue their education, uh build a community, that's what hurt that's what hurt the gym. And honestly, you'll see gyms like uh orange theory or Soul Cycle coming here in Baton Rouge, right? Yeah, and in two years of close, like man, what happened there? You know, it's it's good. It's because the owner's not there, right? You know, and that GM can only go so far as far as leading a uh a community. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

So yeah, so you came back. Um tell us about when you started your the the big gym, the gym that I've gone to recently. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Uh so that was about 2018. We started writing the plans for that, you know. And uh it's we actually bought a property in 2018 uh in Youngsville, Louisiana. And um, it's so cool how God works, man. It was like any any door that was open was like, oh yeah, clear, clear sign. Any door that was shut was like no, you know, and and at the time it just it just wasn't right time to build, you know. We we still need some systems to be built out, but I really need to mature as a business owner, you know. And it really wasn't until about 2022 I got with this business coach, uh, his name's Matthew Park. He has a company called uh Trainer Revenue Multiplier. I'm still part of it actually. Yeah, no. He's the one who actually taught me the business, right? You know, because I'm one of those people, I'm so passionate about helping people and fitness and health that that I can get blind side by the money, right? I'm I'm like I'm like, oh I'm not the money what do you do? No try to try and do any of that here, you know? And and and when really if you're not focused on the business side along with helping the community, you that that that intersection is where you have success. So like I was just lacking, I was like, dude, I'm I need to train people and do this here. So I was I was in my business, not not working on my business, and uh have hir hiring him and having to have a business coach throughout this whole time has helped me tremendously there.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Yeah, no, I I can tell the difference from when I first worked with you. You always had the um the weekly updates and they were very dialed in. Um, but just like how you respond, the you know, the automated reminders that like, hey, send your update in, and your form is a little bit more dialed in now. Um, and I think that helps you to coach the athletes better. Um, and then when you do a check-in call, uh when you send the update call, uh, I I like reaching out to you. I'm like, hey, let's schedule a call, let's get a call. Let's let's let's talk. I'm a big talker in person, but I love your videos. Um, I can tell how much you care about the person and you've thought through how to help people get over those obstacles or the mental blocks or the the hurdles that they can't figure out the problem. Like, why is this not working for me? Um I know he's he's trained you up on that kind of stuff, the psychology behind that as well, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:50

I started in 2014. You know, I had my first online client in 2014 and post-trained client in 2014 as well. Excuse me. Um the game has evolved so much since then, you know, because back then there was an email. Hey, email me. Okay, cool. I'll get email, email you back, right? You know, and I learned over time that to increase retention, increase the the coaching experience for that person who we have to have put it in high regard because that person might only hire one coach their entire life, right? This might be my only opportunity to really help this per person achieve a higher level of themselves, yeah, and version of the self, and then and and that's it, right? You know, so it's like if we if we could create a system to where they're getting the best experience possible, it's gonna keep them on longer, but also it's gonna improve their experience as well with their, you know. So back back in 2014, there's email. Well, now it's email, text, videos, catch up calls, right? You know, the more nurturing we can do to not only get to know this person's psyche and coach mentality, but also coach physique as well, has been a game changer as far as our success and nurturing ability.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Yeah. And uh throughout all of this, you you you neglected to mention you are also a bodybuilder, aspiring to be pro, right? Why'd you leave that little detail out of this guy jacked if y'all can't tell?

SPEAKER_01 15:57

I'm not IBB pro, uh, but but I'm not saying aspiring. Sorry, sorry, yeah. Yes, my bad. Uh sorry.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Case talks fast. He thought I threw an IFBB pro. I said aspiring pro bodybuilder.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

So, I mean, I mean, so my literary I mean I mean to say my story in like in like five minutes is tough, you know, because it's so it's not. I'm not asking you to say it in five minutes.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

You take hey, look, I love this guy. Like we have been, I mean, since 2016. I've always come back to you. I tried to cheat on him one time, and it was like, I know, like he said, when I go into something, I go 110%. And uh I had reached out to somebody locally, and he sent me this BS meal plan and he had it to me within like, I don't know, an hour or something. It was like, I said, this dude didn't think of none of this stuff. Like, he did not take his time or care. And it was like, I didn't even want to follow it because I was like, he didn't put the attention into it, you know. Like, I don't respect this. Well, it's like once you drive. And it probably would have worked. Like, I don't respect the individual.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

100%. I mean, you know, it essentially you could you could get in shape in Chat GBT, you know. Why people hire high-level coaches is is is for the mindset aspects, right? You know, and sure, I mean, dude, I mean, I I know things that, you know, I I've forgot about more things than most coaches learn in the past five or ten years, you know.

SPEAKER_00 17:09

And that is not him bragging, that that's true humility. I mean, you ought to see when you work with Jace, how he taps in to what's going on in your personal life, your faith life, like it is all a part of the big picture, uh, mind, body, and soul, really. That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

There's there's four pillars that hold your house. There's your mental, emotional, your spiritual, and your physical, you know. And we have to make sure that all these four pillars are growing together because that's gonna hold the table up straight. Because if one goes on the other one, it's gonna collapse here, right? You know, so coaching from all those four pillars allows us to see progress across the board, right? But also it allows the person to actually get the next level of their goals anyway, here, right? Yeah. Because I can't tell many people I coach Matt to where they want to lose 20 pounds. I can't lose 20 pounds, I can't lose 20 pounds. When it's not a physical goal, it's a mental goal, it's a spiritual goal, it's an emotional goal, right? You know, so being able to walk through them and really hold hold them accountable to those goals, but tell them the truth that nobody tells them is what helps me be successful there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

