Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles Pigott.
Hi Charles, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
How did I get started? To answer that question, I need to tell you what came before. I left my home in New York City at 19 years old ambitious, rebellious, and bit insecure. I knew I was going to make a name for myself, but I had no idea how I would do that. I bounced back and forth from Denver to Los Angeles and worked in a number of fields from event planning to marketing to fundraising, and had some real successes. During this time my self doubts, body image issues, and unresolved traumas got the best of me and manifested themselves in the form of alcoholism and addiction. By the time I was 26, I found myself homeless and hospitalized with cirrhosis of the liver.
I moved to Salt Lake in April of 2018 to begin my journey of sobriety. The doctors had told me I was young enough for my liver to regenerate so I begrudgingly began to eat right and exercise. I went back to school at SLCC to pursue psychology. I wanted to help people that had similar struggles to me. I took a job in an addiction treatment center, and eventually oversaw one of their 48 bed facilities. I began to love life, fitness, and seeing what I was capable of. I competed in obstacle course racing, body building, and powerlifting, I found fulfillment in all of these.
Four years ago, my wife got pregnant and my job had become emotionally draining. We wanted to find a way to continue helping people, make more money, and to have more family time. From this Changes Health & Fitness was born. Creating a welcoming and family friendly was imperative, we wanted to make fitness accessible to everyone. We started with just personal training and have moved into nutrition coaching, workplace wellness, retreats, educational events, and more.
Over the past few years we have helped hundreds of people on their journey towards the happiest and healthiest version of themselves. Community is huge to us, we have had the opportunity to volunteer our time and/or sponsor a number of nonprofit events. We have won Best of SLC for Personal Training for two years in a row. This year we won two Best of State awards, one for Personal Training and one for Fitness Camps/Retreats. We are grateful to all of our clients, friends, and family for there support along the way. We look forward to seeing the impact we will make in the years to come.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth road is not the choice of words I would pick, especially in the early years. I’ve hired the wrong people and had to fire them. I’ve tried to wear too many hats at times and spread myself to thin. I’ve underestimated the work that it would take to grow. There have definitely been struggles along the way but I think the biggest one that comes to mind was moving into our first slow season, the holidays, fully unprepared. We now have systems in place to make sure we are prepared for most things that will come our way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I would say the main thing that sets us apart in the fitness industry is we do not set generic goals for our clients, instead we listen to their pain work together to solve it. For us, improved quality of life, confidence, and longevity supersede arbitrary beauty standards, societal norms, and rapid weight loss.
When it comes to personal training and nutrition coaching our main clientele are busy parents and business owners. We pride ourselves in helping the busiest population with the most responsibilities, find time to prioritize their own health without negatively impacting other areas.
Our workplace wellness programs are unique because we do individualized plans for each employee, and have engaging monthly events catered to the specific population of the company.
The retreats we do are focused on community building and unplugging from the stressors of daily life. We find a day in the mountains without a cell phone can do most people a world of good.
But what I am most proud of is that I have built a community that people (myself included) feel comfortable bringing their families to.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
We are currently accepting new clients for personal training, nutrition coaching, and workplace wellness. The consultation is always free, so reach out today.
Pricing:
- 24 Personal Training Sessions are $2000
- 24 Couples Training Sessions are $3000
- 24 Online Coaching Sessions are $1000
- Workplace Wellness starts at $1500 per month
- One Off Programs are between $135-200
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.changesfit.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changes_healthandfitness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Changes-Health-Fitness-100094058013771/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-pigott-556375279
