From Broken Ankle to $100K Months — How Ted Stern Turned Police Work Into a Fitness Empire

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex

Episode: From Broken Ankle to $100K Months — How Ted Stern Turned Police Work Into a Fitness Empire
Host: Paul Alex Espinoza
Guest: Ted Stern
Date: December 11, 2025

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode features Ted Stern, a former police officer who transformed an on-the-side fitness coaching gig into a thriving online business, Fit Responder, serving first responders. Host Paul Alex (also ex-law enforcement turned entrepreneur) and Ted share stories of reinvention, overcoming limiting beliefs, and the gritty reality of building a business from scratch. The episode dives deep into mindset shifts, entrepreneurial sacrifice, and actionable strategies for scaling an online coaching business to six- and even seven-figure months.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. From Law Enforcement to Fitness Empire

• Origin Story: Ted started in law enforcement at age 21 and served 11 years in Ventura County.
  • Notable moment: An ankle injury in 2019 (caught on surveillance) during academy training became his catalyst to focus seriously on his side business, Fit Responder. [03:44]
• Pivot Point: Laid up with his injury, Ted doubled down on social media and business learning.
  • “We had more clients than we knew what to do with. I was making more money than I was as a cop...I started to think, you know what? When my ankle’s better, I’m not going back.” [04:00]

2. Overcoming Limiting Beliefs and Early Hustle

• Starting Small: Ted and his wife, both former personal trainers, took a leap by building a $500 website despite his wife's doubts.
  • “No one’s going to want to work with us... We’re not professional bodybuilders. Come on.” [05:57]
• First Wins: Ted made $1,500 in a single Black Friday deal, but realized fulfillment was overwhelming at low prices.
• Exposure to Online Gurus: Ted discovered high-ticket online fitness coaching via Tanner Chidester's marketing, initially skeptical but eventually inspired to aim higher. [06:52]

3. Critical Investments & Scaling

• Business Coaching: Ted invested $13,000 in mentorship, which accelerated his growth from $20–30K months to $100K+ months. [13:07]

  “...within a couple of months, I went from twenty, thirty thousand dollar months to a hundred thousand dollar plus months.” – Ted Stern [13:04]

• Systems and Delegation: He highlights the importance of hiring help—coaches, VAs—and delegating even when it’s uncomfortable.

  • “It’s scary to delegate. You take your baby... But that was huge, too, because my wife and I were maxed out on clients.” [22:16]

4. Mindset, Environment, and Negativity

• Environmental Influence: Both Paul and Ted discuss how family and peer environment, especially in law enforcement, often discourage risk and ambition.
  • “It really comes down to their environment, dude. It’s who they're around, what the capabilities are.” – Paul [14:06]
• Facing Doubters: Ted shares how coworkers poked fun at his online business and questioned leaving a stable career (“What scam did you start?”), but he tuned out skeptics who hadn't achieved what he was aiming for. [16:44]
• Optimism & Purpose Shift: Once financial needs were met, the motivation shifted to purpose and principle.

5. Strategies for Starter & Growth

• Niching Down: Ted attributes part of his success to specializing (“If you hurt your knee and you’re a snowboarder, go see an ortho who works with snowboarders”). [23:52]
• Finding Your Voice: Encourages coaches to experiment with different content types, use feedback, and truly lean into their unique personality.
  • “When I saw that people like when I’m funny... I started to do more of that.” [25:17]
• Investment in Yourself: Both host and guest advocate strongly for paid mentorship.
  • “When you put skin in the game, you’re going to take it more seriously.” [25:17]

6. Trends: AI & The Future

• Tech Adoption: Ted experiments with AI for client progress (e.g., meal tracking), but finds that authentic connection—especially in communication—is still key.
  • “My customers want authenticity... I can’t have AI in there.” [29:26]
• Anticipates rapid growth in AI’s capabilities, but believes high-touch coaching requires real human oversight, at least for now.

7. Building (and Delegating) Culture

• Leadership Approach: Ted admits he’s not a “soft skills” manager and delegated that role to someone better suited.
  • “I ended up needing to find a manager who could manage people better than me...” [31:38]
• Team Size: Peaked at 25 staff, now streamlined to 7–8 after systemizing roles. [33:48]
• Delegation Wisdom: Expects team members to achieve 75% of his own output—if he sets a high bar, 75% is still excellence. [34:10]

8. Advice for Aspiring Online Coaches (2025)

• Key Tips:
  • Pick a crystal-clear niche that resonates with a defined audience.
  • Express genuine personality and adapt to what your audience likes.
  • Reverse-engineer content that works for others, but add your unique spin.
  • Always be prepared to invest in mentoring.
  • Use data and feedback, not just intuition, to guide strategy. [25:17-27:14]

9. Operations: How Fit Responder Works

• Custom Approach: Programs are tailored to individual client goals, injuries, and preferences (e.g., meal plans with/without certain foods).
  • “You get a custom nutrition plan, custom training plan... We just integrated AI that analyzes food from a photo.” [37:30]
• Niche-Driven Team: All coaches have first responder backgrounds.

