Bartender and Psychology Student

Thank you for reading our previous ‘100 Seconds with 100 Personal Trainers‘ blog post!

This month we bring you TWO interesting individuals …. Before you proceed, take a wild guess as to who was a bartender / Psychology student before they became a Personal Trainer???

Keith Loong – ACE CPT, Personal Trainer, Crossfit Coach

Steven Raj – ACE CPT, Freelance Personal Trainer

Keith Loong

What were you doing before becoming a personal trainer?

I studied Culinary in Taylor’s and became a bartender in Phuket and London!

‘Sex on the beach’ was Keith’s best drink.

How did you know us (FITM) and how you started and ended up being a Personal Trainer?

I was never this fit ! Just used to do futsal occasionally with my friends, and very rarely going for runs around my neighbourhood. I joined a bootcamp near my house. When I first joined, I was so humiliated that I was getting my a$s crushed by all these aunties and uncles ( active ageing bootcamp participants). So that was when I realised I had to get serious about getting fit. I started a bootcamp with a friend. Halfway through I got called to a large chain fitness centre – Fitness First (FF). I knew Fitness Innovations Malaysia (FITM) via my church friend, who was soon to be my manager in FF.

Keith – who was certified Crossfit Coach Level 1, joined our HIIT workshop in 2014.

Nice to hear aunties and uncles inspired you to be fitter. When did you get certified and why ?

I realized being a chef and bartender was not my calling. I joined the Personal Trainer Development Program in 2012 and got certified in 2013. I’ve taken the ACE paper 3 times ! My difficulty was understanding what the questions wanted … retaking 3 times is definitely not easy. But I never give up when it comes to workout and fitness. And I made it at my third attempt !

Keith in his Culinary course in Taylor’s College after high school.

Are your parents supportive towards your decision to change your career ?

Yes, definitely. My parents have always supported me in everything I do. Very blessed by that.

Keith Loong’s passion for fitness inspired from the active ageing participants who were fitter than him

What is your training principle? What type of clients do you train?

Most of my clients are females who are looking to tone up and get in shape. My training principle is always, ‘you know you can do better than this’, or ‘you can do it, and you’re halfway there’

Keith and Jerrican at a FITM workshop

What is your fitness career pathway since getting certified?

I did the Personal Trainer Development Program prior to joining a big chain fitness centre as a trainer. After nearly 2 years here, I’ve already reached the highest PT level I can, and I felt I’ve done enough here. Hence I am going into freelancing and coaching crossfit as well.

Keith Loong – a person who never gives up on what he wants

Words of advice for someone who wants to have a career change to become a Personal Trainer?

I would definitely say go for it. Give it a shot. The feeling of changing someone’s life for the better, to be fitter and healthier, is an amazing feeling. Definitely get some solid knowledge through courses like ACE or continuing education through Fit Malaysia (FITM) or any other means necessary. Know your stuff and that way, you’ll be confident, and confidence sells.

Definitely give it a go, start and learn from places with experience like Fitness First or even Crossfit gyms like Pushmore or District 13

Steven Raj

Steven Raj – From fat and unfit to representing the school sports team ….. From being overweight ( 95kgs ) then and now a fit and full time freelance personal trainer.

Were you active during school ?

I was actually exempted from all physical activities in school when I was younger due to asthma. To make matters worst, all that inactivity caught up with me in my early teens and I started to pack on the pounds. Not the most fun thing in the world, kids at that age can be ruthless when it comes to teasing. I really wanted to represent my school in football, but my weight and lack of fitness made the coaches not take me seriously.

I started noticing a friend who was a senior in high school. He did weights and martial arts and looked real athletic. He always got good comments whenever he went which also made him one of the most self-confident individuals I knew. I wanted to have the same confidence he had . I was15 at the time. I invested all my pocket money into buying a set of home weight training kit. After two years of weight training and some serious diet modifications to shape up, by the time I was 17, I was fit enough to be selected to represent my school for Football, Rugby and Karate tournaments. Kinda like a from smock to jock story haha. But honestly it changed how others felt about me and most importantly, how I felt about my self.

Steven was training at the Fairtex Muay Thai Facility, Bangkok. He had ballooned up to 95kg and realized how unfit and slow he was. He was in college at that time.

More problems when I left high school and did my pre-university and college. I ballooned up to 95kg. I was not exercising consistently and I really let my diet lapse. I pursued my degree in Psychology, because I somehow I always knew that I would like to be in a profession that helps people feel better about themselves. I guess a lot of the behavior modification stuff I talk about with my clients today are mostly stuff I learnt from my Psych studies. Soon after I graduated, I knew that fitness was my passion and I joined California Fitness in 2008, which was a very popular gym at that time. I somehow rediscovered my fitness, shed the weight back to 75kg and started my career path to becoming a personal trainer.

Steven met his mentor, Kula who was his fitness manager when he started his fitness career in a big chain fitness centre.

Can you tell us more about your PT job while you were in the big chain fitness centre?

