This week, Brad speaks with Tyler Davis, owner of Triumph Studios. From navigating personal adversity and overcoming substance misuse to building a thriving business, Tyler breaks down the real foundations of success that go far beyond strategy.

They discuss what it truly means to master the fundamentals of small business ownership, highlighting the importance of self-awareness, strong team dynamics, and authentic client relationships. Tyler talks about the role of preparation in facing challenges head-on, and why passion and consistency are essential for long-term growth.

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Welcome to Student of the Game podcast, where we help you master the fundamentals, fall in love with practice, and win at the game of Life. I'm your host, Brad Knoll. Welcome to the classroom. Welcome back to another episode of Student of the Game. I got my guy. Tyler Davis.

Welcome to the pod.

I appreciate it. Thanks, Brad. Appreciate you having me, man.

This is going to be so good. So for you active and repeat listeners, this is our first episode of the year, Student of the Game. And I'm excited.

We've been doing another passion project we have of Moving Fort Wayne. It's a podcast specifically for real estate. So if you want to know more about real estate, you go check out Moving Fort Wayne.

But today we're back to Student of the Game, and this is a passion of mine. So right now, just as a.

As a reminder, Student of the Game is all about helping small business owners master the fundamentals, fall in love with practice and winning at the game of life. And the way we do that is through relationships. And I'm excited. Today, Tyler Davis is the owner of Triumph Studios here in Fort Wayne.

But what makes Tyler's story powerful isn't just the fitness studio. It's the journey. And you're going to want to hear this. He's walked through a lot.

He's had reinvention in his life, both personally and professionally as an entrepreneur, and now he's helping hundreds of people transform their lives through the fitness community. Tyler, tell us a little bit about who Tyler Davis is and how you got to where you are today.

Wow, man, I appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah. So Tyler Davis. I grew up not far from right here. I grew up in Wayndale, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Born and raised. Right.

I've lived here other than 18 months, roughly. I spent Orlando, Florida, or went to school for audio engineering back in, like, oh, three to four.

So, yeah, I grew up, man, went to Wayne High School, was not an athlete at all. I mean, most of the people that I was surrounded by were athletes, which is interesting to be to where I'm at now. I mean, I was gonna say, if

somebody saw you right now, they'd be like, yeah, right, right.

I get that often. And I'm still not the most athletic. Like, if you. I can dribble a basketball, but that's about it.

Okay.

But, yeah, I was. Everybody around me was trading baseball cards and into all of that stuff.

And it wasn't that I didn't dislike it, but I just always gravitated towards music. Like, music just had a pole. Like, there was just something to it to, to my soul.

So I was collecting albums and I was researching, you know, back when you had dial up aol. Like I was online trying to find anything I could.

Cassette tapes, CDs, digging through vinyl collections, Napster, Limewire, done crashed a couple computers with Limewire. But it really just. Music was always a big part of my life. So I DJed my first house party. I call it a house party.

When I was in seventh grade for my buddy. He had his little sister at a party. He was like, hey, you and dj? I'm like, dude, absolutely. I had a Radio Shack mixer with a crossfader. That was it.

And from there, like, it was just instilled in me, you know, and then that was just kind of always a part of things. I not being an athlete, I had more time and then than I should have.

So, like, if you could have got a letter jacket and partying, like, I would have been varsity team for sure. So, yeah, it was great. I mean, I started working when I was 15, washing dishes at Azars and Wayndale when that was a thing.

Worked at Roller Dome South. So just always had, always had an ambition about me to want to get up and go work and earn money and, and do my own thing.

Because I don't, I don't know where it came from, but there was just always a. I didn't want to hear you can't buy that or you can't do that. So I just wanted to get up and, and make a way for myself.

Where did that come from?

I was just about to say. My dad was always a business owner. So when I was little, he owned a, an auto repair shop off of Broadway.

And then when I was 16 years old, I was, I was working at Caramel Corn in South Town Mall. Making caramel corn with a good friend of mine got me the job there.

And because I had sort of bounced around from job to job in high school, like a lot of high school kids do. And my dad owned a trucking company here in town. It's called Davis Enterprises. We had semis, dump trucks, dozers, backhoes, all, all the things.

And he just called me one day, he's like, hey, you're making caramel corn. You should come work for me.

And I remember, and I, and I did never forget laying under the, the vehicle for the first time with a guy named Clay that he hooked me up with. He was the head mechanic. And Clay looks over at me, he's like, hey, go get me a 9. 16. And I looked back, and I said, what's that? And he.

He just put his head down. He was like, oh, man. But through that, I worked for my dad for probably seven years and started literally cleaning the.

The toilets, degreasing motors, just doing all the grunt work, running for parts, getting lunches, doing all of that kind of stuff, and eventually worked my way up to start running full crews. We did snow plowing, you know, so here I am, 18 years old, and I'm running a crew of nine grown adult men.

We, you know, we had the Verizon accounts, the Kmarts, all of these things.

Daddy's boy running it.

Yeah. But I never called. I never called him Dad. I called him Larry. Into the. To this day, I'll be having a conversation.

Somebody would ask me about my dad, and I'll say, Larry. And they're like, who? But I just.

That's crazy.

But I also worked with my mom in real estate, and I always called her Kim. Like, I'll never forget one time somebody came up to.

We had worked together for a couple years, and they were like, hey, I didn't know Kim was your mom. Yeah, it's Kim. Like. And I think part of that was it was just I wanted to make my own way.

