Episode Transcription
00:00:00 – Glenn Harper
Hi welcome everybody. Another edition of The Empowering Entrepreneurs The Harper and Company Way. This is Glenn Harper.
00:00:05 – Julie Smith
Julie Smith.
00:00:06 – Glenn Harper
And we are welcoming our guest today. Lexie Maitland. Another fellow and entrepreneur is basically starting off her entrepreneurial journey as a big we’ll call her a millennial at the very end of beginning of it, which is always exciting to see all these kind of people think. And she’s a driving force for promoting and helping individuals identify and achieve their physical fitness, nutrition and bodybuilding goals. Her social media platforms have been growing and influencing countless followers. Thanks, Lexi, for being part of our show.
00:00:36 – Lexie Maitland
No, thank you guys for having me on. I’m super excited.
00:00:39 – Glenn Harper
That’s great. I understand you’re originally from St Louis. I pronounce the city Missouri, and currently live in Tampa, Florida. Is that true?
00:00:47 – Lexie Maitland
Yes, that is true. So I moved to Tampa in the fall of 2017 for school, where I went to the University of Tampa. So that’s what brought me down here. And then I graduated last May and definitely decided I wanted to stay down here. I did not want to go home to to the cold.
00:01:06 – Glenn Harper
So you definitely don’t prefer the Midwest and freezing wind chills?
00:01:11 – Lexie Maitland
I don’t. Not only for the weather, but for me. A big deciding factor in staying here in Tampa was just the opportunity for me. You know, even though what I do is essentially virtual like work, I can do it anywhere. I feel like I’m the individual that thrives off of like, an environment. And I just I love it down here. I feel very motivated. I like being around all the people. And so, yeah, I love it.
00:01:36 – Glenn Harper
Did you forsake the Chiefs and pick up adopt the Buccaneers then, or how did you do that?
00:01:42 – Lexie Maitland
I’m probably the worst Tampa person there is because I know we are such like a sports city now, but I am so glad I don’t really follow any of it. I am going to like I’ve been to a game before. I just, I don’t know, I’ll go for fun, but I’m not a big wig fan on at all. And in the funny thing is, is I live like a mile away from our hockey arena as well. Never been to a game even even though they’re like really good.
00:02:09 – Glenn Harper
So only matter of time to you get sucked in.
00:02:12 – Lexie Maitland
I know. I know.
00:02:13 – Glenn Harper
Well, we share an affinity for fitness. I’m fitness this steak in my tummy. Then I got to punish myself with a four mile jog to get back to neutral. But I think you’re more of a fitness fanatic, which is kind of exciting. How did you get involved with that?
00:02:31 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah, so I would say ever like growing up, ever since I can’t even remember, I’ve always been athletic. Growing up, it’s kind of been like my identity. Everybody has always known me to be the very active, sports driven individual. So I was a competitive gymnast starting when I was seven. I did that until I was about 14 or 15. And then throughout high school I was I joined the cheer team. But on top of that, I also started running with my mom and we did a couple of half marathons together. And then, you know, I was really into running. And, you know, anybody out there who has taken up running with long distance running can know it gets a little sometimes obsessive like you like I feel like in a good way. But my dad basically one day was like, Lexi, you need to try something else out. Like, you can’t just run the rest of your life. So he got me a personal trainer at the local gym, and so I started with that. And I mean, that was probably my junior year of high school. And when I got a personal trainer and he started teaching me like the proper way to actually weight lift, I just grew to really love it and started doing my own research and kind of went towards that route where I would I was doing more weight lifting rather than just cardio and it was just really something I enjoyed. So I started it like my late years of high school and then ended up kind of making a last minute decision to change my major to exercise physiology rather than entrepreneurship going into college, just because I felt like it was just such a big part of my life at that point, like fitness and nutrition, that I wanted to go to school for that.
00:04:12 – Glenn Harper
So. So you’re saying that there’s a proper way to lift weights and exercise? I think you just show up to gym cold and put on heavy weights and then, you know.
00:04:21 – Julie Smith
So in all fairness, Glenn just goes to the gym. He doesn’t actually use anything, but he gets there. It’s it’s a win win for him.
00:04:28 – Lexie Maitland
So he goes, are you one of the people that goes there for like social hour and likes to mingle?
00:04:33 – Glenn Harper
No, I don’t like to talk to anybody. I just like to look at the cool machines.
00:04:36 – Julie Smith
Probably sits in the locker room, like changes his clothes and he’s ready to go. And then, you know, half hour later, he’s ready to leave.
00:04:42 – Glenn Harper
I’m more of an executive guy. I like to sit in a steam room and then, you know, ponder things and think about things. You know, I don’t actually want to break a sweat cardio. But no, I do love joining and exercising. And it is an amazing thing when you when you finally realize when you think you know how to do it, but then you really don’t. And then when somebody actually tells you the right way and then you see the results, it’s an amazing transformation, right?
00:05:07 – Lexie Maitland
Absolutely. Absolutely. I know when I first started working with my personal trainer, you know, he was very blunt with me. He was like Lexi, you know, like so here’s here was the thing. Like, I felt like I was in such incredible shape when I was a long distance runner and all of that. But I never really felt like I looked the part, like nobody would look at me and really think, Oh, she’s an incredible shape. I mean, I just kind of looked average. But it really wasn’t until I started dabbling with weight training and learning the proper like mechanics there that I actually started to see a change in my physical appearance. And I actually had muscle and I actually looked like I was somebody who lifted weights.
