Bully By Nature works the pull-up bars impressively, swiveling and spinning. He then proceeds to lift weights, perform a flawless back flip in place and drop for a series of unorthodox pushups before finally flipping over a tire, the latter having seemingly fallen off of a Monster Truck; all this to the beat of a Young M.A track playing almost hypnotically in the background. This is not out of the ordinary for Bully; it is simply a part of his Calisthenics workout. You can watch them with amazement too, if you follow him on Instagram. His collection of daily pictures and videos are enough to put fitness thoughts into even the laziest of minds.
Bully is fit, jacked, tattooed and black. He sports a cocky smile, not the annoying kind but rather one worn by someone who has confidence and humility; by someone who’s seen it all. His place of business is quiet now, but will soon be bustling with sounds of clanging and banging as he works out his clients, helping them find and reach their fitness goals. Working out of l’Usine Cross Fit, at the West Island’s Monster Gym, Bully is a personal fitness trainer on a mission. He’s a success story now, or at the very least on the verge of becoming one. He trains over 35 personal clients, all wishing to transform their bodies and minds into better versions of themselves. That’s what Bully does best. He helps people.
Instagram and Social Media play a huge role in the acquisition of clients for Bully. For most new entrepreneurs, the world of Social Media can be a daunting one, a tool too-often ignored or misused in favour of more traditional forms of advertising. But Bully understood from the get-go that if he was going to make it in this market, Social Media Marketing was the way to go.
“The best tool in this line of business is word-of-mouth, and Social Media is definitely word-of-mouth on steroids” Bully says matter-of-factly. “I don’t really need anything other than Instagram. All I do is post daily pictures and videos, and it gets people talking. I don’t need to spend any money on other forms of advertising or marketing. Social Media lets me build my brand at a very low cost, with the only real investment being time. It also lets people see the real me.” Being himself is important to Bully.
Life wasn’t always this easy for him, his goals not always this clear. Bully, real name Junior Jean Paul, grew up in a tough part of Montreal, rolled with a tough crowd, made the wrong choices. He wasn’t always this fit, either. It was only after tearing up his knee during a back-alley brawl outside a neighborhood apartment building against a guy who outweighed him by at least forty pounds that Bully knew things had to change. But it was at his childhood sweetheart’s urging that he finally invested his energy and efforts into fitness. As fit as he became, he didn’t immediately see the career path that seemed to loom in front of him. After all, there was one more bump in that road.
“Ultimately, the only result that comes from the type of life I was leading caught up with me: I ended up getting arrested and put in prison. While fighting the case and serving weekends in prison, I met people who urged me, to my surprise, to forget about this life of crime and make something of myself as a man” Bully looks at these comments as a bit of a turning point in his life. It was there, in prison, that he started focusing on a new life path. Facing three years, he focused on beating the case and proving to both the system and himself that he was a good man.
“I started working out and posting pictures to Instagram. People really loved it; it seemed to inspire them to better themselves. So I enrolled in a YMCA class where I earned a certification to become a personal trainer.” Bully didn’t branch out on his own at first, however; he began working at a big-name gym, where patrons were wary of his look. “My look definitely scared more than a few people away. At this gym, people weren’t used to a big, black, tattooed guy. I didn’t really fit in.” He left that gym, and ultimately decided to go into business for himself, creating the Bully By Nature brand and ending up at l’Usine Cross Fit.
“My first thought was ‘How do I get clients?’. My biggest concern was growth. Luckily, I was maintaining my Instagram page, and clients began contacting me after seeing my workout pictures and videos.” Bully’s business grew quickly, and he was able to quit his job working at a warehouse and focus solely on the fitness training. He credits Social Media with helping him acquire and maintain his core clients.
“I definitely notice a rise in clients the more I post. I hired a photographer to come do a quick photo shoot for Instagram, to give it a different feel than just my usual material, and just posting those pictures on Social Media led to 5 meetings with potential clients in a single week.”
What makes Bully unique these days is his focus on Instagram. Most small businesses are encouraged to branch out and use all forms, especially Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. Bully does have a Facebook page, but he uses it only as a messaging tool, linked to his Instagram page in order for potential clients to contact him.
“It’s what works for me. Maybe somewhere down the line I will look into other media but right now Instagram is doing everything I want it to and more.”
What’s next for Bully? “Expansion; I look at Toronto, and I see plenty of market space for someone like me. That’s definitely something that interests me.” He is also looking at developing his own clothing line.
There is a lot more to Bully than initially meets the eye. He has a deep soul, and nowhere is that more evident than in his name. “A lot of people see the name Bully, and they think about the negative connotations associated with the word. But it’s not even like that. At first, I thought of Bully like a Bulldog: If a big, mean-looking bulldog walked in on us right now, your first thought would be one of concern. The dog can be the sweetest dog in the world, it could just want to play and get affection but your first thought is understandably going to be one of weariness, and potentially, fear. That’s how I feel I’m viewed. People see me with my tattoos and they take a step back; get to know me though, and I’ll give you nothing but respect.”
Make sure to follow @ChosenBully on Instagram.
