Back Room Talk Coach Spotlight: From Band Life to Coaching Excellence: Kyle Lampi's Journey Through Music, Fitness, and Finding Purpose
This episode of Back Room Talk explores the multifaceted journey of Kyle Lampi, a California-based fitness coach whose path from professional musician to OPEX-educated coach demonstrates how diverse life experiences can create depth and authenticity in coaching practice. Kyle's story reveals how childhood lessons about movement, a decade-plus career in music, and a commitment to continuous learning have shaped his approach to helping clients discover their own relationship with fitness.
The Foundation: Daily Movement as Life Philosophy
Kyle's fitness journey began not in a gym, but through his father's approach to life. "My fitness journey started when I was a kid. My dad, I think the greatest gift my dad has left me and like his legacy for me is gonna be the importance of just daily movement in your life and doing things even when you don't wanna do them."
This wasn't the typical sports-focused household: "I didn't have like a sport dad. He wasn't like screaming at the television playing sports. It was more like, hey, let's go, let's do stuff. Let's go play baseball together. Let's play street hockey. Let's do karate. Let's get dirt bikes. Let's, you know, let's go camping. It was always outside and movement of the body."
The key insight from his childhood was that fitness wasn't presented as exercise: "It was never like, you need to work out because of this, this and this. It was just like life is about movement. You're just gonna... it was fun. So when I went to college, I stopped doing that. Just cause I didn't realize I was never in my mind, I was never doing fitness. I was just living."
The College Wake-Up Call
Like many college students, Kyle's lifestyle changed dramatically when he left home. The consequences became apparent during a visit home: "I can remember coming back from home for the first time and... I know he didn't mean this, but he's like, wow, Kyle, you've really changed. Like... I had gained a lot of weight. Like I wasn't feeling good and I didn't know why I was like low energy."
This moment of realization connected his physical state to his changed habits: "And then I realized, it's because I stopped moving. So... that's when I got serious about lifting weights was like early in my twenties."
The CrossFit Discovery: Finding Hard Again
Kyle's introduction to CrossFit came through pure curiosity: "I was driving down the street one day and there were a bunch of these really big, huge dudes throwing barbells over their heads in a parking lot... I pulled into the parking lot and without asking any questions, I just went to the front desk and said, Hey, sign me up for this. What is this? And it was CrossFit."
This was CrossFit in its raw form: "This was like back in 2012, I think. So it was like no AC. Sometimes you come in have to shave ice off the barbells cause it's freezing cold in Tennessee. And you just, it was just hard and I loved it."
The experience reconnected him with his childhood lessons: "It was like, Oh, this is that feeling of I don't want to do this, but I'm going to do it anyways. Like I didn't want to wake up on Saturday mornings, but we went to karate every Saturday morning... And it was kind of like hit that little button in my head. It's like, Oh, this is what I'm used to."
The Coaching Evolution: From Participant to Professional
Kyle's transition into coaching began when the gym owner approached him: "I was approached by the owner of the gym if I wanted to coach classes, which I never thought about doing."
He pursued the traditional CrossFit education path: "I went through that whole thing, got the L1, the L2, all the certs." However, his exposure to OPEX methodology came through the gym owner's educational journey: "The guy who owned the gym, kind of changed the course of my life because he found OPEX, like back like version one where he had to read books and do like 10 page papers."
The Personal Fitness Reckoning
At the peak of his CrossFit involvement, Kyle experienced a personal crisis that would reshape his understanding of fitness: "It was ironically enough around the time where I was starting to question my own methodology of fitness like... Yeah, I look the part but how come I never have energy still and how come my knees and shoulders always hurt and like why am I getting sick all the time I should be healthy."
He identified the problems in his approach: "I was going too hard too much and I was under eating I didn't know under fueling." This personal experience extended to observing others: "I was looking at other people in the gym. It's like how come people, their bodies don't change and they don't see the results they want, but they come five days a week."
The OPEX Revelation: Individual Design Principles
When Kyle began studying OPEX methodology, it provided answers to his questions: "When I started taking OPEX, I was like, oh, this makes sense. Like everyone's different. Everyone needs different things. And it's not just about participation all the time."
Kyle completed his CCP during COVID, which presented unique challenges but also opportunities for the gym to pivot: "The gym that I started CrossFit in, during COVID, we obviously were to shut down and we used it as an opportunity to completely switch... we're going to turn this into a hybrid model where it's like, yeah, we'll have classes, but we're going to offer this one-on-one CCP kind of coaching."
Geographic Transitions: From Tennessee to Los Angeles
Kyle's move to Los Angeles required adaptability in his coaching practice: "I had to move to LA. So I moved to LA and I did the same thing. I searched for a gym that had a space... they were interested in me bringing this service to the gym."