00:05:47 – Glenn Harper
How cool is that? I noticed you got your Alexi on your shirt. I’m. I’m intrigued. I want to get my name right. That is totally cool. I’ve got a little initial, but I got to get something like that. Julie, is that appropriate? No.
00:05:58 – Julie Smith
All right, so you’ll. You’ll like this. He has g money on his sleeve, you know, to represent how he thinks of numbers.
00:06:05 – Glenn Harper
Well, no, people call me that, so I got to roll with it. So let me ask you let me ask you this. So one of the cool things about, you know, being an entrepreneur, so again, you work at a training place, but you also on the side have your own brand. You’re out there training other people and doing your thing. And the question that I was curious on is, is it harder to go in the gym, as with a trainer teaching you how to get in shape to do when you’re competitions? Is that harder or is it harder to actually take somebody who wants to be in shape and transform them and keep them motivated to do such a thing?
00:06:44 – Lexie Maitland
That’s a really good question. I you know, I want to say I’m very like I’m kind of robotic and like routine. Like so when somebody tells me to do something like when I’m training for my competitions, I don’t feel like I really struggle with going to the gym and, you know, my diet and all of that. But I think the hardest thing for me when I’m personally prepping for a bodybuilding show is just the days where you have lower energy and we all have those days. But I think when it comes to working with clients, yeah, I think that it depends on the client, but it can be hard sometimes to relate to the client. Like just keep going. Like, I promise you, you’re going to feel better. We’re going to get where you need to go. It’s sometimes hard to relay that information over to somebody and to really gain that trust in them. But I have really grown to love coaching and and not only coaching, you know, people from all walks of life with all different goals, but I really have grown to love coaching girls with the same ambition, like where I started, where they want to compete in their first bodybuilding show. So that’s a hard question. I feel like they both have their pros and their cons, so I feel like they’re kind of both equal.
00:07:57 – Julie Smith
So I have a question for you how you know, when you’re coaching these these girls or, you know, people from all walks of life, how do you get these people to get out of their own way? Because essentially you are coaching them to get out of their own way. How do you help change their mindset and help shift some of those mental blocks that people have in regards to that?
00:08:17 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah, absolutely. So I all of my coaching is done virtually. So it’s all online which can you know, sometimes people are like, how do you do that all online? Right. How do you make it personable? So I really like to I always send video responses back to my clients so they kind of see me on their computer screen talking to them. So they get that personal aspect right. And so I do my best to always explain every week when we’re checking in anything we need to address. I always like to explain it in that video. It’s so much easier and typically more beneficial than just typing out a response, right, and gaining their trust. So I feel like that helps them to, you know, that helps them to gain trust in me. But I also think like as a coach, I have to make sure I’m extremely upfront and direct right off the bat before somebody wants to sign up with me with not only like what my expectations are as a coach, but also telling them. What to expect, because I find that if somebody knows kind of what they’re getting themselves into and they know exactly what to expect, they’re more likely to trust you along the way and to fulfill the program and to do what they need to do, rather than if I don’t tell them upfront what to expect.
00:09:29 – Lexie Maitland
You know, we may get halfway through the plan and they’re like, Oh, let’s see, this is not what I signed up for or this is not something I expected. So, you know, if that’s the case that I feel like that individual is more likely not to want to continue, whereas as long as I’m doing my job as a coach and kind of laying the foundation from the front and continuing to reassure them throughout the process, that tends to help. And then, you know, of course, I’m somebody when I’m going to coach and I do always tell my clients like, I am here for you whenever you need me. So like if somebody is having a panic attack middle of the week and, you know, a five minute, ten minute, just like pep talk over the phone helps them. I try to make myself available for that when they need that as well.
00:10:10 – Glenn Harper
So you’re saying you’re more of a therapist than you are a trainer, which is amazing thing, isn’t it?
00:10:16 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah, actually, people tell me that all the time. Of course, you know, I. I know when to refer things out. Like I know what to look for in clients. If I’m like, Ooh, that’s kind of a red flag, something that I need to get more help for. But I do find like I am kind of a therapist in a way as well. And, you know, it’s really cool because I’m not I’m not a psychology major or anything. I mean, I enjoy psychology, but I feel like that is something that’s really important for my job because, you know, I have a lot of clients and a lot of not everyone is the same exact with regards to what they respond best to. You know, just like my coaching strategy, like some people need a little bit more like soft lovey dovey reassurance, whereas some people need that tough love and need for you to just tell them like it is. So it’s all kind of about me learning the client and then deciding from there what coaching style they’re going to thrive best on.
00:11:09 – Glenn Harper
I feel like at the beginning you’re like, You guys either get the shock collar or you’re going to get the milkshake at the end. So you’ve got to decide which way you want to go with this.
00:11:17 – Lexie Maitland
I guess so. That’s a good way to put it. I guess that’s a good analogy.
00:11:20 – Glenn Harper
I feel like, you know, when you can, getting somebody to show up is probably 99% of the challenge. Right. Getting somebody to think that it’s possible that they can transform themselves and once they show up, generally. Have you ever met anybody that has left the gym that has not felt better when they leave the gym than when they got there? It just it’s 100% all the time. Yeah, you’re going to be sore or whatever. But getting in there is the hard part. So how do you manipulate trick? You know, how do you how do you inclusively get those people in there to make them want to take that first step?
