Our 2nd podcast interview of 2023 is now live! Liam O'Regan is the definition of an athlete. He was a standout surfer, hockey player, and baseball player through high school. Liam went on to play D-1 baseball at Elon University before getting his masters at Lynn University. He then launched a fitness coaching program as well as a fitness apparel and supplements brand - FortySteps. Enjoy his full story from athlete to entrepreneur!
Link to the interview is below so be sure to check it out and let us know your favorite part of the interview.
Colby Harris: Welcome back to The “Grit.org|” Podcast. My name is Colby Harris. I'm here today with mister Brian Harbin as always and we're here with today's guest, Liam O'Regan. Liam, thank you so much for joining us.
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, thanks for having me. Excited to be here.
Colby Harris: Absolutely, man. Appreciate you making the drive up from Delray, correct? Kind of right around that area. So, took a little bit of coordination to have him here, but born and raised in Rhode Island. Liam was an advanced athlete from a young age. He played all sports and excelled in surfing, hockey, and baseball. He further his baseball and academic career, Elon where he set a freshman program record with 9 home runs. I mean just look at this guy. Clearly, he's a long hitter. Following four years at Elon, he got his master's degree from Lynn University while also launching a fitness coaching business. Later on in the year 2020, Liam started an athletic apparel and supplements company, ““40 Steps””.
We're thrilled to have him here to discuss all things sports business and understand who he has built more grit in his life. So, Liam Diamond O’Regan I know you're up here staying with your parents. They're kind of local to the Jacksonville area. So, clearly still have a great relationship with them and get to see them whenever you can. So, take us back to the beginning and being brought up in Rhode Island. What was your hometown like and what were some advantages or disadvantages you had there?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah. So, I've really enjoyed where I grew up. It was very community-oriented place. It was also right on the water. So, I got into surfing at a young age as well as a lot of different other sports. So, I was really kind of impactful in my early in early life and obviously see how that translated down the road. But yeah, I really enjoyed growing up in Rhode Island and everything that it had to that came with it. It was definitely like kind of smaller town vibe in in the winter in the off season and pretty touristy spot in the summer. So, it's a good mix of both.
Brian Harbin: And surfing, hockey and baseball, that's a pretty diverse group of sports. So, tell us about what age you kind of got into sports and kind of how the interest in each one of those started?
Liam O’Regan: So, I would say I mean, I grew up probably, I don't know, less than a mile from the beach. So, I was always wanting to go to the beach and my dad, some of my dad's friends surf so they kind of got me into it. So, that's how I got in surfing at a really young age and you know, some a lot of my friends are also doing it. So, we all kind of start up the same time. I don't know, probably like 7 or 8 and baseball is probably even before then. Would I just always go down there like with my dad playing, shut the little league field, hitting, doing batting practice, all that stuff. As well as obviously like in the winter hockey was really big up there and so that I really enjoyed. And honestly like looking back I think that hockey and that like going through hockey in high school especially with some kind of funniest times like playing the sport that I really got to do and hockey is just kind of a different atmosphere. Because it's like as hard as you want to go, you can kind of go and you get that return. Whereas sometimes in baseball, you're moving too quick or you're thinking too fast and that kind of impacts you on a negative basis. Whereas hockey it's like you give it your all, you really get that return back. So, it was cool for sure.
Colby Harris: Get that chance to knock a couple people around too.
Liam O’Regan: Of course.
Colby Harris: Yeah, it sounds like you know I grew up in two vacation towns is what I call everyone's there in the hot season nobody there in the off season. Both towns have grown up pretty much have under 10,000 year-round residents and same sports, similar at least I did a little bit of baseball a lot of basketball and start growing up. But surfing really stole my heart I'm excited to talk a little bit more about that today. But tell us about baseball becoming kind of your main focus. It sounds like it might come at a later time than middle school or your early high school years. But was there a certain aha moment where you're like, wow, I'm good at this and I love it and I want to try to take my skills to the next level in this sport.
