S4E08 · Maddy Morrison

Alrighty beautiful people, welcome back to the Virtus Performance Podcast. We have a very special guest on today, Maddie, welcome. Hi. What a time to be alive. What a time to be alive. The cat's out of the bag, our newest coach is in the building. First shift last night, how was it? It was amazing, everyone's amazing. It was really quiet which was kind of nice, let me just kind of ease into it. But no, the quality of member here is chef's kiss. Chef's kiss. I love a good pump up. First question for you before we talk about all of the things.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? After your coffee. Coffee. What gets me out of bed? You know what, I love getting out of bed to do a run with a friend. Like, as weird as that sounds. How did your run go this morning? It was horrendous was your direct quote from before. Yeah, the running itself was horrendous. But how good is a run and a yap? The best. The best. It's such a good thing. What, you could do a walk and a yap? No, it's boring. Then you've got to get the run out.

So you love running, you love getting moving, yeah? Yeah. What else? Honestly, I really like working. I actually like getting out of bed and going to my job. Love. Yeah. So whether it's the gym or even it's like I work at a retirement village with some oldies. And they're quality. They've got some really good stories and they're just, they're good people. What's the, what's like the biggest learning as a 30-year-old-ish? What's the biggest learning you've had from the oldies over the last few years? Or like, are there constant themes that they teach you? Yes. Appreciate what you have while you have it.

In terms of? Well, I think, like, I've only been at the retirement village, what, two and a half years, I reckon? Yeah. And I have watched some of my residents steadily decline in like cognitive function, physical ability. So I guess, like, you know, I get up every day and I kind of take for granted the fact that I can move, I can run, I can lift, I can do all these things. And they're trying to still do those things, but obviously there's a decline in their ability. So, yeah, I think it's just appreciate, you know, what you have while you have it and do as much as you can.

To keep it for as long as possible. Yeah. Yeah. Which is my role there, is to keep them independent. Yeah. Which, yeah, so it's kind of like you're doing the same thing in both of your jobs in a completely different way. Yes. And I love it. I love the dynamic. I love the fact that I get to go there and work with people that, you know, the conversation flows, but it's a lot slower. That would be nice sometimes. Yeah, it is. And then I get to sit there and sometimes it might just be that, you know, Doris just wants to have a chat.

She just wants to sit there and tell me about her, you know, back in her 20s when she was a ballroom dancer and she was amazing. And then there's other days where, you know, Pete just wants to come in and lift some weights in the gym. Yeah. Like I get both. I get a mix of both and it's really cool. What made you want to be a coach? Well, so it was a really selfish reason. So I had a shoulder injury when I was younger as a swimmer and my, both my shoulders went, which put me out of swimming.

So I went and did my cert three and four so I could rehab myself back into swimming. That's so cool. Yeah. It's actually, it's not selfish. Like it's a selfish, maybe a selfish like entry point. But the reason you've stayed in it for how long you've been coaching now? 12 years. Which is wild. It's a long time. I forget that it's a career. Like I kind of go, oh, I'm going to get into a career one day and I'm like. It is a, it is a fascinating conversation to like PT real job, like is, you know, is a coach a real job conversation and like, if you want it to be, it absolutely can be.

I think it's a real job. It's a, it, it just is such a transient, like transient place to be for a lot of coaches when they're like in it for a year or two, you know, everyone's, every coach has heard the stats around like, you know, 80% of coaches don't coach after, after a year and all of that. That kind of stuff. So, um, what's kept you in it? Oh, the relationships that I formed and the connections that I've made along the way. They have been incredible. Like I'm surrounded by, I think I have a

very, very quality, like close circle, but then like my circle outside of that, they're all clients and ex clients and just people that I associate on a day to day basis. And they're just cool people. Like thinking about it, I don't think I've ever had an interaction with a client that has been a negative split. Like it's always been, if they've, you know, finished out with my service, I'm like, good luck with wherever you go next. I can't wait to see what happens. If I see them on the street, I'll have a chat with and we'll catch up.

Like it's, it's so cool. I think the hardest part about being a coach is that, is that, um, limited amount of time you get with some people. Like, but I've kind of reframed that over the last few years and shifted into like, I'm so grateful. We got, we got to be a part of your health and fitness journey and we got to teach you things and all of the things that you learn, whether it be in this space or a different space, you get to take to the next thing. And as you transcend what you're

currently capable of, all of those things maintain as being part of your understanding and knowledge base around like how to train and how to move and how to look after yourself. Yeah, like it's a pretty cool privilege that we have as coaches to be able to do that. Absolutely. And like, as much as I'm a part of their journey, they're a part of mine, like as a coach to grow. And also, I think like, you know, having the ability to let people go and, and, and acknowledge, okay, they've actually probably fully utilised what I can teach them.

And it's time for them to essentially spread their wings and off they go to someone who can teach them. Yeah, like, how cool is that? Like, it's actually a really cool concept. Yeah, it is. And it's like, the ego can take a hit. And it definitely did for me early on when people leave and go do something different. But when you realise it's like just a, you know, stepping stone and a learning period and you know, some, some people come back. Yeah, some people don't. Yep. The Mons of the world come back 87 times. 88 if you count this new membership.

