IAM465 – Personal Trainer Helps Others Stay Motivated in Their Fitness Journey

Stormi Knight is a Personal Trainer Based in LA. She just launched a fitness app called “Stormi Fitness” a Mental Health Awareness Advocate, everything starts with our mind and Stormi is a big believer and advocates for healing from your trauma in order to succeed in life. She is a 1st Phorm Elite Athlete, being part of a community and company that supports you and your brand, has helped her to truly help others but also helped her to grow in other areas as well.

• CEO Hack: Creating a power list of five things to do in a day
• CEO Nugget: Fearless
• CEO Defined: Having the best leadership skills

Website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stormi-fitness/id1477500973

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/iamstormiknight?igshid=1vmwpqoj9hloj

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place, Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the IAMCEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:30

Hello, this is Gresh from the IAMCEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today Stormi Knight of Stormi Fitness. Stormi, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Stormi Knight 0:37

Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Gresham Harkless 0:39

No problem. Super excited to have you on and what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Stormi so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Stormi Knight is a personal trainer based in Los Angeles, she just launched her fitness app called Stormi Fitness. She is a mental health care and health awareness advocate.

She believes that everything starts with our mind, and she's a big believer and advocate for healing from your trauma to succeed in life. She's a first-form elite athlete, and being part of a community and brand and company that supports you and your brand has helped her to truly help others, but also helped her to grow in other areas as well. Stormi, are you ready to speak to the IAMCEO community?

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Stormi Knight 1:13

Yes.

Gresham Harkless 1:14

Awesome. Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about your background, what led you to get started with your business, and how to launch your app.

Stormi Knight 1:21

How I got into the fitness industry was, I broke my leg, my right leg, I shattered it playing basketball, I was volunteering at the VA hospital. Long story short, I went to physical therapy to get a fix. And I had to deal with a lot of unethical physical therapist who didn't care about their job, for whatever reason, which honestly left me at a deficit. So when my bone did grow back and everything, it was just, the doctor was telling me oh, one leg will be shorter than the other and you're not gonna be able to do X, Y, and Z. And then here's your prescription. And so he gave me that paper, and I was just in utter shock, like, I'm supposed to be okay with accepting that kind of answer, and then just not doing anything at all.

And then I immediately saw the problem with our society. And it just really hurt me to the core. So I had to change my whole major. At the time, I was majoring in criminology, and I switched everything to Sports, medicine, and kinesiology, just so that way, I could heal myself first, physically, and then maybe help a lot of other college kids who are going through the same thing. You know, as college students, you know, we're getting her can't afford to do much. And I wanted to create a community to be able to build to help other people just like me like I needed help at that time.

So what I did was I started hosting a bunch of boot camps around the college I attended, which was Fullerton College, over here in California. And I just, throughout my whole time, I was in mechanics class in my lifetime fitness class, and anatomy, whoever needed that help, I would constantly reach out and just spread the word and just formulate big groups of people just so that way we can all train together.

Gresham Harkless 2:50

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I'm obviously sorry to hear that, that happened. But interesting kind of thing as well, when I started a lot of these, this blog, and everything I actually tore my Achilles, and that's what actually caused me to work on that. So those painful industries, while they're horrible to have, it seems like just like you, it's redirected you into like a great opportunity for you to help so many people.

Stormi Knight 3:09

Yes, and I liked what you said at the end because that is my goal. Honestly, as many people as I can help in different stages of my life, whatever I'm going through surely the same thing with you, right? Like, whatever you go through in that life, you want to gain as much wisdom as much knowledge as you can, and then, hey, help as many people process what you've learned.

That way, they're getting better at what they do. And all you're doing is just guiding them and just giving them advice, you're not doing anything. And we're not here for any type of recognition, I just want people to do great because, we see people's potential, and or maybe it's your loved one, and you want them to not struggle anymore, and you want them just to go ahead and live their best life, ironically. And that's what the goal is.

Gresham Harkless 3:48

Yeah, absolutely. And I think a lot of times, we don't, we aren't aware of the power that we have within us. And sometimes we need people to see value in us, see the good within us. And that helps empower us to do really great things. So I appreciate you for definitely doing that. Obviously, you have a traumatic experience but have not had a great experience with the doctors, but rather than just sitting back and saying, Oh, this needs to be better, you create something to make it better for yourself, but also so many other people.

Stormi Knight 4:15

Thank you. Yes, it's a journey. 100%. But to be honest with you, having so many people that support me, and then them talking to me, honestly, it's just like the greatest gift, because you get a chance to connect with so many different people in the process. And you learn something from them. Because we're storytellers, that's what we do. We tell each other stories in to hope of gaining insight from that. And so that's what it is about with a good community. It's no one's leaving, like we got to, you know, be yourself keep full circle, and then just kind of pass that along the way so people can filter that knowledge and make it their own.

Gresham Harkless 4:46

Yeah, absolutely. Sorry. I appreciate you for doing that. I know we talked a little bit about your app, but I wanted to hear a little bit more about what people can expect and how they can get access to it. And what led you to start it?

