Fitness Professional Online Show : 028 – Greg Jankowski
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fitness-blitz-radio/id1385238100
Welcome to the Fitness Professional Online Radio Show where you get access to fitness industry news, tips and insights from professionals around the world. Visit us at FitnessProfessionalOnline.com and now, your host, Doug Holt.
Doug Holt: Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Fitness Professional Online Show. I am your host Doug Holt and I have a great guest with us today. We got Greg Jankowski will be on the call. Greg and I will talk about not only his business but also his products and how we’ve got to that point.
For those of you that have called in and asked about our mastermind groups, we are currently full but we are accepting applications for our new group starting in March 2015. So go ahead and email us at info@fitnessprofessionalonline.com that any of the old email addresses will get routed to the mastermind groups and we will go through that application process and review each possible member.
We’re all well into 2015, I hope you’re doing great. I know our business is kicking and we are looking to forward to at a very exciting year. But without further ado, let’s jump right into the call with Greg.
Hi, Greg. Thank you so much for being with us today. I really appreciate it.
Greg Jankowski: Nice for having me Doug, I appreciate it.
Doug Holt: Absolutely. We’re just talking a little bit off-the-air and you’re in beautiful San Diego right now enjoying the weather.
Greg Jankowski: Yes, something to behold.
Doug Holt: It is. For those that are listening that haven’t gotten a chance to get to know you, tell us a little about yourself.
Greg Jankowski: My name is Greg Jankowski. I am a neuromuscular balance therapist and it’s been kind of a career through the fitness industry being exposed to a lot of innovators early on in my career which led me from advertising into the fitness world back 23 years ago.
So I’ve been a certified trainer working at number of clubs across the country from Los Angeles and Chicago to New York, now San Diego. I basically refined and developed a system specializing a balance and how that relates to the core balance specifically and more all human function and need day the biggest researchers is on spinal health.
Doug Holt: Absolutely. How do you go about starting your own business?
Greg Jankowski: After working for a number of clubs in the industry back in Chicago, I actually had a good fortune to have some really great mentors and one of the mentors led me on to a gym and he opened up one of the first private trainer gyms in Chicago. It was 118 men, it was about 60,000 sq. ft. and it was an old warehouse space and so I started my private practice that group, spending a lot of time in various corporate clubs at 13 years there in Chicago. And about ’05, I headed up to Los Angeles.
Doug Holt: What was the importance for you moving out West?
Greg Jankowski: Well you know, if you’ve ever lived in Chicago for about 21 mentors, you would understand. “I had been there. I had done that.” Great city, great food, great people but just having enough of it and I had a buddy out here that was in the business. So I was less were bound and unknown to me, I’m going to find my future wife, just keeping about 3 months of arriving in Los Angeles.
And got out here and again worked for some of the top clubs in Los Angeles area, actually in Santa Monica specifically. And there’s were was my wife’s health and aid and assistance and belief where I developed my product to be more balancing.
Doug Holt: That’s awesome. It seems so much from talking at fitness pros. A lot of it, you moved out for your buddy, you knew somebody already in here in the business.
Greg Jankowski: Yeah.
Doug Holt: It’s so much of it is connections and networking and finding those mentors to guide you along the way.
Greg Jankowski: Absolutely. I can’t even imagine, I had a kinetic therapist, track and field coach and athletics sports performance guy who really took me into these wings to cause of my enthusiasm alone. Literally, I was really an advertising guy that with a fat kids growing up and I’ve developed all my initial programs for children. I actually wrote my first word on a page before my product even came out at the prototype providing whole children’s programs and then I merged into adults programs.
Doug Holt: Okay. And so why did you start for children?
Greg Jankowski: Because passion and about trying to reach and create an educational system about kinetic awareness and movement and how balance comes into play as far as [04:43] general health. So trying to inspire to try to educate. I’ll give you example, I love this example.