I never wanted to be daddy's little helper or just feel like I had a level, a leg up. Even though he cut me slack, like, don't get me wrong, he. He held me to a high standard. Like, I remember one of the best lessons that I ever learned.

There was a couple of them that come to mind. We were changing the brakes on a dump truck. And to do that, you have to take a sledgehammer and smack the axle so that it pops out.

And I'll never forget the first time he had me do it. I'm standing there, and he knew what was going to happen. I slammed the axle, the sledgehammer pops back, bashes me on the shin. Hurt like crazy.

And he.

Waiting for it, weren't they?

He looks at me, he's like, you'll never do that again. And, like, for me, that summarizes many, many lessons along the way that I've learned the hard way.

Like, I think a lot of people do, especially business owners. Like, sometimes you don't know the stove's hot until you put your hand on it.

Absolutely.

And, yeah, I mean, working for him, watching him in many ways go through the trials of a business owner is. Is what helped me instill a lot of the values that. And my grandpa Jerry, like, he was just the Most honest man. And there were a lot of times.

So my parents divorced when I was three, and, you know, back and forth growing up. So there was a lot of times where my grandpa Jerry was the dad. I had a stepdad that was around. He was good dude. Provider, Little league coach.

I was awful at Little League. Back to me not liking sports. The only time I got on base in Little League is when I took a pitch to the head.

Get walked or get hit.

Right.

For real.

But, hey, I was excited to be on first base.

Absolutely.

I think I want to get into your story then, as you get into what moved you to today, but I think as you're listening right now, if you're walking a dog or driving in the car, wherever, you're listening to this podcast. Podcast, I think you. I think what you're doing is you are seeing a lot of yourself in Tyler, because I know I am. I'm listening to you. I'm.

I'm doing this interview, and I'm listening to you. Like, I played college basketball for my dad, and I never called him dad. It was always coach. Yes, coach. Okay, Coach. Yes, coach. Right?

And it's like, you start training yourself that way.

My daughter was an intern here last semester when she was in high school, and the very first day, she's like, hey, dad, you want me to make these copies? I was like, that's not my name here. Yeah, you know, it's not my name here. And. And so, like, part of what. What you've been modeled.

You know, it helps you in what you're doing today. But I think there's a couple things I want you to share a little bit of your story.

I didn't know that, you know, your dad was a business owner, and you. You grew up kind of watching him and. And just hustling from. From an early age and loving music. But talk about. Talk about your.

Your journey, because some of the things that. That really, I think, make you who you are today is your. Your. Your journey through sobriety and your faith.

Those are two things that you share a lot about, that you seem passionate about helping other people.

Talk about that a little bit. Yeah. So back to the whole going varsity in. In partying that led to, as you grow up and you, you know, move out of the fun side of things.

You know, what I was doing was I had a few. I had a few things happen. I had three big events happen around starting at the age of 16. Like, I was a pretty carefree young kid up until that point.

Like, I worked hard and everything, but I had got my high school girlfriend pregnant when I was a sophomore in high school. She had graduated. She was a couple of years older. And we made the decision to give our daughter up for adoption.

So going through that process and then watching her be born, and then the very next day, meeting the parents, that would be. That. That would be her parents signing those papers. You know, I'll never forget, I spent three hours in the nursery just staring into her blue eyes.

And, you know, and then. And the next day, a notary comes in, and you sign these papers, and there she goes. So that happened.

And then a really good friend of mine in high school, Zach Thompson,

lost

his life in a car accident right in front of me and some other friends. We were out in Yoder, Indiana, leaving a party, going to another place.

He left a couple minutes ahead of us, and we're following the car down Yoda Road on that S curve, and my. The guy in front of me hit the brakes. I hit the brakes. I look out to the left, and there's a vehicle with a pair of legs sticking out from under it.

And me and my buddies jumped out of the vehicle, and we got over there.

We've seen.

Yeah, we lifted the car off of him, along with some other passersby that had stopped. And me and my other friend, Craig Doherty, who, rest in peace, is no longer with us either. We.

We just looked at each other, and we're like, I don't know what to do. Here we go. He took one side, I took the other side. We started doing mouth to mouth.

Another young lady that was with us that went to high school with us started doing, you know, chest compressions and. And I'll never forget, man. Long story short, EMS gets there. We all go to Lutheran Hospital. And I can still hear his mom.

It's like as a scene out of a movie. Like, I'm walking up, because we all go there, and the ambulance pulls up, and his mom and dad are right there.

And the ambulance door opens up, and you just hear this scream. Like, I can still hear it. And I just remember, you know, another young lady's dad coming out a couple minutes later. And I walk into the.

Into the room, and a nurse comes up, and she's checking me, and I'm like, I'm fine. Leave me alone. I didn't realize I had blood all over me, you know? And then the dad comes out, and he's like, he's gone, you know? So that happened.

And then a little bit later, my stepdad of 14 years that was married to my mom, left a note on the table, and never came back. So, like, those three events happened, and what. What I did.

That whole going varsity in partying led to me leaning into substance, alcohol, drugs to cope because I had just had three significant events. None of my friends around me were really mature enough to have that conversation. I didn't know how to have that conversation.

My mom was going through her own thing. My dad wasn't the guy that you talked to about those emotions. So therefore, I just turned to music.