Shout out. Shout out. Monica. Shit. So you Yeah, so talk me through your so obviously started out injured, cert three and four, like, what's your pathway from that to here been like, because you've, you've had some had some experience over that time? Yeah, so I've worked in a number of gyms. How many? I reckon like six or seven. Yeah. So I've always had multiple jobs. So like, I might have worked out of a big gym while I was simultaneously working out of a smaller studio. Yeah. So I've always done both. So I've always coached one on one.

And then I've always had group classes as well. I never stepped into the Les Mills space. That wasn't for me. But like, yeah, running group classes. You know, I also find that a really fun environment. And it's just like, again, it's not a job, I get to go in coach people that I love being around and then see them out the door. Like, it's great. But yeah, so I've worked in big gyms as a one on one coach. And then I've worked in smaller studios. And I want to say five years ago, I was convinced by my osteo to go back to uni.

Love. And I actually did a year of osteo. And I loved it. I loved the theory. I love learning about the body. I hated touching people. Sorry, Jodie. Yeah, no, not a big touch. Which is funny, because I used to work at F45. And all we had to do was high five people. And I was like, I hate this so much. That's phenomenal. Yeah, so I had to get past that. Like, yeah. Dog cuddles only. Oh, give me all the puppies. Bring them in. Love that. No people. No, don't want to touch. So yeah, did a year of osteo and decided not don't like touching people.

And this is part of the job. Like you have to actually do the manipulations and stuff. So I stepped out of that and moved into exercise science, majoring in ex-fis. Finished that. So that was my fifth degree that I tried. Talk me through the first three. First one out of high school was business and event managing. Love. How long did you do that for? Six months. I didn't have my license and I was commuting to La Trobe in Bundoora. I'd leave my house at five o'clock in the morning and I'd get to uni in about nine.

That's gross. Yep. And I had a lecture at on Friday from four till six and it was compulsory. The teacher was like, you have to come. And I was like, well. I feel as though uni was a different world back then in terms of like, what was compulsory and what wasn't or what like you needed to physically be there for. That's what I mean. Like, I feel like pre-COVID there was a, there was way more mandatory attendance. Like it was like, you have to be there for these classes. Yeah. Like I took some of the, some of the students that we have in here now.

I remember my first year we had like 25 contact hours and they've got like 12. Yeah. Not like that anymore. It's outrageous. Most of my uni that I didn't do. Back in my day. Yuck. Don't say that. You've been coaching for 12 years, mate. You back in my day as well. No, I'm like 24. 30ish. Make that make sense. I'm just sitting there going like, I'm not gonna be 24 for another seven years. God, no. So business and event management. That's pretty cool. Yeah, that was fun. What'd you learn? What was your like, your main takeaway?

Looking back now, what'd you learn in that six months? Nothing. Nothing? Commuting sucks. My time is valuable and I want to spend four hours on a train. Yeah, no, it wasn't it. It wasn't it. Then I did psychology. Love. Yeah. How long was that for? Six months. Hey, it was a pattern. Yeah, I wasn't ready to do uni, I realised. That was my that was my big takeaway from that. I wasn't ready. I actually think to be fair, like, I think if I did it now, I could see it through. Oh, absolutely. But I don't need to do it now because Geordie's doing it.

It's true. I can just listen to him. Just careful that six month window, George, just like we just got to push through that. It's expiry day. It's expiry day. That's alright, it's okay. Psychology, what like, so you learned that uni wasn't for me. Yeah. Then you tried something else. And then I did coaching and development at Deakin. And I did that for... Is that an undergrad? Yeah. That's cool. Yeah, I did it for about three months. Got out before the census date. Smart. Yeah, and was like, this isn't for me. How's your hex looking? Oh, I just don't look at it.

Ignorance is bliss. Just don't look at it. Come on elbow, sort it out. Get rid of it. Yeah, that'd be nice. I'd love to just go back to uni and not have to pay for it. Wouldn't that be great? Yeah. I know I would be a perpetual student for the rest of my life. Yeah, there's part of me that would think that as well, but I'd much rather not be told what to learn. No, I want to be told what to learn. Yeah, there's an aspect of that framework, that direction that's helpful, maybe. I like

the fact that the exercise sports science degree that I did was, it was, it's not black and white, but there are black and white elements to it. Like the body is the body. Yeah. Like, there's no, you know, bone is a bone, a muscle is a muscle. Sure, in like biomechanics, there's, you know, slightly different area, like there's grey areas, human to human. Yeah. But like, you know, call a spade a spade. Skin is skin, hair is hair, bone is bone. Like, I love that about the body. Yeah. But yeah, the psychology degree, I think, when I, back then, when I was doing it, I would have been 20.

It was too grey. Yeah. So you prefer the like technical information of like, this is... X equals Y. Yep. Love that. Yeah. I love solid answers. So when we saw a movie that didn't give me a solid answer, like that one the other day, I was like, okay, what happened then? What was next? You get to choose, isn't that wonderful? Nope. Nope. Open to interpretation. I don't read Choose Your Own Adventure books. Just make the decision for me. Give me the answer. Maybe that, maybe that explains why you're just like, stick with the one thing for a long period of time.