00:11:59 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah. So whenever I have somebody who’s interested in online coaching with me, I always set up a we always have a phone call first and foremost. So we’ll talk on the phone or we’ll do like a FaceTime or a zoom or whatever. And we take that like 30 minutes and that’s where I like to get as much information as I need from that person. But also it gives them a chance to really sit down and get to know me as a person and kind of it allows them to trust me. And I feel like that really helps them to kind of build that trust. And then once they build that trust, pretty much if I tell them to do something, you know, they’re going to do it. And one thing that I have found is with a lot of my clients, they’ll tell me, they’ll be like, Yeah, I want to start with you and I want to start a program because I know if I have the accountability and also if I know I’m paying for something, I’m going to do it right. So I think that is one thing that helps a lot of these people to actually get fulfill their goals and go to the gym and stay on top of their diet is they know they have me each week for accountability and they also know, hey, I am paying for this plan. I better not let things fall through the seams.
00:13:08 – Glenn Harper
I feel like, you know, in today’s instant gratification world, I feel like if I made an appointment with you and showed up, you could transform me in, like, one session or less. Is that is that true, or does it take more work than that?
00:13:19 – Lexie Maitland
Maybe not physically. Like, I don’t think you’d walk out looking like two different, but maybe mentally we could do a lot of mental like breakthroughs within that time.
00:13:30 – Glenn Harper
It’s one this is one of those things that which we love about entrepreneurs and in training is a very similar thing is that it’s hard work, it takes commitment, it takes passion, it takes accountability, it takes all those things. And one of the big things it takes is you can’t you really it’s hard to do it by yourself. So at some point, you know, you had your mentors, you mentioned your dad and your mom. Is there anybody else or were they the driving force that kind of gave you the confidence to say, I can do this?
00:14:01 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah, that’s a great question. So I’ll bring it back to and I tell my mom this all the time, so if she listens to this, she’ll definitely know what I’m talking about talking about. But back when I was in high school, my mom was involved with a I think it was like a group in Saint Louis, like a very entrepreneurial, like spirited group. And she was one of the speakers on their panel all the time. And they actually had like a high school like group. So I actually joined that and then they actually held like pitch competitions a couple of times per year, and I, on a whim just decided to enter one. And so when I did the pitch competitions, it really pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I had to like publicly speak in front of all of these like high level entrepreneurs in St Louis. And that really gave me the confidence to actually like fulfill public speaking. And and I feel like that kind of pushed me outside of my shell a little bit, too, because I was such an introvert in high school, such an introvert. But then I would say, like, other than that, of course, my mom, one of my probably my biggest mentors like my, my boss now for well, I work for a couple of different companies, but we’ll say the main one like the online nutrition and training my boss there he he’s been a really good mentor because he actually I knew of him before I had moved to Tampa.
00:15:28 – Lexie Maitland
So he lives here in Tampa and he he does a lot on YouTube. So he has this whole company, but he’s also like very big on YouTube as well. And I remember in high school, literally sitting in my room watching him on YouTube, like watching his videos and, you know, I let alone like flash forward five years later and I’m working for him, but he’s been a really influential mentor along the way as well. And then of course, there’s like there’s a few other people that I follow, like in this realm of things, in the whole fitness kind of niche and everything. I’m on YouTube, there’s two people in particular and they are just these huge entrepreneurs in this industry and all they, although they don’t know it, they’ve definitely influenced and kind of, I guess you could say, mentored me along the way because I watch their videos and instantly like it makes me want to do more and it makes me want to like to be better. And it also proves to me that like it is possible to, to do something of their capacity.
00:16:28 – Glenn Harper
You know, you said one thing, I think that is really key for our entrepreneurs out there, and that is you have to get you have to be uncomfortable to then get comfortable to achieve anything if you sit in your safe space. It’s just never going to happen. You have to get uncomfortable.
00:16:46 – Lexie Maitland
Yes. Yes, I 100% agree with that because I was the shyest person in high school. And I’m you know, I would say I’m not as shy now at all. I’m more of an extroverted introvert now, like I like my alone time. But I am such like I am a chatty Cathy. Like, I will talk to anybody. But you’re so right. Like, I feel like if it weren’t for me getting outside of my comfort zone and like when I moved to Florida five years ago, I didn’t know a single person. Like, there was nobody here I knew, didn’t have any family, didn’t have any friends. And essentially what I would start doing is I started just going to like bodybuilding shows or if there was like an event I knew of, like it was kind of like a fitness oriented event. I would go to those alone and just kind of walk around and it was so scary at the beginning, but that’s ultimately like what allowed me to meet people and make connections and what’s kind of given me the opportunities I have today.
00:17:43 – Glenn Harper
So you’re saying you don’t just sit in the basement, go online and develop relationships that way. You have to actually go out and meet people. That’s crazy.
00:17:50 – Lexie Maitland
Right? Yes. Yes, I know. And it’s you know, you hear growing up like that, it’s not always about what you know, but it’s about who you know. And I feel like that. I mean, obviously, you definitely you want to know stuff yourself. But I think that’s such a valuable quote because it is so true. Like, you have to make those connections and it, you know, it really does help to to know influential people whether or not they’re helping you out or not. Maybe they’re just mentoring you or inspiring you, but I feel like that’s such an important aspect.