He found placement at two very different facilities: "It's actually the same gym that Erwin works out of. Erwin and I see each other all the time." Additionally: "I work out of a fancy gym in West Hollywood that is like, imagine if you gave like a Sultan a blank check and said, build the gym of your dreams. It's like, you know, marble walls. It's insane."
The Coaching Community: Building Professional Relationships
Kyle emphasizes the importance of peer connections in coaching development. He participates in a weekly coaching group: "Every Wednesday we hop on, we pick something we want to discuss, whether it's AI or coaching relationships or... we didn't even do case studies. Be like, all right, Kyle, you're next week, bring in a client that you're having an issue with."
This collaborative approach addresses the isolation many coaches experience: "I feel alone in this world a lot, especially like in the fancy gym... I hear it all the time in the break room. Oh, my clients here. Like, I don't know what I'm going to do with them today. Maybe I'll just like find something online."
The contrast with professional coaching standards is stark: "I'll see them. They'll do the same workout with every single person. Every day... Or like they have five people in a row all those five people have the same workout."
Continuous Learning Philosophy
Kyle's approach to professional development extends beyond fitness: "I think one of my favorite things about OPEX is the constant drive for knowledge and knowledge even outside of your scope... when you become like a master of something, you see that in all things."
His current learning interests include returning to martial arts: "I miss martial arts. I was in karate from like five to 18. I haven't done it since I was 18 years old... now let's use the strength and flexibility that I've built and let's put it to use instead of just hitting PRs or doing burpees."
Psychology Integration
Kyle is considering formal education in therapy: "I'm thinking about possibly going back to school and getting my therapy license and putting that into my practice with fitness... I get stuck. I find I can't help but go there with clients, especially my in-person clients, because we see each other four or five times a week."
He recognizes the deeper issues affecting client progress: "The reason why their body doesn't change and they're always inflamed. They don't sleep is has nothing to do with the foods they're eating and because they're eating well and they're hydrating. It's like your life's in shambles."
The Coaching Evolution: From Perfectionism to Flow
Kyle's coaching approach has matured significantly over his decade-plus career: "Year one was like taking 20 minutes to design a week of programming for a client because I wanted to be perfect... And each week making it as something new and not like copying, pasting and progressing."
Experience taught him efficiency and perspective: "Eventually that came into getting better at understanding like, the fitness isn't everything... It's okay if everyone squats. It's okay if I write 15 squatting exercises for 15 different people in a week because we only have so many patterns to move, right?"
The Business Reality
Kyle learned that coaching extends far beyond program design: "I thought you were a coach making A's and B's and C's. Well, guess what AI can make A's and B's faster than you can. What your actual job is, is selling yourself. I'm in sales. I didn't think, I didn't realize that I'm actually in sales and I'm terrible at sales."
Technology and Marketing Evolution
Kyle's approach to social media reflects his values-driven philosophy: "Instead of trying to be like selling products and being like... a clown on a platform that just farms your dopamine for money. I was like, all right... I'm going to turn my page into a place of education and little tidbits that people can take."
His marketing ecosystem includes: "I built an email list that I make a weekly newsletter... I like giving away free things... I just want to educate. I want to give people the tools to change themselves."
The Simplification Approach
Kyle's content philosophy centers on making complex topics accessible: "Fitness is very easy when it comes to what you need to do. It's the implementation of those things that is the hardest part. Move your body, easy. Walk outside in the sunshine, easy. Drink water, easy. Eat foods that are healthy, easy. All of those things are hard for people because they're not in their life yet."
The Music Chapter: Professional Musician to Coach
Kyle spent over a decade as a professional musician: "I was in a band from 14 to 27. Did all the things. Toured, recorded, best times of my life. And I put all of myself into it, all of it."
The transition away from music required reconciling with younger dreams: "I had to come to terms with like the promise that 18 year old Kyle made to himself saying, you will always do music... I had to let go of that... If 18 year old me could see me now, they would be disappointed."
The Career Comparison
Kyle's reflection on his career paths reveals practical wisdom: "The amount of energy that I put into music paid me back like nothing. The fraction of energy I put into fitness has paid me back tenfold. So why wouldn't I continue to push towards something that I'm passionate about that I love, that's always been a part of my life like music has?"
Vision for Music Industry Integration
Kyle sees opportunity to combine his expertise: "I would love to be like... program for a band on the road... These people have... touring budgets... you can budget in a wheelable rack bench, barbells, medicine balls... When you show up to the venue and you have eight hours before you perform that night... you can work out... you're gonna feel better, you're gonna perform better on stage."
