ML Coaching
In this blog post I'll share a bit about my story and my path to becoming a 19-time international fitness cover model.
How it all started
Originally I was into artistic gymnastics, until a meniscus injury sidelined me at age 17. A 9-month rehab phase followed, during which I first came into contact with strength training. At first I kept having pain in the meniscus area and didn't really dare to load my legs properly again. Luckily I had a great physiotherapist back then, who taught me from the start to gradually work my way back up to full load. My knee actually kept improving, so that after a while I was able to do squats with full load again. At the same time, I noticed that my body responded really well to strength training, and I was able to make fast progress accordingly. I enjoyed it so much that it turned into a real passion, and I wanted to learn more and more about training and nutrition. This led me to train as a certified fitness trainer and nutritionist.
Career as a bank client advisor
Despite my passion for strength training and the qualifications I'd earned, after finishing business-focused high school I decided to start a banking internship for secondary school graduates. Even back then I had it in the back of my mind that I might turn my hobby into a career one day, but I first wanted to build a solid foundation with my career at the bank. Since I enjoy working with people and value client contact, I became a client advisor for high-net-worth private clients at a major Swiss bank. Even so, despite the workload and the many client events that come with being a client advisor, I never lost sight of my hobby. Even at 100% workload at the bank, I regularly trained 8-10 hours a week. That obviously required a lot of organisation to make both things work. The key to success was always high efficiency, both at the bank and in training.
I also used my vacation time at the bank to attend various elite courses over the years in the USA, England and Spain. My mentors include world-renowned coaches Charles Poliquin (www.strengthsensei.com) , Wolfgang Unsoeld (www.ypsi.de) and Alan Aragon (www.alanaragon.com). Through all these courses, plus years of experience as an athlete, I was able to massively grow my knowledge over the years.
The bathroom encounter at FIBO
Even during my time at the bank, a lot of people saw my potential as a fitness cover model. So I started standing in front of the camera as a hobby with local Swiss photographers, and I had a dream of being the first Swiss person on the cover of a truly well-known fitness magazine. Having a dream is one thing. But actually making it happen and getting discovered is another. There were also plenty of skeptics who thought it was impossible for a "small Swiss guy" to make it against such huge international competition, especially from the USA. Still, I believed in my dream and dove into a lot of books on the psychology of success at the time. That fundamentally changed my mindset, and it became clear to me that anything is possible if you're given the right platform. So what does that mean? I realised I had to show up in the place where a lot of important people from the industry were meeting. So I prepared intensively for FIBO 2013 (one of the largest fitness trade shows in the world) and got my body into peak shape for that event.
My goal was to stand out as much as possible there, so I showed up shirtless. As chance would have it, I was approached in the bathroom by the publisher of a major international fitness magazine. He said I should come to Los Angeles to pose for a few shoots. There was no talk of a cover yet at that point. Still, I was completely stunned and couldn't quite process what had just happened.
The trip to Los Angeles
A few months passed, and I decided to book 3 weeks of vacation at the bank to make the trip to Los Angeles in November 2013. One of my best friends, Michael Bachmann, came along. The first shoots followed, and the initial feedback was huge. Many of the photographers compared me to the fitness legend Greg Plitt and said I had massive potential. My special edge was my abs, which are very deep-cut and symmetrical, exactly what the industry is looking for. One of the photographers said I'd land my first cover within a few months.
Michael and I travelled on to San Diego and kept talking about the shoots the whole time. When I asked Michael on the beach in San Diego whether he thought I'd land my first cover, he said it probably wouldn't happen. For both of us it felt so surreal, but somehow I believed in it. Almost 7 months passed, and in June 2014, it happened – my first cover for Muscle & Fitness, one of the most well-known fitness magazines in the world with 7 million readers. The excitement and joy I felt that day are impossible to put into words.
The breakthrough and the path to self-employment
My first cover really made waves, and I quickly became well known on social media. Many client inquiries for personal training followed, and I started training people alongside my 100% workload at the bank. Since I focused on results-driven personal training from the very start and my clients achieved fast results, I got a lot of referrals. As demand for personal training grew so high, the door to self-employment opened up. So I ended my employment at the bank and became self-employed literally overnight. Nearly 3 years have passed since then, and I don't regret that decision at all. I wake up every day now and get to do what fulfils me with passion and makes me happy. Passing on my knowledge to other people and helping them get back in shape and feel better in everyday life, that's a wonderful feeling, and it's what I love so much about this job.
19-time international cover model
At first I already felt very lucky to land 1 cover, but there turned out to be more. The photographers' prediction came true, and to this day I've landed 19 international covers on the most well-known fitness magazines. In 2015 I was named the most successful fitness model in Europe.
All your dreams can come true, if you have the confidence and courage to pursue them.
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