About Roger

The Short Version:

Bootcamp

The Long-Winded Version:

If you’re sticking around for this one, let’s get more comfortable and flip this over to first person. Shall we?

As I write this today, I am a personal fitness trainer who has interacted with over one thousand clients over the course of six-plus years. I have worked immersively with two-hundred of them in my Relentless Transformation program.

Most come to my studio – Relentless Fitness – because they are either dissatisfied with the status quo or aspiring to something currently beyond it. Either way, they come in pursuit of physical change.

For a personal trainer, my background is unorthodox. I grew up as a slightly chubby kid with no athletic background and without the benefit of infallible genetics.

How was my nutrition then? Let’s just say my balanced diet consisted of TV dinners, soda, PopTarts and TastyKakes. I shudder to think how much that has set me back.

With fitness nowhere on my radar, academics was my focus, and I graduated college firmly believing that my future was in finance. A few years into my Wall Street career as a bond trader, I realized that my passions lay elsewhere. And so I left. Abruptly. Maybe (likely) stupidly.

It turned out that my naive decision to jump benefited me in the long-run. It gave me time to back into my calling. While I was busy with college, bond trading and scattered software endeavors, I became more and more fascinated with nutrition and exercise.

The fascination began with a freshman-year education in weight lifting from a good friend in a sweltering 4th floor Philadelphia apartment. Next I entered a Body for Life contest and dropped 30+ pounds, witnessing for the first time the power of focused nutrition.

The pieces continued to fall into place through the finance days. I awoke bleary eyed at 4:30am several times a week to exercise alongside co-workers with a personal trainer named Mike. I remember looking at Mike and thinking “that’s not a bad gig.”

After leaving finance and having more free time on my hands, friends asked me for exercise and nutrition programs. I happily obliged. Results were overwhelmingly positive.

Then came the epiphany. One fine spring day with the sun streaming into my Philadelphia apartment (warning: nostalgia is making that day sound more glamorous as time passes) one satisfied friend said “you really should do something with this”.

Seven simple words set off a chain of certifications, a job at a local big gym, and a whirlwind A.E. (after epiphany) year one of complete immersion in personal training, class instruction, and my own fitness progression.

Year two was marked by the creation of Relentless Fitness as a home-to-home and outdoor training company.

Year three introduced the Relentless Transformation program and a brand new Relentless Fitness studio home, alongside my partner and kid-trainer extraordinaire, Relentless Riss.

Years four and five were an incredibly fulfilling journey of growth, Relentless Team expansion, and they culminated in Relentless Fitness being named Best of BeWell Philly 2012.

Looking back at the first five years, one thing is abundantly clear:  this is my passion, there is nothing else I’d rather be doing, and I will work like hell to get better at what I do each and every day.  Above all else, I stand behind that as my number one qualification for the job of contributing to your own health journey.

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What’s Next?

Outside of Philadelphia expansion, I’m exploring virtual frontiers to provide information for anyone, anywhere, anytime to improve their fitness levels.

Relentless Nutrition is my attempt to answer the #1 question I receive as a personal trainer: what should I eat?  The book is rooted in reality – an expression of what’s worked for myself and my clients.  It’s my first foray into writing, and it won’t be the last.

Another frontier that will be a huge part of the journey is podcasting. I’ve had a blast producing Relentless Roger and The Caveman Doctor alongside my co-host Dr. Colin Champ.  Tony Federico and I have recently released Powerful Personal Trainer, a resource for aspiring and current personal fitness trainers.  And of course, The Relentless Life exists to provide actionable lessons from real-life client stories.

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Randomness:

Still reading? If so, all formality is officially out the window. I’ll close with some completely random facts:

  • I credit the literary cocktail of The Four-Hour Workweek and The Count of Monte Cristo (unabridged) as the fuel for my Wall Street departure.
  • I won the first ever blog contest hosted by NYT bestselling author Tim Ferriss. The prize resulted in a 16 day trip through Japan and a conversation with Tim to plan it.
  • My preferred vice is a good glass of bourbon or scotch.
  • I’m a Philadelphia sports fanatic and to this day one of my fondest memories is attending the Phillies World Series clincher in 2008, spraying champagne in the parking lot, and parading down Broad Street.
  • Somewhat ironically my passion for seeking the perfect cup of coffee increases daily, as my tolerance for caffeine recedes to that of a baby.
  • I’m afraid of heights, yet I’ve skydived, rock climbed in Joshua Tree, and ascended Mt. Fuji. The former two nearly killed me.

And You?

It’s your turn, and I’d love to hear from you! What brought you here and what are you seeking to accomplish in your own life?

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