Fitter Futures: Building Formidable Humans - Sam Mathers

And that was like, you know, goosebumps for me. Like, here's this 14-year-old girl saying, no, I wanna I wanna I wanna go to Fit Futures because I wanna take the day off me. I love the physical benefits that we that our kids get from our program, but it's some of this stuff that I think is the most powerful, where they they make this connection that they understand that exercise makes me feel better. It makes it changes my mood. It turns a bad day into a good day.

What's up, fitness friends? Welcome back to the future fitness podcast and interview series, the future hostile zone. And this is episode number 159. I get to talk to Samantha Mather. She is the uh founder, co-founder, uh just that wrong, but Fitter Future out uh near prison, Australia. And it's one of the very few gyms in the world that I know that's truly dedicated to fitness. And uh if you are a fan of the show, you'll see my episode. Well no, I kind of have a soft spot in my heart for new fitness, and right for so many future and uh we're facing uh obesity epidemics in so many countries worldwide. And it really can solve with very, very simple things of getting kids active and getting them into great habits for life, right? Not only for their fitness, for their health, but for their resiliency and their ability to deal with challenges in life and and how they socialize and all that. So it's it's critical. I love the messaging that Sam has in here. It's beautiful. Um she's in the trenches doing it every day. Her business is thriving, and uh she's awesome. She's just really great. And I think you'll get a lot out of it, whether you train uh adults, youth, or if you're just a human being. So um, this episode is brought to you by uh two of my proud companies, Certified Course Creation. So if you go to certifiedcoursecreation.com, you can learn a little bit more about what Kate and I are doing for people and helping them essentially fulfill their dreams of having an online accredited certification program and working with companies like Beyond Macros, uh, the Online Traders Federation, um, all kinds of big brands that I can't say yet because they're not done. But we're we're doing a lot of really cool stuff. And it's not just the big brands, but it's the individuals as well who have something very special and unique to offer um to get out there. So if you are looking, if you do have a unique set of knowledge that you want to get out there, um you're ready to stop training your time for money and you want to make a bigger impact by scaling yourself and your knowledge, then go check it out, book time with me, and we'll chat some more and see uh where your idea fits in the market. Uh secondly, level five mentors.com. So Ken and Drew Co and I uh have partnered. We have a ton of experience, um, not only in just the fitness and health industry, but but entrepreneurship in general. And uh we're having a great time. We're helping a lot of people grow their business. And if you're feeling stuck, right, maybe you don't feel like uh money is the only thing that's important to you as an entrepreneur, well, that's where we come in. And the name level five comes from the five freedoms that we've designated of time, money, relationships, uh purpose, and health. Right? That's the metrics that we look at. And if that makes sense to you, that resonates with you, then then go on uh to our website and book a call with me as well. So yeah, level five mentors, uh making a huge impact, super excited to be part of it and helping entrepreneurs every day because entrepreneurs are the ones who make a change. And if I can help those people, then I'm uh I'm doing my my life's work. So without further ado, this is episode number 159. This is Samantha Mathers out of Future Fitter Futures. Uh enjoy the ride. Boom, and we're live. Sam, welcome to the show.

All right, thank you. Thank you for having me.

Yeah, I'm uh really I'm looking forward to this interview quite a bit. There is um, you know, if people listen to the show, they they know that uh I guess lack of a better term, I have a soft spot for youth fitness um and what it means and and the necessity of it nowadays. It's not just uh a thing that we do, it's something we need to do for for the youth. And uh as a recovering chubby kid, um, you know, getting into sports, it played you know, fitness played a significant role in my upbringing and still does today. And um plus, you know, the name of your business, Fitter Futures. I mean, it just goes well with the name of the podcast and all that. So um Yeah, that's I'll stop talking. I'm gonna let you tell your story, Sam. Give everyone a little background on you.

Um well, I was always an active kid. Um, I was a jack of all trades, master of none. So I played lots of different sports growing up. Um, and my parents did a great job of keeping us busy with that. And it's probably it's only now really that I appreciate the value of having had that kind of upbringing. Um, you know, I was able to continue to be active right through my teenage years, and then as an as a young adult, and then you know, as I've had, I've got two young girls who are 11 and um 10. So right through that, and it's always been I always say it's you know, part of my mental health plan is to move daily and to exercise. And um, yeah, so that's that's been a lifestyle for me, and um I've always felt passionately about it. And uh, you know, I didn't start off in this business. I actually was a corporate lawyer and a management consultant for many years, um, but always had was always involved in sport. Um I think I've always had this um natural tendency to want to coach and mentor and train. Like I'm you know, I wanted to be a teacher when I was little, and then you know, I coached a lot of teams and you know, did some volunteer coaching in a um in a CrossFit gym actually, where helping them run their CrossFit Kids program. And I guess that's where the when I first discovered that this was actually what I was really passionate about. And so uh probably about six years ago now, I remember having a conversation with my husband and saying, um, you know, if if money didn't matter, if I could just follow what I'm, you know, do what I'm really passionate, genuinely passionate about, it would be um, you know, coaching youth and coaching kids, you know, as a you know, as as my thing, and trying to reach as many kids as we can through that. And um now we're six years down the track, and uh three years ago, Fit of Futures was born, and um you know we just keep going from strength to strength and getting um you know bigger in our programs, and um you know I'm I've never been happier. I've I feel it's a very fulfilling and rewarding um job, if you can call it that. I don't even think of it as work. I probably work way bigger hours than I ever did when I was a corporate lawyer in an international law firm, honestly. Yeah, yeah, but um you know, I just feel so passionately about it. And I think that um, you know, certainly my my corporate background has definitely helped me with I think getting to where we are now in such a short um you know time frame. Uh just having a really good understanding of business and strategy and all those components that you need to get right to have a successful business. I think you know, without that, um the journey might have been slightly different. But um yeah, it's it's awesome. We've got a great community, uh, we're a brand X method lab, one of only three in the world, um, which uh is um something I'm really proud of and proud to be part of. And uh we're just opening our brand new, our state-of-the-art facility in four days' time. So uh it's exciting times.

