Meet Kyle Mastropole

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kyle Mastropole. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kyle below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Kyle with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

My work ethic is from a combination of individuals I have met personally and professionally. It all starts with my Dad. Growing up I can remember going to sleep while my Dad was still at his desk working. I’d wake up, and there he was in the morning, standing in front of the hallway mirror tying his tie to get ready to go to work. He worked a lot, but never seemed flustered, was always calm, and regularly showed up for our games and practices regardless of the long days he had. As I got older, I realized how much he worked to make sure we were all taken care of and I’ve always looked up to my Dad for his work ethic and calm, but strong demeanor.

My first job in high school continued to build on the work ethic my parents instilled in me. I worked at Dairy Queen with a no-nonsense boss named Terry who laid out her expectations and held you to that standard. While she was always there when you needed help and would go out of her way to make sure you had your bearings, it was unacceptable to ask for help if you had put no effort into finding the answers for yourself. Dairy Queen was the ONLY job I’ve ever had where the harder I worked, the more raises I regularly received. Somehow, making ice cream cones at Dairy Queen laid the foundation and prepared me for a career in finding the answers myself so I can lead others, whether they are my clients, employees or interns.

Fast forward to college as an Exercise Science major at Sacred Heart University. My professor and academic advisor was a guiding light when I was struggling with my classes to the point that I was on academic probation and at risk of being kicked out of school. Professor Ronai would teach his courses and back every point to no end, referencing all these research papers from memory on any given topic. I knew that if I were going to be anywhere close to as successful as him I’d have to be able to reference research papers at any time and show that I was the most knowledgeable candidate for any job opportunity that would present itself in the future. After graduating, I began to hold myself to a standard that I hadn’t before and that was to learn something new every single day. I began reading research journals and taking meticulous notes from every paper so I would have a record of the important details to reference when needed. I still have these four or five notebooks ten years later. While reading every day I noticed the same authors and university listed for multiple studies I had been interested in reading, and that was from the University of Tampa. I applied for their Master’s Degree in Exercise and Nutrition Science and began reaching out to the head of the Human Performance Lab responsible for all of these published papers, Dr. Jacob Wilson. The funny thing is I began inquiring about internships and graduate assistantships before I even got into the program and by the time I finally did get accepted, I had reached out enough times that he was finally open to an interview and extended a position to me. I worked in the human performance lab and also worked my way up in the sports performance department to the head strength and conditioning coach for basketball at the University of Tampa. These were two of the four jobs that I worked while obtaining my master’s degree. Being in the lab with Dr.Wilson was a similar experience to learning under Professor Ronai and the extensive learning experience that was provided. Having previous work with collegiate athletes on my resume got me introduced to Coach Jason Lane who was also working in the lab at the same time. Jason was one of the kindest individuals you could ever come across and was tough as nails at the same time with his high standards for both his athletes and himself. He liked my previous experience as a strength and conditioning coach and let me join in on his current research project. This relationship built and I had the privilege of working alongside him for over a year. The trust and respect his athletes gave him changed the way I approached my work. His athletes would run through a wall if he told them to, and they knew his guidance would never lead them astray. To this day, I model my relationships after what he taught and showed me, including being there for your clients, whether it be 6:00am or 6:00pm, you show up and show them you care for them and that you’re working your butt off for them.

Today, there are still individuals coming into my life who continue to improve my work ethic. A client of mine recently passed away, leaving an impression I’m sure she never realized she had left on me. Her name was Barbara. Barbara had Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome that over time resulted in multiple broken bones, in addition to cancer and chronic respiratory issues. She lived alone and her circumstances were some that would make many quit, but she never did. Her goal was to be able to walk on her own again before she passed away. In order to reach her goal she had three sessions per week between myself and her physical therapist where she pushed herself to the max. She never stopped pushing forward to the end, and this has instilled a new work ethic in myself, one that says “There are zero excuses, Barbara pushed through worse, get it done”.

