Three years ago, Geek Squad Agent Kriegon Newby visited his uncle in California and knew it was where he wanted to be.
“After my vacation ended, I sent out applications to California stores,” said Kriegon, who was living in Indiana. He got hired at Store 873 in Colma (near San Francisco), packed his car and drove west.
Since then, Kriegon has not only built a life on the coast, but two careers: When he’s not traveling in his Geekmobile helping people with their home technology, he’s helping people reach fitness goals at a studio.
“I’m up by 3:45 a.m. I coach three classes in the morning, and then I work my nine to five at Best Buy,” Kriegon said.
Juggling it all
Since joining Best Buy in 2018, Kriegon has discovered his natural strength is connecting with customers.
His supervisor, Jay Lisby, would agree.
“He has this intrinsic passion. He cares about the individual customer experience,” said Jay, Market 8 home services senior manager. “It’s something you really can’t teach.”
That passion translates well to strength and endurance training, too. Kriegon has found parallels between his two roles, including being encouraging, friendly and willing to explain things — whether it’s about tech or fitness.
He also aims to bring the same level of high energy and passion to each.
“I surprised him at his HIIT-style [high intensity interval training] class,” Jay said. “It was a tough class, but he motivated me.”
It was a customer who motivated Kriegon to become a fitness coach not long after he arrived in California. Because he was still getting settled in a new city and likes helping people, Kriegon decided to go for it.
“I never thought about working in the fitness industry until I was approached,” Kriegon said.
Aside from his own personal workouts and playing sports growing up — soccer and track and field — Kriegon had no prior experience.
Although his days are full, Kriegon enjoys both jobs and working with the people he meets. The flexibility and support from Best Buy have allowed him to pursue a personal interest, and he encourages other employees to do the same.
“If you want to follow your passion, Best Buy is the place to do it,” he said.
Find out more about careers at Best Buy.