And then I know I know some things about you personally. Uh, I hope we we talk in about this. Um, you know, I'm over two years sober right now. Um, I know you stopped drinking alcohol, right? You don't drink, you don't partake in any of that. Um when you were younger, like what when did that shift change um for you? Was that when you were running a business? Was that prior to then? Let's talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

So when I was first started training people, it was 2014. I would I would train people from 4 a.m. to about 6 p.m., go home, take a little nap, and then go bounce at a bar until like 3 a.m. Right. You know, it's like I was grinding, right? You know, and and you know, um quit when you're when the when the bar in the bar life is very common to be a part of like partying and be a part of like any type of drug use or anything like that there, you know. And I wouldn't do anything crazy, but like, you know, it was just it was just like, hey, that's what we did. You know, we we smoke weed, we drank alcohol, you know, we party hard on the weekends, you know. And um in in uh in 2016, um uh at the time I wasn't going to church, and my coach at the time, who actually was coaching me for bodybuilding, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

The guy C620, nutrition.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Bri Brian Maloso went uh C620. He's actually used to live here in Baton Rouge. Uh he would Shout out Brian. Shout out Brian. He would he would be hanging out his house, right? You know, it's about bodybuilding, and he'd bring Jesus up. I was like, oh, oh, I'm good. Like it would almost like bring a distaste on him out just talking about it, right? You know, and and and uh he'd keep bringing it up, keep bringing it up, you know. I was like, Bye, I just want to talk about Bible, oh, it's about God, you know. And uh in this church uh called Our Saviors in Lafayette, uh Louisiana, uh my buddy was like, hey man, just come check the church out. I was like, okay, cool, you know. I I grew up in a church, like majority of people here in Lafayette, and uh Lafayette in Louisiana, you know, had a spiritual background, but I got away from it as I got older, you know? Yeah, and uh I went to church, man, and uh they had this pastor that was really just speaking to me at the time, you know, and looking back, it was just God just pulled me there, you know, it's really cool there. But um uh he is he was really speaking to me. And over time, within a few months, I decided to give my life to him, right? You know, I was like, hey Lord, this is yours. You know, I'm no longer driving the ship, I'm surrendering this life to you here, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Instead of ignoring it and and filling the void with X, Y, or Z going to him, getting in the Bible, getting in scripture. And so uh that's been a big part of your life and your success.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

I like how you said that, Matt, because we're not strong enough to change our behavior naturally. Hell no. Like men, men, we're tough, right? I can do anything I can I can. You won't be able to withstand you not watching pornography because our innate want of lust, right? Yeah, our innate want of flesh, our innate want of of numbing stuff, right? You know, or dopamine, should I say. So like like it's the it's only spiritually can we uh not only stop but but literally abstain from these long term here, you know? And and you don't do it because oh, it's a sin. I do it because it separates me from him, right? You know, I I think when you first get saved, like, oh, I don't want to say I don't want to sin. Like, dude, like I didn't I've been a Christian for 10 years now. I'm not thinking about sin. I don't think about sin at all, you know? Like I'm like, oh, I'm sitting. I'm like, no, how can I how can I please him, right? You know, because I know that the the blessing of a really close relationship with him is on the side of that obedience, you know.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

I mean it's really simple. I mean, he called us to love one another and serve others, right? And uh, you know, we know we're sinful beings, like we're born with original sin. Uh, you know, the world is is trying to get us to sin. And and when you just start thinking about, you know, how can I put the other person first? How can I serve in my business? Like we talked about it before the podcast. Like, man, I really want to serve the youth with this little passion project of mine, like the high school or the college kid looking for somebody to aspire to be like someone local. Um, so I want to serve them, I want to serve you, I want to get the name uh, you know, apex out there. I want more people to know about it and in the lives you've already impacted. It's gonna be so much more. And so um it's really not that complicated, right? Just love and serve.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

What what the it's just like into the process, you first start is so much stress, right? Like when you first when I saw Coach Matt, he's like, I gotta weigh my food, I gotta drink my water.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Dude, I remember the anxiety of working with Jace. I was like, I freaked out like when I got everything back because he takes his time, like you take you do. This big intake form, you send an update or the photos and everything, measurements. You don't hear from him for damn near a week, but he's working the whole time on your thing, getting to know you and how he's going to craft this plan. I'm sure you've got a 12-week look at my plan based on if I do this or I don't do this. So you get everything back, and it does seem overwhelming. Uh thankfully, I was an athlete, so I was used to some of the stuff. The training aspect, I had it under control. I was like, I could follow these workouts in my sleep. The nutrition and the weighing and the tracking, um, that was unfamiliar. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:35

Yeah. I'll I would say um people are like, well, Jace, what's the most common uh pitfall or Achilles Hill for new clients, you know? It's really just, I would say the communication process, right? Because they get it, they get their program and they might struggle with weighing their food, but they're good in the gym. Or they might struggle with sleeping at a good time, but they're good in their meals there, you know? It's them communicating that, right? You know, because the coaching relationship really is just communication, right? Like, I'm not you're not buying a plan for me. You're buying my knowledge, sure. But you're buying my navigation for your issues or your hurdles to help you get there faster.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

That's unique to their life, like unique to their life, exactly. I know you're not talking to everybody like you talk to me because not not everybody leads the schedule and the lifestyle that I have with the multiple businesses, the family, the competing, like and everybody's unique, you know.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

And and and uh understanding that um that I'm not the coach for everybody as well is is key there too. Because when I first started my business, people would leave or they go to another coach or or they would just quit, right? You know, and it it would and since I was so tied to my identity with coaching, it would hurt me. Performance-based identity, right? It would hurt me, right? You know, and now I understand like I'm like I'm like, you know, if like, hey, Jace, after six months, you know, hey, just it's not working out anymore. I'm like, praise God, right? You know, like go find somebody that they that can speak to you because I uh I'm a man, right? I do better with men and well older women too, but like I can speak in people, but if they're not ready to receive what I'm saying or their way I'm saying it, it's never gonna work long term because there'll always be some type of hurt or some resentment there, you know. So like you you have to find your your niche of of clients and co and and and um and athletes who respond to the way you talk, the way you think, but also what you ask out of them. You know, I know if I ask Matt to do a big feat, he can do it for me. Well, I have clients that can't do half of what Matt does. And if I ask them that, they'd be like, they get discouraged because again, I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm overshooting their ability, even their mental capacity there, you know. So um that's that's what makes it a unique, uh, such a new unique career is that it's every day is a different uh challenge and every client's totally different.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

Yeah. I want to get to uh it was Brian from C620. Um and then who was the TRM coach?