I am a, I'm a long term girly. Unless it's a uni degree. Doesn't count. Doesn't count. So coaching, what, three months, got out. Yeah. And then I did sports development diploma. And I just did that to appease the fact that I wanted to do something but didn't want to go back to uni. Yeah. And then I had a hiatus, a couple of years, which is, I reckon about two or three years. And that's when, yeah, my osteo convinced me to go back to uni. And I went back and got it done. And to be fair, I think also, like, my ex, he did definitely encourage me to do that.

And that was huge for me. Because in the past, I'd had other people sort of be like, oh, you're probably like, hmm, did you really do that? And that really got into my mind. What was the like, the justification for not doing it? What was the thought process? I didn't think I was, I didn't think uni was for me. Yeah. I'd kind of hammered it, I kind of had it hammered into my brain by my previous partner. Yeah. That uni wasn't for me. Yeah. And then, yeah, my ex kind of flipped that on its head. So yeah, he was definitely a big influence as to why I went back to uni and did it.

And I did quite well. And yeah, smashed out my exercise science degree. And now when I go back and do masters, I want to do OT, I want to do EP, and then maybe I'll do something else. And then ask me about my next step. No, thank you. Hopefully it's gone by then. That's really cool. So like, what was the, because you're obviously coaching through a lot of this period, right? All of it. Yeah, so the whole period. So you got to, you had skin in the game from a, I'm here to make people better. I'm here to drive adaptation.

I'm here to connect and grow. Obviously, while you're doing that, you've got all of this experiential learning that you're having through different degrees and different periods of your life. What was the thing that solidified? Was it just growing up in terms of the solidifying exercise science is the thing or was it something else? No, I think after doing a year of osteo, I realised, I want to broaden my scope, I want to be able to help more people. So like, you know, being cert three, four qualified, having my diploma in sports development, I was like, I can gen pop.

Yeah, very easy to navigate. I was like, I'd like to be able to know that if someone came to me with an injury, I may not have the answer, but I will know how to find the answer. And I will know how to work it out and help them. Love that. So that was sort of my reason for doing sports science. And that was, yeah, it was sort of driven through osteo, because I was like, okay, that wasn't for me, but I want to be able to understand the body to a degree that I can kind of impart that on other people.

Yeah, love that. Yeah, that's really cool. And then what's the, what drives the desire to do more? Is it that same thing, like broadening your scope, being able to help more people, being better at problem solving, because you understand more? Yeah, I think there's a bit of that. I think there's also, there's definitely a part of me that, like in the past has suffered with like a bit of imposter syndrome. And I just like, weird, weird. I like the idea that I have the qualifications to, you know, kind of back that I know what I, I know what I'm talking about.

Being in the game for what 12 years. I know what I know that I know what I'm talking about. But I'm also humble enough to know that there's a lot of things that I don't know. And there's a lot of things that other people can teach me. You're on the right end of the Dunning-Kruger effect. Yeah, took a long time to get there. But yeah, I feel, you know, that's sort of part of my reasoning for wanting to go back to uni is I want to, I want to have the knowledge and have the, you know, the ability to reason and to problem solve.

And, you know, you get that by being around like minded people and textbooks and assignments and lab reports and essays and all the fun stuff. You've obviously built a fairly comprehensive, robust philosophy over the last decade, right? Coaching wise? Maybe, but I don't think anyone's ever questioned me or asked what my philosophy is, so. If you could like, elevate a pitch you as a coach, like what you care about, what you find is important, what your values are, what would you say? I would say, oh, this is a tricky one. Like on a very, like,

just very, like, surface level, my job with a client when they come in is to make sure that they've left like smiling or laughing or feeling good. Like at the very top, like that's, you know, as long as they've left feeling better than what they walked in, I feel like I've done my job. But then also just being there for the person in whatever capacity I can provide them. So like asking the question when they walk in, what do you need? What is it that you need from me? What can I do for you today? Is it, you know, do we need that hard session?

Do you need something that's going to push you? Have you had a bit of a tough week? Do we need to maybe bring it down a little bit and actually ascertaining what that client needs at the time? And I think obviously being in the job for 12 years, I think I can do that on a bigger scale. Like I can, you know, once upon a time it was just one person. And it was just, what do you need? Okay, cool. This is what we're going to do. But working in an environment where, you know, you've been coaching anywhere between 15 to 30 people, being able to spread it out and go, okay, what do you need?

What do you need? What do you need? Okay, you guys need this group together. You guys are going together and I'll be back and bouncing between different people and their needs. It's a proper skill, that. Yeah. But it's something that I've been able to hone over 12 years of being a trainer and I think I've gotten quite good at it. But again, it's getting people to leave that session feeling better than what they did when they walked in. What do you wish every client, every member knew or understood? Very ambiguous question, but about the world, about themselves.

Yeah, I think I wish every client understood that what you're not changing your choosing and also coming into the gym, you know, you may not see improvements on a day-to-day scale. Or you may just see minute improvements and you have to be okay with that. It's absolutely fine to improve by, you know, this much. That's still improvement. And if you did that, and this is one thing I used to say to my members at the other gym, if you just put on those two 500 gram plates either side every single week for 52 weeks, that's a 52 kilo increase.

And I think this is the -- because like adaptation is kind of the -- it's the game, right? It's what we're here for. But there's an aspect that like you don't need to adapt or you don't need to necessarily get better to be successful, I think. Like you were talking before about the decline you see in your residents. Yeah. That we see in people that stop training at all ages. Yep. Sometimes just maintenance and just being and showing up and ticking the boxes and doing the bare minimum that allows you to stay healthy or maybe manage the psychological stress you've got going on or the trauma that you've had or anything like that.

