March 27, 2017

Meet Andrew Johnston of Triumph Training in the Old Fourth Ward

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Johnston.

Andrew, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was a professional cyclist who found my way into the field of health initially as a (legal) performance enhancer and eventually as a career after my third concussion ended my cycling career at the age of 26.

Has it been a smooth road?
The initial hurdle was spousal approval. My wife wanted me to have a job with a consistent pay check, envisioning more of a 9-5 gig. But after breaking the speed limit down hundreds of mountain roads all over the world, the idea of sitting behind a desk was less than appealing. Besides, I didn’t know how to tie a tie (and I still don’t) …I convinced Diana to give me a year, and I would make it happen. When you’re passionate about something, working hard isn’t a struggle. Obstacles become more like milestones to mark how far you’ve come and how much you’ve achieved.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Triumph Training story. Tell us more about the business.
The typical client at Triumph Training is someone who was referred to me after the conventional medical system failed to completely resolve their health issues. Maybe it’s a friend or a colleague. Oftentimes it’s one of the select health practitioners I know and respect in the field. And when a current or past client entrusts a family member to my care, that’s always the biggest compliment. That’s my business model–clients who are walking/talking (and sometimes swimming, cycling, or running) bill boards of health and the principles I both teach and practice myself. It must be working, too, as approximately 90% of new clients are word-of-mouth.

As for what I’m known for, it may be my ability to see the big picture. I perform an extensive physical assessment that takes about two hours. I also send out what has been described as a “mountain of paperwork” that helps me analyze 26 gland and organ systems and the load under which they’re functioning. And since the human body is an incredibly integrated system of systems, improving one aspect of a client’s physiology has the potential to improve any of the others. That’s what makes my job so much fun: each one of us is different. Every experience we’ve ever had is reflected in the biochemistry of our bodies so that one size to exercise, nutrition, or health in general does not fit all. Indeed, the allopathic “this-for-that” approach is one of the reasons why health eludes the majority of people today.

A linear way of thinking needs to be replaced with a complexity model for us to fully realize our potential across all areas of health and performance. And that’s often founded in, ironically enough, the simple. How one thinks, breathes, drinks, eats, and sleeps has just as much impact on our physiology as how one moves, but too many of us forget this fact. At Triumph Training, I’m trying to make the basics sexy again!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I’ve seen far too frequently how bells and whistles is what gets people’s attention. Folks keep looking for the magic bullet, yet often end up shooting themselves in the foot. So I hope to see the industry more toward a more holistic approach to health and fitness. If we come to understand we are “wearing” what we’ve done to our bodies our entire lives, we’ll realize that health cannot be found in pills or a procedure. We may even find that health is our birthright; that Nature has given us everything we need to thrive. We simply need to stop trying to take shortcuts and enjoy the process.

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