Meet Justin Perkins, an online fitness coach and personal trainer whose goal is to make you the ULTIMATE HUNTER of all time!

His fitness business, Lion Den Training, is dedicated to helping you get to your goals, both physically and mentally. The emphasis is on muscular development while retaining cardio endurance, building a physique fit for a king...of the jungle.

Justin provides fitness training, nutrition programs, apparel, as well as training to aspiring trainers.

In an interview recently, he talked about how he started his fitness journey, the idea behind his fitness business, why he thinks FitBudd is the best software for him, and more.

The Start Of Justin’s Fitness Journey

“How did you get your fitness journey started?”

"I started my fitness journey as a kid. 

I used to play football all the time and stayed active. And that's how my fitness journey started. 

When I was in high school, I used to walk back home straight from my football practice. It was a 2-3 miles walk from my home, and then people used to ask me 'what you're up to' and I used to reply that 'just going to practice.' That is all I did. Going to practice and work out, and that’s it! 

That is really where it started, at a young age, and it just built off over time.”

His Experience Beyond Personal Training

“How did you start with your own fitness venture to coach coaches?” 

“My inspiration was more or less the lack of knowledge and people not understanding how to get into the fitness industry online. 

People think that anyone can become a trainer. Like, you just need to sit and instruct (clients) to do this and that and move to push your body in a specific way. 

Not a lot of people know how to take the in-person training sessions and coach their clients online, which is a huge challenge as I can’t see the client all the time. 

So now I have to have my clients held accountable for their actions, so if you want results, you have to teach your clients how to be accountable for it, and then you have to figure out how to get your message across to them. 

And not a lot of people know how to do that, especially when you can't talk to your client all the time or see him face to face. So, if I am like, oh you have to do this specific workout or this stretch, people will look at it and be like, I don't know what to do.

So if you are using an Excel sheet and sending a piece of paper workout or a pdf workout, it's not going to work! The client doesn’t know what a hack squat is, and I can't tell him how to do a hack squat on a piece of paper. 

But if you learn the online training methods like if you are able to create and send videos, you can demonstrate the workout, as you know, that this is the proper form. And that’s how you keep them engaged. 

I've already done the training in person. I've done online training. So, I wanted to give back to people. I want to give back to the community, especially the fitness industry, which led me to coach coaches.”

“How did you come up with your brand name?” 

“So, everyone got all these crazy names, and I was like, I don't get nothing like the phoenix and anything like that. And honestly, I didn’t like these crazy names as they were exotic. 

And then I asked myself, what has worked for me till now and what's me? And I looked at my arm, I have a line on my arm, I got this quote right here. Then I kept thinking that can I transfer this to the gym’s name? 

And that's where Lion Den came from. Because, like when you're a baby cub, you have to start something. Most of the baby cubs started the lines that you're starting, and then we go through your trials and tribulations. It's in the Lion's Den. 

When people talk about hardships throughout life, they talk about how I'm walking through the Lion's Den. So when you go into the gym, and we're going into the Den, we're going to knock out all the pain.

And then, when I see it now, I see my clients as baby cubs. I treat them like you just got brought into the Pride.

You're brought into the Lion Pride. Welcome to the Pride, and you put them into the Den, you bring them into the Den, they come into that, then they learn, they get better, they get stronger, they get faster.

You came in as a cub and left as a king of the jungle. So, that's where the name came from the Lion Den."

Justin’s Fitness Inspiration And Motivation

“Who was your fitness inspiration back then? Who has impacted you the most in your journey?” 

“I used to look at this dude, CT Fletcher. This guy was built differently. From open-heart surgeries, and you just look at the doctor, like you can't stop it. His mentality of 'you can't stop this, I'm gonna work out until I die'.

So, that type of mentality was always just something to look at, something to push for. 

I remember he had said something one time like somebody has to be the baddest, and he was like mom, I am the baddest, Someone has to be him.

But as far as just overall inspiration, I want to say the person that kept me going fitness-wise, was my son. 

