Network Magazine Summer 2017 | Page 28

Business name: REAL WORLD PT DUNCAN MCDAIDE SELF-EMPLOYED PT & COACH VIC The FUNctional Project, thefunctionalproject.com.au How long have you been a PT? 10 years Are you full time or part time? Full-time, all the time ;) What made you decide to become a trainer? A combination of wanting to become a fireman and thinking that this would be a good stop-gap, and wanting to help people that, like me, had health issues to feel as good as I do when I take care of my wellness. I just loved it so much that I never became a firie! Do you specialise? I don’t. I always felt strongly that I wanted to affect as many people as possible and that by specialising I would limit my reach to other populations. Do you have a signature style of training? Not really, I love all movement. I have been a strength and conditioning coach with the Melbourne Rebels rugby union team and loved it, and I’ve worked with older populations to get them moving better and feeling better, and loved that too. I’m currently partial to a bit of Animal Flow though, I have to say! How many hours do you train clients for each week? Having just opened the studio this has gone down from between 40-50 to between 20-30, as I spend more time running the business. I’d never want to give up training clients entirely though, as it’s what I have the passion for. How many hours do you spend working on your business? A SNAPSHOT OF HOW TODAY’S PERSONAL TRAINERS ARE WORKING, LIVING AND SHAPING THEIR CAREERS This varies and to be honest it is all encompassing now I’m managing the studio. Even as a personal trainer, though, running my own business was 24/7, as I followed up with clients on homework and wrote programs or came up with strategies to improve client experience or lead generation. What hours do you work? All of them! No, I start most days at 6am, train and have a few hours of admin mid- 28 | NETWORK SUMMER 2017