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82 || FITNESS MAGAZINE || NOVEMBER 2015 MFM: You entered the fitness industry by competing in bodybuilding events right after college. What started off as an interest for you quickly became your passion and later, your profession. What hardships did you face when first entering the industry? What were the biggest lessons you acquired along the way? KO: My biggest challenge was going from a ME oriented mindset to a WE oriented mindset. When you compete, it%u2019s all about you and preparing yourself. When you are trainer, you got to get out of the front seat and get on the back seat. For a lot of people that%u2019s hard because it%u2019s no longer about you, it%u2019s about your athletes, and you can%u2019t put yourself in front of your athletes. So that mindset is a tough thing to do, it%u2019s no longer about you and you must let that go! It took me a couple of years to let that go, I realized that I had to be behind the scenes now. I am on the other side and so it%u2019s something that it took me a little while to grasp.MFM: The phenomenon of social media has seemed to shape the way many companies work and market themselves to their target audiences. Does it play a huge role, if any; in the way you market your programs? KO: It has totally changed the venue of where the focus falls on advertising. Before it was about website, and phones, now with social media, things are on the spot. Everything happens now. People take pictures and post them immediately in such a fast clip. People get a chance to see exactly what you do because their friends tag their friends who tag their friends. It has changed the mentality of how we advertise. I think 90% has been good but there is the other 10% that you go look and think, OMG why did they post that? (Laughs) Most of it has been good, but it has definitely changed the minds of the young, it has brought a younger feel into it because so much of social media is part of a younger generation.MFM: As a personal trainer and nutritionist, you must interact with numerous people with various attitudes. How do you get through to the %u201cNegative Nancy%u2019s%u201d of your clients to encourage them to reach their goals? Do you have any specific tactics you follow?KO: I think as trainers, there is no right or wrong way on how you work with people; we each have our own thumbprint and our own personalities. My personality is that I am not a drill Sargent and you know I am a cheerleader by nature. There is a lot of times that 90% of my job is psychological because in the world of competitions, girls and guys go through a pile of different emotions. Unfortunately, we don%u2019t have control over the outside circumstances. Break-ups happen, things happen within work environment and everything else that compounds or brings in negativity towards their prep or their program. I don%u2019t like to dwell on negativity. I won%u2019t talk negativity with my athletes because I think that putting a light on an area that he/she is trying to get away from is never a good idea. At the same time you have to provide structure and guidance to get them off of that mindset. That%u2019s challenging sometimes! You have to have this switch to be able to turn it off. People ask me, how do you talk to so many people and manage not to let it effect what you are doing during the day? You have to do that and let it go. MFM: As a nutritionist, what are your thoughts on fad diets and weight-loss products? Do you allow clients to use them while following your program? What is your personal nutrition plan?KO: I have never been a proponent of fad diets only because I think it sets people up for failure. Can they get results from it? Possibly, but it%u2019s like, how do you return to normality? So with me, I am much more toward having a balance, especially when you are training female athletes or female clients. Their hormonal process is very different and a little more delicate. If you don%u2019t keep all of that in check, things can go to a very crazy place. With me, I am all about balancing nutrition and training and I don%u2019t like to do faddish things, or harsh changes. I like to do everything