"In order to have the things you've Never had before, you have to do the things you've never done before."
ALEX MICHAEL GABRIEL "MY STORY"
Hi, my name is Alex Michael Gabriel, I was born on April 6th 1991 in Glendale Heights Illinois.
I spent most of my childhood getting in and out of trouble, luckily I had the gift of gab to charm my way out of sticky situations. I fortunately got caught most of the time, which now I recognize as a good thing. The one thing I can proudly say that I carried on since the time I was a kid is that I've always had that entrepreneurial spirit deep inside me, and that urge to make money. I remember when I was real young going to the golf course behind my house and picking up the stray golf balls left behind. I ended up taking those same golf balls, cleaning them up and went back to the golf course later that day to sell them back to the golfers for a profit. It’s funny to now think back, but thats the type of attitude I had even at the age of 10. Likewise I remember selling ice cold lemonade to the construction workers when they would build a new home on our block. I even recall them buying a full pitcher of lemonade one time and paying me $20 for it. I was the happiest kid alive when I made that $20. Looking back at those kind of entrepreneurial ventures when I was young led me to develop an obsession and drive in my character for success, so much that I created my first "real" business by the age of 18.
When I was 18 I didn’t have a clue to what it was I was going to do with my life. This seemed like a time when everyone knew what college they would be attending, and what courses they would end up studying to make a career. I of course was on the opposite side of that spectrum, still getting into trouble and not applying myself for adulthood. Yet one day I came up with an idea, a business idea that would be single handily the best decision I ever made with my life up to this point. This business idea was called UrGo2Guys, and UrGo2Guys was a handyman service that did everything from shoveling driveways to painting houses.
One day a few friends and I sat down and wrote up every single skilled trade we knew how to perform and made a business out of it. We all had previous experience working for others in every sort of manual labor you could imagine so we decided to pull all those trades together and make UrGo2Guys. This handyman business venture lasted us 3 years before I stepped out of running it. This was 3 years of consistent paychecks that helped me get by my later teens and into my twenties. It also gave me tons of leadership experience, people skills, and discipline. Believe it or not, but in order to run a crew of your closest friends is not an easy task by any means. The most influential aspect that came out of this experience was getting myself a mentor. Her name was Dr. Theresa Nesbitt, and I will never forget her. She encouraged me to follow my dreams, to make a career out of what I wanted to do, and also showed me that learning could be fun as long as you enjoyed the subject at hand.
My honest passion and enjoyment during that time was in fitness, and learning about the different supplements and nutritional needs one needed in order to be healthy and add muscle. This was Dr. Theresa’s field of expertise, and through our hours of conversation, I gathered a lifetimes worth of knowledge from her within only a few years. This lead me to closing down UrGo2Guys and applying for the job I always wanted, which was GNC. I sought out previously for this job yet never ended up getting it. Until one day I ended up going into a Franchise GNC to purchase my regular supplements and while I was there I asked if they were hiring. The manager at the time replied “Yes we are, yet we don’t just hire anyone. You have to be hungry enough for success to work here.” He ended up sending me out that night to pass out a few hundred flyers on all the cars at the gym, and then asked me to return to the store the next day in order to meet owner. The next day came and I got a chance to sit down with the owner as we went through all my passions, skills, and expertise of the field, and long and behold I got the job, working as a part-time sales associate for GNC.
During my time at GNC, I had many ups and downs, yet the one thing I always kept in mind was moving forward and becoming the best. In no time I started to become the best sales associate at our Franchise of stores and started to work full time hours, while also insisting that I take on more responsibilities. Asking for more responsibilities ended up paying quite well when the owner decided to sell his stores later that yeat to a new Franchisee. I was one of two people the previous owner recommended the new owner speak with regarding how the stores ran and operated. Reluctantly the new owner gave me a choice of which store I wanted to run out of the 5, while also getting promoted to a managers position. In my extent as a manager I thrived at customer service, which rendered me a generous and loyal clientele. By this time I acquired a title amongst my colleagues and staff which was the "Promo King”. I earned this title by going out each and everyday to gyms, 5K runs, and businesses in order to promote our franchise of stores. I soon after became the Marketing Director for our stores and began to dabble in graphic design. In a short time I developed a skill for graphic design marketing and started to create our coupons, flyers, magazine ads, and many more advertisements for our locations. Yet there was something missing out of all of this GNC business and it was calling my name, so I had to answer the call as I always had done before.
When I ended up answering that call I asked for a business development manager position with a supplement company called NutraClick which is the makers of Force Factor, and Probioslim nutraceutical line. I ended up getting the job and leaving home, traveling 1200 miles away to Clearwater Florida where I would start my new life. But shortly after becoming apart of NutraClick (9 Months) they had a massive layoff and let go their whole field rep team, but this didn't get me down. I kept things positive as I always had and thought there must be a bigger reason for this and kept pushing. I reluctantly ended up getting a phone call from an old co-worker of mine from NutraClick, and he asked if I’d be interested in joining up with Iovate Health Sciences, which by the way is the biggest supplement manufacturer in the world. I indeed said yes, and happily got to stay in sunny Florida where I now write this entry from. Long story short, keep a positive mind and attitude, stay hungry and keep pushing. Everything will end up working out, Trust me!!!
-TESTIMONIAL-
I find Alex to be a seeker of knowledge. Always self expressed and articulate in his words.
He is an individual who is passionate of life and seeks to enlighten those with an open mind.
Although bridled by age he seeks to fly. Attaining the altitude that he may guide others from.
In his journey I am sure that he will have the ability to touch the lives of many people.
To educate, inspire, motivate and empower.
~Cliff Borowicz
-TESTIMONIAL-
I consider it a true pleasure to write a recommendation for Alex Gabriel. As my
colleague for over a year, I have been fortunate to enjoy the benefit of Alex's
worth ethic, understanding of the supplement industry, and his incredible
intellect and mental acuity. His passion to be better than yesterday and strive
to beat quotas is something that as a manager I look for in an ideal candidate.
An unparalleled teammate, Alex is an asset that can be depended on. Any
team would find Alex Gabriel a valued contributor to the team.