Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Hazelton.
Tom, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My fitness journey began about 6 years ago when I was a junior in High School. I was very overweight at that time and in terrible shape. I was weighing around 225 pounds (I am only 5’11) but I was always very involved in athletics.
I eventually realized that if I got myself in really good shape, it would only help me on the field or court, so then my journey began. 6 years later, I am in the best shape of my life, a graduate of the University of Maine with a Bachelors of Science degree in Kinesiology and Physical Education and a concentration in Exercise Science. Growing up was tough sometimes, I remember getting called all the typical names in the book that I won’t list here but you know what I mean, and I always just sort of laughed it off but in reality it definitely always bothered me and I am glad I eventually did something about that.
I am a personal trainer now and my goal is to create a bigger online presence in an effort to be able to help motivate people to change their lives for the better so no one else has to deal with all the ridicule for being overweight the way that I did.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has definitely been a bumpy road, but that is all a part of the process! Some of the struggles I faced early in my training days way back then were that I really had no idea what I was doing. The only thing I was comfortable doing was using a treadmill (luckily for me that’s all I really needed) but as far as weight training went I did not know what I was doing at all. I also was very self-conscious in the early going and was not comfortable seeking help, so I learned by observing others out of the corner of my eye and if I saw someone doing something that I thought looked fun, I would study how they did it and then give it a try myself.
I was also a terrible eater, and I knew from general health classes that was part of my problem so a big challenge for me was to give up eating the chips, cookies, soda, all the thing a typical 16-year-old kid would love to snack on after school while watching tv. I was no nutrition expert but I knew enough to just stay away from certain things and continue eating breakfast, lunch, dinners the same as I always had, just tweaking what I chose to snack on.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I currently work as a Personal Trainer where I specialize in both strength training and weight loss. What sets me apart from most trainers is that I was not born with a great set of genetics, I have always had a slow metabolism, and I have lived the life of an overweight person. I know what it feels like to look in the mirror and not be impressed with what you see, but I also know what it feels like to drastically change your life for the better and get to a point where you LOVE what you see.
So I think that alone helps me connect with a lot of my clients because they all know that I’ve been on the other side of the health scale before. I just made the decision to dedicate my life to taking care of myself and doing my best to help others achieve the same feeling that I got when I first looked in the mirror and noticed how far I had really come.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was and to this day still a sports nut. In my house, everything between me and my brother has revolved around sports. Whether it was basketball, baseball, soccer, football, and even golf, we played them all. Sports has always been my biggest driving factor in life and has played a huge role in shaping me into the person I am today. I played Baseball, Basketball, and golf while in high school, and I even played soccer as a kid before that.
(As an overweight kid, you can imagine I wasn’t a big fan of all the non-stop running in soccer though). I am born and raised just outside of Portland, ME so naturally, we are all huge Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, and Bruins fans. It is a passion that I have that led me to wanting to get into a career that keeps me healthy enough so that I can participate in sports for as long as possible.
Contact Info:
- Address: 332 Ashmont Street
- Phone: 207-671-1307
- Email: george.hazelton@maine.edu
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomhazelton14/
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