Miguel Diaz

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[00:00] SPEAKER_01: It's VanCouver's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
[00:12] SPEAKER_01: Hello everyone, I'm Angela Faye, Hub Builder and co-host of British Columbia's Podcasts.
[00:19] SPEAKER_01: Part of the Canada's podcast network, your source for great insights from entrepreneurs
[00:23] SPEAKER_01: from across Canada.
[00:25] SPEAKER_01: We talked entrepreneurs who are making it happen here so you can listen, discover and engage.
[00:31] SPEAKER_01: Good morning, this is Angela Barnard from Canada's podcast.
[00:35] SPEAKER_01: I'm super excited to have a driven entrepreneur with me today.
[00:39] SPEAKER_01: So I'm going to introduce Miguel Diaz.
[00:43] SPEAKER_01: Miguel is the CEO and founder of Driven Performance Fitness, a fitness transformation center
[00:49] SPEAKER_01: with 250 members based out of the Ninoimo British Columbia.
[00:53] SPEAKER_01: He helps them improve their, his members improve their health, fitness and mindset.
[01:00] SPEAKER_01: After losing 80 pounds himself, Miguel became a certified personal trainer and a certified
[01:04] SPEAKER_01: fitness nutritionist dedicated himself to helping others get in shape without depriving themselves.
[01:10] SPEAKER_01: Not only is it a personal journey, but Miguel has also received best personal trainer in the City of Ninoimo in 2017, 2018, 2019,
[01:19] SPEAKER_01: and his business has received the award of best fitness center in 2018 and 2019,
[01:26] SPEAKER_01: and the 2019 Small Business of the Year award from the Ninoimo Chamber of Commerce.
[01:32] SPEAKER_01: A little bit more. Miguel is all about helping people believe in themselves,
[01:36] SPEAKER_01: believe and achieve better health and quality of life through fitness and nutrition.
[01:41] SPEAKER_01: And I got to pull this from his quote, no matter where you are, there is always hope,
[01:45] SPEAKER_01: there's always a way, do not give up.
[01:47] SPEAKER_01: Does that kind of sum you up, Miguel?
[01:50] SPEAKER_00: That's bang on Angie, that's amazing.
[01:52] SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
[01:54] SPEAKER_01: Awesome. So Miguel, let's just talk a little bit about you.
[01:57] SPEAKER_01: How did you, how did you get here?
[01:59] SPEAKER_01: How did, what's your entrepreneurial story?
[02:01] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know what? I've always had the entrepreneurial bug in me since I was a kid.
[02:07] SPEAKER_00: I think the first thing that I did, I grew up in Mexico, so the first thing that I did was,
[02:13] SPEAKER_00: I wanted a soccer ball and I borrowed 20 bucks from my grandpa and I went to the grocery store and I
[02:17] SPEAKER_00: bought as many cans of pop as I could, wouldn't know, pop, for us at that grade, right?
[02:23] SPEAKER_00: And I put it in a cooler, I bought a bag of ice and I filled it up and I literally
[02:27] SPEAKER_00: dragged it for blocks, knocking on every single door at like the hottest time of the day in Mexico,
[02:33] SPEAKER_00: right? Asking people if they wanted to buy, you know, one or two or three cans and I'd sell them
[02:38] SPEAKER_00: out a bit of a profit, go like the profit, run back to the store and like keep doing it.
[02:43] SPEAKER_00: It just kind of has always been in me, but in this particular industry, it really was something that
[02:51] SPEAKER_00: it almost feels like I had no choice. You know, I went through such a transformation myself,
[02:56] SPEAKER_00: not just physically, but mentally and emotionally pulling myself out of, you know, being
[03:03] SPEAKER_00: overweight and feeling, you know, the press and just not feeling on fire about life, you know,
[03:11] SPEAKER_00: and this change has been so radical. Of course, it's taking years, but it felt like I had no choice,
[03:18] SPEAKER_00: like I have to share this with people and with other struggling. So here we are six years later.
