Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Bonollo.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dave. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always been involved in sports but was never in “sports shape”. I had no measurable upper body strength and my stomach was more snack pack than a six-pack. I was a skinny 180 when I graduated high school and that didn’t change until I started semi-pro football five years later. I ended up hiring a personal trainer and added 40 pounds to my frame.
After two disastrous years playing I decided I didn’t like to hit or get hit so I hung up the cleats and stuck to lifting weights. From there I did a few Tough Mudders, Spartan Races, and bodybuilding shows. While preparing for my first bodybuilding show I herniated a disc that required surgery. While I was recovering the movie The Social Network was on replay on what seemed like every channel. That was the movie about how Facebook started.
While watching it for the 4th time, I thought to myself “why not me?” Why couldn’t I have a website that I could make a living off of? So I thought about how all my friends would always ask me exercise or nutrition questions and figured more people have these questions. A few months later Aesthetic-Physiques.com was born.
From that point, I received my personal training certification from the NSCA and started online training clients. Now I specialize in helping busy people look better naked by helping them simplify the beast that is getting in shape.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The entire process has been a constant struggle, but I wouldn’t have it any other way because I’ve learned and grown so much in a short amount of time. A big portion of my website/social media is writing and communicating. I hadn’t written anything that anyone would actually want to read since 3rd grade when I wrote a short story called “The Day I Got Hair Like Don King”.
So I had to find the writing style that was authentically me. It’s still a work in progress but I’m a million times better than I was when I first started. I’ve now been featured on top fitness websites like TNation, JMaxFitness, Bach Performance and Muscle and Strength.
I also had to learn marketing and social media. It took me 8 months to figure out that if someone Likes your Facebook post more people will see it. Otherwise, Facebook will think no one wants to see it and not show it to anyone. The day I figured that out was a good day.
Every day there is something else I have to learn whether it’s a new marketing technique, a social media platform, new and better ways to help clients or just how to better budget my time.
Building a business with absolutely no audience, like I did, is like trying to get in shape. You know what you want the end to look like you just have to be willing to put in the work, show up every day and be relentlessly consistent regardless of the many obstacles that get in your way.
Aesthetic Physiques – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The website, Aesthetic-Physiques.com, is where I write about how to simplify getting healthy so you can look better naked. The fitness industry does a wonderful job of making it seem like you need a special supplement or you need to be eating Paleo or Keto to lose weight. I’m here to help my readers cut through all the nonsense and focus on the few things that work 100% of the time. Good food and to move around.
To further help my readers I offer online training to take the reigns and work with people 1:1. I’ll provide a custom workout program to help them get in and out of the gym in under an hour while still building muscle and ramping up their metabolism to make fat loss easier. I also provide custom nutritional programs to help my clients burn fat while still getting to enjoy the finer things in life like beer and chicken wings.
My readers are busy guys that work all day, have to come home to play dad and have been putting their health and bodies on the back burner. I’m here to help them feel more confident wearing t-shirts without worrying if their belly is hanging out.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success as happiness. Like when my clients hit a new personal record, need to buy new pants because they’ve lost so much weight or they just feel more confident in their own skin. That is success to me.
Money is nice but it’ll never make me happier than when someone’s life has changed for the better because of something I said.
Contact Info:
- Website: Aesthetic-Physiques.com
- Email: Dave@aesthetic-physiques.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aestheticphysiquescoaching/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AestheticPhysiqueCommunity/
- Other: http://aesthetic-physiques.com/weekend-survival-guide/
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.
