Matty Fusaro is the owner and writer of Fusarofitness.com and an Online Fitness and Nutrition Coach from the Long Island, NY area committed to helping people look, feel and perform their best. Over the past several years Matty has helped thousands of people achieve and surpass their fitness and health goals, and is am driven to help thousands live the life they want.

Note from StrengthPortal: This interview was recorded from a phone call with Matty and then transcribed by me. Some sections may be edited slightly for an easier read.

Matt: Could you tell the fitness professionals who use our online coaching software where your journey into fitness first started and how it led to what you do today?

Matty: As a young kid I was always athletic. Hockey, baseball, whatever season it was you’d find me outside playing that sport. I also really loved food (laughing). At the end of the day I could be found on the couch falling asleep with a bag of chips and a soda next to me. I was pretty much negating all of the work that I was doing. Up until my late teens and early 20’s I was actually extremely insecure and I had to deal with this for a long time. I was the kid who would go to the beach and always keep my shirt on. It just wasn’t a comfortable way to live, especially when you’re 18/19. You want to be more outgoing instead of shy and insecure. So I figured something had to change. My two brothers were really into fitness. One went into the military and sent pics a year later showing how incredibly jacked he looked. The other brother was genetically blessed (laughing). I was a bit envious and couldn’t even do a single pullup at the time. This all led me to digging into strength and fitness articles so I could start working to improve. I found a few YouTubers who were around my age and that I could relate to. From there I just started to commit myself to this self-improvement project more and more.Of course I did it the wrong way to start. I dropped a ton of weight by not eating enough and doing a ton of cardio. I had no idea how to lift weights or create a workout program. I just knew that I wanted to lose weight and wasn’t happy. After losing all this weight I still felt terrible and didn’t look the way I wanted to. Things just weren’t going right. This was about the time where I really started to do my research. I started my Youtube channel back in 2011 and showed my 6 month transformation. At this time I was still a little bit brainwashed by everything I had read. I still thought that you had to eat every 2 to 3 hours, for example. It really ended up damaging my social life. I wasn’t able to go to work without taking a break to get my meals in. Various relationships during that time frame just weren’t working out for me. I had never really taken the time to sift through the research to find out that this just wasn’t necessary. That’s when I started to read Alan Aragon, Lyle McDonald, and other guys who were writing science-based health and fitness information. I started to implement their research into my Youtube videos and began to grow a following.

After receiving thousands of emails from people thanking me for my Youtube videos I decided to get into online coaching this past year. I’ve been able to help lots of people by putting out free content and I reached the point where it was time to take the next step and grow a business through the Fusaro Fitness brand. It was a little tough for me to make the switch because I enjoyed putting out free content to help as many people as possible, but The Strength Guys, who are friends of mine, really helped me see that through coaching I could help certain people even more. The original reason that I started my channel was to just share my story and relate to people who were going through the same things. I had originally gone to school for marketing and was still working in restaurants at that point. I had one of those moments where everything clicked so I quit my restaurant job to start growing my own business. I’d already built a strong following so it was simply a matter of getting the right systems set up on my end to begin.

Matt: What do you think was the key to growing your following on Youtube and standing out in the amongst all the noise in the industry?

Matty: I think the key was just being myself. I’d seen a lot of Youtubers put on this fake persona just to stand out. There were putting on an act and that makes it tough to connect with people. I mean, technically it is acting because you’re in front of a camera. However, you have to be real in those videos and that’s where a lot of people trying to get into this mess up. Even with almost 100,000 subscribers and over 500 videos I make sure to give my subscribers as much of me as I can. If someone comments on a video I do my best to respond to them. It’s hard to do this because there are thousands of them, but I do my best and my subscribers really appreciate the effort. The positive feedback and encouragement from our community really helped lead me to where I am today. They made me believe that I could make it work. I wouldn’t say that there was one single thing that led to the growth of the channel besides consistency. I’ve seen a lot of people start a Youtube channel, do it for a year, and then let life get in the way. School gets in the way. Relationships get in the way. Work gets in the way. They fall off and don’t tell the subscribers who supported them along the way know why their stopping the videos. I wasn’t going to let that happen to me. I proved that you could still live your life and deliver quality content continuously over YouTube 3-5 times a week.