[03:25] SPEAKER_00: In five days, it'll be our sixth anniversary and we're growing more than ever and changing lives.
[03:32] SPEAKER_01: Awesome. Congratulations on this year's six-year mark that's pretty tremendous.
[03:36] SPEAKER_01: Tell me about the work that you do. Tell me about the jam, the process.
[03:40] SPEAKER_01: What happens? Who do you work with?
[03:42] SPEAKER_00: It's changed a lot over the years, right? When it started six years ago, it was all
[03:46] SPEAKER_00: personal training, you know, one-on-one personal training and I had literally just
[03:52] SPEAKER_00: quit my job after a little bit of a taste of what it was like to help people with health and
[03:57] SPEAKER_00: fitness on the side. All of a sudden, I just couldn't stop it. I was like, this is what I'm
[04:01] SPEAKER_00: meant to do with my life. So I literally quit my job without any savings or anything and no,
[04:07] SPEAKER_00: safety net and I just went right into it. Over time, my role in the business has evolved a lot.
[04:14] SPEAKER_00: Today, I do maybe one hour a week of actual training. The rest of the time is, is work either
[04:24] SPEAKER_00: supporting my members or working on the business. I have a fantastic team of
[04:30] SPEAKER_00: driven, dedicated, compassionate people without whom this would be not possible at all.
[04:36] SPEAKER_00: Now, in the gym, the way it looks is the vast majority of it is group workouts.
[04:41] SPEAKER_00: Anywhere from, you know, the class that just ended was only like five people,
[04:45] SPEAKER_00: but you can get up there as well. We can fit 30 people here. Sometimes we have two trainers
[04:50] SPEAKER_00: because the classes get big, but it is coaching people with the three main pillars of success when
[04:57] SPEAKER_00: it comes to fitness and mindset and all that. So it's fitness, nutrition and accountability.
[05:04] SPEAKER_00: So it's not just knowing what to do. It's also making sure that you have somebody there
[05:09] SPEAKER_00: to hold your account well and to support you when, you know, life is throwing your curveballs and
[05:14] SPEAKER_00: you don't feel like doing what you said at the beginning will help you connect at a deeper,
[05:19] SPEAKER_00: emotional level with your goals and really get clear on what's on the line. You know, what are
[05:25] SPEAKER_00: you working for? Is it to, is it just for you and to, you know, rock a swimsuit in Mexico or is it
[05:33] SPEAKER_00: because your children depend on you? And if you are suffering from, you know, cardiovascular diseases
[05:40] SPEAKER_00: at 40 or 50, that's going to impact them. So we're really helping connect to that so that we can
[05:47] SPEAKER_00: remind them when you don't quite feel like doing it, right? We all go through that. Exactly. I just
[05:52] SPEAKER_01: competed in Tough Mudder and got a little coaching from you on the side. Thank you the morning
[05:57] SPEAKER_01: before. But, you know, one of the inspirational quotes there was, you know, when you, when you feel
[06:02] SPEAKER_01: like quitting, remember why you started. That's right. Now, who do you, who do you, sir? I mean, that's
[06:08] SPEAKER_01: quite a broad, you know, looking great in a swimsuit versus, you know, maybe dealing with an
[06:12] SPEAKER_01: actual disease. Is there, is there a profile of person that you work with? Could you describe that?
[06:18] SPEAKER_00: What I can tell you is that about 80% of our members are mothers between, you know, 25, 27 and 55.
[06:31] SPEAKER_00: I think there's also, there's also men and I think a common denominator there is a lot of,
[06:37] SPEAKER_00: a lot of them are parents. Kids are a beautiful thing. Once, once you have a child,
[06:43] SPEAKER_00: your perspective in life changes, right? And you start paying attention to other things that
[06:48] SPEAKER_00: before weren't as important. You want to ensure that you're there, that you can not just be around,
[06:53] SPEAKER_00: but give them a good example and set them up for success in life. But we have a look at everything.