00:18:21 – Glenn Harper
Yeah, always like that. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, but it’s also who knows you, right? And it’s and nobody’s going to know you if you don’t get out there and do that. So you’ve been promoting yourself very well. Doing that is your ultimate goal. You are you more in a as a competitive fitness person or are you more being want to be on the training side and train other people? What is your like position you want to be in eventually or do you like doing both? Can you do both?
00:18:45 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah. So that’s kind of where I’m at right now. I’m doing both. But I will say when I started this online coaching, I started it when I was a junior in college. So I started it kind of part time, right? And then it grew to be full time and that’s kind of what I just transitioned into when I graduated. So when I started, I feel like I started with all we’ll say, lifestyle clients, meaning just gen pop people who want to feel better about themselves. They have no goals of competing on a bodybuilding stage. They just want to feel better about themselves. And then I would say over time I started taking on more and more like competitors, meaning girls that wanted to exclusively eventually compete in bodybuilding on the in the bikini division, which is what I’ve done. And so now I’m kind of in that like limbo phase where I do have a good chunk of both. I feel like now I’m kind of more gearing towards like the competitive side of things. So coaching girls that are wanting to compete at the shows, because that’s one thing like as a coach now I really try to be involved in the industry of competing of bodybuilding shows. So I like to go to as many shows as I can, and that way I’m kind of a familiar face and it shows my clients, but also potential clients like, Hey, she actually does care about this sport. You know, she is going to these shows. She’s constantly learning and making these connections with the people there, the judges, all of that. So that’s kind of where I’m at right now.
00:20:16 – Julie Smith
So I have a question back to you. Starting this in the junior year of college, what transpired that said, hey, I’m just going to start this online coaching my junior year of college.
00:20:27 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah. So so I actually before that was doing in-person training at a local gym called Crunch. So it’s like a commercial gym down here. And I was doing really well at that, but it was kind of it was a bad thing because I was also taking 18 credit hours. So it was just like it was way too much. Like I just I had to give it up. So I quit that and I think it was all.
00:20:53 – Glenn Harper
The time out. You never say quit, you always say pivot. It pivoted. Thank you. Very important.
00:21:00 – Lexie Maitland
Yes, I pivoted in a different direction. And actually, it’s funny, I still go to crunch that same crunch all the time and see all my old coworkers. But I pivoted and I actually was approached by the owner of the company that I work that I work for today. It’s called Team Pro Physique. So I was approached by Paul, the owner, and he and this just comes from I had made that connection with him in the past. He had seen me at events. I had introduced myself. He reached. Me because he was like, hey, you know, our company team pro physique is really growing and you know, we need just a little bit of extra help. I don’t really know with what, but just we just need a little bit of extra help around with the company. So I started just kind of helping him like doing whatever he needed help with. And then he one day he told me he was like, Hey, is your goal to eventually be a coach? And I was like, Absolutely. And he was like, okay, well, I think, you know, my wife and I, we want to hire you to be one of our coaches on our team.
00:22:03 – Lexie Maitland
So I think we team pro physique in total today has like 20 plus coaches and I’m probably I mean I think there’s like five of us, me being one of them that have been around for like three plus years. So that’s when I started it. So of course I was like, of course I want to do this. And I was able to start it, you know, kind of part time because I have control over how many clients I take at a time, right? And so now I do it full time. But it was really great for me to start at that point in college, I feel like, because I got to start without the pressure of feeling like, Oh my gosh, I need to like bring in a certain amount of clients to make X amount of money to pay rent and all of that. Like, I didn’t really have to stress about that at the time, which was really nice. And I was able to get, you know, almost two years of experience doing it before I really took it on full time after graduating.
00:22:58 – Glenn Harper
So you’re saying you kind of were having fun with this thing and next thing you know, it turned into like, hey, this is a viable business.
00:23:06 – Lexie Maitland
Yes. Like, I it’s so weird to me to think like I mean, if you would have told me four years ago that I would have just like graduated it. Granted, my graduation was virtual because it was like one of those years. But literally the next day I woke up and I just kind of picked up my work, you know? And it was really cool to have that like just super easy transition where I didn’t have to spend three months moving back home, living with my parents and not having an income and all of that. So that was that was a nice transition to be able to make.
00:23:40 – Glenn Harper
Do you you know, everybody all entrepreneurs generally have some kind of superpower. And your mom has spoke speaks of this as well. But do you think your superpower you know, obviously, it’s you’ve got skills competitiveness, you’ve got your committed, your driven, all those things. But do you think in the training arena that you have, your superpower is more like you just had the effect where you can recognize potential talent and know that you can develop it? Or are you going to just take anybody to train with? Or do you want to you try to get people that are like, Hey, I’m going to get them to the next level because I can recognize it. I know they have it in them and I can get them there. Or you’re trying to get or are you more looking at for people that are like, Hey, I’m just going to try to get them off the couch and be able to, you know, walk a5k Yeah.