Music became my therapist, which wasn't always the best. And I just learned how to stuff everything down. Everything down.

I mean, I'm going to pause you real quick because I want to keep hearing this story, but you're. You're on this podcast because you are a student of the game.

You know, a student of the game is somebody who has life that they have gone through, and they use life as a classroom to. To advance themselves later on. They take agency of their life, all right?

They don't let their life happen by chance, and they take responsibility and control, and they do something about it.

And the end of your story is so impressive, but in order to get to the end of your story that everybody wants to hear of, like, what's happening now, we have to hear this. Keep going, man. This is unbelievable.

Yeah, so it was years of that, you know, and then, like, I had mentioned, I had my first club gig set up to start DJing when I was 21.

So this is, like, between the ages of 16 and 18. All this happened.

Yeah, yeah, all this stuff happened. And then. And then I just continued to just pour my. I bought my first house down on Washington in West Central when I was 19 years old.

Took me about nine months every day after work. And this is just the thing. My dad came to me one day like, hey, I got this buddy. He's tired of these tenants. 20 grand, you can have this house.

Like, it just sold for, like, 219. So it makes me sick that. But at 20 years old, I have my own house. Like, I moved out, and I'm just partying at a ridiculous level.

I mean, but I was working for my dad, so I was making good money, so. And my mortgage was 235 bucks. Get out of here.

You can't rent for that.

No, but. So I've read the book Outliers. I'm sure a lot of people have read that.

I just gladwell I had the right opportunity and the means to party really fricking hard.

So I did which led to a lot of bad relationships and different things, you know, and at one point, you know, I was passing along substance, doing, doing the thing, just, you know, which led to me getting robbed, gunned to my head. It was just an awful experience, bad choices, you know, but all of that stuff leads up to my, my amazing wife that I'm now married to. Now.

We actually met in kindergarten, so we'd known each other since kindergarten, our first two years of school. Pictures were sitting next to each other. She claimed she had a crush on me. She had a birthday party when she was 6. And we have pictures of.

I was the only boy there, so must have been true. I remember I bought her earrings. She didn't even have her ears pierced. But we are, we, we linked back up.

When we were like 21, I ended up out soliciting for the bar I was djing at and she was out of cyber club. And we looked up, went into the bar, she's there, I'm here, hey, let's hang out.

She actually asked me out because, you know, sometimes the ladies are the ones that initiate and I am.

You obviously didn't pick that up. I mean, you know, there were clues and there were clues. You couldn't pick it up. She was like, listen, you're not going to get it.

I'm going to ask you.

Yes. Yeah.

And that's one of the biggest changes in my life by far is just her coming into my life because she became that guardian angel, that beacon of light, that, that protector of hope that helped me start to see that because up to that point, like I was living life to. On a path where I really didn't plan on making it to 40. I don't know why, at that time, 40 just sounded crazy.

And at the pace I was going and at the pain that I was carrying and the way I felt internally, I didn't want to see 40 because I just, I, I really couldn't imagine at the, at the pace I was stuffing emotions down because at that point substance became what you did with everything. It hurts. Stuff it down, feels good. Stuff it down. Like that's just what you do. But you know, finally fast forward a little bit.

Moved to Florida, moved back, you know, I finally, my dad. We ended up parting ways before I moved to Florida to go to school. So I decided not to take over the business.

That was obviously tough between us, but it was, you know, I felt like I was following his dream. Music was always my dream, which is why I went to college for audio engineering. And I Had planned on never moving back to Fort Wayne.

But before doing that, before Kelly and I had got together, I got my oldest son's mom pregnant. And it was. We barely knew each other. Worked together. TGI Fridays, back when you had to wear suspenders and flare.

Yep.

You know, but God's plan. So I ended up coming back, but my dad ended up passing away. It's been about 16 years now. I just.

We sort of had a falling out, him and my older brother. You know, me and my older brother, I remember having conversation before it happened. Like, man, we really need to call dad.

We really need to get things right, because one of these days we're just going to get a call. And that's exactly what happened. He was 56 years old. Came home on a Friday, not feeling the best. Lay down to take a nap, never woke up.

So did you have a chance to talk to him?

Nope. I. I mean, I'll never forget our last conversation. It was good. It was pretty much me sitting in my car because I had tried to go see him.

And that was just the thing. I. I didn't. No one went in my dad's house from the. I was 12 years old the last time I was allowed in the house. Like, so.

So my dad, as a business owner, I now understand this on a deeper level. He felt the pressures of everybody wanting something from you. Yeah. And this was back before cell phones were worth providing.

So people just providing, right?

Yeah. But people just would show up at the house all the time. I remember being a little kid, people knocking on the door all the time.

They'd want to come over, they'd want to hang out, they'd want to party because he was the party house, just like I ended up being to where he shut down and pretty much would hide in the back of the house with all the lights off. Like, I remember on the weekends when I would go there, it was, you don't sit in the front of the house, you don't answer the door, and you.

You know, it just became part of what he did. So I would call, leave messages on the machine. I know he was listening, you know, but then, yeah, didn't get a chance to. To have that closure.

But so at this point, you know, all. All of the drinking, all of the substance, over time, I'm gaining all this physical weight along with the emotional weight.

You know, here I am 100 pounds overweight. Like, I'm 5, 8, and I was 250, 260 at his funeral. You know, there's. There's Old photos of him. And he was bigger when he was in his 30s, too.

