My Superpower
Less sexy than you may think, but it can make you a lot of money.
I owe you an apology.
In our last issue in 2021, I stated that we'd be getting the first issue of 2022 into your inbox on Jan 3rd.
Well, that didn't happen.
This is mainly because I caught a case of the cooties (of the non-COVID variety), which put me on my ass for longer than expected.
I'm alive and well now and just wanted to apologize for a missed commitment.
Always own your fuckups. It's good for business and the soul.
xoxo
Stu
Today’s Rundown
✔️ Significant org chart changes at CrossFit HQ
✔️ 6 Equipment companies focused on operational capacity
✔️ A reminder that having an EGO is actually a good thing
17 Year CrossFit Executive Gets Fired. Here's Why It Doesn't Matter.
I can feel my inbox filling with hate mail already.
On January 4th, CrossFit LLC CEO Eric Roza fired CrossFit Games Director and general manager of Sport Dave Castro, after more than fifteen years with the company.
The CrossFit community learned the news via a leaked internal email.
Classy.
The change comes just seven weeks before the 2022 CrossFit Games season.
In the email, Roza says the decision was “difficult” and gives kudos to Castro's vision, creativity, and drive that took the CrossFit Games from "an informal backyard competition at his family's ranch into a global phenomenon with hundreds of thousands of participants and millions of viewers worldwide."
After the news broke, Castro took to Instagram to publicly hash it out.
We will let you peek at the drama if you so desire, but the gist is that the breakup was not mutual, as Roza claimed.
Following the IG post, Castro received a wave of support from members of the CrossFit community who disagreed with the decision to fire Castro and replace him with CrossFit employee Justin Bergh, who will be promoted from his position as VP of Sport and Partnerships.
MY TAKE
When Dave Castro was fired, a portion of the CrossFit affiliate world lost their minds.
The other half probably didn't notice or care.
This piece is for the former.
Here's the thing...for anyone to stay with the same company for over fifteen years is extremely rare in today's world.
Sure, your grandfather loves to brag about his thirty-three years working at the Ford plant, but those were different times with far fewer employment options.
If you’re a microgym owner who is emotionally tied to Dave Castro and the news of his firing sent you spiraling, I need you to zoom out and think rationally for the sake of developing your business acumen.
The firing makes sense if you remove the emotions and dissect this leadership change with a business mind.
First remember it was only 18 months ago that Greg Glassman, CrossFit founder and former CEO, was voted off the island following an offensive George Floyd and coronavirus tweet..
Shortly after, Eric Roza became the new CEO.
With most new company leadership, one can typically expect the new leader to rapidly get to know the company, make changes as quickly as possible, and likely change their top management team - and we saw this play out as Eric Roza fired Dave Castro.
So, we can speculate that this shift of leadership is purely a case of out with the old guard, in with the new era... and TBH if I were in the same position, I would have done the same thing.
Now, if this news upset you, you're probably the microgym owner who also gets into an emotional mess incapable of a rational decision when a member cancels, an employee quits and works for a competitor, or your business partner no longer wants to be partners.
And if you are that someone who finds themselves in deep emotional turmoil in business situations and is unable to step back and evaluate the problem at hand with a clean, calm, rational mind, this is for you.
How Microgym Owners Can Learn From This
Things will happen in your world (both personal + business) that create an emotional reaction.
The ability to stop, assess the situation from a distance, and make a logical decision or conclusion is what I call 'Zooming Out'.
Aka my superpower.
Here is your step-by-step guide to ‘Zooming Out’.
Step One: Allow + Accept Your Natural Reaction
When a fire pops up, terrible news gets delivered, or you are faced with a difficult decision, allow yourself to react naturally, personally, and internally. Accept that you are only human, and how you respond to stressors is engrained. Have your immediate reaction, but then quickly move to step two.
Step Two: 'Zoom Out' + Assess the Situation from Each Angle
It is time to put the emotions aside and zoom out. Think through the situation from all angles and ask yourself, Why did that person do that? If I was a third party with no skin in the game, could I make sense of the actions that made that person arrive at that decision? Once I put myself in their shoes, am I able to see why they did what they did?
This is typically an eye-opening exercise where you’re able to see (though you may not agree) the rationale behind someone’s actions.
Step Three: Come back Down To Earth
Now, we must react to the situation logically. Remove the emotion from your decision and forbid any bias to step in based on feelings that are not vital to the problem. If you still have trouble removing your emotional bias on your own, I am always here to help.
The process of 'Zooming Out' is easier said than done and takes practice.
But by practicing it, you'll become a leader and business person who can make tough, smart, decisions and doesn't get crippled when situations hit too close to home.
6 Pieces of Equipment To Increase Operational Capacity
Because saving space is good business…
The first time I saw the FITBENCH was shortly after my first class at Barry's Bootcamp, and it was as if they read my mind.
If you're not familiar with the Barry's Bootcamp model, you essentially transition from a treadmill to a bench where you perform many different exercises.
But to do those exercises, you have to go to the far end of the room to get your dumbbells and additional equipment, requiring lots of traveling and resulting in wasted time and space.
