Today we’d like to introduce you to Victor Geremia.
Hi Victor, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a first generation American, and son of an Italian immigrant father who came to America with my grandparents in search of a better life for their children. My grandfather was one of the stone masons and groundskeeper for Lake View Cemetery and did such great work that he was able to start his own landscaping business with my father. My grandfather made a much better life for his family through his hard work and dedication but unfortunately passed away early, leaving my dad to take over the family business. So, from there my father took his four sons under his wings and grew Geremia and Sons Lawn Care and Design. This created the atmosphere for me to learn the importance of hard work, customer service, and how taking pride in your work is paramount no matter how small the job is. Even as a little kid I went on customer check-ins and estimates with my father and watched him interact with his customers. I still apply the lessons from those trips in the work truck to this very day! Even my mom had her own small flower shop, and we would get up early every Saturday to go buy stock for the shop. On the weekends I helped run the register, organize and clean the store, as well as assist with the day-to- day operations of counting stock, counting down the drawer, and all of the hundred other things that keep a small family business going. So being blessed with two parents who had the entrepreneurial spirit to strike out on their own is definitely an integral part of who I am as a business owner. Their risks and the sacrifices they took allowed me to go to college and pursue my passion for health and wellness! I have always loved to think about the magnitude of that story and how a simple Italian immigrant farmer left his home, his land, his friends and relatives behind to try to make a better life for his family. That decision eventually led to a grandchild further educating himself and providing a service to better an entire community’s health and wellness. It’s truly a testament to how sacrifice, hard work, dedication, and pride in your work can have a ripple effect beyond our comprehension. That story is a daily reminder to humbly give my business everything I can, not only because of what it took to get me here, but also to provide my own positive ripple effect to my family, my business, and my community. This effect is what no doubt led to the beginnings of my own business, Health 360.
Health 360 started in 2010 as an answer to some troubling trends in the fitness industry, especially in the areas of personal training and what a gym membership should be. Many people do not know this, but the fitness industry was not started by people who are trained in the exercise sciences. It was in fact started by people who were really good at hard sales and just happened to look the part of a personal trainer. In fact, personal trainers to this day do not need a formal education or any certification to be a personal trainer. For example, when you go to your doctor, you can trust that person went to an accredited medical school and passed a series of boards at the collegiate and state level as well as a combination of examinations and accumulated observation hours and in-person, hands-on experiences to become a doctor. In personal training, there is no oversight. Literally, anyone can call themselves a personal trainer! They don’t need a college degree, they don’t need a certification, they don’t even need insurance. Yet millions of Americans trust their bodies and their overall health to them every day.
To make things worse, the same trends are now happening online. “Fitness influencers” are creating copy- and-paste programming for their clients with no understanding or real-time oversight on what those workouts may be doing to their clients. “Fitness influencers” also do not need an education, license, or insurance, yet they tell millions of people how to move their bodies and what to eat every day. Even more disturbing trends are popping up where a “trainer” emails people videos of what to do. This may be fine for people with no injuries, or who are highly coordinated, or have former instructions on physical exercises; but for the rest of the population, this is simply unethical at best. This is where Health 360 comes into play.
Health 360 was created in 2010 because we did not like what we saw in the fitness industry. Many gyms cut costs by hiring uneducated, poorly trained employees to act as personal trainers; in reality, less than 10% of these trainers have a degree, and 45% have been found to not be certified when audited. At Health 360, our trainers have their bachelor’s or master’s degrees in the fields of exercise science, athletic training, exercise physiology, and nursing, among others. In addition, they are required to have a certification from one of the top five certifying bodies in the country. No internet certifications are accepted here. You simply won’t find a more knowledgeable or well-trained personal training staff anywhere else in northeast Ohio. In addition to all of that, we don’t use hard sales tactics, and we have a monthly membership with no minimum amounts of personal training or arbitrary deadlines to use your sessions. We believe if we don’t earn your business, you have every right to look elsewhere. But we know you’ll love it here!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We opened in 2010, shortly after the 2008 financial crisis, so needless to say, we had a long and rocky road ahead of us to get established and stay relevant in a highly volatile industry. After 2008, most Americans saw fitness as a commodity that they could cut out of their budgets. In addition to that, we always joke that in the fitness industry, “we aren’t selling pizzas!” which means that what we are selling (fitness) is a very difficult sell to most people. It’s something they have most likely neglected; they feel out of shape, embarrassed, behind, or simply not up to the task. Fitness is HARD! It takes time, resources, dedication, sweat, and a decent amount of growing pains. So, we provide an environment filled with a knowledgeable staff to make that journey as safe, efficient, and fun as possible. After that model started to take hold in the community, spanning almost a decade of successful business, the COVID-19 pandemic happened and shut us down completely. Even though a lot of our members let their memberships run; we lost over one hundred thousand dollars in revenue compared to the year prior.