Yeah, yeah.

I want to get into the facility quite a bit. And it's um, you know, I think a lot of people resonate with what you're saying. You know, there's no shortage of passion in the fitness industry, right? Everybody gets into it for really most of the time gets into really good reasons. They want to make a bigger impact, they want to do something that they truly enjoy, something that's rewarding, they want to help people. Um, the challenge is when they're forced to the realization of, well, I gotta learn business, right? And all the trials and tribulations that come with that side of things, which is a huge component of it. And um, luckily you had that background, which I've seen a lot of, you know, you kind of see two, I'm gonna oversimplify this. You see like two different types of people getting into, you know, especially gym ownership, is people who are great coaches, right, super passionate, and they decide that this is the next step in their career. So they go open a facility, right? And then they're like, oh my God, I have to learn the business side. And then there's people who like you who come in with a business background, management background, to come in and are passionate about the fitness thing, and those two things meld. And generally good things happen in the second scenario, sometimes in the first, but most of the time in the second. And uh, so that's I think that's a key, a key success factor for Ian. Um but what let's take a step back. What is fitter futures? So tell us what it is exactly.

So um fitter futures is a functional movement, functional fitness um uh offering, and we do have a facility where we offer that, but we also work a lot with schools as well. So we will go to schools and deliver our program. Um it's uh you know, it's based on the Brand X method around um, you know, their methodology around coaching youth, uh, and you know, all of our coaches are trained in um brand X as well. Um, and you know it's really about um you know building formidable humans. And uh, you know, we do that through movement, we cater to all different ability levels, uh, so it's very inclusive. So we have um that well, in terms of age groups, we're sort of five from five right through to um 19, um, is our eldest team. He he's actually old enough to be training with adults now, but he really enjoys, he's made some good friendships and um you know has enjoyed that journey, so um, and also wants to be a coach with us, which is really cool. Nice. Um but you know, we get um a really broad spectrum of uh kids that come to us. So we've got uh you know, ranging from the highly athletic and competitive groups who, you know, some of them are representing at national level in their sport um with aspirations to you know go to Commonwealth Games or get you know university scholarships with Harvard, through to, you know, um right and you know, right through the other end of the spectrum with kids and teens who have never found a sport that they like, who really don't enjoy exercise, who are very um, you know, who are unfit, who are carrying weight, who lack a lot of confidence. And we the magic of our program is we can actually we cater really well to both those groups and everybody in between. And you know, that's why we have such a high conversion rate when people come and try our classes and a retention rate, because I think we've just got this a really good culture, um, a really good um team of coaches and a really good program underpinning it, uh, which makes sure that everybody's being looked after, you know, we're doing things that's in the best interests of each athlete. Um, we're really conscious about um the progression and making sure that it's right for every for each athlete. And by doing that, you know, they experience success and that you know, those good endorphins that come with um, you know, feeling like I've done something great and they can see their improvement, and you know, that's where that sort of internal motivation comes then for them to want to keep coming back. Um, so you know, we're we're I like to think of it as the way I explain it to people, if you think of like a pyramid, um and the top of the pyramid is kind of like your you know peak performance or high performance in sport or in in life, uh, you know, you you want to make the base of that pyramid as big as you can. And that base of that pyramid is is your physical literacy, you know, your ability to do you know really foundational um movements and things that we have to use in everyday life. Um, you know, in the brand X language we call them primal movements, but um it's also about you know the hand-eye coordination and being able to kick and throw a ball and then um you know having balance and you know agility and um and strength. So the bigger the base of that pyramid is, the the greater your potential is, you know, to you know to do anything. Um and so you know it's that broad general fitness base we're trying to develop with um kids and teens, uh, so that they've got a great platform to do anything off, you know, and it's not just about, you know, and I explain it to the the kids who are specializing early in a sport, which we're seeing more and more often, and that's a whole new, whole different topic. Um, you know, there's there's risk with that, there's downside to that. Um, you know, it it narrows the base of that pyramid because you're getting really good in one, you know, in one area. Um, but you're also probably neglecting a whole lot of other movement that you're not training because it's not, you know, people don't see it as being relevant to your sport. And um, you know, if I choose swimmers as an example, um, you know, it's swimming for those athletes, it's a massive sport here in Australia as it is um in the US. Uh also a very demanding sport in terms of training load that they put on those kids. And there's actually not, for those kids who are in those programs, not a lot of room to do anything else but swim. Um, you know, they we see a lot of other, a lot of overuse injuries that come from that. But the thing that probably concerns me the most is that a lot of these kids get to like 15 or 16 and swimming's not fun anymore. They don't want to do it anymore, you know, and then they drop out of swimming, but you know, they their ability to um run, kick, throw, uh, you know, do all these other movements, which you know are very common in other sports, they're not very good at. So it's tough as a teenager anyway, right? Like from a confidence point of view, that you know, a lot of us are feeling very self-conscious and um, you know, to go from being really, really good at a sport to then switch into a sport where you're probably starting at you might be starting at the bottom because you haven't had a lot of practice, you know, and anything like it. That's a that's a tough call for a lot of kids, you know. And um, you know, some of them drop out and it takes them a while before they find something else that they feel comfortable enough or confident enough to do. And you know, I'm I'm generalizing, but it's it's a you know, it happens. So we want to make that pyramid as big as possible, so they've got as as many um, you know, different tools in their toolkit, and um, you know, their athletic ability is as is as broad as it can be, so they can like move in any direction as teenagers, as adults, um, you know, for the rest of their life. So that's what we're trying to set them up for.