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Uh TRM coach is uh Matthew Park. He's a uh Canadian, this guy um from a small, small town of Canada. I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with Canada, not his huge, right? Because I have class from Canada, right? You know, like I'm from you know Toronto.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

The way you said it, Jace, was like they didn't know that Canada was to the north. What you mean is like the different areas of Canada. Sorry, sorry, yes. Jace is goofy.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

This is why I love this dude. He is silly. He is silly. Um he came from a small town in Canada, farm time boy, and he moves to uh Venice Beach, California. Oh wow. So small from like 18 years old, he tells his dad, hey, I'm I'm gonna uh go there and be a purse trainer and be successful. And they're like, No, you're not, you know, like his whole lineage was farmers, you know. The first thing to do in something great, you gotta find somebody who says, No, you can't. Well, again, everybody told him this. Not one person believed, not one person, right? This is why I find it so shocking. Why I look up to him so much, you know. Um, but yeah, it moves, moves to California, man, gets hooked up with some really good people and is just super successful to where like he ends up running this league called Super League. Uh, I'm not sure if you know about this. Back in 2016 and 17, it was like a bunch of bodybuilder slash slash athletes who would lift weights as a competition, right? You know, and I mean, huge organization, it was worldwide for a long time, ends up owning it, right? You know, then started coaching other coaches how to how to lead a business, you know. So, I mean, had this huge, huge uh, you know, hero arc. And um uh, but Matt Smile, I look up to a lot. And uh we got together in 2022 because this coach I know respect uh a lot. I mean, he has four gyms, you know, huge coach company, he has hands in a lot, said uh so is uh he was being coached by him. I was like, man, is this is this legit? Because if you guys are on social media in any industry, you're gonna see a coaching ad. Hey, here's your plumber's coach, here's this guy, yeah. You know, I can help you sell real estate or 10 million years or whatever there, you know? It's it's so it's so cookie cutter or or it's everybody does it, you know. So when you find well, I found somebody I trusted who like, no, this guy's legit, you know, and I actually talked to Matt and see how heart-centered he actually was. I was like, oh no, this is a guy right here, you know. And and and since then, man, uh, I mean, we've grown together tremendously to where I'm actually a part of his company now, you know. And I mean, I mean, he since then he's got saved. Uh, he he he's moved from Canada to the uh to uh um um the Cayman Islands, right? You know, I mean it's and I go out there every six months to hang out with him, and it's it's it's been awesome. It's flourished and it's continued to grow over time.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

But yeah, but you know what's funny? Every time we have a call, we do it once a month, you know, I get nervous. Because like I I have a Bybone coach, right? My coach Austin Stout tells me what to eat, how to how to perform all this other stuff, you know. Well, he's my business coach. So when Austin tells me things like, hey Jace, lower your calories, I'm like, okay, cool, you know. When when Matt tells you something, he's like, hey, start this marketing thing, or or hey, let's try this new system. Like, I'm so like business like you know, resistant. I'm like, ugh, you know, I'll have a call, like this anxiety coming up, like, what's it gonna say? You know, all this stuff here, you know. So it's funny after three years I still get anxiety for our meetings.

SPEAKER_00 27:25

And it's so funny because we talk, you know, a big theme of this podcast too is like finding the right mentorship. How and mentors and coaches and how impactful they can be on our lives. Like nobody, I don't care who you are, uh, the greatest of the greats, had somebody that they looked up to, they worked alongside, that they learned from, either they paid them directly or they provided some value through proximity and and what they could provide to them in a service or business. Um, how did you discern that with Matt? So um how how does one go about because you mentioned there are a ton of coaches out there and there are a ton of frauds and fakes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

So I would say anybody that well, first of all, hiring somebody and and somebody mentoring you are are two different things. Yeah, yeah, definitely. You don't need to hire somebody to be mentor, you know. Right right now, there's a uh a pastor names Philip Anthony Mitchell, he's a uh pastor of Atlanta. Um he he's spiritually mentor me on a whole new level. He has no idea. I'm listening to a sermons, dude, and I'm just listening multiple times, taking notes, you know. I'm being mentor right now through him. So I you don't have to necessarily know the person or pay for their services there, you know. But if I did pay for Philip Anthony Mitchell to mentor me, probably a lot better, right? You know, but uh but I would say if you are looking for a mentor, somebody that you do want to pay, make sure that they they have a call with you first or meet with you first, right? Even even hiring a coach. Hey, I want you to coach me. Okay, cool. Send me your your send me your money. It's like, oh shoot, how do you know I'm a good fit for you? Nowadays, I do a consult with my clients before before that I start coaching them. If we're not a good fit, if our goals aren't aligned, if I can just tell that they're not my ideal client, I don't coach them. I say, hey, look, here's somebody that's as a better fit for you, go there, right? You know, so same thing with mentoring. If I'm paying somebody to mentor me on how to be a better coach or how to do whatever, you know, I need I need to know beforehand that we're aligned congruent and they have a vision for me as well here, you know. So when when I start coaching people, I'll say, hey, here's our six next six months, here's our next six years, right? You know, like like there's a plan through this whole time, this vision that I have for you that you can't see because you're not there yet. You haven't done this process before, you know? So I would say that again, if you're gonna hire somebody for mentorship on your on your industry, your career, or even just your spiritual life, make sure they meet with you first.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