Matt: You mentioned The Strength Guys, who are awesome, but was there anyone else who was a mentor to you and helped you along this path?

Matty: Yeah absolutely. I hate naming names because I always forget someone (laughing). There were a few Youtubers who showed me that this was possible. Through going to conferences and building relationships I was able to learn how they built their systems and create businesses off of Youtube channels. We would share information to see how we could do a better job than before. Layne Norton was someone who I looked up to for authenticity. Alan Aragon was another. As far as coaches go, 3DMJ and their friends were incredibly influential to me. They taught me how to count macros, balance it in your life, and so on. Eric Helms and Alberto Nunez did a great job of breaking this down for me. JC Deen had a great interview that helped me out. Precision Nutrition puts out a ton of great information.. Tyler Myer from from Team TNT. Like I said, I don’t want to forget anyone but there’s so many.

On top of these mentors I try to read as much as I can. I take all of these peoples information, whether I agree with it or not, to test it out and pick what I like. As long as I’m sticking to what I believe in and deliver a message in a way that’s my own it will continue to benefit my community.

Matt: Were there any lessons you had to learn the hard way while turning the Youtube channel into a business?

Matty: Definitely not charging enough (laughing). I realized that one pretty quick. You know, it took me so long to start doing online coaching (3 years) that I have to say that the biggest mistake I made was not doing it sooner. As far as when I launched the coaching there really weren’t huge mistakes. There were things I could improve upon, like marketing it the right way, but my relationships with people like The Strength Guys were incredibly helpful. Not to sound full of myself, but I think I started a level up compared to most online coaches due to the help and information I had. There’s online coaches who get started and then get called out for giving the same program to everyone. I wasn’t going to do anything like that. Especially with social media you’re probably going to get called out for not delivering a high quality service. I really made sure that I was going to do this right from the start with personalized programs, quality communication, and giving my time to the right type of customer. I was really lucky to start from a good spot, so once again that big mistake was just not starting sooner.

Matt: So we have a lot of fitness professionals on StrengthPortal who are just getting into online training and one of their biggest challenges is marketing themselves to find clients. You obviously have an incredibly strong social media presence through Youtube, so what advice would you give to a fitness professional looking to use video to spread their brand and message?

Matty: The biggest piece of advice that I can pass along is that it takes time to build an audience so you have to be patient. I see a lot of great Youtubers who have been at it for 2 years and are still struggling to build a following. The key is to network, but not spam. This was a mistake I made with my Youtube channel in the very beginning. I thought that if I took my video and posted it on 500 Facebook walls a lot of people would watch! That’s the perfect way to get no one to like you and to make it seem like all you care about is yourself. There’s very little value. So what I did is that I reached out to a few people like Brad Schoenfeld, joined several Facebook groups that these coaches were in, and participated in them. These health and fitness professionals would see that I had a vested interest and eventually I started to earn their respect. I never thought in a million years that Alan Aragon and Brad Schoenfeld would know who I am. Now they play one of my videos at the NASM conference and that’s pretty cool. Going back to advice for fit pros, it’s a lot of networking and there’s also a ton of value in giving something away for free before you ask them for money. Before I started online coaching I knew the value in an email newsletter and building up a list. I actually wrote an e-book, which I could have put a price on, but I decided not to do that. It was called “The Nutrition Survival Guide” and was a huge summary of how to track your calories, supplementation, and more. There was money to be made from selling it, but it was more valuable for me to give it away to build trust with my community. My audience benefited from the free information that I gave away and it showed that I really did just want to help them. Now they saw what I had to offer and could be interested in working with me on an even closer level through online coaching. I believe that you have to get someone to know, like, and trust you. These people knew who I was through my Youtube Channel or from interactions on Facebook groups. They began to like me because I showed that I was real and not trying to be someone who I wasn’t. I was genuinely there to help them. Trust was built over time as they  joined my newsletter and the ebook was my way of increasing this trust. I made sure that I stayed in touch with everyone that downloaded and continually support them through my newsletter. I think that the biggest thing when looking to gain an audience or online clients is offering something of value. Why should this person, whom you never met, purchase something from you? You have to make it an easy decision for them.