That's still a win. Yeah. We're still making progress. Yep. Progress doesn't have to look like more weight or more sessions or running fast, jumping higher, any of that kind of stuff. It's phases. We like it too, but I like to think that like we're always in like a contraction or expansion phase. Yeah. And sometimes when we're in that contraction phase, just showing up, smiling, doing a, you know, half-assed 20-minute workout is better than missing the session and, you know, feeling shitty about yourself all day. Yeah. Absolutely. And I think people need to understand that is this -- this is like -- it's phases of life.

Sometimes fitness and health potentially takes a backseat because you have other things that are more important and your priorities need to shift. Yeah. I think we can teach people how to -- I like to call them non-negotiables, so I like to have, you know, X amount of sessions as like my non-negotiables. Even if I show up and they're, you know, they're average. How's that going lately? We don't need to talk about that. It's okay. It's a phase. It's a phase. Sorry. Coach hats off. Coach hats off. You know, have your non-negotiables, get those done, but then also acknowledge if you can't get those done, why is that?

Yeah. And acknowledge, like, is it a real reason? Did I just not want to get out of bed that morning? Okay. We need to look at that, at why that is the case. Yeah. You know, and then acknowledge it and then go, okay, cool, tomorrow I'll do better. And that's it. Yeah. I love that. Because everyone has their reasons, right? Absolutely. Whether it be soreness or kids or work or there's, like, everyone's got, we're juggling so many different balls at the moment or just as part of life. So I think it's important to be, like, you know what, it's okay if we put this ball down for a little bit.

Yep. But we need to kind of have the intention of, all right, which balls are going to help us long term. Yeah. So that that decline that you mentioned before happens as late as possible and happens as slowly as possible. Yes. But that's, like, you know, again, super interesting. Like, I can't wait to see, like, this generation of people grow up to see how we differ to the people that I'm working with in the retirement village now. Yeah. Because we are far more strength focused. We're in the, we've been in the gym a lot longer. We've been lifting.

We've been, you know, moving in a certain way that they didn't. Yes. And I suppose, you know, I'm going to, hopefully, I'd like to think I'll be in this industry for, until I die. But who knows? But I can't wait to see, okay, this is where that happened for them. And then watch myself, I suppose, go through that same journey and go, okay, you know, when menopause hits, like, what happens to my body and how does it change and how does it transition? Like, I can't wait to watch that and witness that and actually, you know, move myself through that.

And I just think that's going to be, you know, so cool to witness. Yes. Agreed. Agreed. And it's so cool to see so much of the older population realising that at different stages. It might be 40, it might be 60, it might be 80. And doing something about it. Yeah. Like, the beautiful thing is about strength training is you can jump in at any time. Yep. Like, you're not missing the boat if you're starting at 70, your, you know, so that whole, you know, best time planetary was 20 years ago, but the second best time is now.

Love that. That's a good one. Put that on a t-shirt. But it allows us to go, you know, all right, I might not have been doing this thing. I might not have, like, and, you know, we can do it at any age for any particular pursuit. But all training is it's just a practice that allows us to find a groove into showing up. Ticking the box, moving the needle, resetting, going again. As long as we make sure we manage our resources, we enjoy it and it's moving the needle. If I hear you say manage your resources one more time.

Well, fuck, if you start managing your resources, maybe I'll have to stop fucking telling you. All right? I'm going to lose it. I'm going to lose it. Yeah? Yeah, I'm going to lose it. Well, manage your fucking resources. Why are we still talking about it? My resources are managed. Are they? I feel great. What are your non-negotiables at the moment? So, I've been a bit lax lately. What are your minimums? It's okay. It happens. Which is super interesting that you mentioned phases. Because, like, personally, I've actually never gone through a phase where I've stopped training. Yeah.

So, like, I've been training. My dad will love this. Like, he used to wake me up early and I used to fight him on this. Like, I used to scream and kick and do all the things. And he would make me run and I would cry. Or he would make me get up and do, like, push-ups and sit-ups and squats and stuff. So, that's what he would do in the morning. I love it. Like, and my grandpa was a PTI in the Navy. So, obviously, like, you know, that shunned through. Yeah. But never ever went through a phase where I've had a long period of training.

And this last, I want to say, six weeks is probably the least amount I've ever trained. Yeah. Which is still a fair chunk of training for a normal person. Yeah. Yeah. So, your minimums have dropped. Yeah. I've trained probably twice a week for the last six weeks. Yeah. And for me, that's way down. Like, my watch is just telling me that it's like you've detrained. Aren't you doing 75 hard? Shouldn't you do two a day? Starting in May. Okay, cool. Didn't we start in Feb? You started in Feb. Again, you've finished it, but I've been doing it for longer.

So, you might be doing 75 hard, but I'm doing, like, 100 hard. You're doing 100 moderate at the moment. Not even. Not even. Why do you think that is? Why do you think you've had that decrease in training? Is it a resource management issue? No, not a resource management issue. Sorry, I'll stop. So, it was a bit of a fighting resource management. I'm going to talk to HR. It was definitely a bit of a health slip. So, I got a bit sick for a bit. Resource management. I didn't say anything. I reckon there was a stress element as well.