Stormi Knight 4:57

Okay so I love giving back and unfortunately, I hit a little bump in the road. My health journey so far and kind of set me back a little bit. And in a sense, where I'm not able to work out as much or help as many people. So for those who've been following me, and the new ones who haven't, I was diagnosed with lupus in April, this year, actually 2019, and also my cultural complexes that have lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. So I have these really intense flare-ups that impede me from working out.

And then I also have Hashimotos. And my health has been on a decline since three years ago. And I'm not able to reach as many people as I want to the way I was going. So I thought that if I were to create this app, which I started working on a year ago, and just be able to put something out there for people, it would be another way for me to give back. And what they can expect to pay for that download is $1.99 for download is called Stormi Fitness. And they'll get five days working out today.

So rest eight, honestly, it's just a good schedule that they'll have each month, they will also be able to expect each new program to come out. So sometimes we'll be maybe a core program, maybe a fit over 15 For those people who are actually trying to get in shape but don't really know where to go or who to look up to in a sense.

So I have some incredible friends who are really in shape, they should be expecting that. They also have downloads of my face that they can download as a savior to it and workout videos that I've done before. But I'll start adding other nutrition articles as well. Helpful tips, and then also my shop too. So I also have a clothing line as well. They can click on that app to be able to download, actually to order some of my shops and some of my sweatshirts or T-shirts and things like that.

Gresham Harkless 6:34

Awesome! Well, again, I'm sorry to hear that. But I appreciate you first of all for talking about, your health journey for one, because I think so many times people are going through things and it kind of feels like they're by themselves. But I feel like you, you being brave enough to talk about it and share. It helps empower people to do it. And of course, like a lot of people, again would sit on the sidelines and say, Oh, this needs to be created. But you actually went out and created it not just for yourself, but to help so many other people that want to see their success and their goals achieved.

Stormi Knight 7:02

Thank you. And honestly, it's just like I said, the motivation of other people to keep that going full circle.

Gresham Harkless 7:09

Yeah, no problem. And I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. And it could be for you personally, or for your organization or your app. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Stormi Knight 7:20

This is gonna sound so cliche, but honestly, me being myself, and rediscovering who I really am through my power and not exacerbating that the idea and predicated on the idea of trying to take over other people's issues, if that makes sense. But truly pushing everything aside healing, whatever you've gone through, and just making peace with that. But ultimately rediscovering who you really are.

And being yourself to the core will attract those kinds of people in your life, the right kind of people, and then change your tune. I feel like changing my tune specifically has helped me so much and been able to grow in a lot of other ways more than what I thought I would have been able to do. And it's helped me to evolve on that level.

So being true to myself, and most importantly taking time to heal myself away from the unconducive environments and being able to see things, my goal and focus on just what I'm trying to do, not what other people are trying to do, not what I want to be like, but just me as a whole, understanding my strengths by tuning my weaknesses and then just putting myself in the right position to make sure I'm successful. And I want other people to take that idea and do the same thing.

Gresham Harkless 8:26

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And kind of like right in line with what we were saying before, a lot of times, and I love that you use the phrase, you know, rediscovering yourself, because I think through life, as we get older, you get more distractions, more things pop up, and you get further you can get further and further away from who you are. So you have to do an active search and find who you are. And I think when you're able to do that, then you know you can't I always say you can't lose. If you're running your race. If you're running somebody else's race, you're going to lose, because that's not your race. But if you run your own race, you stay true to yourself and it's hard for you to lose.

Stormi Knight 8:58

That is so true. And I'm so glad you said that too. Because I think it's so important. A lot of people think like you can go in that same environment, and you can heal and you can do all that stuff. But no, I like what you said as far as shifting more or less just kind of paraphrasing that you have to shift and heal and transform. You have to focus on yourself because like you said, as we get older, there's just a plethora of distractions that sways from left to right.

There are bills, there's life at itself that just takes us and we are able to silence those thoughts able to be in our corner, protect your space, really protect ourselves, understand our worth, your value, and appreciate that because I feel like we're just so mean to our spirit in different ways. And I mean, boiling down to the secret sauce. Stop being so mean to your spirit to the point where you impede your own success.

And that's one of the finalized words I would definitely want you to leave with people because I've been having to tell myself that a bunch of times and then understanding at each level, each level that I grow into in each priority of that area. And so it's all about prioritizing yourself and not being afraid to do so.

Gresham Harkless 9:59

Yeah absolutely in a new year, you're absolutely right we can be sometimes our worst critics our own worst critics. And a lot of times, when we're trying to do something, especially we're trying to do something new. A lot of those external things that people have told us, sometimes they are implanted within us. And a lot of times, we will say to ourselves, so in order to, as you said, as I said, in your bio, in order to reach any level of success, in order to be successful, you have to heal yourself first and put that oxygen mask on first.

