Complaint Review: James Leath - San Luis Obispo California

James Leath presents himself as an extremely effective and qualified personal trainer. He has proven himself to be very talented and painting an impressive picture of himself and his business, but has no qualifications to safely (and in some cases, legally) deliver the services he claims to provide.

I worked alongside "Trainer James" for a short period of time when he was brought into our company to help build up a fitness class program. He was given an hourly wage for his services, but never turned in a detailed time sheet to account for his wages earned. This was a poor business decision. James never followed up on the tasks he was given and ended up burning bridges for our company. In the end, he was paid very well for doing very little work and ultimately damaging our company and the livelihood of those who have worked so hard to build it up.

During my time with "Trainer James" Leath, I picked up on the idea that he wasn't really all that qualified. During team meetings, I observed James wondering off and appearing distant. When he did participate in business discussions, his main contribution was to say things like "perception is reality," and that we should employ trainers who have bubbly personalities instead of educated individuals. It was made clear to me and my coworkers that James Leath cares more about people's perception of him (through obsessive use of Facebook and his personal "Trainer James" website - www.trainerjames.com) than about quality athletic training and coaching.

Two weeks after joining our company, James announced that he would be moving from Fresno to San Luis Obispo - something that would have been good to hear during the hiring process. To make a long and painful story short, James did not deliver on his promises of expanding our business to the SLO area and ended up stealing our business plans - our intellectual property - and implementing them for his own use as "Trainer James."

Since James has moved to SLO, different programs have popped up under his business, and each of them mirrors what he learned while working for our company. As of 1/1/2011, James Leath offers clients personal training services, athletic coaching, group training, nutritional analysis, and a "Central Coast Beach Boot Camp". Aside from personal training, he is not qualified or experienced to provide any of these - they are merely copies of the services offered by his most recent employer. It is absolutely shameful.

James is only qualified to be a personal trainer. He is not educated to be one, but he is certified. To those who do not understand what "certified" means in this case, it means that the "personal trainer" has passed a test. In other words, the person has met basic minimum requirements in order to receive a certification. Now, there are many different kinds of certifications available for different kinds of fitness-related services, and the one possessed by Trainer James is not among the most reputable associations around. He knows this - and therefore does not make his certification association easily known. Potential clients should beware of ANYONE who presumes to provide services such as these and does not possess reputable credentials. Paying for and receiving services from someone such as James Leath for athletic coaching is the same as paying for and receiving a major surgery from someone who has nothing more than a CPR certification.

After speaking with other business owners and some of Trainer James' former clients, I felt it necessary to warn potential clients and business partners of James' shameful business practices. Business owners have complained about stolen intellectual property while former clients complained of missed or canceled appointments with no attempt of reimbursement. James even organized a group trip and collected money from participants only to cancel and not return money to those he owed it to.

Steer clear of Trainer James. He will take your money. He will provide services at a danger to the client's health and safety. He will steal your business models. Just stay away.