Back Room Talk Coach Spotlight: Scott Brewer
Connect with Scott on Instagram
This episode of Back Room Talk explores the remarkable journey of Scott Brewer, owner of OPEX Midlands in South Carolina, whose career evolution from Army paratrooper to running coach to CrossFit endurance specialist to OPEX gym owner demonstrates how following curiosity while maintaining authenticity creates sustainable coaching success. Scott's story reveals the value of patient business growth, the power of lifestyle coaching over quick fixes, and why staying true to your mission matters more than chasing rapid expansion.
The Military Foundation: Physical Excellence as Requirement
Scott's relationship with fitness began through obligation rather than passion. Joining the Army at 17, he entered a world where physical performance wasn't optional: "I loved the army. I think it was a smart choice for me. I was able to stay in miraculous shape, even though contrary to what I was doing to my body at the time."
As a paratrooper, the standards were even higher: "The army, there are different avenues in the military. I was in more of a specialized group. So fitness was a lot more important... We had to be, we were held to a higher standard for physical fitness."
The Paradox of Forced Fitness
Scott discovered an important truth about motivation: "When you're forced to do something, it sort of takes the love out of it, it takes the fun, right? I love being in shape. I love the fact that I was, I mean, I could do whatever I wanted, drink, eat, whatever, sleep three hours a day and then I was physically able to recover from that, but I was also young."
This experience taught him lessons he'd later apply to coaching: forcing fitness on people rarely creates lasting change.
The Post-Military Reckoning: Rediscovering Movement
When Scott left the military, he made declarations common among veterans: "I told myself, I told my wife this story all the time, I'm like, I'm not gonna be cold ever again. I'm never gonna be hungry again, right? And God forbid, I'm never gonna have anything combat related kind of happened. But that's one thing is I don't ever want to be cold again."
The consequences appeared quickly: "I went into the workforce and I started noticing that I just didn't feel as well as I used to feel, right? My energy was waning throughout the day. Granted, I was still in my 20s, my late 20s."
The Running Discovery: Finding Purpose Through Endurance
Scott's return to fitness came through his strength: "I decided one thing I was always really good at was running. And so I started picking up running, fell in love with it, became passionate about running."
He pursued formal education: "I decided to go, you know, the route of becoming an actual running coach. I got into, I got into coaching individuals, you know, I did some couch to 5k stuff, but then I really found out like those really long endurance races, helping people get from zero to hero. I really enjoyed that."
The Financial Reality
Like many coaches starting out, coaching didn't pay the bills: "For a few years didn't pay the bills at all, so I was still doing other jobs."
His wife's support became crucial: "My wife's always been, you know, I have to say, I have to go out and my wife without her OPEX melons wouldn't exist... She was always there and she was the breadwinner."
The Injury Question: Why Are Healthy People Getting Hurt?
As a running coach, Scott encountered a troubling pattern: "I started noticing that, hey, you know, I'm following all the rules. I'm doing everything I told principle-wise, morality-wise, when it comes to running and endurance running, why are my clients getting hurt? Why are these relatively young, healthy people, why are they getting shin splints? Why are they getting stress fractures?"
This sent him down research rabbit holes exploring shoe wear, gait analysis, and ultimately, a revelation.
The Aha Moment
While swimming (because he was injured), a conversation changed his perspective: "The guy said, yeah, man, you're just not strong enough to run. And I was like, what? He's like, yeah, you, you lack the strength to run. I was like, I never really thought of it that way."
His running-only approach had created deficiency: "I always went to the gym, you know, I always did biceps and chest and all that, but I kind of lacked my legs. It was like, well, I'm running all the time. You know, my legs don't need to work. Boy, was I wrong."
The CrossFit Chapter: Discovering Strength and Conditioning
Scott's entry into CrossFit came through opportunity: "I met a young man who owned a CrossFit gym in Lexington, South Carolina. And he said, how would you feel about being my endurance coach? And I said, I would absolutely love that."
He pursued CrossFit Endurance Level 1 certification and immersed himself in the methodology: "Really, really started doing a deep dive into all aspects of CrossFit, strength conditioning, the Olympic lifts, know, all of that stuff. Fell in love with it."
Introduction to OPEX
The pivotal moment came when Carl Hardwick began programming for Scott's gym: "Carl Hardwick began programming for our gym... I'd be, started talking about OPEX."
This led to opening one of the first OPEX gyms: "It was me and PJ and for us and Carl, we opened up the first, as far as I know, the first OPEX gyms."