10. Legacy, Diversification, and Final Advice

• Expansion: Ted coaches other online coaches and invests in real estate and crypto for broader wealth-building. [39:27]
• Fitness as Foundation: Encourages first responders and all listeners not to wait for a crisis to get fit—physical health is the “lowest hanging fruit” for leveling up everything else.
  • “Fitness is the number one thing to prioritize because everything else flows from how good you feel... If you’re not taking care of yourself, you cannot be optimal.” [43:06]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We had more clients than we knew what to do with. I was making more money than I was as a cop.” – Ted Stern [04:00]
• “No one’s going to want to work with us... We’re not professional bodybuilders. Come on.” – Emily (via Ted) [05:57]
• “Within a couple of months, I went from $20–$30,000 months to $100,000 plus months.” – Ted Stern [13:04]
• “People will hate on you if you're showing traits they're not willing to do... taking a risk, being optimistic, working hard. But those are the ingredients to success.” – Ted Stern [18:17]
• “You want to charge a lot of money, guess what they're gonna ask you. Have you ever spent 5, 10, 15... for coaching? And if you haven’t, how does that come off?” – Paul Alex [28:04]
• “My customers want authenticity and they really respect trust. So, like, I can't have AI in there...” – Ted Stern [29:26]
• “Expect people that work for you to do 75% as well as you could do it.” – Ted’s business advice [34:10]
• “Fitness is the lowest hanging fruit to leveling up yourself... If you're not taking care of yourself, you cannot be optimal.” – Ted Stern [43:06]

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Timestamps for Core Segments

• Ted's Law Enforcement Backstory & Major Pivot: [02:05–04:26]
• Early Side Hustle, Website, Wife’s Doubts: [05:16–06:31]
• Discovering High-Ticket Coaching, Revenue Breakthrough: [06:41–08:09]
• Making the Big Coaching Investment – Hitting $100K Months: [13:07]
• Facing Skepticism, Limiting Beliefs, Culture of Negativity: [14:06–19:00]
• Delegation, Team-Building, Company Culture: [31:38–34:38]
• Advice for New Online Coaches in 2025: [23:52–27:14]
• AI and the Future of Fitness Coaching: [29:02–30:13]
• How Fit Responder Works: Service Flow: [37:30–39:05]
• “Why Fitness?” Call to Action for First Responders: [43:06–45:26]
• Final Encouragement on Environment & Positivity: [46:53–47:48]

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Final Words of Motivation

“Surround yourself... with people who are going to inject positivity in your life... Whether it’s in person or digitally... You’re going to be better capable [of making good decisions] if you create the environment around you that helps you do that.” – Ted Stern [46:53]

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Find Ted Stern

• Instagram: @fitresponder
• Web: fitresponder.com
• Business Coaching: Stern Coaching

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This episode is a blueprint for anyone seeking to escape the constraints of their environment, invest in themselves, and scale a service business in today’s online landscape—especially for those in mission-driven roles looking for more impact and autonomy.

Transcript

[A]

You're about to make a trade, which.

[B]

You do, you listen to, is it get optioning those options.

Or let's do a little research. Learn [e-mail] TradeSmart Wow.

[A]

You thought you were the man. You're like, dude, yeah.

[C]

I'm like, we just made dollars in one day, babe. I was in law enforcement for 11 years. I was on the job, and I snapped my ankle. That's when I started to put more time into Fit Responder, which is my online fitness coaching business for first responders. I was already doing that on the. I just put more effort into social media, finding clients, learning business, and things just exploded. We had more clients than we knew what to do with. I was making more money than I was as a cop. And that's when I started to think, you know what? I'm not going to go back to work. I made six grand in a day. And I remember telling my wife, I'm like, oh, this is going to change our life.

[A]

Hey, guys, and welcome back to Level Up Podcast. This is Paul Alex, and today we have another guest who shares similar backgrounds as me, guys. All right. He's a former police officer, now turned fitness enthusiast. I want to welcome Ted to the show. Ted, how you doing, my man?

[C]

Hey, Paul. Good. How are you? Thanks for having me. This is super cool, dude.

[A]

How's Miami?

[C]

It's humid. I'm from Utah. Well, originally from Southern California, but Utah is super dry. And when I got off the plane here, I'm, like, instantly soaked in sweat. Yeah. And I am sweating now.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

So, no, completely different. I mean, mind you, dude, when people come in, they're like, there's a lot of lights in here, bro. It's a little bit too light, but hopefully the AC hits you, dude, and, you know, we have a comfortable conversation. So, Ted, you jumped into the online space directly from law enforcement or. Actually, you know what? Let's go ahead and get started. Law enforcement. When did you start? How long were you in law enforcement? And then what would you say was the biggest game changer that happened to you during your years of service?

[C]

Wow. Yeah, that's. That's a great question. So I started in 2010. I was just turning 21. I was in law enforcement for 11 years. I did a bunch of different assignments not far from where you were. You were in la, right?

[A]

I was in Oakland.

[C]

Oh, you're in Oakland. Sorry, my bad. Sorry. I was in Ventura County. I don't know why I thought la, but I was in Ventura County, Southern California. Did a bunch of different assignments. It was a great career. The reason why I got started is I was gonna be a lawyer. I was on track to do that. And I didn't grow up in the best household. I'm not going to say it was terrible, but my. My mom had run ins with. With cops, and anytime she would act up or, you know, scared, whatever, like, cops would come, and they were, like, a source of comfort for me. I'm like, oh, thank God the cops are here. Yeah. Right. So I was on track to be a lawyer, you know, in college, and I saw an incident where there was a big fight near the campus, and all these cops showed up and handled business. Like, you sit there, you do that, and they put out this couch fire that was there. And I was like, man, these guys are freaking cool. And I was like, I want to do that. Yeah. So, long story short, got started in law enforcement in Ventura county, and that's where I grew up, was in Ventura County. And I had a bunch of great assignments. And in 2019, I was on the job. I just got a new spot as a. As part of the training cadre at the academy, and I snapped my ankle. Warming up for this might have been a big game changer incident you're talking about. So I snapped my ankle. Jump roping, of all things. Just. The video is pretty bad, by the way. Maybe we could put that in there.

[A]

They even got the video.

[C]

I got the surveillance or the. Yeah, the security footage of it is pretty gnarly. So that's when I really started to put more time into Fit Responder, which is my online fitness coaching business for first responders, cops, firefighters, and, you know, working with clients, because I was already doing that on the side. It was like a side gig, side hustle, so to speak. So I'm like, well, I'm, you know, I'm laid up here with my snapped ankle. You know, what should I do with my time? So I just put more effort into social media, finding clients, learning business, and things just exploded. Yeah, we had more clients than we knew what to do with. I was making more money than I was as a cop. And that's when I started to think, you know what? Maybe when my ankle's better, I'm not going to go back to work.

