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

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.

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]

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]

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]

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]

Find Ted Stern

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

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.