00:24:28 – Lexie Maitland
So generally I find that nowadays I work with a lot of people that are already established with like a fitness nutrition routine. Like it’s been part of their lifestyle, but they’re looking to take it to the next level. So that’s kind of what I’m working with right now. And I feel like one of the things that I really seek to like make my super or I guess I don’t know if you would call this a super power, but one of the things I really try my best to do is with my clients. I like to really make that personal, you know, like genuine relationship with them. Like I don’t want them to ever feel like just a number because in this industry, in the bodybuilding industry with like a lot of high level coaches or like coaches who have had very successful athletes, unfortunately not all, but a lot of those coaches are kind of known for being very giving very cookie cutter plans, not being very personable. And when I say cookie cutter, I mean like giving everybody the same plan. So my thing is, I really want my clients to recognize and realize like, hey, you’re talking to a real person and I have a relationship with you. And like, I actually care about you as a human as well. Like, of course I’m coaching my clients on the whole, on the nutrition, on the training, on all of that stuff. But you know, I like to know about if they want to let me know about other things going on in their life, like I like to know about them as a person outside of the gym to like, hey, what are your interests? You know, do you have a family? Like, what is your job? I like to know about them just beyond the scope of just their training and their diet.
00:26:03 – Glenn Harper
So you’re you’re not like that dance moms, coach. You don’t come at people like that? No, no. Oh, that’s positive.
00:26:11 – Lexie Maitland
I would definitely probably have zero clients if I did that.
00:26:15 – Glenn Harper
But, you know, it’s funny, you like you said earlier, the you know, as an entrepreneur, you’re trying to pivot and adjust to your clients needs and what they want. And certain clients need to stick and certain clients need a little back. Pat, and they’re going to be okay. And I’m curious on your alpha clients that are like, hey, we want to get to the next level. Do they need the stick? Like, you got to get in their face and get them on it? Or do they need like, come on, Jessica, you can do this. Give me one more rep or do you got to get in their face and bring it? Which way do you think it is most generally?
00:26:49 – Lexie Maitland
So I would say I do get a handful of clients that are like that. Tell me right off the get go. They’re like, I don’t really you don’t have to motivate me. I just need to be told what to do and I’ll do it. And generally, those are the ones I don’t feel like I have to really, like, stay on top of right now. I do have some clients every once in a while that will come to me and they’ll tell me what their goal is. And I have to be that person that’s like, Whoa, hold up. Like, that is a great goal. But like, let’s talk realistically like that is not realistic to do in the time frame we have, right? Like I have a lot of people that will come to me wanting to compete in a show and they’re like, Yeah, I found a show. It’s in eight weeks. Like, What do you think? And I’m like, okay, you know, like that’s we can, we can definitely work towards that eventually, but that is not a realistic goal. So sometimes I do have those people that come to me that are super gung ho on doing something in a short period of time. And I always say like, good coaches are going to always tell their clients what they need to hear, which may not always be in alignment with what that client wants to hear. But I also have to take into consideration that, like coaching these individuals on their training, but also their diet and their nutrition, like it’s essentially their health is in my hands. So I don’t take that lightly and I’m not willing to jeopardize anything when it comes to their long term health, even for just a short term goal.
00:28:14 – Glenn Harper
I definitely have a difference of opinion with my trainer because I seem to think that I can eat pizza and chocolate and drink beer and I can still have a great physique. And my guy says That’s not possible, so we just agree to disagree. Is that a true statement or do you really have to? Is it really the workout starts with the diet?
00:28:32 – Lexie Maitland
Yes, honestly, I always and I’ve told my clients before, like if I had to pick if I wanted you to be 100% on your diet or your training, I would pick your diet because you cannot train a bad diet. And I know that because in high school, you know, I it really, truly wasn’t until I moved to Tampa for college that I actually started paying attention to what I was eating. And that’s actually when I started to like visually look very different. And I kept getting asked at the gym like, hey, do you compete? Like, do you compete? And I hadn’t at the time, but just point being like when I actually started paying attention to my nutrition, that’s when I started really making changes and actually like looking different.
00:29:12 – Glenn Harper
So what you’re saying and guess what we’re saying too is as an entrepreneur, you’ve got to get outside your comfort zone. And ultimately it’s a really a mind shift. And basically when you start training and a diet regimen, you’ve got to break all those bad habits. You know, when you become an entrepreneur, you’ve got to break through all those bad habits, what you’re scared of and and and get through and try to achieve whatever that greatness that you have. But it’s really about breaking bad habits.
00:29:38 – Lexie Maitland
Yes. Yes. And I mean, I’m still learning so much. And I mean, I’m still like growing, I feel like and trying to find new ways that I can expand my reach. Like for me right now, like with my SO obviously the online training and nutrition is like my main source of income, but I do work for like two other small companies within the industry just doing part time work. But like for me to get my clients, it’s super important for me to have a really good social media presence. And that’s where I do all of my marketing. That’s where I bring in people. Like people have to find me and see value in me to inquire for coaching, right? So I also have a YouTube channel that I’ve started because I know that’s just another way that people can find me and see value in me and then want to inquire for coaching with me. So, you know, like starting YouTube, that was totally outside of my comfort zone. I started that last summer, but it’s grown pretty quickly and it’s brought in a lot of client inquiries too, which has been cool. So it just goes to show like I did, that it was outside of my comfort zone and it’s it’s really paid off.
00:30:41 – Julie Smith
So do you think at any point in time in the future you’re going to want a team around you or you’re like, Hey, it’s just me and I’m good with that.