So I appreciate that secret sauce and that reminder for us to do it as well. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app or book or a habit that you have. But what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Stormi Knight 10:38

Oh, man, there are just so many that literally, one of the things that has helped me to be more successful is creating a power list, a power list of only five things to do that day. Because as you know what happens in our day, we try to structure it in a way where we're trying to get as much stuff as we can done. And I get that, and I've been there. And I've done that. And I've made that list and checked everything off. But what it boils down to is, that you're being compromised by your time, and your health and maybe not doing things efficiently like you should.

So creating the power list of only five things to do, doesn't have to be 10, it shouldn't be no less than five, because that's how you can successfully win the day to win the week to win the month. So that has been my driving force, understanding what most important five things I need to delegate that day to get done.

Gresham Harkless 11:27

Absolutely yeah. And just like you said, sometimes the day just like we've talked about with life that day, as it goes on, and on, more things can distract you and take away from you. So if you have that Power Five list, and you know you're going to knock those things off, it helps you to remain focused. And also, you feel like you've achieved something throughout the day because you helped move the needle forward.

Stormi Knight 11:45

Absolutely. I mean, would you be able to relate to that, it's just like, if you have so much to get done that day, you just overwhelm yourself, and what happens when we overwhelm ourselves with so many different tasks, we now start to procrastinate. And so that's the root of our problem there. And we need to be able to get a just a better handle on it.

Gresham Harkless 12:02

Exactly. By planning out and creating lists, like that, a power list is definitely a great way to do that. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So that is a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you can hop into a time machine. What would you tell your younger business self?

Stormi Knight 12:18

Oh, my goodness, if I were to hop into a time machine and tell my younger self, any advice would be, to be fearless. And it sounds so funny. But really, I held on to so much fear that I stopped myself from going out to get other opportunities or take on other opportunities because I was just afraid. I didn't believe in myself enough, that worth, that self-worth wasn't there.

So in order to pursue any kinds of things that I'm trying to do, I need to learn how to be fearless. I should have that from the start. Because now at the age of 30, I'm just discovering how to be fearless. And it just feels like I have more options. It feels like I have more opportunities. And it feels like I'm making the right best decisions if not been taking a risk and trying out and failing forward.

Gresham Harkless 13:03

Yeah, absolutely. I love that nugget. Because I think a lot of times, you know, feel the fear and do it anyway. Because I think there are so many things that we're capable of doing if we can understand how to manage fear or understand fear, but not let it kind of stick you to exactly where you are, you're able to kind of move forward and understand that even if you have like bumps in the road ups and downs, it's just part of the learning experience of running a business. And I think if we have that mentality, we understand that then that can only make us create even better stuff.

Stormi Knight 13:31

Absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 13:32

Nice. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is a definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So Stormi, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Stormi Knight 13:43

Being a CEO means having the best kind of leadership skills to lead other people to motivate them to do the same. And CEO for me, it's a huge and powerful title. But personally, it signifies and represents a leader, and a leader, is somebody who doesn't go and tell people what to do, they get right there in the trenches and then lead by example. And I constitute that as what a CEO should be in my eyes again, now they're they're doing the groundwork, they're helping people. And that's the most important thing for getting out and doing work and helping people.

Gresham Harkless 14:15

Absolutely why I definitely appreciate that perspective. Appreciate that definition. Because I think a lot of times, you know, you should never ask somebody to do something that you wouldn't do. And I think a lot of times you need to do that. And a lot of people will pay attention to the things that you are doing or not doing. And if you say you to do something you're not doing that's not in alignment, a lot of times you will lose those people that are supposed to be following you based off of that. So I appreciate that. I appreciate your perspective.

And I appreciate your time even more Stormi, but I wanted to pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and listeners know. And then of course, how best they can get a hold of you and download the app and find out about all the awesome things we're working on.

Stormi Knight 14:51

Hey, thank you so much. So honestly, I just want to give a huge shout-out to all the people who have constantly supported me even before we tried to create my brand, I think without those people and their advice and just watching me grow, it would be a little bit more difficult to be able to be in this position is because of those people who have helped me along the way. So we don't do anything by ourselves, I want to say I'm truly, truly thankful and grateful. And I just have such a lot of mutual love for everybody for that.

And then something else I would love to do is just tell people not to be afraid to be themselves, just keep trying out that and you never know how many people you're effecting change with by being yourself. And you can also download my app. It's actually available on the App Store and available to download on Android as well as Stormi Fitness, be downloaded there, and then my Instagram handle is iamstormiknight. And you can find me there as well. Um, if you're trying to get a hold of me, please DM me, or email me that's the best way if you guys have any type of business-related questions, or if I could be of help, in any sort of weight in regards to that. And thank you for having me on the show. I appreciate it.

Gresham Harkless 15:59

No problem. Definitely appreciate you for all the awesome things that you're doing. And that Stormi Knight. We'll also have the link and information in the show notes so that everybody can download the app and, of course, follow up with you on Instagram and again, appreciate all the awesome things you're doing and all the awesome words of wisdom you left us with today. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Stormi Knight 16:20

You too. Thank you so much.

Outro 16:22

Thank you for listening to the IAMCEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co, IAMCEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, And leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the IAMCEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Thank you for listening.

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