Personal Trainers with Facial Piercings??
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Fact of the matter is the OP needs to look at the norms in his area (or the area he plans to be a trainer in). Do some pf the trainers at gyms in the area have facial piercings? Does he see piercings on a lot of people out in the general public? If not, he may want to consider if he wants to keep the piercings during his work as a trainer.
You can say all one wants about personal expression, it doesn't make any difference to the person's ability to do the job, etc but as a rookie trainer nobody knows about his ability and may judge.8 -
I'd also add that where you plan to train out of might be a consideration. The dress code for employees at my gym doesn't allow for visible tattoos or piercings. I don't really know how clientele would react overall if they were allowed. I'm guessing that students probably wouldn't care one way or the other. Faculty might find it a bit more off-putting, especially some of the older crowd.1
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JaydedMiss wrote: »I think it would be semi beneficial if you were after more of a younger crowd to train. We live in a world where tattoos and piercings are common, Your mother/grandmothers not to much. I wouldnt really want to work with someone overly judgemental and unwilling to change their old fashioned minds.
That said if your area is mostly older ladies etc, Its possible it would be helpful to remove them. Cant have a job without customers and as far as training im betting older women make up a big portion of the customers.
Maybe take them out until you get a solid customer base. Only you really knows what the customers around you are like. Personally id be more drawn to tattoos/peircings though i guess thats because i have them to
But don't let your clients know you're only removing your jewelry because you assume that because they're "older ladies etc." they must be "overly judgemental and unwilling to change their old fashioned minds." Some of us would find that a lot more off-putting than any jewelry you might wear.10 -
I would say to you build your business w a client base that you desire to work w. before kids I worked w strict business people...then I had kids and turned over my client base to be family friendly...then my kids were older but I still wanted a more relaxed socially aware customer base..so I built that. its your customer base...BUILD WHAT YOU WANT.3
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It depends on what you're looking for. If appearance is most important and if you're looking for someone pleasant to guide you through a low intensity hypertrophy routine, well, talk to them, consider their fashion choices and ask yourself if you find them entertaining. There are a lot of those trainers. Pick one--it doesn't matter which. If a nice clean, upscale facility is what you need, look at the paint and decor in the lobby and consider how well groomed and attentive the staff is and whether their website is well turned out. Do you like the smoothies at the juice bar? Splendid.
If, however, you're looking for a coach who has the skill and experience to produce results in a highly competitive sport, then you face a completely different task. First off, you have to do your research ahead of time and then meet them where they are. Bear in mind that you're not purchasing the adult version of daycare. You're looking for results. And hopefully you can impress them that you're not wasting their time. Consider the example of Angelo Dundee (Mohamed Ali's trainer). Would you judge him by his physique or his marketing brochure? He was a broken down old man with cigar in his mouth and a Brooklyn accent. Or how about the diminutive woman at the edge of the humble YMCA pool--who just happens to be Katy Ledecky. Is she going to spend half an hour answering your questions? Not likely.
If you find a good coach and they have a few quirks, deal with it.0 -
I couldn't care less, having several, very visible tattoos myself. A trainer out of shape though...that's another story3
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For me, with piercings, it's a squidge factor.lynn_glenmont wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »TheRoadDog wrote: »First impressions matter. You may cause some people to look elsewhere and you may draw some people in. Not a fan of facial piercings myself, but that's just because I am 64 years old. But I have also learned in my many years that you should never judge a book by it's cover.
I know people in their 60s who are absolutely fine with facial piercings and I even know a handful of people in their 60s who have them. If you're not a fan, I don't think your age is the reason.
Some people generally have trouble accepting changes in trends, fashion, or social mores, but they can be found in all age groups.
Why can't someone just not be a fan of tattoos or piercings without it be about not accepting changes? I'm not a fan of lengthy fingernails (fake or real), fake tans, or large beards, and those were all common in my childhood and youth.
