Jacob Interviews….From Fit2Fat2Fit’s Drew Manning (End of the Year interview)

 

By: Jacob Elyachar

Utah-based personal trainer Drew Manning has had an incredible 2012.

From finishing up his Fit2Fat2fFit journey that cumulated in showing off his final results on Good Morning America to releasing his first book: Fit2Fat2Fit, which was declared a New York Times Best Seller, Drew continues to inspire people around the world to get back into shape.

Recently, he sat down in an exclusive interview with me to talk about his successes, his next journey and the upcoming Fit2Fat2Fit Health and Fitness Workshop.

Jacob Elyachar: What were some of your personal highlights of 2012?

Drew Manning: Obviously, I think getting back in shape and getting my body back was a personal highlight.  For my wife, Lynn and I, it was good to have my body back but also mentally and emotionally to have my confidence back, to get back in shape and get the energy back that I used to have.   I became a better father and a better husband and I felt like that was big.   Also, the reveal on Good Morning America and the fact that thousands of people from all over the world were able to watch it and be inspired by it.

I tell people that this journey was not so much about me getting back into shape but to see how it impacted thousands of others’ lives for the better. It was definitely one of the best moments of 2012 for me.

JE: The Fit2Fat2Fit book was deemed a New York Times Best Seller. How did it feel having earned that accomplishment?

DM: Honestly, I felt blessed and I felt very, very fortunate.  It’s cool to have that status but at the same time, I did not do that, it’s the fans and the people that were inspired…they were the ones who bought the book and made it a New York Times best seller and so it was very humbling.

JE: One of the new features that you added on to your website was the Jaynes Family Journey.  What were the things that led to you to chose them to be part of your next journey?

DM: After my Fit2Fat2Fit journey, I decided to continue on other journeys.  Maybe not as extreme as getting fat on purpose but I wanted to get people’s feedback.  So, I posted a poll of what journey they wanted to see me do next.  Over 60-percent of those voting wanted me to take an overweight family, put them through my program and document their journey from fat to fit.

We had more than 20 families send their stories and videos for this journey.  Overall, we thought that Jenny and Aaron Jaynes were the right fit.  Right now, they are three months into this journey and just to see how far they have come in those three months is awesome and they still have three more months to go.

I plan on doing journeys that people will vote on and once this one is done, there will be a poll up for what people want to see me do next.

JE: One of the big events coming up for you is the Fit2Fat2Fit Health and Fitness workshop. Could you please share with my readers how that event came about and what attendees can expect from the workshop?

DM: We have received a lot of demand of people requesting that I go to their city and not just talk but also give real information about topics that they want to hear about.   After seeing all those requests, we decided to have the first Fit2Fat2Fit Health and Fitness workshop in Utah.

For our first event, I wanted the attendees to decide what topics they wanted me to speak on.  They ranged from supplements to children’s nutrition and fitness tips.    Lynn will be speaking on pre-/post pregnancy tips for women and we are also bringing in my formulator that does my supplements to talk about supplements in general.

I will also give attendees samples of my recipes and teach them how to cook healthy meals for the family.  At the end of the workshop, they will be doing a fitness workout.   If this one is successful, we plan on traveling around the country, so everyone can have access to not just me but to my whole team of experts.   Our goal with these workshops is to educate and inspire people.

JE: Social media has played a huge role in your Fit2Fat2Fit transformation and your brand as well.  What are your feelings on social media?

DM: I think that one of the reasons I have been successful in social media is because I was able to document all this on my website and use YouTube, Facebook and Twitter efficiently so that my followers could be a part of my journey.   I felt like if I closed this off and did not give people this access, it would not be as entertaining to them.

So, I used Facebook and all of the social media outlets to give people a real life glance into what I was doing.  They saw me go from fit to fat and they were a part of the whole process that included the weekly weigh-ins, my photos and journal entries.  Plus, they saw how I lost the weight too.  I posted all of my meal plans, my workouts and recipes on my website and allowed free access to all of it.

I think that social media is such a huge blessing for this and so many people out there because they can be a part of these journeys rather than just hearing about it in the newspaper or the blurb on CNN.

JE: Do you have any goals for 2013?

DM: I would not say that I have anything specific in mind.  But I do plan on continuing what I have been doing on a much larger scale, which is hopefully paying it forward.  Ever since I did my Fit2Fat2Fit journey, there have been so many doors opened and I wanted to continue to take my message of getting to embrace the lifestyle change and allowing them access to do that.   I also plan on allowing people to continue to have access to all of my content for free, so that they can be part of this huge Team Drew community on a larger scale.

I will be doing more traveling in 2013 and actually meeting some of my followers in person rather than just on Facebook and to continue to pass on that inspiration and educate them on inspiring other people.    People were inspired by what I did but to see my followers, who have been overweight for years and to see their transformations, is by far way more inspiring.   I tell those people who embraced the lifestyle change: “It’s great to be inspired but it’s an honor to inspire others.”   My goal is to pass that message across to my Team Drew followers and also spread the message that this is a lifestyle and not a diet.

For more information about Drew Manning and all things FromFit2Fat2Fit related, head to his website: http://www.fit2fat2fit.com/