Contact Marcus at Thriving Lives Fitness

More information on the IPE World Championships in Liberty, MO

Dr. Steph: Hi, and welcome to Stay Mobile KC, your source for inspiration on getting and staying active in Kansas City. I’m Dr. Steph. And I’m the chiropractor who makes house calls. So I come to you, whether you’re at home or you’re at work, and I get you feeling better faster so you can get back to your busy day.

So I’m here today with Marcus Gates with Thriving Lives Fitness, and Marcus. So tell me about what you do.

Marcus: So Thriving Lives Fitness is an online personal training business, where I connect with people that are interested in creating sustainable changes in their lives. And I build a custom workout plan, diet plan based off of their goals, and really what they actually enjoy eating and I balance out what they like eating with what they need to eat as well. And we just figure out a routine and a program that works best for each individual person.

Dr. Steph: So you kind of start with where they are, and build from there.?

Marcus: Exactly.

Dr. Steph: And help them to get to where they want to go.

Marcus: Yes, yes.

Dr. Steph: So you work during the day as a PE teacher?

Marcus: I do, yes So my elementary school is Lillian Schumacher, up in Liberty public schools, and yeah, I’m a PE teacher for elementary K-5. I just think about how many people I’m actually affecting, kind of like I said before. From working with one person, that’s affecting 10 other people. Well, I’m working with, you know, 550 kids at school, and then all these people outside. So that once I think about how many lives I’m actually positively affecting, it just makes it not feel like work.

Dr. Steph: Oh, yeah. You mentioned competing and sport. So what is your sport?

Marcus: So my sport used to be baseball from 5 years old all the way up through college, actually. And once baseball was going to end, because it was going to come to an end inevitably, I needed something to kind of fall into competitive wise. So bodybuilding was that outlet because I knew that it’d be healthy. It’s something I can do for a lifetime, not just another 4 more years. And in addition to that, I grew up in the gym. My dad used to take me as an infant to the gym,

Dr. Steph: Oh, really?.

Marcus: So yeah, it was very, very organic me getting into it. And I actually have a competition coming up my 2nd pro show in one week. Yeah.

Dr. Steph: Oh, really? Where’s that?

Marcus: November 2nd up in Minneapolis. In Minneapolis? Yeah. And then if I qualify there, so qualified just means if I get the top half of my class, then I’ll compete 2 weeks later for the World Championships here in Liberty, Missouri.

Dr. Steph: That is so exciting. It’s so exciting that it’s close to home.

Marcus: Yes. Oh yeah.

Dr. Steph: So, I read that you do natural bodybuilding. So what does that mean?

Marcus: Natural bodybuilding is awesome, because, you know nobody else is out there taking any performance enhancing drugs. It’s all strictly diet and training, which, to me is what it’s all about anyway. It’s a healthy sport or should be healthy sport.

Dr. Steph: Right? Well, who is your average client?

Marcus: My average client is actually probably 30 to 55 years old. And it’s just people that you know, they’ve tried this diet, or tried a fad diet, or they had a kid or they went through menopause or, you know, they’re just they’re tired of feeling tired and tired of not being happy with their energy levels or how they’re looking or feeling or how their clothes fit.

Dr. Steph: So you do all this through phone calls,

Marcus: Phone calls. The check-ins are always through email or through texting. We just kind of go back and forth on that. And then, you know, for the person that feels unsure about things or really needs to get a little more depth, then we’ll set the time that we can talk on the phone and I can answer any of those question.

Dr. Steph: So you have clients that you never even really meet?

Marcus: Yeah. No, I’ve got clients down in Texas,

Dr. Steph: Really?

Marcus: Really top to bottom throughout the Midwest. And that’s all just been through word of mouth, you know, client success, those who stick to it, they see the results that they’re after. And that’s actually one of my main goals. I mean as much as I, I’ve got a lot of clients I have worked with for a couple years that have just stuck with me because the accountability is- is you know, I try to make that unmatched by anybody, and just that constant, positive communication, but on top of that, my my overall goal is to make it, to help you learn as much as possible in your time with me, whether that’s for 3 months or for 3 years, and get to the point where you don’t need somebody to tell you how to lift or how to eat five years from now, you know what to do, and you have the tools and you have the programs. If you ever need to come back to them, and go over it. Or I’m always available.

Dr. Steph: They still have your phone number.

Marcus: Exactly, yeah, It’s been awesome to stay in contact with those clients that I work with 3 years ago, that are still on their journey.

Dr. Steph: Yeah, that’s really fascinating. Yeah. If someone wants to get started working with you, how do they reach out? How do they get started?

Marcus: Yeah, Facebook and Instagram, my email. and I also have a website as well. ThrivingLivesFitness.com.

Dr. Steph: So Marcus, thank you so much for talking with me today. It was really nice to meet you. Marcus: Yeah, you as well.

Dr. Steph: Thank you.

Marcus: Thank you.

Dr. Steph: So thanks for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed it. And I look forward to seeing you again next time.