00:30:49 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah. So so I do have so essentially I do work for a team however we like all individual. So I work for team pro physique, that’s the team. And then we have 20 coaches, right? But all of us coaches, we all have very similar methods and philosophies. However, it’s kind of like I am like almost running my own business, except I do have that team behind me, which I really like, because I do think that, you know, in bodybuilding especially, it can feel like a very isolating sport. So I think it is nice to have like a team around you to kind of share in that, that same passion, right? And like my clients, you know, I try to really form a community with my clients choose to like all of my clients specific to me, yes, they’re a part of team physique. But we also have like a Facebook group, team pro physique, coach Lexie We have like apparel for just my clients. So I’ve really tried to create a community with just my clients to. But having that whole team name is really nice as well, just for like just for bonding purposes. And also I have found that like in the bodybuilding community, a lot of competitors really do like to be identified with a team. I don’t know. I mean, just some people just just like that. It makes them feel more important.
00:32:09 – Glenn Harper
Well, it’s not fun if you do it by yourself. Right. That’s that’s a real thing.
00:32:13 – Lexie Maitland
And like, for me, too, I’m really bad with the whole, like, like back end logistics of things. So, like, it’s so nice for me to be able to work for this company and literally spend 100% of my time like coaching and interacting with my clients and building their programs and doing all of that, rather than having to stress about like, you know, the payroll or the, like, the, the technical like system that we use for our clients to check in. Like, I don’t have to worry about that stuff, which is super nice because I’m not good at that stuff. So it allows me to just be able to solely focus on like what I’m good at, which is just the coaching aspect of things.
00:32:51 – Glenn Harper
That’s crazy talk that you’ve figured out already that you’re supposed to do what you’re good at and have other people do what you’re not good at. That’s a it’s fine that you did that early in your career.
00:33:02 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah, it’s definitely a learning experience for me too, because I tend to like always want to take on as much as possible. And sometimes it’s hard for me to accept like, Hey, I’m not good at this or or either, like, I don’t have time to do this. And I think I need to deviate this task to somebody else in order for me to actually do my job better.
00:33:24 – Glenn Harper
I think the cool part too is when you win an award, then you can thank everybody if you have a whole team behind you, if it’s just all you. Well, I’d like to thank myself. I did really great, but it’s a lot better to thank a team, right, because everybody was crucial in your success.
00:33:37 – Lexie Maitland
Yes, absolutely. And and, you know, that’s not to say to like I have definitely you know, I have some ideas and aspirations to eventually take like this platform I have now with my coaching and my social media and potentially like build something else, not like coaching oriented, but a brand that kind of goes along with this, whether it be I mean, I’m just using like a clothing, like a fitness clothing brand as an example. It probably wouldn’t be that. But doing something like that or creating like a, I don’t know, like a little food company, like a protein bar or whatever. Like now that I’ve really built this platform with like my clients and through my coaching career, I think it’d be really cool to like eventually work towards doing something like that.
00:34:21 – Glenn Harper
Along with this, if you had a protein bar that tastes like fried chicken, I would be all over that.
00:34:27 – Lexie Maitland
Wow. You know, there are some really good ones out there. And like I’m saying, honestly, I should definitely give you a list because I know that the standard protein bar is known for just like tasting awful, but there are some good ones out there.
00:34:39 – Lexie Maitland
So I’ve got some fan mail that’s coming in while we’re talking and they have a couple of questions I need to relate to you. So the first thing is, so when you see a competitive bodybuilder, whether it’s a fitness or, you know, muscle, whatever that is, or aerobics, whatever that might be, people say, well, oh, my gosh, what do you got to do to look like that? And, Hey, do you ever get it? Do you always have to be 100% committed? Do you ever get like a guilty pleasure? Can you cheat on your diet at least like four times a day? Or is it like, you know, two times a day? How often can cheat on your diet and what’s your guilty pleasure?
00:35:16 – Lexie Maitland
Okay, so I will start off with my guilty pleasure. Ooh, that’s a you know what’s so funny? Because, like, I’m weird, I don’t get a lot of crazy cravings because I truly enjoy that, but I eat day to day and I think that’s why. But I have a sweet tooth. So I do really enjoy, like, little sweet things every once in a while. Like, I’m not going to lie. I was at my mom’s house this past week, like housesitting and dog sitting for her. And of course, their pantry has had a lot of a lot of stuff in there. And like, I was guilty of having like a handful of like something I would never normally have that was like, sweet. So I have a sweet tooth, but I would say it’s all about depending. It depends on the person’s goals, right? So if somebody’s goal is very like, we’re kind of pressed for time. So if they are competing for a show and we’re X amount weeks out like no, there really is no room for quote unquote cheating, right? Whereas if somebody is a lifestyle client, I like to not look at it as cheating, but like what I’ll do is sometimes I’ll tell them, Hey, every week we’re going to I’m going to give you an untracked meal, meaning you can kind of use that. And it’s synonymous with the phrase cheat meal, so to say. So I built those into people’s programs if they are somebody who needs them. Now, I’ve had clients in the past that like don’t need them or specifically tell me I don’t want a cheat meal because I will like go off the rails and completely lose control.
00:36:38 – Julie Smith
So with like, I think you’re looking at one of them.
