We had the good fortune of connecting with Paul Williamson, MS, PES, RYT, CPT and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paul, what do you attribute your success to?
The primary factor in any success I’ve had is OBSESSION. That being said, I’m not obsessed with growing my brand or making money. I’m obsessed with the general subject my business revolves around: physical mastery. The complex interplay between strength, skill, performance, healing, awareness, and well-being is infinitely fascinating to me.

Interestingly, while this has led to me being able to happily make a living as a movement coach for the last 18 years, it has also held back the growth of my business at times. This is because if given the choice to prioritize developing myself as a practitioner and teacher or scaling my business, the former will beat the latter every time. Case and point: I once closed my training facility in Dallas at it’s height of success and income (6 years after opening it) to go live in a van for 20 months and hone a newly emerging aspect of my practice / teaching. I spent the first 7 months living exclusively in national forests, usually miles away from the nearest human, purely so that I could spend all my time on “R&D.”

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’m a movement coach. I wish there was a better title for what I do, but the problem is that what I teach isn’t limited to a single discipline and so it requires a vague term to encompass all that is under its umbrella. Unlike something such as weightlifting, yoga, calisthenics, or physical therapy, that focuses on a single area of expertise, my work includes elements of them all.

I’ve dedicated my life to the study, practice and teaching of all things related to physical mastery. Rather than relying on a single protocol or one-size-fits-all approach, I’ve studied and rigorously practiced a variety of disciplines that all have incredible methods and techniques to learn from. But, rather than getting lost in the dogma of any particular method, I’ve always been more interested in the principles behind them that allow the best of many systems to be effectively integrated.
People come to me to organize all of their needs into a single cohesive structure that isn’t just a random collection of different parts that don’t work together. One person might have a laundry list of injuries and pain that need to be addressed and healed in the pursuit of better health, strength, and mobility. Another might want to pursue handstands and gymnastic strength skills at 50+ years old (this may seem like an obscure example, but pursuing advanced skills at middle age and beyond is actually one of my primary specialties… and often involves healing pain issues and developing a solid strength and mobility base first).

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have no idea where to go to drink or hang out, and I rarely even go to restaurants (though I’m happy to share my home cooking!), so I hope anyone who wants a tour of Phoenix from me likes hiking. I usually go to the Phoenix Mountain Preserve a couple times per week to hike. Despite being so close, it’s easy to go down trails that will leave you with zero views of the city and few people nearby so that you can get a little nature time.

If we have some extra time to drive a little further, it would be well worth the trip to go hike the Superstition Mountains as well. I also go to Hance Park every day, but that’s only because I live directly next to it so it’s convenient for my daily walks with my dog Willow.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The two most influential people in regard to my work (and play) happen to be opposites in their roles in my life. One is the closest person to me, my partner Elese Orrell, and the other is someone I’ve never even met: Ido Portal.

From performing professionally as an aerialist to teaching Pilates, Elese is clearly no stranger to physical mastery herself. It’s been life-changing to simply be in a relationship with someone who so deeply shares my passion for this craft. It’s been a massive honor that she has also trusted me to be her coach over the last 3+ years (something that absolutely wouldn’t work in most relationships!). During that time, she has helped me become better at what I do and has helped me to evolve and mature as a human in general.

Ido Portal, on the other hand, has influenced my life from a distance. Though it’s been a number of years since the bulk of that influence occurred, I’ll forever be grateful for it. The ideas that he so beautifully integrated and articulated like nobody before him truly changed the entire field of physical training and movement. Back at that time, perhaps 8-10 years ago, I had been moving more and more away from the conventions of the field and thought that I was getting into uncharted territory. Soon after, when Ido began to share his work publicly, it was obvious to me that he had not only found many of those ideas before me, but had already taken them further than I knew was possible.

Website: https://primalzenmovement.com

Instagram: @primalzenmovement

Youtube: @primalzenmovement

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.