Liam O’Regan: Yeah. So, I would say that probably happened in high school and between like sophomore, junior year. Because before then, the last few years like 7th, 8th grade, freshman, sophomore year, high school, I was traveling a lot for surfing, competing around, and really tried to take the most out of that I could. I got great experiences out of that, but I did kind of understand that to really advance myself to that level I'd probably have to move away from Rhode Island because of the consistency of waves. And also, I mean most of those the really successful young professional surfers like that sport has evolved so quickly. Now like there's 7, 8-year-olds throwing crazy airs and all sorts of stuff. So, I kind of understood that maybe I was a little bit behind like the top front runners at some of those places and also compared that to baseball with some of my opportunities. Baseball was a great opportunity to go to college get an education and it wasn't like I was locked into that one path. So, that's really what made my decision on kind of going that route and knowing that surfing would always be there something that I would always do. So, it's kind of a win-win and I knew it's always going to be there.
Colby Harris: Baseball offered that future for sure.
Liam O’Regan: Yeah.
Brian Harbin: And I mean you were incredible shape too. I mean you're 210, ran a 484 and leading score on your hockey team. So, did you really just whatever you were doing of sport? I mean how'd you kind of divide your time between are if it's surfing season that I'm all in and did you have kind of additional workouts to kind of supplement what you were doing? Or do you feel like the cross training was just a big part of helping you stay in overall shape for each one?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, so I would always, I mean I think surfing is a year-round season you would say. So, that's something I was always doing and I think that that's really beneficial just for functional movements as well as like stamina and cardio stuff like. Even now when I have some like fitness wearables that I use on a daily basis and like tracks heart rate and all that stuff. Like surfing is by far the most cardio intense activity I do. So, I think that that was really beneficial to keep me in good shape in that aspect and also, I would always weight-weight train. I was really lucky to have a good coach early on that showed me a lot of good fundamentals. So, that was something that I always had in my routine. Probably, it was like my freshman year high school, just weightlifting whether it was 2, 3, 4 times a week whatever it was. Making sure I stuck to that routine and really transformed into helping me out throughout different sports.
Colby Harris: When you say weightlifting, were there a couple staple movements that you had that you felt like set you apart for hockey and baseball where they are those kind of you need that power? So, were there any things you did in particular that you think really supplied that through high school?
Liam O’Regan: I think a lot of just the compound movements you hear about like squat, deadlift, different types of bend press. Like obviously all those movements are going to be really beneficial and being able to mix it up and not necessarily only doing those main movements and like the body builder type stuff. Also, there's a lot of like simple band work and mobility type things that you can do to really improve like your arm baseball and stuff like that. There's a lot of arm care and there's a lot of other like little things that really go into it. So, my main wasn't always on those main things, but I think that that's really beneficial to get a good foundation and then you can kind of move on but never neglect those little things. Because the people that do and sometimes when I've done it, I've seen myself in some injury and some pain so.
Colby Harris: Yeah, I was going to say the same thing when I was a rookie getting into lifting weights. That was the number one prom I ran into is feeling sore for week two weeks next time I try to go surf after a lift. It's like torn muscle or kind of like pulled it whatever it might be. So, on that topic of kind of doing different sports your surfing career, baseball, hockey, you actually won a junior men's championship in Nicaragua when you were just 15 years old. So, clearly you were excelling in the sport and doing very well, but it's a very different format. You're all by yourself your success or your downfall is really completely on your shoulders. So, what skills or attributes did you learn in a solo sport that you were able to carry to a team sport as well or kind of how did those differ?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, it's a great question. I mean, I think that going into surfing and especially the competitive. I think feel like there's a very different aspect between the competitiveness of surfing and doing contest versus kind of like free surfing and traveling and exploring trying to find the best waves around and searching for that. It's a really cool kind of difference between those two aspects of it. And as far as the competition goes, I almost felt like growing up like in surfing for the most part like surfers are kind of laid back and stuff like that. So, I think it was a little bit hard especially like when I first started competing to kind of take that like mentality throughout other sports into surfing. But I think that over time I was able to, obviously I'm a competitive person. So, it was really cool and it's nice to be able to say that it's basically just on me, but again I do the team sports come with something else too. So, there's definitely a good mix that I got from both.
Colby Harris: Work well in that camaraderie setup, having teammates to have your back too.