For a company who has less than ten employees, that is typically a death sentence. Thankfully the lessons learned from 2008 taught us to implement solid business planning, which narrowly saved us from having to close. That, combined with some creative ways to keep personal training going, really saved us in the end. Our dedicated members and staff are immortalized in the gym to this day with a placard on the wall that is dedicated to their generosity and belief in what we are trying to do for our community. We know over 40% of the fitness industry shuttered its doors during those times, and the fact that we somehow survived could only be attributed to the quality of people we have and serve.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I am oddly enough particularly averse to risk! It really gets the butterflies going when I have to face it. That being said, I am completely aware that it is a necessity to run any kind of successful business. Risks simply need to be taken if you plan to survive and grow. Like exercise or brushing your teeth, there is simply no way around it – you have to do it, and you avoid it at your peril. So, if I could speak directly to those who may share the same adversities to risk that I do: ask yourself a simple question – would you rather be safe? Or strong? Safety is an illusion; more often than not, no one but yourself is ultimately responsible for your successes and your failures. So, choose strength! Not safety. Strength will be there when the chips are down, and no one can take it away from you, which safety robs you of agency and limits your full potential, and life is just too hard not to be at your full potential. The best way to develop your strength from what I have seen is to face your risks with an intelligent courage that you can muster from educating yourself to the fullest extent possible and surrounding yourself with trusted advisors who have your best interest at heart. Armed with knowledge and a positive support staff, you can face the BIGGEST of risks knowing that you will like your odds of success going into the fight. So, while there are no guarantees in business, there are tried and true tactics to mitigate risks, and you should arm yourself with a solid education and understanding of what those tactics are and a solid support team to back you up when you stare risk right in the eye. Remember, I went to school for exercise science, not business, and am a first-generation American with an Italian immigrant father who ran a small landscaping company. Despite that, I have survived a global financial crisis as well as a pandemic. So, if that’s not proof that you can do this, I don’t know what is. So, remember the past lessons life has provided for you, remember those who sacrificed for you to be where you are, and give your work EVERYTHING you can so that you too can have a positive ripple effect on the world.
A little about the owner and GM of Health 360:
Victor Geremia BS, AT, Duke Trained IHC, CSCS, FMS, PN
• Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science and Physiology with a Focus in Sports Medicine (BS)
• Athletic Trainer through the University of Toledo (AT)
• Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCS) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
• Duke-trained Integrative Health Coach (IHC)
• Functional Movement Certified (FMS)
• Precision Nutrition Certified (PN)
Victor Geremia grew up locally and attended Notre Dame Cathedral Latin High School, where upon graduation attended the University of Toledo and enrolled in their Sports Medicine program. In that program, 50 students enrolled, and only 12 students were accepted, Victor being one of the 12. In the Sports Medicine program, he studied exercise science and physiology with a focus on Athletic Training.
During his 5 years there, he accumulated over 1000 hours of clinical experience in high schools, physical therapy clinics, and collegiate settings which he supported a full array of sports teams, including a MAC championship football team that produced four NFL players. With that training, he learned to identify, prevent, and treat a multitude of athletic injuries and become an athletic trainer (AT) Upon graduation, Vic completed his Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCS) certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). As the worldwide authority on strength and conditioning, the NSCA supports and disseminates research-based knowledge and its practical application to improve athletic performance and fitness. This approach is what Vic applies to his training, program design, and overall fitness professional philosophy. To further his understanding of human movement, Vic has also become Functional Movement Systems (FMS) certified. This enhances his ability to potentially locate imbalances in human movement and apply corrective exercises for his clients to help reduce injury.
With his detailed and comprehensive understanding of the exercise sciences, Vic decided to further help improve his client’s chances of success by becoming a Duke University-trained Integrative Health Coach (IHC). Based heavily in the field of psychology and years of clinical research, the IHC program taught Vic how to how to dynamically engage individuals to make transformational health behavior changes that maximize their health and well-being. Vic uses this skill set to bridge the gap between the medical recommendations his clients receive and their abilities to successfully implement those recommendations into their complex lives.
To add to his nutritional education, he received at the University of Toledo, Vic also obtained his Precision Nutrition (PN) certification. The PN certification focuses not only on the physiology of nutrition but also, the psychology of behavioral change in relation to food. Earning this certification allowed Vic to join the ranks of coaches who work with Olympic Gold medalists, NFL, NBA, UFC, and NHL athletes, as well as Fortune 100 companies like Apple and Nike. This education has allowed Vic to successfully round out his client’s health by coupling physical fitness with the transformative power of proper nutrition. With having over 15 years and of experience in strength coaching, behavior change, injury prevention, and nutrition Vic provides an all-encompassing approach to health and wellness for his clients at Health 360 as well as numerous corporations and educational institutions including Kent State, University of Cincinnati, University of Akron, Youngstown State University and others.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.h360g.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/health360g/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/h360g/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Health360g
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/health-360-mayfield