Love it, love it, love it. What are from your youth, who were some people that made big impact on you? Oh man.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Prior to getting into this whole uh training game. Nobody really, man. You know, I never really had a mic to look up to growing up. I had some great people in my life, you know. Like I had a a brother-in-law that was big in sports. He's like, dude, you got this, you can do this. Like he saw me what I couldn't see at the time that I could achieve, right? You know, that I didn't believe in, right? You know, but I would say, again, if you're like Jace, who's the two people that changed your life the most, two men, it would be Brian Malaston uh with C620, who literally lead me to Christ, led me to this career, led me to where I am now, and then uh Matthew Park, who helped me scale from there, you know. So it'd be those two men there. But back in the day, man, I just either I wasn't looking around for it, I wasn't surrounded by those people, or I wasn't in the right mindset.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

And I I think our audience needs to keep that in mind because that's a great example. You know, some people they have uh, you know, a family member or somebody in the local community to be able to look up to, but you know, don't don't go into despair or lose hope. You found yours later in life. Exactly, right? Um, your life wasn't lost, you stumbled upon these people, and look at you now. Look at you now.

SPEAKER_01 30:39

And I would say the biggest thing is is uh open up your mind and your heart, you know, because now that I think about it, when I was younger, I didn't really trust that many people, you know. Uh my dad left when I was eight years old, right? You know, it's me, me, my mom, and my brother in this barn, and she worked three jobs, right? You know, and it's like I I didn't really have a male figure to look up to that was like, hey, go this way. I care about you, I actually love you here, you know. But uh, but over time, as I healed and matured, I was like, oh no, like I can talk to this man, and he actually does love me and he actually does care about me. He actually wants to see the best of me here, you know? So I would say that make sure your heart and your mind are in a place that's posture towards that growth and that vision that they have, rather than just seeing who can help who can get you the next level faster, whatever it is.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

Excellent, excellent. So thinking about your business today, what are some of your future goals for it? And what are some of the challenges? Let's start with what are the challenges that you're facing today? Challenges I'm facing today.

SPEAKER_01 31:33

Um procrastination on my end.

SPEAKER_00 31:37

Um I gotta hear about this because I don't believe it. This is a damn lie. I was gonna say punctuality, baby. Oh, no, no, man.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

You know, uh you got to the studio a little late today because of traffic, but I was you know, I I would say that you know, you reach a certain level of success that you're comfortable with. You get comfortable. And the next level is gonna take so much of your energy, of your mindset, and of you just having hard conversations that you just tend to kind of dip your feet in slow, you know?

SPEAKER_00 32:06

And and also I gotta talk about this. Okay. I was at Bethany, uh, it's a local church, Christian church here. It's funny you said that because I'm thinking about this talk that was given to us. It's called the um Leader's Luncheon at Bethany. You're gonna have to come back to town for this. He's like, oh God, it's at church. You're right. Oh God, it's gonna help you in your business and everything in life. No, but the guy was talking about when you think about an infant from a moment in its form, it's in this womb, right? In the womb, and it has all of this space to grow, and it's so comfortable. And the bigger it gets, the closer it gets to the chaotic outside world, right? Uh to that next stage of life. But it doesn't know any better. In the womb, it thinks it's in the greatest place ever. It's it's being fed, it's comfort, it's warm, it's nice, there's a ton of space in there. And as it grows, the pressure starts to mount. And then when that child is born, that child goes through what they likely think is the death, the ending of them, but it's really just a beginning, and they are birthed into new life. And that's really how the seasons of our life are, is we get to a place where we're comfortable, right? And it's like, man, I'm doing really well, this feels really good. And we may have thoughts of growth, but as we start to outgrow that space, then you start to feel pressure, right? You start to take on more, you start to battle different things, you know, that you haven't dealt with before. And it starts to get really uncomfortable. And you can you can get anxious, you can have anxiety, fear, all these different things. You know, my business is gonna fail, my marriage is gonna fail. Like, why is all of this happening? And then you burst into new life, and then you're in a new season. I just wanted to tell you that. No, that's that's awesome, man. It's so true, man.