Brian Harbin: So, Liam, I'm curious. Walk us through kind of your thought process in terms of committing to go to Elon. I'm sure you had a lot of different schools you're looking at and deciding which sport to go all in on and moving south which was another big decision. So, can you walk us through kind of that thought process in terms of making the decision to go to Elon?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah. So, there was a few schools that I was talking to some down south some up north. But I kind of had in my head ever since I was kind of made that decision that I wanted to go to college. I always wanted to go somewhere warm somewhere where I could be outside a lot and I think that was really beneficial especially in baseball. The fact that going to Elon North Carolina, it got cold sometimes in the winters. But for the most part we're outside all year round, being able to practice and that's something that I really wanted. So, I knew that when I was deciding between schools that I really wanted go somewhere where it would allow me the flexibility to be able to go outside and practice and train whenever I wanted to. So that was really big for me. Also, I'd heard a lot of great things about it. Like I said I had really good coach throughout high school weightlifting wise. He played baseball. He played baseball professionally for a little while and I'm still pretty close with him and he had a lot of good things to say.
Elon's really for the most part like kind of a northern school. A lot of kids from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, so there was definitely some other people that I knew that said good words about it and obviously it's a pretty good business school too. So, that's kind of what led me to choosing that.
Colby Harris: Yeah, that's where I'm originally from in North Carolina, Highlands North Carolina. I totally agree. The weather up there, you kind of get the best of both worlds maybe some snow in the winter prime 70s through October and November. Really a perfect setup.
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, and one other thing I do want to say that I think probably is pretty important on why I chose Elon over some others is because I felt like I had a really good opportunity to play at a young age there, like as a freshman. And like you said you know I did play a lot as a freshman. So, I think that was really important when looking at different schools, because I think a lot of people just want to go to the really big-name schools and stuff like that where they might not get the reps and the developments that they really need. Because I mean throughout my college career and even you know looking at some of the guys that right now are playing in the big leagues still playing in the post season in the big leagues. Like they didn't go to big schools. Well, they went somewhere where they played right away, got those reps in. I mean, if you're going to get found and you're going to be able to move to the next level. So, I think that that was really beneficial too.
Colby Harris: I think that's some of the best advice I've heard for up-and-coming college athletes is to go somewhere where you can get the reps. I mean, practice is great and all but if you're on the sidelines for most of the games, not only is it deteriorating your confidence but you're not in front of the other best guys in the nation. Just kind of miss out on that extra X factor that you need to really perform when you in the game. So, like you said, you end up taking the opportunity Elon, end up going down there. Tell us a little bit about transitioning into that living on your own, managing school, playing baseball while also trying to enjoy it and going out. So, balancing all that how did you transition to that new experience for you?
Liam O’Regan: It was exciting for sure. I mean, I never, like you said, I never really was away from home for more than 2, 3 weeks at a time. So, it was a real new experience live in the dorms. It was an all-guys dorm and I think we had a pay like $1,000 in damages at the end of the year collectively from like every person in the dorm, so you know that it was kind of a crazy spot. But yeah, I mean it was a super cool learning experience as well as like getting acclimated with college right away, but also knowing that I got responsibilities to the team. We have 6 AM list to be at and all that. So, I think that was really good to just kind of keep me on point and on track. But it was really, yeah it was a good kind of initiation in there and I enjoyed it a lot.
Brian Harbin: Well and then freshman year you had a record of 9 home runs. Tell us, I mean were you always a power hitter or anything that kind of stood out about that year in terms of I don't even know if that was a goal that you had said beginning, or tell us about setting that record freshman year?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, so I mean honestly in my last year in high school I think I hit one home run and I was never really, I was kind of bigger in in in stuff but I don't think I really ever kind of tapped into that power until freshman year. And even in the fall, I wasn't hitting a ton of home runs or anything. I just kind of figured it out and something that definitely helped me out that year. Like I said I thought I had a good opportunity to play and then a few people got injured and I was able to even in the beginning of that year. Like if you went back and look like I wasn't doing good after two or three weeks. And just because of the that some other guys were hurt, I probably got more reps than the average person would've got. But I think that was really big and that's something that throughout my life that I kind of learned about myself. Like as long as I'm doing something consistently, I can kind of keep that feel and keep it really good.
So, at some point in that season and if you look back, I think I hit like 5 of those that 5 games in a row. So, I'm very like feel oriented. So yeah, I mean at that point I just kind of got in a good groove and took it from there.
