You Get the Super-Short Version First; and Then the Long “Summary” Version w/ Photos Below…
You might be surprised to know that I’m a ‘simplifier’… I like to simplify ‘things’ in order to multiply results.
In this day and age, most others are complicating matters and making things more complex in efforts of differentiation – which brings on certain dysfunctions and unfavorable outcomes… So I move in the ‘opposite direction’… I prefer to SIMPLIFY…
I’m the…
1 – Crafty inventor of the SCULPTAFIT(TM) “All-In-One” Home-Gym Fitness Training Unit (Pro and Personal models) **LAUNCHING on Kickstarter late April 2018**
2 – Founder and Chief Enhancement Orchestrator of SCULPTAFIT Studios
3 – Host of ‘The Fitness Whisperer’ Podcast, Author of ‘Fatness to Fitness’ and creator of numerous fitness DVDs and private online videos which have been purchased by clients around the world since 2006
4 – Creator of ‘The Atlas Way’/FIT for LIFE Private Online Training Zone (You can Join FREE Here)
5 – And on a very limited basis, I also take on private coaching and consulting clients around the world (high-level executives, entrepreneurs, celebrities, pro athletes, etc…) In certain cases this may also include a SCULPTAFIT(TM) “All-In-One” Fitness Training Unit sent to your home(s) and or office locations.
The Longer Version of ‘About Joey’
Before we get into ‘the Story’, I first need to answer the question; “Is Atlas really your last name?”
‘Atlas’ is my pen/professional name. ‘Gennusa’ is my actual last name, the one on my birth certificate.
Back when I first started my fitness career, my first private client and life-long friend, Mike Letis, said “You need a name people can say, spell, remember and share.”… We came up with ‘Atlas’ and it has stuck ever since… Now let’s get into the juicy stuff…
I Wasn’t Always In Great Healthy Shape
It’s true. I wasn’t always in great, healthy shape…
As a matter of fact – there were times in my life when I was in bad shape, really bad shape…
So I’ll let you know, right up front – I’m no different than you. I’m human.
I’m not a ‘perfect guru’ or a flawless example of perfection that everyone can see but can never replicate.
Rather, I’m someone who has traveled the hard miles and developed a unique perspective on wellness and an innovative approach to fitness (simplified, uncomplicated), who has lots to share with people who want to turn their own lives around for the better… Not just your body – but also, more importantly, your state-of-mind.
Even if it’s not a “radical turnaround” you need – I can help guide you toward the proper adjustments in mindset and habits to get you to a strong, balanced place to live your life from.
And here’s why…
I’ve had my ups and downs in life. And through those ups and downs, there were ebbs and flows in my levels of commitment to a fitness-focused lifestyle…
There were even dysfunctional periods that ultimately ended up helping me get to the balanced state of mind I live through today… A realistic state of well-being, health and living life to the fullest…. Moving toward goals that are meaningful, important and impactful.
Although I started life as “the short, fat kid” – I was fortunate enough to have a father who exercised on a regular basis – being the example that would set me on the path of my life…
From a very young age – I could see the difference between my father and the other adults in my life… He was stronger, more energetic, healthier, happier – and well-liked…
Most other adults were weak in their actions, looked out of shape and depressed, complained of aches, pains and issues on a regular basis – and were generally not happy people…
On a broader scale, my dad’s fitness friends were also ‘super human’ in my eyes. They took care of themselves and lived on a higher level of life. They knew a secret most other people simply didn’t know – or just chose to remain ignorant about…
I, so very clearly, saw the impact that mindset, values and choice of lifestyle habits made on one’s existence and I knew which path I would take in my own life. I knew I wanted to be ‘super natural’…
I would pick up the weights from a very early age… using smaller dumbbells and barbells, doing push-ups, dips, assisted pull-ups, chin-ups, sit-ups, etc…
In the ‘70s, rules were soft and my dad would bring me to the gym on the weekends, where I would get further immersed in the culture, the mindset and the ‘ways’… Those experiences were shaping me, influencing me, exposing me to the subtle, yet powerful, principles of anti-aging, and living life in strength and higher health…
Into my teens I went – and the desire to be my best grew stronger. MY best friend joined a local gym with me and we set out as training partners as soon as we were of driving age… 16 years old and we were into a training routine that we fit-in with work, soccer practice, games, studies and a busy social life.
College was spent at SUNY Buffalo, New York – and training led to competing… This meant full commitment to a regime, strict dieting at certain times of year and sacrifices along the way… I learned so much, about myself and other people… I learned about the mind.
During that time I also realized I wanted to make “fitness” my career. It only took 5 changes in career path but “Exercise Physiology” would become my major…
I back-burnered the idea of becoming a doctor or a physical therapist because I saw myself working with people who also wanted to become ‘super natural’… and not just be ‘ok’.