And, like, six different guys that I was standing there with looking at these pictures, they. They paused. They'd be like, wow, I forgot how big your dad used to be. They'd pause, and they go, man, you look just like him.

And now they weren't saying, yep, you're big.

You heard something different than what they were saying.

But I knew. I already knew. I'm literally walking in his shoes. And then I'd look over, and at this point, I had two sons and my daughter who I had given up.

And I look over and I see my dad there in a casket. And I'm like, man, I'm walking in his shoes. This is where I'm heading. And then fast forward a little bit after that.

I mean, obviously, I didn't process that well. I had started to want to lose some weight. I'd expressed this to Kelly. We bought an elliptical machine. I had started working out some.

I had dropped 20, 30 pounds, maybe, but still drinking. And then finally got a DUI.

Got a DUI on my way to Taco Bell, middle of the night, drank a pint of Jaeger, two beers, and decided it was a good idea to drive to Taco Bell, so left my own house, ended up in handcuffs, staring at the border, and. And I'll never forget, that was where faith comes into it.

So I got nine hours in Allen county lockup on a little green mat because the cell they put me in was full. All the beds were taken up, and here I am coming down off of pine of Jaeger, and.

And I'll never forget staring up at the ceiling of that cell and literally saying, okay, God, here I am, like. Like every story I've ever heard of men who are just broken and only come to you when I need something, but I really need you. Like, I just.

I. I don't know where else to go. I just. I really need you. And I don't know how I let myself get to this point, but if you will.

If you will provide me a path out of this, show me a way. I surrender. Like, I will give every day of the rest of my life to do whatever you need me to do. Just please help.

And it was kind of as simple as that. And then my wife was pregnant with our daughter. I could tell you what they were wearing, and I walk out of.

Because I remember she had joked with me before, like, if you get arrested on a Friday night, I'm leaving your butt in there. You're gonna Be in there all weekend. And I remember she already had the plan. Yeah.

But I remember finally figuring out how to use the phone, call collect. The only home number I knew was my mom's. I called her landline. It's like 3am she answers the phone, she goes, you're in jail, aren't you?

And I was like, mom, I deserve everything that you're about to say, but I got 30 seconds. And please call Kelly and please beg her to get me out. And she did. But Kelly was pregnant with our daughter and brought my two sons on purpose.

So I walk out of. I walk out of Allen County. Yeah. And. And that image is burnt into my mind. And she wasn't even mad.

She just was like, I can't believe it took this long. I hope you learned something.

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If you know someone moving out of your area, there's a great chance we can connect them to somebody we know like and trust. Remember, relationships win. Now back to the show. This. This is crazy.

I'm a smart guy, so as I'm interviewing you, I don't have any questions because people just want to hear you talk and they just want to hear your story. But what I want to is I want to fast forward a little bit and let people know what the end looks like, too. Like, you are somebody right now.

That if people didn't know your story, they wouldn't know where this came from.

Yeah.

Our team just came into Triumph Studios this last week and we did it. We did a cycle class with you, and it was. It was one of the best team bonding experiences we've ever had.

It was one of the best workouts we've ever had. You spoke so much life into people. You're. You're talking about your darkest days.

And I think all of us have had, you know, a time in our life where either we're not proud of or, you know, our backs were against the walls. Whatever it is. We all have a story, but nobody sees that and, and now people are getting to hear your story. Let's, let's go.

You lost £100, first of all.

Yeah. I mean, I joke and say I got rid of it because I ain't trying to find it. I didn't lose it. You didn't lose it.

You got rid of it.

Yeah.

Coming back.

Right?

So, so walk me through then. So you, you have, you have this life experience. You get this dui. You're locked up.

Was it at that moment where you turned your life around or did it take a while?

It still took a little while. I'm a really stubborn person. Took a little while.

So I get my dui, and then I think I can, I think I can still handle a little bit of partying through this whole probation thing. And I remember the big, the big moment was I was working at Ruoff Mortgage. It was one of my first jobs in real estate in mortgage lending.

And they had a Christmas party. I got hammered, man, hammered. Knowing that the next Tuesday I had my first probation, my intake meeting.

And up until that point, I did not know of what an ECG test was, which was, they can detect alcohol up to eight days. And I freaked out. Like, I, I'll never forget. Like, I drank three gallons of water. Had, had just.

But that was the moment where I was like, how many, how many times do you have to learn this lesson? How many times, like, you're either going to change? And, and up until that point, you know, I had, I had thoughts of ending my life.

Like, I had it all mapped out. Like I knew how I was going to do it, where I was going to do it, who was going to. Yeah, I mean, that's just kind of a crazy place to be.

And that was like the actual change of life happened in an instant.

But it was like you said, it was all of those small trials times that led up to the pivotal moment of I am going to turn everything around 180 degrees like that. I mean, that's the only option, or just do it and be done. So, I mean, clarity, that was the interesting thing.

Like, things felt so hard until all of a sudden clarity happened. And then that decision to change was like, okay, we've got a ton of work to do, but here we go.

And you've done it, you've done the work. So let's transition into being a student of the game.

So we got small business owners, we got a lot of people listening to this, but we got a lot of small business owners listening to this. And whatever you're Going through right now. We don't want to bring on guests so that you're like, well, look, Tyler has the worst than you.

Suck it up, buttercup. Right? Like, that's not the goal of bringing on people and sharing their stories. The goal is to let people know, like, there are lessons.