Colby Harris: Found your flow stay for sure. I mean, 9 is pretty incredible to think about. I think I personally don't know anyone that's hit that many in a single season. One of our previous guest Aiden Sweat hit one of his first homers just a matter of less than a year ago when he's been playing baseball for 16 years and he just got his first one. So, off the top of your head, are there any homers that stand out to you as might have been like a walk off or to clinch a win is there anything that you can think of that was just like your most notable home run or even maybe one of your favorite games to play in while you're at Elon?
Liam O’Regan: So, there's probably a couple different moments there. Now my freshman year there was I think it was like the last one I hit like my 9th one was a grand slam like right over the Batters Iron Center. And it was like one of those where right off the bat, you kind of knew it was gone. So, that was a really cool feeling, that was exciting as well as we're playing a ranked team East Carolina my freshman year too and there was like a play at the plate it was like extra innings. They were on a ranked top 10 or top 25 at least. And there's a guy going home and I was able to get the ball and throw them out and then we ended up taking the lead and winning the next inning. So, those are probably two of like some of the biggest moments there.
Brian Harbin: And obviously you had a ton of successes but I think we can learn a lot too from some of the setbacks because your junior year, you ended up having a hand injury. So, tell us about what that was like for you to go through that, not even as much physically as it was dealing with it kind of mentally, emotionally and junior year feeling like you're halfway through your college career and dealing with that?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, so I think my junior year started off, I was doing pretty well and I was really exciting obviously. Like junior year is a big year to try to make it to the next level and really produce some solid stats along those lines. And then yeah, about I think it was like halfway through the season, I got hit by a pitch in the hand. At first I really didn't think much of it and then actually went back out in the field, played the innings and then the next time I came up, I was just trying to hold the bat, couldn't even hold the bat. I knew something was a little bit off and looking down the road it was at first it was just taking some time off didn't think anything was too bad and try to get back into it. Then it was like 6 months later I actually figured out I had to get surgery and doctor said, 6 months you'll be good. It just didn't really work out like that sometimes hand things can prolong a little bit longer than expected.
So yeah, I mean that was definitely tough, like it was something that I really wanted to keep playing. I was hopeful that at the end of the year for the conference tournament of my junior year I'll be back and I was trying to swing to get in there. But sometimes it just doesn't line up like that. I didn't get that year back of eligibility because it was a little bit too far, but going into my senior year I was still dealing with some of those issues. Tried to play a little bit in the beginning, again it was still bothering me. So, that was a tough decision because I knew that if I was either going to try to transfer after that to be able to play next year just because Elon didn't really offer a 5th year program or a master's program, so I knew I'd go somewhere else. Or if it was this was going to be my last year playing college baseball and I kind of had to toughen through it.
So, that was a tough decision but I felt like I wanted to give myself at least another full year playing baseball. So, I kind of held off, but it was tough to not be out there on the field probably near the back end where maybe I could've or something. But yes, it was a tough decision but I think you got to kind of look at what's best for you and what will make you feel good at the end of the day and so that's what I ended up doing.
Colby Harris: Yeah, I'd say long term too, man. You only got two of these, so got to keep them in shape. Don't want to go back out there and have something go wrong. So, you did end up transferring to Lynn University, start your master's program, play as a 5th-year player. So, after that recovery, you still went on to hit 4 home runs and have 17 RBIs in your single season at Lynn. So, as time we you just kind of briefly mentioned taking it to the next level. Once you were finishing up at Lynn did you have any desire to try to further your baseball career or were you ready to hang them up by the time that season ended?
Liam O’Regan: I mean I definitely had hopes and everything to do that. However, obviously that season was 2020 so that was Covid so our season got to cut short. We only played probably 15 20 games at that point. And I was still hopeful, but I'll also at the same time I knew I'm kind of an old college player at this point. So, I had to weigh those decisions and then a lot of my buddies that were playing pro ball that got drafted before from Elon or from other teams that I played on. Like some of those guys were getting released just because everything going on with COVID. And even when you're playing minor league ball the pay is not that good and it's a grind. It's a grind for sure to get through that. I thought that I definitely wanted to try to continue playing baseball, but I knew there might be more out there for me outside of the baseball scope and I might be able to do a little bit more impact some more people and create something else outside of baseball. So, at that point I was kind of a little bit more okay with the fact that it was come to terms with this is what it is, but I had a good run and I really enjoyed it.
