Lead The Way [#InTheTrenches ft. Damon Dukes]

#InTheTrenches catches up with Damon Dukes, owner of the 
Athletic Asylum to discuss leadership, principles, values, planning, staff development, and a ""before, during, and after"" look at ""readiness and resiliency"" through this crisis.

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Transcript

spk_0:   0:04
Welcome to In the Trenches, a weekly podcast series dedicated to entrepreneurial leadership, the principles and values that define and develop it, as well as actionable steps that you can take to immediately lead your team to victory.

spk_1:   0:25
Good afternoon. This is Eric declare with Push Press and we're continuing our in the trenches leadership, Siri's and on super thrilled to have an old friend on what I mean by old friend. I mean, someone that I got a chance to work with in the level method. And Damon's stood out to me not only as a charismatic coach and competence, athletic, develop development coach but more importantly, his care and his compassion for both his clients and its staff development. So I got a chance to watch him grow on unleased business. Owner is a coach that seem, branch out and do a couple of very initiative driven ideas, and so hopefully we'll cover some of those things today. David would like to introduce yourself. Welcome.

spk_0:   1:09
Oh, thanks for having me here. Um, I appreciate it. So it's not to be on and, uh, you know, it's it's not a for you to think of me in that way. so athletic asylum were here in Baltimore, Maryland. The gym started in 2013 and I started working out here in 2016. Quick transition from you know, this an athlete to a coach, from coach to manager and then manager to owner. Around 125 members before the cove it 19 Pandemic thing hit. Majority of people that you know I have lost their jobs have just asked to go on hold until until this thing is over. So that's the kind of size of rat were about 5500 square foot warehouse.

spk_1:   1:55
Okay, talk to me a little bit about your staff, The folks that you have working on behalf of you, for you as coaches and these interns. Let's walk through that. Those that don't know you

spk_0:   2:05
all right? Yes. So there's you know, I have two main coaching or full time and Kristen and Terra, both Christian and Terek Ana shares in the operations side of things, and then I also have four other coaches aside from them that are just strictly part time. There are four time gigs.

spk_1:   2:25
You directly focus on their staff development as far as certifications. Hours worked um, education and my consumer education. Do you oversee any of that, or did you let them kind of develop how they see fit?

spk_0:   2:40
So a lot of lot of more, very, like, intrinsically motivated. And I like that. Whatever, you know, certifications they want to do, the gym will pay for it if if we have it, if we have the funds available and we can work something out of paying that back there was I'm okay

spk_1:   2:59
now, do you have ah both for the company on before to the inspiration for your coaches. Do you have a working definition of leadership or set of principles or company values that you've tried to hold as your charter or as your standard that you want your coaches to emulate?

spk_0:   3:19
Yeah, I believe in leading leading from the front leading the way Walk the walk, talk, talk. You know, it all be thinking, but that's really my vision or my principle when it comes to leadership. Um, when I first started in the fitness industry, one of the first boss's name was Dale shadow for brick bodies. He tell you sat me down one day and he said, You know, I never asked you to do anything that I will, And I would, you know, in his dress, shirt and slacks, and they'd be underneath the truck Mills, you know, cleaning those things. So that stuff and maybe in the bathroom, you know, wiping the sinks down on things like that. So 17 years and it's still it's still with me. Works, though, Now that I am in a leadership role, it's It's the same thing. I leave from the front. I don't ask my coaches or staff to do anything that I wouldn't do. What about use that that report the compassion, um, tenacity, accountability and, you know, authenticity or being being authentic, those air, some come to mind and in that leadership role, um, you know it. It's the kind of place in the hand from leading your leading from the front. Justify if I'm doing all those things, then that's kind of what I expect from my coach.

spk_1:   4:40
And obviously it works well. Now you've got touches on staff. They in turn service your clientele. You get good feedback from a clientele that your coaches are empathetic, charismatic. They communicate well. Obviously, um, in developing your coaches could you. Can you look back now, even two weeks? Three weeks And think to yourself I'm ready. My business is ready. My coaches air ready for this. Run a virus and we're handling to the best we can. Or have you noticed any, like, have you noticed maybe any holes or gaps that you're like, Dang, we have to improve this right away. You didn't stand up?

spk_0:   5:20
No, I'm actually no, I'm I'm quite happy with the way that we're handling things. It's just like it's almost like we didn't miss a beat. Now I understand. You know, it's tough times, and some members are are losing their jobs, but the overwhelming majority hasn't. And a lot of people are, you know, their stuff. Pain memberships. Now, we assume is, by the time I realized that this growing virus was actually really gonna be a problem, it was it was almost too late. Um, I want to say that I, you know, downplaying it, But I just didn't know if I was, like, believing the hype, that this was actually gonna be something. And it was another week or so before we were shut down. And

spk_1:   6:04
so did you guys choose to shut down before a mandate? Or were you mandated to shut down by your governance? It

spk_0:   6:09
was so I practiced jujitsu and my my ju jitsu school shut down. I was thinking, you know what? Maybe I bought in. Another thing that's important to me is you're either part of problem, your resolution. And so once, once I had made my mind up that we should shut down. We were already you were giving, ordered to shut down. So it was kind of like, right around the same time. Yeah,

spk_1:   6:33
OK, now, from a community standpoint, how was your message received? Where your clients surprised where they support of where they fearful, how did you kind of, um, tangle with or deal with their mixed emotions?

spk_0:   6:48
Of course there was. There was initial fear, but it's far as a community goes. We're not gonna focus on opposition. No, I'm not worried about that at all. What I want what I want to focus on is is your members or your group. So what I did was I just nice among the six coaches and Derek, these in your guys dug these Your guys person, you guys. So on so forth and

spk_1:   7:15
so on.

