Ideal Business Show with Todd Durkin
Fitness Industry Leader Todd Durkin.
Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS, is an internationally recognized strength, speed and conditioning coach, personal trainer, body worker, motivational speaker, and author who motivates, educates, and inspires people worldwide. He is the founder of Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, CA, a world-class facility that provides personal training, strength and conditioning, therapeutic massage and bodywork, Pilates, yoga, nutrition, chiropractic and physical therapy programs.
Todd works with a high-profile clientele of elite professional athletes. This includes NFL MVPs, Super Bowl Champions and MVPs, Heisman Trophy Winner, Olympic and X-Game Gold Medalists, and many other champion athletes. He is a 2 Time Personal Trainer of the Year (IDEA & ACE) and has received numerous industry accolades. Greatist has named Todd one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Health & Fitness for the past three years.
His gym, Fitness Quest 10, was named one of “America’s Top 10 Gyms” by Men’s Health for the past 5 years, and in addition to high-profile athletes, attracts many fitness enthusiasts of all ages, shapes, sizes, and levels who want to improve their overall health and fitness performance. His team of 38 trainers, coaches, and therapists deliver results to over 500 clients weekly.
Todd has appeared on 60 Minutes, ESPN, the NFL Network and has been featured in Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, ESPNN the Magazine, Stack Magazine, the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and many others.
Through Todd Durkin Enterprises, Todd and his staff provide motivational and educational programs and team-building events to companies and conferences worldwide. Some of these companies include Under Armour, Gatorade, The Ken Blanchard Companies, YPO, Wells Fargo, Bath & Body Works, Cal-a-Vie Resort & Spa, the Golden Door, IMG, USMA, UCSD, UBS Warburg, Quest Ventures, Behr Paints, Kaiser Permanente, Torrey Pines Bank, Administrative Professionals, Life Care Solutions, and the San Diego Chargers.
Todd earned his BS degree in Kinesiology from The College of William & Mary in Virginia and his MA degree in Exercise & Nutritional Science with a specialty in Biomechanics and Sports Medicine from San Diego State University.
He and his wife Melanie reside in San Diego, CA, with their three children, Luke, Brady, and McKenna.
Todd says he got into the fitness industry by mistake, but he was always an athlete who loved fitness and sports. He played professional football overseas, and when he was injured in 1995, went on a 5-year journey to try to heal his pain without having surgery.
“I really dove deep into what my purpose was.”
He moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles, where he because a massage therapist and trainer to someone in Hollywood. Despite living in Malibu and working with the stars, he decided that ultimately that wasn’t what made his heart happy.
After getting his Masters in Biomechanics and Sports Medicine, Todd opened his own studio.
“I had no clue what the heck I was doing. I just knew I wanted to help people.”
In January 2000, he started Fitness Quest 10 but says it was a scary time, as he didn’t have clients starting out. 16 years later, Todd has 38 employees including strength coaches, chiropractors, physiotherapists and more.
“It’s been quite a journey, with all the great experiences along the way.”
Even though Todd’s business and team has grown extensively over the years, he says that his core values have remained the same.
“One thing that I have always been true to is trying to stay passionate and love what I do.”
Todd shares that the mantra he lives by is “truly try to care for people.” He says this is even more important now than when he started, as he doesn’t personally know every client that his team works with, with over 500 people each week being served.
In 2001, he set the intention that he wanted to train more athletes and started working for the San Diego Chargers of the NFL.
“In the athlete market, certainly it’s word of mouth.”
If you can help someone improve physically, along with how he or she feels, Todd believes you will have a client for life.
Fitness professionals need to realize that people coming to the facility for the first time will be intimidated.
Todd studies world-class brands to learn about how they deliver customer service in an exceptional way, on a consistent basis. He notes that the best businesses have systems.
“It takes time and effort by the leaders of an organization to install systems and get feedback.”
Because of the Internet, Todd explains that the business landscape is much different now than when he started.
“It’s much easier to reach out now and connect with people beyond your zip code.”
He emphasizes that you do not need to be a “bricks and mortar” business owner to created success today, however, Todd Durkin Enterprises grew as a result of the growth of his physical location.
Todd realized that by creating tapes, programs and workshops, he could scale his message and deliver it to a larger group of people.
He studies personal development because he believes you can only take a client on a journey as far as you’ve taken yourself.
Todd is always searching for significance, as success is “fleeting and dangerous.”
Todd’s advice to people looking for significance is:
1) Do things that move your soul. For him, it’s training/coaching, being a leader, writing, speaking and spending time with his family.
2) Do what you do best, and hire the rest. Outsource!
3) Learn every day. You could do this by reading books, listening to podcasts, or many other things.
4) Attend live events at least twice each year. He says one such event should be inside your industry, and one should be outside of it.
5) Get away from work. When you travel or do something fun, your big ideas will come. Take time to work on your strategy, either with a mentor or mastermind group.
6) “Reverse Engineer” your life by looking at where you want to go and decided what steps will be needed to get there.
7) Take action!
8) Work on your leadership skills, even if you’re a solopreneur.
9) Identify your best practices in life, and adhere to them. For Todd, he doesn’t turn his phone on until he’s done his early morning routine. This allows his to control his day, instead of his day controlling him.
10) Remember “I.M.P.A.C.T.” Live inspired, master your craft, play at world class, take action and be tenacious!
“When you think about your ideal business, you need to be aligned with your purpose.”
LINKS:
www.DoseofDurkin.com (Monday morning “nugget” of inspiration)
