I have helped hundreds of thousands of people improve their health and their physiques. If you are one of these people I would ask that you take one person under your wing and pass it on. It could be a family member, a co-worker, or it might be a friend with low self-esteem. Be their mentor, but PLEASE, be gentle. Do not offer unsolicited advice. Lead by example, be friendly, be patient, and make it clear you are willing to answer their questions, but wait till they ask for help. Remember to read between the lines because their question might not have a question mark. For example, “I’m frustrated, I can’t lose weight!” might not be a question but its a clear plea for nutritional guidance so please refer them to the free meal plans at CustomMealPlanner :) If they get exasperated at the gym at the end of their first month working out and say “I can’t seem to gain any muscle!” that is a great opening to talk about expectations or to talk about different standard workout programs – gently, of course. Please watch related video about giving gym advice.
Great questions from a friend of mine.
> what would you like to see from the next generation of fitness advisors/influencers/athletes that have platforms to the masses?
One word, HONESTY! Honestly about expectations. Honesty in admitting that there are no secrets and honesty in admitting that even researchers with multiple PhD’s can’t answer even some of the most basic questions about bodybuilding. This honesty would mean none of those BS one-size-fits-all “best” workouts or “best” exercises. Honesty about where their income comes from. Honestly about the PROVEN benefits of the supplements they sell. Honesty about the fact that if they sell workout programs, they are not proven to be any better than the old school established ones available for free.
> What would you suggest for aspiring fitness enthusiasts and lovers attempting to grow their platform to reach others?
I will answer this two ways because I am not sure the goal. If the goal is to help people then act locally. The best way to help people with getting fit, losing fat, and getting in shape is to lead by example and when they ask, not before, give them advice. The problem is that growing your platform does not help people, it will just make them more confused. There are a thousand trainers on Instagram and YouTube, and each of them screams that THEY are right and everyone else is stupid – this leaves everyone confused. Even if you had an IQ of 10 million with a photographic memory, when you published videos about the scientifically proven best way to workout, your comments would be flooded with “LOL, sixpackshortcuts provz u are RONG!”. If the goal is to make legitimate money with a fitness business, please read this:
https://scoobyswork.shop/making-legit-fitness-income-youtube/
> How can we keep up the good honest work you put in for the everyday man, woman and teen (especially teens) who just wanna be healthier and fitter and achieve life and fitness goals alike ?
The problem is that the answer to this problem requires expensive systemic changes to American society and our educational system. Unfortunately, I do not think we have the political will to implement these changes but more on that at the end of this section. As far as what individuals can do, I am not sure it is possible except using the above suggested “lead by example” technique. When I was the only fitness voice on the internet as I was from 2004 to 2008, I could control the dialog and keep peoples expectations realistic. The problem is that now its big money and whatever you do on the internet gets drown out. Your best bet is to find the next social media platform and be the FIRST. YouTube is two decades too late, Instagram is a decade too late, TikTok is a year too late. You gotta find the next new platform and be first there so that you become the number one profile.
The big problem these days in America is that the people we are graduating from high school who have zero life skills, no job skills, and are not capable of critical thinking. If they don’t have critical thinking skills there is no chance you can lure them away from all the “shortcut promisers” because they will believe what they WANT to believe. Post related:
https://scoobyswork.shop/2019/12/06/why-86-of-american-high-school-grads-will-become-impoverished-skinny-fats/
I am about to come up with what I feel are my top 5 most important videos and this one is definitely on the list and I think it encapsulates the hard work we have in front of us to transform our educational system so that we produce well rounded citizens capable of critical thinking, making good nutritional choices, and good financial decisions. We need to take a much broader view of what “education” is and include financial literacy, cooking classes, news analysis, and vocational training. Bored kids don’t learn. Use things kids want to learn as motivation to learn reading, writing, and science.