spk_0:   7:17
What's that?

spk_1:   7:18
You split all your clients out to your coaches to

spk_0:   7:21
put him on hold and just kind of Hey, but I don't have ah ah script worthy or anything like that. I just want you to continue to reach out to these guys once a week were doing in home workouts, and we're doing it through our software. Just tried. But this name in your comment, they're posting their workouts. It notice that they're not bursting workouts, checking with them, see what's going on and on search for media and commenting when everyone else is trying to encourage everyone to post to the group and just stay. Stay engaged. Two weeks ago, we started doing Facebook live classes. We weren't doing that initially feel like they're part of a group again because we're all logging at same time doing it for the most part.

spk_1:   8:14
In addition to digitally broadcasting your fitness component, are you guys layering in any element of social? That's a different. So are you getting together for, um, Friday nights to have ah, like a trivia night? Are you getting together for Sunday mornings to do like I don't know I heard so many different ideas and options.

spk_0:   8:36
Yes, we're doing. Ah. Well, Friday, we did a virtual happy hour. Just zoom, zoom call and everyone's law in. And we just drank some beers and chatted, and I may have drank a little too much. I think I, uh So I was so excited that it was hurting Saturday morning, so

spk_1:   8:55
Oh, man,

spk_0:   8:56
that was my My members got to see me in a different light, but And next Saturday we're doing We're actually doing a virtual partner play out. But everyone you know, getting partners ready, and they're gonna be partners, But they're going to be doing it like you carry. You're gonna do this, this many reps. And then Beth, you're going? Yeah, felon stuff up against the wall, See if it sticks. But that's another thing. Just don't be. Don't be scared to try things.

spk_1:   9:27
Have you dedicated any of any part of your staff to reach out to those that may have fallen off folks frozen or place from old? How are you handling the clients that have had a distance themselves from your gym?

spk_0:   9:41
I take that one my own lie. A number one is

spk_1:   9:44
that you?

spk_0:   9:45
Yeah. So if they have toe cancel or if they have to hold number one that they reached out to and I and I handled make sure everything is, you know, there's anything we could do. Um, so, yeah, I couldn't take that on my my own back.

spk_1:   10:01
Have you had to have any hard conversations with any clients yet at all? Anybody struggling significantly. Anybody sit from your gym or kill anybody? Lose anybody in the family yet?

spk_0:   10:13
Yeah. No, no. No one said any nothing virus hitting close to home or anything like that. No one that I know so far.

spk_1:   10:23
Awesome man. So I think the before, during and after approach to this everyone's after it seems to be semi ambiguous because we we don't know. We don't know if this is gonna be in April. May June. Kind of a thing. Have you had the moment yet to put any energy towards thinking how you're going to, uh, kind of accelerate out of this turn on my on the gas pedal and attack after what would be your say? Top three things that you know you'll need to do when this is over. Any thoughts given towards that yet.

spk_0:   11:00
So we were we were actually doing. We're about to do a big marketing campaign right before this thing hit, had it all set up, ready to go. So we're kind of like we just press the pause button on that. And that's exactly what we plan to you know, to do whenever the doors do open. Back up all of our members that are on hold and getting them back in year if they are able to get back in. Um so

spk_1:   11:25
rank is just because you might be able to open up doesn't mean that they've got their jobs back and then can fit all back together again.

spk_0:   11:32
Yeah, I know, but I would say, like we had to speak. Push for big marketing campaign and we're ready to go with that. So,

spk_1:   11:41
a recruitment campaign for a program or four specific offering?

spk_0:   11:46
Yeah, it's just, you know, a six week foundations. Course I've run a running in the past and actually level methods really sit him down. You know, it's kind of like martial arts school. I'm gonna hand you this felt, except for I don't know about you're gonna get because we're We're going to assess you over the first couple of weeks and you're going to get a level, and then you're gonna know where you're at, the coaches going nowhere. You're asking, great. And so we're going to have six weeks foundations, course and market heavy for that.

spk_1:   12:14
There are coaches out there that are struggling gyms that are either on the brink of closing or very close to closing. Um, with all your wisdom and all your confidence in all of your capacity if you were able to share something with them. Um, I have a message for any other coaches that are struggling right now,

spk_0:   12:35
but my biggest thing to anyone who is struggling would be to just stay authentic. Be yourself. Can feed off your inspiration without you. Really? Even having Teoh know what to say, what to do just right, you know, don't try to be something that you're not. Not That's people can see right through that smell. BS Just do what you can Try to stay positive. I know it's scary. I'm scared to I'm not gonna see you. Um, but I'm not going to I'm not also going to know the like I am with decades and being Superman here, they know that it's it's, ah, trying time. But I'm gonna let them see my vulnerability. And I'm going to stay authentic to who I am, amount on

spk_1:   13:25
the

spk_0:   13:25
other end and hope it inspires on as well,

spk_1:   13:29
man. Well, I appreciate that. It's is both sincere from the heart, and it is truly an authentic message. I mean, there's so many folks that want toe all of a sudden, pop up and be macho and bravo like high bravado, and you can tell it's a front and it's just not it's not gonna run the test of time. Awesome. Well, thank you genuinely appreciate your insight. Um, and of course, everyone at your facility. If ever anybody needs any help, we always say, Raise your hand. Call connect. Ask questions on DSO from team at Push Press. This is our next installment in the trenches, David Duke's owner of athletic asylum. And thank you, man. I sincerely appreciate it