This guy. Where do I begin?

I laugh to myself as I write this because I am realizing that a few of the top 10 influencers in my life are the ones I either didn’t like or didn’t want to ask for advice.

Just goes to prove the point – Never judge a book by it’s cover and most importantly stay humble and surround yourself with people who inspire you and challenge you to become better.

Dr. Joe, or as I have called him “Uncle Joe” because of the impact he has had on my life, and not only in bodybuilding but in business.

Back in 1999 When Nick and I were working hard on figuring out a game plan for me to earn that WNBF pro card, Dr. Joe was making his name in the industry with his “perfect peaking” protocol. I have to say, Nick was very open minded. Nick “the original guru” taught me the meaning of intensity and opened my mind to the “calorie is a calorie” philosophy when it came to getting as lean as possible for a bodybuilding competition. In preparation for my first competition before Nick took me under his wing, I ate chicken breast and a baked potato every 3 hours and did a full 60 minutes of fasted cardio first thing in the morning before high school. After passing out a few times during peak week due to cutting water completely out of my diet, and my dad forcing a snickers bar in my mouth to get my sugar levels back up I knew there was more to bodybuilding and Nick showed me the way.

Nick knew his shit. Back in the 80’s he was a former NPC Mr New Jersey champ numerous times and trained with IFBB Pro Franco Santoriello, Jeff King among other top Nationally ranked guys. As much as he knew he still said, “Dude just hear what this Dr. Joe guy has to say”

I was reluctant, because I thought I could do it on my own.

but, after 12 years of attempting to win that WNBF Pro card, I hired this guy, Joe Klemczewski with an open mind. Twelve weeks later I won the Heavy Weight division at the 2008 INBF Hercules Championships. Damn. Then Dr. Joe became uncle Joe. And now, I am a licensee of The Diet Doc and Dr. Joe is my business associate.

I recently had the privilege to catch up with the man himself for the Project My Life podcast. Here are some topics we covered:

  • 0:10: Joe’s creepy Skype profile pic
  • 1:19: San Diego and naked podcasting
  • 2:20: Grand opening of The Diet Doc headquarters in California
  • 6:00: Recruiting quality people to join your staff/team
  • 9:21: Outsourcing and mistakes as an entrepreneur
  • 9:50: The evolution of The Diet Doc
  • 11:50: Joe re invents himself based upon statistics
  • 12:45: Licensee vs Franchisee
  • 15:49: Diet Doc online curriculum
  • 20:49: The ideal client
  • 22:39: The “Why” behind Dr Joe’s hustle
  • 26:35: Joe’s tribe, Home schooling and the Amish
  • 27:52: Verbal bitch slapping and dealing with change
  • 30:52: Lack of proper communication and mistakes as an entrepreneur
  • 31:32: Ask The Diet Doc
  • 31:55: How do you counteract cellular inflammation so that your body can loose weight faster?
  • 34:05: Clean or IIFYM. are they equally as effective?
  • 36:42: Better meal planning / timing for weight loss
  • 37:59: Can Intermittent Fasting be used with a macro based diet and can it accelerate fat loss?
  • 40:39: Is it okay to eat your last meal late at night / close to bedtime?
  • 42:14: Is there a relation between feeling hungry and your metabolism burning fat?
  • 44:28: If you need to lose 100 lbs or more, would you recommend to start the process and lose faster to juice or drink protein shakes in place of food?
  • 44:55: Cleansing by means of a 3 day shit-a-thin
  • 46:53: Joe’s future as a creative writer
  • 49:00: We agree, overall health starts in the mind but is easily overlooked

Book Recommendations:

  • Stumbling on happiness by Daniel Gilbert
  • Mindsight by Dr. Siegel
  • 50 Days To Your Best Life by Dr. Joe Klemczewski and Kori Propst

Links from the show:

 , , , ,