When you’re a kid growing up, back in the days when you get checkbooks, you know, it would have been great to have a nice checkbook class. Well let’s compare that to like even now with nutrition. The idea for fast food and health foods, what it does with our bodies. And so, as far as exercise, I had to get fortune of being very self-involved and self-read in nutrition and I was always active but I was never “a real active athlete”.
So I tried and want to create a program where it can encapsulate addressing the young child that is very kinetically aware, again, through a football 30 yards with just one step or the other kid that’s not that kinetically aware and try to have them integrate together and work on developing their skills accordingly and having a place to start.
Doug Holt: I love that.
Greg Jankowski: That means that was really the passionate ton of motivation because from the get go that something that I wanted I think I was desiring and so through my understanding of you know, getting the fact initially, thinking in the Arnold’s face when I was young. All about lifting and looking good, through my mentors, I always had a good fortune of really focusing on performance and kinetic awareness. And again, just had a wonderful experience and wait from there. You know, I kind of was like the mad scientist went back to laboratory said, “I don’t know what’s embarrassing to do and I just know what I’m doing.”
Doug Holt: Yeah.
Greg Jankowski: And so the creation was made. And hence, divided it all into a program which was recognized by National Tennis Sports in Madison is that first great, about integrating static dynamic balance progression.
Doug Holt: That’s great. It’s almost like you had because you didn’t know what anybody else is doing. You had no barriers, no perceived barriers to limit yourself.
Greg Jankowski: Exactly. I’m an artist and a musician as well. I’m a very creative person. So it’s just like the same thing. Somebody showing me a piece of artwork and say, “Hey, do something for me.” I really don’t want to see anything.
Doug Holt: Got you.
Greg Jankowski: It’s others perspective.
Doug Holt: Okay.
Greg Jankowski: So it’s that free-form thinking. I’m very much aware what’s been going on in the industry, what has been going on and the state of, what’s supposed to change? The industry really haven’t changed but the demographic that’s participating and the model of business, opening up your doors for machines and whatever, it’s there. It’s always been there, it’s never going to change but the working model as far as really being in-tuned with your typical customer which we know that the number of baby-boomers have matured from being gym-wraps, you know, being very active to now, we have millennial and a younger crowd that are like dying just to be outside is instead of instructed desk.
So those both issues we want to say, “Okay, where’s this final health? What are you doing?” And what I try to do basically with my practice which I’ve been doing now for a good 20 years plus is really digging into the details in each individual and I specialize a lot in injury prevention for athlete, off-season stuff training and a lot of post-rehab transitional strategy for individuals that are active aging, that are die-hard active and want to be out there. You know, “California is the place to be,” as they say.
Doug Holt: It definitely is not a bad place to be especially in our industry.
Greg Jankowski: Right.
Doug Holt: Very easy to be active in outside a lot. So take me through the process just because I’m curious. I’m sure a lot of people listening are. You went to that mad scientist work, you had an idea.
Greg Jankowski: Yeah.
Doug Holt: And then you developed a product. What was that process like for you?
Greg Jankowski: Basically, it was understanding the body as even starting from posture to a moving postures and I wouldn’t felt like it was getting to a point where not just strength and how to activate certain particular muscles in certain ways in the efficiency of that but how to collaborate and put that together through a movement.
I often say that through movement, I’m trying to make movement matter. And so with my work, I have basically, it’s all like I teach the ABC’s of dancing with gravity as opposed to being on a fight with it. So is that the dance of the athlete on the field or to a computer desktop you’re looking to be pain-free and functional.
I want in to try to find an ultimate starting point to understand where that person’s potential is in their kinetic awareness and they are potentially to move and obviously, we tend to find through assessments where we’re pulling stuffs. And it’s just goes back there a whole idea of “Find the weakest link and there as your starting point.” So I respect that and I go act that but I actually try to create my own set of ABC’s of progressions and I start from the very ground with no matter who I’m dealing with.
