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.
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