Obviously, like, because I can actually, like, what are we in? What is that? May? No. It's currently April 23rd. April. So, yeah. It would have been, like, yeah, about six weeks ago where my life actually started changing and I actually made choices to start some transitions. So, I imagine, reflecting, there was probably a stress element there. Absolutely. So, my, yeah, health kind of dropped off a little bit. I was just getting a little bit sick, a bit run down, and then, yeah, I actually got sick. So, that just kind of put my training on the back burner.

So, I've just been allowing myself to recover. Atta girl. It's just not, it's not fun. Like, it's not fun. It's also super annoying to have to take a step back. Like, it's frustrating. But, again. Your personality doesn't cope with it very well. But it's not the worst thing in the world to take stock, back it off a little bit. Re-look at everything. Almost, like, take a helicopter view over everything. And now you can reflect on it and be like, holy shit, all of those changes. Because it, like, I love the idea of change because it's the only thing that is a constant, always.

But it's really difficult. So, there's that juxtaposition, crazy juxtaposition, between, like, two conflicting ideas around the same thing. Change is hard. It's stressful. It challenges us to a point where our regular day-to-day existence needs to back off a little bit. So that we can navigate through what we're doing and how we're feeling and how we're responding. Yep. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think for the last six weeks, like, I've been focusing on, sorry, members from my last gym that I was at. And wanting to, you know, show up wholeheartedly for them and make sure that, you know, the leaving of my members was positive.

And, you know, I really wanted that. So... Which you got? Yeah. Mostly? For the most part, yeah. Good. Yeah. Look, again, it's not, community's not a space. And I think I've always known that. But, yeah, like, working in one space for, because, again, I tend to base myself out of one gym for quite a while. Like, I was at my last gym for nearly four and a half years. And then before that, I was at my last gym for, I think, around the same. Hey, Siri, start a four-year timer. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. But, yeah, so I tend to sort of keep myself in one spot.

And I get, not complacent, but I get really comfortable in where I'm at. Yep. Just going to make sure Siri doesn't start a timer then. No, we could carry on. But, yeah, community is not, like, it's not boxed into being an actual physical place. It is, like, people. And they're everywhere. Like, they are absolutely everywhere. Great observation, that. Yeah, I agree 100%. Walk down Mornington. I know so many people in Mornington. So many people. It's a small place, Peninsula. As you mentioned seven times yesterday. And I think, I love that idea because for me, coming, like, one of the reasons Virtus is the way it is now is because coming out of COVID, it was like, what's important to us?

Like, what are the pillars or the values, whatever word, the principles, whatever word you want to use around, like, how we're going to operate. And the two words that kept coming up were people and place. We want to hang out with people we want to be around. Like, you mentioned before that, like, everyone you've coached over the years is just good people, right? And this is the thing, people are good. Yep. People are good. It's easy to focus on the shitty stuff, but people are good in a nutshell. And place, like, you want to be with those people that you love in place you want to be.

And that place can be Virtus, it can be Comfo, it can be anywhere else. It doesn't have to be the place. Did you just name the two places that you spend the majority of your time? Yeah. So natural. Absolutely. Absolutely. But, like, the community aspect of both of those places for me is, like, they're second and third homes because of the people that I get to see and engage with in those spaces. So, like, you've obviously been a big community builder and a big contributor to so many communities over the years. What is it about you that is drawn to that?

What is it about me that's drawn to community? Drawn to community, but, like, you're a... So I think a big aspect of community that he's missed for a lot of people who maybe don't feel a part of community or feel maybe like they're on the outside, it's contribution. And you've, like, I've seen you contribute to so many different communities over the years. Yeah. And be a big driver of the standards and the expectations and the connection piece of community. Like, what is it that makes you want to do that? I think I just love seeing people come together.

I love seeing people want to be in the space. Like, my, like, dream space is a place where people want to come and train because obviously that is one of my deep-rooted passions. But also just wanting to hang out in said space because they feel good here. Like, this is a safe space. Gyms should be a safe space. Absolutely. Because what we do is we, again, we are somewhere that people can come when they're at their lowest. We are a place that people can come when they're feeling amazing and they're, like, I just want to hit a hard session and kill it.

We're also a space where, you know, people, yeah, I think as far as, like, gyms go, and again, I've only ever worked, I've only really ever worked in gyms so I have no real, like, comparison. Yeah, can anyone who works in an office tell us if the rest of the world is like this? Is it normal or what? I don't know. But yeah, like, this, for me, a gym is a safe space and being able to create that for people I think is a really beautiful thing. Like, people, and I don't know if, again, I'm going to, like, hype myself up here because it's been, you know, something that I've done for a really long time.

Bump yourself up. I feel like I am a safe space for people. They can come to me and they can take essentially what they need and it's, you know, it's not something that is going to get out. Like, if someone needs to sit down and tell me something that's bothering them or talk about something that they need to get off their chest, I'm not going to sit there and judge them. I'm not going to sit there and make comment. Like, you know, it's that sort of question, do you need, like, do you need a solution or do you just want to talk about it?

