Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Hines.
Hi Aaron, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
I started with Boot Camp Classes (Ace Boot Camp) once I finished playing college basketball and was in the process of going pro. It was something for me to do that I was always asked by others that helped me make a few bucks here and there. As I continued to do them, people became interested in working out with me and wanting me to assist them in their fitness goals. Eventually, I gravitated toward it and decided to pursue training/fitness over playing ball.
When I first started with 1 on 1 client, I would use my apartment complex Gym. It was always empty and had the basics I needed to put someone through a good workout. In March 2019, I accepted my first personal training client. I remember being eager to help someone transform their body like I had done my own.
Fast forward to Covid, when everything shut down, I was forced to think outside the box. So I began acquiring portable equipment (bands, light dumbbells, etc.) and started training outside at my old high school. During this time, I also started my 30-Day challenge ebooks. (Workouts that people could watch and do from the comforts of their homes & and have a chance to win cash as a prize). It was also during this time that I was at a crossroads. The decision was between accepting training positions from local commercial gyms like lifetime, club, & edge or continuing to grow my brand. After many prayers, I decided to double down on my brand, and I was able to build a home gym in my grandmother’s basement. After about 2 years there, I had outgrown it and had more training inquiries than available. In July 2022, we had a couple of days of storms that caused major damage to many houses in my area and flooded the basement where my gym was. I took that as a sign from God to push me and get me out of my comfort zone. Then, the plan was in motion to open my personal training facility.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As mentioned before, Covid was the first major obstacle. I had just gotten rolling and picked up my clientele. With Covid, everything had to come to an immediate halt. I can remember that 2nd month of the shutdown. My bro had flown back home for a while from Dallas. He said, “you’re a trainer, right? Then that means you don’t need a gym to do your job. So stop waiting & go make a way”. That stuck with me and made me realize that what I am doing still has value no matter the circumstances.
The biggest challenge, however, was the storms. I had just returned from Miami and was ready to return to work. At the time, I was fresh out of a relationship, and I had been using my work to keep my mind occupied, amongst other things. Once the storms hit and the basement was flooded, I was devastated. I talked to my pops, who was in the hospital then, and explained what had happened. The original plan was to have a contractor come and fix the basement, and I’d be back in a week at the maximum. Little did I know that was not going to happen. There were a few things that occurred that prevented that, and just like that, I was back at square 1 it felt like.
Not only was I back in a position without a gym, but now I had a full clientele with nowhere to take them and was forced to think about everything else that was going on in my personal life. Immediately I began searching for buildings and trying to figure it out. I found one, applied, and we were set to be open by November or December. I learned once again; nothing was in my control, but it had to be God’s timing. From October-Jan, I played the waiting game until the building I had been accepted for was ready for me to start a buildout. During that time, I lost clients and training inquiries and felt lost. I was curious to know how any of this would work and started to question if this was something I should be doing. All business loans I applied for through my bank had been declined. Every day felt the same, with waking up and just not knowing. It forced me to work on myself spiritually and not just physically like I had been doing. I’m doing so, God not only opened my eyes to things, but he strengthened me and improved me in areas in which I needed so much work. I knew the only way this would work was for me to trust him 100% and be who he wanted me to be. Just like that, I looked up, and it was time to start turning the building I saw into the gym I had envisioned. It was literally like a 180 turn. Old clients that had left or were forced to stop training with me were ready to return, as well as a bunch of new inquiries.
We’ve been impressed with Ace Fitness Factory Inc, but for folks who might need to be more familiar, what can you share about what you do and what sets you apart?
My business is one where it promotes health and healthy habits through fitness. However, it is so much more. I don’t know what sets me apart because I don’t usually look at others doing the same thing. I try my best to assist people with their fitness goals and transform their minds and lifestyle. Many life lessons can be learned through fitness, discipline, routine, and the overall mindset switch. That said, I also understand that I am not for everyone, and everyone is not for me. My job is to help anyone that I have the capacity and capability to do so. I never look at my business as a job. I see it as a tool to create relationships with people, a positive variable in their lives, and, of course, the results! The results speak for themselves. Whether you are losing weight, gaining muscle, or creating the body you want without surgery, we will help you hit that goal.
What makes you happy?
I don’t want to see cliché, but seeing others love who they become and who they see in the mirror due to my services brings me great joy. For those who may have got in a pair of pants they previously couldn’t fit, or the one who hit a pull-up for the first time. They all make me happy. Often (not always), people start their fitness journey because something in their life has gone wrong. Rather that’s a doctor’s visit and hearing they have to lose weight or _____. Sometimes it may be a breakup, and getting that body together helps them cope, or even for the young athlete with aspirations of going pro (something I can relate to), there is always an initial why and an end goal. But I love to be a part of the things learned in the process.
Contact Info:
- Website: Acefitness24.com
- Instagram: Ace_fitnessfactory
