TORRINGTON – Most of us will understand when it comes to being successful at something, it isn’t going to happen overnight. Most of us around here can absolutely relate to this. Anything and everything that brings us health, prosperity and happiness is going to take some serious time and effort on our part.
Any local business in Goshen County will concur that although owning and operating your own business brings independence, it is not without its difficulties and takes extreme perseverance.
Every experienced farmer in the area will explain firsthand that success is a great feeling, but it took years of setbacks, problem solving, and hardship to get to where they are now. Every student-athlete will say that placing high in a state tournament required discipline, sacrifice, and of course some guidance from coaches.
Matt Richardson, owner and operator of Richardson Performance Training (RPT) in Torrington has found a very rare success for someone as young as he is. At 27-years-old, Richardson has embarked on a business journey filled with setbacks, overwhelming situations and serious health scares.
All this prompted Richardson to open a business primarily devoted to ensuring not only the physical wellbeing of its clients, but creating a feeling of confidence and presence that ensures a quality of life for the long term.
“I instill in my clients that if you dedicate yourself to your body, that skill translates into everything else in life,” Richardson began. “It’s consistency. Life skills are learned by working on yourself first. I feel like that’s the core. Happiness is working on yourself. If you can better yourself, everything else gets better day by day. It’s like brushing your teeth.”
RPT has become a solid presence in Torrington. The business is highly proficient in offering individualized personal training, along with an appealing line of apparel, supplements, and other merchandise.
Introducing nutritious, good-tasting, and highly beneficial diets has also been a top priority on the list at RPT. Richardson has recently introduced a popular supply of highly developed food intolerance kits. These have the capacity to identify which whole foods are extremely beneficial to clients, as well as which can be potentially harmful in the long run. Essentially, they can provide individuals valuable information on which foods may be causing unresolved health issues.
Of course, the strong list of clientele, along with an increasing local demand for merchandise is a constant regular flow. Richardson claimed however, this journey was never part of the original blueprint.
“I never planned on doing this,” Richardson said. “It came about very naturally, just grew before my eyes and blew up. My plan was to go run track, because it was the only way I could pay for school.”
Richardson further explained that although he was proficient and gifted with running track, as well as having an opportunity to run for a Division I team, it was not something he was purely passionate about.
“I had a lot of friends that got into drugs and alcohol because they actually didn’t enjoy running,” Richardson said. “Neither did I. There were three of us that were really good, but I could tell we were doing it just to have the title of going to Division I. I didn’t really want to do that. I was going to college with intentions of eventually going to law school.”
When it comes to training his clients, Richardson strongly advocates that all the work and training reaches beyond physical fitness and appearance. The notion really becomes about confidence, individuality and freedom for oneself. In retrospect, Richardson felt a prestigious athletic career was in fact going to remove these factors he heavily believes in.
“It was hard to decide what to do,” Richardson said. “Just to look at something and go, ‘I do not want to run track.’ So what do I want to do? When it came time to sign on the dotted line, until you really get a feeling of how you are, it’s really hard when you’re young to make that call, and to make that jump. I could do a bit of everything, I just didn’t want to be a work horse or a college athlete at all to be quite honest. I hated it because there was no individuality or freedom.”
With that, Richardson has been able, over the last eight years, to take that mindset and transfer it over to people across Goshen County and Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Richardson welcomes clients of all backgrounds, goals and ages. To him, a positive mindset is everything. This will ensure all the difference when one begins their own journey, as well as overcoming obstacles.
Richardson took a moment to recall the first client he ever trained, and it wasn’t what he expected right out of the gate.
“My first client had multiple sclerosis. It wasn’t I just want to lose weight. It was I can’t walk. So that was very educational. I learned a lot from that. Within eight months I was training [clients] all day and all night.”
After eight years of training others to reach their full potential, despite unexpected twists and turns, Richardson admits it is the reward of seeing his client success that keeps RPT moving forward.
“It’s just so hard to pick one,” as Richardson smiled. “I love to see people get better. To have them say, I eat like this and now I’m not sick, or I have this confidence now, look at the job I got, my knees don’t hurt anymore, or I got a scholarship to a school. I enjoy working with hungry, motivated people that want to get somewhere that don’t know how at first. I like to guide them and help find that journey within themselves to move, think and feel better. I get people out of pain.”
On a final note, Richardson explained when all is said in done, his ultimate goal is to reach the point where clients no longer need him. Like any student, patient, or pupil, all should eventually be ready to continue on their own. When it came to discussing someone who may be looking to begin that journey, Richardson finished with energetic, but calm words of encouragement.
“There are a lot of people in there that use to be just like you,” Richardson said. “They are going to be willing to help you. Come and try, even if you don’t hire a trainer. Make that investment to do it. My goal is to make my clients not always depend on me. I want to give them that push. You have to learn and become the mechanic to your own body. Get the tools from somebody who’s done it and has a system to help you develop yourself. Go to somebody who can help you develop these healthy habits and watch your life change. I tell people spend an hour with me and if you’re not satisfied, I will give you all your money back. I’ve never had any one not return.”
For further information or questions, visit @matthewarichardson on Instagram and Tik Tok, or Richardson Performance Training on Facebook.
For supplements, clothing or to set up consultation, stop by 2020 East D.
