Today we’d like to introduce you to David Matoke.
Thanks for sharing your story with us David. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Four years ago, I went through a 100 pound weight loss transformation that eventually led to me becoming a personal trainer. I was living a very unhealthy lifestyle that caused me to not only be overweight but also to face many different health complications. Whenever someone goes through a weight loss transformation, the main improvement that anyone sees is the physical changes. For me, what I gained mentally was far more important than the physical changes. Going through this process, I realized how much discipline and consistency that it would take to succeed, which improved other areas of my life outside of the gym. After losing over 100 pounds and seeing how much my life outside of the gym improved from this process, I decided to become a certified personal trainer in hopes of it helping others improve their lives as well. I’m certified through ACE fitness, and also have a specialization in fitness nutrition. I believe that all trainers, no matter their level of experience, should never stop seeking knowledge, which is what I intend to do. I’ve also decided to volunteer coach for second grade boys for the mid-cities basketball association. My main goal with that is not only to make them better basketball players but also better individuals overall, even outside of the sport. One of the biggest things that I’ve had to work on with my clients and the children that I coach is to have the ability to bounce back after losses. With weight loss goals, you have to realize that you will make mistakes and that there will be bumps in the road. How you bounce back from these bumps in the road will decide whether or not you are successful. With the children, I made sure that they learned that making mistakes and losing is part of life and that no matter what, you have to bounce back. Progress with anything is never linear, and once you develop the ability to bounce back after a loss or mistake, you will succeed.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road at all. Like I was saying before, progress is never linear and it becomes very easy to quit once progress slows or stalls. The biggest misconception that I believe people have with me is that this whole process was easy and that I lost weight overnight. I failed a million times with weight loss before finding something that worked for me. Over and over again, I would try to go from being extremely unhealthy to a super restrictive diet, which failed every single time. Over time, what finally worked for me was looking at it from a long term approach instead of a short term quick fix. I feel like most people fail with weight loss for this exact reason. Once I changed my perspective on it, I was able to see results. I made very small changes in my everyday way of eating and completely deleted the word “diet” out of my vocabulary. I looked at it as a lifestyle change because I wanted it to be something that lasted. I started by taking very small things out of what I was doing daily. I started out by cutting soda out for a month, then cut out sweets for a month, then cut out fast food for a month, etc.. With this approach, I was able to lose weight consistently each month, and it didn’t feel like I was restricting myself. Over time, I became used to this way of eating and it felt normal and not like I was suffering.
Please tell us about your business.
I am an Online Fitness Coach, and with this, I provide online workout programs and individualized online coaching, where I create weekly workouts with you through a training app that I have and also create individualized macronutrient and calorie goals. I also provide in-person training sessions at a gym in North Richland Hills called Fitness Now. I specialize in fat loss goals, but have also worked with clients on putting on size through muscle mass and have also worked with clients on improving athleticism. I’m most proud of the fact that when I work with clients on losing fat, I am doing so not only from my studies but also from my own hands-on experience. I believe that it also sets me apart from others.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I’ve had many mentors and supporters throughout all of this. Honestly, I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today without the support that I’ve had from everyone that has helped me along the way. I mean ALL support, from people that have been hands-on with everything that I’m doing to anyone that’s just liked/commented on a post of mine, messaged me showing support, or to people that have shown support by purchasing apparel on my apparel site. Starting, when I transitioned from training for a commercial gym to becoming an independent contractor, the two main people that supported me were Kim Killough and Nick Meagher. Kim inspired me to think bigger than training commercially for a gym that takes a major percentage of your earnings and controls every aspect of how you train. She got in my head that I was bigger than that and refused to let me settle. She was in my face every day trying to get me to work on creating my own business. She is also the person that created my logo and told me to start making apparel. Nick is completely responsible for the creation of my training website. He has sat with me multiple times and helped me with different marketing tactics and ways to boost my SEO to drive more traffic to my website. For anyone needing a site created or improvements to your already created one, I would highly recommend looking into Primer Co. Another person that I have met is Elrick Lounds. He’s like a big brother to me and has helped me see everything that I’m doing from a different perspective. He’s extremely intelligent and is one of few people that I know that is constantly seeking to gain more knowledge. He’s always willing to pass down information that he has gained and is huge on wanting to collab to grow our businesses. Lastly, I would say my biggest supporters are my parents and my girlfriend. I’ll be the first to tell you that personal training is not often looked at as a “career path,” so a lot of times people may look down on it, in terms of longevity. The lifespan of a personal trainer is also really short as well, so you have to make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons and to have the right support system around you. My parents at first were very reluctant about it, but over time started to show major support and appreciated why I am doing what I am doing. My girlfriend has been the biggest supporter of everything that I am doing. I know it sounds like im obliged to say that, but in all honesty, she has helped me grow my business more than anyone else has. A huge misconception with entrepreneurs is that once you get in a relationship, you become lazy which leads to you becoming stagnant. I feel like that has to do a lot with who you are with and if they truly support you and want you to grow. Anyone that is an entrepreneur will tell you that there are times where you become anxious, sad, mad, or just unsure of yourself.. especially in times where business stalls or moves in a negative direction. During these times, Tori has always made sure that I kept my chin up and lifted my head back up through trying times. With how people portray themselves on social media, you often miss on the struggles that they endure and I’ll be honest, there are many days where I struggle and having her there to help me in these times and show me different ways to look at things has been a major help.
Pricing:
- Online Fitness Coaching – $150 per month
- In Person Training Sessions – $35 to $5o per hour session
- 12 Week Workout Programs – $20
- Fitness Apparel -$10 to $45
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dmatokefitness.com/online-coaching/
- Phone: 8179073234
- Email: d.matoke1@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmatokefitness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DMatokeFitness-1109022159270784/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/dmatokefitnessapparel/
Image Credit:
Kim Killough
David Foster
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