Bringing his fitness and training plan to the southeast

From midfielder to personal trainer, former footballer and self-taught cook Richard Kennedy is the Fitness Freak. With his gym, online programmes, book of recipes and corporate contracts, he is covering as many bases as possible to promote a fit healthy lifestyle on the Waterford-Tipperary border and beyond.

What distinguishes your business from competitors? I think it is more the personal aspect of what they get, the attention. I appreciate the effort people make to come to my place. You have to empathise with people. It has taken them a lot of effort to come to the gym, especially to my place as it's in the middle of nowhere. There should be a positive vibe too, as it could be a huge effort for them to get to me.

It’s important to make people feel good, you never know what pressures they are under in other parts of their life.

What has been the biggest challenge you have had to face? My location is a big challenge. It takes an effort for people to get to me as the nearest town is six miles and Clonmel is 12, so I need to keep those people interested. It is also a challenge to keep people coming to the gym. There are so many other competitors out there at the moment, and more and more people are getting qualified.

Your major success to date? The social media side of things has really taken off for me. That's been a big success. Having access only to a small pool of people in the area I'm based, Facebook and Twitter are my exposure to people who have never heard of Fitness Freak or Rathgormack.

Corporate contracts with Boston Scientific and Abbott Vascular in Clonmel have also boosted my exposure. Training people in their workplace cuts down time and cost for them, making fitness more accessible.

What could the Government do to help SMEs in the current environment? I have never got any help. Any time I have gone to the enterprise board, or any of them, I didn't find the channels easy in terms of accessing money or help.

Do you think the banks are open for business? Yes. I have got loans and, to be fair, they have always been good but I've never pushed the boat out and tested the waters in terms of how much they really want to give me. But any time I've gone to them, they have been really fast and helpful. I have a got a good relationship with the bank here in Clonmel. What has the biggest mistake you have made in business? Not being myself sooner. It comes down to confidence and experience. At the start, you are more paranoid about what other trainers and gyms are doing rather than what you're doing. Once I got over that, said this is what I do, this is who I am, the more successful the business became.

Whom do you admire in business and why? Pat Whelan of James Whelan butchers. I've seen over the last couple of years where he has come from. He had a shop in Clonmel, next thing he's in Avoca in Monkstown and Rathcoole.

He makes a point of, every Monday and Tuesday morning, seeing how his staff are doing and meeting his customers at the counter. He is unbelievably passionate about business. I suppose every time I talk to him I kind of get excited myself. He is always looking ahead.

What is the best piece of business advice you've ever received? One of the things Pat Whelan said to me is "People buy into people", and to deal with people as much as you can. It doesn't matter how good your gym is or where is located, people buy into the person that they deal with. So Rathgormack's not ideal, above a pub's not ideal, but what I try to do is give people time, and that separates me from the rest.

How do you see the short-term future for your business? I definitely want to do more online. I'm going to develop the online nutrition programmes and make them more automated. At the moment the business is very hands-on by me.

I get updates of people’s meals from breakfast time to lunchtime and there needs to be constant feedback. I want to cut my time almost in half of what I’m doing online so it frees up time to do more talks, seminars and food demos.

What's your business worth and would you sell it? I haven't a clue how much it's worth, but would I sell it? Probably not at the moment, it's a tough one because obviously it's quite personal.

fitnessfreak.ie In conversation with Fiona Alston