What do people usually envision as a comfortable retirement? Some folks have grand plans that might include buying an RV or a boat, and traveling around the country or possibly the world. Others might want to move to a country with natural beauty and a lower cost of living, like Ecuador or Portugal. There are even people who just want to sit around and watch TV. One thing all of these plans have in common is that it takes a lot of time and savings to get there, and it usually doesn’t happen until typical retirement age, like 65.
Professional athletes can have a bit of a different trajectory. The shelf life of a pro athlete typically expires in the late 30’s, although there are some, like Tom Brady, who can push their athletic successes into their 40’s. But, for athletes, it’s important to have a game plan in place for retirement, which can last a lot longer than someone who retires in their 60’s.
Chris Camozzi is only 34 years old, which is still relatively young for a professional fighter. But, as he approaches 50 combined professional fights, between MMA and kickboxing, he is starting to plan for what’s next.
“I’m always working on setting up things outside of the cage,” Camozzi told Combat Press. “That way, in a few years, when I make my retirement, I’ve got other things in place to move forward with my life.”
Camozzi is currently under contract with the Professional Fighters League and has big plans to make a run at the million-dollar prize in 2022. He also coaches other fighters, and used to own his own retail shop. But, as he looks forward, he is working on a new venture that will hopefully carry him into a dream retirement.
Camozzi and his girlfriend Whitney Johns, who is an established fitness trainer, coach, and model, are dipping their toes into the fitness travel industry. They will be hosting fitness and wellness retreats around the world.
“She has a very big online platform for fitness and nutrition plans for people,” Camozzi said. “So, she already had been in the works for things like this. Once we started dating, it fit really well for a joint venture. We’re into the same things. We both love travel, working out, and helping people. We decided to go forward with these trips.
“The first one will be in April in the Amalfi Coast. We will get a group together – I think it will be about 25 people. We will start out each day with like a bodyweight workout or kickboxing – just something to get the body moving. We will focus a little bit on talking about nutrition and stuff like that. Then, the rest of the day, we will do excursions and activities that we have set up in one price for people. So, we’re setting up vacations for people to travel with us, learn, have fun, work out, and feel good about themselves. And, it’s fun getting to see the world.”
Johns has been helping people with fitness and nutrition for well over a decade. She runs a program called Fit with Whit, and she has an app that provides customized diet and workout plans for all fitness levels. She is also an avid traveler. Camozzi has been a pro athlete since 2006, and between his seven-year tenure with the UFC and travels throughout the world with other organizations, he also has a penchant for international travel. So, when the opportunity presented itself, they quickly jumped on board
“We have a company helping us do all the checks and balances, as far as all the restrictions, travel and taking care of all that,” Camozzi explained. “It’s been on both of our lists. The travel company that we work with approached us, because they have contacts where they can set up these deals. Our trips are all one price, but it includes five-star resorts. This one will do a tour of Pompeii, and we will do a boat excursion to the isle of Capri. All of this is bundled into one package that the company sets us up with.
“It’s all about traveling the world with like-minded people who are into fitness and nutrition. Some people that we have coming with us are not into working out, but they are looking to get into it. They want some guidance. It’s a trip for all levels. The workouts aren’t going to be excruciating, but it’s a good platform to start or just to continue fitness and wellness.”
The company is called Trip with Whit, utilizing Johns’ established presence in the fitness and wellness industry. The first trip to the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy will take place April 23-30, 2022. In addition to the aforementioned activities, the cost of the trip also includes a wine tasting, a hike, and other amenities like guides, airport transfers, etc. The accommodations will be at the 5-star Hotel Mediterraneo in Sorrento, which has beautiful views of the Gulf of Naples. However, the fun starts well before the trip begins.
“Once the trip is booked up, we will start doing Zoom meetings – maybe once a month – to check in with people and let everybody meet virtually,” Camozzi said. “Then, we start narrowing down peoples’ goals, why they are going on the trip, and what their fitness level is. Then, we tailor the workouts based on the group. They’re going to be custom tailored to who’s attending. If we have a lot of experienced people, it will be a little bit tougher. If we have a wide scale, because there’s two of us, we might even split the group up.
“Whitney also offers people who are going on the trip a free program from her leading up to it. Her site is pretty cool. She has an app that comes with a nutrition plan and daily workouts. It does all of the work for you, and you can choose your level on there. You can swap things out of your diet. Her program measures all the macros and everything in your diet. And, there’s this step-by-step workout included with videos and stuff. She wanted to offer that for free for people going on the trips. That way, if they want to start working out of just find different things, they can. I’ve been working out forever, but when I work with different coaches, I learn new stuff.”
The current plan is to conduct a Trip with Whit on a quarterly basis. The trips will be seven nights at a killer location somewhere around the world. It’s about health, fitness, international travel and just having a great time. The best part is that very little work needs to be done by the guests, outside of just getting to the location.
“Everything is planned by us,” Camozzi explained. “We’ll take care of your vacation for you. We’ll do all of the hard work. All you do is show up. There’s also downtime included. I’m not a fan of going on vacation and having it just packed back-to-back-to-back. But, we plan an excursion daily. People can opt-in or opt-out of anything they want. If you don’t want to come to a workout one day, it’s not forced. It’s meant to be fun and have a good time, and still get your workout in.”
Trip with Whit is one hell of a retirement plan for a fighter who still has a lot of life ahead of him. And, for Johns, this is basically the life she currently lives, so why not include others in the fun? When two people love working out and traveling, they might as well make a career out of it. After all, the old adage says that it’s not really “work” if you love what you do.
If you are interested in joining the Trip with Whit to the Amalfi Coast in April 2022, there are still spots available. Registration can be done through this link.