Brian Harbin: Yeah, and then while you were in college too you got into fitness coaching. So, tell us about how that started, maybe your first client and how you that was something you wanted to pursue?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, so again so it's kind of right around the time that that happened with COVID in that season. I was really still super motivated to keep training, because I did want to keep trying to play professionally and keep that role going and I just decided that I'm doing all this training. I might as well share my knowledge and what I'm doing. So that's actually when I started and created an Instagram account and stuff like that. Started posting my workouts and things along that nature and kind of started following there and trying to share different types of training advice and kind of keep everyone updated with what I was doing. So that's how that started and then was able to help some other people out with some of their goals.
Colby Harris: It was no better time to start working on your personal brand than in 2020. I think just about everyone kind of realized what value that held. Even today I was at the social media expo at UNF and that's exactly what they were saying is that it's actually been nearly a well 100% increase. So, a double in the amount of people using social media from pre-covid to where we're at now. So, it's like I think like 2.5 billion more people are on social media today than were before 2020. So, while doing your coaching business getting that off the ground working with clients. You're finishing up your masters and you also launched “40 Steps” later that year in 2020. Your fitness apparel and supplements company. So, what was it about the fitness space that made you want to launch “40 Steps” and how did you start that process of getting it started?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, so throughout that year, obviously throughout that year I was continued on with that and actually that Instagram like the accounts that I created were under the name “40 Steps” like right in the beginning. Because that was, I wanted to make it kind of more than just me and kind of start to create a community and some other things along those lines. So, I just kept kind of going with it. I didn't really know exactly what I wanted to do. I knew that supplements at first were something that I really wanted to do. I worked with some different brands within the space and saw how they were doing things and really wanted to tailor something a little bit more like performance and athlete and overall health focus.
So, that was kind of the time where I was starting to think about that and kind of putting some things in motion. So yeah, that's kind of how that evolved and I think it took almost like a year to really get that going. There's a lot of kind of back-end stuff that I had to do there. But yeah, that was definitely a big kind of transition point and my first start was really learning what is all involved in business.
Brian Harbin: So, tell us about “40 Steps”. How you came up with the name, what it means to you?
Liam O’Regan: So, “40 Steps” actually relates back to a place in Rhode Island where I grew up and it's 40 steps that goes down to the water. So, it's like forty stone steps at the bottom. There's kind of like a surf spot which is it kind of incorporates some things that I'm about and what the “40 Steps” brand is about. It's also a place where a lot of people do workouts. So, there's a lot of different local gyms there. People come there like 5 AM, 6 AM and do Workouts. They get after it early in the morning and at the top of the trail is the running pass. So, really kind of emulated and kind of brought together a lot of those aspects that I wanted to bring to a brand. So, that's why I named it and put it under “40 Steps”.
Colby Harris: I love that. I think that's a perfect genesis of company name that you have such a solid story like that and able to coordinate too with where you were brought up in something that means that much to you as well. So, like you said, took about a year to really start coordinating everything and you did eventually end up getting to that point where you had your first apparel drop. So, tell us a little bit more about that process and how you brought everything into fruition.
Liam O’Regan: Yeah. So, I think that some people don't know is that on the I started wanting to do supplements and that's still like pretty much the main primary focus of our brand. However, just supplements take so long to really get everything right, go through the testing and do everything right because that's what we wanted to do. From the start, we wanted to be very transparent with everything we're doing, making sure it's really high-quality that we provide. So that took a long time and when we were getting that going, I was like, we got to do some apparel as well to kind of go with the brand. And before we knew it that that was like we had a lot of apparel we were we were getting, kind of like a line ready to go and it was like, alright, we might as well just start this right now and start the brand and grow it with what we have. And then when the supplements are ready, that's when we ended up coming out with those.
Brian Harbin: So, I'm curious with the supplements. I mean, obviously, there's a huge array of supplements out there. I mean, how'd you end up curating which ones you wanted to focus on promoting and why they were important to you?
Liam O’Regan: So, I was always someone that was really into what I was taking and everything and I tried ton of different things to see what benefited me the most. And for the most part, I just kind of took for what products I really liked, what I thought might have been missing or what could have been a little bit better. As well as work with some different nutritionists and food scientists and stuff like that to really make a good formula that would provide me the results that I was looking for and the results that I knew I got from kind of mixing some different things together to really kind of create a product that was something that I really believed in and that I really wanted to take and that I thought could help a lot of other people.
