Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Johnson.
Hi Nick, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
From the moment I started this business, I’ve received numerous questions about what the name “Triple Threat” stands for. Some people believe it has to do with my background in sports while others believe it has something to do with the connection between me and my children. To be very honest the meaning of “Triple Threat” is in reference to the product of what student-athletes will become after they finish the T3 Program.
In high school, I was always a student-athlete. My only dream at that time was to play in the NFL. I had it set in my mind that I was going to complete that goal and then come back to my high school and coach football. That was it. As I got closer to college, I started to realize how hard that dream was going to be. Regardless, I went on to play football in college. The entire recruiting process was interesting to me. My father who was working for the NCAA helped me through it. My parents always made sure that I focused on being a student first over an athlete so naturally, that was my focus. As I continued my journey through college I had different experiences with nonprofit organizations like the Children’s Defense Fund, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, the Boys and Girls Club, and others that started to show me the importance of mentoring and developing youth. As I moved toward the end of my college career, my journey took a different path and I decided that coaching football was something that I wanted to do. So, I became a teacher and started my coaching career.
Early in my coaching career, I was able to work with students on the college recruiting process. I paired students with schools that would not only allow them to play sports, but also give them the opportunity to go to college for free. I was able to help thirty-five student-athletes sign letters of intent. At that point, I was very proud of myself and the work that I had done, but it wasn’t until after I stopped being a coach that I realized there was a big problem I had completely missed. The students who I helped get to college weren’t graduating or going on to promising careers in their fields. Instead, they were transferring, dropping out, or being asked by schools not to return for behavior reasons or lack of academic achievement. This news really hit me hard because my goal was never to get the students to college just to play a sport. The true goal was always to help them be successful in life whether that journey included playing sports in college or not. In the end, While I was able to get thirty-five students to sign letters of intent, only five remained in college and graduated.
Because of this, I decided to create a program that not only helped students get to college but through college. I knew that there had to be something that I could do to break this cycle. Through research, personal experience, and mentoring I found that many student’s struggles are rooted in one of these three areas: academics, physical development, or personal development. For the last five years, I’ve dedicated my work to helping students grow in these areas. T3KC helps students be successful not just in sports but also in life. Being a teacher, I know how important education is to a student’s success, but I have always believed that there are many ways to make an impact in a young person’s life. Triple Threat Sports and Fitness Kansas City, LLC. has provided me the way to do that.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
For me, the road to growing Triple Threat Sports and Fitness has not been easy. It has been a consistent up and down process and there have been multiple obstacles along the way. Getting started was one of the biggest obstacles. It’s not difficult to become a legal business that is recognized by the state, but it’s still a process. Making sure that I had the proper paperwork and documents was a stumbling block in the beginning. Every time I thought I had things in order I didn’t. I didn’t know the first thing about starting a business and it showed. I didn’t know how to write a business plan, didn’t know about licensing, trademarks, or the things that you can and can’t do. All these things were hurdles that I had to get over.
Another obstacle was getting started in an industry that I had no clue about. The fitness industry is an ever-growing industry. One of the greatest obstacles that a new trainer encounters is not having anyone to guide you as you get into it. When I first started this business not a lot of people wanted to help me grow. Only a few people like the late Gary Taylor of Powerhouse fitness were kind enough to show me the ropes. Figuring out all the things needed to get a proper certification was another hurdle. There are so many different areas of fitness training, it’s very easy to lose your way. Taking out the time to create a schedule for studying and still working a full-time job was a different hurdle. There are tons of personal trainers around the world. It’s a competitive business and you must be able to stand out. Figuring out how to get clients, budgeting money, and even figuring out a place to train were things that I had to figure out all for myself. At times these continuous obstacles really discouraged me and made me question if this was something that I could really do at this moment in my life, or if I had waited too late to get started.
One of the greatest obstacles that I have had was not having a team to build this with. A great amount of the training, mentoring, financing, promoting, marketing, and scheduling is done solely by me. Trying to juggle all these roles while still having a full-time job slowed down the process of growing the business like I wanted to.
As you know, we’re big fans of Triple Threat Sports and Fitness Kansas City, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
The mission of Triple Threat Sports and Fitness Kansas City, LLC. is to provide all students with athletic training, educational assistance, and mentoring that will aid students to and through adulthood. Triple Threat has been operating in Kansas City, MO for the last five years and the program has been operating out of The Port KC gym in Westport at 4001 Broadway Kansas City, MO 64111.