Personal Growth and Self-Discovery
Kyle is currently experiencing a unique life phase: "I'm really excited to be alone. I've never been alone in my life, which is crazy. I'm 40 years old... I've never lived alone as an adult... And this is the first time that I've ever actually been alone and it's fascinating."
This solitude is teaching him about himself: "Who am I when it's silent? You know, like who am I when there's nothing to talk to or tell about my day?... I feel like I'm going through like a second puberty in a way."
Tools for Self-Discovery
Kyle employs various strategies for personal growth: "I journal at the end of every day... I've been doing a lot of silent time. How often are we silent in today's world?... I've been trying to be bored. Like what was the last time you're bored?"
He's also pushing personal boundaries: "I've been kind of just letting life happen and not trying to be so rigid... I'm saying yes to things. Like I've been doing some, like I went to a singles mixer where I didn't know a single person... I would never do that."
The Deep Why: Understanding Motivation
Kyle demonstrates vulnerability in sharing his personal motivations: "One of the reasons why I wanted to get really strong is because when I was a little kid, I felt helpless a lot. I felt, I got bullied, I got like... got a swirly, like an 80s movie."
This experience shaped his relationship with strength: "I was like, never again will I be that. And to me being strong and being able to lift more weight, even though it's not true, it makes me feel like I am substantial and that I can do hard things."
Professional Philosophy and Client Approach
Kyle's coaching philosophy centers on goal-oriented programming: "I still, every time I open up someone's calendar, I think of, I do it in this order... I open up their goals... Are we moving towards those? Do I feel like we're moving towards those?"
He emphasizes the importance of client-centered goals: "How many times have we been really excited for a client to hit a new back squat PR, but they literally could care less because they don't feel good in their skin yet. That's not the goal."
Advice for New Coaches
Kyle's guidance for emerging coaches reflects his decade of experience:
Trust Your Knowledge
"You already know enough to effectively change someone's life. You don't always have to get the new cert... Little changes make the biggest impact."
Practice What You Preach
"Make sure that you're doing the things that you're telling people to do... If you're telling people to drink water and you're not drinking water, you should probably start drinking some water."
Learn to Listen
"Really listen to what your client is saying. Because your job is not to impose your will on them. Your job is to listen to what they want without judgment. And give them the easiest path to that goal and empower them."
The Storefront Innovation
Kyle is developing new service offerings through CoachRx's storefront feature: "I'm using the storefront. I'm going to create a lower barrier of entry programs... I'm categorizing them by training age and what they want. And I'm making it very simple, low barrier."
This approach addresses price-sensitive prospects: "I've had a big handful of conversations with leads that when it gets down to it, pricing is an issue... these people get dumped back into my ecosystem... they don't buy it because it's too expensive for them."
Future Vision: Psychology Integration
Kyle's long-term vision involves formal psychology training: "The looming prospect of going back to school and being able to have another offering to my practice... the price point could be pretty astronomical, which means I can take on less clients, which means I can do deeper work with less of a workload."
Core OPEX Principles in Practice
Kyle's approach consistently returns to fundamental OPEX methodology: "The goal is the cornerstone... Always go back to principles... build depth, not width. You don't need to know everything under the sun, but you should know the things you do know and the tools you do know, you should be a master at."
His exercise selection philosophy reflects this depth: "You should know exactly when to give people exactly that, and that's it. You don't need to give them banded single arm half kneeling. Just have them push, pull, squat, bend, lunge core... that's it."
The Coaching Craft: Simple but Not Easy
Kyle's journey from music to fitness coaching demonstrates how diverse life experiences can create authenticity and depth in coaching practice. His willingness to share personal struggles, from childhood bullying to career transitions to current self-discovery, creates genuine connection with clients who face their own challenges.
His evolution from perfectionist program designer to relationship-focused coach illustrates the maturation process many professional coaches experience. The recognition that coaching is fundamentally about human connection rather than exercise prescription represents a sophisticated understanding of the profession.
Kyle's story proves that effective coaching emerges not from trying to be everything to everyone, but from developing mastery in fundamental principles while maintaining genuine care for client success. His integration of personal growth work, continuous learning, and business development creates a model for sustainable coaching practice.
Through his journey from band member to business owner, Kyle demonstrates that career transitions can enhance rather than detract from coaching effectiveness when approached with intentionality and commitment to growth.
Connect with Kyle
Those interested in Kyle's approach can find him at:
Instagram: @lampyfitness
Podcast: "Fitness is Stupid" (Apple, Spotify, all major platforms)
Focus: Evidence-based fitness education with practical implementation strategies
Kyle's story reminds us that the most effective coaches often bring diverse life experiences to their practice, creating depth and authenticity that purely fitness-focused backgrounds might lack.
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