SPEAKER_01 33:57

So you're in the you're in the womb right now, you're in a good spot. We're all in the womb. Yeah. Right? You know, I one thing I hear about success or any process is like uh it's like it's like a mountain, right? You know, at the bottom of the mountain is is crowded, you know. Yeah, you see, you see the fat people, right? You know, you're like look around here, you're like, you're like, okay, I'm I'm I I'm I'm at the average place where people can achieve this, you know? Yeah. But as you sort of scale in the mountain, what happens? The pressure increases. Yeah. The oxy decreases, the strenuous steep climb increases, right? You look around, there's less people, you know. So we're all we're all on some mountain in our process or journey, whether it be business, your spiritual life, your marriage, uh, or anything here, or your career, you know. But it's like it it it having that mindset and like, okay, what next level is just one more step forward? And what what what's the next step look like here, you know? So uh, but man, I I'm just procrastinating to things that like again, my coach told me to do, you know. I'm just like, ah, I'll do it later, right? You know, so and and how much growth you can come from these things? Very little, right? Like, I'm talking about like more members of my gym, right? You know, so but I mean, honestly, dude, like I'm such in a good place mentally and and and and um uh emotionally with my business. It's it's awesome. I'm I'm blessed. Like, honestly, I I couldn't imagine where like 10 years ago, if you'd like to say, hey, you're gonna be here, I'd be like, nah, you're lying, dude. You know, yeah, but uh, you know, um I actually this last year, man, uh my coaching's actually slowed down a lot, actually, you know. I was as far as taking on new personal clients? Uh online. Online. So online we we were reaching up to about 30k months, uh, you know, which is impressive for any online business, right? You know, 30k in revenue a month. Oh, per month, just online. So me, me and two of the coaches, right? You know, and and man, it was it was it was a blast, but it was so busy, right? You know, and and then that was before the gym, right? You know, and then once the gym built, I was like, oh shoot, I don't have much time for this anymore here, you know? Yeah, so now I'm at my gym and I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm building community, I'm nurturing members, right? You know, so I have my hands in more things here, but even though that's slowed down, I'm okay with it, right? You know, because it's still in a great place, right? You know, so I think what business is, is like you push, push, push, stop, scale down, stay there, right? You know, and it's like, okay, I'm good here, let me grow something else, right? You know? Um, so so that that's been fun to kind of build that new identity. I'm like, okay, where am I in my business now and what am I wanting to push here? But the things I'm procrastinating on are just just the things that bring a little return, but just like have a lot of work, you know. So uh that'd probably be the the next thing my business I need to progress.

SPEAKER_00 36:10

I remember when I was at your gym last time I went there, it was uh maybe last year. Um you had talked about we've got plans to build out further into the park. Is that the thing you're talking about?

SPEAKER_01 36:20

Uh so so uh so uh uh right now we're at 400 members, right? You know, uh we're very niche gym. So uh for you guys, uh our gym's 5,600 square feet, right?

SPEAKER_00 36:28

You know, we're trying to re-the highest level of equipment though, like the highest, like it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

Well, number one, never judge a gym by the size, right? You know, because there's a lot of huge gyms that that don't, you know, equipment in there that's a waste of space. 100%, 100%. Oh and and uh the theme about our gym is every gym's four walls and some equipment, but it's the community that makes it special, right? Yeah, it's the culture that makes it special. So um we we are guessing once you get to about 600 members, we'll actually able to be be able in place to build the front side of the property, uh, another another exact uh replica of the gym, right? You know, so I literally doubling in size. Double in size there, right? So we can handle up to 1200 members there, you know. So, but also we'll have a posing room, we'll have uh a fresh sauna, cold cold therapy uh rooms. We'll have uh more more more amenities that people are asking about that we don't have yet, right? You know? Um so so that that's that's the next plan next year or two. But I'm actually building a house behind my gym right now. So that's kind of where like a lot of the money is being pushed right now, you know. So we're about two months out from a house being built.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Wait, I I knew you were building a house. Yeah. So you're saying you're building a gym at your house or you're building the house?

SPEAKER_01 37:30

I I have I have an acre uh uh of this, I guess, ho horizontal lot. It's like I have a long lot. Uh I'm on the back side, my gym's on the back side of the acre, right? You know, so the rest is is uh is parking lot, you know. Behind there, there's three and a half acres of this country pasture, right? You know, I bought that uh 20 about about over a year and a half ago, right? You know, and now we just started the building process through manual builders and they're about two months out from building a house.

SPEAKER_00 37:52

I just sold a property with manual builders, yeah. Yeah, they're they're great company, beautiful homes. Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:00

So we got we got a good custom home and uh and it's fun, but we'll see it spring up. And it is funny, like I'm a type of person where like I'm very visual, like I don't care what you say or how I feel. It's I need to see something, right? You know, and people are like, I uh my memories are more excited about the house than I am. Like, dude, you put the pillars up and put the windows. I'm like, yeah, cool, you know.

SPEAKER_00 38:17

Yeah, so it's it's cool to see how excited they are about the two, you know. Yeah, yes indeed, yes indeed. So what um, so I said, what are some of the challenges? Future goals right now for Apex, we're gonna double, literally double the gym.

SPEAKER_02 38:31

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_00 38:32

Um you mentioned you are doing your online coaching. You have two others or three others?

SPEAKER_01 38:37

I know Maddie's one of them. I hadn't met her. I was my online coach. I have uh my sister Sarah, my client, my coach Connor, and then my coach Jevin. So Vanessa, does she know man? What is she doing?

SPEAKER_00 38:47

So uh back in back when I hired my business coach, uh scoring points for him right now because he hadn't talked much about wifey on the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 38:56

He said, Man, you need to leverage your wife more, Jay. I said, Yeah, cool. So my so first of all, this is a split business. My wife, I do, I'm like the muscle, you know, and she's like the brains, right? You know, thank God. And uh when in 2022, when I started first started scaling online, I was like, hey, do you want to take some clients on? And like, you know, the ones I don't want to coach, you just coach them. She's like, uh, not really. I was like, oh, I know that'd be your answer, right? You know, so I'm supposed to do whatever I ask, honey. Right? So so I gave her some clients, you know. You know, I was like hey, is your client by the way, you know? And I mean, she coached so well, she coached them, but like she said, hey, dude, I hate this, Jace. Like, she does not like training, she does not like coaching people, you know. She she has a class she's been having for like I don't know, like four or five years with the same girls for four or five years. And that's it's it's her best friends, right? You know, but outside that, bro, she will not be. She teaches a class at your gym? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:43

A yoga class.

SPEAKER_01 39:44

No, no, it's it's a strength training class, you know. Uh is it's at 8:30, uh four times a week. And it's again, it's her best friends show up, you know. But she used to she used to be a full-time trainer, right? You know, she should have a bunch of clients, all this stuff. And and over time, she's like, I hate this. So I was like, all right, baby, look, do what you gotta do, or we'll just handle the rest of here, okay? So yeah, no, but uh my wife, she she's a lot more um uh she's very strategic. Okay, um, where I'm more intuitive, you know. So if Matt's like, hey bro, you want to do this?

