[Music]
my wife planned a special night for my
birthday we’re sitting at an amazing
Michelin star rated restaurant she looks
stunning as she always does and I’m
trying to hold my own in the suit like
this and when the food starts coming out
I think what so many of us think
nowadays that will look great on
Instagram the appetizer comes out oh
wait don’t take a bite main course oh
that’s nice snap honey what’s wrong oh
look at that dessert it looks perfect
hold holds click lighting filter setting
post content I mean it was awesome but
my pride in taking those perfect shots
was interrupted when I looked up from my
phone and saw my wife sitting there
alone how did this become normal my
normal
for me it has a lot to do with my job a
job that I love I’m a personal trainer
and it’s a very personal profession
interaction with the trainer is
extremely intimate we all have body
insecurities a little extra belly fat
scrawny legs arms that keep waving long
after you’ve stopped and you’re about to
hire someone to literally stare at talk
about and work those bits we all prefer
never to showcase so it comes as no
surprise to me that before you start
working with me
you start creeping on me who’s this dude
I’m about to spend time with and these
days you don’t ask for my credentials
resume or go to my website you go to my
Instagram so then the question for me
then becomes what elements of myself do
I show you the marketing honest words
tell me that’s my brand
Joey Thurmond fit fitness guru health
expert and wellness influencer the brand
something I’m supposed to sell but you
don’t learn about selling yourself as a
brand when studying to become a personal
trainer and now to take my business to
the next level I need to build that
brand so I went on a journey to figure
out what in the hell all of that means
your value is measured by your brand
equity a marketing consultant told me my
value
my value that seems arbitrary if my
value is measured by this equity
what’s the metric well that question
wasn’t hard for two friends of mine to
answer one a TV producer the other
national magazine editor two different
companies two separate conversations
despite their personal recommendations
and my qualifications their boss has
told them he needs three hundred
thousand we only work with people who
have three hundred thousand social media
followers that’s how we know they’re
legitimate okay my value then about
thirty thousand so I need three hundred
thousand people to like me
and follow me from me to be relevant it
sounded crazy but at least I’ve got my
metric there so I thought let’s work on
building your brand that marketing
expert told me they told me to be
playful yes be in shape but not
unachievable be a be perfect but
approachable just be yourself but try to
be more like this guy yeah it’s five
hundred thousand followers only post at
peak engagement times of 6:00 a.m. noon
and 9:00 p.m.
oh wait wait wait wait wait wait one
more thing
ready post a lot of shirtless selfies
you need to create a character and make
it seem like you are a celebrity and
your life is better than the lives of
your followers my life needs to appear
better than yours we all do crazy things
to be successful sometimes some we’re
proud of and then there’s a time I paid
a guy who promised he could give me five
thousand followers they turned out to be
fake yeah where I paid a follow farm to
follow and unfollow people on my behalf
so my profile could get noticed
makes sense or the time I paid a service
to like my photos or when I covered
myself in saran wrap and hemorrhoid
cream just to show how you could get
slightly more abdominal definition just
from sweating a little bit it works
all in all last year I spent more on
social media marketing than the price of
all of my certifications in five years
of college apparently becoming a brand
has a price and it’s steep steeper than
I realize from looking at my bank
account and my life then a friend sent
me a link
I clicked feeling like you can’t stop I
couldn’t get rid of Instagram if you’re
missing out Oh like when I failed to put
my accountant private withdrawal like
when I physically get anxious if I don’t
post at peak engagement times taking
risks paying for followers relationship
problems
my birthday dinner I didn’t need to read
any further these were all signs of
addiction in the quest for 300,000 likes
from strangers I was becoming a stranger
to the one I liked the most the
obsession with being present online came
at the cost of me being absent in real
life it made me question my intent was
that excited for future life events
because of content would I be that new
dad in the delivery room yeah holding my
wife’s hand but at the same time trying
to capture the moment for likes and
follows what’s happening to me I was
turning into that guy who needed more
followers
the guy who places current value at
38,000 out of 300,000 38,000 felt like a
failure instead of an accomplishment
this constant need to be liked and
followed was causing me anxiety and
paranoia it’s something I’m all too
familiar with I was the awkward kid
growing up in st. Louis he insecured
teen whose mom put him on suicide watch
the student who barely made it through