[A]

And this is all in 2019.

[C]

Yes. So, yeah, 2019 is when this was all kind of happening. Right? During COVID Yep. But I, you know, I officially pulled the plug in 2021. So I healed up. I went back to work for a little bit.

[A]

So you were doing It As a side hustle while you were just healing up with your ankle.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And you were on medical leave.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah, you were on medical leave. So, dude, that's.

[C]

That.

[A]

That's actually very similar to my story back in, you know, 2019. Well, except I got in trouble.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Over some shit. No, but I got in trouble, and then I got sat down, and I was just like, dude, I gotta do something else to stimulate my mind. Right?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So did you always know about digital marketing? Or, like, is this something that you just, like, you were researching? Like, how'd that come about?

[C]

Yeah, my wife and I had done a bodybuilding show. Amateur. And we had a fitness coach, you know, and he was coaching me through it. And not to throw shade at him, but I honestly thought I could probably do this better if I was. If I was a coach. Like, you know, just seeing some of the things he did with me, I'm like, I could be a better coach than this. And my wife and I already had backgrounds as personal trainers previously. So I was like, babe, why don't we do some fitness coaching? And she's like, no one's going to want to work with us. We're not professional bodybuilders. Come on. So I had a website made for 500 bucks. She's like, this. This is a waste of money. I love telling the story, by the way, because I keep telling her limited beliefs.

[A]

Dude.

[C]

Right?

[A]

It happens, right? What's your wife's name?

[C]

Emily.

[A]

Shout out Emily. But, like, no, it's a. It's a great story because, you know, that's. It's. It's as real as it gets. You know, most people are like, well, how'd you get started? Well, it all started where we had a dream right now, dude, like, you got to be real, right? Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. So she. What? She's like, fine, do whatever you want to do. Go ahead. And, you know, at first, I'm charging pennies, like, 50, 150 bucks. And I remember I brought on 10 clients in one day with a Black Friday deal at 150 bucks a piece. So I'm like, wow, you thought you were the man.

[A]

You're like, dude, yeah.

[C]

I'm like, we just made $1,500 in one day, babe. But then I had, you know, 10 clients to work with for three, three, four months.

[A]

But fulfillment was crazy.

[C]

It was. Yeah. So not worth the money ultimately, but nevertheless, I remember I came across an ad. Do you know who Tanner Chidester is?

[A]

You have to know he's based out Here in Miami.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Okay. Yeah. So I saw one of his ads and he's like, hey, if you're an online fitness coach, I can help you make $10,000 a month or more. And I was like, no way. I was like, this, this. There's no chance this is a scam. I thought this was. There's no chance. Right? So. But I was curious. So I actually ended up calling one of his clients who's a fitness coach, going, oh, you know, I'm interested in your services. Like, what's it all about? And the guy pitched me and he's like, yeah, you know, it's 3, $500. And I was like, wow. That's when I realized this is real and this is possible. And I just didn't know because, you know, the fitness coach I had at the time was not doing a great job and charged me very little. And I didn't realize you could offer like a really excellent service and charge decent money, which honestly helps them stay accountable and allows you to give them excellent service and all that. But long story short, that's when I realized it was possible. So I started learning sales, started kind of reverse engineering what people were doing, seeing what other online coaches were doing, and being like, okay, I'm gonna do something similar, but do it better.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And you know, I remember I made. In one day, I made two three thousand dollar sales and I made six grand in a day. And I remember telling my wife, I'm like, this is gonna change our life. Like, this is gonna be, this is gonna be big. So yeah, I think, I think I answered your question.

[A]

No, you did. And this is, this is great. It gives us a good foundation to start off with. So all of this is happening between the 2019 incident and then going into 2020 or.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. So around 2020, you see Tanner online. And I remember, dude, I remember during that time I jumped back on Facebook after not being on social media for eight years. I was a myspacer, dude. I mean. Cause I was a nightclub promoter, so I would promote the HTML flyers, you know, on everybody's page back then, back in the day. And it was before I was a cop. But yeah, I totally went dark to become a cop because I was like, dude, social media is just a bunch of garbage. It's gonna get you in trouble while you're in law enforcement. And that was my mindset. So jumping back on, he was one of the first marketers that I saw was just like, yeah, guys, you know, I went from. I think he said he was A busboy at Olive Garden, and he was a Division 1 football player, and he became a fitness coach. And he did something crazy like he made like 50 million at that time. Okay, I know he's over 100 million now, which is very possible, guys. You guys are probably like, bullshit, Bullshit, Paul. No, it's very, very possible, guys. I mean, Alex Shamozi, one of the biggest digital marketers right now, he did 100 million in a day, right? And people think it was just off books, but realistically, I like to call it undercover funnel, meaning that, yes, the books was the front of it, but on the back end is the masterminds. It's the upsells, right? You know, it's the processes. But I like your thought process, Ted, because you're like, dude, what you don't know is what you don't know, right? Like, how are you supposed to go ahead and sell a fitness offer if everybody around you has the limiting belief that, number one, it's not going to work? Number two, you can't sell it for 3K. You know, I think I had the same conversation with the, with my. My health coach, you know, that helped me trim down dude last year or this year where I was like, dude, you know, you could sell this for like, six, seven grand what I just paid. And he's just like, there's no way, bro. There's no way people won't pay. And, dude, he actually. I had him moved to Puerto Rico 60 days ago to. To be mentored by me.

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[B]

Dude.

[A]

He's been continuous 30k months. For the first time ever in his life. He's just like, what did you do? I was just like, kept you accountable. And I was just like, hey, did you generate anything today? And that just every day, dude, it's just keeping.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But to go back to your story, man, did you ever end up investing.

