Menu
Before the fitness trainer awards and accolades, before the T.V. appearances, I was a guy in the wrong job, trying to be somebody I wasn’t, miserable and trying to piece my life back together. And a dog turned my life around.
It was 2011; I was 28. And for the first time, I’d lost the faith I’d always had about my childhood dream, which was very clear after seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger for the first time.
I grew up in Portville, New York, pop. 959. Not a great place. My family was poor, and my mom gave birth to me when she was 16. She was a young mother, with no college education, overwhelmed by five kids. My biological dad had very little interest in me. Let’s just say I didn’t get a lot of what I needed as a kid. (Fortunately, my step-dad was great, a hard-working man who would give me the shirt off his back if necessary).
And my mom did me a huge favor. When I was 14, she took me to YMCA and told me to start lifting weights. I fell in love with it.
By college, I was in great shape. And by the end of college, I was in love with a girl named Amanda. Big love. The kind of love I’d never experienced before.
At graduation, I desired to be a personal trainer, but I was deathly afraid of being poor so I took a job in finance just to make money and gain what I thought was prestige.
Life would soon crush me for my mistaken belief and inauthenticity.
After three years together, Amanda left me because I didn’t know how to be myself and be vulnerable.
A short while later, I got fired from my position as a derivatives analyst because I had no passion for the job.
For the next three years, I don’t do anything. I’m depressed, I don’t have my shit together, and I’m alone. My family has written me off.
Then one day, I go to an animal shelter and adopt a puppy.
Suddenly it isn’t just me anymore. This dog becomes my lifeline.
At the time, I don’t care about myself. But I love this dog so much.
And I have a horrendous thought.
If I don’t get my act together, this little dog will end up back in the shelter.
I’d already lost the woman I love.
I couldn’t lose my best friend.
I started getting my life together.
The first choice was to do what I love, personal training.
I got a job at Equinox for only $32,000 a year.
The second change was to be authentic and vulnerable. I began being myself. I let people know where I’ve come from and who I really am.
Within six months, I became the number one trainer where I worked.
After a couple of years, I moved over to training at a boutique studio where I was compensated for my value.
Today, through Jake Zemer LLC, I professionally train, provide coaching and accountability to select clients, and additionally, I do speaking engagements and media appearances.
I’m living my dream life. I am on track to exceed my financial goals this year. I drive a car I love, and I’m in great shape. To be honest, these things make me very happy. I’m superficial, but not shallow. It’s a great pleasure every day to wake up and help other people live their dreams through better health and a greater physique.
One last thing to my story…
P.S. I still have my dog. He’s a Shar Pei that I named Puddin. People ask me “Why Puddin?” Easy, he’s the color of butterscotch and he’s an adorable pile of mush. People also look at me (6′ 3 and 240, less than 10% body fat year-round) and say, “You should have a Pitbull.” My reply?
Jacob Zemer is a performance coach and speaker based in NYC. He holds 12+ nationally recognized certifications in the field, including NASM, CPT, FNS, Precision Nutrition level 1, Exos Performance Specialist, Equinox KB 1 and 2, Equinox Prenatal/Postnatal, TRX, ViPR, and Animal Flow.
Jacob has 10+ years in the fitness industry, for 3,200+ hours each year working with a wide range of clients– from CEOs to ex professional athletes.
Jacob uses science-based coaching methods and accountability to help people exceed their health and fitness goals and unleash their best self. He takes years of experience and a results-driven methodology to make it as EASY as possible for clients to perform to their true potential.