Yeah, that's awesome. And there's a lot of um, you know, there's a lot of research now backing what you guys do, right? I mean, that concept of like um, you know, not specializing too early. That's like you said, that's a whole nother conversation. But I I can give so you brought up swimming, and I'll give a personal anecdote because I was thinking about this. Like my brother and I um both were competitive swimmers early. Like I started at five. I think you start around the same age, right? Me, like I, you know, around seven, we both got put in a club. Um, I, you know, my brother's older me. He went all in on swimming, right? Double days by, you know, um, seventh grade, morning and evenings, uh, full ride to college, all this stuff, and burned out hard his sophomore year in college. Like, didn't want to look at a pool again, right? Just couldn't do as too much pressure, too much work. It wasn't even I I got separated a little bit because I wasn't, it was a blessing. I wasn't as good of a swimmer as my brother, right? Because no one really paid attention to me. I was kind of chubby, right? No one really paid attention. Um, but by that nature, it was a blessing. Back then, I hated it, right? Because my brother was this like tall, tan stud, right? Everybody knew my brother, but you know, pale little chubby kid kind of walking around trying to fit in a speedo uh every afternoon. And uh, you know, so by nature, I I gravitated towards other sports. I played football and basketball and all these things. And then when the time came, I found water polo, um, I associated very well with it, right? And I found that that was my love. And thank God I found it, right? And I played it for a very long time. Now, here's the funny part. Um, if my brothers listen to this, he'll probably call me right after. But if you watch my brother throw a football at the age of, you know, 45, uh, it's not pretty. It's not pretty. No, it's not. Um, I'm like, stop, stop throwing with your left hand, man. Oh, wait, that is a right hand. Um, but you know, it's it's not just at that age, it follows you through life, right? Like you get that base of sport, and I think that's really important. And then you're starting to see all the um, you know, books and movies coming out about how you know Tiger Woods was the the rarity of like, you know, sport specificity, specificity, tough word, at an early age. And, you know, the more, you know, there's way more success stories on the other side of people who stayed broad and then generalized maybe, you know, mid to late teens and then really went for it in their 20s. Um, so it's it's a really cool concept. And I so I I want to back up to some of the stuff you said, uh, Sam. One of them was you kind of have those two, um, you have like the the fitness athletic oriented kids and then you have the ones that really aren't. How do you um in today's day and age, how do you capture their attention enough to train them? Like what's you know what I mean?

Like, yeah.

How do you get them involved?