[C]

With Tanner.

Later on? Later, later. I had his ads team run my ads for a period of time. Okay. But no, I found another business coach at the time, someone I just kind of click resonated with. Right. Watched his social media stuff and he, I mean that was huge. It was a 13k investment. Yeah, it was 15k but I got a cash discount because we actually live close enough. So I brought him 13k and within a couple of months I went from twenty, thirty thousand dollar months to a hundred thousand dollar plus months.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I'm gonna not give him a shout out because he's changed. Honestly. He went through some mental health stuff and I don't want to throw shade at him, but I wouldn't, I wouldn't support him or recommend him now. It is what it is.

[A]

It happens, dude.

[C]

At the time it was a great investment for me. And one of the things I'd mentioned, just to riff off what you're talking about, the limiting beliefs and stuff, like people out there, you gotta be curious, just explore that it may be possible. Right? And I know you can resonate with me on this. Like the number of people where they're like, they complain. I have this issue, I wanna improve here, I wanna improve here. And you're like, let's talk about it, let me help you. And they're like, no, no, no. Or even to consider investing in a coach or a mentor or a consultant. They're like, no, no, no. And it's like, why aren't you even a smidge curious that this could be potentially be possible? Why don't you even look into it? Yeah, you know, but people are afraid to get pitched. I guess they're afraid to say no. I don't really understand it. It's hard for me to relate to.

[A]

Well, you know, one thing I could tell you, man, and I, and I think, you know, we're cut from the same cloth and we, we have very similar backgrounds, not only in the law enforcement, but I think in mindset, just hearing you articulate, you know, your story and then talking before the show is that I think with most people, it really comes down to their environment, dude. It's who they're around, what the capabilities are. Let's say for a great example, if I was raised in an immigrant family where the highest earner in that family made $75,000 a year. So if my parents made $75,000 a year.

The capabilities of me being able to achieve six figures is a lot harder. Why? Because I'm limited to how much my parents made. And now if I was to go ahead and express that to most parents, I'm not saying all parents, guys.

But to parents that make less than six figures, and you're like, I'm going to do six figures, there's going to be some hesitant for feedback on that. And it's, it's, it's proven. It's proven time over time, guys. How many of you guys right now that listening to this show or watching this show can resonate with that? How many times have you, Ted, in the past, before you even pitched your wife the website, the idea, you had other ideas, right? And I'm not saying for your wife, but just in general, like your environment, your family, dude.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

Unless you were grow. You grew up with entrepreneurs. You know, it's going to go one or two ways. It's either people are going to.

Be hesitant to be positive about it, or they're going to be like, yeah, you can do whatever it is that you. You can do. Right?

[C]

Right.

[A]

It was the same thing in law enforcement, dude. I remember when my ex, I told her, hey, I want to be a cop the age of 24. She's like, you a cop? I was like, yeah, why not? She's like, no. She even gave me doubts. And I was with her for seven years, throughout my 20s, bro. And I reflect back on all this, dude. Now you get to a certain stage in life, you know, you have family, you have kids. You're able to buy whatever it is that you want. But now the purpose is not even the money anymore. It's more purpose. Dude, it's just like, okay, what's, how can I get to the next level? Just, just because. Right. It's the principle behind it. Right. So for you, did you have like, I guess those experiences with people?

[C]

Oh, yeah. I mean, I don't know about you, but at work especially, you know, when I would tell people like, oh, I started this online fitness coach.

[A]

Oh, dude, they were probably like, what scam did you start?

[C]

Yeah, yeah, well, it's just, you know. Oh, so you're trying to be an influencer and people making fun and especially.

[A]

Back then in 2019. 2020, bro, TikTok was hot. You know, people are like, oh, you.

[C]

And I'm like, I'm not doing it for the clout or to try to be like insta famous. I'm not trying, I'm trying to. It's for my business. Like social media is a tool. Yeah, we've talked about this. But yeah, I mean, so many negative naysayers. Oh, you know, that's not going to work. Especially when I decided to actually leave the job. People are like, oh, but you're going to lose your pension. You know, why are you doing this? Oh, you know, you put all this all this time and now you have a great spot. I just got promoted and they had good points, but you know, they weren't. They're not optimistic people. And I mean, it's, it's the same cliche kind of advice. It's like, are you going to listen to people who have never done what you're going to do?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, and that's what it is, is people, when they see other people being optimistic, taking risks, working hard, those are things they're not willing to do.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And part of them knows that that is an ingredient to success. And they then see that almost as a threat to their own identity. Because it's like. Because. Cause whether they consciously realize it or not, they know that's not them and they're not willing to do that. And it's almost like when people are getting in shape. Right. I don't know if anyone said this to you in the last year. Oh, you're looking sucked up, bro. Like a kind of an underhanded jab.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Because they're not, you know, working hard to get in shape.

[A]

Right.

[C]

You know, and it's like, my clients will be like, dude, I was, I was doing push ups and one of My buddies at work was making fun of me for doing push ups in the middle of the day, right? So, like, people will hate on you if you're showing some of those traits that they're not willing to do. As far as like taking a risk, being optimistic, working hard. But those are, those are the ingredients to success, man. And since we're on this topic of negativity and doubt, you look at successful people like yourself, it's being optimistic, it is taking risks. It's learning from people and taking advice from people who have done it before, not from the people that you may be surrounded by who aren't willing to, haven't done it, are too scared to. They're not going to lead you to the success you're looking for. I mean, they have no idea how to even start. They never have.