There are lessons in life, and to be a student of the game, it's about paying attention to those lessons, not just in your own life, but in other people's lives. I'm learning right now. I do this podcast so that I could talk to amazing people, People and hear your story firsthand.

I got a front row seat to what Tyler's sharing today. But to see. To see how dark that was for you and to know you on the other side, man, it's special.

My dad always used to say, if you don't know the struggle, you don't know the strength.

Yeah, man.

If you don't know the struggle, you don't know the strength. And, you know, a lot of people that are strong, you just think that they're born that way. You know, you might.

You might just think, you look at somebody like, man, they just have a gift. They're just a strong person. They're just mentally tough. I like, why, why, why is their life easy? It ain't easy. It's not easy.

If you don't know the struggle, you don't know the strength. And, and, and. And if you need to know the strength, it. It takes struggle. Like, you gotta. You gotta go through stuff. Yep. Let's.

Let's talk about Triumph Studios a little bit. A little shout out. Triumph Studios, man, I'll say it again. Our team had one of the best bonding experiences we had last week when.

When you were on the Mic, you were DJing up there from the bike, and it was. It was so freeing to just move our bodies, to come together as a group in a dark room. But let's talk about.

Let's talk about you as a small business owner. This podcast is all about mastering the fundamentals. What's fundamental to you?

Owning a fitness studio or Triumph Studios owning the business that you own. What's fundamental about it?

I mean, fundamentals. One of the words that come to mind is connection. Connection is a big thing.

Whether that's connection with myself, with my faith, making sure that I'm instilling all of that within myself so that I can connect with other people. Like you said, I love. I love the shout out. Your team's energy in that room was amazing. Like, just last night, I got a Chance to every Monday.

I teach hip hop Monday. But it's the way the coaches will, will connect through the words, through the music, through movement.

Because like you said, I mean, it's, that's how we turn trials into triumph. Like that's a phrase that we use at triumph all the time. Like how do we turn trials into triumph?

Which in a lot of ways for me sums up everything that you've talked about, about my past. Like, thankfully I've been able to do that.

But it's, it's the fundamentals, it's, it's waking up knowing that there's going to be obstacles ahead of me, that maybe an iPad will stop working, maybe the lights will stop working, maybe the batteries will run out in the middle of, of a class and my microphone will go out. You, you know, it's running the fundamentals to stay connected, to stay in the moment, to stay present. I mean, that's one of the big things.

And obviously there's many other things to make sure that the rent stays paid, to make sure the lights stay on.

You know, managing the QuickBooks, managing the P and L, making sure that you're not losing money every time you sell a protein bar, making sure the refrigerator stays stocked up. And there's, I mean, there's so many different variables that go into it.

So let's talk about going into it a little bit.

But for those listeners that are sitting there and maybe you're trying to grow your business, maybe your small business needs an influx of customers or cash or even ideas. What I heard you say was it all starts with connection.

You got to connect with yourself, you got to connect with your team, you got to make sure you're on the same page. And then you got to connect with your customers or your clients. And that three legged stool, I think is unbeatable, to be honest.

If you can be present and connect with, with yourself, with your team and your clients, you can't lose. But I think so many of us, we fail to connect because we're waiting.

Somebody was asking me the other day, it's like, oh man, how do you get all these referrals? How do you get all these introductions? And it's like, because it's working for referrals, it's working for introductions, it's not waiting for them.

Most people listening right here, you're waiting for your business to grow. And what I'm hearing you're saying is it's all about connecting. I love it. So transition.

Every athlete knows fundamentals create the base of everything. And success requires a little something else, right? It's one thing to know the fundamentals, but you gotta fall in love with practice.

Yeah, you do.

My guy, Kobe Bryant, man, it's all about. He said it best. He goes, if I practice one extra time a day, in 180 days, I'll have 180 extra sessions than you.

And over time, you will never catch me. And I think that's the whole thing is, like, I tell my kids this. You can be great at whatever you want. And I got a daughter that does golf.

I got a daughter that does basketball. And I got a son who loves to act and loves theater and loves show choir. And I just tell him, you can be great if you fall in love with practice.

So for you and Triumph Studios, and you specifically, Tyler, what does falling in love with the practice look like? I mean, you mentioned the mic goes out. You better love what you do when the mic goes out, or you're going to be pretty upset, right?

Yeah. I mean, you have to have that passion in it, you know? And I have a phrase that has helped me in so many different ways, which is keep showing up.

And for me, keep showing up is the reminder to stay in love with that practice, to love the moments that you got sweat running down your face, that you're challenged to every level. Can I hold that plank a little bit harder? Can I pivot when the lights go out? Can I pivot when the mic goes out?

You know, but it's setting yourself up through those fundamentals of. Every room now has two mics. Why do we have two mics? Like, why do I ask myself and all the coaches to bring in three sets of batteries?

It's because we are. We are prepared for when that moment happens. And it's. It's through those steps of preparation when it's not that it's not gonna happen, it's when it.

When it happens. Have I practiced for this moment?

And talk to the people, man, because, listen, preparation creates separation. I tell my team and my kids all the time, preparation creates separation. If you're not prepared, you. You won't separate yourself from anybody.

Buddy of mine who's a Navy seal, he always told me, he's like, what they taught us in SEAL training, when you have three, you have two. When you have two, you have one. And when you have one, you have none. So it's exactly what you said.