It it starts from the minute they walk through the door. So, you know, you've got to create the facility and the environment that excite that inter that is interesting for them, right? That's exciting for them. And I mean, our new facility is like a whole new level of that. Um, you know, it's the way you welcome them into the group, it's the way you engage with them through the class, it's the way you, you know, that the the programming um that we use through Brand X, you know, is designed around what's um developmentally and um you know age appropriate, but also uh, you know, psycho, the psychosocial aspects of that and what different what kids need um at different ages and what and what's fun to them at different ages too. I mean, fun to a five-year-old is different to a what's fun to a 10-year-old, which is different to what's fun to a 15-year-old. So, you know, understanding that is really important. Uh, and then um, you know, it's it's about the the way you deliver the class, the way you coach the kids, it's it's it's learning very early, as early as you can, the personality type of that kid, what makes them tick, what do they respond well to, and and you know, playing to those strengths as well. And I don't mean playing in a um trite way, I mean like, you know, if you've got a you've got an athlete who you know is like really anxious or really nervous or really unsure um of themselves, and you can tell that pretty quickly, right, from the minute, you know, within a few seconds of meeting them, um, you know, you make sure you're giving them heaps of encouragement and positive reinforcement and all that sort of thing through the class. And you know, they get the high five and the pat on the back saying, Gigi did so well today, like you know, um, so it's all these com it's not one thing, it's like a combination of all these things. Um, where they leave the place feeling like that was awesome, you know, that was a really good experience. And it's not to say it's easy, like um, you know, it's not meant to be easy. We're we're trying to challenge kids so that they could grow, because we've got this um quote on the wall in our in our new facility, you know, all progress takes place outside your comfort zone. So we're we're we're trying to edge kids into that, and some kids embrace it, some kids are really uncomfortable, but adults are the same, right? In that way. Not in not in a lot of other ways, but certainly in terms of you know, you know, people's sort of tendencies towards you know, feeling uncomfortable. Um, and it's just knowing how to adjust that for each child. So you can't approach it like every every kid's the same because they're not, and um you know, and there are some you know, there'll be some kids who thrive on uh you know, their thing is always you know wanting to progress and they're competitive by nature and all that sort of stuff. You gotta sort of channel that in a really positive way. So um, you know, they get what they need out of the session as well.

Yeah, yeah, that's a really good point. You know, you know, so you guys, your your facility is is all youth, right? Um how does it differ in maybe some fundamental ways? Yeah, so am I correct in saying that?

Yeah, well, um in our new facility, we're actually we are adding adults into our program because we wanted to create a place where um the whole family can can be, can train. Yeah, because we think that's another really important element is that um opportunities to connect the families. And and we also think too, if you you know you've got um a family invested in your gym or your facility because they all love it, right? The stickiness is there as well. You know. Um so but yeah, up until like you know, up until now, we've we've purely focused on on the youth space. Um sorry, what was your question?

Yeah, I actually never got to the question. So how how does it differ? You know, if you're if someone's listening, they're like, well, you know, I want to go start shifting towards youth, right? Focusing more attention. How how does it differ from like a business side? Like, you know, how do you how do you attain new clients? How do you, you know, get them on-ramped? What's the what's the experience like? How does that differ? Have you been intentional about it?

Yeah, yeah. Um, so we were very clear from the beginning around um where we wanted to position ourselves in terms of um you know in this market of youth fitness. Uh and you know, for us, I mean, being A Brand X Method Training Centre. We were the first ones in Australia and the only one until you know recently, I think now there's one in Sydney and um and uh Perth possibly. Um so being very deliberate around what is it we're going to offer and how we're going to do it, and you know what are our critical success factors going to be. So the thing with youth that's different to the adult model, a big thing is you know, a lot of a lot of times with adults when they sign up for a membership, it's a fairly constant thing for a period of time, you know, like we actually don't have any minimum term commitments in our memberships. Um my philosophy around that is you know, I want people to come to our gym and train because they want to be there, you know, that they want to come. And we've got to do everything we can to provide that experience so that they that they want to keep coming. Um, obviously there has to be some buy-in from their side too, because you know, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make a drink. So, you know, there's only so much we can do, but um, you know, we yeah, we want to sort of create that experience so that there's nowhere else they'd rather be anyway. But the difference, you know, adults are are fairly constant beasts, assuming you're providing a really good service. Kids are seasonal. So, you know, the in our in Australia we have like four school terms a year, you know, so there's like two semesters breaking, they're like 10-week blocks. And so, and they and so schedules for kids change every term, you know. So even if you're doing like a really great job and they love it, it doesn't mean that they can keep coming next term for you know twice a week or once a week, even, you know, so there'll be times where they have to, you know, they leave you for a term because they just physically can't fit it in or whatever. But you want to just you want to make sure they come back when it when it fits in. So you've got this challenge of like um it's not a churn rate because they're not leaving you because they're you know they're unhappy, they just can't be with you for you know a 10-week block or whatever. So um, you know, that's a challenge from a business point of view, and then you know, you've got school holidays that interrupt things too. A lot of parents don't want to be paying for kids' programs because they're going away, right? So, you know, imagine like a membership model where you're having to pause memberships like every two weeks or every 10 weeks, you've got two weeks of downtime, you know, you've got to offer something else.

No, thank you.

Yeah, so that's how that's tricky, right?

It's tricky.

