Future Freaks #Fitspires of the Week: Inspiration Through Fitness Interview With: Colin Wayne: “Fitness Is My Life!”
#Fitspires of the Week: Inspiration Through Fitness
Interview With: Colin Wayne: “Fitness Is My Life!”
What gives someone the rig
ht to consider themselves a successful fitness model or personality in the industry? Is it the amount of covers one can land because of their physique? Could it be how many sponsors they are able to grab to help support them? Or is it the amount of money one can make between different modeling/ fitness gigs?
Everyone will tell you something different, but if there is one thing that is hard to disagree with, it’s the ability to promote and market yourself to others. Social media has begun to play a huge role in self marketing as an athlete, competitor, fitness model or personality in the Industry. These days, you don't need a modeling agency to help promote you, or a company to take you on as a sponsored athlete in order for you to be seen in the industry.
Someone who once could have been just an average fit person, now has the ability to transform themselves into a “Social Media Fitness Star!” If you put in the time, the effort, and truly have a passion for fitness, you can change yourself from just a face with a body, to a bona fide personality – someone able to inspire and motivate others on their own fitness journey!
Colin Wayne, age 24, and hailing from Huntsville, Alabama, is a National level physique competitor and proof that if you put in the time, effort, hard work in the gym AND the kitchen, and use social media as a tool to self-promote, you can turn your average health/fit lifestyle into a network that reaches out to endless amounts of people who want to take the time out to follow your journey.
Q: When did you get started on your fitness career/journey? What made you want become more than just the average person living a healthy and fit lifestyle?
A: My fitness journey started during my second tour to the Middle East. I started going to the weight room as a way to relieve stress and fill my down time with constructive activity. As soon as I started seeing changes in my body, it ignited a passion for the gym that I have had ever since.
Two years later on a different tour, I was injured by a rocket that landed just feet from where I was standing. I was so badly injured that I had to be air-lifted out of the country to be properly medically cared for.
I used fitness and weight training to get myself back to normal, but the battle was more than just a physical struggle. Weights helped me feel like I was the person I was before. My effort in the gym proved that I could overcome obstacles far beyond what I ever imagined. That's when I realized I wasn't your average guy in the gym.
Q: Being that you have a loyal social media following, what is some advice that you would offer someone wanting to increase their popularity in the Fitness industry? What tip can you give someone to help them build their following as well?
A: Advice that I can give someone who is looking to build their following is to stay consistent. People follow you for a reason and you have to continue to give them what they are looking for. As soon as you slack off or start going in another direction, those followers will jump ship and find someone else to follow.
Consistency also goes for posting as well. Make sure you post regularly. Don't have people waiting around for your next Tweet or Instagram photo because they will forget why they followed you in the first place. Give them what they want, when they want it, because your followers and fans are what enable you to have a career. Treat them with the respect they deserve.
Q: Do you consider this as your part/full time job or a hobby?
A: Fitness isn't a part time or full time job. Fitness is
my life. I don't know how many full time jobs demand you to alter the way you eat, sleep, think, live and communicate. If fitness were a job I could stop at 5 p.m. go home and sit on the couch. Fitness is more than a hobby or a job. It's my life and I love my life.
Q: There are many people that motivate and are inspired by you. How does that make you feel knowing that there are people who take the time to see what you are doing day to day?
A: Those people are the reason I do what I do. I love inspiring people and helping them achieve things they never thought possible. At one point, I was someone who was looking for inspiration when I thought there was none. I was lucky enough to find the gym and motivated myself to get where I am. Now, I have the chance to be that same motivation for other people. That is why I love doing what I do. They are actually my motivation to continue and work as hard as I do.
Q: How does it feel knowing that somewhere, you are actually helping someone by motivating them to achieve their personal goals, just by posting your personal life and achievements on social media?
A: In strange way, hearing that I motivate people actually motivates me. I'm just putting my thoughts and pictures on social media, and when someone says that it inspires them, I know I'm doing some good in the world. It lets me know that I can't quit on myself because that would mean that I'm also quitting on my followers and I respect them way too much for that.
Q: Is there anyone who has motivated or inspired you to become the person you are today?
A: My biggest inspiration in life has always been my brother. I have looked up to him since I was young and that hasn't changed. He is the reason I joined the Army when I was 17. I try my best every day to make my brother proud.
Q: How does your family feel about your lifestyle? What would you say to someone whose family does not support their lifestyle?
A: My family has been very supportive throughout my fitness journey. In fact, my mother would send me amazing care packages full of supplements while I was in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have attended several of my competitions and support every aspect of my fitness career.
This lifestyle is definitely something that requires a lot of support. It would be great if your family supported your dreams, but if they don't, you have to find another support system. Maybe your buddies are going to be there for you or the people you train with are going to become your family. This is a tough field to get into, and it's even harder on your own.
Q: Of all the social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), what do you think is the most effective to use in order to market yourself in this industry?
A: Instagram and Facebook have been the most successful for my marketing. Facebook allows you to have correspondence with your followers. And, as for Instagram, the entire fitness industry is based on aesthetics. It makes perfect sense for people in this industry to use the social platform built on picture-sharing.
Q: What is your diet like? Do you eat clean all year round?
A: My diet is one of the strictest diets you'll hear of. Five of my seven daily meals are grilled chicken with asparagus and almonds. I've got to stay lean all year because there is no telling when I'm going to do my next photo shoot.
Q: What is your favorite cheat meal? How do you control yourself from going overboard when you decide to treat yourself?
A: My favorite cheat food is easily a meat lover's pizza.
Q: Do you take any supplements? What do you think is one of the most important supplements someone should take who is training constantly?
A: I take ISO 100 Hydrolyzed 100% Whey Protein Isolate by Dymatize, Alpha Male Stack by SHREDZ which helps me gain lean muscle mass and stay shredded, as well as a ALC/CLA.
Q: What’s your social media/contact information?
A: www.fb.com/colinwayneofficial
www.instagram.com/colinwayne1
www.youtube.com/colinwayneofficial
www.colinwayne.com
Q: Special than
ks to:
A: A BIG shout out to my sponsors:
Shredz – without them I wouldn't be where I am at today – Arvin and Ankur for being so supportive throughout the start of my career.
Golden with Furious Fotog for also being there for me since day one, first photo shoot, first magazine cover, and first book cover.
Also big shout out to Justin Swinney of CHAMP Performance Gym in Huntsville, Alabama, for allowing me to train there and the one-on-one coaching by Justin.
Last, a special thanks to my newest sponsor "Flex Till Your Famous" for sponsoring me, and allowing me to have my own signature series clothing line in correspondence with FTYF.
The author, IFBB Pro Dean Michael Fazzolari a.k.a. “The Freak of Physique, is a 360CUT Athlete.
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