Meet Kwaku Osei | Certified Personal Trainer & Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kwaku Osei and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kwaku, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Growing up, taking a risk was something I just wasn’t going to do. I was an introvert, halfway shy, and only engaged in the activities I knew I would have a great opportunity for success. That mentality stuck with me well into my 20s to almost early 30s. It wasn’t until I got around some friends who exposed me to what risk taking really meant.

To me, taking a risk meant it was a blind attempt at something you desired, but really didn’t know what you were doing. Now for some people, that is the case. But, then there’s the other side of risk; doing some real research about that desired outcome, like what do you need, the length of time it could take to acquire it, and then going all in until either you make it happen or don’t. For me, it was the fear of “not making it happen” that crippled me. I just assumed I wasn’t worthy of the desired outcome.

What changed for me was the exposure to the relevant information and getting around people that are working in the industry, and most importantly, look like me!

Fast forward five years later, I found that energy by taking one big risk. I quit my job of five years, to work another job that had undesirable, yet advantageous hours so that I could pursue my passions of becoming a certified personal trainer and to also work on my creative arts projects. Going from working a 9 to 5 Monday through Friday to now working 4 overnight shifts Thursday through Sunday was a bold transition. However, it gave me the chance to train my clients during the day and spend my other free hours growing my graphic design business.

I stuck with this plan for solid year and a half and built a solid clientele for both my personal training and creative business. I’ve been able to blend the two businesses as well; from designing my own brand and marketing to designing gym apparel. If I don’t take that risk and leave the cushy 9 to 5, there’s no telling how much regret I’d have today. I’m happy to say, I’m a few more great financial months away from leaving corporate and being a full time entrepreneur.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My business model is built on what I needed. What I believe we all need… Each other. CoachKuGotYou (CKGY) means exactly that. If a potential client reaches out to me, they always start with their fitness and physique goals. I always pull away at the layers of who they are and find out what their real pain point is. Anyone can go on YouTube and Google and search for a macro calculator, workout plan, diet plan and all the above. But, they’re not getting that personal development, the accountability, and sometimes tough love.

I got my start through my friend, Chuck, who was actually my first ever personal trainer. He started out in a commercial gym and then bet on himself and opened his own location, C Training, which is where I train my clients til this day.

Exposure is probably the one thing that I always fall back on when I feel stagnant in my business and even in real life. If I’m stuck, it means I don’t have the right information yet. I will always seek out information or someone who is where I’m trying to be in life. Whether it be business development, building relationships or self-development, the right exposure can catapult you to a new level.

I learned the business side, which wasn’t easy in the beginning. Sales was not a natural thing for me, but as I learned more about fitness and understood the value I provided my clients, it got easier to name my price. I find that most challenges are overcome by exposing yourself to more information and then executing on those actionable steps.

I’m really excited about bringing my creative side over to my fitness world. I have degree in Digital Media Arts, with a concentration in Graphic Design. I’ve been using my skills to development my own advertising and marketing materials, but I’m really excited about launching my own apparel line. I’ve been wearing my own branded clothes for some time now, and my clients are always asking for merch! It’s exciting to know there are people who believe in my brand and want to support.

With my apparel, I want to build a community that knows that you should have the audacity to be who you are and chase after your dreams. That within this community we got each other’s back and will push each other to level up in our respective lanes.

CKGY is not just for fitness. It’s also wellness. When I train my clients, their bringing a lot of stress with them. So we work through them through conversation, share life experiences, books, podcasts, and of course plenty of heavy lifting. Most people think their WHY is getting six pack abs. CKGY is about understanding health is as much a state of mind as it is a physical state. The two are inevitably connected.

My clients soon discover their Whys are way more fulfilling, such as “I want to feel good in my own skin again”, “I want to be able to keep up with my newborn when she starts running” or it could be as simple as,”I want to live a long life”.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Wow, this is a good question. I’m certainly a creature of habit, so I go to the same 3 to 5 places. Funny enough, my best friend is coming into town later this month. Its Fall in Buffalo, NY, right now, right, but that really means it’s basically winter on most days.

We wouldn’t do many outdoor things, but Buffalo does have plenty indoor activities, such as food. The morning routine would be breakfast at either Olympic Restaurant, best chocolate chip pancakes ever or Spot Coffee or a mix of both. We’d naturally hit the gym afterwards. The Fashion Outlets in Niagara Falls is a great place to just walk and get some light shopping done because you can never have enough gym gear.

Depending on the day of the week, we’d head over to The Heights Experience for some drinks and wings! Good friends of mine own the place and they also know my best friend. There’s more than likely a game on the big screen, so we’d spend a good amount of time there. Another dinner option would be Mister Pizza! Personally, top 3 pizzerias in Buffalo, and their wings are also very, very good.

If we wanted to dine in, we’d hook up with some friends we both went to college with and go to Brickhouse Tavern or Gabriel’s Gate. Two completely different menus, but never a bad time.

Chances are we’d still be hungry! We’ve been known to order the six pack of cookies from Insomnia Cookies.

Now, if this is a friend of mine who’s never been to Buffalo, NY, we’d go to some staple locations. The Niagara Falls is a quick drive from my home. We could experience both the American and Canadian view, Canadian being the better view. From there, if the weather is appropriate go for a hike in by The Gorge or Devil’s Spring Hiking Trail.

We’d head back to the city of Buffalo, could grab some lunch at ETS, they have the best waffle fries, and we can combo that with a fresh chicken supreme wrap. ETS is located in Elmwood Village, which is a great area to park and walk. Tons of mom and pop gift shops, small businesses and some unique and historic architecture. Buffalo is known for being the founding space for architecture experimentation, which I admittedly didn’t know until recently.

Lastly, if it’s a late night of drinking, we’d get some grub from Jim’s Steakout. If you live in Buffalo long enough, you’ll learn this is one of the few places still open passed midnight and serves great steak hoagies and fries!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I owe my success and self-development to a lot of people, and certainly the books and courses I’ve indulged. My parents and siblings, my core unit of great friends, my pastor who empowered me like I was one of his sons, and youtube videos with Eric “ET The Hip Hop Preacher” Thomas, and so on.

However, I want to dedicate my shoutout to my wife, Casey, for the last five years of life. She’s been my biggest supporter from our first conversation when we met on a random night in Toronto til this day. Casey saw my passion for fitness and even my graphic design, and she made me believe I could be successful in both fields. I started to train my first clients during the summer of 2017, when we met and the rest is history.

It helped that she also enjoyed health and wellness. Casey’s trust in me made it easy to step out of my comfort zone and take a chance on myself and start my training business. She eventually fed off of her own energy and started a meal prep service here in Buffalo, NY.

Shoutout to my wife, Casey Osei!

Instagram: coachkugotyou

Image Credits
FRESHFOCUS CKGY SEEKAXIOM