Leo Frincu, a life coach for businesspeople, entertainers and athletes, knows about the hard fight to win a dollar. Frincu, 38, is a former U.S. Olympic wrestling coach who grew up in Communist Romania. Today, he’s the owner of the Results Personal Training Studio in Sherman Oaks – and the author of a new ebook describing his method for success. “High Performance Mentality,” published in April and available on Amazon for $3.99, started as a guide for athletes but over time it morphed into something more. “I started it for people with fitness goals but I realized it was about more than just physical fitness. It was about accomplishing any goal,” he said. In the book, Frincu lists energy as the most important ingredient for progress, and outlines the physical and mental processes to develop it – something his life is a testament to. He was born in 1976 to a poor family in Romania and spent much of his childhood in Bucharest standing in line for government rations or the chance to take a shower. Because of his schoolyard brawls, a neighbor convinced his parents to have the then six-year-old join a wrestling team. By 18, he won a world wrestling title and was named Romanian Athlete of the Year. He got an opportunity to go to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and defected to the United States in 1999. At first, he worked at everything from digging ditches to teaching wrestling classes. But after only four years, Frincu became the coach of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team. In 2006, he opened Results Personal Training Studio, and made a name training clients such as mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey. He still owns the training studio, but no longer is a personal trainer, instead offering life coaching for $100 an hour. “Everybody has fears. Everybody has doubts. It’s what you do with that fear that’s important,” he said. – Jon Nelson
