At first glance, Justin may appear to be just another guy with muscles who loves working out and eating protein bars. For those that actually know him, and even the ones who may not know him yet, there is much more to Justin and the Raw Fitness story than meets the eye.

Justin wasn’t always a CEO and he didn’t always have big muscles. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Justin found his way to who is today by overcoming many of life’s roadblocks that many don’t survive. At age six, Justin’s parents divorced and they lost their house in a fire around the same time. Fast forward to a few years later, Justin found himself in and out of the streets around 10th grade, staying at friend’s houses or wherever he could find a bed at night. Right before he turned 18, Justin lost his dad who suffered from multiple heart attacks and underwent several bypass surgeries.

Justin’s middle name through his twenties could have been “trouble.” When one thing led to another, crime caught up with him, which led to jail time. He was released into a halfway house around 2007 where he began working for a construction company as a minimum wage laborer. With his first son on the way, overweight, overworked and underpaid, Justin knew he had to make a change.

Weightlifting started out as a hobby, but after meeting his first personal trainer Lisa Maloy, it changed the game, and his life. Through self-discipline, fitness and owning his personal health, Justin began to transform more than his physical appearance, but his lifestyle and vision for the future. Justin hired his first coach Bedros Keuilian who helped him break into the fitness industry in 2010 where he began to run a new concept, Fit Body Bootcamp. Yet, something was missing.

Justin launched Raw Fitness in 2011 with the mission to show people, no matter where they were in life’s journey, that they had the power to take back their lives. Today, Raw Fitness has six fitness facilities across the Las Vegas valley with more than 5,000 members. Justin launched the Raw Fitness franchise this year, with plans to launch in Colorado, California, Texas and Florida as soon as 2019.

Just like Justin himself, there’s more to Raw Fitness than meets the eye. Almost everyone who works at Raw Fitness today has undergone their own personal transformation and knows the hard work and dedication it takes to do so. From the most elite athlete to someone who hasn’t worked out in ten years, Raw Fitness welcomes every person like family, offering the support, motivation and encouragement it takes to push people towards a better life. Raw Fitness goes way beyond a place to work out, but connects people to a community and a new (healthy) way of life.

From homeless and hopeless to healthy and hopeful, Justin continues his mission to guide and empower the masses as a fitness expert, highly successful entrepreneur and “life coach” to many. Follow his inspiring story on Instagram @JustinBlumFit or learn more about Raw Fitness’ national franchise at rawfitnessfranchising.com.