I say it each year and professionally speaking, I can say it again: it was our best year ever at RevFit in 2019.
There was so much happening with the business, not just in client success, member retention, etc. but what we’re doing in little ol’ Stow, Ohio continues to get recognition across the globe. That’s not just the power of social media, it’s the power of a great community that we have here. I’m proud to be a part of that and to have a staff that has helped us achieve it. Make no mistake, it happens because we have kick ass clients who are willing and able to put in the work.
We celebrated a decade in business in May of this year and that still blows my mind to this day. Thank you to everyone who made that possible.
As I have done for the last few years, here are some of the things that have happened as I look back on 2019.
One of the biggest things for me was, of course, the release of my second book “A Revolution A Day”. It was a year in the making in terms of the actual work I had to commit to it. However, it compiled the work I’ve done on my podcast, Revolutionary You, since 2016. The reception and the feedback has been better than anything I imagined and it was released to the masses on December 4.
So, let me start with the other component to my writing, this blog. Nearly every Tuesday I release a new article and this year was a banner year for my content that originated here. I have to give special thanks to organizations like The Personal Trainer Development Center for picking several of this year’s articles as their favorites for different weeks throughout this year.
My Top 5 (Most Read) Articles of 2019 Were:
- Weight Watchers Has (Almost) Ruined You
- 11 Ways Loving Someone With Autism Can Make You A Better Human Being
- What Will You Do With The Time You Have Left?
- Yes, You Need To Detox (No, Not That Kind Of Detox)
- You Still Want That Salad?
I’m not sure I will ever be able to top how many people read that Weight Watchers article. A dear friend told me, when she heard I was writing it, that it would probably go viral. She wasn’t kidding. The autism article I actually featured on Medium.com as well and it out-performed what it did on this site so I used those stats in this list.
On the podcast this year, I continued to have many excellent conversations as I hope to continue to have heading into 2020.
My Top 5 Most Downloaded Episodes of 2019 Were:
#203-Lyle McDonald: Strategies For Effective Fat Loss
#171-Greg Nuckols: Considerations For The Strength Training Female
#163-Christian Finn: Introducing MX4
#172-Heather Robertson: The Case For Weight And Dietary Maintenance
#162-James Fell: The Holy Sh!t Moment
In addition, I was honored to be a guest on a handful of podcasts as well. I’m usually asked a lot about things that apply to the personal training industry since this business has accomplished what it has. However, I also get asked about my backstory and history coming into this industry which is colorful to say the least. Every host has their own unique flavor in terms of questions and ability to engage. It never ceases to amaze me how kind all of these individuals are and I do hope that if you listen to any/all of these that you would consider subscribing to these podcasts as well.
The Podcasts I Was Featured On In 2019 (In No Particular Order):
The Empowered Body Podcast with Adam Willis
The Julie Tussey Show with Julie Tussey: Keto Schmeto?
Cool, Calm & Chaotic with Mark Zarate: Making Cannolis
Lift The Bar with Stuart Aitken: Losing Clients, Free Lead Gen On Social Media & His New Book
The Lifestyle Chase With Chris Liddle
And of course, I consumed a ton of books. I read and listen to books at an insane pace. I would love to tell you that I have phenomenal retention but I don’t. I read for pleasure, I read so I can write better, I read to learn how to be better for my clients. There was a lot of fiction this year and a lot of music biographies. I also read a good deal of books I wouldn’t have normally been made aware of if it wasn’t for helping to promote those books on my podcast. My own self-education never ceases. As the adage goes: evolve or die.
1-To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
2-MX4 by Christian Finn
3-Push It Real Good by Nikki Naab-Levy
4-Vegan Bodybuilding and Fat Loss Cookbook by Dr. Anastasia Zinchenko
5-The Anti Diet Approach by Scott Abel
6-The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes
7-The Way Of The Superior Man by David Deida
8-101 Ways To Lose Weight And Never Find It Again by Scott Baptie
9-A Sport And A Pastime by James Salter
10-Coaching Psychology Manual by Margaret Moore, Erika Jackson and Bob Tschannen-Moran
11-A Dull Roar by Henry Rollins
12-Your Brain At Work by David Rock
13-Fooled By Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
14-It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell
15-I’ve Got Something To Say by Danko Jones
16-Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
17-Building A Storybrand by Donald Miller
18-The Elephant In The Gym by Gillian Goerzen
19-Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
20-Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
21-The Holy Sh!t Moment by James Fell
22-A Preferred Blur by Henry Rollins
23-So This Is Permanence by Ian Curtis
24-Angels by Denis Johnson
25-Proud Beggars by Albert Cossery
26-Total Chaos: The Story Of The Stooges by Iggy Pop
27-Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
28-100 Days Of Food Freedom by Ari Snaevarsson
29-Depeche Mode: Monument by Dennis Burmeister and Sascha Lange
30-On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
31-Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division by Peter Hook
32-The Song Machine: Inside The Hit Factory by John Seabrook
33-How To Listen To Jazz by Ted Gioia
34-In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
35-The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura
36-Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
37-Thinking In Bets by Annie Duke
38-Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
39-Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi
40-Individutopia by Joss Sheldon
41-Throwing Rocks At The Google Bus by Douglas Rushkoff