Matt: Were there any challenges that surprised you when you started to work with online coaching clients?

Matty: It’s not that I wasn’t expecting this, but I was surprised at how challenging it really was to work with clients that have body image issues. It’s not that I market directly towards this audience, but as I’ve built up a following my videos have resonated with people who experienced body image issues like me. My clients have to fill out a contract and questionnaire before working with me, but despite that I’ve had to tell several clients to go to a medical professional because I’m not the best person to help them.  As a coach I have people do weigh-ins so we can see their numbers and I make it as clear as possible that there will be fluctuations. Fluctuations are normal and not something to be stressed over. We can use progress pictures to help these clients see the improvements they’ve had since starting. Despite all these tools that we have to prevent these mental roadblocks there will still be clients that really struggle. It’s not that they don’t want to listen, it’s just that their head tells them there’s something wrong with the fluctuations or stagnation.

I had one client who signed up with me and was previously eating about 10 grams of fat a day with almost no carbs. He sent me his pictures and was just rail thin. While filling out my questionnaire and signing my contract he never told me that he had anorexia. After working with me for a while he finally opened up to me and told me that he had these issues. Of course I told him to go first to a medical professional which he did. He did what he needed to do and wanted to continue working with me after. I said that I could only offer him what I thought would be best based on my knowledge and that was fine with him. He started at 155 pounds and we increased his calories which was really scary for him. We worked on this together and eventually got him to over a 1000 calorie increase. His weight went down a little bit which which was huge for him. He really started to believe that he was doing something wrong before and this new method could work. He still sends me emails almost every time he steps on a scale about various concerns. He’s still a small kid, but I tell him to stay away from the scale, to not take pictures for a little while, and continue with the plan. We have data to look at and things are going in the right direction. I’ve worked with male and female clients who have similar body image issues and the importance of psychology that’s involved in coaching is just something you don’t expect. The more I do this the more I realize that not everyone has the mind that’s ready to follow everything you say. You have to make them believe before they follow your plan and allow for flexibility in their diet and life. I have to really work hard with some people to get that message across.

Matt:I think that’s super interesting. We talk about this with our advisors a lot, but that’s a huge advantage in online coaching, you know? A fitness consumer can find the coach that best matches their needs/interests and it makes it much easier for them to buy in to what they should be doing. Online coaches know that there’s so much more to all this than just the workout and nutrition plan. It’s much more complex than that and to get results with clients requires time, skill, and patience. That’s what makes the service so valuable. Some of your clients had real serious issues and through medical help combined with your coaching services they can make progress over time.

Matty: Exactly. The personalized attention that online coaching can offer is huge! Just to add to that, we all forget how important the psychology aspect of coaching is. A lot of coaches try to motivate and inspire. The client has to be motivated to actually follow anything you say. Your words might mean a lot to them, but it usually won’t be enough to cause change. I didn’t go to school for psychology, but when you start opening up to people and talking you began to understand what each person needs. We talk about whatever they want to talk about and put together a plan that matches where they are. In the beginning I did all this work for people and would find out a month later they didn’t do anything I told them to do. They would still have the same problem. You have to be able to connect with your clients, gain their trust, and trust them. You’re not watching them eating (laughing). The data and progress pictures tell me pretty quickly whether they are actually following our plans or not. With in-person training there are so many visual cues to help you gauge whether you’re making progress or not. Online coaching mainly runs through text or quick skype sessions. Like you said, there’s so much more to it than just macros and a cookie-cutter training program.

Matt: I’ve been lucky enough to be exposed to some great coaches who really understand motivation and the psychology aspect training. The one thing that all of the best coaches share, in my opinion, is a tremendous amount of empathy. Do you think the struggles you had in the past with your body image issues help you get inside the mind of your clients?