[A]

I always say, I always like to go with facts, not hearsay. Same thing, man. When we used to go to court, right? And you get a defense attorney would be the one thing, especially as a rookie cop, let's say, for our rookie cops out there, they would say, hey, did you, did you see that? Or did you hear that from your partner? Right? So, so, so it goes back to the same, you know, idea of what you're saying. You know, listening to a friend, listen to a family member, they don't have the experience, they don't have the knowledge, they don't have the know how. They're just, it's all opinions, dude. And you know, as I get older, I, I have less tolerance for it. I really do. And, you know, I talked to a couple of my friends I still keep in touch with from pd, but they're very respectful. They're just like, dude, you like, we've seen everything from the ground up. We seen you when you were doing this, doing that, so mad respect. They're like, that's not us though, right? Because we know how hard it is. You know, it's a lot of sacrifice.

[C]

It is.

[A]

I had a, an event this past Saturday and one of the attendees, during our Q and A, he asked like, hey, dude, what did you have to sacrifice in order to get a reach to the level of success that you're at right now? And I told him everything, dude. How to sacrifice family, I had to sacrifice friends. I had to sacrifice my old life or my new life, dude. And that's the hard part about entrepreneurship. Number one, it's scary, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Number two, you just don't want to fail, dude. So you have more pressure than ever to succeed, right? But in Your case, man. I mean, I think it's phenomenal that you were able to go ahead and pivot like that. Because a lot of people do not pivot, from what I've seen. They don't just pivot into the online world just like that.

Typically, they really were doing coaching as a fitness. A fitness coach. And then they end up taking their tangible business into the online world. But you went directly online, which is fire. Yeah, right.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

What would you say is.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

The couple needle movers, Ted, that took you from those 20, 30k months to 100k month into fitness coaching?

[C]

Oh, that's. Yeah, that's a good question. You know, learning, I, man, it's hard to pick out like the one or two things we're always looking for that. What's, what's the big thing? It's a lot of little things too. I mean, it's just like improving the processes on, on a lot of different fronts. Like, okay, being intentional with my social media posting. You know, I learned from my business coach at the time that every post has a purpose. So if you're posting, think. Is it to show my clients that I'm credible? Is it to bring followers because it's entertaining? Is it to, you know, share my story so I'm relatable? Is it to, you know, show my offer so people know that, you know, I'm selling something? There's that and then learning sales skills, learning how to grow and build a team, you know, I mean, that was a huge jump. Probably one of the biggest needle movers as you know. It's scary to delegate. You take your baby, this thing, that's your baby. Yeah. You know, and it's like, okay, like, just represent us well, please. But that was huge too, because my wife and I were maxed out on clients.

And, you know, even when I was off work and I was doing it full time, so to speak, we couldn't take anymore. I mean, there was people who wanted to join the program and I couldn't even service them. So I'm like, okay, like, let's, let's get some coaches on my team. Let's get some people to help a virtual assistant, all that. And that's just. Yeah, things started taking off massively then. I think the niche helps, you know, because as, you know, like, cops tend to be skeptical people. We do like to work with our own a lot of the time. I mean, I, I think a lot of first responders appreciate that I'm going to understand their schedule, their stressors, their lifestyle. So that was huge as well. I think the COVID boost was helpful for us. I mean, you've probably heard a lot of businesses didn't do well during COVID but some took off. And I think for us, people didn't have the gym membership a lot. So, like, okay, now I'm, I guess I should work out at home. Oh, here's this, you know, this online fitness program. They're not looking at in person trainers. A lot of different factors all together, I think helped us blow up then.

[A]

No, for sure, man, for sure. So what would you say if somebody right now in 2025, because the markets have changed, right?

[D]

Yes.

[A]

So based on your experience of what you're going through right now in your business. Right. And what you know works and doesn't work right now for you guys, let's say there was like a beginner fitness coach and they're doing well in person and they're trying to pivot to the online world. What would be a couple of first steps, like beginner steps that you would give them advice to actually start their online coaching?

[C]

Yeah, good. Good question. I'm a believer that niche matters because your audience needs to know that you're not just some generic copy of every other fitness coach, that maybe there's something about you that specializes in what they need. And my analogy for that is, like, let's say if you hurt your knee and you're an avid snowboarder, would you rather go to just some random orthopedist or would you rather go to an orthopedist who says, I specialize in helping people who hurt their knees snowboarding? You'd be like, that's me. I, I. So you want your audience and your niche, your, your particular, your potential customer to go, oh, this person gets me and understands me. Yeah, that's one. The other thing I would say is find your voice and your personality that is going to do well with, with, with the Internet. And what I mean by that is like, if you look at fitness coaches, especially on social media, there's different types. There's, there's some that like just post workout videos. There's some that just focus on meal prep videos, right? And those people found what works well for them. And for me, if you look at my page, it's mostly like silly and comedy. And once I started to kind of throw that part of my personality out there and I saw people responded well to it, I used that feedback. So my other tip is use the data as feedback to tell you what to do next. And when I Saw that, like, wow, people, people like when I'm funny and I do the silly jokes and this and that, that's. I started to do more of that.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, so like, that other tip I'd have, if you're branching out to social media, is look at what other people are doing. Try, try not copying it exactly, but put your own spin on it. You see a viral reel, do the same thing, but change the words, make it your story, make it your own, and then do different types of things and see what hits well with you. So I'm a business coach as well, and I'm coaching a fitness coach right now who went from 150 followers to 8,000 in his first month. Because this is the advice I told him he found that people like his reaction videos to kind of like surveillance footage. There'll be a surveillance footage of somebody getting beat up and, and he reacts to it. And so that's what I told him to do. I'm like, let's experiment with different things and see what your audience resonates with. So those would be my two biggest tips. I mean, look at what other successful people are doing, but also invest in a business coach. But buy, buy that. I mean, because when you put skin in the game, you're going to take it more seriously. A good, a good business coach or consultant is going to, is not going to be cheap. So prepare to spend five, ten plus thousand dollars. And the way I look at that too is like, if you scoff at that, I would never spend ten grand on a business coach. Yeah, but you, I'm sure you would and probably did spend more on your wedding, on a wedding ring, on a vacation, on your fast food bill during the year. You're spending that money somewhere. So why not invest in yourself in a way that's going to reap humongous returns later? And as we were talking about your, your program with the credit card processing machines, I mean, they invest a little upfront and make that back and then some and then some and then some. So it's like, why wouldn't you. And again, it comes down to skepticism, limiting beliefs, negativity. But I mean, hopefully people listening to this podcast and networking with other successful people realize what's actually possible for.

