Today we’d like to introduce you to Martin Gibson.
Martin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started in my mother’s house basement where there were coffee tables, and couches in the basement when I first started. I promised my mother if she allowed me to rent her basement that I would furnish her basement with new furniture when I decided to leave her basement. We gave one of my brothers her furniture and I started to buy equipment for the basement gym. Years later, helping over 160 earn athletic scholarships, I decided to lease a retail building and move the basement gym into a 1,000 square foot building which my neighbors of the new gym couldn’t imagine. We stayed in the 1,000 square foot building for 5 years before moving into a 5,000 square foot building where we are at this present time. As of today, we have helped over 450 students earn athletic scholarships while over 50 of them have had their names called during the NFL, NBA, and WNBA drafts.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
– I lacked resources and still do to this day but I’m very strategic in planning and budgeting in order to get things done.
– I lacked the knowledge of running a business
– Finding a balance between work and home life
– When I first started, I was a full time federal officer and I worked the gym in my off- duty time including days off work.
– Trained all sports but I couldn’t support them at their sporting events because I needed to be in the gym
– I couldn’t afford a staff so I had to work all the hours
– Trained some kids for free because of their financial situations
– Even had to pick some of the kids up and take them home after workouts because of their living situations
As you know, we’re big fans of Gibson Performance Training. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a company that specializes in sports performance training and serve people in the DMV area. We challenge our clients mentally and physically before, during, and after workouts. We preached the word “Family” and although everyone’s experience with their family situation might not be the best it symbolizes our gym. Some days you come in and may not want to be there, but you get through it, some days you can’t wait to workout at the gym, some days you just want to be in the presence of the energy of the gym and the encouraging people. We hold each other accountable, we push one another, and we support one another. When people see our logo or hear our company name, their expectation of our clients and the workouts within the gym is what we are most proud of. We started this gym/ brand from a house basement so you can’t tell us what we are capable and not capable of. We feel anything we put our mind to, we will achieve it.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Watching my mother working so hard to take care of my brothers and I. I thought it was normal and I didn’t realize we struggled because we had so much fun in the house and we all felt loved.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gibsonpt.com
- Instagram: @gibson_pt
- Twitter: @GibsonTraining
