Meet David Minishian | Personal Trainer & Nutritionist

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Minishian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Our Small Group Boot Camp, Semi-Private Training, and Private Training programs include everything our clients need from training to nutrition to accountability. What started as only a group fitness training class has been expanded on and refined over time with the help of client feedback. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve our services and offerings to meet our members’ needs.

Our first big improvement was building out of our Nutrition Coaching program to address the unique dietary patterns of each client. Since a generic meal plan doesn’t work for most people, we created a process that shows our clients how to get the results they want including foods they enjoy eating. Whether you like to cook at home or pick up food on the go, our process adapts to your food and cooking preferences and works with meals from all cultures.

There’s a common saying that “a program only works if you follow it.” We’ve found that our members better adhere to the training and nutrition plan when they are held accountable, so our coaches reach out to missing members. Whether you missed a reserved class or forgot to tell us about a week-long vacation, you can expect a text or call from your coach. After setting this level of accountability, our clients have had more consistent results. To measure these results, we upgraded our scale to an InBody Scanner. Since the scale doesn’t show the change in composition, building muscle and losing fat, our clients previously looked at their weight to quantify their results. With the InBody Scanner, they get an in-depth breakdown of their composition and a segmental analysis to see where they are building muscle whether their arms, legs, or truck. By providing more information on each client’s progress, they are empowered with confidence that the program is working.

Making changes like these has set our programs apart from the general exercise classes available at most chain gyms. By developing our programs to deliver on a specific result, our client can join knowing that they’ll get exactly what they need to reach their goal.

What should our readers know about your business?
Sculpt Fitness just celebrated its 5-year anniversary. What started as a little boot camp gym has turned into a 3000 sqft facility with individual and group fitness programs, 6 trainers, a private chef, and a thriving, supportive community.

So how did we get here?

In 2013 I started personal training for a metabolic disease research lab at UCLA. There I trained patients who were either obese and/or diabetic. The goal was to help them reverse their chronic disease using only exercise and nutrition. It was very successful. Since then, I have worked as a personal trainer independently, in private facilities, and in big box gyms while pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry from UCLA and my Master’s Degree in Public Health – Nutrition from Loma Linda University. Additional pursuits include teaching health and nutrition programs for middle and high school students, leading nutrition workshops in several rural countries with medical mission groups, running exercise classes for after school programs, and coaching sports teams.

After 7 years of training and coaching, I took a risk and purchased Sculpt Fitness in September 2019. For those first couple months the gym slowly grew, then pandemic hit and we closed our doors. I remember the intense feeling of stress and overwhelm. Once calm, I adapted and problem solved: how can I still provide the best service to my clients during this time? Trying to overcome this challenge, the foundation of our Sculpt Fitness community was born.

During COVID I created an online training program where I streamed myself doing a pre-recorded workout via Zoom. This allowed me to provide LIVE form correction for my clients exercising at home. In between classes I developed our Nutrition Coaching Program and compiled the pre-recorded workouts into an On-Demand Workout series.

When we were allowed to safely reopen outdoors, we adapted again. I bought outdoor equipment, misters to stay cool, a wagon to cart weights to our back parking lot, and cleaned down the asphalt regularly. Our Outdoor Bootcamp attracted people seeking community and wanting to prioritize their health. Within a few months our clients tripled, and we were able to bring in additional coaches for help.

When it was safe to reopen indoors, we adapted yet again. Private Training flourished and our Bootcamp members were achieving fantastic results. But we had a problem. The many successful clients who loved the group classes were outgrowing the Bootcamp! They needed a more advanced training protocol to continue seeing the best results. However, Private Training wasn’t the right solution because it didn’t have the group community setting these members loved. In January 2022 we launched the solution – The Semi-Private Training Program. This program mixed the personalized programming of private training with the motivating team environment of group training. At first we started with two training times on the weekdays. Now almost 3 years later, we have 4 class times plus a waitlist to get in.

Over the past 5 years, we’ve grown significantly, had a tremendous number of 5-star reviews, and earned our spot on the Press Telegram’s Best of Long Beach. In fact, for 2023 and 2024 we were rated the Best of Long Beach in multiple categories including: health club, private training, boot camp, and nutrition coaching.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My best friend and I actually met up recently for a week. If we recreated that trip here in Los Angeles, our itinerary would look something like this. We’d definitely do a few hiking trips – Hollywood Sign, Rancho Palos Verde Bluff Trails, and Whittier Hills. The Sender One rock climbing gym would be worth a trip as well. For food I love cooking, but we’d also go out for Mediterranean food over at The Olive and this amazing taco spot Tacos Don Goyo, both in Downey. There are many things to do in Los Angeles, but these are a few of my favorites.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My alarm went off at 4:15am. I was scheduled to meet the previous owner of Sculpt Fitness and observe the morning classes. This was the last meeting before deciding to purchase the gym. It was my dream to be a business owner. For the last 2 years I ran a small family business and built up the confidence to take the leap for myself.

However, that night I didn’t feel confident. I was stressed. My heart pounded. My head raced with thoughts. I stared at the wall all night hoping to calm my anxiety and sleep. It didn’t happen. I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if I failed. What if the business wasn’t successful. At the time Vanessa, my wife, was pregnant with our first child (Isabella), and I was feeling the weight of responsibility to provide for her. Taking a risk like this didn’t feel stable. When my alarm finally went off, the crippling fear kept me in bed. Deciding to skip the appointment at 5am gave me instant relief, and I fell asleep.

About an hour later Vanessa woke up, checked the time, and got me up. I tried to explain that I couldn’t do it. I’ll never forget how she replied, “I didn’t marry a coward.” I sat there in silence for a moment. Albeit harsh…she was right. This was my dream and I wasn’t seizing it. Immediately, I rescheduled for 6am and closed the deal.

I tell this story, because being an entrepreneur is hard. You need people that tell you “you can” rather than “that’s risky.” Owning a business requires taking many risks. You need to bet on yourself and sometimes that’s really hard. I’m blessed to have a wife that has continued to support and believe in me even when I don’t believe in myself. Thanks Vanessa…we wouldn’t be here without you.

Website: https://sculptfitnessla.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/sculptfitnessla

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sculpt-fitness-la

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SculptFitnessLA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sculptfitnessla/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sculpt-fitness-long-beach-7

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL8cCEaMcF3DsXwqV1M1dsw/

Other: Phone: 562-470-6466