If you got one microphone, you don't have any, because if something goes wrong, you're out. When you have three, you have two. When you have two, you have one, and when you have one, you have none. Man, I love this.

Well, let me ask you this real quick.

Did you learn anything from switching careers, like, from the mortgage business, into whether it's DJing, whether it's mortgage business, and now it's leading a fitness studio?

Oh, man. Learned so many different things. Like. But back to connection. I mean, all of those things. My years in sales, my.

My years in mortgage lending, my years with my dad all taught me how to, I don't want to say be a chameleon, but just be adaptable and understand the art of conversation and how to listen. You know, you ask the right questions, and a lot of times people will tell you what they need, and it allows that connection.

Everybody wants to share about themselves. So ask the right questions, but then you have to take it a step further. Like, you have to genuinely care and want to hear the answer.

Because on the flip side of that, sometimes when you ask the question, as a business owner, as the one leading the team, like, you got to be prepared for that answer. Like, sometimes it's not what you want to hear, it's what you need to hear.

And thankfully, when you have the right people around, you will hold that space with you and tell you what you need to hear. Like, man, that's a gift.

Like, I can hear something real quick. So. So somebody's, you know, you picture. Picture this. We've all done this. You walk into a room like, hey, what's going on? How's your day?

And then people complain. And. And what they're really doing is they're sharing, like, their struggles, right?

And then how many times do you leave as the person who actually asked, how you doing? And you're like, man, all they're doing is complaining. Man, all these negative people, you're the one that asked how they're doing.

You know, you gave them the space to share. And you're so right. That act of listening and really understanding how to care in our business. And I want to help small business owners here.

One of my favorite authors, Donald Miller with StoryBrand, and one of the things he talk about is the reason most small businesses fail is because they position themselves as the hero in the story. And when you're the hero in the story, it doesn't allow space for anybody else to come into that world.

The most confident and strongest person of every movie and every good story that's out there is the guide. It's the person that comes alongside the hero when they're going through something to help Them get what they want.

And as small business owners, it's just my belief, Tyler, that the people that are the most successful are the ones that understand I'm going to put myself, my intentions to the side, and I'm here to serve. And when you're here to serve and when you're here to help other people get what they want, you can have anything in life you want.

That's a Zig Ziglar quote that I just paraphrased. But keep talking. How you keep showing up, man. And also, I got a question for you.

When we were there, a lot of the training that we did was in the dark. Is there a reason for that? Is that intentional? What's the whole situation with the lights when you're working out?

That is absolutely intentional. One of our original catchphrases was, lights off, sweat on.

But to take that a step further, I know for me, when I was bigger and I wanted to get healthier, I would drive to American Health and sit in the parking lot. And part of the reason that I never got out of the car was because the lights in some gyms are surgically bright. Like, they are so bright.

And you feel like everybody's looking at you, and you feel like everybody can hear you breathing. So that's the intention behind the darkness, is it just releases that anxiety that, gosh, everybody's looking at me like, no, that. No, they're not.

They're here for the same. For the same escape that you are. So in the darkness, we can tap into that light.

It gives us an ability to use our words in a stronger point to where you're not necessarily so focused on the visual aspect of everything that you're seeing or the fact that everybody's looking at you. The music is so loud, like, for my class, if I can cough and hear myself, it's not loud enough. Like, I want you to know.

Like, I want you to breathe hard, because a lot of times when you're working out, you need to exhale. Like, that's a part of how you tighten your core and all these things. But also, sometimes it's just hard. I just need to pant, man.

I just need to breathe. Nobody's hearing you do any of that. So the lights off just allows us space to remove that barrier of entry.

Like, it's been interesting over the almost six years, how many people have said, like, I just love that the lights are low. Like, it's dark. I don't feel like everybody's looking at me. And it just gives us the Space to speak into people and get them to understand.

That's another reason that we don't allow cell phones in the rooms. If we have Apple watches in, we encourage everybody to put it on theater mode so that the light doesn't come on, it doesn't distract anything.

But I know for me, I stopped wearing a trackable just because it was taking me out of my moment. You know what I mean? Like, even if I don't close my rings, the work still counts.

And I think a lot of times we as a society, as business owner, we're tracking all of these measurables, our KPIs, all of these things. Like what are our KPIs of my life? A lot of people want to close their rings. Like I, I just want to move my body.

I want to make sure that for this 45 minutes, just like your team did, you are enjoying this experience and the connecting to yourself and those around you. And it's amazing the kind of energy that can be built in the darkness, in the loud music. I mean that's why nightclubs are so successful.

We just party at 5:00am, 9:30am, 5:30pm you know, it's just a. But it's the same energy.

What kind of classes do you have? Let's, let me.

So we have, let's talk about that

because this is falling in love with the practice. That what you do. Right. But this is also a plug for anybody who's looking for a great studio to be a part of.

Yeah, Triumph Studios. We would love to have anybody that is looking for a community, a community that is going to support them.

So we have four different rooms and we teach seven different modalities. Currently in those rooms we have rhythm cycle, we have boxing, we have strength, we have boot camp and build and we have tone and mobilize.

And in those four rooms, all of the rooms are dark. Some of them have club style lighting, some of them are black light. Only five of the seven modalities, we move to the tempo.

So the coach is going to guide you through that workout, through the motions and the exercises that you're doing. But in those five you're going to move to the tempo of the music.