Tattoos don't bother me. But seeing holes in a human body in places where the human body is not supposed to have holes* conveys some sort of distress signal to me. My gut clenches up, and some sub-part of my brain keeps signaling "Human being in distress! Help fellow human! Or else run from whatever dangerous threat poked hole in fellow human! But no just standing there talking about whether clean eating is actually a thing! ...Human being in distress! Help -"
This makes it very difficult to stand there talking about whether clean eating is actually a thing (or whatever I might want to discuss with my trainer). I wish my system didn't do this, that I could just say "Nice poker chip you've got in your lip there" - or better yet, not say it - and you and I could go on about our business, but my system does do this. I can hide it if I have to, and I could probably get over it if I worked at it. But for me, for now, it means that it would, all other things being equal, affect my choice when hiring a personal trainer.
(*Yes, if you think your lip is supposed to have a hole in it, then your body is supposed to have a hole in its lip. My intellect knows that just fine, but my viscera and hindbrain have been really stubborn about learning it.)
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47 here. No. If you're in good shape--it's clear that you know what you're doing in the gym--and you're friendly and patient, I wouldn't care.0
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Honestly that would be the last thing on my mind and I probably wouldn't notice (though I do have a tattoo). If I'm looking for a PT I want someone I can work with, someone I trust and someone who will kick my butt when needed.
If they are preoccupied by what you look like rather than the help, support and guidance you can give then are they someone you really want to work with?0 -
Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
For me, with piercings, it's a squidge factor.lynn_glenmont wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »TheRoadDog wrote: »First impressions matter. You may cause some people to look elsewhere and you may draw some people in. Not a fan of facial piercings myself, but that's just because I am 64 years old. But I have also learned in my many years that you should never judge a book by it's cover.
I know people in their 60s who are absolutely fine with facial piercings and I even know a handful of people in their 60s who have them. If you're not a fan, I don't think your age is the reason.
Some people generally have trouble accepting changes in trends, fashion, or social mores, but they can be found in all age groups.
Why can't someone just not be a fan of tattoos or piercings without it be about not accepting changes? I'm not a fan of lengthy fingernails (fake or real), fake tans, or large beards, and those were all common in my childhood and youth.
Tattoos don't bother me. But seeing holes in a human body in places where the human body is not supposed to have holes* conveys some sort of distress signal to me. My gut clenches up, and some sub-part of my brain keeps signaling "Human being in distress! Help fellow human! Or else run from whatever dangerous threat poked hole in fellow human! But no just standing there talking about whether clean eating is actually a thing! ...Human being in distress! Help -"
This makes it very difficult to stand there talking about whether clean eating is actually a thing (or whatever I might want to discuss with my trainer). I wish my system didn't do this, that I could just say "Nice poker chip you've got in your lip there" - or better yet, not say it - and you and I could go on about our business, but my system does do this. I can hide it if I have to, and I could probably get over it if I worked at it. But for me, for now, it means that it would, all other things being equal, affect my choice when hiring a personal trainer.
(*Yes, if you think your lip is supposed to have a hole in it, then your body is supposed to have a hole in its lip. My intellect knows that just fine, but my viscera and hindbrain have been really stubborn about learning it.)
Given the prominence of pierced earlobes in society, I imagine this distress response makes it hard to navigate all sorts of situations.5 -
[/quote]Given the prominence of pierced earlobes in society, I imagine this distress response makes it hard to navigate all sorts of situations.[/quote]
For real.
OP I don’t care about things like that as long as you don’t smell and help me reach my goal.
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The post was getting lengthy, so I left out the special case of pierced earlobes. Having been surrounded by tiny earlobe piercings throughout their existence, my viscera and hindbrain have accepted them as harmless holes your body is "supposed to have," should you so choose. (And those parts of me even cope well with most ear cartilage piercings; which is, indeed, very handy.)janejellyroll wrote: »Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
For me, with piercings, it's a squidge factor.lynn_glenmont wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »TheRoadDog wrote: »First impressions matter. You may cause some people to look elsewhere and you may draw some people in. Not a fan of facial piercings myself, but that's just because I am 64 years old. But I have also learned in my many years that you should never judge a book by it's cover.
I know people in their 60s who are absolutely fine with facial piercings and I even know a handful of people in their 60s who have them. If you're not a fan, I don't think your age is the reason.
Some people generally have trouble accepting changes in trends, fashion, or social mores, but they can be found in all age groups.
Why can't someone just not be a fan of tattoos or piercings without it be about not accepting changes? I'm not a fan of lengthy fingernails (fake or real), fake tans, or large beards, and those were all common in my childhood and youth.