All of these individuals still impact my work ethic today. My Dad taught me what hard work is and to always have my best foot forward, along with a plan to keep moving forward. Terry taught me to take responsibility for my work and guide others to build a better environment for everyone. Professor Ronai taught me to keep seeking answers and that there is always more to learn to help improve my skills. Dr.Wilson showed me that there are always multiple ways to solve a problem, you just have to do your research to know the best one for your client’s situation. Jason taught me that caring for others, while also outworking the competition, will build lifelong relationships and trust that would allow me to shine as a professional. Barbara taught me that no circumstances can define who you are and moving forward is the only option. Grateful is an understatement for how I feel about what so many people have done to build my work ethic up throughout my lifetime.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I run two award-winning concierge personal training businesses in the Bay Area, California, The Bay Fitness and Sonomarin Senior Fitness. Both businesses bring the experience of the personal training studio to the comfort of the client’s home. To date, we’ve received nine awards between both businesses, with The Bay Fitness being three years old and Sonomarin Senior Fitness being one year old. The Bay Fitness has won three business awards and five individual awards for our staff as some of the best health and wellness professionals in Marin County, CA. Sonomarin Senior Fitness has an award as one of the top elder services in Marin County, CA, being named to this list after just half a year in business. These accolades are no accident. We pride ourselves on being not only the best in the area, but some of the best in the industry. We require higher education and more experience than the industry standard and make it our mission to change the lives of our clients. Our clients have seen results such as coming back from a leg injury to receiving all-district accolades in football, another client improving their walking ability to go from needing a walker to being able to carry the groceries in all by themselves without assistance from a cane or walker and a client running a marathon after a hip injury had stopped them from simply running down the street. Our attention to detail is the difference in spotting if somebody uses one leg more than the other, leans more one way or incorporates the wrong muscles into a movement.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

A strong work ethic has been the most impactful aspect of my journey. It has allowed me to constantly develop on my skills and not be complacent with wins that come along the way. It also adds a level of competitiveness to my endeavors as I simply cannot allow anyone to outwork me on my path to building the leading personal training company in the area. I want people to know that the best care comes from The Bay Fitness and Sonomarin Senior Fitness and anything less than that is unacceptable.

People early in their journey should turn to seasoned veterans in their field for guidance to help them build a long-term path to success. One of my internships was at Seton Hall University. I showed up every day as an unpaid intern ready to learn and ask questions. I learned from three phenomenal strength and conditioning coaches who never turned down an opportunity to teach me new techniques and concepts. This experience led to the next internship where I learned from more individuals, which then led to the next job, and then another. Learn from everyone you can along the way, for better or worse. In some cases, you may learn what not to do based on someone’s behavior, but this is still a learning experience nonetheless and it gives you a chance to hypothesize what you could do better. Seek help, be ready to learn and always question how you can do better for the people you serve.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

There is certainly a mix of the two in this answer. It is important to constantly improve on your strengths and be seen as an expert in your specialties. It is also important to always broaden your knowledge because you never know what those you serve may need from you next. While you do not need to be an expert on every topic, having broad knowledge within your field allows you to guide more people on their journey, in our case a fitness journey. Beyond this, having the best team around you plays a large role in the areas in which you are not an expert. My businesses have a scope of practice which we do not stretch. This makes our relationships with local physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists and other health professionals extremely important to be able to refer out to when needed. While this may seem like we lose business in sending clients to other professionals, it actually builds trust with our client base as they know we can be an ultimate resource for their health. At the moment, we have a number of clients that we work with simultaneously with, in our opinion, the best physical therapist in the area, Dr.Josh Madonick of BaseCamp Physical Therapy in Petaluma, CA. Our clients are happy they get the extensive care of a high-level physical therapist in addition to our work together, and we all communicate to ensure the best care is being provided as a team rather than individuals. We have seen this build business both ways and our clients enjoy having the eyes of now two professionals constantly overseeing them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thebayfitness.com; www.sonomarinseniorfitness.com
• Instagram: @the_bay_fitness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBayFitness
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylemastropole/

Image Credits

Certain Gravity Photography & Studio Iverson