Climbing Aboard the Pro-Train

By Bob Cox

What does a famous millionaire like the starting running back for the Denver Broncos, Devontae Booker have in common with a growing number of everyday citizens from across the nation? They’ve all decided to get their nutritional goals on track by climbing aboard the fastest moving train on both sides of the Rockies: Pro-Train Food For Fitness!

Pro-Train is a thriving healthy meal preparation company that’s based here in Carmichael, California. They are providing their customers with nutritious and delicious meals that can be shipped directly to their customers at a surprisingly affordable price. I spoke with two of the three partners, Eugene Thompson and Chris Wilson the other day to learn more about their fresh and innovative business.

Q: Can you tell us about how you all started Pro-Train?

Eugene: I was a chef at the time it when I came up with the idea in 2013. I was working out with some professional athletes, fighters and bodybuilders and I saw that they were all eating healthy prepared meals that I knew I could do better. I decided to contact Freddy Knight, who was my friend and head chef at the time and told him I thought we should start a business and offer healthy prepared meals. So, we teamed up and started selling food. Chris Wilson was one of our first clients. He loved it so much and he quickly became our third partner!

Q: Chris, how did your background prepare you for this dynamic business?

Chris: I received my B.S from Sacramento State University and studied business with an emphasis on marketing. I was successful in the corporate world and started a few health-related companies as well. I have had an entrepreneurial mindset since as far back as I can remember and started competitive bodybuilding when I was in my mid-20’s. I didn’t have time to make my own meals and I happened to stumble upon Pro-Train on social media and saw that they were doing it for a great price. The meals looked amazing but I honestly thought it was going to be normal, bland diet-food. The first bite I took, I was very impressed and I knew I needed to be a part of the company. The meals were perfectly proportioned to my needs and the flavor was amazing!

Q: Eugene, can you tell us about your background?

Eugene: I was a chef at Red Hawk Casino. I didn’t go to school to become a chef, but I started cooking at a young age. I grew up in wine country, worked in restaurants in my youth and moved up the ladder. I was also a professional mixed martial arts fighter, so sports and fitness was a big part of my lifestyle. I put my career and lifestyle together and this is what I came up with.

Q: What exactly does Pro-Train offer?

Eugene: We’re a professional meal prep company. We make healthy prepared meals that are perfectly proportioned and we deliver them directly to your door. We have no processed foods, GMO’s, added sugars, trans-fats or dairy in our meals. You can select the portion size that fits your diet and then those meals are prepared fresh and picked up or directly shipped to you. We also have consultants that can encourage and guide you to help you reach your health and fitness goals.

Q: What separates you from your strongest competitors?

Eugene: The four things that separate us are our cleanliness of our food, our consistency, our variety and our low price. I believe we have the best prices in California for premium quality food that’s prepared by a chef. Our fresh and healthy prepared meals can be purchased in a weekly package as low as $6 apiece, which is incredible, especially when you compare it to the cost and quality of fast food!

Q: Where are your meals prepared?

Eugene: In our facility here in Carmichael! The majority of our clients are local and some will come here and pick up their meals but most prefer to have their meals delivered. We have an outstanding delivery system and serve the greater Sacramento area. We deliver a week’s worth of meals to our customer’s door steps in the local area by 7am on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays. We also are able to FedEx our meals to customers in a one or two day shipping area. Very soon, we will also be offering meals a-la-carte for pickup and purchase any day of the week.

Q: How long does it typically take from the time the order is placed until it’s received?

Eugene: We ask for three days, which allows us enough time to purchase the food fresh, prepare it and have it ready for pick up or delivery.

Q: Do you offer an automatic weekly program?

Chris: Yes, this is also how our customers can benefit from volume pricing discounts! Our customers can change their order up to three days before their order is shipped. They can change their menu, the size of their portions, along with many other options.

Q: What’s been your customer’s feedback?

Eugene: Feedback has been amazing! The majority of our customer’s feedback is that the food is great, it is such a time-saver and it’s very cost effective. For many of our customers, we have now become their grocer and it’s like they have their own personal chefs.

Chris: We have several customers that have lost a lot of weight, some as much as 80 pounds! Some of the best feedback that we have heard is that we are helping to turn the American dietary standards around and ultimately helping to extend and save lives! We have many customers that have been with us for over a year and it just keeps growing. We went with a subscription based model so that our customers could place their order and never have to worry about it again.

Q: Why are you both so passionate about Pro Train?

Eugene: We all share the same mission statement, which is to change lives from the inside out.

Chris: Our three partners are driven to make this succeed. Our mission is bigger than each of us! We all come from fitness backgrounds. I was a bodybuilder, personal-trainer and health-coach. Eugene was a professional athlete and outstanding chef and Freddy has been a chef for over 30 years and was running the entire kitchen at Red Hawk Casino. So, we’ve brought all of our talents together and our servant’s mentality to market and I believe it’s what’s helped us achieve continued growth thus far.

Q: What have been the biggest challenges and hardships you’ve faced and how have you overcome them?

Chris: The biggest challenge was starting up a new business and not having much capital to start. We want to eventually be seen as a true rags-to-riches story. Not quite there yet, but through it all we’ve actually paved the way for other meal prep companies. When we started, no one knew what “meal-prep” was but now it’s becoming a common thing.

Eugene: We all had to give up a lot of things in our personal life and it makes it really hard on our social lives, families, etc. We’ve put in a lot of hours, which makes it really hard to balance work and family. We just know that in the end the benefit we bring to society will be worth it.

Q: How do you both maintain such a positive outlook in spite of all the challenges of a start up business?

Eugene: We started a charity with Pro-Train that’s going to be launched next month to feed underprivileged children who aspire to excel in athletics. These kinds of things push us and we’re always going for more. We also lean on each other. There are days when I don’t want to come to work and I can call Chris and he may have some great idea that makes me want to come in and work and vice versa.

Chris: I’ll second that 100%! For me, the big purpose in my life is to give back. The more that we’re able to provide to the community and those we love, it’s going to come back. I have a spiritual purpose too and believe that the Lord shall always provide and he has blessed us with our abilities; this drives me every day. There’s a lot of things that I’ve gone through in the past that have brought me to where I’m at and I know Eugene and Freddy feel the same way. What’s really cool is we’ve become like brothers and we’re able to really pull each other up when we need to! We hope to do that for all our customers as well!

Editor’s Notes: For more information about Pro Train, visit their website at www.Protrainf3.com, call (916) 281-9339 or stop by their facility at 4747 Manzanita Ave. in Carmichael, CA.