There are a lot of trainers that set their sights on training celebrities. Why do you think that is? What is it about celebrities that makes them a desirable target market?

Is it that it would be cool to know a celebrity?

Is it because they have more money so you could charge more?

Is it because you want to be famous yourself?

Is it that you want to have someone who works their butt off because it’s their job?

Or, maybe you want to work as a full-time trainer for one person, have them take you on trips or on to their movie sets.

First, don’t think that celebrity trainers are automatically good trainers (although I know some very talented ones: see Gina Lombardi and Chad Landers ) or what they do is something you should do with your clients. There are plenty of trainers that put their clients through unsafe, ridiculous workouts and prescribe bad diets and un-needed, possibly dangerous, supplements. Yet, most people will get some results when starting any workout or implementing any diet. And, if the trainer happens to acquire a celebrity client and they see results, they will tell their celebrity friends, and next thing you know, they’re a celebrity trainer. (see the unscientific philosophies of Tracy Anderson).

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you want to train celebrities.

1. Remember, like all personal training, it’s about them, not you. Know your stuff. Give great results no matter who you’re working with.
2. Training celebrities is a niche. There are some commonalities in celebrity life, that if you know, could give you an advantage over other trainers. (this could be anything from understanding the audition process to knowing that business meetings could make keeping appointments difficult.) You need to understand their life/work challenges. 
3. Live and work where there are celebrities. When I lived in NYC, I trained a number of actors and performers, from soap operas, to broadway, and even one superstar Diva. They could be found (and therefore trained) in New York City. I now live in Easton, PA. Guess what? I have no famous clients here. Celebrity trainers all typically live in the big cities (as do most celebrities).
4. Their hours can be chaotic and you need to be able to work around their schedule.
5. The building of a famous clientele list starts with a single celebrity client, their success story, and word of mouth. You can’t just claim to be a celebrity trainer and get celebrities. Referrals are the lifeblood for building this client base.

So, is being a celebrity trainer realistic? Sure, but it takes a long time to build that niche business and you’re going to need to train a lot of “regular folk” in the meantime. I also can’t stress enough that, just like any other client, it’s about how you can help them that matters. Good luck.