Meet Richard Bell

We had the good fortune of connecting with Richard Bell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Richard, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The idea of starting my own Sports Performance Business started after reading one of the books written by the late Charles Poliquin back in 2002. After reading his book, “Modern Trends in Strength Training” I was quickly on a plane to Cleveland Ohio to attend one his seminars on sports performance for athletes. I actually paid him $400 in cash to sit with him in a room privately to discuss strength and conditioning and how I could improve as a coach. Crazy as it sounds, Coach Poliquin gave me $300 dollars of my money back and invited me out to Arizona where his private facility was located to attend another seminar a month later. After seeing his weight room I knew right then and there if I was going to seperate myself from my peers I needed to begin creating my own professional brand within the community of Evergreen and beyond. In 2006 I opened Rich Barbell Fitness and Sports Conditioning LLC and never looked back.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My goal starting out 30 years ago was to set myself apart from others within the community I’ve called home for 30 years now. I’m always consulting with coaches around the United States and staying abreast with the latest research in the field of strength and conditioning. I would be lying if I said I don’t pay much attention to my competitors in the community and what and how they are providing their training services. But at the end of the day individuals are paying people like myself for a premium service, and my ultimate goal is to make sure GOALS are met in a timely fashion, and the client/athlete enjoys and learns from the experience. Getting to this point wasn’t easy, but I’m sure most of the coaches ready this can agree they didn’t just hit the ground running with lots of clients and a full schedule 5-6 days a week with highly motivated clients. I cleaned equipment when things were slow, and provided equipment orientations to new members until I could begin training clients on the gym floor and actually making money. The advice I would give individuals starting out would be to stay diligent and reach out to coaches who have been there and done it in the fitness and industry. I’ve trained pregnant women, and seniors before I recruited my first high school athlete.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Almost everyone visiting the Evergreen area wants to see the wild life. That would be one thing I would do, and the night life on the weekend would be local and or the Denver area. The Little Bear in Evergreen is an historic land mark known around the United States, and most visitors want to check it out.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The list of individuals who to this day have and still are part of my team is quite long. I’ve done the numbers and estimate I’ve trained over 500 individuals including high school and college athletes. Everyone of them in all seriousness have taught me so much about what it takes to be a coach in the sports performance field. I’ve failed at the business side starting out, but in the end my team of clients and athletes were there for me and with me through out. Having the support of family always helps get you through the tough times as well. I’m reading more and more books on human behavior as not every individual walking into my weight room has the same drive or personality as the last person who just left. So I have to quickly shift my mind set on the spot in order to make sure that individual has the best 60 minutes possible and leaves feeling better then when walked in. In the end I give thanks to all of the individuals I’ve worked with in the past and present. And of course my wife and daughters, and the coaches who continue to answer my calls and emails when I have a question.

Website: https://Richbarbellfitness.com