[A]

No, it's huge, man. And I loved everything that you said. I resonate with that. You know, it's, it's a longevity play. And I always tell people, it's just like, you can never lose money by investing in yourself because at the end of the day, I've From. From everyone that I've invested to, from mentors to conferences, to courses, to books. I take a piece of every little aspect of what I've learned throughout the years. And, dude, I make it my own. And I always tell people this. I didn't reinvent the wheel. I didn't. I'm not freaking Jeff Bezos. I'm not Elon Musk, dude. No, like, I literally, like, just went to somebody who is highly successful in what they do, right? And literally asked them for. For them to mentor me. And I pay them a lot of money. And guys, but it's the same thing. You want to charge a lot of money, guess what they're gonna ask you. Have you ever spent 5, 10, 15, whatever amount, right, for coaching? And if you haven't, how does that come off?

[C]

Right?

[A]

And when you're trying to charge people.

[C]

You'Re asking people to pay you, but you're not willing to pay yourself.

[A]

It doesn't make sense.

[C]

Doesn't make sense, right?

[A]

And I met quite a few people like that, man, where I'm just like, how does that even make sense? Right? And this time, guys, you got to think about it like this for majority of coaches because now you're starting to see quite a few people on the online space, right? In different industries. To me, if a coach who is validated, who is legit, who can actually bring results, isn't charging high enough, I think they're a scam. I'm like, dude, you're only charging how much and you're gonna give me what type of results?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Compared to a coach that's like, hey, dude, I charge a minimum of X amount, you know, 5k, 10k, 15k, whatever it is. And this is the results you're gonna get. Okay, that makes a lot more sense, right? You're charging me for your expertise, your time right.

Now. What would you say the effect. Have you played with AI yet?

[C]

Here and there, yes. I mean, who doesn't use Chat GPT?

[A]

I mean everybody, dude.

[C]

It's like my. My best friend. We have great conversations, me and Chat GPT, but no. Yeah, in like as for images and some video. I'm exploring that right now.

[A]

What are your thoughts on it, man? Do you think it's going to replace. Let's say, do you use appointment setters right now?

[C]

Yep, I think it will eventually.

[A]

Yeah, I'm thinking the same.

[C]

Dude, it's not there yet. We experimented with it in the messaging sucks. I mean, at least the AI we've tried, right? And the thing is My customers want authenticity and they really respect trust. So, like, I can't have AI in there, you know, because it's like, yeah, I'm really struggling with my fitness goals because, you know, my wife died and my. And they're like, great, can you tell me about your, you know, your recent experience? And I'm like, oh my. You know, so I think eventually it will, it's going to get better and better and it's going to get to that point.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[C]

It's a weird time we're living in because conceivably at some point you won't know when you're on a zoom call if you're talking to an AI bot or a real person. Yeah, I think we're going to see that soon in our lifetime for sure.

[A]

I mean, they're making all the videos now, man, where people are generating, you know, money off of AI creators. You know, they make an AI who's a fake person, looks like a real person and they do all types of videos and they're able to generate income off of that. Right. Which is insane to me.

[C]

Right.

[A]

But Ted, what is your opinion on building culture? How big of a team did you end up building during right now with your venture?

[B]

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[E]

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[C]

Yeah, culture is, is important. And I'm not the best team leader because we were talking about this before the cat, the podcast. A lot of people need some hand holding, emotional support. And I'm kind of just like, here's your job, get it done. You know, here's your job and I'm paying you for it. Yeah. And I've always done fine with bosses like that. With me, it's like, I don't need you to be my best friend and I don't need compliments. Just tell me if I'm doing a decent job or not and pay me and I'll do it. But I ended up needing to find a manager who could manage people better than me, who will talk to them about, you know, their dog and their, Their. Their. Their weekend and when it's time for business for me, I don't care to do small talk. I. So anyways, I wasn't the best at establishing culture, so I had to delegate that as well.

[A]

That's actually good, man. That's good that you brought up that point because there's a lot of founders that I've talked to, a lot of, you know, visionary guys, guys that start the company that they think they could do it all. And that happens, and I feel like that's a mistake. But there is people that can do it all. Like for me, for example, dude, I'm not a micromanager. I'm not a type of guy that can run the daily operations. Why? Because, dude, I'm thinking of a million things on how to make the marketing better or the, you know, the bigger picture for the business. So I've always been a big believer to find smarter people than myself to run certain sections of my business. Right. The finances, the operations, the. The revenue. Right. So no, I, I agree with you on that, man. Is that a trait that you came into the business world with from law enforcement, or did you learn that beforehand.

[C]

The trade of delegating? Yeah, I think I mostly learned it from. I mean, probably from some law enforcement experience, but I didn't really trust it in. In business till a. My business coach at the time was like, you got to do it. You got to just hire people. You can't do it all. Yeah. But, you know, in 23, when. And when we were doing the best and the biggest, you know, I think I had 25 people on my team.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But now I think seven or eight. Yeah. Because we've streamlined a lot. You know, you learn over time that, like, maybe it doesn't need two people to do this job type deal and whatnot. But yeah, culture is really important. And, you know, I did hear that. I don't know if you agree with this or not, but I heard this quote that said, expect people that work for you to do 75% as well as you could do it.

[A]

Oh, yeah, I agree with that.

[C]

I will say there are things that people do better than me, like the nice culture, relationship stuff. I would say running the ads, actually doing the ads, not my forte. So anyone I Hire pretty much is going to do better than me. But in general, you know, this may sound bad, but I think if you delegate, expect people to not do as good in a lot of ways.