Colby Harris: Yeah, I love on your site. It says, “Everything you need and nothing you don't”. And I think that's the biggest problem with pre workouts and protein powder and all fat burners that you can find online. So, it's good to know there's people out here trying to make a stride in the right direction because I'd same here I try to pay attention to that sort of stuff and what I'm taking. So, you now sell your products at about 12 retail locations which is a super solid number for only a year, year and a half now. Tell us a little bit more about acquiring those partners building those relationships to where you could get your products in the retail stores.
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, so starting off, we're not in any big huge like chain locations or anything. So, I think it was really influential to just be meet other people in the space and just make those kinds of connections. I think just kind of being a good person, being sociable and kind of sharing your values with theirs and getting to know other people and what they're doing and kind of their customer base and their clients and what might make a lot of sense for them. As well as I think people buy from who people are as a brand and not necessarily just their products and what they really stand for. So, I think that was really big to meet certain people and to kind of just share everything that we're about. And yeah, so that was really exciting to be able to get into some different places and especially just start local and stuff like that and serve local communities.
Colby Harris: Nice to start opening some new doors of opportunity.
Brian Harbin: And you guys have gotten into NIL, right? So, is the name image like this with athletes. So, tell us how that started and maybe what you've learned from the process and navigating. I know it's kind of a newer process now.
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, so it was really cool kind of timing, because that was the year after I got out of college. They made that rule where now college athletes can benefit off this stuff and I was like, I wish I had something like that when I was in college. So, I wanted to give those college athletes the same opportunity that I didn't have when I was in college. So, I wanted to create an ambassador program and an athlete program around them to be able to benefit them, because I know that when I was at college, I mean I played at a very good school and we were provided a lot of things. But at the same time for the most part like in terms of like supplements and stuff like that, we would get like water, for the most part during our things. It was a great day when we got you know the Gatorade in our cooler whatever it was. That was for the big games.
So, I wanted to be able to kind of provide athletes with maybe some other extra beneficial things that they can be taken to really up their performance and up their recovery and all that type of stuff and be able to also learn how to work with the brand. Because I think a lot of college athletes whether they go to play professionally or not they can learn a lot of good things about just sharing what they're doing. I think a lot of people can benefit from some of the routines and workouts and how they being a college athlete is and just trying to work with them on the best ways to kind of build their own personal brand through working with us and doing other things. So, I think that was something that I really enjoyed and something that I wanted to provide to college athletes.
Colby Harris: Yes, so kind of piggybacking on the NIL question. Obviously, influencer and affiliate marketing has arguably become one of the number one ways that new businesses or even very accomplished businesses try to get their product in front of people. You've used the word community a lot so far and just trying to build that under your brand. So, what can you say about just the importance of the NIL partnerships and influencer marketing in relation to helping get your business off the ground so far?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, I mean, I think it's been huge. I think that everything is built around community. Like it's one thing that to build a great product but it's another thing to build a brand. Like that's the most successful brands. The ones that are still here today that were here 50 years ago are the ones that really built the community. And when you see something, you see a logo or whatever you see you kind of know what that brand stands for. So that's what I wanted to do and build a community of like driven people that believed in in similar things and really wanted to get better outcomes. So, that's what I did that for you.
Brian Harbin: And so, in addition to the supplements, in addition to the apparel, I know you're still involved with the fitness coaching and one of your programs is for business professionals to lose 10% body fat over the course of 10 weeks. So, can you give us like a bird's eye view of what that looks like or what they could anticipate?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah. So, I worked with a variety of different clients whether it's they're trying to lose weight. Obviously, that's probably lose weight, lose body fat, that's on the number one thing. But it's also, it's about an improving performance and long-term functionality so that they can kind of establish really good routines and stuff. So, that they can carry and benefit them throughout their life and so that they can impact others with some of the knowledge that they learn. So, when I work with the client, it's really important for me to be able to find solutions for them that are realistic that they can do not just for like you said the 10 weeks, but some something that they can continue to implement at those 10 weeks and that they can continue to carry on.