00:36:42 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah. Well, you know, it’s so funny because I recently I’ve had like two people tell me they’re like, Lexi, I don’t want an entourage meal because. I took it last week and I completely just went off the rails. So it’s all it goes back to. Like what I said before, you have to kind of learn the psychology of the person and what they’re going to respond best to. But when it comes to a competitive like bodybuilding client who is actively prepping for a bodybuilding show, meaning like they’re dieting for the show, they’re maybe eight, ten weeks out, whatever it may be. No, there really isn’t much room for cheating. I mean, if they cheat, that’s only going to impact how they eventually look on stage.
00:37:21 – Glenn Harper
I feel like if I scheduled three training sessions a day with you, I could have then three cheat meals a week based on what you’re saying. And that would be really cool. But no, you’re the this really is a trick question because for whatever reason, people it’s really hard to stay committed 100% all the time to achieve your goal. And especially when the everything you see on TV, everything you read in social media, it’s always food, food, food. Sit around, watch this. Don’t be act. It’s unbelievable how hard it is to stay on point. And I think you’re right. If once you get one taste of that salty, sweet, whatever that might be, that it triggers it. I mean, it’s over. I mean, how do you get back on track? So I agree that when you’re committed like you are and like your clients are, if they’re trying to get to the next level, they probably don’t think of like that. They probably don’t. It’s not even an issue.
00:38:15 – Lexie Maitland
But yeah, and it’s like honestly to the less you eat that stuff, like the less you eat the chips or the cookies or the cake or whatever it may be, the less you crave it. Like that is such a real thing. I remember being back in high school and I literally could not go like more than a day without having some type of candy. It was crazy. Now I don’t even like eat candy and I don’t really think twice about it. So it it is one of those things like the less you eat something, unless you expose yourself to those things, you’re going to eventually just start to forget about it and not crave it as much. Yeah, I.
00:38:45 – Glenn Harper
Don’t know if that’s true or not, but I’ll agree to disagree. I’m kidding. I know they say it’s true. I’ve never gotten that far along. And here’s another question. You just came in off the off the lines here. So when you’re doing this, the competition thing, is it better to do the spray tan or real tan?
00:39:04 – Lexie Maitland
Oh, great question. Spray tan all the way because.
00:39:06 – Julie Smith
Really?
00:39:07 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah. So for shows, you definitely want to get a spray tan because if you’ve ever gone to a bodybuilding show, the the tan that we wear on stage, it is not just something you can get from laying out in the sun or going to the local tanning bed. It is an extreme tan like it’s it’s not a tan. I would just want to like throw on to like a walk around with like it’s very dark. And the reason being the reason it’s so dark, if people are wondering, is because when you get on stage and you get under those stage lights, the darkness of the tan really helps to kind of allow your muscles to pop out more and make your muscles more visible. So for example, I competed in three shows back in 2021, and the second show I competed in, I was actually critiqued that my tan was too light. And what it did is it kind of it washed out my muscles a little bit, whereas the next show my tan was darker and you could actually see my muscle definition more so always doing the spray tan. It’s, it’s, it’s a very extreme spray tan. But after show day, you get to like wash it off. Mine usually sticks around for, like, weeks. Like, it’ll fade, of course, but I always look orange for like that next week afterwards.
00:40:16 – Julie Smith
So I know Glenn’s next question. Can he just get the extreme spray tan to show off his muscles?
00:40:22 – Lexie Maitland
Oh, my gosh. You do not want the extreme spray. What? I always have to. So thankfully, the gym I go to the gym, I personally like do my own workouts out. There’s a lot of bodybuilders there, so they understand. But I find that like when I’m just walking around with like the excess of my spray tan on, people are like, what? Because you get it from the neck down to you, don’t spray your face. So it looks really weird. Like you walk around, you have like a white face with the spray tan on when also on show day. The reason you don’t spray your face for girls is because our makeup artist will contour and match our tan to our face. But it’s so funny. Like the week after a show, I walk around and my face is essentially white, but the rest of my body is like orange. It’s not a great look.
00:41:08 – Julie Smith
I feel like next week I’m going to come into the office and Glen’s face is going to be white and he’s going to know. I think I look buff.
00:41:14 – Glenn Harper
I think I’ll put the tan on my face because I got these great jaw muscles because I talk so much, I got to show those off a little bit.
00:41:20 – Lexie Maitland
Great thinking.
00:41:21 – Glenn Harper
So here’s a here’s another tidbit for the entrepreneurs listening to this. And, you know. Everybody has a timetable or a bandwidth or a where they’re at their peak. Right. And if you don’t get the proper advice, if you don’t get the proper shortcut and you have to figure that out on your own and stumble through it, you’re going to miss your window and what you just said about learning these tidbits. And you can apply this to any business out there, whatever you’re trying to do. Somebody who’s trying to train to become one of these elite competitors, just knowing, hey, this is how you do the tan thing. Hey, this is the best thing you can eat with your body type that’s going to get you there quicker. You now can prolong the competitive window and give that person more opportunities and more hits to having a chance to be the best they can be versus they’re screwing around, meandering through the desert, can’t figure it out, and all of a sudden they figure it out and they have one more competition left, and then they got to be out because now they’re too old. I mean, that is a really a big thing why somebody want to hire any type of expert to help somebody in their field. Would you agree?
