Fitness gyms were among the first establishments to close as social distancing measures were established following the COVID-19 outbreak. Rock Solid Health, a Chicago-based physical fitness center, took things to their own hands and successfully made the shift to virtual in two weeks. Founder Blair Rockoff joins Michael Silvers today to tell the story of how the center succeeded in bringing physical fitness to the virtual sphere. Blair sees the virtual as something that is going to stay even as we come out from this pandemic, as it provides opportunities that have never even been considered before. Blair’s experience inspires entrepreneurs to be proactive in keeping their businesses relevant and thriving in these strange times.
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Rock Solid Health And The Virtual Future Of Physical Fitness Services With Blair Rockoff
I want to welcome you to the show. We’re in COVID-19 and we’re all at our homes doing everything that we should to help others and also make a difference in our lives. This show is here for all of you. Please join us on our YouTube feed, The Mentor Studio. Subscribe to it. You can also go to www.TheMentorStudio.com. We have a holding place right there and we’re going to have the full membership site going up. We’re also partnering with some other large companies. We’re excited about some stars coming on. It gets better and better.
We have a rock star in this episode. I’m going to let Blair tell you a little bit about her background and what she does. She has an incredibly successful gym in the Chicago area. Wellness is a big part of her background. She’s done that for many people. Rock Solid Health is what it’s called. Blair Rockoff is our guest. I’ll tell you the part of it too is that she has shifted through what’s going on and she’ll tell you that story too because she’s gone from to be at the gym to virtual and that virtual will stay eventually. I know Chicago got another 30 days but as it starts to loosen up a little bit, that will be great. I’m excited to have all of you on. Thank you for reading. Blair, how are you?
I’m good. How are you?
I’m awesome. It’s great to have you on. I was running around the backyard. It’s in Seattle and you go outside. I’m doing good. I’m not running to the beaches like everybody in California and the governor had a little call about that. Share to us a little bit about your background.
I got into the fitness world after college, back in 2007. I’ve always been into sports and play recreation. After college, I knew I didn’t want a desk job and I found myself enrolling in a personal training school that was down the street from where I was living. That led to yoga certifications and health coaching, all adding one on top of the other as a desire to get more engaged and it is the direction that my life went. I started to enroll in different things that I knew I could help myself with and that led to helping other people. I was in Chicago when I first started and then I moved to California and worked out there for a couple of years working at big gyms as well as working at things like a weight loss camp. It’s a different environment with different people.
After a couple of years out there, I made my way back to Chicago and worked again at big gyms and yoga studios. I decided that I wanted to create the environment one day that I would work in because I hadn’t quite found it. I opened up my studio in 2012. Everything I’ve done along the way has coincided with how I have helped myself through health and fitness, between nutrition and workouts, and the things that I do. I’m side by side with what I teach my clients is how I put things into place in my own life.
I was moving at the time. By the way, everybody, when family and kids and everybody come home, it’s the way it is nowadays. Why did you open a gym?
There was a lot of naivety there. I was young and didn’t know any different. I wasn’t happy with where I was. I didn’t feel like I had found the home. I didn’t have great managers above me guiding me or creating that team-like environment at the gyms I had been at. When you work at yoga studios, it’s a lot of in and out. You teach a class here and then you’re at that studio. I didn’t feel like it was out there, at least not years ago. I knew I wasn’t going to stay at a big gym where you’ve got to wait to find the machines you want and the stuff you want and all these people, the music, the vibe. I thought, “I’ll rent my own space.” That’s how it started. I thought, “If I’m going to rent space, why don’t I rent my own space instead of paying someone else for their space?” It started like that. I thought I would do more group training and be able to help more people at one time. I realized over time, the best thing was a blend in the middle of one-on-one training and group training.
How long have you been there?
It’s been several years at the studio.
You’re at your studio for several years, do you also engage and enlist business coaches and mentors? How does that look for you?
At my studio, I have trainers that work there for me. I have other people that I work with, helping me to expand upon where I am now and where things are going to go, especially in this precarious time where we don’t know. We were able to adapt and shift quickly. The situation is a time for reflection on what I want, at least, the next part of my life to look like based on the changes we often make.
Stick to your workout plan. It is consistency that will make you get better. Click To TweetNow, that we’ve gone into this change, because it’s taking a look at as our businesses shift, and sometimes we shift them, sometimes the external force it as well. We had an external force, which is why this episode will relate to anybody 10, 20 years down the road, because there will always be external forces. When you shifted, what was going on in your mind and how did you make the shift?
Maybe a week and a half before we were ordered to shelter in, I noticed there were several clients who started to back away and were not coming in. I honestly had no idea we would have ended up in the situation where we were forced to close. I remember I made the decision on a Sunday. We hadn’t been ordered yet to close, but there were half the people maybe who are staying home. I felt like I didn’t want to be part of the problem. I didn’t want to be causing potential spread. I felt it was a better decision to make the call that we were going to close up and turn virtual and get proactive.