[06:58] SPEAKER_00: We have members that are, you know, in their early teens and they're just taking exercise as
[07:03] SPEAKER_00: something that is natural, normal and not something that you do to fix something that has gone wrong.
[07:09] SPEAKER_00: We also have members that are 70, 71 years old and going strong. So Miguel, I'm going to jump to
[07:17] SPEAKER_01: a little bit of where you work. So really from Mexico to Nanaimo, what's your, what's the story there?
[07:26] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's crazy, you know, I, I've actually lived in, and so I grew up in Mexico.
[07:32] SPEAKER_00: When I was about 21 years old, I lived in Peru for about a year. That was a fantastic experience.
[07:40] SPEAKER_00: And then I came back. I finished university in Mexico for accounting and finance, which has
[07:45] SPEAKER_00: nothing really to do with the company, but it sure comes in handy now. And then, you know, when I
[07:51] SPEAKER_00: came to Canada first, I visited Montreal and I was like, oh my god, this is beautiful. And I
[08:00] SPEAKER_00: met a wonderful woman and we got married and we had a baby and her family was here. So
[08:07] SPEAKER_00: okay here in order to be near family. We fell in love with the island, but Vancouver Island is just
[08:14] SPEAKER_00: it literally has everything to offer without the craziness of, of to our traffic and any of that,
[08:22] SPEAKER_00: right? So it really, it really hit that balance between a great place to raise a family and a place
[08:28] SPEAKER_00: where you can work hard and hustle and you can put 16 hour days if that's if that's your jam and
[08:35] SPEAKER_00: still be home in 10 minutes, you know what I mean? So that that was that was then and you know,
[08:41] SPEAKER_00: life is very different now. I separated from from my son's mom and we're good friends now and I
[08:48] SPEAKER_00: remarried and now I have another little one. Wow, cool. And life is life is just
[08:55] SPEAKER_00: sometimes it's it's hard to believe how blessed we are. Wow, fantastic. Okay, I've got to ask,
[09:01] SPEAKER_00: how old are your kids? Both kids. So my son is 12 and my daughter is almost four. Awesome.
[09:07] SPEAKER_01: Congratulations. Wow. So there was definitely a family connection here in Nimo, which is quite often
[09:13] SPEAKER_01: how people get settled, what especially once they've once they've got a family as a parent,
[09:18] SPEAKER_01: here can you give us some inside scoop on kind of the favorite places to take your kids?
[09:25] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, I'm kind of a homebody. What? When I so where do I take my son? I take him to the
[09:32] SPEAKER_00: gym and we're come to make some size on the weekends, but we really enjoy Westwood Lake. Just
[09:39] SPEAKER_00: going around the lake and walking is such a it's such a beautiful place. It's so quiet. The water
[09:47] SPEAKER_00: is just beautiful. You have the mountains. It's just amazing, right? Or you you go down to the
[09:52] SPEAKER_00: waterfront and you walk the the oh it's just so beautiful and calming and there's you know so
[10:00] SPEAKER_00: many beautiful people walking their pets or with their families. I just love the vibe wherever you go.
[10:06] SPEAKER_01: And that leaves me to perfect segue. When you're on your own, how do you personally recharge Miguel?
[10:12] SPEAKER_01: What where do you go? How do you do it? So my journey and fitness definitely started from being
[10:18] SPEAKER_00: overweight. I definitely approached fitness as a way to fix something that I wasn't happy with.
[10:24] SPEAKER_00: And and you know, I don't I don't bash people that that's how they feel, you know, I need to
[10:32] SPEAKER_00: I guess I need to do something to fix however I'm feeling because that's what got me started.
[10:37] SPEAKER_00: Now the gym is my therapy. It absolutely I don't have to do it at 5 a.m. anymore but I come here and
[10:47] SPEAKER_00: I work out with my members. I'm riding the class with them sweating next to them and and by 6 a.m.