Um so that's you know, from a from a cash flow and a you know, that that kind of perspective, that's a challenge. Um and then the other thing I think is really important to understand is that you've got two clients when you're training youth. You've got the child that's in the room and you've got their parent. The parents paying the money, um, but the kid's the one who's got to want to go as well. So you actually need to keep both happy. Um it's not enough to just have a a child that really loves it if the parents are unhappy, right? Because they'll just walk if they're not happy. Um, you know, so there's there's almost like it's it's it's a bit more work um to re I think um in that sense, but uh you know, if you I think what the reason we one of the reasons we have been so successful is because we've been so focused on making that youth program what it is and and and a and the best program that we can. Um as opposed to I think a lot of other gyms probably are more focused on the adult space, offer a kids program as a service to their members, aren't aren't truly invested in trying to make that an awesome program, um, because it might not even be might it might be cost neutral for them, or you know, it may not even be that, like it might make enough just to pay their coaches. So they're not really they don't see it as a big as an you know a focus for them. Um but I I really think that to do it properly it has to be. You know, there's yeah it has to be. There's there's a lot if you want to if you want to be a really good youth coach, you need to you need to commit to understanding all there is to know about how youth how training youth is different from training adults. And that's where Brand X comes in.

Yeah. That's a that's an extremely powerful point too, because I mean, as you know, with the gyms that I worked in and ran and owned, and you know, kids' youth programs were always secondary. And it was so challenging. I mean, I don't know. It was I'm gonna say all the things that a lot of business owners have a hyper, you know, hyper competitive market, right? All the excuses that you know a lot of facility owners and fitness professionals come up with, but I do feel like that was somewhat true within the youth area because you know, the only time that we can really the best time to launch for us for a kids program was the beginning of summer, right? Um and if you go to Santa Barbara, California, you look in the local weekly paper right before summer, and you see the entire volume of summer camps and options from you know martial arts to sports specific to you name it, right? It's overwhelming. Like they're marketed to so hard in that one, you know, that period of time. So yeah, I feel that. I mean, that that I can see that being a really big challenge because it is true. It's like you get we get kids for a season, right? Especially an athlete for a little while, right? Um Erica Suter, who I work with, who does uh you know youth soccer, same thing in challenges are you know, her summers are crazy. Like she's working, you know, 14-hour days consistently all summer, and then all of a sudden everything just drops off. Everyone goes back to school, season start. What do you do?

Yeah.

Luckily, she's got an online, a very online, you know, very strong online program. So yeah, I mean, is there ways that you how do you plan for that? How do you how do you work around those challenges?

Look, um I think a big part of it is uh getting your members to really understand the value in what you're offering. And it's not just the value that you're bringing to helping your that child in that in a sport, it's actually there's value in trying to maintain this kind of training all year round, you know, and and finding ways to fit it in. Now, um, you know, an example, I've got a 15-year-old boy who's um you know wanted to be more competitive at rowing. And he's been with us now for a couple of years. Uh actually he's 16 now. He started with us when he was 14. And um, you know, he's he's just going from strength to strength to strength, and now he's you know made um you know state teams and you know he's on that on that path of escalation, he's joining other clubs that have got more intensive kind of rowing programs, and you know, there was which means his the expectations on him around his training loads also increased, and it got to a point where he was also rowing for his school, and um you know, there was like, okay, so something's gonna give, like you didn't you can't fit you know all your sessions with the school in, all the sessions with your club in, and all the sessions with fit of futures in. Um, but you know, he so he had a choice then about you know, well, what do I drop? Uh, but you know, couldn't could see the value and the benefit he was getting from our program, how much stronger he was, could could make the connection between the a lot of the improvement that he's been having is because his body is a lot more struck, he's a lot stronger and is um, you know, it's the work he's doing with us, um, even though some of the other clubs offer like strength and conditioning training, so we're essentially that for him. Um, so instead of dropping a session with us, he ended up dropping his school rowing so that um you know he could continue to come to you know to us two or three times a week for his, you know, for the work he does with us. Plus, um, for us, it's actually this, you know, our our gym is a place for him where he really can be himself and um he loves the community and you know, there's a whole another story with him. Like his his grades at school have improved immensely, his confidence has improved immensely. His mum was saying how he um you know he used to be reluctant to, you know, in PE and sport at school to try different things because he didn't feel that sort of confident with it. But he's a very capable boy, he's a very capable athlete now, and um you know he's putting his hand up for everything. So that's a cool. I mean, you know, I I love what we the physical stuff our program does, but there's a whole lot of other um benefits. But I think really um, you know, it's it's just trying to get people to understand the value in what we do, why there's value in continuing as much as you can to sort of keep consistency with it. And we actually do have you know a really good um retention rate with that. You do have times where you know kids get overscheduled and um you know they have to drop back a session a week or um you know they have to skip a term with you, but um you know that that some of that stuff's out of your control. Uh but the main thing is that as so long as you know you've got that relationship with your clients where they value what you do, you know that when that window opens up again, they'll be back. You know, and I've you know I've got a an athlete who's been in that boat for the last um last four months. She's a competitive soccer player, um, and she's in a Queensland Academy of Sport Squad. And you know, she she like physically couldn't come you know for that amount of time while she was in this camp and this you know um her season. She's back you know next week. So you just want them to keep coming back. Um but it does it does mean that you have to be on top of uh you know growing your client base as well, so that when you you know when you do have you know that 10% of people who can't sort of come back that turn that you've you've got new clients that are coming in, you know.

