TEMPE, Ariz. -- Joe Connolly needed to feel passionate about his job. He knew that the first few things he tried, after double-majoring in sociology and criminal justice at the University of Hartford, did not fit that description.
He got his EMT and became a volunteer firefighter. He managed a landscaping company. He sold life insurance for New York Life. All the while, he kept thinking of a better path.
"I always loved strength training and fitness," he said. "It just never clicked that I could do it for a profession. It wasn't nearly as common back then.