Jason Vaught On Becoming a Personal Trainer

Jason Vaught can walk into any gym or fitness center and the clientele immediately will recognize him as "one of us."

The Ventura, Calif., native's 190 pounds are well-proportioned on his 6-foot-2 frame, the result of a commitment to fitness and nutrition.

He became a personal trainer by the age of 22, while also finding success as a competitive bodybuilder. In 2005, at the age of 23, he opened his own business, Better Body Sports, selling nutritional supplements.

Impressive resume, indeed, and when examining it further from a purely physical perspective, Vaught's accomplishments grew out of extremely humble beginnings.

If he wasn't the quintessential 98-pound weakling having sand kicked in his face on the beaches of California, he was the next thing to it. How does 6-2,145 pounds as a high school senior grab you? Vaught recalls that when it came to members of the opposite sex, there was a definite disconnect.

"I had a female friend come up to me and say, "Jason, you're cute but you're way too skinny.'" Vaught said. "That was enough for me to try to put on some weight. From a strength perspective, at the time I couldn't even do a single pushup. So being skinny was complemented well by not being strong at all."

Rather than going the route of traditional schooling, Vaught researched and studied the best ways to build muscle and strength on his own time and put what he learned to use. Once he began seeing results in the gym, Vaught utilized the services of a couple of the most successful personal trainers in the area to take things to the next level.

"Some of the qualified nutrition and fitness experts I knew locally recommended ISSA," Vaught said. "I looked into the company and decided to commit. I felt that ISSA was built upon science, whereas some of the other companies had focused more on the marketing of celebrities than the quality of the program itself. ISSA has promoted, and continues to promote, the science of their product and the success of their clients."

Thrilled with the success he achieved, Vaught came to the realization that if he could do it for himself, he could do the same for others. Just as importantly, he knew he could be committed to the cause.

Vaught spent four years working as a personal trainer, limiting his work to 1-on-1 and 2-on-1 sessions. He considers himself a perfectionist, so he felt he needed that direct contact with his clients in order give them the best he had to offer. It was for that same reason that he stopped taking on clients after starting his business.

As a bodybuilder, Vaught won the first competition he entered, The Super Bowl of Natural Bodybuilding. But once again, having opened his business, he knew there was no way he could dedicate the necessary time to both, so his competing days were over.

"When I was working as a personal trainer I also was working for a company that made supplements," Vaught said. "So I was getting a dual education. I was learning and applying knowledge in terms of training, and I was learning and applying knowledge in the use of supplements. So it worked out well. Over a period of time I became pretty proficient in both areas."

While he no longer works as a personal trainer in the truest sense, he has never stopped offering his advice and counsel to those who can benefit from it.

"Even though I am in the supplement industry," he said, "I spend more time on behavioral nutrition pertaining to health; managing and helping people figure out why they are making the poor decisions."

Vaught's experiences tell him that anyone who seeks the help of a personal trainer needs to have a deep enough desire to want to make a change. As an example, he often tries to help people of a certain age find some added motivation by asking them if they have kids.

"If they say yes, then I tell them that we should talk about their kids," Vaught said. "I tell them we should talk about what kind of example they are setting for their kids. I say, "Let's talk about you being around for your grandchildren.'

"People will ask, "What's a good protein? What's a good carb? None of that means anything unless they first understand the ‘why'. I love helping people find that out."

For those who would like to join him in making it their life's work to help others to attain their fitness goals, Vaught recommends connecting with ISSA.

"It is the culture of the company, the conversations you have with the staff, and the commitment of the leaders to help you get the most out of the program," he said. "They leave no stone unturned on how to ensure their students have the best chance of not only passing the tests, but being qualified in the field to do their job."

Vaught uses his own story as an example of how the knowledge gained can be put to use in a number of ways.

"It can be a segue into exercise physiology, kinesiology or physical therapy, to name a few," he said. "I talk to a lot of 18-year-old kids and tell them that if they don't feel good about their bodies, take six months to learn about the field of training and nutrition directly.

"Then, if you like it, you can be a personal trainer while you continue your education in a related field. Exercise goes with nutrition and nutrition goes with exercise."

Vaught once was one of those 18-year-old kids. The gleam in his eyes reveals how happy he is to have commanded a change.