Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Peshler.
Michael, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
There are two major reasons why I started a gym. The first has to do with my athletic career, I did well but I did not put in enough work in the off seasons to get better. I played Football, Basketball and Baseball in high school. I continued football in college at Sacred Heart University. A lot of people have told me how good of an accomplishment that was but I knew deep inside that I could have done better. After my college career regret was already starting to kick in. I decided to join a gym in Boston called Total Performance Sports and train with Dave Memont to prepare for a regional combine I signed up for. In that time I got bigger, stronger and faster than ever before. Nothing ever happened with the combines, it was too little too late. But what came from that situation was my love of learning about training. I found the first thing ever that kept my attention.
The second thing that drove me to open a gym was the inner voices at night that were asking me “What am I doing with my life??” At that time I had a corporate job and I absolutely hated it. I felt like I was wasting my time and was underutilized.
It took me a couple years before I pulled the trigger and started the gym. I was pretty good at sports but self-confidence really was not my thing back then. I almost could not even imagine people paying me for my services. But for whatever reason I decided to give it a try. So I set up shop in a shed in the backyard of my in laws at the time. The shed was under 400 sq. feet and we used a wood burning stove for heat in the winter. The first summer I had 6 football players. They all worked hard and in turn got amazing results. This started to build my confidence and each year more clients came.
I worked the gym and a full time job for about 4 years. At first I would only operate the gym after work but towards the end of that 4 years I opened it up for an hour before work too. I received a lucky break when the company I was working for shut down the site I was based out of. I had the option to work in Boston or Rhode Island. Both of those locations were too far away for me to continue the gym to I chose to pursue the gym full time at that point.
Let me tell you something!! That was scary as hell. I was not in the “PERFECT” position to make the transition at the time. But if I had not made the move my dream of the gym was going to be dead. I was definitely not ready to give up that up.
I went from a small shed which was known to the members as “The Shack”. I then moved to an 800 sq. ft. space for 2 years. I am now in a 2,000 sq. foot building with a strip of turf and showers. A long road from “The Shack” out back.
Great, 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?
The road is never smooth. Just like life goes there are plenty of ups and downs. I started with zero experience so getting anyone to pay me to train in a backyard put me up against the 8 ball right off of the bat. I made flyers and handed them out to local businesses and where ever I could. At this point my confidence was not where it is today so even answers questions to the business owners could get hairy. A pizza shop owner started inquiring a bit more than others. Once he found out it was in a shed he literally laughed right in my face.
When you are not 100% invested in your beliefs an interaction like that can take you down a few pegs. Luckily I did not let that tear me down. There was nothing that would because I felt it in my gut that this was what I was supposed to be doing. Eventually one of my old high school coaches Phil Schiloski found out what I was doing. Once he found out he sent me my first 6 athletes and it was time to start rolling.
That was the first obstacle. Getting people into the gym so I could start.
The BIG obstacle came about 4 years later. At this time I was in my second location which was about 800 sq. feet including a bathroom and office. I felt big time even though it was still on the small end. I ran into a problem with zoning and some unhappy neighbors. A complaint was sent to the town and I ended up getting kicked out. I was able to get some extensions to stay while I tried to find a new space.
The thing that most people might not understand is how hard it is to find a space for a gym. Not everyone wants a gym as a neighbor. We make a lot of noise with music and weights. So you could imagine how stressful this was. I was searching the internet and driving around like a chicken with its head cut off. I used some real estate agents to help me search. Trying to do it on my own was a mistake and only added to the stress.
Luckily just in the nick of time during my final extension I found the space that I am in right now. With the help of clients and about 5 pickup trucks we were able to move the whole gym in a weekend and start back up on Monday.
Moral of the story is obstacles will always be there. They are there to test you. They want to see if you are going to fold or keep working. More often than not when adversity strikes and you do not give up it becomes a blessing in disguise. Nothing will ever go exactly as planned.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Athletic Strength Training – what should we know?
The name of my company is Athletic Strength Training. I chose the name because the training I do for myself and my clients is to make them more athletic. The goal is to make them feel better. Whether it be in their sport or everyday life. In my opinion if you can move better than before, you are more athletic. So the name does not just call to competitive athletes but to everyone.
My training methods are good and ever evolving, but, what I really specialize in is making people feel comfortable being in the gym and working hard. The biggest thing that helps me with this is the community I have built inside of the gym. A majority of my members have been coming for years at a time. We are family and they are really good at accepting new clients and helping them out when needed.
I find it tough to classify the kind of training that I do. When it comes down to it I help my clients by any means necessary. Just to clarify that does not mean squatting while you are screaming with too much weight on your back with bad form. No, that is far from what I mean by any mean necessary. What I mean by that is I will continue to learn new methods for buildings strength, improving mobility, decreasing the chance of injury and improving the quality of life of my clients. This may mean I borrow a bodybuilder’s technique, a pose from our yoga instructor or a new breathing technique to help alleviate stress and speed up recovery.
What I am most proud of is the collection of good positive people that continue to come week after week and year after year. We laugh, we sweat, we yell and we get better… together. They may curse me out under their breaths from time to time but that is very flattering to me.
I think what sets me apart is that I am not just trying to fill up my slots just to fill up my slots. I truly care about the people that walk through my doors. I will help them the best I can and if I cannot I will find someone that can. I want them to get out of their time with me more than just exercising. It is a place to release stress, to get better.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Resilience. I love what I do. If I didn’t I would have thrown in the towel a long time ago. There are a lot of hours, risks, stresses and obstacles. At the end of the day it is worth it. I have built something up from scratch that people enjoy and pay me for. This is something that earlier in life I never ever would have thought was possible. It is pretty cool to look back on.
I am far from done and there are plenty of improvements I still need to make. That is what keeps it exciting. I continue to work on my business and more importantly myself. That was I am able to help the most people possible in a big that goes way beyond exercising and fitness.
Contact Info:
- Address: 100 Chestnut St. Ashland MA, 01721
- Website: Athleticstrengthtraining.com
- Phone: 774-278-0195
- Email: getstrong@athleticstrengthtraining.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mpeshler/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/athleticstrengthtraining
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