SPEAKER_00 40:10

I'd be like, hmm, yes, right, you know, like there's no very a my wife hates me for that same fact. Like, I'll say yeah, like I can spur the moment, like, can I make this? Can I fit this in the schedule? Yeah, let's do it. My wife is like, no, everything gotta be planned and thought out. Dude, dude, dude. My son, oh my gosh, my son is blessed, Jace. You have no idea. This dude's birthday parties, like from the decorations to the invites, it it just all flows, yeah, yeah. Meticulous, yeah, meticulous. And I'm like, bring that shit into my business, honey. Exactly. And she has been lately, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:42

Yeah, praise God, bro. That's awesome. But I think I think, you know, this yin-yang, right? You know, I think if we had a partner like us, it'd just be a mess, you know. We fight. We fight. 100%, dude. We're broke. Yeah. Black eyes and broke. Yeah. That's right. That's right. But uh, I I I am blessed, man. My wife, she's very, uh, she's very uh uh frugal, you know. It's like she she doesn't like to spend money at all. I don't like that word, cost efficient. Oh, okay, okay, okay, okay. She's very cost efficient. Yeah, yeah. She's very cost efficient and uh and uh and she's very strategic too, you know. So again, me, bro. I'm like, if it feels good, like, yeah, let's do it. Yeah. Can't cool for the weekend, let's go. Tell my clients I'll be back on Monday. But at the same time, when we argue, she's like, hey, you want to do this? I'm like, hmm. She did the calculation, she planned this. I'm like, dang. If I say yes, no, she'd be why. I'm like, I don't know, you know? So she traps me there. So I'm like, what do you want to do? Yeah, let's do that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 41:36

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, look, I I heard this is funny. When uh it's in your wife would already have the places in mind, but you ask a girl, hey, where do you want to eat out? And when they say, I don't know, I say, I know exactly where you want to eat. I bet you can't guess it. And then they guess and that's where you take them. That's where you take them. Jedi mind trick, buddy. You're learning something new. Yeah, it's pretty great. So look, oh man, that's awesome. Well, talk about your daughter. So you you're your father too. I mean, not just a husband, but a father and and very competitive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

Um, so the frontal lobe of the male's brain doesn't really develop to about 25 years old, right? You know, so before that, we're like barely cognizant, you know, we're just operating, you know. Yeah. Um, and and I had my daughter when I was 24, my wife. And um I was still, again, I was still working at the bar, I was still partying, I still do all that stuff there, you know. But when I turned 25 and I found my career, I was like, oh, okay, well, let me start taking life seriously now. You know, there's more than just me at stake here, like of my actions here, you know. Um, it's funny. I actually uh uh I got in a bar fight one time um while working and uh I knocked these two dudes out, pow pow, right, you know? And uh I went I went to like this felony court for it, right? You know, my daughter she'll remember this, she was like super young, you know. I'm driving I'm driving her home from school yesterday. She's like, Daddy, when you went to jail, what what were they like in there? I explained to her what jail was and what put this from jail in prison. Anyway, uh, but anyway, um I was like, okay, 25 years old, I need to start taking it seriously. So, you know, quit all that stuff there, you know, got saved, and and then now she's seeing the most mature, evolved version of myself, you know. So what's cool about maturity, man, is like, you know, it's not just you that pays a price, it's your family, you know. And and you could leave them with generational generational curses and family curses that they have to deal with over time, you know.

SPEAKER_00 43:24

Oh, it's wild. I just we just talked about this at the men's Bible study I go to. We literally just talked about generational curses on Thursday.

SPEAKER_01 43:31

It's real. Well, also every behavior that somebody has is from their childhood. Yeah, they modeled it. Well, 100%. Like you can relate everything that somebody does or or doesn't do from a behavior that they they've become uh, you know, uh a got from a parent, you know, or got from a sibling, you know. Um but yeah, again, you know, um all this is to say that my daughter is getting the most advanced version of myself here. She's 12 years old, she's about five, five, five, five, six, one forty, just this brick house, dude. You know, she plays soccer, she has a swim meet today, she uh she does about Volleyball and um this dude was training her when I got what like so she was born what year? So she's born in 2024. Oh sorry, 2014.

SPEAKER_00 44:08

2014. So yeah, I remember her in the gym, you training her, making her do box jumps over hurdles and doing all these things when she was like two or three years old. Yeah. Well, it was funny, dude.

SPEAKER_01 44:18

Uh I don't train anymore. You know, uh my coach Maddie trains her. But uh, I mean, she was she saw we started training three years old, you know. I was like, hey, grab those dumbbells, walk over there, you know? Hey, here's how you lunge, you know. So she she grew, she doesn't know anything else of the gym. Like she actually it took her a while to realize that that not everybody went to the gym. You know, she thought like it was just a part of everybody's life, you know, growing up, you know. So when she got to school, she's like, wait, you guys don't go to the gym?

SPEAKER_00 44:40

Dude, my son Jackson, I mean, his whole life, I have an at-home gym set up uh in a garage, a lot of stuff. I got him like toy, dumbbell weights and stuff when he was like two years old. Um, and that's all he knows. He knows I compete, I do these races, I work out, I go to the gym. Like he knows the businesses that I'm involved in. He sees the home office. He see I've brought him to my physical office outside of the home. And uh I'm just I love being an entrepreneur to be able to show him those things. Like I'm not confined to nine to five and like not being able to bring them to my place of work. Like it's it's really cool to just be that example.