00:42:28 – Lexie Maitland
Absolutely. Yeah. I think like by hiring me, I tell my clients, like, let me take away the stress of you having to scramble around and wonder, like, what should I be doing? What’s best? Am I doing enough? Am I not doing enough? So I think, like I like to take that stress off of them, but also teach them along the way. Like I love educating and teaching people along the way. Like, I am definitely not somebody that’s just like do this because I said so. Like I’m always like, okay, this is what we’re going to do. This is why we’re going to do it. So, yeah, I totally agree with that.
00:42:59 – Glenn Harper
One final question. So is there somebody out there obviously besides me that was your dream coaching person that you’d be like, Wow, if I could get that person in a gym and get them on a nutrition regiment, they would be lights out. Is there somebody that you are just questing for that say, man, if I could just get in that person’s head?
00:43:19 – Lexie Maitland
Um, that’s a good question. I can’t think of any specific names for people I would potentially want to work like work with to get them to the next level. I do have a few clients right now, though, that I will say. I mean, I won’t put their names out there, but I’m like, Oh, we’re going to like they’re going to be really good. Like I’m getting actually to go to a couple of their shows here in the summer, so I’m so excited about that. But like if they’re, I guess kind of like on the flip side of things, if there was somebody that I would like, I mean, like to train with or like go spend a day with just to like improve my overall like just entrepreneurship mindset or whatnot. It would be this guy named Cristian Guzman. And for anybody listening, like you should go and look him up because he actually essentially started off kind of, I think somewhat doing like what I’m doing now. He started off on YouTube and he has grown a huge empire out and he lives in Houston, Texas, Sugarland. And he has this whole like huge gym but also clothing brand. And he has just all these crazy brands, but he has built this huge empire. So he’s probably someone I would want to go spend the day with if I were to kind of like flip that question, too.
00:44:36 – Glenn Harper
So it’s going to be probably not in the near future where you’re going to try to surpass that guy. So that’d be exciting.
00:44:43 – Lexie Maitland
I hope so. I’m actually going out to Houston, Texas, at the end of this month to attend one of his events. So I am so excited because he’s like, he’s my ultimate like idol and go, look, I instantly watch his videos and it just makes me want to like do more and be more in it, like, motivates me to, like, take myself further.
00:45:02 – Glenn Harper
There’s another tidbit for you. Entrepreneur is continually educating yourself continually to learn more. Continue to get out of the box that you’re in and keep exploring options. Well, we appreciate you being on the show today. Is would you like to give a little plug of how people can get a hold of you and watch you? Is that appropriate?
00:45:18 – Lexie Maitland
Yeah, of course. So for me, I would say the best way to reach me, I’m really active on Instagram. So Instagram, it’s my username is just Lexi. Lexi and then mate and my t essentially if you go there, I have a link tree in my bio that will direct you to like my YouTube channel. And also if you are interested in like sending in an inquiry for coaching, you can find that link there. So yeah, Instagram is the best way probably to reach me. And then you can also just search my first and last name on YouTube and that’s how you’ll find the YouTube channel.
00:45:51 – Glenn Harper
Fantastic. I really appreciate you spending time with us and on the entrepreneurs listening to this. I hope you pulled out some nuggets and those are some a lot of good ones there. And get out of your own way. Education, shortcuts, discipline, commitment, all those things are wonderful. Glenn Harper signing off.
00:46:08 – Julie Smith
And Julie Smith.
Episode Show Notes
She’s a driving force for promoting and helping individuals identify and achieve their physical fitness, nutrition and bodybuilding goals. Her social media platforms have been growing and influencing countless followers. We welcome Lexie Maitland as our guest.
You’re a fitness fanatic, which is kind of exciting. How did you get involved with that?
I’ve always been athletic. Growing up, it’s kind of been like my identity. Everybody has always known me to be a very active, sports-driven individual. So I was a competitive gymnast starting when I was seven. And then throughout high school I was I joined the cheer team. But on top of that, I also started running with my mom and we did a couple of half marathons together. My dad basically one day was like, Lexi, you need to try something else out. So he got me a personal trainer at the local gym, and so I started with that. He started teaching me the proper way to actually weight lift, I just grew to really love it and started doing my own research and kind of went towards that route where I was doing more weight lifting rather than just cardio and it was just really something I enjoyed.
When you’re coaching these girls or, you know, people from all walks of life, how do you get these people to get out of their own way? Because essentially you are coaching them to get out of their own way. How do you help change their mindset and help shift some of those mental blocks that people have in regards to that?
All of my coaching is done virtually. How do I make it personable? So I always send video responses back to my clients so they kind of see me on their computer screen talking to them. So they get that personal aspect. I also think like as a coach. I have to make sure I’m extremely upfront and direct right off the bat before somebody wants to sign up with me. Not only what my expectations are as a coach, but also telling them what to expect.
Is there anybody else, or were your parents the driving force that kind of gave you the confidence to say, I can do this?
I joined an entrepreneurial group in high school and they held pitch competitions a couple of times per year, and I, on a whim, just decided to enter one. And so when I did the pitch competitions, it really pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I had to like publicly speak in front of all of these like high-level entrepreneurs in St Louis. And that really gave me the confidence to actually like fulfill public speaking.
As Glenn notes, what is really key for our entrepreneurs is you have to get uncomfortable to then get comfortable to achieve anything. If you sit in your safe space, it’s just never going to happen. You have to get uncomfortable.
Lexie Maitland
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