At Triple Threat Sports and Fitness Kansas City, LLC; we are building student athletes “Brick By Brick” so we focus on the complete development of our student-athletes. T3KC is known for offering high-quality sports performance training for all athletes. It doesn’t matter to me if you classify yourself as an amateur, semi-professional, or professional athlete. Each program that we created is tailored specifically to make sure the athlete develops physically. To help our athletes reach those goals we make sure to connect our families with resources they need to be successful. To me T3 clients aren’t just people, they’re family. Our client’s success is our success and not just in athletics but also in life. All trainers are certified in different areas from personal training to strength and conditioning, but they aren’t just trainers they are also mentors for students and families in need. As mentors, our trainers work hard to make lifelong connections with each family they work with. This connection helps us assist our students with reaching their goals on the field, in the classroom, and in life. At T3 It’s not just about making a kid a better athlete. Yes, we can teach them about their sport, we can help them get bigger, faster, and stronger, but we want to help them be a better person as well. Our trainers are a resource to our families by mentoring each student athlete and providing information and assistance on multiple topics, such as athletic recruiting, college selection process, life skills, nutrition, and life after sports .
What sets us apart from other businesses is that we focus on more than just the physical development of a student-athlete. A lot of programs simply stop at an athlete’s physical development. The focus is to get them bigger, faster, and stronger for their sport and that’s it. At T3 we believe that the best way we can help our student-athletes is to develop them in all areas. This includes helping students close the opportunity gap. We do this by building on our athlete’s academic skills, brick by brick, through targeting tutoring in the areas of strategic reading, writing and composition skills, as well as mathematics. We also provide ACT/SAT prep classes so that every T3 athlete will understand the content of these pre-collegiate entrance exams, how to properly study for optimum success, and achieve the appropriate score that will help them with entrance at their chosen college/university as well as the NCAA or NAIA clearinghouse.
At T3KC we also believe that it’s important to help a student develop personally so We provide community based mentoring to help our athletes make wise choices that will help them to achieve success and not setbacks. T3’s mentoring structure is designed to help our athletes to be problem-solvers no matter what situation they may be in. Our Personal Development mentoring pillars are Leadership, Organization, Communication, Integrity, and Work Ethic. We want all of our athletes to grow and excel in these areas while involved with our program. Our mentoring curriculum will be delivered through both one-on-one and group settings to instill T3 athletes with everything that they need to know in order to transition from healthy students to healthy adults that are focused, goal driven, and self-sufficient.
If I could talk about the one thing I’m most proud of with the T3KC brand is that I am truly proud of how diverse the Triple Threat Brand has become. T3 is a brand that has the ability to represent many different people. A Triple Threat is someone who is skilled in many different areas. God gave each one of us many talents and abilities. If we keep that thought process in mind everyone can be a Triple Threat. It doesn’t matter if you are a student-athlete or just a normal student. Triple Threat Sports and Fitness Kansas City, LLC. is a program that helps in whatever way it can whether it’s physically, mentally, or emotionally. This mindset of diversity has also been displayed in the Triple Threat gear that athletes and supporters wear. The Triple threat brand and its gear has been worn by the artist, the businessman, the school teacher, the student-athlete, or even the general fitness enthusiast. This brand and program represent everyone because it’s for everyone.
The key piece that I want people to take away from this article is that Triple Threat is a place and program where people can grow in all areas. T3 is not just preparing athletes for competitions or futures in sports. We are preparing people for life. Many times, people walk through our doors and they are struggling with a number of issues. They may ask for training, but they get so much more when they become part of the Triple Threat Family. We are working on the development of the whole person. One of T3KC’s main mottos is that “we are more than just an athlete”. So, to fulfill this mission we work on the mind, body, and soul of all our clients. We want each of our clients to achieve success so we provide as much assistance as we can to help them reach their goals. At T3 we want to help develop all students to go from healthy children into healthy adults. For T3, I want people to know here is a place where you can grow regardless of the level that you are at. Triple Threat will offer programs for everyone. Currently, we offer personal training, sports performance training, group training, and tutoring services in math, reading, and writing and mentoring. We also do all of this for an affordable price that fits your budget. We look forward to continuing to grow and helping change lives in our community.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
To me, risk-taking is key to success. If you never try you will never succeed. For a long time, I was not a risk-taker. I didn’t really go outside of my comfort zone. Trying new things or pushing myself to step outside of my comfort zone wasn’t something I was going to do. As my life has progressed, I learned that you have to step out on faith. Taking risks is a necessity of life. It is something that each one of us must do. One very important lesson I learned just recently was that if you can, you should take calculated risks. Do the work, train your brain to learn the lessons you need to learn and go through the proper steps in the process. Then after you’ve done these things take the risk. A calculated one. One of the greatest pieces of advice I have ever been given is that you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Taking a risk is not comfortable. Becoming successful is not a comfortable process. So, if you want to become successful you have to adopt the T3KC Motto and build it “Brick By Brick”. Don’t see that hurdle in front of you as a giant obstacle you have to accomplish. Just think of it as another Brick you have to add to get to your success. Every day as long as you keep working eventually you will get there. Some people may make it there faster than you and that’s ok. That’s their journey, but for you, all you have to do is keep adding to it, Brick by Brick.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/t3sportskc/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/T3SportsKC/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/t3sportskc?lang=en
Image Credits:
Deon Cummings
Brandon Adams
Tyren Clark