I remember walking in for an interview with my fitness manager for the first time, very intimidating although it must have lasted for 5 minutes. But I must say I really look up to him. He has great work ethic, takes no nonsense and keeps himself in amazing shape. I truly did learn a lot from him on the PT side of things, especially the business aspect of selling yourself as a trainer.

I started out as a Fitness Instructor, on probation. We only could do fitness assessments and introduce new sign up’s to the gym equipment but we could not take in any clients. After 3 months I was allowed to sit for the exam. I passed and was promoted to Personal Trainer and was allowed to accept and train clients. I started out as PT1 and I was promoted to PT2. I must have worked for Celebrity Fitness for 6 months before I left.

Steven with Ronnie Coleman

You joined a big fitness chain as PT in 2008, then you quit and became a freelance PT until now?

Yes I joined Celebrity Fitness in 2008. Then I left before the end of 2010 and went out on my own till now.

When did you get your Personal Trainer certification and why? Was it because you wanted to leave the commercial chain and realised the importance of having a internationally recognized PT cert?

California Fitness is actually where I met Jerrican for the first time. He and Kim came to deliver a course on Weight Management through Lifestyle and Nutrition. I continued to attend the different courses at FIT and finally obtained my ACE CPT in 2010. I had already left the fitness centre a few months before I took ACE. I always read about ACE through magazines and on the internet. Initially it cost almost like 6-7k to do ACE at FIT many many years ago. At that time there were already a few fitness centre trainers who had ACE CPT. It was actually my previous fitness manager Kula who contacted me and ask me to sit the course with him. It was a 25 hour crash course with Jerrican.

Steven believes in on-going education to keep himself updated with the latest fitness trends and skills.

Steven would also like to credit his late dad for helping him out with his fitness career.

My late dad used to take me to the mall whenever I needed to get gym stuff like weights, belts and supplements. If I could not afford the stuff back then he would top up on cash. He would even buy Muscle and Fitness magazines for me. He also actually built my first exercise bench and used to be my spotter at home. When I was 18, I joined an actual gym which was pretty far away. He would drive me there and pick me when I was done everyday. He used to do outdoor exercises everyday himself, 6 days a week. Some parents would gawk at the fact that their son wants to work in a gym after completing their degree, but he was super supportive of my decision. He even helped me set up my own enterprise Fizikal Fitness by taking me to get it registered at SSM. I am forever grateful to him and will continue to miss him very much.

What are the biggest differences between being a PT in a commercial gym and freelance PT?

The difference between commercial gyms and freelance? I decided to join a commercial gym initially because of the amount of growth you can achieve in a short amount of time. You will have the opportunity to meet and learn from other trainers not just about health and fitness, but also how to generate more clients through trial sessions and referrals. I learned a lot from my seniors at California Fitness. You learn that being a trainer is not just about living your passion, but you also earn a living from it. Also in the commercial gyms you have to deal with sales targets. A part of your job besides training clients is to generate income for the organization that you work with.

This differs from being freelance. You only work for your own income. Of course it’s slightly harder to get clients compared to the high number of walk-in’s and new sign-ups at the gym. You are still bounded to serve your clients who have signed up with you, it’s just that you are your own boss now. I personally feel first time trainers should at least spend a year or two working for a commercial gym, just to learn the business aspects of PT. They also regularly provide training education to their trainers on new fitness training concepts. But hey, if you freelance, you can still get world class quality fitness education from this place called Fitness Innovations Malaysia in Damansara Perdana. (why thank you for your recommendation ! )

Steven and Fabio Comana after the NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist workshop in 2013

What type of clients do you train now? What is your training principle?

Pretty much a very diverse clientele. Most of my clients in the early mornings are business people in the finance, oil and gas and IT industry. They are around the age of 40-55. After that its usually homemakers and retirees. Towards the evening its the younger exec’s ages between 25-35. Some prefer a more sports conditioning based workouts with agility ladders, battle ropes and kettlebells which I carry around in my car, while others prefer traditional gym equipments like free weights and machines. I try to accommodate them based on their goals, preference and limitations.

Steven and his long term client from Argentina.

Words of advice for someone should they want to become a personal trainer …

Follow your passion. You have to believe in what you are capable of. Don’t let negative thoughts or negative people pull you down or make you feel you are not good enough just because they have a different idea on how things should be done. If you feel some areas of your expertise is lacking make sure you do more research and educate yourself further on that topic. Be humble and don’t be afraid to ask other experienced fitness professionals in the industry for assistance or feedback. Invest in yourself. Keep yourself up to date by attending seminars, workshops and certification programs. You will make mistakes along the way but make sure you learn from them and move on. Last but not least, be dedicated to your profession which means showing up on time, looking presentable and always keep your clients best interests at heart. Trust me they will take notice and the referrals will start to pouring in.

Thank you for your time for this interview. FITM wishes you all the best in your future!

#100PersonalTrainerMY #fitmalaysia #fitm

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