42-The Hacking Of The American Mind by Robert H. Lustig
43-A Mad Dash by Henry Rollins
44-The Mirror Visitor: Book 1-A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos
45-40 Years With A Whistle by Dan John
46-Good Trouble by Joseph O’Neill
47-White Line Fever by Lemmy Kilmister
48-The Simple And Easy Manager by Ned Parks
49-Nadja by Andre Breton
50-Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson
51-A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
52-Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella
53-Winning The Brain Game by Matthew E. May
54-Unbeaten: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World by Mike Stanton
55-Before The Chip III by Henry Rollins
56-Solitary by Albert Woodfox
57-Examine.com Fitness Guide by the Editors of Examine.com
58-In-Between Days by Teva Harrison
59-The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
60-If You See Me, Don’t Say Hi by Neer Patel
61-Gut by Giulia Enders
62-Wait, It Gets Worse by Lydia Slaby
63-Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
64-Fearless by Robb Armstrong
65-Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
66-The Artist’s Journey by Steven Pressfield
67-The Laws Of Human Nature by Robert Greene
68-Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
69-Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson
70-Stop Doing That Sh*t by Gary John Bishop
71-Paris Spleen by Charles Baudelaire
72-Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday
73-The Heart To Start by David Kadavy
74-All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin
75-The History Of Rock ‘N’ Roll In Ten Songs by Greil Marcus
76-Junk by Tommy Pico
77-The IronClad Body Training System by Rafal Mastuszewski
78-The Wealthy Fit Pro’s Guide To Starting Your Career by Jon Goodman
79-The Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald
80-Mute: A Visual Document From 1978 To Tomorrow by Terry Burrows and Daniel Miller
81-Healthy As F*ck by Oonagh Duncan
82-Becoming A Barbarian by Jack Donovan
83-The Complete History Of Black Sabbath: What Evil Lurks by Joel McIver
84-The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelley
85-You’ve Been So Lucky Already by Alethea Black
86-Reading People by Anne Bogel
87-The Messy Middle by Scott Belsky
88-The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, The MC5, And My Life Of Impossibilities by Wayne Kramer
89-Faces In The Crowd by Valeria Luiselli
90-Iron In My Hands by Dave Draper
91-View From The Top by Aaron Miller
92-Embodied Posture by Stacy Dockins
93-The Dry by Jane Harper
94-The Story Of Philosophy by Will Durant
95-Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
96-Gorilla Suit by Bob Paris
97-The Signal And The Noise by Nate Silver
98-Thin Air by Lisa Gray
99-Tinker Dabble Doodle Try by Srini Pillay
100-Chasing Space by Leland Melvin
101-Anxious Kids Anxious Parents by Reid Wilson and Lynn Lyons
102-This Close To Happy by Daphne Merken
103-Bold by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler
104-The Upside Of Stress by Kelly McGonigal
105-Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
106-How The World Sees You by Sally Hogshead
107-Cherry by Nico Walker
108-Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
109-Before The Chop IV by Henry Rollins
110-Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
111-Beyond Control by George Leonard
112-The Content Trap by Bhanat Arand
113-So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell
114-The New Rules Of Marriage by Terrence Real
115-The Wealthy Fit Pro’s Guide To Online Training by Jon Goodman
116-Arbitrary Stupid Goal by Tamara Shopsin
117-Twilight Of The Gods by Steven Hyden
118-The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
119-The Women’s Book on Birth Control & Athletic Performance by Lyle McDonald
120-Children Of Blood And Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
121-Broken Boys/Mending Men by Stephen D. Grubman-Black
122-This Will Make You Smarter by John Brockman
123-The River Widow by Ann Howard Creel
124-The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
125-Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine by Joe Hagan
126-Dreaming The Beatles by Rob Sheffield
127-Victims No Longer by Mike Lew
128-The Wrecking Crew by Kent Hartman
129-Liminal Thinking by Dave Gray
130-Miles & Me by Quincy Troupe
131-Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li
132-Diet Recovery by Matt Stone
133-Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
134-Lean Minded by Mike Howard
135-Living With The Monks by Jesse Itzler
136-The Ice Cathedral by George Leonard
137-Blissful Ignorance by Cassidy Phillips
138-The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
139-A Dream About Lightning Bugs by Ben Folds
140-My Year Of Rest And Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
141-Face It by Debbie Harry
142-Me by Elton John
143-The Hacienda: How Not To Run A Club by Peter Hook
144-This Messy Magnificent Life by Geneen Roth
145-Tropic Of Cancer by Henry Miller
146-Someone Who Will Love You In All Of Your Damaged Glory by Raphael Bob-Waksberg
147-Glute Lab by Bret Contreras
148-Love Is A Mixtape by Rob Sheffield
149-Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson
150-Braving The Wilderness by Brené Brown
151-Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
152-Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
153-Afternoons With The Blinds Drawn by Brett Anderson
154-The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib
155-Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs
156-Healing The Child Within by Charles Whitfield
157-First, Break All The Rules by Don Clifton
158-Peace With Self, Peace With Food by Galina Denzel
159-The Searing Light, The Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division (The Oral History) by Jon Savage
160-Pretty Unhealthy by Dr. Nikki Stamp
And I can’t cap off the year without a highlight of my boys, taken earlier this year. It’s damn near impossible to get them both looking at the camera simultaneously while smiling but a good candid is still priceless.
Lastly, thank you to all of you who read, listened, supported and shared my work over 2019. It means the world to me and I’ll keep putting out the best content that I can.
