Mike Farr, or Silent Mike as most strength athletes know him, is a 28-year old strength coach. For the last few years he’s been closely associated with Mark Bell, Super Training Gym, and Sling Shot. If you follow Mike, then you know he recently left Sling Shot as an employee to pursue new career ventures.
This new career move had a lot of strength athletes scratching their heads, wondering, was there a falling out? Mark Bell and Mike have both expressed that there wasn’t a falling out, and Mike wanted to create a new stimulus for personal growth and his career.
To learn more about his new move, his next move, and where we can expect to see him next, I reached out and got the low-down on Silent Mike’s new ventures.
Jake Boly: A lot of fans already know you but, could you give a quick rundown on who you are (name, age, years lifting, profession)?
Silent Mike: My name is Mike Farr, but most know me as Silent Mike. I’m a 28 year old coach, powerlifter and content creator. I’ve been lifting for almost 15 years, but more seriously for about 8.
Jake: How long were you at Super Training (ST) before you wanted to change career paths?
Mike: I was a member of Team Supertraining for about 5 years.
Jake: That’s a good amount of time with the team. What’s one of the biggest lessons you learned at ST that you’re going to use in your more personal venture moving forward?
Mike: One of the biggest lessons I learned at ST was, surround yourself with like minded people. If you want to be strong, hang out with people stronger than you. If you want to be funny, hang out with comedians. If you want to be more successful, hang out with those that are more successful than you.
Jake: Great lesson. What sparked your decision to leave? Did you contemplate it for a while or was it more impulsive?
Mike: I never left anything. I resigned as an employee of Slingshot. I ultimately made that decision because I knew it was time for me to step outside of my comfort zone. In order to grow in the gym and as a person, you need constant stimulus – it’s an ongoing cycle. Stimulus – adapt – grow. Stimulus – adapt – grow. I knew in order for me to continue my professional and personal growth it was time to leave that comfort zone.
Jake: When you make a major decision like that, especially in the fitness industry – what are a few questions that went through your head?
Mike: I think regardless of the industry you’re involved in, it’s always important to look inside ourselves first. I am huge proponent of mindfulness and self awareness. Knowing who you are and who you are not is key to confidence. I believe confidence is a major key to success for everyone. The two questions i asked myself were – what do I need to do to progress and what are my goals? Once you know the answer to those questions you can devise a plan and start chipping away towards that.
Jake: Did you create an initial game plan for your transition? If so, can you give any tips to others who are making major transitions in the fitness industry? Whether it be switching from within or switching into?
Mike: To be honest I didn’t really have an initial game plan other than to do what I needed to do to relax. For me, that includes visiting friends, traveling, and taking a few vacations. I think that with any transition having a clear mind and clear set goals will ultimately build your plan.
Jake: When you create self-goals, do you change or tweak them when you make a change like this? For example, career goals, have they changed since you changed direction of where you’re heading next?
Mike: Since starting in the industry 8 years ago my goals have always been the same. I want to create the best/most informative/most entertaining content I can in order to reach and help as many people as I can. For me, this goal remains the same.
Jake: What’s one piece of advice you’d give the Mike Farr that first started his career in the industry versus now?
Mike: I think the current Mike would tell the 20 year old Mike to have more confidence in what he has to offer and his abilities. When I was younger I was a bit shy and had self doubt (still do). I was too afraid to ask questions out of fear of sounding dumb or looking stupid. But as I started lifting more seriously and started coaching people I gained a lot confidence through the hard work I put in.
Throughout the years I’ve read and studied as much as I can in an effort to perfect my craft, this has given me more and more confidence throughout the years. I still have much to learn, but I have the confidence to ask the questions and chase down those experts who have the answers.
Jake: Where can we expect to see you next?
Mike: As I mentioned before, my goals remain the same – to create great content and help as many people as I can. I plan to continue to coach and provide programming via my business, Kizen Training, push my YouTube channel to new heights and to travel to new places and new gyms to discover what’s out there.
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Silent Mike was one of the more down to earth interviews I’ve ever had. He’s a humble guy that understands his strength, and knows when to ask questions. His answers above could be applied for anyone in the middle of a career or life transition.
If you don’t follow Mike already, then I’d highly recommend going and doing so.
Feature image from @silentmikke Instagram page.