college and I am the guy standing here
today who still struggles with
depression
like anyone who was bullied as a kid or
struggles with themselves we all cope in
different ways often building an armor
mine was Fitness I committed myself to
being physically stronger than my
bullies and I thought I could muscle
through my anxieties but I was wrong
from birth were branded as individuals
and now social media creates a new level
of pressure on who we are supposed to be
the first impression has forever been
changed at a quick glance it’s decided
whether we get swipe left or swipe right
who we are as a people isn’t decided at
the first meeting it comes from a
creeping but social media is a necessity
it’s the modern day resume it creates
opportunity it allows us to reach people
to inspire to teach to learn to have fun
and to laugh at ourselves but it also
creates the illusion that we must attain
someone else’s unattainable goal a
perception of perfection and working
towards someone else’s goal made me feel
unworthy irrelevant and forever climbing
with the metric change if I ever reach
300 thousand I don’t know then it
happened
my wife and I were going for a walk one
day in my figurative pile of crap
presented itself literally in the form
of a 300-pound cement statue the statue
immediately made my wife and I start
laughing a statue with a huge swirl on
the top and the words Shh
it’s fountain inscribed on the front so
naturally my wife was absolutely her
idea had to take a picture of me
pretending to well
you know that’s the thing about me
there’s nothing more authentic than that
inner child laughing at the ridiculous
life-sized poop emoji but all this can
it be more off-brand this wasn’t a
picture with a perfect lighting setting
and filter this wasn’t what a fitness
guru posed but I posted it anyway
I did what I realize is that we make an
impression once we stop trying so hard
to be so impressive being real authentic
and not bound by so many rules may not
get us thousands of followers or certain
job opportunities but it will certainly
get us followers that count social media
is a two-dimensional version of
ourselves a persona a caricature of our
own creation on our own terms so now you
can find me and I mean me and that
life-sized poop emoji on Instagram thank
you
my wife planned a special night for my
birthday we’re sitting at an amazing
Michelin star rated restaurant she looks
stunning as she always does and I’m
trying to hold my own in the suit like
this and when the food starts coming out
I think what so many of us think
nowadays that will look great on
Instagram the appetizer comes out oh
wait don’t take a bite main course oh
that’s nice snap honey what’s wrong oh
look at that dessert it looks perfect
hold holds click lighting filter setting
post content I mean it was awesome but
my pride in taking those perfect shots
was interrupted when I looked up from my
phone and saw my wife sitting there
alone how did this become normal my
normal
for me it has a lot to do with my job a
job that I love I’m a personal trainer
and it’s a very personal profession
interaction with the trainer is
extremely intimate we all have body
insecurities a little extra belly fat
scrawny legs arms that keep waving long
after you’ve stopped and you’re about to
hire someone to literally stare at talk
about and work those bits we all prefer
never to showcase so it comes as no
surprise to me that before you start
working with me
you start creeping on me who’s this dude
I’m about to spend time with and these
days you don’t ask for my credentials
resume or go to my website you go to my
Instagram so then the question for me
then becomes what elements of myself do
I show you the marketing honest words
tell me that’s my brand
Joey Thurmond fit fitness guru health
expert and wellness influencer the brand
something I’m supposed to sell but you
don’t learn about selling yourself as a
brand when studying to become a personal
trainer and now to take my business to
the next level I need to build that
brand so I went on a journey to figure
out what in the hell all of that means
your value is measured by your brand
equity a marketing consultant told me my
value
my value that seems arbitrary if my
value is measured by this equity
what’s the metric well that question
wasn’t hard for two friends of mine to
answer one a TV producer the other
national magazine editor two different
companies two separate conversations
despite their personal recommendations
and my qualifications their boss has
told them he needs three hundred
thousand we only work with people who
have three hundred thousand social media
followers that’s how we know they’re
legitimate okay my value then about
thirty thousand so I need three hundred
thousand people to like me
and follow me from me to be relevant it
sounded crazy but at least I’ve got my
metric there so I thought let’s work on
building your brand that marketing
expert told me they told me to be
playful yes be in shape but not
unachievable be a be perfect but
approachable just be yourself but try to
be more like this guy yeah it’s five
hundred thousand followers only post at
peak engagement times of 6:00 a.m. noon
and 9:00 p.m.