Well, I think that's key too, is you know, when we were talking about earlier about the two different populations, there's the the athletic population, and then there's the ones that you know um don't actively participate in sports. I mean, that that secondary group is so big, right? And that's the type of group that you can have on a year-long um you know membership. And you know, I know you don't do I didn't do contracts either. Um, but you know, that's probably I mean, that's we talk about one of the conversations that comes up often here is like technology and you know, how how do we use tech in the fitness industry, and everyone's worried about you know pelotons at home and things like that. Like, well, no, we're only reaching maybe 20% of the population in the United States. In the global population, we're talking about 1%. And this is the the percentage of of people who go to gyms or have trainers or actively engage in some sort of program, right? Meanwhile, there's this whole other pool that we're not really looking at. And I feel like that's you know, one thing that's great about what you're doing is if we can get you know even a uh 1% active at a young age, that's that's a group of people who are gonna you know really value fitness and health in their lives, and they're gonna be active parts of you know all kinds of fitness communities across the globe. And I think that's a really key indicator that people need to look at you know with foresight of like, okay, it's not just this month, right, or even this year, it's the next 20 years of fitness and what does that look like? And if we're getting people now, getting people in the right habits, right? Uh and then we can really uh you know support the industry as a whole. There's there's something that you brought up back there, same with the the anecdote about or the story about the the boy, right? Um you said that he he comes to a place that he he can be himself. Expand on that. Like what does that mean? What is that give me some examples of that?