Matty: Absolutely. I think that’s why a lot of people sign up with me in the first place. They know that I’ve been there before. I’ve shared pictures and a lot of videos about what I dealt with. I’ve been skinny. I’ve been fat and overweight. I was right in the middle with being skinny-fat. I’ve dealt with orthorexia where I was so obsessed with eating healthy that it damaged my social life. My audience realize from all these experiences that I share with them that I’m not a coach who was just shredded from the start or blessed with great genetics. I’ve been through it before so maybe I could figure out how to coach them through their personal challenges. I know how these people feel. I know what it’s like to not want to take your shirt off. I know how much it sucks. We will find a way to get them more confident, improve their self-esteem, and make progress together. There are coaches out there who have never been skinny or fat. They will market themselves through Instagram and show off their abs. It’s very hard to relate to that. My past experiences are very different from what other coaches have to offer.

Matt: Where do you see online coaching from here? It’s a relatively young coaching service, but incredibly powerful if done right.

Matty: I do see online coaching being the next thing because not everyone is able to commit to a schedule for in-person training. I used to be a trainer at a local Powerhouse gym and even as a trainer it’s often not realistic. You’re working around your clients schedules so you’re there from 4:30 in the morning, midday, and 5 at night at night til much later. As a client things come up and it becomes hard to find 2-3 times a week that work schedule-wise. On top of that, very few people can afford that many sessions. With online coaching the schedule issue is non-existent. You get your plan, fit it into your life, and you can still access your coach the majority of the time. I think people actually develop better relationships with their online coaches because they talk more often and can potentially open up more. I talk to my online clients almost every single day. They watch my videos, we message each other back and forth, and the relationship becomes really strong. With in-person training that’s not normal. Some gyms don’t even allow you to take your clients phone numbers. Your training session is it. Online coaching allows the coach to take on more clients with a better schedule. You can give them the attention they deserve. Your clients get a high-quality relationship for a cheaper price (usually) than in-person training. As long as coaches stick to their ethics and morals the market will continue to grow.

Matt: It’s definitely tough for coaches who do it the right way to stand out in the crowd because this market  is unregulated. From what I’ve seen the coaches who give out the same program to each person and lack expertise usually get called out pretty quickly.

Matty: This is something I think about a lot. I’ve been very lucky to be exposed to great coaches who taught me the right way to do this. To add to that, I do like what Precision Nutrition does as far as becoming a certified coach through them. It’s not that you need to have a certification to be a good coach, but it does help if taught by an organization that cares about doing it the right way. There are a lot of people out there who lost 10/20 pounds and then think they can become a coach. We see a lot of this today through the fitness social media world. We see people with transformations and people with abs who start charging people without doing their research. A lot of them don’t understand the liability of it all. You need questionnaires, contracts, knowledge, and the experience to work with all different types of clients. Since just about anyone can become an online coach the service sometimes gets a bad reputation. It’s not just about macros.

Matt: What are you working on with your own brand and business? What’s coming up in 2015?

Matty: My biggest thing is growing what I have now. The income for Fusaro Fitness primarily comes from online coaching, but the Youtube channel is something that really means a lot to me. It’s what helped me get to where I am today. Growing the channel is something I will continue to put time into. I’ve also put a lot of thought organizing a walk this year for my Mom who passed away from breast cancer.

My biggest goal for the year, as crazy as it sounds, is to meet the people that have supported me and that I’ve worked with. I hope there’s more opportunities to travel and inspire more people around the world. Really it’s all about getting better at what I do everyday and growing the brand so I can help more people. I want to see others get better physically and mentally. I’ll keep working until I figure out the best way to do this. That’s what I care about.

Matt: Big thank you to Matty for giving us his time and sharing his experiences. If you’d like to follow more from him check out the links below:

– www.fusarofitness.com 
– Youtube Channel <- 95,000 subscribers
– Fusaro Fitness Facebook Page