The First Attempt: Learning Through Failure
Scott's initial OPEX gym in Columbia, South Carolina, faced significant challenges: "The one in Columbia that I ran sort of kind of failed miserably... we were attached to a CrossFit gym. So from a bystander walking into the gym, you've got a CrossFit gym over here... And then you walk into OPEX, which is three times the price point, and it looks exactly the same."
The timing compounded the problem: "I think it was late 15, early 16... it was tough, right? I mean, how can you tell, how can you tell somebody" the value when individual design was still a new concept.
The Strategic Pivot: Lexington and Finding the Right Market
Scott convinced his partners to relocate: "I convinced, we sort of had a board of directors at that time, right? So I convinced the guys like, hey, let's move to Lexington, right? So it's not a college town. There's a little more, for lack of a word, there's a little more capital in this town."
The demographic shift mattered: "Where we were, you couldn't throw a rock without hitting the poor college kid, right? So just the demographic. And once we moved over here, things started to develop quickly."
Still Challenging, But Growing
Scott remained realistic: "Still a lot of bumps, a lot of bruises, a lot more challenges than I had originally anticipated, which of course is with any business startup. But we started to gain traction and now we're five years in. We were doing great."
The Facility Reality: Small But Mighty
OPEX Midlands operates in intimate space: "We're small Jim, so we only have I want to say 1900 square feet total."
This creates natural constraints: "Even if I have a really, really solid floor time, if I got 12 people on my floor, it's pretty stacked, right?"
Scott acknowledges future growth needs: "I think there's a time where I'm going to have to probably move to a larger facility, but we're very comfortable where we are now. Still hungry, but comfortable because we're giving the level of care that our clients need."
The Coaching Structure: Building the Team
Scott's current team is lean: "I only have two part-time coaches. I would love to have two full-time coaches."
He carries most of the client load: "I do have the lion's share of the clients. I've just been around the town for a long time... a lot of people come here looking for me."
The Trust Factor
Scott recognizes what drives this: "They've either trained with me in the past or they've heard, organic reach is always gonna be the best reach, right?"
His future vision involves stepping back: "I wanna start stepping back from taking clients and go to more of a remote so that my... my other coaches can start filling their docket."
The Remote Coaching Model: 35% and Growing
Scott successfully coaches remotely: "I would say about 35 % of my clients are remote. Some that have moved away, some that have just found me either through OPEX or hearsay."
His race participation drives acquisition: "The fact that I do a lot of these races, I tend to meet a lot of people there. So there's a lot of people that have the same kind of interest... a lot of times I'll pick up a couple six week trials on a mental race and hopefully convert them into remote clients."
The Six-Year Relationship
Scott has coached some clients for six years: "I've had remote clients for six years now and it's been really, really nice."
The Coaching Evolution: From Bear Hug to Light Touch
Scott describes how coaching relationships naturally evolve: "When you get a new client, it's like, I'm going to, I'm going to embrace you a bear hug, right? And then two weeks, three weeks go by and then, okay, cool. I'm going to put my hand on your shoulder. Okay. Then we're going to like bump elbows."
The Ultimate Goal
"We slowly step away as a coach, the actual coaching aspect because Hey, you know, the main, the main thing we want to do as fitness professionals... we want people to take ownership of our fitness of their fitness."
Yet they stay because: "If we are nailing the foundation, if we are building the boundaries and we are trustworthy from the very start, they stick around because a lot of the high level professionals, it's one less thing they have to think about."
The Lifestyle Coaching Revelation: Beyond Reps and Sets
Scott illustrates what coaching someone for six years actually means through boundaries: "One of the things I tell all my clients is you are absolutely 100 % welcome to message me at 7.30 PM, but you will not hear from me until my phone is off at 7 PM."
The Caffeine Case Study
One powerful example involved a simple intervention: "I had one client where for the, for six months, all we did was like drink, I was like, after 11 a.m. you can only have decaf coffee. That's it."
The client was skeptical: "He's like, what's that gonna do? And I'm like, well, we'll just kind of see and find out."
The results were dramatic: "Sleep improved, body composition improved, Mental continuity and cognitive function improved... now he's, you know, this particular client's one cup of coffee in the morning and that's it."
The Real Problem
The client was a high performer struggling with: "Mental fog. He was starting to lose performance... couldn't focus. He was always tired, mental fatigue. And he would end up working more and more hours to make up for the lack of productivity."
Scott's insight: "Mike, there's a big, huge difference between busy and productive, right? You're just making yourself busy."
The Professional Coach Definition
Scott contrasts professional coaching with personal training: "A professional coach can always find a way to bring fitness into all other aspects of their life."