So yeah, look, um we've got we've we've always had a really good culture in our gym of inclusiveness um and kindness and um you know that there's you know there's no egos and all that sort of thing. So um, you know, um we've got such diversity in the personalities of kids who come in, gym like I sort of explained before, you know, lots of different backgrounds. And you know, it's also nice to see kids um coming together and forming friendships outside of their school groups because honestly, like a lot of them need a break from that, right? So as well. Um, so you know, he's I guess it's it's probably because um you know, we we do have that diversity, we've got such a good team of coaches who really know how to connect, you know, with kids and teens. It it amazes me some of the things that you know these teens both you know happy to share with us that you know, conversations that start as like, you know, how's your day? And they'll say, Good, you know, that's the standard answer you get from any gift. Good. I said, Ah, I said, You got any uh got another word for it? And they went, Oh well, actually, it was pretty shit. Like, you know, I didn't have a great day. And then they'll sort of like you know, tell you why it was a why it was a shitty day. Um, but you know, they they you know they can come to the gym and um leave all that behind them, and you know, we've got like we've got this really healthy culture of you know, there's no judgment and that that sort of kindness of inclusivence, there's a place everybody can just be themselves, you know. Um and you know, I I mentioned to you before we started um the podcast today about the things that excite me most is like when I hear comments from 12-year-old girls saying actually Cena was 13, coming here on a Monday night is the favourite part of my week. You know, so the highlight of her week she was in grade seven, like first year of high school, was coming to the gym. You know, um another kid, uh 11-year-old boy came to us um carrying weight, had put on a lot of weight in the last 12 months. Mum had said, you know, he lost a lot of confidence. He loved doing like scouts, like Boy Scouts, but was even uh you know a bit reluctant to be doing some of those activities because he can't do what he used to do, he can't climb things like he used to because he's heavier. Um, you know, he wants to play inline hockey, which is like, you know, it's our version of like ice hockey when we don't have ice, it's like hockey on skates, inline skates. Um, you know, but he was struggling. And um, you know, she found us and said you thought it'd be really good for his fitness and trying to sort of build his confidence. We have a lot of parents who come to us because their kids are lacking confidence um and wanting to help them, you know, regain that. Uh so he came to his first session and it was he f I could tell he found it hard, like it was challenging for him. Um, you know, I would I'd run for him for some of the, you know, some of it we had a bit of a run going on, and so I was like walking and jogging beside him, just sort of have chatting to him and asking him about you know his hockey and all that. Um bit of a distraction too, because I could tell that he was sort of laboring a bit with the with the effort. Um, you know, we always follow up after their first trial session. What did you think? You know, and um Riley actually wrote back to me himself and he said, Um, and this I quote you said quote you said, Well, I didn't really enjoy it, but I know it's really good for me, so I'm gonna keep coming anyway, right? So then I had a bit of a laugh at that because I thought, I actually know that he he enjoyed it. What he didn't enjoy was being uncomfortable, but I felt like he actually enjoyed the experience. So I think he's he was associating enjoyment with you know, how did I find the work, you know, the workout. Um, and I spoke to his mum afterwards and she said the same thing. She goes, Oh, and I I think he had a really good time. I think he just didn't enjoy like the being so being uncomfortable, you know. And I said, Yeah, I agree with you 100%. So two weeks later, we ran into school holidays and um we ran a school holiday program, and Riley came a lot um in those holidays, and you know, one day one day before we start, how's your holidays been and good, you know, standard answer? And um, so I said, you know, well, what's been the highlight of your holidays? And um he said, uh, coming to the gym. This is like two weeks ago, I got the email from this same kid saying I didn't really enjoy it, but you know, I know it's good for me. And now two weeks later, he's telling me it's the highlight of his holidays, you know, his school holidays. So I mean, you know, you can see the smile on my face. It was like, you know, it lit up my world. I was like, that's fantastic, you know. Um, but you know, uh, in terms of you know, kids being able to be themselves, uh, you know, I could there's so many stories I could share. Like um, you know, 15, 16-year-old boy, uh, he's been training with us for many years, uh, and his dad told me this story, actually. Um, you know, he missed out on making the team he wanted to make at school in rugby, and he was like bitterly disappointed about it. And um, you know, they were driving back from school that day, and he was just like, I had a bad day and didn't make the team, and um, and you know, he's feeling really tired, and his dad said, You want to just go home? And he goes, No, no, I want to I want to go to I want to go to the gym I want to go to the gym, I want to go to Fear Futures because I always feel better. Always feel better after I've trained. You know, and there's just like so many stories like that. You know, another another girl, 14-year-old girl, um, been training with us now for six months, she actually had a brain tumour last year. Um, so she was 12 months of treatment uh with uh you know, which was you know massive for her. Uh she's in the clear now, but she got after 12 months of being not being able to exercise, having a lot of medication and surgeries and other things, um, she got the clearance to come back into exercise. Her mum, um, you know, she used to play netball, didn't want to go back to netball, was lacking a lot of confidence. Um, mum said, You've got to do something. Like your exercise, your doctors have told you exercises, you need to do this, it's gonna be good for your recovery, it's gonna be good for your health. Um, mum pretty much like pushed her through the door and said, You're gonna give this a try, you know. So she was reluctant to start with and um really quiet and shy kind of girl. Now she's like, well, actually, it didn't even take six months, it was like within you know a month, she was chatter chatter chatter, bubbly, you know, in in the classes. She went from coming once a week to being on a full membership, she comes like three or four times a week. Um, she's got fitter, she's got stronger, she's she's uh she actually started in our team. We have a teen girls class um that we offer because we find you know some girls feel more comfortable coming into that. She went from just doing teen girls class to now she's she's happy to join the regular teen classes with the boys. And a mum has said to me, you know, I cannot believe this is the same kid. Like six months ago, you would not have got it anywhere near one of those teen classes where there were boys, like no way in the world. And she loves it, you know, and and she doesn't do any other sport. This is her thing, this is what she does to keep fit, and um, she absolutely loves it. And uh she had every six months they have to go for checkups with her um, you know, with her medical history, and it's always an anxious time for them. You know, they spend the whole day in hospital waiting for test results, uh, and she had that recently, and she got, you know, it was all good, um, was a good result, but her mum was saying it's a really draining day, you know, there's the lead up to that too, which is like you know, everyone's feeling nervous and anxious. And so, you know, they finished at the hospital and it's like, oh yeah, thank God. And um she said to her daughter, Do you want to just go home? And um she said, No, I want to go to I want to go to Feet of Futures, I want to take the day off me. And that was like, you know, goosebumps for me. Like, here's this 14-year-old girl saying, No, I want to, I want, I want to go to Feed of Futures because I want to take the day off me. So, you know, for me, it's like I love the physical benefits that we that our kids get from our program, but it's some of this stuff that I think is the most powerful where they they make this connection that they understand that exercise makes me feel better, it makes it changes my mood, it turns a bad day into a good day. Um, I could I know I can I know you know what it's doing for me, like how good it is for me. And that's why I want to keep coming back. And you know, it's not because they're uh they're not coming back because they're obsessed with someone, how someone looks on Instagram and that they want to look like that. You know, we're very much about pushing that message around. It's actually about how how you feel, what it does for you. Um it's not it's not about you know trying to look a certain way or you know, that's sort of the the vanity side of it. Like so, yeah, that's maybe that you know, does that explain why maybe kids feel they can be themselves? Like they've clearly it's this kind of oasis for them, I think, you know, where they can escape a lot of the other shit that goes on in their lives.

You know, I mean adolescence, adolescence is brutal. I mean, you know, it was brutal when I was young, you know, but nowadays you add in you know social media aspect to things and you know, this um you know, expectations and comparisons and you know, all kinds of things and bullying and all that is brutal. I mean, just watching I don't have kids, but watching my nieces and nephews, I got six of those, you know, going through their as they evolve through adolescence and through. I'm like, God, those are problems I never even thought of when I was young. Right.

Yeah.

