A 13-year-old boy sits at my desk and points to my NWA banner

He asks… “Who are they?” 

I replied with… “They’re a rap band from the early 90’s”

He then went on to ask… “Why do you have them in your gym?”.



Let me take you back to the year of 2015,

It was the time when I faced some real struggles.

To be honest, I could never see myself working as a personal trainer at the typical fancy health club gyms you see like fitness first, anytime fitness. etc

In my eyes, they weren’t “gyms”. 

If anything they were just materialistic and fake!

Pretentious members, that did more starring in the mirror and checkin’
out girls asses than lifting weights and barely even breaking a sweat.

Arrogant personal trainers who didn’t give a shit about their clients. 

It was a tough time where I constantly asked myself…
“Leonard, do you really want to be a personal trainer”?




So what do I do? 

I decided to start from scratch.

I built a no B.S gym business in mums garage in the suburb of Ryde. 



At the time the movie Straight Outta Compton was released in the cinemas and I went with a few buddies to watch it.

The movie gave me intense goosebumps!

After the movie, I couldn’t stop relating the movie to my garage-gym business and linking it with my vision for my garage gym at the time.




So what did I learn from the movie that I applied to my business?
1. BE REAL! 

The fitness industry like to sugar-coat shit, they make you believe you need a shiny tub of fat burning powder to burn fat. Our industry is filled with lies and BS!

If you’ve followed me quite some time you know how passionate I am in preaching the truth around health and fitness and also dispelling myths!

The same way that NWA was rapping about the truth of police brutality against young black men in ’90s. They entered the conversation that was happening in many people’s minds.

Members are attracted to Underground Strength primarily due to the authenticity of how we coach.

2. HUSTLE HARD

Almost all the successful rappers came from a poor, hustling background

When I was getting started with the building blocks of my Garage Gym – I was so poor, I used to drive as far as Penrith and Wollongong to pick up cheap used equipment. I even remember my 1995 Corolla breaking down on the Wollongong Freeway.

But knew I had to hustle to make that dream happen of becoming a successful business owner and changing lives.
  If you haven’t seen the film Straight Outta Compton, go check it out. It has some killer life lessons.

“It’s not about a salary, it’s all about reality”.

Yours most  REAL… Coach Lenny,