Which is hard, but if you start at a high enough standard for yourself, like, and that's. I would say, I do, like, really shoot for excellence, like, not 100%, but, like 1,000%, like, do the best, then their 75% will still be excellent, you know, So I don't remember the original question, but. Yeah, no, no, it's.

[A]

It's more talking about, you know, where do you learn.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

That skill of delegation and becoming a leader. Right. Because I feel like, especially in digital marketing, dude, I mean, majority of your employees, are they remote?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. I think that's harder within itself. You know, we were talking about how this Miami office I have, I'm having my entire sales organization moving here in December, but for a reason. Right? Because I see the trends.

[D]

Right.

[A]

Why certain months are slower than other months. Well, okay, all right. They're not taking as many calls. Oh, the dollars are not dialing as many calls. Oh, okay. Why is it inconsistent? And what ends up happening, dude, even with performers, right? Because I've always considered myself decently good at things that I do.

We're human, dude. Sometimes we need encouragement. Sometimes we need to be around other performers in order to stay at the top of the game. Right. Do you agree with that?

[C]

Yes. Yeah. I mean, that cliche saying that you are like the. I don't know what they say, six or seven people you surround yourself, but. Absolutely true. Whether remotely or not. But, like, I think in person's better because we have that human connection. You're seeing them eye to eye.

[A]

Huge.

[C]

But yeah, just that. That. That matters quite a bit. Like who you surround yourself by, who you talk to, who you listen to. And I mean, even if your listeners listening to this podcast that you're. You're then doing something that's going to influence you later, you're doing. You're. You're listening to people seeing people who are acting in ways that you want to act more like. And I mean, you see it in high school, right? The kids that dress in black and they wear all black there with all the other kids at look the same and dress emo.

[A]

Emo kids.

[C]

I just use them as an example. But yeah, like, so if you're surrounding yourself with people who are negative and complainers and lazy, it can rub off on you.

[A]

You're gonna be a complainer and lazy and.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Have Limited beliefs. You know. You know what I call that, man? The force of average. Do not allow the force of average to keep you down, dude, because it happens every freaking day. Right? So, Ted, walk us through the process of. Let's say I wanted to get into fitness. Okay. What would be the process for your company? What do you walk through a client from A to Z? Is it custom? Is like more custom packages? Or do you have a, like a baseline package that people could buy into? What do you have?

[C]

So right now it's gonna be custom based on their goals. And on the free consultation call, we'll talk to them about what their goals are, what they want to achieve, and what they struggle with. Yeah, and that's going to help us figure out roughly, like, how long we should work with them and kind of how closely. So that can kind of dictate the different packages, prices, whatever else. But yeah, it's. They get a custom nutrition plan, custom training plan, and people like that. You know that, you know, if you have a shoulder injury, you're going to get a plan that works around that. If you hate seafood, it's not going to be on your meal plan. The app we have is cool. We just integrated some AI into it, which is really cool. People can take a picture of their meal and it uploads it and breaks down the macros, calories, protein. So, yeah, you know, the custom plan helps. They get accountability through me and my team. I'm. I get on zoom calls every day with clients. My team does as well. I have a few coaches on my team, all of them with backgrounds and as first responders are related to that niche. So, yeah, it's, it's the custom planning, it's the support they get, the accountability for months on end. And we'll kind of tweak their process as they progress because as you know, with fat loss and building muscle, like, sometimes things change and we gotta adjust the process for them. So, I mean, it's, it's great. We've gotten excellent reviews, you know, so far, five stars. Only knock on wood on, on Google. Love it. Which is awesome. You know, I got an impossible amount of testimonials. Just so much social proof. It's. It's crazy. So it's been awesome.

[A]

It's.

[C]

It's really nice to be in a, in a job where, unlike law enforcement, everyone I work with is happy to see me.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And is appreciative of my, my work with them. Right. Law enforcement is not always the case. So it's been, it's Been great, man.

[A]

I love that, brother. And do you have any future plans to expand into any other industry besides fitness?

[C]

Yeah, so right now I'm a business coach and I, I like to help online coaches specifically. It doesn't have to be fitness, but I've learned a lot, you know, and I do well. I don't know of many fitness coaches who do quite as well. I know others that maybe, you know, have a ton of followers and they, they sell lower ticket packages at high volumes. They make a lot of, a lot of money that, but we do really well. So that, that inspired me as we were talking. It's, it's fun to, to walk people through a similar journey that you've been on from the beginnings as an entrepreneur to really making good money and getting lots of clients. So I've been doing that. I've been buying real estate. I'd love to talk to you about real estate. Your thoughts on that? I just bought my first short term rental in North Carolina. I do have some crypto, so I'm, I'm dabbling in a lot of different stuff as an entrepreneur right now.

[A]

Yeah, throwing, throwing, you know, your money in different buckets, man. I mean, it's the way to go, dude. You got to diversify. I think in the next, I'm going to say anywhere between 60 to 90 days, we should be seeing decreases in interest across the board and then it's going to start becoming a buyer's market, especially with everything that Trump's trying to do, which is going to be pretty good. I'm looking forward to it. Luckily, knock on wood, I was able to go ahead and get a buyer for my house because I'm selling my Miami house right now and we're closing actually tomorrow.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So it took about 45 days, dude. It was no joke. Yeah. Because they had to get a jumbo loan for it.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So, but knock on wood, dude.

[C]

How much?