Like, you know, alternative Instagram accounts and bullying, and like I'm like, what? Like that's a thing, like that, and then some of the things Or said are just rough. And to having a a place like that where, you know, um, and that's what I was I had a feeling we get to some good stuff when I asked you that question about being themselves, because that's critical. I think that's ultimately what drives kids to to come back, right? Is this ability to have a safe haven, have something. It's like that, you know, the Starbucks third place. You have your home, you have your school, and then you have that place that you can go to when you can just be, right? And I think that's um something it sounds like you've been intentionally creating for for years now.

Yeah. And you know, um also kind of trying to educate them too around how you know exercise is good for managing stress. So sometimes you'll see kids turning up less, often around exam time or assessment time, you know, because they got they got to study, you know. Um, or they got too much, you know. And um and I would say to them, you know, you this is like the time when you actually need to move the most, you know, like um take that take that an hour out of your afternoon, come in here. You don't have to like, you don't have to, you know, smash yourself, like just come and work out and you know, get rid of the you just just you know, get rid of the stress. You'll actually be more productive when you go home. So you'll probably study better, you know. Um just messages like that, um, so that they really try and learn that it's actually exercise is a is a such an important tool for their just general wellness, you know, and mental well-being as well.

And resiliency. I mean, isn't that what life's all about? I mean, you life's gonna come at you hard, right? I don't care who you are, you know, there's gonna be some, there's gonna be multiple times, almost like a never-ending stream of of things in life that are gonna come at you hard. And and building that resiliency and showing kids that there's ways to cope with it, um, you know, that are very healthy and uh and that they can lean on people and they have a community and all that stuff. I mean, there's nothing, there's nothing wrong with any of that. It's all it's all good.

Yeah. Yeah. And um, you know, resilience is a big uh a big part of our program, like helping kids build resilience. And I think a lot of parents are looking for that as well these days. Like uh, you know, I think our I don't know about your school system, but you know, there's a the culture seems to be shifting more towards not wanting to see kids fail or let kids fail for fear of like, you know, oh it's terrible. You know, there's there's so much you learn from that. Um, and you know, that growth mindset is a big part of the style, you know, that we coach in. And um, you know, you'll see kids, you know, he'll be oh, I can't do that, or you know, um, you know, I'm willing to maybe try some new things, and you you know, you've got to know when to push and when to sort of back off and all that sort of thing. But um, you know, the overarching message message is it's not you can't do that, it's just you can't do that yet. You know, and this but this is where you start. Like let's just get let's just work on this, you know, and and if we something as simple as a box jump, you know, like some kids and adults for that matter, have a real, you know, fear or mental block of like jumping to a height. So um, and they'll see kids jumping on bigger boxes, and it's like, oh, you know, I can't do that, I can't do you know, and it's like you don't have to do that now. Like that's that's but you could one day do that. Well, let's just start with this one, you know. Um, so yeah, I think that's you know, teaching them, and we practice what we preach too, you know. We've got make sure our coaches, oh you know, all our coaches are um active, and you know, we we often share stories of our you know successes and our failures and our you know attempts to do, you know, all sorts of things. And and I think the kids relate to that too. They see that um, you know, I think last year I sort of was determined to, you know, be able to do handstand walking. So I practiced and I practiced and I practiced and I, you know, got some a coach to help me and and got there in the end. But it was really cool to be able to share that journey with them too, to say there was a time where I I watched I watched a coach do handstand walking and I laughed at it thinking that's just something I remember the words coming out of my mouth, that is just something I will never be able to do. Like not in a million years, you know. Um, at that time I felt I was limited by that, thinking, can't imagine I would ever be able to do that. Um, but now I can. So it's just you know that and but to be able to sort of share the journey and and you know, they you know, they look up to us. So it's important that we practice what we preach.

Yeah, yeah, awesome. Well, Sam, um, so many insights, and I think it's you know, you provided such a clear picture of how how from a you know 10,000 foot view, um, I think that'd be 3,000 meters for you. Um, you know, how how how to you know how to approach this whole youth fitness game. It's it's awesome. If if people want to find out more about you or get in touch with you, is there um a couple of places they can go online?

Yeah, sure. Um, our website is um fitafutures.com.au and my email address is sam at fitafutures.com.au. So I'm always happy to talk to anyone who's sort of shares the same passion as I do about you know working with youth. And um yeah, drop me a line.

Awesome. Well, I think by the time this airs, your new facility be open. So that'll be awesome. People can go check it out. And uh I know it's uh it's only 6 38 in the morning there, so I appreciate you coming on. That's okay.

That's all right. I've got um I'm in that headspace at the moment where I wake up at like you know 5 a.m. and there's like a million things in my I've got a I've got a pen and paper beside my bed, and at the moment it's like starting by right. What are all the things I've got to do today? So that's all right. I'm actually this is this is fine.

Just do it. Good. Well, if you figure out how to turn off that thing in the morning, you let me know.

Oh yeah. Well, that's my next thing I want to learn this year, how to meditate so I can like turn that off. That'll be good.

Yeah, I don't know if it does, I don't know if it works like that. But if you find out, let me know. All right. Thank you for coming on, ladies and gentlemen, Sam Ballers.

Thanks for having me.

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