I made the call on a Sunday and I had never used Zoom before. I signed up for an account and we were online the next day. I picked noon classes. I thought everyone maybe would be home, that could be their lunch hour. We shifted to our group training program online. We rented out all of our weights to our clients. They picked up kettlebells and dumbbells. Sometimes we drop them off at their houses. That’s what it looks like. We’ve developed it. We’re shifting it. We’re going to add another class on and see what everyone needs. We’re serving the clients and seeing what they need. For anyone who can’t make our live classes, we send recordings and some people like the flexibility.
If I can make it to your live class, do I still get the recording?
Yeah.
There are both choices that I get reinforced and that you let your local clientele also rent the equipment, that’s awesome. I know you’ve already had people moving outside of your realm who are taking your courses. For anybody out there, as you move to virtual or maybe you live in virtual, it’s the thing where there’s that tendency. Blair, you could have said, “I need six months to figure this out.” You could’ve said, “I need to rewrite everything.” You said, “No.” You launched it in a week. What it is for everybody out there with the business, we have to have that tendency. Blair, I know was also asking and talking to other people who are doing what in the industry and who’s truly creating this online virtual system. What makes the difference is that you did it. Why do you think you took the risk? The classes, in your mind, could have not turned out well. Clients could have dropped. These are long-term clients and they always have the most comments. What made you do it?
In my mind, there wasn’t an option to not. I didn’t plan to shut my business down, even though I had to close physically. I knew we could still generate revenue. I have two trainers under me and they need to support themselves. It wasn’t an option of, will we do it or not. It was, how are we going to keep our clients healthy and fit during this time? It’s not ideal circumstances when you’re in your living room when you’re on a second floor or maybe you’re in your bedroom. A lot of people are in a smaller apartment, but it doesn’t mean things can’t get done. I have noticed how important this is for people in what they’re dealing with. It’s that one hour. Whether we’re doing a strength class or yoga class, it’s the one-hour people are taking for themselves. We bring in a lot of reflection into the workouts.
I want people to take a moment and see, what have you gotten better this week? Without being like, “I was the worst. Nothing great happened. It still sucks.” It’s like, “What did you get better at? What do you like? What don’t you like? What are you getting better at?” and get people engaged. When I was on a webinar, I saw how well it worked when you have people right in the chatbox during the session. I was like, “That’s a good idea, even during the workout, to bring that element in.” For me, I’m not someone who wants to teach a class and send the video out. We’re big on engagement. We have that community feel. I want people to still have that with each other. Come a few minutes early and talk. This doesn’t have to be all serious. You can unmute yourself too. Be a part of it. Otherwise, it’s just me and I don’t know what’s happening. We did and we know that it’s helping people’s mental health to have this element. It’s the duty I feel to provide this.
That’s great because you made a decision, you moved forward. I love that you said about the engagement because we talk about all that time. In social media and marketing, it’s all about engagement. First of all, you had clients that moved to virtual so seamlessly. You picked up new clients, I know but at the same time, you are willing to understand it’s about engagement but that’s who you are and it’s creating that community of like-minded individuals. I love that you let everybody talk. I love that you let everybody interact. Where do you see this in the future?
It’s interesting because I focused so much on local, within a mile or a half-mile. Those are my ideal clients. If you’re doing one-on-one training, you can only have one 6:00 AM or one at 7:00 AM. With a group, you’ve got to either be early or late, usually. Most people in fitness don’t have ideal schedules in that regard. That’s been my life for a long time. It’s also given me time to reflect. I’m not old. Your body gets tired and it’s stressed too. Sometimes you get used to it. You think you’re used to the stress of, “I can do this early and late and in and out.” I enjoyed the transition into different hours and taking a moment to acknowledge what I was doing and what I want different for my life and knowing that virtual is a platform that’s easier for some people.
I got clients back who wasn’t working with me anymore because they were stay-at-home moms who couldn’t. Their husband worked a different shift and they were never going to make it in. They always had to work out at home. A client came back or a client who moved to the suburbs. I’m now able to work with people who I had established a relationship with, in some regard. Former clients can come back. Flexibility, we can work with you and you don’t have to ever set foot in the gym. It’s opened my eyes to possibilities. It’s different than the fitness classes that are out there, which is fine or just follow the workout.
We have a monthly plan and we stick to the plan. It’s a three-day program. It’s consistent. When you have consistency, you then can get better. We don’t do different things every single day. Every Monday is the same for four weeks. Every Wednesday is the same for four weeks. You, 100%, feel the difference from week 1 to week 4, from beginner to advance. I started the program. I wasn’t doing these workouts and I feel dramatically different doing our programming. It’s great to feel that shift and change. What the future can bring, we are working on figuring out how we can tweak what we have to be even better.