[10:53] SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm so full of energy and ready to to go at it. Now if I I thrive on a long time maybe like
[11:03] SPEAKER_00: many entrepreneurs and and I always make sure that I carve some alone time during the week.
[11:10] SPEAKER_00: That usually for me is Thursdays and maybe it's just me putting on a podcast and and walking west with
[11:16] SPEAKER_00: Lake or you know sitting down with my journal and riding down just doing like a brain dump right?
[11:22] SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's a nice combination of a long time and then together time for all the energy in the room.
[11:28] SPEAKER_01: When I'm just going to highlight that podcast and journaling are your two
[11:32] SPEAKER_01: two it's kind of a long time therapies right? And ironically mine too so that's something we share in
[11:38] SPEAKER_01: common. Can you give me an idea of what your day looks like? We talked about getting up early,
[11:43] SPEAKER_01: doing some gym time and you're energized. What else does your day look like?
[11:48] SPEAKER_00: Yeah so my my most productive hours of the day are before 9 a.m. so 5 a.m. I'll do my workout and then
[11:54] SPEAKER_00: from 6 a.m. to 9 that's when I really try to get my most important things done. Monday is usually
[12:01] SPEAKER_00: a day that I devote to supporting my members so I may be here from well either here at home but
[12:08] SPEAKER_00: communicating with members whether it's video call or in person and maybe from 9 a.m. till 7 p.m.
[12:15] SPEAKER_00: That's my that's my Monday Tuesday is more of a team day where we have a weekly team meeting and
[12:22] SPEAKER_00: we spend a good hour hour and a half then we all get together just the my team and I and we
[12:29] SPEAKER_00: clean up the gym ourselves like we wipe everything down we just power through it with music or something
[12:34] SPEAKER_00: and then that's it like I'm I'm done for the day I may have a meeting with my manager
[12:39] SPEAKER_00: Wednesdays and Thursdays are kind of the days that I set aside for me to work on the business so
[12:45] SPEAKER_00: that may just be me and my computer you know and and I may be looking at our goals our accountabilities
[12:53] SPEAKER_00: making sure that everybody is well supported that really is my job now to support people whether
[12:58] SPEAKER_00: it's my members or my team at the end of the day that's that's what I can do for them right
[13:04] SPEAKER_00: we're blessed in the sense that we just went to my way my wife and I and we were there for only
[13:10] SPEAKER_00: about a week but the gym didn't skip didn't skip a beat we came back right yeah remember then when
[13:15] SPEAKER_00: we left everything was perfectly fine so so really my job now is just to support everybody and to
[13:23] SPEAKER_01: add value wherever I can one thing I would like to add because I know it's it's part of your
[13:29] SPEAKER_01: business structure and story but that's almost all your employees are actually past clients yeah that's
[13:35] SPEAKER_01: right I mean how much more enrolled could you possibly get right you know what we've been super
[13:42] SPEAKER_00: just again blessed in in the sense that our members are always asking hey is there an opening like
[13:49] SPEAKER_00: could I like just because maybe they've experienced a transformation they see what it's done for them
[13:57] SPEAKER_00: and and once you experience that it's really difficult to not want to help other people get there
[14:04] SPEAKER_01: right right right it's amazing now and it sounds to me like I mean you know you've got quite a little
[14:11] SPEAKER_01: framework and tight framework that you work within but obviously when I think as an entrepreneur
[14:16] SPEAKER_01: in business it's impossible to not to keep tabs on what's happening in your industry and your
[14:21] SPEAKER_01: insect or so if you could share what do you think are insights that another entrepreneur in the
[14:28] SPEAKER_01: sector whether they're fitness trainer they own a gym or something like that what are some of
[14:31] SPEAKER_01: the trends that you're aware of that you that you'd like others to be aware of yeah so what I see
[14:38] SPEAKER_00: happening is personal training has gone from being the majority of what you know I mean people were