oh wait wait wait wait wait wait one
more thing
ready post a lot of shirtless selfies
you need to create a character and make
it seem like you are a celebrity and
your life is better than the lives of
your followers my life needs to appear
better than yours we all do crazy things
to be successful sometimes some we’re
proud of and then there’s a time I paid
a guy who promised he could give me five
thousand followers they turned out to be
fake yeah where I paid a follow farm to
follow and unfollow people on my behalf
so my profile could get noticed
makes sense or the time I paid a service
to like my photos or when I covered
myself in saran wrap and hemorrhoid
cream just to show how you could get
slightly more abdominal definition just
from sweating a little bit it works
all in all last year I spent more on
social media marketing than the price of
all of my certifications in five years
of college apparently becoming a brand
has a price and it’s steep steeper than
I realize from looking at my bank
account and my life then a friend sent
me a link
I clicked feeling like you can’t stop I
couldn’t get rid of Instagram if you’re
missing out Oh like when I failed to put
my accountant private withdrawal like
when I physically get anxious if I don’t
post at peak engagement times taking
risks paying for followers relationship
problems
my birthday dinner I didn’t need to read
any further these were all signs of
addiction in the quest for 300,000 likes
from strangers I was becoming a stranger
to the one I liked the most the
obsession with being present online came
at the cost of me being absent in real
life it made me question my intent was
that excited for future life events
because of content would I be that new
dad in the delivery room yeah holding my
wife’s hand but at the same time trying
to capture the moment for likes and
follows what’s happening to me I was
turning into that guy who needed more
followers
the guy who places current value at
38,000 out of 300,000 38,000 felt like a
failure instead of an accomplishment
this constant need to be liked and
followed was causing me anxiety and
paranoia it’s something I’m all too
familiar with I was the awkward kid
growing up in st. Louis he insecured
teen whose mom put him on suicide watch
the student who barely made it through
college and I am the guy standing here
today who still struggles with
depression
like anyone who was bullied as a kid or
struggles with themselves we all cope in
different ways often building an armor
mine was Fitness I committed myself to
being physically stronger than my
bullies and I thought I could muscle
through my anxieties but I was wrong
from birth were branded as individuals
and now social media creates a new level
of pressure on who we are supposed to be
the first impression has forever been
changed at a quick glance it’s decided
whether we get swipe left or swipe right
who we are as a people isn’t decided at
the first meeting it comes from a
creeping but social media is a necessity
it’s the modern day resume it creates
opportunity it allows us to reach people
to inspire to teach to learn to have fun
and to laugh at ourselves but it also
creates the illusion that we must attain
someone else’s unattainable goal a
perception of perfection and working
towards someone else’s goal made me feel
unworthy irrelevant and forever climbing
with the metric change if I ever reach
300 thousand I don’t know then it
happened
my wife and I were going for a walk one
day in my figurative pile of crap
presented itself literally in the form
of a 300-pound cement statue the statue
immediately made my wife and I start
laughing a statue with a huge swirl on
the top and the words Shh
it’s fountain inscribed on the front so
naturally my wife was absolutely her
idea had to take a picture of me
pretending to well
you know that’s the thing about me
there’s nothing more authentic than that
inner child laughing at the ridiculous
life-sized poop emoji but all this can
it be more off-brand this wasn’t a
picture with a perfect lighting setting
and filter this wasn’t what a fitness
guru posed but I posted it anyway
I did what I realize is that we make an
impression once we stop trying so hard
to be so impressive being real authentic
and not bound by so many rules may not
get us thousands of followers or certain
job opportunities but it will certainly
get us followers that count social media
is a two-dimensional version of
ourselves a persona a caricature of our
own creation on our own terms so now you
can find me and I mean me and that
life-sized poop emoji on Instagram thank
you
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