What does it actually take to coach the people who can't afford to fail — Hollywood talent, elite athletes, executives whose bodies and schedules are under constant pressure?
In this episode of the Choose Hard Podcast, Cody McBroom sits down with John Damon — former Division I football player at Boston College, celebrity trainer, performance coach, and founder of The Cave — to break down the journey from athlete, to coach, to gym owner, to builder of one of the most talked-about private training spaces in the industry.
John has spent his career inside rooms most coaches never get access to — The Sports Club/LA, Equinox, and now his own premium gym-design business — and this conversation goes deep into what actually separates good coaching from elite coaching.
What's covered in this episode:
✅ The athlete-to-coach transition — What John's D1 football career at Boston College taught him that still shapes how he coaches today, and how that competitive background changed his relationship with discomfort and standards.
✅ From trainer to owner — What pushed John to stop just training people and start building gyms, brands, and businesses around performance.
✅ Coaching high performers and celebrities — How John broke into coaching talent and executives, and what high performers actually need from a coach that most trainers get completely wrong.
✅ Training under pressure — What changes when your client's body, schedule, and public reputation are all on the line at once.
✅ Why the environment matters as much as the training — John's philosophy on why the room, the equipment, and the culture around a client can matter just as much as the program itself — and how that thinking led him to build The Cave.
✅ What it takes to build a long career in this industry — John's advice for young trainers and entrepreneurs on what to obsess over, what to ignore, and what separates a good coach from a great one.
If you're a coach trying to level up your standards, a gym owner thinking about environment and experience, or just someone who wants to hear how elite performance actually gets built — this episode is for you.
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