Once Upon A Time, I Was A Fitness Ambassador And Here's How It Really Is

Believe it or not, I used to be a paid fitness ambassador.  I'm not talking Instagram ambassadors who get 40% off their entire purchase to showoff a brands clothes. I mean hourly wages, with free product and finite look expectations. I think it's a great concept and a great compliment. Somebody thinks you are the vision of who they see wearing their product. That's pretty flattering, right?

When I was in highschool I kept myself busy. I was in track, cross country, dance, and various clubs. However, none of those were paid opportunities and I needed a paycheck if I was ever going to stop asking my mom to borrow the car. 

I was 16 years old when I got my first job. I was hired on as a sales associate at Skechers. Oh yeah, you're looking at your Shape-Up expert. It ended up working out because I kept that job for 5 years. It lasted me until my senior year of college.

Being 16, I never had a job interview before. I wasn't sure what to wear or what to say, I'm not even sure if my resume made sense. I showed up in my jazz dance pants, flats, and a polo. Yeah, sounds professional enough right? No! But I didn't know any better. I hadn't taken that course in Highschool yet. I felt a little better when my interview happened on the sidewalk outside of the storefront though.

Long story short, I got the job! Yay! I was the newest sales associate on the Skechers block. I can't say I wasn't disappointed when they said I'd be making $8.25 an hour. Being the millennial I am I felt entitled to more, but my supervisor explained I made a commission on top of my hourly wage. AWESOME! Although, I had no idea what "commission" was.

It didn't matter because shortly after my training period my supervisor approached me about being a Fitness Ambassador for the brand. I'm not sure what that was but I was sure that if my title changes, my pay changes, so he had my full attention. Basically, he explained that since I am so active I would be a great asset to the customers to let them know how the products work in real-life situations. I could wear fitness wear (that the company paid for) to work and I would essentially be an instore ambassador for the next hot shoe on the Skechers market.

On top of that, I was expected to keep up my appearances. I was expected to stay in shape, put on make up for my shifts, and wear the proper clothing. During my time as a brand ambassador, I had seen them take this position away from other associates because they didn't have that specific look anymore.

My pay raised about $2, but I was told I wouldn't be selling as much (AKA less of this "commission" stuff) since I would be talking the talk and walking the walk with all of the customers. Basically, I had to give my sales away and just focus on endorsing the product I was wearing. The $2 was to make up for the commission I would be losing. The first lesson of the business, ALWAYS takes the commission route.

The funny thing was, I was never able to take the shoes home and actually try them out. I was expected to let the customers know how they are on the field or on the track though. A sales pitch from someone who looked like they knew what they were talking about. That's when I realized this opportunity came about because I was young and in shape which made the product look desirable. In no way did I feel that was a bad thing, it was just my first business world "aha moment."

I have to say it was pretty cool being the first person to get the new shoes that came in. Some I liked, some I didn't but I made every pair sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread. I was required to know the ins and outs of those shoes. From what it is made of to breathability factors to color options. I was a resource throughout the store. My management let me have my pick of colors for the most part. Very few times did they say you need to have this color but they also wanted me to be practical about my choice because I am still working and they can't be charging out new shoes to me each week.

Some shoes were magical, and some I couldn't wait to take off my feet. Not because the product was bad but they were not standing around shoes. They were shoes meant for running, jumping, and mobility. The later years of my time with the company the better the shoes were, but, man, standing in shape-ups for sometimes 9 hours is not their optimal use.

As for my clothes, at first, I was told to go to Target and buy some Champion fitness items to wear to work. However, I could only buy one shirt and one set of bottoms. Well, that wasn't great. I work more than one day a week and sometimes more than one day in a row, so my clothes were not washed all that often. I only had to live with that for a few months because each quarter I was able to go get a new outfit so my outfit variations grew.

Finally, about a year into me working there, the real perks (at least what I consider the real perks) started rolling in. Skechers branched out into the fitness clothing world. My Target trips stopped and I started wearing all of their fitness clothing. Those I got to keep too.

I swear in the fashion world there are double the amount of seasons because we were constantly getting new products in. I would get a pair of yoga pants, a top, and an outerwear piece like a vest or jacket every other week. So many fitness clothing items just piled onto my dresser because my drawers were full. Don't get me wrong, in no way do I think that is a bad problem to have on my end, but I had to keep everything in case I was transferred or if a piece came back into the store. With retail, you just never know.

The longer I stayed an ambassador the more trusted I became and I was able to attend special events like fitness conventions or marathon events. I could show off the product and it got me out of the store. I definitely felt valued as an employee when I was able to do these things. 

Some of my tasks weren't so great though. I remember having to stand outside and hold a giant shoe to attract customers into the store in the middle of the desert summer. I would've sold my soul to make those hours go by quicker. Giving up my sales hurt a little, especially when they were 5-8 pairs of shoes. That's easy money right there.

However, the selling thing did get better when time passed a bit. I was able to start selling again while still being used as a resource. Stores get busy and it looks bad if I'm standing around not helping customers with shoes in their hands. I'm glad we saw eye to eye on that one.

Overall, I have no real complaints about my time as a fitness ambassador for Skechers just a lot of lessons learned and perks taken advantage of. It was a hard sell to my friends who lived in a Nike run world but I didn't have to sell it to them.  I like to tell myself it was the Jazz pants in the interview that landed me this position.  Who knows?