Like, you get to pick and choose. And I think, you know, after being in the industry for that long, I think I have, you know, again, honed that ability to be able to create that space for people. And in the past, when people have shut me down for doing things like that because, you know, typically, or annoyingly, like, stereotypically, gyms are supposed to be, like, those hype places. I'm not a cheerleader trainer. I'm not going to sit there and, you know, yell at you and do, like, go team. No, I'm not doing that. That's 100% not me and it has never been me.

But I will sit there and make sure that those clients get the training session that they need but also get whatever else they need at the time. And I think that, for me, is really important because that is going to create long-term safe space for members that want to come and potentially return to if they ever want to leave. If anyone wants to know why Maddie's working at Virtus. Safe space. This is why. The Venn diagram is a circle. Yes. Yes. Like, you nailed it because that's been our philosophy for years is that we want

to meet people where they're at, we want to give people what they need and, like, you know, like you said, sometimes it's a big session, sometimes it's a cuddle, sometimes kick up the ass. Yep. Which is hard because you need to intimately know someone to give them what they need. Yes. You know, if, like, the two things we look at building, you know, I talk to interns about it all the time, is we want to build trust and willingness and that trust goes both ways and it goes, it's through all the different aspects of our gym.

It goes for new members, it goes for old members, it goes for interns, it goes for coaches. Yep. If we can build those two things, that level of comfort for people to be able to show up exactly who they are and ask for exactly what they need comes through because there's a level of vulnerability that can happen because they're safe. Yes. Because they're going to be okay. Yep. And I can absolutely vouch for that to be happening here because I've experienced that even in my training here. Like, that's... Talk me through that. Talk me through your, because for those playing at home, Mads has been training here for a little over a year.

Yes. Yes, I have. Yep. Talk me through your journey into not being a part of Virtus to being a massive part of Virtus to now being a bigger part of Virtus. So, I started training here about 13 months ago, I think. I was mentally, just not at a great point, I was having a bit of a, what do we call it, like a life, a bit of an implosion. You can use whatever word you want to use. Yeah, I'd had some pretty big shifts in my life and was just needing a new environment. I needed somewhere new, I needed new circles, new fresh perspective.

So, yeah, I made the decision to come here, which is really interesting because I had always said I would never come here. Whack. Stop that. And I took that personally. How funny. Oh, how wrong were you? I was like, I would never ever come here. Why? Like, quick sidebar, I'll tell you. I think some of that was a little bit like that competitive fear-based drive from owners of gyms that I'd worked at. And I think, like, I think Virtus, like in my eyes, Virtus was always like one of the top gyms. And I think for me, I always kind of looked at it and was like, oh, I could never work there for starters.

Because again, it was just something that I was like, it's up here and I was never quite there. But then, like, coming to train here, I was like, I'm not going to train there. No. That's so wild. I'm not doing it. I had heaps of friends here. Everyone, like, spoke it up heaps. Like, Mon, she's been a longstanding member for her entire life. She would always talk it up, but I was always like, no, I'm not, no, I'm not going there. No way, I'm not going there. So interesting. Like, that perception, like, of the external looking in versus now being in, like, do you think any part of it was warranted?

No. Like, so what, like, where does it come from? Is it a, is it an ego-based thing? Yes. I will 100% put my hand up and say it was an ego-based thing. Yeah. It's fascinating. Yeah. I was, yeah, it was, and it's such small-minded thinking as well. Like, such small-minded thinking. Like, I've worked at some good gyms. I've worked at some average gyms. Like, you know, the fact that I ever turned my nose up at this place. I'm like, what's the thing on the board? What would you tell your younger self? Yeah. Grow up. Like, honestly.

Calm down. Good question, Aiden. Good for me. But, yeah, I just thought that was so funny that I was, like, adamant that I would never come here. Yeah. But, yeah, I, yeah, 12 months ago I actually started training here. But before I started training here, I actually was coming here using the ice bar three times a week. And I was doing that because I was, again, going through some really stressful stuff in life. Just dipping the toe in, so to speak. Yeah. Literally. You like that? Literally. I was coming here just using the ice bar. I need to get that going again too, by the way.

Getting a feel for it. And then, yeah, I was like, okay, I need to actually step in. I need to push the ego aside. Take the plunge, so to speak. Take the plunge. I like it. You're good. Thanks. And then, yeah, and 12 months passed and I've actually never been healthier, stronger. I got my, actually got my strongest training here in the first six months. So, you know. Excellent program. That's, that's. Probably mostly adherence, but let's just deal, tell us programming. Also, I did put on, like, I'd gotten to a really unhealthy weight as well. So, like, I put on quite a bit of weight, got really strong, got really fit.

Never been fitter, never been healthier, never been happier. Oh, put that on, T-shirt. Right? Georgia, I put that up. But, yeah, like, and that's only 12 months too. Wild. Like, you think I've been training for, what, 31? 24. 24, sorry, you're right. 24. I've been training for 15 years and in 12 months I got my absolute strongest. That's pretty cool. Like, that's actually, I think that's super impressive. Was never able to pull more than 100 kilos for a deadlift. Training here for six months and I was already smashing that. Something in that. Like, I don't know.

Good programming, good people. Well, that's it. Take some boxes. That's it. And it was, again, it was a space that I was coming to, not just to train, but I was coming here to hang out with people. And, like, I was finding a new community. Yeah. So, you know, it says a lot. It says a lot. It's pretty cool. Yeah, I think the, like, on the competition in the gym industry, like, we're not, there's no such, like, I believe there's truly no such thing. Like, there's, we're playing an infinite game here. We're trying to elevate the health capacity, happiness of the entire population.

