Today we’d like to introduce you to Zo McCullough
Hi Zo, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m Coach Zo and I have been involved in the health and wellness space for about a decade, working at multiple gyms at varying levels of personal training, team strength and conditioning coaching and general managing. Most of the gym environments I have worked at involved working with high school and college athletes, where they had access to sports specific coaching, nutrition, physical therapy and fitness coaching, in order for them to perform and move onto the next level for scholarships or spots on professional teams.
While personally I have competed at high levels of rugby and distance running, most of these gym programs were geared towards your popular american sports (football, basketball, baseball, etc.). After seeing this, I wondered, where is there a multi-approach, supportive atmosphere for post-collegiate athletes who play solo sports, active hobbies or those who want to try a new activity simply because they enjoy it?
From that idea, Fas Movement was born. I wanted to create this environment to help clients grow their fitness to support their favorite activity! A garden shed converted into a gym is how we started and we continue to grow from there.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Like many other businesses, it has not always been smooth sailing. When Fas Movement began, I had originally left my other job, due to my Mom’s battle with cancer, and I wanted to make time for the things that mattered most. Both my father, and her, ran their own businesses for 30 plus years and always encouraged me to chase after my dreams and entrepreneurial goals.
I used up my savings to start this dream. I kept my overhead costs low by converting a 200 square foot garden shed into a gym space and I used that to film exercise instructional videos before I had any clients.
Of course, having your first gym (in a garden shed) is tough because your nearby pristine looking studio gym franchises down the road and your advertising budget can’t compete with those higher budget facilities. However, all of this taught me how valuable ‘word of mouth’ advertising, and having a personalized client experience, would be to Fas Movements’ success.
Fas Movement was started during the covid pandemic and it was a slow start indeed. It taught me a lot about business and helped encourage me to develope both a valuable in-person experience as well as an online presence for my clients.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Fas Movement?
Fas is a gaelic verb that means ‘to grow’, therefore, Fas Movement wants you to ‘grow in your movement’. Our goal is to help you get stronger in the ways that you need to for your chosen sport or activity. We help you reach this goal by acting as your support system to help you progress in your solo sport of activity. We provide this support system through 1-on-1 personal training, meal planning, habit coaching and event support.
Our 1-on-1 personal training can be done in-person at our new, soon to be open, studio gym, online coaching through our Fas app, or a hybrid mix of both online and in-person coaching. Along with personal training, we help you structure meal plans that allow your food to fuel your activity, positive mentality and strength improvements. Our habit coaching is also available for those who require assistance forming new habits to improve their workout consistency and sleep quality. Last but not least, we our growing our service known as ‘event support’, where whether you have a race or competitive event, we’ll be there to help you warm-up, support you during the event, and help you to cool down afterwards.
So far we have worked with runners, cyclists, hikers, mountain bikers, swimmers, military members, and obstacle course racers. While we continue to work on trying to niche down to a few select activities, and we are certified to work with pre and post natal clients, we welcome helping solo sport athletes, weekend warriors, and those who are looking for overall physical longevity in their chosen activity.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The fitness industry is a place where many trends come and go constantly. As soon as I think I’ve heard of every type of fitness class or training style, someone tells me about a new trend. During the pandemic, people wanted to figure out ways to effectively workout at home since most gyms wouldn’t allow people to workout around others. Because of this, I believe people found different ways to exercise and many took up a new solo sport or activity such as running, climbing or biking.
As far as the type of gym, or workout style, that will stick around, I personally believe that people will work and learn how to do the fundamental movements (squatting, hinging, pushing and pulling) in order to apply those to other activities.
I believe there will be, as there is currently, a shift towards developing technology to take over the workload of workout planning, exercise selection and programming. AI (Artificial Intelligence) apps that help people workout are already out there, however, because of this, I believe people will be looking for human interraction and the in-person coaching experience, with a real trainer whom understands the physical and mental challenges that come with training. That in-person experience will hold it’s value as technology continues to develope.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fasmovement.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fas_movement/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@thecoachzoyouknow?si=R3svDwFDMs9eioOB