So it's sort of choreographed but you don't have to have experience in those, you know. And it's. We have full nutrition coaching program. We have six nutrition coaches on staff, we have one on ones, we have virtual, we have in person.

We have so many different ways for somebody to just overall improve their wellness of their life. And I think One of the biggest things is when you come visit us, I. I hear over all the years, we're a little intimidating from the outside.

Like, it looks like, oh, gosh. One of the things I hear all the time is like, oh, God, I'm going to die.

And what I always say, our team didn't die. It was hard, but we didn't die.

What I always tell people is, like, you are going to be more alive than you have felt in a while.

So true.

And it's. And that's what it is. Like, our bodies are made to move, you know? So I love it when people step in the door for the first time.

Maybe a little anxious because going to work out in a new place where you don't know anybody is hard. Like, we totally get that. But when you get there, you're greeted with a smile.

My team works really hard to make sure that we know first names before you get there. And that's another thing where people are like, gosh, you already knew my name. Like, yeah, we've been anticipating you showing up.

Everybody gets a handmade card. Everybody gets a handmade card on their birthday when they celebrate a milestone, whether it's 100 classes, 500 classes, a thousand classes.

We want to make sure that we are letting everyone know that we see you. We acknowledge what you're doing is not easy. But you keep showing up.

Keep showing up. Yeah, I think that's. That's all. I mean, you can't keep showing up if you're not falling in love with the work.

You gotta fall in love with the work. I mean, it's running the fundamentals.

Like, that's one of the things that I continue to remind myself and our team reminds each other that, like, we gotta focus on the fundamentals and make sure that we're running the play, running the play over and over. Like, it might be on repeat to us and feel that way, but it's their first time. Absolutely. They've never heard it. So keep pouring the message.

Like, we don't got to reinvent the wheel. Like, we're going to constantly evolve and seek to improve, but the fundamentals are always going to be what we'll fall back on.

Before we go into winning at the game of life, talk to the small business owner for a second. As a gym owner, as a studio owner. What are some of your KPIs, what's your scoreboard look like? What are some things that you track?

Maybe just to keep the business going, right?

Yeah, a lot of it is going to be. I Mean obviously total members, which helps us predict our mrr, which is monthly reoccurring revenue.

That's just going to help me budget for let's say six months, ten months down the road. Another thing is going to be so for a daily KPI's utilization, utilization is going to be how many available spots do I have in classes?

How many people actually came to visit and, and took up those spots? Yeah, that's going to be a big one. You know, as far as making sure that people are getting the value out of that.

And then obviously it's going to be, you know, what promotions do we have, what events do we have going on, all of those different things, what workshops are coming up, you know, but another big one is going to be how is, how's the team feeling? Like, how is, how's the culture of the team? How's the response of the team? How are, you know, checking the KPI of individuals?

Like how are you emotionally? Because all of that stuff is going to play into how we're able to show up at work. And sometimes we have to use the phrase flip the switch.

I mean as coaches and as the concierge team, like sometimes we're having a rough day and that is what it is. And we're not ever downplaying that.

But there's also a time when you have to flip the switch, when the lights come on in the lobby or in the rooms when they go off. We have to be prepared to pour into others despite what we have going on.

So that's, that's like another KPI that as the individual in the team, like how are we doing that?

You ever, you ever feel like you're a ministry where it's like your, your job is to pour into other people, but when you pour into other people, you feel better yourself. Like you ever just leave being like, oh man, we did some good work today.

Every time, like when your team was there as an example, just seeing the smiles on you guys faces, hearing the, the wins, hearing the way that you guys celebrate each other. Yeah man, like that as a coach and as a team, like that's what we thrive on.

Like we, every time there's a Google review that comes in that's it's a five star or something. And people share in their own words that they have received what we have worked so hard to create just is a reminder that like, okay, it's working.

I'm a plug real quick. So, so if you're listening to this and you have a small business, you have other Small business owner friends. Go do something. Go. Go share their page.

Go share their social medias. Go comment. Go. Go do the free things that really do move the needle, that help people out. Like what you just said, like those.

Those reviews mean something.

Yeah.

You know, I'm gonna do that myself. Thanks. Thanks for the reminder. I'm gonna make sure my team does that. Leave reviews for you guys.

And, you know, I, I think sometimes we get caught up in the strategies and the plans and the KPIs. Right. But at the end of the day, like, go help your. Go help your people win. Go. Go help this community win. And those are the easiest things to do.

As, as we close this out, you know, we talk about, you know, student of the game, we master the fundamentals, and you talked about connection. And I love it as a word that, you know, you know, if I overuse it. Good, because it's a. It's a meaningful word. And I think it's fundamental to.

To most businesses. I loved it. You know, that's what you're focused on. Falling in love with practice. You just got to keep showing up, man. You got to keep showing up.

I. I think one of the things, like, you know, we. We were taught in, in marriage counseling, it's like, hey, if. If. If you're struggling with your spouse, just go love them harder.

Yeah.

You know, go. Go do more. Go serve more. And. And you will fall in love with them the more you are of service to other people. And so you just keep showing up, man.

And I love how passionate you are about it. I love how your journey has kind of given you this rebirth. Right. I mean, we talked about that.

You know, off air is like, you've had this rebirth both personally and professionally, and there may be a lot of people out there that's listening to this that they don't love the profession they're in. They don't love the work that they do every day. They're passionate about something else. And for them, you're an inspiration for everyone.