I wanted to help people who wanted to take care of themselves instead of relying on the medical system to keep them alive and well.
So I started an in-home and in-office personal training business, while finishing my final semester, which was actually an internship in corporate fitness at PEPSI Headquarters, which was in Somers, New York at the time.
It wasn’t long before my schedule was booked solid and I was running non-stop covering clients from Greenwich, CT to Scarsdale, NY – sometimes even venturing into NYC and northern NJ… Even with the hiring of 5 other trainers to help handle the increasing client load, I was getting burnt out bigtime…
As 1999 drew closer, I had my mind set on following through on my dream of moving to Florida before the age of 30. With a wife and 2 young kids, it was going to be a tough move, but it was time…
I moved down first, to look for career options, while living with friends in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL – and my wife and kids would follow about 3 months later. Several weeks of searching for work that would match my higher-level abilities came up short…
I decided to open a personal training studio, with a focus on golfers only. Ponte Vedra is a HUGE golf community (PGA Tour headquarters, etc…) and I had a special approach to training golfers that brought uncanny results…
That first marriage was rocky to begin with (the younger me made life decisions based on insecurities and lack of wisdom) and the move to FL just accelerated the inevitable.
My spirit was almost dead, but I wanted to live… I knew what had to be done, not just for my sake – but also for my kids. I didn’t want them growing up in the belief that dysfunction was the norm.
Divorce #1 was in motion by late 2000 and I was technically homeless from the moment of ‘the decision’ to part ways…
Financially, we were upside down – and even so, I took on all the debts, while trying to get the PT studio off the ground and profitable.
The studio became my ‘home’. For 1 year and 3 months, the massage room was my bedroom.
The weekends when I had my kids, I’d get a hotel room. Yes, everyday was a massive challenge – but I met each day with a smile – knowing I was growing toward my best potential and there was something much grander beyond the horizon, and eventually I would see it… But it would be some time before that would happen…
I eventually was able to save-up just enough to buy an old townhouse during the time when banks were issuing loans to just about anyone. Fortunate I was…
After a bit of dating, I met someone new, but I was still living in my insecurities and making choices based on dysfunctions of my upbringing that I wasn’t yet unaware of… Marriage # 2 would become official very soon…
While I speak of the dysfunctional marriages and painful divorces – I must add here that these were both necessary parts of the journey. Necessary for me to be fueled to evolve toward my best potential, and for bringing 3 incredible kids into existence.
I would not be the person I am today – and my kids wouldn’t be in this world – if it weren’t for the 2 growth-inducing, potential-igniting marriages and divorces. More about that later.
The story continues…
Around this time I’m in my early 30’s and I’m fighting life from all angles. Both on the outside and on the inside…
On the outside, my former spouse and ‘at the time spouse’ were so hateful toward each other, and the animosity manifested in the worst ways possible. Fabricated allegations, child abuse accusations, child protective service proceedings, court hearings, and then some…
The battles were out of control, and at times I’d feel as if I was living in a movie…
But this was all real. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Just the tip…
On the inside – every minute of the day and night was a test of physical strength, mental fortitude and spiritual perseverance. Some days were only survivable by hanging on to a tiny strand of spiritual perseverance, nothing more.
I never blamed anyone else for where I was, at that point in my life. Wherever I was and whatever I was going through was all by my choice. I was responsible for what I was experiencing.
And by keeping that in mind – I knew I’d be able to change how my life looked and how I was living in it. Exactly how and when – I didn’t have the answer to that just yet…
Also, on the inside, I was battling my own dysfunctions and unaddressed issues. My codepencies on food, my emotional attachment to chocolate, cakes, pasta, breads, pizza – you know, all the things that ‘healthy and fit people’ can avoid so easily, or simply eat ‘in moderation’…
I grew up in a traditional Italian household, where food was life. And there was so much good stuff, so often, it was hard to not overeat, constantly.
But, as life progressed, food became my drug. An insidious addiction that was legal and far too easy to abuse. The more challenging life became the more I turned to food. Finding happiness in food was something I knew I’d have to fix at some point.
At around the 5 year mark of marriage number two, D day had come again. Despite many, MANY months of counseling and ‘trying’ – the vinegar and water simply could not mix. And the decision was made.
We took an amicable approach, placing our daughter’s well-being as a top priority, and mediated things in a way that made sense. Onward we went, despite the horrible financial constraints we were under…
I had more mountains to climb, but first I had to make it out of the deepest valleys…
Part of climbing my way out of the valleys involved many hours of introspection, soul searching, spirit awakening, wisdom seeking…. And self evolution. I had to decide which version of me I wanted to be, what it would take to become that – and then make the commitment to take action.
