Smittyville: A Podcast for Personal Trainers
The podcast for personal trainers who want to build a real career in fitness. Smittyville bridges frontline training with business strategy, leadership, and income growth. Practical advice for personal trainers at every stage. Hosted by Chris Smith (CEO, Fitness World) and Krissy Vann (host, All Things Fitness & Wellness), each episode covers fitness industry trends, trainer career development, coaching business strategy, and the leadership skills that separate good trainers from great ones. Whether you're building your client base, increasing your income, or trying to understand where the fitness industry is headed, this is your home base. Smittyville. Real talk for real personal trainers.
Episodes
What makes a bad boss, and what should you actually do when you’re working for one?
In this episode of Smittyville, Fitness World CEO Chris Smith and Krissy Vann get into the realities of leadership, from managers who fail to model the behaviour they expect from their teams to employees burning emotional energy on things they can’t control.
Chris shares his own experience working under leaders he didn’t respect or a...
Burnout is becoming a major concern for personal trainers, and new data suggests it may also be affecting how much they earn.
According to the NASM State of Personal Training Report, 27% of personal trainers say burnout is capping their income potential. The report also found that burnout appears to be more pronounced among higher earners, with 35% reporting it as an issue compared with 18% at the other end of the income spectrum.&n...
On this episode of Smittyville, Fitness World CEO Chris Smith pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to become a CEO — and what the job looks like once you get there.
Chris shares the unconventional path that took him from personal training and gym operations into executive leadership, including the intense boardroom “final exam” that resulted in him being named CEO. He breaks down some of the biggest lea...
NASM surveyed 1,133 certified personal trainers to understand where the profession is heading, how trainers are earning, and what separates the industry’s highest performers from everyone else.
In this episode, Chris Smith breaks down the findings through an operator’s lens. The conversation covers trainer optimism, income growth, specialization, GLP-1s, burnout, the limits of one-on-one training, and why six-figure trai...
Millions of women are entering perimenopause looking for answers, and many are turning to their personal trainer for guidance.
In this episode of Smittyville, Chris Smith explores the important role fitness professionals can play in supporting women through one of the biggest physiological transitions of their lives.
Rather than trying to become medical experts, Chris discusses why great coaches understand the value o...
Personal training has never been just about exercise.
Every day, coaches help people navigate stress, heartbreak, self doubt, major life changes, and the emotions that inevitably show up outside the gym.
In this episode of Smittyville, Chris Smith and Krissy Vann explore the human side of coaching. From crying at work and leading with empathy to navigating relationships and becoming a better communicator, this conversation is about t...
GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are changing the fitness industry, but what does that mean for personal trainers?
In this episode of Smittyville, CEO of Fitness World Chris Smith breaks down one of the most talked-about topics in health and wellness today. They discuss where GLP-1s came from, why they've become so popular, the risks of muscle loss, and why strength training, nutrition, and coaching are more importa...
What does it take to build a career that lasts in the fitness industry?
In the first-ever guest episode of Smittyville, Chris Smith sits down with longtime trainer and Gummy Gainz co-founder Ben Poss.
After more than two decades in the fitness industry, Ben still trains several of the same clients he started with over 20 years ago. In this conversation, he shares lessons on building relationships, creating opportunities, ...
Most trainers think onboarding starts after the client signs up. CEO of Fitness World Chris Smith says it starts the second someone walks through the door.
Welcome back to Smittyville, the smartest small town in fitness.
In this episode, Chris and Krissy break down the infamous Pink Sheet process used at Fitness World and the psychology behind better personal training consultations. From handshakes and first impressions to active lis...
Success driven. Disciplined. Ambitious.
From the outside, high performers often look like they have it all together. But underneath the achievement can be a dangerous mindset: if I’m not winning, I’m nothing.
In this episode of Smittyville, Chris Smith breaks down the pressure many personal trainers, entrepreneurs, fitness leaders, and ambitious people quietly carry. The constant need to achieve. The fear of failure. ...
Most personal training clients do not quit out of nowhere. It happens in small moments that trainers either recognize or miss completely.
In this episode, Chris Smith (CEO, Fitness World) breaks down the real situations that lead to client drop-off and exactly what to do when they happen. From missed sessions and motivation dips to pricing tension and stalled progress, this conversation focuses on the moments that actually determine...
When a potential client says "I'll think about it" and never comes back, most personal trainers assume they need to get better at closing. The real problem usually happens much earlier in the consultation.
In this episode, Chris Smith (CEO, Fitness World) and fitness journalist Krissy Vann break down what is actually happening in that moment, why "I'll think about it" is rarely the real objection, and what personal trainers can do d...
The gym you choose as a personal trainer can make or break your career. Most trainers focus on location or commission. The ones who build real careers ask better questions.
In this episode, Chris Smith (CEO, Fitness World) breaks down exactly what personal trainers should be looking for when choosing a gym to work at. How many clients will you realistically inherit? What does onboarding actually look like? Are there systems, educati...
Most personal trainers think earning six figures comes down to hustle, personality, or going independent. The trainers consistently making $100,000 or more are doing something different. They are using systems.
In this episode, Chris Smith (CEO, Fitness World) breaks down why structured gym environments are one of the most underutilized advantages in the fitness industry. From sales processes and client onboarding to session structu...
A client walks in motivated and ready to go. What separates great personal trainers from average ones is what happens next.
In this episode, Chris Smith (CEO, Fitness World) and fitness journalist Krissy Vann break down how to coach clients through the excitement phase, set realistic goals, and shift them from short term hype to long term discipline. They cover what behavior change actually looks like on the gym floor and how to hav...
Every personal trainer will face rejection, lost clients, missed sales, and moments where the plan completely falls apart. The trainers who build lasting careers are the ones who learn to bounce back.
In this episode, Chris Smith (CEO, Fitness World) shares what resilience really looks like in the fitness industry — starting with his own story of chasing a professional football career, doing everything right, and still coming ...
Most personal trainers work hard. The ones who build real careers also understand how money works.
In this episode, Chris Smith (CEO, Fitness World) and fitness journalist Krissy Vann break down the real economics of personal training — how to earn more, keep more, and make sure your effort actually builds toward something.
This is not about grind culture or empty motivation. It is about understanding income, pricing, and finan...
Artificial intelligence is already changing the fitness industry, from workout programming to client communication and performance tracking. So where does that leave personal trainers?
In this episode, Chris Smith (CEO, Fitness World) and fitness journalist Krissy Vann break down what AI actually means for the future of personal training, without the hype or the fear. They cover what technology can support, what it cannot replace, a...
Most personal training clients don't quit because of bad workouts. They quit because of how they feel in the relationship.
In this episode, Fitness World CEO Chris Smith breaks down the real reasons personal training clients cancel or ghost, and what great trainers do differently to build loyalty that lasts. Fitness journalist Krissy Vann joins the conversation to bring broader industry context around retention, trust, and long-term...
Welcome to Smittyville. The smartest small town in fitness.
In this short trailer, hosts Chris Smith, CEO of Fitness World, and Krissy Vann, national television host and fitness journalist behind All Things Fitness and Wellness, introduce Smittyville — a new podcast built specifically for personal trainers.
Smittyville is where frontline training meets real-world business insight. It’s a place for honest conversations abo...
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