Last Updated on May 14, 2021
Warren James Li is a calisthenics expert, American Ninja Warrior, founder of Prove It Training and a popular fitness influencer. Featuring over 250,000 loyal followers on Instagram, Warren regularly posts workout videos and you can check out his calisthenics ebook on proveittraining.com.
Can you tell us a little about how Prove It Training came about and what you offer in the ebook you created?
So the ebook was basically… I’ve doing calisthenics for about nine years and like throughout the nine years I’d get all these questions blah, blah, blah and instead of like going through and answering all of them I just, you know, like – it took me about four years ago I’m like how do I create something that is going to kind of satisfy everything.
So the ebook is essentially nine core exercises that are essential for the sport and these nine exercises I basically teach you beginning of the very beginning exercises all the way to advance so at any level you could jump in. So I thought that was something that could, you know, be great for people that are trying to start in the sport.
What is your background in fitness?
Yeah, my background basically I played basketball maybe at the age of 3, 4 and that was the only sport I ever played so until then basketball was the only thing. And like right after high school is when I found like street workout, calisthenics that type of exercises so yeah that’s it.
You have a very large following on social. Can you describe some of the strategies you have employed to grow your following?
Yeah. So I remember I think I started in 2013 and social media I didn’t really know like I just kind of did it because my friends did it and everyone else did it but then I didn’t really – until I had a few friends of mine that are starting to get paid I was like “what” that was like – I didn’t – I was like, you know, like I mean we do the same workouts blah, blah, blah but then they’re getting paid. So I kind of – there’s like a few of my friends that I kind of like sat down and like just studied what they were doing and from there I noticed like their content was really pure, really clean, and they weren’t just posting just to post. So I remember I was at like I think fifty, cruising around fifty and then I made a commitment and I was like writing down okay this is what I got to do on these, this is how I got to do my videos blah, blah, blah and then I did notice a big change from there.
As a reputable fitness influencer, what type of products resonate the most with your devoted audience?
I remember one of them from my sport, wrist wraps were a big one because that – wrist wraps were a big one. There is a foam, like any type of recovery that seems to do really well because recovery doesn’t just work for athletes you could be anybody and, you know, recovery tool it helps with everybody. I think those are the ones that – I mean because there are so many supplement brands out there that no one really knows which – like basically they are all very similar if not the same so, you know, at least with other like recovery products and I would say apparel is like the ones that stand out to me.
Can you provide a glimpse into your daily life? How do you balance your training load with your influencer duties while still finding time to relax and unwind?
Right. So my schedule I don’t work a regular job so I’m a lot more flexible but I still like to have a schedule because I like being at the gym at a certain time of the day. So the hardest part – the gym is probably the toughest task of the day so I can knock that out in the morning or early noon because for me I have the most energy in the morning and that’s where I get like most of my strength so that’s when I do it.
And then afterwards that’s when I work on social media where I go film, edit, or create more content and, you know, evenings I’m pretty much done. In LA it’s a lot of driving so that’s probably the hardest thing so yeah that’s how I balance. And then sometimes at night I’ll train again more like the fun stuff like the calisthenics work and stuff like that or basketball that’s another passion of mine so.
What has been your favorite brand partnership to-date?
Yeah. I’ll name three and they all probably compete with each other. Nike is one of them probably the biggest one I’ve gotten to work with. I like Under Armour because I’ve actually gone to their headquarters in Baltimore and I got to actually see the people who work of them. It was a great experience of where they started and where they are now. And the last one is this clothing company I always wear in like all my video it’s called, ASRV. It’s the fitness and lifestyle active wear and I absolutely love all their stuff. You’ll basically see me wear that in every single post almost so that’s like their brand. So I would those three.
What are some of your goals for Prove It Fitness for the remainder of this year into next?
End of this year I do want to create another program more like an in-depth program for I don’t know exactly what exercises yet that’s one of them. I do love working with brands. I love working with brands because it like forces you to stay creative and, you know, hopefully try and impress the brand. Another one is I want to take on photography more seriously. Work with others because right now I just work with myself so hopefully maybe start a different brand with just that.
Note: Influencer Spotlights are edited for time and clarity.
Andrew is the Head of Client Services for Intellifluence and has a background in communications. He is committed to helping brands get the most out of their campaigns and is the co-host of the Influencer Spotlight series.