[A]

You can say a little bit north than 33 mil.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So when it gets to like, I guess like the luxury pricing, Right. For homes, I think it's still a seller's market compared to, and this is actually, I got this information from one of my real estate guys. He's saying when you see homes from 400 and up to, let's say around the million dollar home range, that's where people are having more problems with being able to afford because of the interest. Right. Let's say if A home is $400,000 right now, with the interest rate, dude, you're looking at like a fifteen Hundred dollar freaking mortgage payment, bro. And if you're looking at $400,000, $1,500 mortgage payment, that's extremely high, dude. You're, you're paying roughly about 1.5 with interest throughout the duration of 30 years when you go ahead and you add the interest. So that's more than like a million dollars in interest, which is insane when you think about it. Right? So it's just like, who can really afford that? Right? So it's gonna be very interesting in the next couple months. But real estate's always a move, dude. I've never lost real estate. I've been investing since the age of 22, dude. So that's a great move. With that being said, man, where can they go ahead and find you?

[C]

Yeah, so on Instagram, it's fitresponder. So it responder. I ended up buying that name from someone back in the day. It was a $10,000 purchase, but so it's worth it. Super, super worth it.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And fitresponder.com probably the easiest ways to find fit responder. And then stern coaching is my business. Coaching. Love that. Yeah.

[A]

And then also because we are a self help podcast. Okay. Gonna have quite a few people download this episode. Dude, it's gonna be good. A lot of first responders, what would you say is a couple words of encouragement on why all first responders and America should stay fit in 2025?

[C]

Brother, man, I would say fitness is the lowest hanging fruit to leveling up yourself in, in that there's a lot of things you can do to, to improve your life and improve the lives of those around you. I, I, and I may be biased, but I believe fitness is the number one thing to prioritize because everything else flows from how good you feel. Your energy, your health, your vitality. And if you're not taking care of yourself, you cannot be optimal. I don't care if somebody's successful in a lot of different ways. If they're obese and their health is failing them, they're going to be held back significantly. And especially as a first responder, I mean, y' all know it's your duty to be fit. And it's not a matter of if, but when you get called to take action. And this is the crazy part. So I talk to a lot of people who need to work on their fitness, and first responders will tell me and confide in me the time on duty where their fitness failed them, and they'll tell me the story about how they failed in a foot pursuit. Failed in a fight, couldn't get to the victim in time, couldn't help their partner, whatever. And that was what was needed to tell them, okay, I gotta get fit now. You know, they needed to experience that. So my call to action is, don't wait for some crazy red flag incident to tell you it's time to get fit. Like, do it now. You'll never regret it. In fact, the only regret you'll have is, why didn't I do this sooner? And what's great is I have an hour long clip of my former client saying, why didn't I do this sooner? This is the best program. Why didn't I do this earlier? So, yes, if in any way you're thinking, man, I could really improve, I would love to improve my motivation, my energy, my positivity, my productivity. Get fit. Focus on yourself. This machine which holds your brain is a unit. We like to think of mental health as separate from physical health. I think it's all related. And your mental health cannot be optimized and your performance cannot be optimized unless your body is as well. So, yeah, that is my call to action. In a world where over half the population is overweight and obese, we have first responders who are. 70% of them are overweight or obese.

How can you possibly expect to live the longest and best quality life if you're not taking care of yourself? So. So, yeah, do it. Get fit. Let's go.

[A]

It makes perfect sense. And also, you shouldn't have to get into a critical incident or an incident where your life is on the line in order for you to realize, hey, it's time to change. Right?

[C]

Right?

[A]

Yeah, man. I mean, I'm a big believer in it, guys, as you guys know, if you guys been following me or listening to me, in the past year, I've lost over £50 myself and I feel great. No more naps.

[C]

That's awesome. I mean, you look good, dude. Your energy's really good. And this is the thing I hear from my clients, they're like, man, people keep commenting about my energy and my presence and they're like, man, you look good and the way you're acting. So it's not just about how you look in a bikini or a bathing suit. Your identity changes when your physical form changes.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, so, like, you probably look at yourself even though it wasn't that long ago. You look at yourself as when you were overweight and you're like, well, that's not me. And you probably felt that way at the Time. Am I right? You're like, this isn't me. What am I doing in the body?

[A]

Dude, you're absolutely right. I remember I would wake up in the mornings, man, and I'd just be like, what the hell happened to me? You know, And I just felt stuck, man, because I had a lot going on. You know, life happens. Guys, I understand you guys. If you guys are listening to this and let's say you're, you're dealing with health issues or being overweight right now, hey, there's a solution. We have a person right here that can actually help you. Ted's a great guy. Make sure you guys are able to go ahead and see him at Fit Responder. But with that being said, Ted, any other words of motivation that you want to leave with the audience, brother?

[C]

Yeah, I'll just quickly say that, you know, surround yourself, whether it's in person or digitally remotely on social media media with people who are going to inject positivity in your life. 100 that's been a huge thing for me is that I don't follow pages anymore that are negative and complaining. And you know, I, I don't, I don't have friends that are lazy and just want to drink and stuff. You know, I, I want to be around people whether it's in person or on the Internet or on Zooms or on social media who are like minded. So you know, those of you who are listening to, to that podcast that's already this podcast, you're already doing that. You're already taking a step to listen to things in your that are going to level you up. So I guess that's my word of encouragement is like, yes, we're all capable of making good decisions, but you're going to be better capable if you create the environment around you that helps you do that.

[A]

Absolutely. And guys, that is the level up with Ted Stern. Guys, leave a five star review on screen. Spotify, Apple and YouTube. Okay? We are ranked currently top three in business because of you guys. Okay? You guys have been awesome. You guys have been tuning in, listening in, leaving reviews and we've been leveling up the podcast for you. We're going to be dropping more episodes more than ever nowadays where we're going to be sending out three a day including the weekends, guys. So we're pushing volume to provide you guys with more value. With that being said, if you guys want to go ahead and check out Ted, make sure to check out Ted@fitresponder on Instagram. Is that correct? Yeah, fit responder. On Instagram. It's great program to help you guys level up your health in 2025. My name is Paul Alex. We'll catch you on the next one PE.

[B]

Hello listeners, this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week, I take all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything, you'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com to find out more.