Tattoos don't bother me. But seeing holes in a human body in places where the human body is not supposed to have holes* conveys some sort of distress signal to me. My gut clenches up, and some sub-part of my brain keeps signaling "Human being in distress! Help fellow human! Or else run from whatever dangerous threat poked hole in fellow human! But no just standing there talking about whether clean eating is actually a thing! ...Human being in distress! Help -"
This makes it very difficult to stand there talking about whether clean eating is actually a thing (or whatever I might want to discuss with my trainer). I wish my system didn't do this, that I could just say "Nice poker chip you've got in your lip there" - or better yet, not say it - and you and I could go on about our business, but my system does do this. I can hide it if I have to, and I could probably get over it if I worked at it. But for me, for now, it means that it would, all other things being equal, affect my choice when hiring a personal trainer.
(*Yes, if you think your lip is supposed to have a hole in it, then your body is supposed to have a hole in its lip. My intellect knows that just fine, but my viscera and hindbrain have been really stubborn about learning it.)
Given the prominence of pierced earlobes in society, I imagine this distress response makes it hard to navigate all sorts of situations.
FWIW, the "poker chip" remark was probably tasteless, and I apologize: I thought better of it just a little after the edit window had passed. I had hoped to be able to explain my reactions without sounding judgey or dismissive, but I think I blew it there.
And, as I said in my first post on this thread (which I erroneously thought was in the quote trail of this one), if there were a right way to feel about this, how I feel probably wouldn't be it.
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I think hygiene is most important, whether you have piercings or not. As someone that worked in the food industry for years, that's one thing I look closely at. While personal training is not food, there is some sort of expectation that you take care of yourself. With that said, if someone had tattoos or piercings and otherwise looked like they tried to take care of themselves both physically as well as personal hygiene, I'd get over whatever personal likes/dislikes I had about piercings.
I've gone into men's bathrooms many times and seen lots of men walk out (sans piercings/tattoos) that don't wash their hands. Now that's disgusting.2 -
Millicent3015 wrote: »The only thing I dislike are nose piercings. Not because I don't like piercings, but because I would just start thinking of all that nasty nose gunk accumulating around a ring or stud and it would put me off.
This shouldn’t happen if proper hygiene is practiced. This goes for all piercings.0 -
Your personal preference should always be yours to express, and I think this day in age body mods are just about the norm, but you do still want to respect the house you're in so to speak. I have a conservative profession so I choose to cover up my sleeve and have taken out my facial piercings (outside of ears).
From my observation, the personal trainer world seems to be pretty liberal in that respect so I wouldn't worry about it.
If you meant physical therapist though and your work setting would be a hospital or clinic, then a double lip piercing may be an edgier choice.1 -
Works both ways, some people might look for a trainer whos got facial piercings and tattoos, just like them, most people are there to get into shape and dont care what you look like, dont worry about it 😊
And to be fair, you dont want people who judge by apperance in your work place, exspecially if you are training a group, with all kinds of looks, shapes and sizes.0 -
mcrickyb19831993 wrote: »Works both ways, some people might look for a trainer whos got facial piercings and tattoos, just like them, most people are there to get into shape and dont care what you look like, dont worry about it 😊
And to be fair, you dont want people who judge by apperance in your work place, exspecially if you are training a group, with all kinds of looks, shapes and sizes.
And how does one screen said people out?0 -
To be truthful, I see an unresolved past of self-mutilation and not trust your judgement. I also see bling at work as unprofessional. You asked.12
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What an interesting question! I'm 50 and find piercings mostly kind of silly, although I would never say anything to someone about them unless they asked for my opinion. Lip and tongue piercings don't bother me unless they interfere with the ability to talk, which happens more often than the owner of the piercing seems aware. If you talk like a kid with a retainer it's going to be difficult for me to take you seriously. On the other hand, eyebrow piercings sort of ick me out.
You might get fewer clients of a certain type but more clients of another type. Since you feel strongly enough about this to change your body over it, it seems to me you should do what seems right to you and ignore the opinions of others.1 -
Some people will be put off, some people will find you more relatable. Take some personal marketing courses, some social media courses, soft skills courses, etc. That way you can draw enough clients that accept you and you don't have to turn yourself vanilla and appeal to the masses. You are striving to become a business person, after all, not just someone who transfers knowledge.0
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