You're an inspiration, but specifically for people that are going through this rebirth and they're trying to find themselves. And so at the end of this, we talk about what winning at the game of life look like. And I think it's different for everybody. Right?

I mean, you know, people have gotten on here and talked about, you know, winning at the game of life is. Is taking all their kids to Disney, and to me, that's not winning. I'm sorry. I love Disney. But like, that. That's not.

That's not winning, but, but there's other things that, that winning at the game of life is. What is winning at the game of life for you, Tyler?

Man, winning at the game, I, I feel like I'm already. I feel like I'm already doing it in many ways. I mean, winning at the game of life for me is that people will have my back in rooms I'm not in.

Like, that people will. Will be able to say, you know, I always felt better after being around that guy.

I always felt better for having got a chance to be in that space at Triumph Studios that him and the team have built. My wife will never have to question if she can trust me. She will never have to question the way I look in her eyes and the way she looks back at me.

Like the fact that we can still act like seven year olds and giggle at fart jokes or something crazy.

Like, she's as glad you picked up what she was putting down when you were six.

She's, man, she's the best. She truly is my best friend and, and the rock and she's the one.

Like as a business owner, you got to have that person that at the end of the day, you can share all the things and unload it. But then we'll also say, hey, that's a miss, man. Let's reframe that. Let's look at that.

Speaking truth. Yeah.

And it's just getting to the end of my. I remember. I can't remember the exact book, or maybe it was in a sermon that I heard.

And it was a story about a man at the end of his life laying in his hospital room and he was there by himself and he opened his eyes and his bed was surrounded by people and they were strangers and he didn't recognize them. And he asked who they were and they said, where are all the talents and the gifts that God gave you and only you, nobody else?

And you never used them because you were too afraid to take the leap. You were too afraid to change the career. You were too afraid to get sober. You were too afraid to ask the girl out, ask him out.

You were too afraid to do that thing. Therefore, we are going to die with you too. And man, that's one of my. If I have a fear, it's that I don't want to leave anything on the table.

I want to make sure the day that I get to run and give Jesus a hug, I'm like, man, thank you for all of that. I did it all, at least to the best of my ability.

You Went to a place you never want to go again so that you can get to a place people are grateful you're at.

Yeah.

And you just keep showing up, man.

You've talked about sobriety, you talked about entrepreneurship, you've talked about fitness, mental health, reinvention, both personally and professionally. I didn't know everything about your story. I'm honored to take up space here with you today. Thank you for. For sharing that.

Before we go, one of the things that we like to remind our listeners that in the game of life, relationships win.

And, Tyler, you are a relationship that I have been intentional about, about getting closer and closer with, because I think you're exactly what you just said. You are an energy giver. You allow people to. To be seen.

You are somebody that, you know, champions others, and you do it without asking for anything in return. And you have a gift, man. And so at the end of the day, in the game of life, relationships win. And I'm winning right now because of our relationship.

So thank you for that.

Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to just be on this platform and get to know you better as well. I mean, you just can all the things, man.

You create light. You and your team just go out and just do the right thing, and it doesn't go unnoticed.

I appreciate that. Speaking, Speaking of doing the right thing, let's do the right thing and send somebody some flowers, man. Your journey, your story is impactful.

People listening today, I know, are grateful that we get to know you just a little bit better today. But who do you want to send some flowers to? Like, who's somebody who's impacted your life? Somebody who.

A relationship that you want would not be where you're at today without them. Who's somebody want to send some virtual flowers to?

There's so many. I mean, obviously my wife Kelly is going to be the first one that comes to mind.

Like, she pulled me literally out of the pit of darkness when I didn't think that there was hope or a reason to keep going. So obviously, she gets. She gets flowers. My grandpa Jerry, for sure. My mom and dad, of course, Larry and Kim, who I referred to them both.

But, you know, on my team just, you know, I could go on and on. My team challenges me in ways that sometimes feels so heavy.

But when we look back at all the things that you already talked about and helped me unpack those adversities, those opportunities that might feel like burdens in the moment, I want to give all of them flowers for making me be better.

That's fantastic. You Know you're in the presence of an amazing leader when they give their team the flowers.

Yeah, man. They deserve it.

That's awesome, man. It's been a great conversation. Thank you so much for taking time today.

I know you got to get back and put out some fires or make sure that the lights are working or the dust is settling and you got some renovations. But. But Triumph Studios, people can find you online. How can people follow you on social media?

Follow us online, hit us up, send us a message. Or, I mean, better yet, just come experience it. If you're anywhere around Fort Wayne, come experience it.

We have something called the new recruit challenge. 45 bucks, you get six classes total. The challenge is we give you the first three.

If you take those in the first 14 days, we're going to give you the other three. That way you get a chance to come experience six of our seven modalities and just get to know the team because we're excited to meet you.

I guarantee when you jump in, the water's warm. You're going to want to keep coming back. So you're going to. You're going to keep showing up. Tyler, thanks for being a guest today.

I appreciate you, man.

Thank you, Brad.

That's a wrap. Thanks for listening to this episode. If you like this, make sure you share this with somebody.

I guarantee somebody's going to benefit from listening to this today. Have a great day. Thanks for listening to Student of the Game podcast. Whatever game you are playing, I'm cheering for you. See you in the next class.