A lifelong martial artist and former schoolteacher, Andy Fossett is deeply concerned with autonomy and fitness education. As CEO of GMB Fitness, he’s dedicated to providing an open, accessible culture for both clients and staff to enjoy exploring more of what they’re truly capable of. And truly awful “humor,” the less said about which, the better.

Andy Fossett, GMB Cofounder and CEO

AKA, The Boss

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Background: Martial Arts, Education
Contact: Personal Website

Highlights:

Interview on Mixergy about how we grew and run GMB
Fixing the missing links in your development
YouTube: a Love/Hate Story
Andy’s website about Taido

Andy Fossett is one baaaaaad mother... shut yo' mouth!

General Bio

Conceived at a Barry Manilow concert in ’76, Andy was raised in a remote mountain village where he tamed wild beasts and learned the secrets of the ninja arts. OK, so that’s BS.

It was a Neil Diamond concert.

Since then he’s been busy teaching school, copywriting for several online marketing firms, playing exciting live drum and bass music, teaching martial arts in Japan, and founding a company that has taught thousands of people to enjoy exercise and live healthier, more fulfilling lives.

Yeah, that’s kind of a big deal.

Andy’s Top Articles & Podcasts at GMB

Find and Fix Your Weakest Link to Kickstart Progress

Your overall fitness is only as good as your weakest area, and it's probably not what you think it is. Here's how to find (and fix)

This is why you MUST learn to embrace boredom in your training

Learn how to use boredom to reassess your goals and reframe how you engage with your training. Sexy results come from unsexy

If You Can’t Do It In Jeans, You Can’t Do It

We live in the real world. This article is about why your movement practice should allow you to move well no matter what you're

Q&A-Hole: Not the Answers You Were Looking For

Whether you've been sitting on the sofa for the last decade or are working on your Bruce Lee kip up, we've got you and your commonly asked questions

57 Simple Ways to Get More Exercise Every Day

More and more research says Non-Exercise Physical Activity (NEPA) is far more important for health than formal exercise. Here are some ideas to get

How Andy got here…

“The biggest thing is just that I’ve always been drawn to teaching. I started helping my sensei when I was about ten or eleven, and it got me hooked on trying to find the most important detail in something that would connect with the student. I loved seeing the improvements they made when I did my job right.

“Learning about physical conditioning was just something I thought I had to do to teach better. I’d see my students getting stuck in their techniques because they needed more strength or more flexibility, and I thought it was my responsibility to help them improve those things. So I got into fitness from a more academic perspective than most people – studying it more than actually working out. What workouts I did were always a means to an end so I could be better at my martial art and training my students.

“Teaching and training took me to Japan, and I eventually found a job teaching English in public schools so I could live there full-time and practice Taido.

“Luckily, while I was there, I met this dude named Ryan, and we became friends and started training together. Since we started GMB, I’ve have more opportunities than ever to become a better teacher and find the most efficient ways to help our students move better in their chosen activities.”

Read More About: Jarlo Ilano | Ryan Hurst