There are so many people who don't train, who don't go to gyms. And so many gyms fight over, try, or maybe, like, try and market or try and fight over the same. 20%. Yeah. Well, it's like 16% of the population have gym membership or something along those lines. Yeah. Where, you know, if we all did it the right way, I would like to think that that number will continually grow and grow and grow to a point where there's, and there's always going to be more people than we need to go around. And people will find their space.

They'll find where they want to train and they'll do it in a way that's genuine to what is important to them at that particular time. Interesting concept. Is it? Really interesting. No, I, yeah, I think it is because I think there's a lot of people that don't, they don't see it that way. And look, I am not a business owner, so. You could book this, the infinite game Simon Sinek would recommend. I am definitely not a business owner and I would never be a business owner. I'm going to leave that to everyone else. Sure. No, because I love.

You want to open another booty with me one day? No, I don't. You can open it. You can be in charge. I'll be in charge, perfect. No, but, like, again, the fact that all I want to do is make people better on a, like, however many people I see. And the fact that I've, you know, been able to work at so many gyms means I've had access to so many people. Yes. But I don't mind if they go to another space. Yeah. Again, it's. People, like I was saying before, there's an element that hurts when you, like, lose that connection with someone and don't get to help them anymore.

But people will train where they want to train. They'll find a groove. And if what you were doing is what they want, they'll come back. Yeah. And then, you know, I think, I was talking to KP about it the other day. You know, we've obviously had so many people come and go over the years, which because, you know, there's a transient aspect to this business. Like, you know, we're talking about Sophie who's in Northern Territory at the moment. Shout out Sophie if you're listening. And we're chatting about Amy who's about to go to Ireland, which is super exciting.

And KP was saying that Lucy was super, super clingy with Amy yesterday because she's leaving. Really cute. Which is super cute. But then there's, like, an element of, like, sadness but excitement for them. Oh, that's so awesome. So awesome. Very cute. And I think that, like, it's an interesting, like, look at the girls' development, you know, Lucy's Fire, Billy's Tree, to have people, like, Tyler's about to move over to London. So have people that have been massive parts of their development so far, massive parts of their life. Role models for them in our community to have them not be here anymore is so fascinating.

And I think that that's, like, if kids that are three and five could be, like, you know, oh, we'll see them again, they'll be back at some stage. You know, or if they're not, then they're doing what they want to do great. Like, surely we as adults and business owners. But I think it's, you know, I think it's business owners. I think that's what it is. Yeah, I think it's certain types of business owners, it's more of like a scarcity mindset that, which is completely fair enough, right? Like, everyone's got bills, everyone's got rent to pay, everyone's got expenses.

Every business has expenses that can lead to very stressful, very, very reactive survival-based responses. But I think if we look back as to why we're in business and what we're doing, like, no one gets into the fitness business to make money. I don't think. I think there's, you know, there's certain online coaching businesses that can blow up and stuff. But, you know, if you're in a brick and mortar gym, then, you know, and you're not a gym that wants 60% of your members to not rock up. You're probably not going to be there sitting on piles of money.

So I think if we can shift that headspace to be like, oh, well, how can I make the world a better place? How can I help the people that want help and do that in a way that makes people want to come back, make it a space where people want to be and make it a space they want to tell their friends about, you're going to be okay. I look at different industries. I try and look at different industries because it's really easy to just, like, burrow down into the fitness industry. But, you know, does, again, mentioned Common Folk before, do more cafes help or hinder Common Folk?

They probably help Common Folk because if you have great coffee, you get to elevate yourself above the people that don't have great coffee. If you have great service, if you have a big connected community, you can elevate yourself above that. But you can also rise the, what is it, rising tide lifts or boats. You can also help the tide rise for everyone else because you raise the standards. You know, if we have, you know, exercise science, qualified coaches, we've got, you know, coaches doing their masters, we've got coaches that have done 17 degrees or started 17 degrees.

So much experience. Stabby. Like, that raises the standards of our industry. If we've got coaches that have been coaching for 12 years that have been around that haven't had that, like, 12 months and gone, this is actually really hard to keep showing up, to keep giving your all to people. Then, like, our world's going to be a better place and hopefully the whole industry gets better as well. Like, there's no shortage of gyms in Mornington, which is a massive positive, in my opinion. In my opinion. Like, it doesn't help that half of our potential members are starfish, being so close to the bay.

But, you know, there are so many people on the Peninsula that aren't training, that aren't looking after themselves. And if we can all lean into how we create a collective effort to get those people moving, then we're winning. But imagine that. Like, imagine if you got 90% of the Peninsula moving. And it doesn't matter how they move, it just matters that they move. Get moving you fucks. Sort it out. Sort it out. Triggered. But yeah, just imagine that, like, rather than fighting over 20% of the population here that, you know, are moving and maybe some are gym hoppers and they go from here to here to here to here and getting upset that people don't stay at your gym.

Like, look at the bigger population that actually aren't moving. And what is it that they want? How do we get them moving? Because not everyone wants to go to a gym and lift weights. And that's totally fine. Maybe some people do. You're wrong. Just so you know. You're welcome to your opinion. Just so you're wrong. You know. No, you can do whatever makes you happy. Maybe some of them just want to run. Like, maybe some of them want to do Pilates. I want to do a Sunday running club, but I also can't commit to doing a Sunday running club because I don't love running.