The Stairs Story
"How many times have we had a client, it's the little things that they message you and say, I've been taking the stairs now. I live eight stories, my office is eight stories and I don't even take the elevator. I couldn't climb two flights of stairs three months ago and here I am."
These moments confirm impact: "That's when you're like, cool, right? I'm actually doing my job. I'm actually changing lives. And that's where you get the warm and fuzzies."
The Three Workouts Philosophy: Earn the Unlock
Scott has strong opinions about starting points: "Everyone comes in guns a blazing. I want seven workouts a week. We're like, nah, that's not how we do things here... Let's nail three. You show me that you can get 90 % of your workouts for the next three months and you do three a week and you're always there. Then we'll reward you with some more training."
Discipline Over Wearables
"Somebody might argue with me about that, but I would say that first three months, if you're not nailing three workouts a week, you're behind. And that's what we need to fix first."
He doesn't let technology override fundamentals: "You know what my aura or my garment or my whoop says that I should just sleep today. But I came in because yes, Sleep is important, but in the beginning of a fitness mindset, discipline plays so much more of a factor."
The MAP Work Philosophy: Slow to Go Fast
Scott learned critical lessons about aerobic base work: "There's this misnomer, misconception that in order to run fast, you have to run fast. And it's just... It's not that."
The 10-Minute Mile Example
"I want to, I want to run a 5k and sub 20. Cool. I want you to run, you know, 10 minute miles. And they're like, well, that's 30 minute 5k. I'm like, absolutely. Let's run 10 minute miles until, until it's easy to do."
The body learns through consistency: "In January, those 10 minute miles really sucked, but now it's March. I'm like, these 10 minute miles are actually kind of fun... And then boom, cool. Let's change it up."
The James Fitzgerald Conversation: Respecting the Distance
Scott recalls a pivotal conversation with James about marathon culture: "We were talking about just kind of joking about respecting the marathon. Like if you're not gonna bleed, don't even run the damn thing."
The Walking Test
James's question changed Scott's approach: "First question I ask when somebody wants to run a 10K is like, would you walk a 10K?... They can't walk a 10K. Why the fuck would they run a 10K?"
Scott applies this principle now: "If people are like, Hey, want to, I want to run a, I've never ran before, but I want to run a 5K. Cool. Let's get you to walk a 5K."
The Competition Drive: Spartan Racing at 50
Scott continues racing: "I'm going to do another Spartan trifecta. I've really enjoyed those. I've always, I've always liked seeing what my body can do."
He acknowledges aging: "When I was in my twenties, mean, hell, I could do something and the next day I could do something again... And now it's like, hold up just a little bit... we might want to like take two to three days off after these things now."
The Value of Competition
"I love the spirit of competition. I love the people out there. It's always good to get out of town to do things like that... while I can, let's continue to push my body to its limits."
The Coach as Example: Walking the Walk
Scott holds himself to the same standards as clients: "When you look at a good leader... those leaders would never ask you to do anything that they wouldn't do themselves."
The Practical Application
"To ask a client to drink 128 ounces of water, I better be able to do it myself... To ask a client to log their food. That's a big one, right? So how can you ask a client to log their food if you won't log their food?"
This builds trust: "Those leaders, those people that are in place, to building that trust and all that, that's where it comes from."
The Social Media Struggle: Necessary Evil
Scott admits his complicated relationship with Instagram: "I absolutely despise social media... I understand the impact, I understand the importance from, as a business owner, I understand it's a great tool. It is a fantastic tool. I just hate the noise."
The Authenticity Approach
His solution: "If you watch my Instagram videos, they are not edited. It's like, if I, if I missed up, I'm not going back and I'm not fixed it... I may not be super articulate... but it's coming from my heart."
The in-person litmus test: "For you, you're with people in person every single day. And if you were showing up in any capacity different on videos on Instagram, then what they can expect when they walk into OPEX Midlands and meet you face to face, that would be a very weird experience."
The Ripple Effect: Small Town, Big Impact
Scott sees coaching impact beyond direct clients: "You look at this, this small space, this small fitness arena that I'm in, you know, in a small town, in a small state... I can only do it to this people. But if I can change 20 people's attitudes and then they can pass those attitudes on to friends, to family, to children, to even up the chain."
Looking Good Naked: The Byproduct
His philosophy on aesthetics: "I don't mind looking good naked, but it's not important to me. It's a byproduct. Looking good naked is a byproduct of a fitness lifestyle. It's not the goal."
The Ministry Parallel: Coaching as Calling
Drawing parallels to ministry work: "You know, tying in a ministry and coaching, you know, we as coaches, just like a minister, you can't force that on somebody, right? You wait for conversations."