[14:47] SPEAKER_00: everybody was able to afford personal training you know five years ten years ago and and and
[14:52] SPEAKER_00: things are changing a lot and there's a lot of options for people right and we're busier than ever so
[14:57] SPEAKER_00: we want access to our coach as whenever we need it right like on the mat so when when you add all
[15:06] SPEAKER_00: that up what's going to happen is is personal training and potentially even group personal training
[15:12] SPEAKER_00: is going to end up getting commoditized and some of the big gyms are already you know implementing
[15:18] SPEAKER_00: their classes and of course you know one thing is the classes smaller fitness businesses like
[15:25] SPEAKER_00: like hours that's not our business our business is the relationships that we create with our members
[15:31] SPEAKER_00: you know it's it's easy for somebody to show up and run a workout that's the very tip of the
[15:38] SPEAKER_00: iceberg where there's value is in knowing these people deeply and caring for them and knowing
[15:44] SPEAKER_00: that maybe Amy struggled with her knee and maybe Tana has a right shoulder that gives her trouble
[15:51] SPEAKER_00: right and for us to remember keep it in the back of our minds even though we're in a class with
[15:56] SPEAKER_00: you know 15 20 people and be like hey watch that shoulder you know we keep that in here and
[16:02] SPEAKER_00: if you are in this industry the easiest way to make sure that us things get commoditized you're not
[16:10] SPEAKER_00: you know forgotten or erased from the map is really to not make it about you to make it about
[16:17] SPEAKER_00: the client one of the one the first piece of advice that I got when I told a friend of mine who
[16:23] SPEAKER_00: was a personal trainer and I communicated to him that I was going to become a personal trainer
[16:29] SPEAKER_00: in an IMO and again this was like seven years ago he said what that's crazy why would you do that
[16:35] SPEAKER_00: it is the most saturated profession in an IMO like you'll never make it that in realtors but yeah
[16:41] SPEAKER_00: yeah absolutely yeah and and you know and then I was like well you know what I feel like I have no
[16:47] SPEAKER_00: choice I have to do that this is my calling I should have known to go somewhere else for advice
[16:52] SPEAKER_00: after that kind of advice but I said and this is quite specific I said you know what I'm thinking
[16:58] SPEAKER_00: of offering like a six-week challenge and I'm gonna offer people their workouts but also help
[17:03] SPEAKER_00: with nutrition because that's really where it's at and the advice was you should not include help
[17:12] SPEAKER_00: with nutrition you should charge the extra for that and I remember you know thinking and
[17:18] SPEAKER_00: and that doesn't make any sense it's in my best interest like even if I was just worrying about me
[17:23] SPEAKER_00: it's in my best interest that they succeed otherwise what does that say about me as a personal trainer
[17:29] SPEAKER_00: you know and so I'm glad I didn't listen to that advice I went and over delivered you know like
[17:35] SPEAKER_00: literally it was texting my members and being like hey time to eat hey don't forget to drink your
[17:41] SPEAKER_00: water hey like sometimes showing up in their office at around noon and being like hey surprise visit
[17:46] SPEAKER_00: how what's for lunch and it was those things so if I can give one piece of advice to every other
[17:53] SPEAKER_00: person in the industry is don't make it about you we are not the star you know if this was a
[18:00] SPEAKER_00: story I don't know I'm kind of a nerd so I love Star Wars and you know what us trainers we should
[18:07] SPEAKER_00: we're not Luke we are Yoda right our client is Luke they are the hero of the story we're just
[18:14] SPEAKER_00: there to guide them and if you lead by that and you get you know and if we get our ego out of the
[18:20] SPEAKER_00: way and we really just provide value and aim to make an impact you change one person's lives and
[18:27] SPEAKER_00: that's going to impact their children you know so we and I own that because that is really what's
[18:34] SPEAKER_00: going to ensure that you don't go anywhere and that your business tries if I have listened to that