If it’s a person can come in and give me all kinds of information of all kinds of background or they’re ask like a history in their injuries and their rehabs or somebody that shoot off-the-street, they’re not very been active and they’re in the position that they want to just try to feel better and take control, start from in every single person at the same spot and we move forward. And obviously, should we see when they start nailing your ABC’s appropriately, there we just progress forward, so I systematically created that.
The product obviously makes you have to understand that with the movement of your core, where the core goes as pretty much where everything else going to follow and obviously, now I’m heavily heavily inundated with act of aging rumors right now.
Majority of my clients are people who just desire to be staying healthy on their feet, sound on their feet and obviously, I do a little progression instead of this nebular training and try to have them understand that when they move well, chances are, they are more balanced in nature and trying to optimize their capabilities functionally to avoid that what we call that wear-and-tear stretch on the spine.
Doug Holt: Absolutely. What kind of assessments are you doing? Are you doing traditional assessments or do you have your own assessment series?
Greg Jankowski: I do a broad range of a kind of a variety of the squat assessments, the different capabilities of a postural awareness putting them on different kinds of surfaces. So it’s been kind like a culmination of what is typically a functional movement screens. But I kind of have my own little process and what I think is the most important is to really understand each individually both from the physiological standpoint and a psychological standpoint on how aggressive end that approach.
So I try to make it simple in nature and never kind of put them in situation where they’re going to feel that they’re not achieving but also really putting it forth and showing them that the proofs is in the pudding and that for their particular situation, their particular time and motivation and time available and their desire. How we can structure something either very simple minor that again slowly integrate into their daily life or if they’re kind of die-hard, they have a lot of time, they really want to take over and take control and they have a lot of time. So I really focus on empowering them with progressive workouts that makes sense for their situations and trying to go back. So I have seen a lot of these people as far as I’ve been putting at.
Doug Holt: I think it’s a sign of a great trainers. Obviously, if you’re progressing your client properly, not only do they achieve their goals but now, they have new goals that were previously thought impossible that they can actually go out and realize.
Greg Jankowski: Exactly. And actually when you open-up the progression bottle and there’s so many more progressions that they haven’t even come too close to realizing, there’s so many more goals and there’s so many more rewards in accomplishing stuffs that seem simple in nature but we bring it down to then, you know, the first thing is are you fully on a neural level orchestrating your muscles in a way that you’re moving as fluid as possible. The brain being the conductor, your core being your headquarters and your legs and your arms being the soldiers.
So we want to make sure that yours a conductor, those soldiers are those muscles, they’re all there, they don’t have any fewer than me or the other guy but how well are we in-tuned with our orchestra and how much attention do we need to get on a neural level.
Some people come across with me and they start working day-to-day, it’s a little bit overwhelming. But most people, I actually come across most people on my business, they’re coming from a pain-side are really, really knocking their head into the wall, have trying the treats or in kinds of discomfort and situations that they’ve gone all to from acupuncture to physical therapy, to massage therapy, to all kinds of bells and whistles and magnets, whatever they call it. So getting down to just kind of reintroducing into their body and that’s really what I do. Sort of like the ultimate posture 101, let’s start here.
Doug Holt: Which is so much, it’s so needed. I mean, especially with everybody, we have active people but everybody sitting down so much. I mean the typical desk job, it’s a minimum 8 hours and you get in your car, your commuting everywhere, you sit to get home, you rush home.
Greg Jankowski: Right. Are you sitting or standing right now?
Doug Holt: I’m sitting right now. We talked about this a little bit.
Greg Jankowski: Absolutely.
Doug Holt: It’s hard for me to sit.
Greg Jankowski: Yeah.
Doug Holt: I got a stability ball right next to me. My private training studio which I’ve had for 15 plus years now is right below me. So we have a loft area and I run a couple other companies and we’re all upstairs, an office space, it’s where I’m always moving around. And so right now, there’s about six of us up here and they’re trying to be as quite as possible. But I’m sitting-moving around as you’re talking and then trying to get back to the microphone.