The Forced Fitness Lesson
"I was in the army for eight years. I got forced to do PT for eight years. What did I want to do when I got out the army? Damn sure didn't want to do PT... if you want to bring somebody closer to God, you don't force God on them. You bring them around the table. Let's have a conversation."
The James Fitzgerald Quality: Authenticity
When asked about the most impactful OPEX principle, Scott chose a character trait: "I think that if I wanted to be, if I wanted to have a James attribute... It would be authenticity."
Why It Matters
"In everything he does, I don't agree. mean, and I think James would be pissed off if I did agree with everything he says... But one thing I could not deny is his authenticity. Like he is James Fitzgerald and he does not try to be anybody else."
Scott's aspiration: "Hopefully, you know, my clients, know, 10, 15 years down the road... if they were going to say anything, authenticity would be a great trait to have."
Business Lessons: The Seeds Take Time
Scott offers wisdom to emerging gym owners: "The seeds that you sow today may take three to five years to bear fruit. And you have to be patient."
Stay True to the Mission
"If you have that mission statement and you stick to that mission statement... there's gonna be times you're like, fuck, we need to change our mission statement, because things just aren't happening... but if you stay true to yourself... you have to take your speed bumps with pride."
The Business Skills Gap
Looking back, Scott identifies his mistake: "I love being a coach. I don't really like being a business owner... If I went back to where I am when I first opened the gym, I would have done things differently. I would have forced myself to do things on the business side from the get-go instead of trying to play catch up."
The Five-Year Vision: Stepping Back
Scott's current focus: "I don't really have anything super like pressing for 2025. What I'm kind of planning is a five-year plan to kind of step a little bit more out of the gym, allowing my fledgling coaches that are doing wonderful, more opportunity to grow and possibly relocating to a larger space."
He needs to formalize the plan: "I know it's March in 2025. I should probably already should have done it... but hell, now in five years, it's going to be here before we know it."
The Daily Constant: No Snooze Button
Despite business challenges, one thing remains steady: "My watch alarm goes off at 345 and I put both feet on the floor every day at 345. It does not bother me to come to work."
This distinguishes his career: "I can't think of any other job I've had that I've like, when the alarm goes off, I'm like, hell... There's no snooze in my life. It's just get up and go. Let's get after it and what could we accomplish today?"
The Foundation: His Wife Amy
Scott credits his wife throughout the conversation: "My wife without her OPEX melons wouldn't exist... the sacrifices she has made so I can put on shorts and a t-shirt every day is amazing."
His gratitude is profound: "She's the greatest thing that ever happened to me. She pulled me out of so many holes... I would not be here without her and to say otherwise would just, just be terrible because I would not be here physically or mentally without the love of my wife."
Legacy and Sons: Passing It Forward
Scott has two sons, one commissioning in the U.S. Army, the other exploring his path. While gym ownership remains possible: "We've had those conversations, but more in passing."
The Real Legacy
"I hope that I've instilled a love of fitness to my children... not because of Instagram, not because I want to LGN... Looking good naked is a byproduct of a fitness lifestyle. It's not the goal."
The ultimate vision: "It would be a nice legacy to pass on to my children. Nothing, of course, that I would force, but it would be neat, know, for me to be gone and OPEX Midlands, you know, still changing lives one at a time."
The Professional Coach Journey: 16 Years of Lessons
Scott's journey from Army paratrooper to running coach to CrossFit endurance specialist to OPEX gym owner demonstrates that successful coaching careers develop through:
Continuous Curiosity Following questions about why clients get injured led to strength training discovery, which led to CrossFit, which led to OPEX
Patient Business Growth Understanding that seeds take years to bear fruit and staying true to mission despite slow growth
Authentic Presence Being genuinely yourself rather than performing for social media or trying to be someone else
Leading by Example Never asking clients to do what you won't do yourself
Lifestyle Integration Recognizing that six years of coaching means addressing caffeine habits, work productivity, and life quality not just sets and reps
Proper Support Having a partner who believes in the vision even through lean years
Connect with Scott
Those interested in Scott's approach can find him:
Instagram: @CaochAmysHusband4life
Gym: OPEX Midlands, Lexington, South Carolina
Focus: Individual design for general population, remote coaching, endurance athlete development
Philosophy: "Authenticity, patience, and playing the long game"
Specialty: Helping busy professionals integrate sustainable fitness into demanding lives
Scott's story reminds us that sustainable coaching businesses aren't built overnight, they're built through authentic relationships, patient growth, staying true to mission, and remembering that looking good naked is a byproduct of a fitness lifestyle, never the goal.
Next Steps
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