I don't really, I'm not a huge believer in the fact that if someone has a trainer, they should have them forever. I think that they should learn from them and really understand what's necessary for me to get in good health and where I want to be. And obviously, if there's some other things like down the road, like obviously everyone will have different questions and stuff, but I think it's really important to just kind of share that understanding of why people are doing certain things as well as really looking into their schedule and what makes the most sense for them and what is a long-term solution and something that'll really benefit them throughout the course of when they go through that as well as after.
Colby Harris: Yeah, and I think the consistency thing just like he says the biggest and I love that you take that client with intent to eventually let them spread their wings and go out to kind of pursue it on their own and keep their own fitness in check in their diet. So, I do have a question to the fat loss point again obviously there's a huge debate and this is probably arguably one of the most searched things on YouTube is how can I lose body fat X amount of time. So, everyone has a lot of different takes, but from your perspective what's your idea on the calories in calories out? Is it that simple? What would someone really need to do if say we're just strictly saying, hey, I want to lose body fat during the next 10 weeks?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah. So, I mean it depends on from person to person, and obviously yeah, the science is yeah, calories in calories out. If you eat less calories than you burn throughout the day, you will lose weight. However, obviously, a lot of it, you can't just eat whatever you want to get to that calorie goal. There’re certain macronutrient things that that everyone needs to hit. It's different for everyone, but you need to be able to take that into consideration as well as the weight training aspect of things. Because once if someone's is weight training more, their ability to burn fat everything is going to be higher. So, it's really you got to take everything into consideration and some people like you said, might just eat a lot less calories and they burn or whatever it is and start this diet. However, that's like an unsustainable diet and maybe they're not incorporating all the other things correctly that they need to actually make that happen. That's why sometimes people lose weight but maybe they don't look that much better look that much different.
So, it's really a mixture of the resistance training as well as learning what you really need in your diet to make that work. So, it's a combination of everything but at the end of the day, yeah, there's some science behind it.
Brian Harbin: Yeah, I'm curious too with let's talk about the majority of people not specific cases, but what do you find that most people are not getting out of a typical daily diet that they really need supplements for?
Liam O’Regan: I think for the most part it's protein, for the most part that the people just aren't really getting in their diet. And also, it's kind of been surprising over the last year or so that the people that they're just, their diet's so all over the place. It's like one day they might be eating 3,000 calories, the next day it's like 1,200 and there's really no huge consistency also like just simple things like drinking water. Like there's so many people is probably moods or feelings or how they feel throughout a different day could just be fixed with to drink enough water throughout the day. So, it's really in water, sleep like the basics are always going to be the basics and that's where people need to start. That's one of the main things making sure that your diet's on point, your sleep schedule's on point. Even before we get into some of the movement and program design of everything that we do, it's you got to make sure those basics are there before you can really move on.
Colby Harris: Yeah, I'd love to add of getting your sleep, because I think that's one of the most scientifically studied things out there is how important that is. So, I've been pretty die hard dedicated for at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep every night it's like and if I don't get it, I'm going to need at least an hour and probably 300 milligrams of caffeine to get me going the next day. So, looking back on your entrepreneurial career and even kind of into your baseball career and representing yourselves in your own personal brand. How would you say your knowledge varies from what you learned in college and getting your MBA to now just diving in head first to business?
Liam O’Regan: I think that it definitely established a good foundation so to speak, but I definitely think that the majority of everything that I've learned is in business and some of the probably most impactful things I've learned have been post college. Post MBA is just kind of getting out there and starting it and just trying to do it figuring it out, taking those failures and learning from them as well as something that I probably could've done a little bit sooner is really find those people that have done it. I think like even now like I got coaches for a lot of different things in my life and I coach people. I think that being able to learn from people that have already done it and they know how to do it and they can relay that knowledge to you so that you can shorten your gap of how long it takes you to learn everything. That's really, I think the biggest takeaway from stuff I've learned is to be able to get information from people that have already gone through it, save you a little bit of time so that you can keep kind of propelling forward like that.
Brian Harbin: Definitely, just that teachable, coachable mentality. Kind of on that note too, what are some things that you feel like you've taken from sports that you now apply as a business owner? I mean, what are some of those transferable skills that you felt like you really dialed in on in sports that you now use most consistently in business?