Greg Jankowski: Classic. You know, you have to stop by and come see how [15:21] run area.
Doug Holt: Yeah, absolutely. You’re only three hours away.
Greg Jankowski: Yeah.
Doug Holt: But 3 hours in Southern California could be a big difference anywhere else.
Greg Jankowski: It’s all about right timing, right?
Doug Holt: Absolutely. Greg, how many hours? I mean, you have a product, you have CEU’s and the certification, you’re doing seminar speaking engagements, any of them. How many hours are you actually spending with clients versus actually working on your business?
Greg Jankowski: I probably spend a total of 60 percent with my clients and 40 percent on the business through network and marketing and I had to get fortune, my wife is a strategic media analyst. So she kind of dialed me in to the high tech world and what’s going on.
Doug Holt: That’s fantastic. It’s always nice to have that asset, right?
Greg Jankowski: Exactly.
Doug Holt: So I can picture this because I get this emails all the time and we have people on our mastermind groups are asking questions and they hear somebody’s story like you and they say, “Gee, Greg has it all going on. Everything is great, he’s got this businesses banging, he’s training clients, he’s got a product.” As fitness owners and entrepreneurs, we hit this all the time, it seems like. But you hit a wall, you thought, “I’m just giving up or I can’t make it through this barrier” but you find the way around it and you were able to push through to find success. Tell me about one of those times you’ve had.
Greg Jankowski: Probably right when I launched the product. I end up launching right in the middle, you know, I began work on it intensely in ’05 and ’06 and ’07 and I had a good or unlikely or not good fortune ending as how we did launched my product right during recession was the ’08 and ’09 issue, you know that area.
So that was a huge blow psychologically but again, things come up in your life. If you’re following that passion and it’s funny you say that because every time I found an obstacle, there’s always ray of sunshine that’s taking me to a new place and further develop me as professional and having me understand there’s more for me to develop not only as a fitness, wellness spinal guy, a lot of pain-free enhancement at consulting but also as an artist. Just freeing my mind to explore other kinds of avenues and mediums just to repeat myself engagement and passionate about what I do.
I guess, I could have a $100 million company tomorrow or I can have a $6-a-day company tomorrow but no matter, my heart is in the same place. My health is number one and through all these experience, the people that I’ve met through my clients and business associates have just opened doors that I had never imagined and it’s a fantastic life. I always tell people that if you’re interested to get in the business, I mean in any business, right? If you don’t have that passion and that desire to engage yourself no matter, it’s so hard to give it up those disk jockeys that are doing things that are seem appropriate but maybe not completely fulfilled.
Doug Holt: Yeah. I’m sure you’re the same way, we talked to people are doing this all the time. They went after the money or the job they should have gotten they were supposed to do. Only to find themselves depressed, tired, do not wanting to get up to kind of a hasty Mondays but also Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays at the same time.
Greg Jankowski: Right. I’m not sure how old you are but it’s an old joke, “Working hard, climbing the corporate ladder and then one day you’ll realized, “I’m on the wrong ladder.”
Doug Holt: Yes, absolutely.
Greg Jankowski: And when people going to cost you that way and just say they realize that their health that ladders and there having even way long or they’ve completely just been trying off and up and down that ladder and they’ve sacrificed that, again, when you’re younger, there’s all kinds of programs that the double ends you and engage down the line. It just comes back to really what’s going to complement your world.
For me, there’s a lot of self-realization and people are realizing on a physiological level when they go through just one initial session with me, I’m not a real new age kind of guy. I don’t try to project myself that way and I’m not a real kind of a hardcore group camp, like I’m going to crush, you die. I’m just through, I found my world and my place where I live and my bounty is the people who are attracted to my bounty. They’ve been continually and it’s been enough and always see more. Your biggest problem is having too much business, you know?