SPEAKER_01 45:18

Like, yeah, and and and and you know, uh not say there's no stress, but like we have different stress than other people, you know. But I feel like as an entrepreneur, we have to hide it better than most people as well, you know. So like when I grew up, my mom and dad got divorced from financial stress. Right. I I can remember them like like I because I see them fighting about just the bills and fighting. I remember I look at them, I said, number one, I'm never getting divorced, you know, because they get they've been divorced three times. I was like, hey, I'm never gonna have financial stress like they have, you know. So it's cool that my daughter, again, she she doesn't know, she'll never know what that's like, she'll never know what not working out looks like here, you know, or our drinking meat, meat being drunk looks like, you know. So um, but also, man, I I get I get to pour into her spiritually, you know. We go to church together, you know, we we we read Bible together at night, and it's it's uh it's a blasphemous, like, hey, this is our next generation. Here's the legacy of me to be the the sparkle in this world, go now, you know? Because essentially it's almost over for us, right? You know, like like we're we're not necessarily influenced the next generation. I know it's podcasts for like, you know, the younger generation here, but we can only do so much for them. They're gonna be influenced by people their age at some point.

SPEAKER_00 46:17

Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's a big thing that my wife is starting to realize. Um, with my son being in school, now he's in pre-K, right? It's funny, they mature faster than you mature, you know?

SPEAKER_01 46:26

So, like, you know, this past year's been hard on my wife, because uh my daughter, she went from like, hey, let's watch a movie, let's do this together, you know. Now she's in a room playing on a computer or playing like on reading a book, right? Leave me alone, mom. That's exactly it hurt my wife. Like it literally hurt my wife, you know? And uh and me, I'm like, man, like, oh girl, like, you know, grow up, you know. Uh, because I I want I want to see her thrive and be a strong woman in this community here, you know. But it's uh it's it's funny that you they change first and then you slowly change through heartache, through that there, you know. And then one day, bro, like she'll be driving, she won't have to shuffle around, you know, and they won't have those conversations anymore, you know. So yeah. You see how tough you are when she brings that first guy home.

SPEAKER_00 47:02

Oh, yeah. When when you're not the guy of her of her heart anymore. We're gonna see. Yeah, yeah. He's trying to act tough right now for Vanessa. Yeah, let it let it be, let it grow up, baby. Wait till she Oh man. He's really thinking about this now. He's like, damn, why you said that, Matt?

SPEAKER_01 47:17

Zero with thought there, Matt, till you said that just now. So yes, that is gonna be pretty shocking there.

SPEAKER_00 47:20

Yep, yep, yep. So all right, give us some quick hitters. What uh what is something in your entrepreneurial journey that you would love to leave with the audience? Like what are what are some core principles that you live by today that has led to your success?

SPEAKER_01 47:33

Well, uh well, so first, let me let me share a story quick. Uh, I was in my gym yesterday, and this guy, he's actually close to my age. Um he was working out. I haven't seen him about four weeks here, and uh he was like, Um, oh man, I went through a slump. You know, I just got you know, I got I got fired from my job, I got motivated, but now I'm back here, you know? Now he's doing this brand job at the hospital, you know. And I was like, well, man, like what do you want to do? You know, he's like, Oh, I just want to make some money, bro. I'm like, that's not the you know, like talk like money don't bring you happiness, right? You know, it does also doesn't bring you money because you just spend the, you know, spend all the money you have, you know. But uh I was I was like, uh he's like, well, actually, Jace, I want to be an entrepreneur, you know. Uh he's like, I've been looking at franchises online and we're like, what's the start? I said, no, no, don't do that. Don't do that. You're doing something completely wrong here by trying to invest in somebody else's dream to be your business and end up being a slave to it here, you know? I was like, what you need to do is find what you enjoy doing. So he's like, Oh, I love the gym, you know. I'm like, cool, okay. Your passion is the gym here, okay? Um, where is there a need in the market based on the luxury of this lifestyle? For example, uh we can't really feel much needs nowadays, right? So I like you know, if I need gas, I can't start a gas station, right? You know, if if uh if I need food, I can't start a grocery place, right? You know, but if if Matt needed me to cook some chicken, guess what? I could cook some chicken for him, right? That's a luxury, right? You know, and nowadays in 2026, people are trying to find more convenience more than needs, right? You know, because they much have these huge companies that they're fulfilling those needs there, you know. So I was like, you know, find find your niche, your industry, or the things that you enjoy, find when there's a need and in a and a luxury, yeah, and then do that, right? You know, and and think outside the box, right? There's something that people are doing right now that could be streamlined that you can do that that's gonna just that's gonna make make millions for you there, you know? And you'll be you'll be almost be the first one in the in there, you know. So um uh again, if you're an entrepreneur and you're looking like Jay, you know, like Matt or Jace, what do I do? What do you enjoy doing? Okay, now think about what would make that easier or more fun for the person to improve their experience or their time. That's that's that's that's your niche right there. And that need based on a luxury, and then go there.

SPEAKER_00 49:27

Yeah, there's like 5,000 realtors, and like half of them don't even do a deal a year. So like they're literally just holding their license.

SPEAKER_01 49:34

Yes, yeah, spending money, right?

SPEAKER_00 49:35

Yeah, I just took over a listing from somebody the other day. Um, I went out on this listing consultation. I'll just make a quick example, but uh like doing things better and differentiating. Um this poor girl needed to sell a piece of property. They had been misinformed on the actual value of the property. And I through just basic research prior to them meeting to us meeting, I knew exactly how the other realtor came to the value of that property, and it was the minimal work required. They did like, how much does one acre go for? You know, they probably did 0.9 to 1.2 acres go for an ascension parish, and they came up with this average, which was their starting point, but there were so many more things that they could have dialed in. This was an odd-shaped lot. It had less front footage than somebody would typically want to build a home on, right? Typically neighborhood lots, 60 to 70 front feet, right? But a custom lot, you want something upwards of 100. Like all these different things. And then I came up and saw what was selling. I was like, you know, I did that you were misinformed before, but this is really where the value a lot is. This is why you didn't receive any offers. Because when buyers looked at it, this is how they were judging it based on these metrics, not just a simple thing that she threw out there. And uh I got the listing, and then they they were brought to more realistic expectations of what their property was worth, and we're gonna get it sold quicker.

