"Q&A with Scott Haavisto"

Meet Scott Haavisto of Global Protection Corp.

MPTS: Welcome Mr. Scott Haavisto. Hi Scott, thanks for taking some time out of your day to sit with us and share with our readers a little bit about you and your work experiences.

Scott Haavisto (SH): Thanks, Boh. Great to be here.

MPTS: I've known you well for about 6 years now. Could you give our audience a glimpse of who you are?

SH: Absolutely. After growing up in Leominster, MA, I enrolled at Umass-Lowell in the Exercise Physiology department. I had always been involved with sports and had a strong interest in the human body and how it relates to sports-performance. My initial intent was to study straight through Grad School and collect my doctorate in Physical Therapy... I changed my mind after the first semester because apparently I wasn't the only one with this idea. The renewed interest in Physical Therapy led to an influx of students, and naturally, a lower demand in the workforce. So, plans changed and I graduated with a B.S. in Exercise Physiology.

MPTS: People contact me everyday saying...."I've got my Exercise Physiology degree. Now what?" ...How did having that degree shape the earlier part of your career? Looking back, was it critical in that path?

SH: I'm psyched I made the decision to graduate as an Exercise Physiologist. It's a flexible degree and has opened so many doors me. For example, there are two distinct paths you can entertain being an EP - Athletic training and Clinical.

I got to experience both during school as I spent one semester in a hospital and another in a fitness center. My passion for sports led to my decision to focus in the gym environment and ultimately to where I am today. I thoroughly enjoy working with athletes and finding ways to challenge and motivate them; their success is my success.

MPTS: I'd love for you to tell our readers more about exactly where you are and what you are doing.

SH: I knew this was coming! After school I settled down with a large gym chain in the Northeast and began my career as a personal trainer (much like many EP's). There's one very important ingredient, however, that many schools don't teach their upcoming health professions... The art of selling. And itis just that, an art. And to the dismay of so many hopeful EP's in the gym setting, it can make or break your career.

Communicating and connecting to your clients is key, you can have all the knowledge in the world but if you can't explain the benefits of a healthy lifestyle in a clear, friendly, comfortable way, few will buy-in to what you're promoting and finding aconsistent client base will be an uphill battle. It's those that are confident, outgoing, and knowledgeable who can simplify a workout and create challenging, yet achievable, goals that succeed in this environment.

I'll be honest, I can walk into a gym and just by scanning the fitness floor, tell which trainers are successful and which are struggling. If nothing else, be approachable and sincere... You can't fake it.

With that being said, I was lucky enough to work with some great people and had the opportunity to try different departments within this organization. After my stint as a personal trainer, I found myself managing the fitness department in a club, and then, before I knew it, I was the Regional Fitness Manager.

Needless to say I was thrilled, but then I had an interesting discussion with my Vice President at the time. Basically, the company was re-structuring their upper-management roles and I had a choice... Remain as multi-unit fitness manager or take a step back and become the General Manager at the club of my choice. I NEVER thought of that, that's not what I signed up for with my degree after all, so it really took me by surprise. But one piece of advice he gave me stuck with me, "If you're a General Manager here, you can be a General Manager anywhere. The skills are transferable regardless of industry". I bought in and because a GM shortly thereafter.

That experience led to my next and final role with the company, Area Sales Manager. I had never sold a gym membership in my life, but now I was in a role to teach, manage, and motivate the sales people throughout the Boston market. And you know what? I loved it.

In essence, because of my EP degree and my passion for sports and fitness, I found myself in a pivotal role with a major nationally-recognized organization. I spent a couple years in that position, had my share of successes and made plenty of mistakes, but took that experience and parlayed it to my current position, Sales Director of Global Protection Corp... The fastest-growing condom manufacturer in the United States.

MPTS: Wow! Congratulations on your success. It seems like the possibilities are endless for our readers just embarking on or in the middle of their fitness career paths now. If you could add one major piece of advice for them, what would you say?

SH: The skills required to become a successful fitness professional are not exclusive to that industry... They are interchangeable throughout most careers and markets. Be patient as you progress in your degree and/or job and determine what truly interests you most. Networking will prove to bevital, you'll have such great opportunities meeting people with various backgrounds and experiences so don't be afraid to reach out for advice. Learning from your peers is crucial as well, notice practices and habits that you like, that have positive outcomes that yield positive results. Just as important is identifying traits that produce unfavorable outcomes,take notes and be sure to avoid these behaviors to be assured they don't hinder your professional development.

Regardless of where you end up, whether you remain in the industry or not, one thing's for certain - the knowledge and passion we have for fitness will never cease. Sure, I'll sell condoms from 9-5 and have a blast doing it, but you'll find me in the gym every morning at 7am trying to find ways to increase my max bench weight (unless a Red Sox playoff game was the previous night, I'm sometimes forced to move my workout to later in the day).

MPTS: I hope everyone is taking notes right now. Scott, where can members of our audience learn more about Global Protection Corp. and your products and services?

SH: I'd love for everyone to check out our websites, www.globalprotection.com and www.onecondoms.com. We manufacturer four brands of condoms and just launched our new brand for 2007, One Condoms®. We consider them the "next generation" in the market... The sleek, metal package, circle foils, and hundreds of different images always draw a crowd. You can buy One Condoms® and Pleasure Plus® (another patented brand we manufacture) at retailers across the country, including CVS and Rite Aid. Be sure to visit the One Condoms® website to partake in the Design One contest...

You can actually submit pictures and vote on your favorite submissions. The winner gets their condoms produced and included in our retails packs... Yes, you can tell everyone that you're a condom designer. We also donate 5% of all sales to our One Voice Foundation www.onevoicefoundation.com , a program that is devoted to spreading the word about sexual health... Sign up and become a "lifeguard"!

MPTS: Excellent. My Personal Trainer School would like to thank you for your words and insight. Please check out Scott Haavisto's websites to learn more about his company and how you can help.

It's been great catching up Scott! Hopefully, you'll have more for our readers in the near future! And, good luck with your bench press!

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