I simply wanted to become the best version of myself. I decided I want to reach my best personal potential – or at least keep striving toward it, as I expanded it.
I started paying attention to my health profile, my medical stats, how I felt, how my clothes fit, my nutrition habits, my thoughts, my mindset…
I began to take my own professional advice… setting specific goals, creating habits of improvement, instead of habits of destruction.
I developed a more mindful approach to my days, my actions, and my thoughts. Slowly my relationship with food shifted from a codependent one to a functional one. And my consistent fitness training became a non-negotiable priority, BECAUSE my health and well-being became a priority…
I wanted to be around for my kids’ adult lives and for my future grandkids – and that meant daily investment in ME, now. And I also wanted to give my future lady the best me possible as well. It became a mission about TOTAL LIFE. All in.
Around this time I had also realized I needed to reach more people around the world with my unique approach to fitness and health. So, I started creating my own online videos, DVDs, and e-books. I would stay up into the latest hours, teaching myself how to build websites and do online marketing – so I could reach the people who did not have local access to me…
I also began designing a machine to enable and augment my unique methods of natural body-weight fitness training. My intent was to build a machine that would allow me to do everything I was doing on various playgrounds – so I could do them indoors, no matter what the weather was like outside
Around 2006 I was getting burnt out again. I was training clients from 5am until 9pm and then working on the internet side of things whenever I could find the time, which was overnight sometimes…
Something had to change.
And I realized the income being generated by my online sales of my programs was rising every month and if it kept going, I could close the personal training studio and focus all my efforts on the global audience via the internet…
I put my head down and kept going. Still minding my fitness and nutrition yes, but all extra time was for my kids and for the online business building.
By 2010 I had closed the 1-on-1 studio and was totally “online”. People all over the world were LOVING my methods and wanting even more… I was finally out of the darkest valleys and starting to climb mountains…
Something else was brewing too…
I finally found a design engineer and a fabrication team to help make my fitness training unit a reality. I had it built and delivered. Training on it was like living a dream. Only it was real now. A dream come true… But the dream would get even bigger yet.
Would reality be able to match the dream? Time would tell…
Friends and family would come visit and train with me. In awe of the sessions and how they felt in such short, simple sessions – they would all make comments of encouragement… saying how I should try to get these machines and the methods out to many other people, that “this would be a huge hit…”.
Easier said than done, right?
I did file the words of support and the enthusiasm away, in my mental file-cabinet, knowing I’d revisit them when it became time to “make something happen”.
Some years went by and this vision of small group fitness studios with my machines in them, kept coming to mind. The visions became more vivid and I could see the impact this could have on the world, as I’ve been well aware of the population segments that don’t have the proper venue for fitness – but need it in the most profound ways…
In early 2015, I knew…. “It’s time to do this.”
In making that decision, I already calculated the amount of time, energy and money it was going to take, but I still went for it. And here’s why:
The idea of NOT doing it bothered me far more than the vision of actually moving forward and DOING IT. Knowing what I have could make a radical positive impact on so many people felt like I was ‘chosen’ to bring this into existence. It was my responsibility.
After many intense days, weeks and months, I FINALLY opened the first SCULPTAFIT Studio in Saint Johns, Florida.
The vision had become a REALITY.
We had our first official classes on Monday, June 6th, 2016, with several dozen ‘Founder Clients’ and we’ve been growing ever since…
With all this exposure of the new machines and the methods they allow for, lots of clients began asking;
“Will these ever be for sale?”
“Could someone buy one for the house?”
“Are you going to open more studios?”
“What about men? – Our husbands need this too…”
And that positive feedback has further fueled the grand vision – to get this ‘new way’ into the lives of as many people as possible. And those are the next steps.
In time there will be more studios (a version for men too), and The SCULPTAFIT(TM) “All-In-One” Fitness Training Unit will also be available for your home. (Official Launch is in late April 2018!)
And as we journey toward those next steps, I still want to reach people, at deeper levels, with stronger modes of communication – and this multimedia web property is exactly that…
In my “spare time” I decided to created The Fitness Whisperer Podcast, The Atlas Way Blog, and The Atlas Way TV video channel… Plus to the Free “Fit for Life” Fitness Training program, because…
I have lots to say, lots to share and lots of positive impact I need to make. It’s why I’m here.
So before I close out this summarized version of “About Joey”, I want to say…
Thank you for being here, thank you for reading my story, and thank you for caring enough about yourself to seek out proper information to help you get the most out of yourself and your life…
It’s an honor to be able to help you.
Let’s get moving,
Joey Atlas