SPEAKER_01 51:00

Awesome, awesome. Well, and I guess that brings my first point. Just be passionate what you do.

SPEAKER_00 51:05

You know, if Matt didn't enjoy helping people, you know, or I wouldn't have gone to the length to really deep dive into the opportunity, and it's not a huge price listing. We're literally, it's 130,000, 140,000. I love the analytics of real estate. Like I'm getting excited. You can see my eyes lighting up just talking about it. And I really did a deep dive to get the true value of that property and why the market never made an offer, you know, but it's through care and passion.

SPEAKER_01 51:31

Again, you know, if Matt enjoys that, he's gonna do a hell of a job at it, right? You understand that anybody in your field, just look look at the 70%, top 70%, or sorry, top 70%, 70% of people who do it, they're just operating the lowest output possible. Minimal standards. Just get by in in personality and output. They're just getting by. They've just been doing it for so long, they just they're still around, right? You know? So if you just find something you're passionate about that you don't have to like care about, you don't have to care about because you just love doing it, you're gonna be successful there, you know?

SPEAKER_00 51:59

And just, I mean, I want to think about so like you talking about my real estate company. I changed, I actually took less money to learn from a better company with more technology, more more opportunities to serve people. I then went on to fly out to Colorado to do a business installation. It was over 40 hours, four-day event, like to invest in myself of how to provide and articulate your value to clients. Like, and because I was passionate about it, I wanted to invest in myself. Um, and I know that's something you did, right? Looking for that business coach, looking for the guy who is gonna, you know, teach you how to coach others better.

SPEAKER_01 52:37

Yeah. I mean, so uh for example, if Matt, if Matt has a business is making, you know, net uh 200,000 a year, right? You know, I'd want Matt spending about 10 to 15,000 on just extra mentoring. Yeah, you know, because that even though my percent might seem small, like, oh, that's easy there. You know, it's hard for most people to say, oh, I'm spinning that towards this, but that's what's gonna make you scale, not right now, but next two or three years, you know, it's an investment.

SPEAKER_00 52:58

Jace, I was I posted something on social media the other day. I'm not really on social right now. It's Lent. I gave it up for Lent, but I am posting content, I'm not consuming. Um, and I was I sent something uh through a direct message and uh I had reposted it, and it was about finding coaches and mentors, and I was like, boy, if you just knew you know the coaches I have in my life. Like I have a mental health and well-being coach, I have you, a dietitian and strength coach, I have my Iron Man coach, I have my real estate coach, um shoot, I go to a physical therapist, right? That's like my body coach. Um yeah, I mean, more than a mortgage is what I pay in coaching, but I have seen my life hockey stick. Yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 53:42

And why is that? Is because their 10-year journey become becomes Matt's shortcut, right? What they what they achieved in literally in their 10 or decades of doing this, they see Matt like, oh, well, shoot, we'll change this, and that's gonna be the next level for you, you know. And a lot of times the coach isn't it giving you stuff. They're saying, hey, stay here, just keep going, right? Because you're we're so like I need to change this. Same thing with diet, right? I need to change this here, you know. So uh I was spending up to 12, you know, 1500 bucks a month in coaching. I had a diet coach, business coach, and by a posing coach. But guess what? I I was at my peak, right? You know, so it's like like the the more you invest in yourself, and again, don't do it for the right now. Don't be like, oh, I'm hiring a guy. I, for example, if Matt hired me and he's like at a month, oh dude, I've I don't see the benefits here. But no, hey Matt, three months, six months, three years. He's like, oh my gosh, I see the growth here, right? You know, so you have to invest knowing that the outcome is gonna be over the years that span there. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I guess I guess the next thing would be to align yourself with God. Because once you're once you're um uh in a close walk with him, he's gonna open doors that you would have seen. He's gonna shut doors that you shouldn't go down, right? So what it does is take all the stress out, right? Like uh in in in 2017, I I I surrendered my business to God. I'll be, hey Lord, it's for you, right? You know, so now I if something's like a hard yes, I see it. If it's a hard no, it's closed, right? You know, yeah. So it's not like I don't have to do things that I'm not having to work as hard to get the result I want because I'm just following him, right? You know, so I would say again, find some of your passion and that that you love doing, but also align yourself with God and from there, literally, you just you just gotta listen and grow, be patient.

SPEAKER_00 55:13

All right. Lastly, I ask all of my guests this. The show is called for profit, right? Um, profit thinking of like the general business term, right? What's left over after expenses? I don't necessarily want that definition from you, but when you hear profit in your life, what does profit look like for you?

unknown 55:28

Whew.

SPEAKER_01 55:29

Peace. The most important thing that we have as men is peace. Okay. And that's why as you get older, you see you stop hanging out as many people, you stop going places that that take that peace, right? You know, because I know when I'm at peace, I make better decisions. I again, I'm I'm closer with God. I'm the man I need to be for my family, my friends, my clients there, you know. So I went when you say pop profit, I think of the most valuable thing, which is peace. Because we have a lot of money. I can have a lot of assets. If I have no peace, I have nothing, right? There's a lot, there's a lot of rich, miserable people out there, right? You know? Yeah. And there's a lot of poor, happy people, right? You know, so if you could intersect those two and find the place where you keep your peace the most, you found it.

SPEAKER_00 56:05

Love it, love it.