Doug Holt: Yeah.
Greg Jankowski: But again, it’s a blessed life. Like to give you an idea, I spent my whole 2-week vacation on my friends I grew up with all addressing their back problems, the least thing I want of it.
Doug Holt: I know how it is. My wife and I went on a 3-week road trip and everybody we went into, we ended up doing rehab with them and just diagnosing injuries.
Greg Jankowski: Right. You decide to share the love, right?
Doug Holt: We both looked to each other like, “Geez, we live and the first thing we want to do is help people.” And just help them, just help them live a better life, a life they can enjoy rather than a life full of pain.
Greg Jankowski: Absolutely. And when you talk about the sitting and then top tank thing, it’s the new smoking as far effects.
Doug Holt: Yeah.
Greg Jankowski: There’s actually the guy, I just heard him on NPR the other day. Eli doesn’t study the act of sitting or looked the physiological effect from the body. It’s crazy because 23 years ago when we started, this was the whole lot kind of animal, now like I told you, the business model of opening up a club knocking at the doors and here’s the membership coming here and do what you like is one thing. Addressing those individual and people where you know the physical therapy offices are like handling for sexy lines, they’re shooting in, shooting them out. Again, most of my business is the transitional post-rehab in [21:56], you know?
Doug Holt: Bridging the gap.
Greg Jankowski: Exactly. In trying to get some of the attention of young parents or younger kids and talking about their activity levels, their volumes with their age, what’s appropriate and prevention and a balance there, not to be accepted with the sport or the training or that kind of stuff.
Doug Holt: It’s just a huge market, a market that’s needed. It’s amazing to meet and see professionals and I used that word lightly get competitive in that market. Unfortunately, if there’s not going to be a shortage in our lifetime to people that need that help.
Greg Jankowski: Right. I’m on the low-end of the baby-boomer spectrum. The advantage really to tell to me is I’m above an age that they can identify with me and they kind of respect. I remember when I started as a kid, I wasn’t a kid, I think I was like 23, 24 I decided I have to leave the advertising world and I’m jumping in and long, “Okay, I’m reap behind the ears and I just was like, “Okay, where do I go from here?” And unfortunately, my enthusiasm, my passion to do it drew unbelievable people and they offered up their mentor, like a protégé, I can’t even a price tag on that.
So it’s been completely valuable and great at top of the world. I’ve been to 30 states, 30 different countries and it’s been a whirlwind. So fantastic life and I can’t see where between, as I told you I’m a musician, so my wife and I will be moving up to Los Angeles and my next goal is to actually have a band and potentially create a studio, athletic club concept where there’s music community and wellness involved all said and done because I think this is being connected to people that are not next to you. It is only worth so much these days.
Doug Holt: I agree.
Greg Jankowski: And I can tell you that more, we need to hone it down for sure.
Doug Holt: That’s fantastic. I had maybe shared with you some stuffs that’s been going on in the classical music but post-rehab is been a lot of research. I know some people that are doing some stuff in that field with chronic use injuries and things of that nature. Huge market that really needs attention and actually never really had gotten attention except for the last couple of years.
But for those listening, what I want to do, like myself you’ve been in the industry for a little while. You’ve been around the block. Let me set a scene for you, down in San Diego, you’re walking downtown, you turned to a corner and you find a time machine. It’s just the time machine sitting there, you’re able to go back in time and talk to yourself during your first year as an entrepreneur, what advice do you give to your younger self?
Greg Jankowski: Probably, my advice I give myself is I’m going to go to every party and social events that I could possibly get into myself to and let my energy be known and let my desire, my goals to be known. I had the best definition of when you say, “If it’s for anything in life for luck, it’s preparation with opportunity.”
I’m a big believer when you walk the walk and again identify what is that engage is just a point of no matter, that point of no matter. I think that the people around you will find you that make that opportunity happen. That energy we thought toxic in nature and that’s how I’ve been rolling basically from that point on.