Liam O’Regan: I think just like for the determination of just consistency and just getting your reps in like with anything that you do whether it's sales or hitting or whatever it is. Like you're going to get better with time. I'm a big believer and if you do the most reps in in whatever that you do you know you will succeed at it, you'll be the best at it. It's a volume game and I think that's really big and that's something that I've taken from baseball and something that I've translated into business and something that I've seen some of the people that I played with. The guys who you know stayed after did more reps than anyone else found that consistency and stuff, those are the people that excelled.
Colby Harris: Yeah, I think it's perfectly correlated to you too because baseball is called a game of failure. If you can fail the least, you're probably going to be one of the best guys out on the field and I feel like it's the same way in businesses. There's really no failure and I'm sure everyone's heard this a million times but no failure just opportunities to learn. So, especially for you as a baseball player that definitely ropes you back in and so we spent a good bit of time talking about your physical health and kind of how to maintain how to best prepare yourself when you're on the field. But I want to tell you something, tell us a little bit about how you kind of maintain your mental health. I know we talked about some sleep, things like that but now, business owner for multiple running multiple programs, you got to maintain your own social media content, relationships, friends, family. Life gets crazy. So, what have you done over the course of your career baseball professionally to try to keep your head level and just really try to come up the next day ready to attack it?
Liam O’Regan: I think you always kind of have to rethink why you do everything that you're doing on a daily basis as well as some things can be overwhelming at times. Those times where you need to work until 12, 1 AM or waking up super early to get what you need to get done. But also balancing that out to know that on an ideal day and whatever you need to do. Like you got to make time for yourself. You got to make for your physical health, for your mental health, and for family and friends. So, I think it's definitely a big balance, but knowing that at some point you're going to have to sacrifice some things to really get to where you want to be and get hit some of those goals.
Brian Harbin: Yeah.
Colby Harris: Go ahead.
Brian Harbin: Yeah, I mean and I was going to ask too. I mean, you're really still just in the foothills of growing your business. So, I wanted to ask you did any 5, 10-year plans, goals, where you see your business growing from here?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, I mean there's definitely a lot of different ideas and plans that I have and I think that it's good to have kind of those goals 5- or 10-years goals. But also understanding that the means of getting to those goals might change and over time you might figure out that I really wanted to do this but I think that this other path might be better. So, I think it's always good to have some bigger overarching goals for your business for your personal self whatever it is however be flexible with the different methods that you can take to get there as well as transitioning into to what makes the most sense for your brand as well as the people that you serve.
Colby Harris: So, just one last question for you here Liam. As we really, Brian's really built “Grit.org” and thanks for being able to be a part of it on our Grit Creed which are 12 principles we really believe everyone should live by and that's really what the basis of the programs and the businesses and this podcast is really all about. So, what part of the Grit Creed resonates most with you and why?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah, so I would say that will resonates the most with me is the line where it goes. “I will accept the things I cannot change. Have the courage to change the things I can and seek the wisdom to know the difference”. So that was something that really stuck out to me and like everything. There's a lot of different things that you just can't change in life. Like it is how it is, but you can really just you respond. It's the way you respond to those different things and change the variables that you can control and let everything else happen as it may. And yeah, and also knowing that the wisdom behind everything else that that comes with it and always being willing to be teachable.
Colby Harris: I think that's great insight man. I think that last part, “The wisdom to know the difference”, is probably one of my favorite parts of the whole line because everything else it comes down to the decision at the end of the day. So got to make that. But man, just great time having you here today. Really appreciate you making the drive up. Glad we could fit in the schedule. Have a chance to talk a little about your story. How could people find you or get more involved in “40 Steps” or get involved in your coaching programs as well?
Liam O’Regan: Yeah. So, you can either find me on Instagram probably that the easiest way to find me. It's just Liam O'Regan and then my brand is “40 Steps”. So, they can find it that way and I'll also, if there are any other college athletes out there, you can sign up on “40 Steps” to become an ambassador and be a little bit more involved in community that way. So, yeah and we'd love to grow the community. So, that's something we're big about.
Colby Harris: Liam, really appreciate you coming out today, man. Everyone checks out forty steps as well as Liam O'Regan on Instagram. That's a wrap for us. Make sure to share this with someone you think it would resonate with. That's all for today at The “Grit.org” Podcast.