My son kept me going fitness-wise. It's because I wanted to play with him, and wanted to run around. 

So, that’s what kept me going throughout the entire journey and helped me stay motivated at all times.”

Why Justin Switched To FitBudd And His Favorite Features So Far

“How were you managing your clients before FitBudd?”

“Honestly, I started off the old-fashioned way, like I used to write names down on pen and paper. 

Like, I got this client today, I'll go write on the board, but soon it became a big old headache.

Then I started using Excel sheet software. I started taking little notes on the phone and keeping my clients in my head. 

And then, after some point, I was like 'man, this is a terrible idea!' 

I won't tell anybody to do that. 

Then I started using Trainerize's platform. It wasn't bad but it was complex. It was super complex, and my clients would look at the software and be like, 'I understand it but, there's so much happening right now that I just don't know what to do.' I used it for a few months, and it didn't work out. I tried my My PT Hub, but that didn't work out as well. 

So, that led me to use FitBudd now. 

Looking at everything, overall, it's simpler to use and easy on everybody."

“What according to you, Justin, is the USP of FitBudd?” 

"The highlights that I like are just the entire software itself.

So, if I compare it with other software, you’ll have different tabs for no reason.

Whereas, with FitBudd, there are not as many tabs, it's straight to the point, so if I had to upload a video, there are no hassles.

No trainer really wants to sit there and make a workout video. FitBudd has a solution for that as well, wherein I have access to the pre-recorded library, which is much easier. It is like another perk. 

The clients can open the app, and they'll be like, oh this is nice, it's smooth, everything is right here.

Another good perk is the fact that I can track everything. 

I can track your steps, I can track your water intake, I can track your food intake. I can literally track every single thing for my client that is needed to make them progress. 

This definitely plays a big part, and it makes everything overall less time-consuming.”

Justin’s Tip: How He Keeps His Clients Motivated

“How do you motivate your clients to be in a remote setup?”

“I would ask you like, what is your drop? What made you want me to be your trainer today? 

So, if you are feeling down and out, I want you to look inside and figure out what it is that made you want to change, right?

So when I ask the client what made you want to change, they'll give me an explanation.

Now, I'll take that idea and put this into a workout. Now we can make this workout more intense.

Like, oh, I wanted to change because my ex said I didn't look good enough, right? But okay, so boom, that's your ex (motivation) now, right?

So now I want you to use that as your drive to keep pushing because that's what got you here, right? I want you to remember why you came here. Are you underweight? Are you stressed? 

So we're going to use that. We're going to use that momentum.

We're going to work up your workout, we're going to get you a more intense workout. And in this way that stress can go away.

Now we're starting to build your morale back up because you're like, okay, now I feel a little bit better. I got a little run in my system. I'm up early now, my trainers on my tail, and I ain't going to leave me alone until I'm done.”

Before We Bid Adieu,

“If you could have a billboard, what would be written on it and why?”

“People hear me say it all the time, and it says,

'A jungle is still a jungle, but there can only be one king'. 

There is one more line that comes from my father, which says, show no more mercy. Look for none, seek no justice as it no longer exists. There's no revenge for anger is just an emotion. A jungle is still a jungle, but there can only be one king! 

This quote, helps me stand up again, like whenever I feel down and out, or if I'm unmotivated. 

I have it tattooed on my arm, and whenever I look down, it reminds me that we can't stop now, man, we can't stop now!

We got to keep grounded, we gotta keep going. Somebody has to be on top. Like CT Fletcher said, somebody has to be the baddest, somebody gotta be on top".

Will you be next?

Justin has dreams of building bodies for royalty. His methods and training objectives are designed to help you build the physique of a king or queen!

This interview contains great advice about pushing your limits and taking risks. Similar to how the King of all creatures reigns in his domain, you should be able to take charge with everything that happens around you.

Like Justin Perkins, many other fitness trainers are scaling their fitness business with the power of their own gym coach app and the efficiency of a personal training software.

We'll be coming up with more stories like this one soon, so stay tuned!

Watch the full interview below to hear what Justin has in store for you!