And I realized that later, I could have probably done a lot more of that because it’s been very beneficial throughout but the one thing is finding what you love, go at it and get your face and present your whole being in front of individuals and most times, opportunities arrives.
Doug Holt: Absolutely. I think it was Bryan Traces I’ve heard The Sum of the Five People You Hang-out With The Most in any aspect of your life, right?
Greg Jankowski: Yeah.
Doug Holt: That’s so true.
Greg Jankowski: Right. You’re 20’s, you’re trying to figure out, you don’t know really in whole a lot you’re just trying to do everything. 30’s, if you’re lucky, you understand what you don’t want and then you begin to start to nurture what do you want and not be said and get those people, surround yourself with people that like-minded and I think that’s far as really being more critical these days. The more connected that we are, it seems the more insane stories that we hear just socially and interconnection. I know in my life that I’m being more than just five.
Doug Holt: Yeah.
Greg Jankowski: On-going.
Doug Holt: Absolutely. Everybody mentors groups whether it would be mastermind groups or groups of friends that you’re with or people you look up to.
Greg Jankowski: Yeah. Since 2010, I’ve been jumping around the country a little bit because my life is over here, opportunities, so it has taken us from Los Angeles over to New York, Manhattan, back here at San Diego and now look over here go all lights. I’m looking to firmly plant my seed in the LA once again. It’s the exciting time, I have to say, my father, he’s always said, “butts and soul”. He said two things to me, he says, “Enjoy yourself and don’t let the bastards get you down.”
Doug Holt: Yeah. I like that.
Greg Jankowski: So time is now and I truly appreciate your interest in me. So thank you very much. I’ve love to learn more about what you do there. I never know, my wife goes, “Hey, about Santa Barbara.” But it’s always good to kick it around with fellow professionals and see what’s going on and we’ll always to be a part of something more.
Doug Holt: Absolutely. I couldn’t agree with you more, Greg. What can people expect from you in 2015 besides the huge move?
Greg Jankowski: Well currently, I had just finished up a small video programs theories for youth for core awareness and balance. Currently working on my next project which is called “Breaking Balance” and I’m trying to finalize the date, a number of days program or it’s all going to be focusing on spinal health and the integration of trying to help and build the individuals such as what I am starting first is all my childhood friends is my inspiration is linking back to all the people who I care about and hopefully, they can be linked out to the community and they’re interested on trying to taking more proactive, smart, on a neural level really get focused in step-by-step and that’s of the Breaking Balance Program is going to be. It can be offering series of clips and stuffs, we’re working on that whole package and again, along with a good gym session and will pay me, that’s my world.
Doug Holt: There we go. Greg, if somebody wants to learn more about you where should they go or how should they get a hold of you?
Greg Jankowski: Couple of options, you can go to OnItBeanWork.com and you can reach me at email, greg@onitbeanwork.com. And of course, who want to go firsthand like you, actually I still have a Los Angeles number from way back, it’s (310) 422-8120.
Doug Holt: I love that, making yourself completely accessible to all of our listeners. Thank you so much, Greg. I really appreciate that.
Greg Jankowski: Absolutely. All right. Well, thank you so much.
Doug Holt: Absolutely. Thanks again for being on the show.
Greg Jankowski: All right.
Doug Holt: That’s it for us here at Fitness Professional Online Show. Head on over to our Facebook page to continue the conversation and ask any questions you might have of Greg or any of our other previous guests, I know they are always checking that out. And also go over to our website at FitnessProfessionalOnline.com. From all of us at the Fitness Professional Online Show, have a great day.
Thank you for listening to the Fitness Professional Online Radio Show. You can share your thoughts and join the discussion on this episode by going through our website or on Facebook.com/FitProOnline. Let us know what you’d like to hear on future shows and please feel free to contact us via e-mail or give us a call at (805) 500-6893. We look forward to hearing from you.
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