Personal trainer Ryan Read is a special type of trainer. He’s involved, committed to and cares about women’s fitness. Both his personal upbringing and his sports background playing in other countries uniquely led him to a place where he wants to be in world of personal training. Originally hailing from San Diego, California, Read obtained his degree in kinesiology from Concordia University and took a several year swing through Europe on his way to settling in Arizona five years ago. “Before this, I was playing professional basketball in Europe,” he says. “In the U.S. there is the NBA. In Europe, every country has multiple leagues for professional basketball. I played in Cyprus, England and Spain.” When he decided to play professional basketball overseas, living in Europe was a bit of culture shock to Read since he didn’t always speak the native language. “It helped me so much in my late 20s and early 30s because when you’re there, you are forced to interact with people because you’re alone,” he explains. “You either become secluded or interact and I wound up meeting all kinds of people. When I came to Arizona, it became so easy to interact with others and it really helped me get my business out there.” After a career-ending back injury, Read returned to San Diego and found himself at a crossroads. “Basketball was my whole life and I was kind of freaking out,” he says. He focused on personal training and founded Thrive Specialized Training before moving to Arizona. “I know now that all my training and conditioning has led me to my purpose, to specifically help women,” Read says. “My whole family is made up of women. My dad left my mom when I was just 1 year old, and I was raised by my mom and grandma. It’s funny how all of that
correlated because now, my entire business is women.” More than anything, he loves to help women achieve their fitness goals and he believes that how he was raised has given him a special insight into how women want to train. He has now taken his business, Thrive Specialized Training, full throttle and does personalized training on-site at Independence Gym in Scottsdale and sometimes in-home. Read’s training services have been in such high demand, he’s taken
his services online to offer a series of “howto” fitness guides that have exploded in popularity. He has also hired a few trainers that share his focus to work for him. “I’m creating a Thrive scene here!” Read proclaims. Read’s focus on glute fitness is simple and Read says the “booty” was thrown into the spotlight by Kim Kardashian. “When Kim Kardashian came out [in the spotlight], she started everything having to do with the rear end,” he says with a cheeky laugh. “When I first got to Scottsdale, that market really started to take off and nobody was really “The Butt Guy,” so I cornered that market.”
Read’s guide, Thrivin: Booty Program: Your 12-Week Booty Workout & Nutrition Guide has been a massive hit online with women all over the world because it works. “I know from my training and background in every country I’ve been in that girls can and do want to lift heavy weights,” he says. “It’s empowering for them and they see results. As long as they’re doing it safely, which is the main thing, women want to lift heavy. When they lift heavy, they see results quickly.” He says that some trainers don’t want to give women heavier weights, but when diet and cardio are kept in check, heavier weights are the way to go when getting women’s glutes into shape. “I’ve gotten interest from all over the world, including China, England and even Saudi Arabia from women who can’t train here. My Booty Workout has been selling a lot here, but in other countries, too.” The 12-week guide is an affordable way for women to get Read’s signature training and advice without having to come to Arizona. “It’s an intense 12-week program specifically for glutes” he says. “It includes cardio, diet and videos of the exercises. I make sure that anybody who buys the guide gets my direct email and I get back with them immediately if they have any questions.” He acknowledges that the guide is a great business tool, but he feels good about what he is offering in the fitness market. “I take great satisfaction in being able to help people all over the world that can’t get here to see me,” he says. Read has been holding some pop-up workouts at the W Hotel in Scottsdale. Looking into the future, he is planning on growing his brand, meeting new people, doing more pop-up workouts at various locations and making more guides like his Booty Program, including a brandnew guide for abs that was just released. For more information, visit www.ryanreadthrive.com.
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