Bryce Holmes, owner and personal trainer, Holmes Health Fitness, Waukee

Date: 13-10-2010 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States

Company description: We run a fitness center that focuses on being a service-based facility. We specialize in personal training and educating people on the proper way to exercise and the proper nutrition to make a lifestyle change — not just a 10-week fix. I’m also a sponsored, national-level bodybuilder with Metabolic Technologies, an Ames company that manufactures a supplement that aids in muscle recovery and growth.

Background: I have been a national-level bodybuilder and trainer for more than 15 years.

Notable achievements: I was the 2006 Mr. Missouri super-heavy bodybuilding champion and finished sixth in my first national competition. I have been in four magazine ads in many different national fitness magazines.

Why I do what I do: I love helping people change their lives.

What I do to get away from work: I spend time with my wife, Kristin, and my daughter, Mataya, who is almost 7. Kristin is also an incredible trainer and my partner.

How I give back to the community: I try to get involved with schools to talk to the kids about health and fitness. I have been a part of helping my church with different things during Christmas, including helping the less fortunate. I always wanted to be able to mentor kids and do more for kids who don’t have as much.

Words to live by: Live each day as if it is your last. Don’t take the people who are most important in your life for granted. Give 100 percent in everything you do. Never say you wish you would have given more.

What Iowa can do to attract more people like me: Iowa needs to be a healthier place. People can find healthful food choices and physical activities. But on the West Coast, for example, healthful choices are a part of every restaurant’s menu, and therefore are a way of life.

My mentor: My mentor in bodybuilding has been International Federation of Bodybuilders professional Don Long. In business, it has been my good friend Doug Van Polen.

Leadership philosophy: Lead, not dictate. I cannot and will not expect my employees or clients to do anything I wouldn’t do. I’m there, doing it with them. I work hard and train hard. If you give respect, you earn respect. If you have a great business, provide great service and have a great product, you earn the trust and respect of members, clients and customers.

If I could do something else, I would: I would have kept playing football; I miss it, and I was very good at it. I wouldn’t change my life and what I have been blessed with.