He may be a fitness giant, savvy businessman and motivator of the masses, but Sean O’Malley (BSES 94) is quick to point out that when it comes to success, it all starts with the heart.
“When you start to treat your heart and self with respect everything falls into place. Its emotional and physical,” said O’Malley.
Born in Tallahassee, Fla., O’Malley discovered his talent and passion for fitness in middle school when his parents gave him a concrete weight set from Sears.
“It became very natural to me, it gave me a creative outlook and my body responded to it,” said O’Malley.
O’Malley and his family later moved to Virginia where he excelled on the football field in high school. Both injury and size kept him from competing for scholarships at division one schools and eventually led him to accept a walk-on position at the University of Mississippi.
“I chose Ole Miss mainly because I wanted to play big time college football, and Ole Miss at the time had a very convincing recruiting coordinator,” he said.
Immediately O’Malley realized that the odds were not in his favor. As one of the most undersized players in his position and a walk-on, he would rarely have the chance to play, much less start.
His determination and desire on the field stayed with him off the field. His freshman year O’Malley earned the title of Iron Rebel, an award given to the top athletes for achieving the minimums of five out of seven athletic events. By his junior year he became the only player to achieve seven out of seven events for three consecutive years.
“Iron Rebel was something that I was naturally good at, I was able to get every category every year. And I think my fitness goals contributed to becoming what my coaches called, “the King of Iron Rebel,” said O’Malley.
During his football career at Ole Miss O’Malley was the shortest starting nose guard in the nation for Division I football for three years, earned the title King of Iron Rebel, earned a full athletic scholarship and was selected to the All-South Eastern Conference team. O’Malley’s drive off the field earned him a place on the All SEC Academic Team as well as the Dean’s Honor Roll.
Upon graduating with a degree in Exercise Physiology O’Malley began a career as a personal trainer and health club owner. After a few years working in gyms, he was dissatisfied with the direction personal fitness was going in.
“I was frustrated with the fitness industry and the direction it was going in; depleting the resources of people and not spending enough time caring about them,” he said.
After working exclusively as a personal trainer for a wealthy software mogul O’Malley developed Cardio Coach, the world’s first downloadable audio guided workouts compatible with any MP3 player, music software and exercise machine.
Cardio Coach has been featured in major national and international publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post and on ABC & FOX News. The program receives rave reviews on blogs, message boards and fitness sites online, and markets in over 70 countries worldwide.
O’Malley credits his accomplishments to his experiences with Ole Miss and Cardio Coach.
“I was able to use my experience at Ole Miss as a reference when I started Cardio Coach to stick with it. I believed in something like I believed I could play football, I had that same belief with Cardio Coach. I feel like my greatest accomplishment is staying true to myself and believing that what I’m doing is the right thing,” said O’Malley.
With an outstanding support system of family and friends whom he credits as his inspiration, O’Malley continues to further his goals with Cardio Coach.
“One of my goals is to be able to say that at any second of the day around the world, there is someone doing a Cardio Coach workout,” said O’Malley.
O’Malley maintains connections to his alma mater, returning annually to Ole Miss for game day reunions with former teammates and friends. He continues to contribute to the success of Ole Miss football, currently mentoring and training a 2006 football walk-on from his hometown.
Molding his life’s work around motivating others, O’Malley and Cardio Coach have become an inspiration to people everywhere with his motto: It starts with the heart.
“Life is hard, and one of the hardest things for people to do is stay motivated. We have choices to make, we can focus on the negative or nourish positive. For me Cardio Coach is a way to keep the fire lit and stay positive,” said O’Malley.
O’Malley currently resides in Virginia Beach, Va. For more information regarding Sean O’Malley’s successes and Cardio Coach contact cardiocoach@olemissalumni.com.