For such an excellent high operational capacity model, I thought there had to be a more streamlined and consolidated way for members to access their equipment.
Not even a week later, I see the FITBENCH.
The FITBENCH One (their flagship and most popular model) stores six sets of dumbbells, two kettlebells, one slam ball, and three sets of FITBANDS, all within the exercise bench.
Remember, the key to success for many microgyms is to keep fixed expenses down, and obviously, the smaller the commercial real estate footprint you require, the lower your rent and the more profit you can pocket.
Depending on your training methodology, the FITBENCH is an excellent way to keep all your clients in one space, decreasing their in-class footprint and creating more operational capacity.
If a barbell, kettlebell and dumbbell had a baby, it would be The Torpedo. Developed by Alchemy 365, The Torpedo allows you to do more with less equipment.
If you’ve watched my popular review of The Torpedo, then you know I am a big fan of the tool for its ability to
Create more space - Less equipment means less storage
Create more efficiency - Do more with less equipment
Create a unique - Few microgyms use this tool
I personally used it at my microgym, Urban MVMNT, because in addition to its versatility, it allows owners to enhance the client experience by eliminating a lot of the negative experiences that happen with a traditional barbell - namely holding a barbell in the front rack can be uncomfortable for less experienced fitness goers.
Max Pro Fitness found me on Instagram and sparked my curiosity.
Resistance cables for at-home use are a win; however, finding a way to adapt cables into commercial facilities, studios and microgyms is an even bigger play - and I think that's exactly what Max Pro is looking to do.
Max Pro is the award-winning fitness machine seen on Shark Tank.
Their portable fitness system allows users to add up to 300 lbs. of resistance at the turn of a dial.
It'd be easy to see how this piece of equipment could make its way into a Yoga studio, Pilates studio, or any other microgym concept that focuses on operational capacity.
Next on our list is the SMRTFT adjustable dumbbells. There are both positives and negatives with these.
The positive is with one set of dumbbells, you can access multiple different weights. The negative is that although multiple additional weights, there's only one handle, meaning this can truly only be used by one person at a time.
So, a studio that would outfit this for many people would have to buy multiple units.
However, this could be a great option in station-based or interval-based programs. For example, say you have a 25 person, interval-based class, running five stations at a time. Then you could use five sets of SMRTFT total and still allow members to scale the weight to their current fitness level.
I think we're going to see a lot of consolidation coming to the barbell and dumbbell scene.
Last but not least, The Profile PRO Rack from PRX Performance allows you to lift big in small spaces.
If you are unfamiliar with the backstory here, they were one of the original fitness companies to make it on Shark Tank. Then their patent was quickly ripped off by every other fitness company globally. Ouch.
But I think the foldable slim squat rack is a perfect alternative for those microgyms that still want to keep squat racks a part of their programming but don't want to dedicate all the space required for a traditional rig.
This product takes up minimal space and allows everyone to have their own station.
While the initial expenditure of having one Profile Pro Rack per person may seem daunting, I believe this is the cleanest, most efficient way to run squat rack-centered programming.
And actually, one of my favorite microgyms, Raging Fitness Co., implemented this exact scene in their microgym.
And not only does it look good, but from a financial perspective, it can be very profitable.
After having one of the co-founders on my podcast and doing a comprehensive review of the Ancore pulley system, this equipment has been a go-to for my training.
Similar genre to the Max Pro, but unique in the fact that you can mount it practically anywhere with ease (especially a squat rack or pullup rig).
I’m a big believer that diagonal plane and rotational movements are widely lacking from the group fitness scene. But a product like Ancore can allow you to add this element to your group class seamlessly.
The company is still in the infancy stage, but they’ve already published their 2.0 version and I have no doubt that they will continue to innovate and bring cable pulleys to the group fitness market.
Having An EGO Is Actually Good For Business
Time to redefine the term ‘ego’ and realize its potential.
The traditional sense of the word EGO is typically associated with the following:
cocky
refuses to learn from anyone
arrogance
insecurities
douchebag
You get the idea.
However, I’ve always been told I had a big EGO, yet I’ve never been called any of those things.
And when I break down my business success, it comes from a single place - the Energy I Output.
To be even more specific, I’m referring to entrepreneurial EGO.
I have a ton of EGO when it comes to the small world of fitness and fitness businesses.
When creating content, speaking at a public event, or working with a microgym owner to create custom solutions to their problems, the energy I produce is strong, confident, and infectious.
Because I genuinely consider myself a student and teacher in this industry, when I speak on these familiar topics, I come off with as much confidence as one can.
As you can imagine, this energy may be off-putting to some people while contrastingly creating a magnetic connection to others.
Now, I never speak from a position of authority on topics that I know nothing about - NFTs, NASCAR, climate change, IRS tax code, etc.
I only spitfire and EGO when the topic is within my wheelhouse, and I truly believe I’m a subject matter expert.
As I break it down in this former episode of Talking to Myself, you must have an EGO if you wish to win in business, but you must also demonstrate control and tact to leverage the influence your EGO can create.
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Share it with someone else in the fitness industry and create some influence!