You're more than welcome to get a Sunday running club going. Same deal. Since KP was like, "Should we get the running club back going?" She's like, "You can't commit to that." I think I can. You reckon you can? Possibly. Hard maybe on that one. There you go. Maybe run clubs are coming back. I'm not a good runner though, so. I know Geordie and I have had this conversation so many times and he's like, "You're a runner though." And I'm like, "I know what you're saying and it's annoying that you're putting your coach hat on and talking to me in my own language."

Yeah, I don't want my own advice. I'm like, "Stop coaching me." Just tell them to shut up and go for a run and get an Uber home. No, I don't even have to call an Uber anymore. You can call me. I'll go pick them up. It's totally fine. That's adorable. Alright, we're almost finished and obviously we could talk about all of this stuff forever, but next question for you. What are you most excited for? I'm most excited to solidify myself as a coach at Virtus. Because like I said, there has been imposter syndrome in the past and one of the reasons I never came here was because I held this gym to such a high standard.

So I suppose for me, rising to meet that standard and then above is a super exciting prospect. Because I've definitely gotten stuck in the past at just showing up and delivering a class to the best of my ability, but then not doing anything more. And I love the idea that there is more that I can do. I think it's a really interesting head space to be in because it's like, and we've had this conversation around the imposter syndrome is like, it's unwarranted and unfounded for you to feel that way in here. But there's also a

healthy aspect of that like wanting to rise to the standard because we've got on the wall, there's like three things that have been on the wall since we first opened. And one of them is the standard you walk past and the standard you accept. And I think that you having that, being in that head space of like, well I need to grow to meet these standards, they elevate the standards. And it allows us to continually iterate and reiterate what we do and how we coach and how we get better and how we connect with our community.

So that you, Aidan now, Dak, Jackie can all lean into, well how do I make this place better? I mentioned before around community and contribution and now you get to be one of the ones in here driving the standards which is brilliant. Which is super exciting. And also like having that accountability as well. Like in the past I suppose I've just been told to do better. Just level up, do better, level up. Which isn't an overly helpful conversation because you're like, well how? Well that's it. You don't know what winning looks like if you don't know what winning looks like.

Yeah and like having some like clear cut direction. And I think for me too, like I said, I will never own a gym because that's not my thing. Don't do it. I want to make, I want to be in front of the members. Like I want to be in the community. Like a front leading member of the community and getting in there with them. Like that means training with them. That means like, you know, doing the hard yards and being in the trenches actually with them. Like I want to actually do that. Yes. Like that's my passion, that's my driver.

It's, you know, doing like minded things with like minded people. And yeah, I suppose I'm excited to be held accountable to reach the standard that I, even if it's just the standard that I set for myself, but it's that, you know, constant accountability. Don't worry, I've got some standards for you. I want them up here. I want them as high as they can possibly go. And then yeah, just, you know, constantly, we don't need to, we're not reinventing the wheel, but developing programs. And like, I think yeah, for me also being able to have some input in programming and getting back into that as well.

Like it's been 12 months since I have written a program. That's wild. Yeah. Like I have not touched any kind of program writing. I have two clients that I kept and like these guys, these two clients are my absolute favorite people. Like they're amazing. I've been coaching them for years. Like part of the furniture kind of deal. They're incredible. Like Mary does Ironman training. Like she just decided two years ago that she wanted to do it. Like they're the only people that I've written programs for. That's sick. Like now we'll get back into it. Now I get to branch out and, you know, shake off all the dust and get back into it and do what I actually love doing.

Right. Which is amazing. Let's get to it. Any more for any more? No. No? No. No. Wow. Thanks for coming on. I know that was a little bit apprehension, but easy peasy, right? It was so easy. Just a conversation. I told you. We're doing it tomorrow. Yeah. I was going to push it out for months. Podcast tomorrow. Hey, the water doesn't get any colder if you wait for it. No, I think he said to an intern the other day, "Just do it." And he's like, "I'll do it on Thursday." And you're like, "Well, it's not going to be any easier on Thursday."

And I was like, "Mm-hmm." Yeah. There is an element of that just like eat the frog, get it going. Eat the frog. You haven't read that book? No. That's the hardest thing at the start of the day. I respect that. Because then the rest of the day gets easier. Build momentum. I absolutely respect that. I dropped my coffee the other day and I was like, "My day can only get better." That's true. So if you're sitting on something at the moment you need to do, fucking sort your life out and get it done. Good luck for 75 hearts starting on the day.

Thanks for reminding me. No, you'll be all right. You'll kill it. I'm excited for the next couple of months. It's going to be fun and beyond. Tuesday, Thursday nights at the moment, we'll add in a couple of mornings into there over the next couple of months. Next few weeks. But yeah, it's all happening. Super excited. And you'll run the May community session. You're in charge. Yeah. Last Saturday in May. I'll just have to check the date then. You want to get around it? Yeah, it's not May yet. Mads will be on day 20-something of 75 hard.

So you'll be able to ask her about it. Or don't. You'll be all right. Thanks for listening. Love your work. Thank you. Be amazing. Have a good day.