Hottest Trainer Contestant #7: Eric Richard Allen

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Grid View

Expand

Images via Ashley Brozic

Eric Richard Allen is more than just a pretty face who just so happens to be chiseled like the Statue of David. He's beat Dwyane Wade in a basketball tournament back in the day and as the owner of Infinity Fitness in Brickell, this Ford model turned trainer has two bachelors degrees under his belt— the first in business economics and the second in exercise science— and has so many certifications he could find a workout and diet plan for any ailment in the book, be it chronic pain or cholesterol. Could you believe at one point he wanted to be a PE teacher? Luckily for us (and for any number of brands he's modeled for, from Jockey to Marc Jacobs) that he didn't, because as the final male contestant in our Hottest Trainer 2014 competition, he's finishing off the group with a flame burst. Read on to learn more about this Chicago native, including his desire to be a first class rapper and his deep aversion to sit ups.

What brought you to Miami and why did you decide to become a trainer?
I needed a change and wasn't a big fan of LA so I came to Miami and my modeling agency was very happy to have me back. In the intermediate I've done 13 to 15 certifications. When people ask me what I do it completely depends on what the client wants. Do you want to get stronger? Do you want to get leaner? Do you want to get bigger? Are you dealing with chronic pain? Do you want to do functional medical tests because you're worried about your cholesterol? It's not about coming in here and kicking your butt for 45 minutes. It's about making a specific program to fit your goals.

What motivates you get up every morning to train?
Honestly, I think it's my fascination with the human body, the different processes that take place and the literal myriad of paths people's bodies can take, good or bad. But at the end of the day it's seeing people's faces change as their lives transform. I just ran a contest called Brickell's Biggest Loser. It was a four week free bootcamp I did for ten people, and within the first four weeks everybody lost like 10 pounds. I'm going to do it every couple of months now.

Favorite cheat food: I'm from Chicago, so it would be a Portillo's Hot Dogs double cheeseburger, a large fry and a cake shake. When I was in LA there was one in Orange County, so I used to drive one hour once a month just to go get Portillo's.

When you're not training you're: Thinking about how I want to be a rapper.

Favorite song to get pumped up to: I think Rick Ross is my guy to get pumped up to. It's a good vibe.

If they named a juice after you, what would it be called and what would it contain?
LHS— lean, healthy, strong. Everybody wants all three of those things. What goes into it would completely be dependent on what time of day and who's drinking it.

Biggest pet peeve at the gym: People who sit on their phones while using equipment for five to ten minutes at a time and don't use the equipment. Yo, I'm trying to get a set in!

Favorite motivational phrase: Let's get it.
· Infinity Fitness Miami [Official Site]
· Meet all the Hottest Trainer contestants [Racked Miami]