Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Evans.
Joshua, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started weight training when I was 13 years old. The guy who would watch over the school gym, Thomas Sheer, was the first person to teach me anything about strength training. I was not the most popular kid growing up in a small town in Upstate New York. I was extremely shy as a child and lacked any confidence in my own abilities. But that man saw something in me. He stayed late in this little dusty weight room in the school basement and taught me the basics from which I have built my career off.
Fast forward to 2009, I began my undergraduate studies at Syracuse University, where I majored in Exercise Science with a minor in coaching. During my time at Syracuse, I interned with the Football Strength and Conditioning coaches from 2010-2013. Following graduation from Syracuse University, I went on the Florida Atlantic University and received my Master’s Degree in 2015 with a concentration in Health Promotion. During my time at FAU, I was able to work with both the Strength and Conditioning Department, as well as working in the lab assisting with research studies.
I was able to work for Equinox Fitness in South Beach for three and a half years after graduate school. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I received there, a chance to start my career in fitness, and a place to foster relationships I cherish to this day. During my time at Equinox, I was able to learn the foundation that shaped the bulk of my coaching philosophy I follow today.
In June of 2018, I started my own training business, The Movement Coach LLC, focused on holistic approaches to health and wellness. I offer one on one and small group training in the Miami Beach area. I am also currently working on my website, www.themvmtcoach.com, which will offer a foundational steel mace academy focused on teaching people how to safely and effectively use one of the most ancient training tools known, the steel mace. Other services I offer include: online personal training and nutrition coaching focused on behavior change modification.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Most definitely not. As with any profession, there are ups and downs. During the first three years of my career, while in graduate school and starting out in personal training were rough on my mind and body. I was working 80+ hour weeks seven days a week, making little to no pay. My first few checks at Equinox couldn’t pay my groceries for the month let alone my rent.
Inside the gym, I was going through some internal turmoil on what direction I wanted to take my career in. After realizing becoming a collegiate strength coach was not the path I wanted to take, I was lost honestly. I was training clients but really didn’t have a passion for fitness anymore.
Not being the strongest dude in the gym, or the most athletic, traditional strength training was not making the impact I was seeking in life any longer.
It wasn’t until one of my coworkers introduced me to steel club training that I started to find my true passion for fitness.
The Movement Coach LLC – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I currently own both in person and online training services specializing in strength and conditioning. My main areas of focus revolve around joint health, unconventional training methods (steel mace, kettlebell, and bodyweight training), and breathing techniques.
I am most proud of the quality care I provide others. I pride myself on becoming a better version of myself, so I can then, in turn, help others become better versions of themselves. I spend a vast amount of time and resources learning from experts in health and wellness and am constantly refining my own system I use with my clients.
I believe the thing that separates me from others is my relentless consistency. No matter what is going on in my life, I make sure to consistently deliver high-quality service to those around me. I show real interests in the people I work with. I listen to what is going on in their lives. I focus on their goals in the gym and outside. I go above and beyond to make sure they are successful, healthy, and mentally focused. My clients aren’t a paycheck. They are family.
We always love to ask about the support network – have there been people, perhaps mentors or advisors, who have played a big role in your success?
I have had A LOT of mentors and help along the way. Obviously would not be where I am without the support of my wife Ivana, my mother Jill, and my sister Cortney. They have always been there to pick me up when I fall.
Within fitness, there are quite a few people I always praise when it comes to my own success. In no particular order, Chuck Lobe, Carson Randall, and William Hicks (the strength coaches I worked for while in college), for teaching a very young adult how to be a true professional, show up early and work with intention.
I have to thank Todd Anderson (Tier X manager – Equinox Chicago) for hiring this kid who thought he knew everything there was to know about training and being patient enough to listen to my sometimes incoherent rants on how people need to focus on moving more than what supplements they use! haha
To Kevon Daley (Personal Training Manager – Equinox Brickell Heights) for teaching me how to be a professional in a corporate gym, and for introducing me to what would one day become my passion in fitness…unconventional training methods.
And to Shane Heins and John Wolf (Onnit Academy), Sam Pogue (True Coach) and the other coaches within the unconventional training community (too many names to say but you all know how much you all mean to me). I thank you all for supporting me through this next chapter of my career I am currently experiencing. Your late night calls and supporting messages mean the world to me.
Pricing:
- The Steel Mace Academy – $199 on themvmtcoach.com
Contact Info:
- Website: www.themvmtcoach.com
- Instagram: @themvmtcoach
- Facebook: facebook.com/joshevanscscs
- Twitter: @themvmtcoach
- Other: Youtube: The Movement Coach
Image Credit:
Casa Di Amani Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
