Building An "Elite" Staircase To Success

John Maglio is a Renaissance Man of athletic and artistic achievement.

During his multi-disciplinary career as a performer. John has succeeded

as a world-class ballroom dancer, a masters champion bodybuilder, and a

winning theatrical stylist/poser. If that were not enough for any human,

John is the entrepreneur behind Elite Physiques, a booming personal

training business in Brooklyn and Queens and in Oceanside and, he is also the maestro of

Posing Perfect, show training and choreography services for those

athletes who seek the winning edge.

The John Maglio of 1990 was a very different person. Just sixteen years ago,

John was single-mindedly pursuing a suicidal regimen. His "diet" at the

time was guaranteed to win him a crepe-draped trophy for best all-around

"stiff" at his neighborhood mortuary in Ozone Park, Queens. His training

table then included an "all natural" menu of nicotine, alcohol and various

illicit derivatives of tropical plants not sanctioned by the DEA, let alone the

ANBC.

John--at the bottom of a downward spiral in 1990--had once before

climbed the stairsteps of the champion. Always a physical contender and

natural performer, the seeds of John's 1990 reversals were planted in 1973.

That year--while still in high school--he would sustain a serious football

knee injury. That "bad knee" would end up plaguing John's first career as

a competitive ballroom-dancing champion.

From the time he was 18, John earned or added to his living by teaching

style, grace and fun as a pro dance instructor and Associate of Fred

Astaire Dance Studios. For a time, he had even operated his own

franchise.

John's "adagio-style" dancing--with his spectacular lifts--made him a

world-class performer. His skill on the dance floor had gained him runner

up status in both the U.S. Ballroom Championship and Theatrical World

Cup Competition. He was the "Hustle" Champion of New York City. But,

with the joint and nerve damage of his knee injury, John's super-kinetic

dance routines were more and more difficult to perform. The natural high

of winning through applied art and physical discipline became harder and

harder to reach.

"Finally", says the John Maglio of today, "I felt like I'd had a leg KnocKed

out from under me. I guess I started looking for other kinds of 'highs'." As

he soon learned from bitter experience, if you can't build your own

exhilaration, you can buy it-at least until you're broke.

For John, "packaged" exhilaration cost a great deal. His dancer's physique

ballooned. His chemical addictions ruined his finances. And, he was

eventually fired from a supervisor's job at a medical fixtures and

prosthesis company.

Before he went under entirely-like a drowning man struggling for a

lifeline-John grabbed onto one thought. Joseph, his one-year-old baby

boy, was going to lose the father he hardly knew. This certainty finally cut

through to John Maglio's numbed heart and befuddled mind. As he now

remembers thinking over and over, "My boy needs a real live father--not

one who is six feet under."

Fifteen years ago, John Maglio was ready for the toughest challenge of his

life. He decided to give new meaning to an old saying: the child teaches

the man. John called out to an old friend, Father Tom Morrow. Together,

the two men--the priest and the once and future champion--designed a

"staircase" John could use to climb out of his physical and mental hell.

Friends could help him design salvation and cheer him on, but John would

have to build that staircase by himself-literally from his own substance.

John decided to rebuild his life by rebuilding his body.

"As a skinny kid, I dreamed of being a bodybuilder," says John. "Trying to

make that kid's dream real gave me the goal I needed to discipline and

rededicate my life." Not only did John resolve to mend his spirit by

remaking his body, he also wanted the world to see John Maglio as a

winner again. This time, he was determined to become a masters

bodybuilding champ. To add to the challenge, John decided he had 

enough of chemicals. He would build his body using "all natural" nutrition.

To support him in this disciplined process, John Maglio became close

friends with two nutritionists who acted as his counselors and simpatico

"training buddies". Timra Tung and Tony Torre, certified nutritionists at

Apex Fitness and Nutrition Systems, "have always been there for me",

John states emphatically, "I wouldn't be where I am today without them."

The initial phase of John's comeback took two and a half years. For the

first year, he was unemployed. But, then--seeing the economics of a hot

industry first-hand--John decided to combine his lifestyle with his

vocation. Then based at Gold's Gym in Howard Beach, Queens, Jonn

earned ISMA-certification as a personal trainer. John's flare for

relationship building-his personal touch with people from every walk of

life added to his obvious athletic accomplishments-made him a sought-

after coach.

For phase two of the Maglio "remake", John-charactehstically-devised an

extremely ambitious competition schedule. In 1994. he planned to compete

in six consecutive "all-natural" masters bodybuilding tournaments. This

meant John would have to adhere to a non-stop, maximum training effort

for 18 months. So, at age 37, he competed in all six targeted shows in 1994

and won five overall "bests" in the masters division. Among these "wins"

were the 1994 ANBC All Natural Bodybuilding Championship for New York

City, the 1994 NPC Metropolitan All Around Championship, the 1994 ANBC

New York City Best Poser award, and the ANBC USA National

Championships (where he placed 6th in the masters)

In phase three of his "Journey"--with half a roomful of trophies won in

1994--John decided to become an entrepreneur. The exposure and

validation presented by his championship efforts positioned John Maglio

to expand his solo personal training practice into a full-fledged enterprise

with his own staff of personal trainers. In July of 1994, while he was still on

his winning tournament run, the new Gold's Gym franchisees in Brooklyn

Heights invited him to take over their personal training business.

"I saw this as my biggest challenge yet," says John of his entrepreneurial

debut. "It's one thing to manage yourself. It's another thing to manage a

team of people who must deliver consistent and professional personal

services one-to-one. I was excited but scared!"

John called on his 20 years of experience in the dance-instruction world--

another personal services industry in which individualized teaching,

inspiring by example, and a literal personal touch are the keys to success.

According to John, the IVIaglio Magic for profiting in the personal training

business includes a focus on finding and keeping the right staff trainers.

"People--my professionals--give Elite Physiques its edge in this business,"

John states emphatically. "More than my PTs looking the role and playing

the role--they must be the role to satisfy our clients long-term."

So far in 1995--because of the demands of his booming business--John

has decided to compete selectively. This year, in July's ANBC New York

City Naturals in Brooklyn, he came in second for both the masters and

the medium-height open division. Also on the John's competition caienaar ror

'95 /s the United States Natural Bodybuilding Championships 1995

sponsored by ANBC at the Tribeca Performing Center in November.

Ultimately, John has set bis sights on his ANBC pro card.

What's next for John Maglio? More participation in bodybuilding contests.

When asked why--with so many laurels--he continues to compete, John

smiles and says, "First, I love to be on stage. Second, its good for

business. And, third, I enjoy entertaining an audience of bodybuilding

enthusiasts."

John says he will also pursue more business expansion. In August, John

brings the Elite Physiques' formula back to the Howard Beach Gold's Gym

where he started. He will take over the personal training concession there

and field his next team of "elite" trainers. A third Elite Physique's site is

already in the planning stages. He also intends to spend more time

building Posing Perfect, his show presentation and choreography

consulting business.

John Maglio is not only "elite", he may be unique. No one currently in

natural bodybuilding brings quite so much diverse experience, talent and

success to the artistic and commercial side of this business. John never

stopped building his "staircase" up and his championship climb doesn't

seem to have any end in sight.

He Showed Up Splashing Around!