We’re also offering coaching programs regarding nutrition and lifestyle alongside it. I started a spring challenge. I had four days to sell it because I wanted to start it at a certain point. I got nineteen people doing it. What hits home is that someone said, “I don’t know if I’m ready to start on Monday.” I was like, “You don’t have to be ready to start on Monday because if you do one thing different or better than you were doing now, you’re doing the challenge. I don’t care if you check every box perfectly. Some people will and that’s fine, but if for you, doing anything better or having your mindset shift and have an emphasis on health or fitness when it wasn’t, you’re doing life better.” We want to blend both. That’s what I want to do. I want to blend fitness with nutrition and health coaching and using those to help people, whether they’re local, used to be a client or new clients looking for a way to get fit and healthy. Maybe they don’t want to go back to their gym or maybe they can’t go back to their gym for a while or maybe it’s easier for them to work out at home.
The current situation is a time for reflection on what you want the next part of your life to look like. Click To TweetYou’re finding that a lot of people want both. It is great to have this virtual option. It’s great to have it where it’s also live. There are some places that are doing it live but it’s still a cookie-cutter because they’re doing it for a mass. It’s great what you’re doing because the class size is great. I know you can handle more people. It’s great because of your background. It’s great because you believe it and you’re in it. It’s great because you own a gym. You’re also a business owner for years so you’re living it and you’re breathing it. You’re also doing a lot of work in personal development and business. You’re becoming well-rounded in your health and nutrition, which is great because you do come from all. You can refer them to where they need to go. That may be even you’re not the right one for them, but you’re open to all that.
There are levels up beyond, whether it’s in the physical world of chiropractor, PT, or in a nutrition world where there needs to be someone else involved. We’ve got ourselves connected with different people that can help our clients so that they can do well with what we do well with because it is in everything.
This has been fantastic. For those of you at home, realize it’s that mindset. The one thing Blair has done beautifully, it’s the physical, it’s mental, it’s the mindset. She’s taken the courses and she’s also the gym owner. Now, she’s the virtual online owner. She’s put all the pieces together. Go to The Mentor Studio when that pops out. The reason that we have her right now because if you read this in a year, it might be a little bit different. You live on the site and you know where to go. Because we’re on here anyways, Blair, what’s the name of your gym?
My gym is Rock Solid Health. You can find us online at RockSolidHealthChicago.com. We do a lot of stuff on Instagram and Facebook. I’m posting things that will help motivate and inspire. It wasn’t a great day. It rained all day. It’s dark out. The reality starts to set in around what’s happening. Now more than ever, it’s important to have people who can support you in a way where you can have the conversations you need to have. All we expect is for people to be open enough to take one step after the next to ultimately get to the destination they set for themselves. It doesn’t mean you won’t find resistance along the way. We all have that. Change is not easy, but building habits slowly over time is possible.
Recognize each improvement you make, no matter how small, as a step forward. Click To TweetThis has been great. Thank you so much for being on and spending time with us. Even though a lot of us are at home, we’re still busy. We have busy schedules and you’re running your virtual schedule and getting it all done. For those of you reading at home, I want to thank you. If you have any questions, you know how to reach us. It’s a great day. Blair, any last words you want to let them go with?
Whether this is now or five years or the future, being open and accepting wherever you are at this point and knowing that any step forward, whether you think it’s small or not is a step forward and that’s the mindset that will make you successful over time.
Blair, you’re amazing. Thank you for being on. Go to our YouTube channel, The Mentor Studio. We’d love to have you there. www.TheMentorStudio.com, we will be going live. We already have a big group on Facebook. We decided to do that for all of you to build out the membership. There’s much more to come, which I’ll be announcing in the next couple of episodes. Thank you all. Blair, you’re the best. Have a wonderful day and I will talk to you all soon. Goodbye, everyone.
Important Links
- The Mentor Studio – YouTube
- Rock Solid Health
- RockSolidHealthChicago.com
- Instagram – Rock Solid Health Chicago
- Facebook – Rock Solid Health Chicago
About Blair Rockoff
Blair Rockoff opened the doors to Rock Solid Health in January 2013. After several years as a personal trainer and yoga instructor in Chicago and California, she ventured out on her own to create the ultimate experience & environment for her clientele to improve their health, get in shape, and have fun. Blair started out in the health and fitness world after graduating college in 2007. She stumbled into NPTI, a 6-month personal training school because she wanted to get back in shape after college and did not want a desk job. This was the beginning of her journey. She then went out to become a certified yoga instructor, holistic health coach, SFG Level 1, FMS, NASM Youth Exercise Specialist, and a Progressive Calisthenics Instructor (to name just a few).
To put it simply, the health and fitness world fascinates Blair. One of the reasons it is so intriguing is her own personal struggles throughout her own life. After gaining weight in college, her attempts to lose weight had been influenced by the ‘do more, eat less, carbs are bad, low fat is good, sugar-free, cardio is awesome, and lots of it” trend. After many years of yo-yo dieting and dabbling in all the latest fitness trends, she has finally come to the conclusion, “More is not better, better is better. Eat right most of the time. Indulge in moderation. Strive for balance. Practice self – acceptance. Judge less. Everybody is different and unique. Be kind & compassionate.” This is what she wants to pass on to her clients and help them to find in their own life.
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