Vinnie Tortorich: Best Selling Author and America's Angriest Trainer

Oct. 16, 2015

How does a personal trainer write a best-selling book?

Vinnie Tortorich has become a sensation in the personal training and fitness world because of his work with celebrities and by his moniker, “America's Angriest Trainer.” His book, “Fitness Confidential” has been on the Amazon bestseller list for over 2 years and is currently #6 in the Amazon “health and fitness” category. It’s a bestseller because it’s both funny and helpful. How does a fitness trainer become such a successful writer? Hear Vinnie tell the story himself, in the way that only he can, on this episode.

How did Vinnie Tortorich become a personal trainer?

Vinnie started using a gym before the commercial ones existed. As a kid, he stepped into a cinder block shed with a metal roof in a neighbor’s back yard. That’s when he first started working out and got interested in health and fitness. There was no such thing as a personal trainer in those days. Vinnie began doing actual training when others saw the results he was getting from his own exercise routines and wanted to know how he was accomplishing it. That was the beginning of a long and multi-faceted career as a trainer and health enthusiast. Listen in to this fun conversation as Christopher asks Vinnie about a variety of topics having to do with health, training, and the culture surrounding them.

“America's Angriest Trainer?” How did he get THAT name?

Initially Vinnie Tortorich was being told that he needed to have a “name” that was easy to be remembered and passed along via the Internet. That was quite a thing to say to a guy who didn’t even know how to use a computer. He first chose, “America’s Trainer” which was OK, but clearly doesn’t have the same effect. A friend suggested that he call himself “The Angriest Trainer” because of his proneness to rant about the stupid, unhealthy things that the American public has been taught as being “good for them” and “healthy.” He decided to go with it, and the name’s now commonly known in the health and fitness community. If you take the time to listen to this episode you’ll get to hear one of Vinnie’s characteristic rants about trainers and doctors, and why we accept that it’s OK for them to be fat.

Vinnie’s fat loss formula: No Sugar, No Grains. Is it really that simple?

We tend to be skeptical about something that sounds so simple. How could the removal of just two things from our diets have such dramatic impact? It’s because those two things are THE main things that contribute to over fatness. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Sugar is in almost everything you buy off the shelf at the grocery story. Grains have become a staple of the Standard American Diet. When you start talking about removing those from your diet, it’s anything BUT simple because our bodies literally become addicted to both. Hear Vinnie’s explanation of how he discovered this truth and how he applies it to those he trains, in this episode.

When is the right time to teach people about proper nutrition?

Christopher Kelly has noticed that many of the people who come to him for fitness and health coaching have reached a midlife crisis point of some kind. They’ve hit a point where their health issues are starting to surface and they realize they have to do something about it. It’s enough to make him feel that he only wants to take clients who are in that age range! But something Vinnie Tortorich wrote in his book, “Fitness Confidential” made Christopher rethink that. Vinnie tells the story of a young boy whose life was forever changed by the education Vinnie gave him at a critical point in his life. The lasting results he experienced are proof that the right knowledge, applied well early in life, could be the solution to the American health crisis. Hear the whole story on this episode.

Here’s the outline of this interview with Vinnie:

[0:05] Introduction and welcome to the America's Angriest Trainer: Vinnie Tortorich
[0:25] Vinnie’s book: Fitness Confidential (co-authored with Dean Lorey) - you should get it. NOW!
[1:13] How Vinnie came to write his book, an interesting and amazing story.
[4:43] How the book came to be #6 in Amazon’s health and fitness category with an almost 5-star rating.
[6:01] How and why Vinnie got into being a personal trainer, before there were personal trainers.
[7:59] Some of the early “famous people” who Vinnie has trained and the stories behind how he met them.
[10:37] How Vinnie took the “If you don’t look good, I don’t look good” philosophy and made a business out of it.
[12:14] What is the most important part of what Vinnie does, taking people off of sugar and grains?
[13:30] Vinnie’s current training schedule with a handful of clients every day, and why he will always be doing it.
[14:44] Vinnie’s attitude about the fad diets that come along year after year, and a few stories about it.
[18:55] How the paleo diet fits into the “fad diet” category, and how it doesn’t. Vinnie’s got an interesting perspective.
[20:10] Christopher’s opinion about the paleo diet and fad diets… Vinnie asked him.
[21:19] Why following a diet that had an “end” is setting yourself up for failure.
[22:37] How Vinnie became known as “The Angriest Trainer.”
[24:35] How the “anger” becomes a positive energy that Vinnie uses to motivate and guide people toward real nutrition.
[29:25] Why Christopher thinks the people he’s working with are so highly motivated, and now it relates to a story Vinnie tells about children he has worked with.
[35:43] Would the fitness community be better off to focus its attention on educating children about proper nutrition?
[37:24] The story about the Disney “It’s A Small World” ride being re-engineered because the average rider is overweight.
[38:55] No fat person wants to be fat… and how crazy our culture has become about the use of that word.
[42:41] How can a person know if their doctor is truly knowledgeable about nutritional issues?
[46:11] What does Vinnie think about Christopher’s lack of “qualifications” to be a nutritional consultant.
[52:22] Things Christopher wants to talk about with Vinnie on a future show.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

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