Jason Kozma has always been passionate about fitness. Growing up in Wisconsin, he was an overweight kid and it was his older brother who showed him the benefits of exercising and eating right. He set up a home gym for me in their basement and his first workout program. Jason started lifting weights at 12 and almost immediately saw the results. He realized that he had the power of changing his own body. His family moved to Tennessee and he started competing in a number of bodybuilding shows at the age of 15. At 18, he placed 1st in the Tennessee Valley Bodybuilding Championship, winning both the Novice and the Teenage divisions. And then at the Southern State Championship, he won the teenage division in his weight class. When he found out that you can make a living by being a personal trainer, that’s all he ever wanted to be.
When he went to college, he took a break from competing to focus on my Business Administration degree. But after graduating, he moved to Los Angeles to chase his dream and to devote himself to training himself and others. He’s been doing it ever since. Eventually, he became so successful as a personal trainer, he even built a team of trainers who had the same goals and were passionate about achieving results for their clients.
Jason always saw bodybuilding competition as the natural competitive extension of the training in the gym, so he got back into bodybuilding competition from 2003-2007 and won his weight class at the Mr. America in 2004 and Mr. Muscle Beach in 2007, accomplishing some of his long-held goals. His background in bodybuilding competition and his experience as a karate teacher combined well in enabling him to teach and train regular people in all the aspects necessary to transform their bodies in minimum time with maximum safety. Jason believes a great trainer has to be a great teacher.
Please tell us a little bit about your company – what is High Performance Personal Training all about?
High Performance Personal Training is a boutique fitness and body transformation company in Los Angeles with a 360-approach to fitness. We provide our clients not only with physical fitness training, but also with nutritional plans, motivational techniques and body sculpting. We work with clients of all ages and fitness level but who want to make a positive change in their health and appearance. We also inspire people and help push them to overcome challenges and become strong and beautiful.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I started my Personal Training business in 1995 and in 1997, launched the first version of my website, which is now offering the first online personal training in the U.S. Fitness is my passion and when I saw how being fit changed my life, I knew I wanted to help others create the bodies they’ve always dreamed of. I never imagined myself wearing a suit and going to an office. I have always wanted to make my career out of my passion, which is body transformation, nutrition, weight training and body building.
LA is full of celebrity trainers, what makes you different?
I’m proud to say that I have carved a niche for myself for those who seek strong, lean and beautifully defined bodies. My unique recipes of moves, motivational techniques and dry humor have earned me a loyal following of actors, athletes, body builders, business owners, executives, models, fitness models and super moms. I don’t chase celebrities, every one of my clients is a celebrity.
What are your plans, how do you plan to grow this company?
The ongoing plan is to serve more clients with more top-notch team trainers. Since all of our lives changed this year, I’m focusing on growing my online personal training service through my new “Train with Mr. America” app and the virtual personal training sessions with team trainers and myself.
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
I would say initially undercharging and not fully explaining / expressing the value of what I offer. Going after the wrong market segment. I corrected that a long time ago.
You could say that staying too small, being a one-man band as for management, sales, back office and all that has at times held me back. But it has kept my overhead low, enabling me to survive and thrive whereas those whom I’ve competed against have disappeared, crushed under overhead costs. I remain on top after 25 years.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
I’ve been doing this for myself for 36 years and professionally 25 years. I create more results, faster results, more long lasting results because I know more and I care more than anyone else. I probably care about my client’s results more than they do. I provide my clients with very high level of support. I text and email my clients to make sure they are staying on track, I monitor their nutritional and physical progress by going over their weekly food diaries and assessing their fitness levels. I send them a weekly newsletter and also publish articles on my blog that highlight issues many face during training. I also create new goals periodically and keep the workouts fresh.
I pride myself on providing not just fast visual results but also dramatic increases in strength and health. I successfully work with people of all fitness levels, from beginners to competitive bodybuilders.
What’s your training style and what methods do you use?
My personal style is traditional bodybuilding style training (which can be used for weight loss too). I create super-customized workouts based on my clients needs. Other trainers on my team use different methodology such as functional training model, Z Health method, endurance specialty, post rehab and others. I’ve got a trainer and a method for everyone.
I use the traditional split routines, supersets, giant sets and whatever I think is most appropriate for the client’s abilities and goals.
What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
I try to keep up with new / current marketing trends that I can feasibly use.
What are three books or courses you recommend for new entrepreneurs?
- “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
- “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey
- “Man Up” by Bedros Keulian
If you only had $100 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
Create a website with great content, get the SEO in order (all done yourself), and get some google AdWords if there’s anything left over.
How can we get in touch with you?
You can visit Mr. America Jason Kozma my website www.jasonkozma.com, you can find me on social media via Instagram @mramericajasonkozma
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