[18:39] SPEAKER_00: advice six years ago somebody else would have had to get that those those awards very good well
[18:45] SPEAKER_01: congratulations on your awards by the way few little insights rapid fire questions are you
[18:50] SPEAKER_01: reading a book or could you recommend an essential reading yeah I'm not a very fast reader so I
[18:56] SPEAKER_00: do audio of the books and I normally get through two or three per month one of my favorites is
[19:03] SPEAKER_00: relentless by Tim Grover it is amazing he has been a coach to Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant and
[19:12] SPEAKER_00: he really has distilled what it takes to go from good to great to unstoppable I think that's
[19:20] SPEAKER_00: actually what's right below the title it's an amazing book I've read it twice and do you have any
[19:26] SPEAKER_01: inspirational quotes on your computer on your wall your home not really up here we have a massive
[19:33] SPEAKER_00: sign over there like literally paint on the wall like from floor ceiling that says do not give up
[19:39] SPEAKER_00: but you know what here it is I strongly and firmly with conviction believe that every single person
[19:46] SPEAKER_00: is way stronger than we think we are you know and all that it takes is for somebody even if it's
[19:54] SPEAKER_00: not yourself for somebody to believe that about you and then hold that bar and be like I know you
[20:00] SPEAKER_00: can make it show me and it's amazing what happens when that expectation is there and you know it's
[20:06] SPEAKER_00: coming from a place of love you rise and when you realize holy I can do something that I never
[20:12] SPEAKER_00: thought I could do that translates to every other area of your life and you start questioning I
[20:18] SPEAKER_00: never thought I could start my own business but I also thought that I could never do that and I
[20:24] SPEAKER_00: just did so I wonder you know it can permeate it impact every other area of your life absolutely
[20:30] SPEAKER_01: I love that we share that in common Miguel is there anything you'd like to add that we haven't
[20:36] SPEAKER_00: talked about so far you know I think I think at the end of the day it's all about being self-aware
[20:43] SPEAKER_00: of what makes you happy you know in the fitness industry is very easy to portray fitness as a
[20:51] SPEAKER_00: weight towards happiness and it's amazing it is great to live in a healthy body but without a
[20:59] SPEAKER_00: healthy mind if you're always constantly surrounding yourself with negativity and you put in the
[21:06] SPEAKER_00: effort to find the negative in things that's not what is the point of living in a healthy strong body
[21:13] SPEAKER_00: if you're polluting yourself with that stuff right I honestly think we are so blessed to be alive
[21:21] SPEAKER_00: and to live in this time and age that we should we should lead with a sense of responsibility to
[21:28] SPEAKER_00: make a positive impact on everybody around us you don't need to be a personal trainer you can
[21:32] SPEAKER_00: literally just not give room for negativity and aim to put a smile on people's faces
[21:38] SPEAKER_01: time so put a smile on people's papers but you just made me cry with some of that's it
[21:42] SPEAKER_00: and how can people get a hold of you yeah many different ways we actually have a podcast as well
[21:51] SPEAKER_00: so you can it's just called the driven podcast and you can find it anywhere spotify iTunes
[21:56] SPEAKER_00: you name it on social media a driven performance fitness and you'll find us in Instagram
[22:04] SPEAKER_01: Facebook same handle Miguel it has been an absolute pleasure I feel totally energized looking forward
[22:09] SPEAKER_01: to the day and for our next power walk on the harbor front you got it thank you so much
[22:14] SPEAKER_01: thanks for joining us Miguel you're very welcome bye hey there thanks for taking the time today to
[22:20] SPEAKER_01: listen to british Columbia's podcast on the Canada's podcast network we hope you enjoyed the show
[22:26] SPEAKER_01: today make sure you sign up for our newsletters and write a review for us on iTunes connect with us on
[22:32] SPEAKER_01: twitter facebook instagram linkedin or at canada'spodcast.com you can check out what other entrepreneurs are
[22:39] SPEAKER_01: doing across the country I'm Angela Faye see you next time