Palm Harbor Local
Welcome to Palm Harbor Local—where we celebrate the heart and soul of our community by sharing the stories of the incredible small businesses that make Palm Harbor thrive.
Hosted by Donnie Hathaway, a Florida native, real estate expert, and passionate community builder, this podcast is all about Building Community—connecting people, businesses, and ideas that shape our town.
Each episode, we sit down with local entrepreneurs, business owners, and changemakers to dive into their journeys—the dreams that sparked their businesses, the challenges they’ve overcome, and the impact they’re making. From brand-new startups to long-standing local favorites, we uncover what makes these businesses special and why they matter to the community.
Whether you're a fellow entrepreneur, a proud Palm Harbor resident, or someone who just loves supporting local, this podcast is your inside look at the passion, dedication, and creativity fueling our local economy.
Because strong businesses build strong communities.
Join us as we shine a light on the people behind the businesses, share valuable insights, and inspire you to engage, support, and grow alongside your community.
Subscribe now and be part of the movement to Build Community, one story at a time.
Palm Harbor Local
From CrossFit Roots to Community Growth
In this inspiring episode of Palm Harbor Local, host Donnie Hathaway sits down with Gonzo Mora, the passionate owner of Core Fitness Athletic Studio in Palm Harbor. From reviving a struggling gym to building a thriving, multi-faceted fitness community, Gonzo shares his story of leadership, transformation, and the powerful role that fitness and connection play in personal and community growth.
Gonzo discusses:
- His decision to take over the gym in 2023
- The evolution from a traditional CrossFit gym to a holistic fitness studio
- Why community is the heartbeat of Core Fitness
- The importance of communication, team alignment, and adaptability in business
- How fitness has transformed lives—from athletes to seniors
- His vision for a co-op fitness studio where members have ownership
Whether you're into fitness or fascinated by local entrepreneurs making a difference, this episode is full of motivation and insight.
Connect with Core Fitness Athletic Studio:
📍 Located - 3785 US-19 ALT Suite D, Palm Harbor, FL 34683
📲 Follow them on Instagram: @corfitnessathletic
💻 Learn more: www.cfgetsalty.com
Stroll through the laid-back streets of the Palm Harbor community with this informative podcast, proudly brought to you by Donnie Hathaway with The Hathaway Group, your trusted guide and local expert in navigating the diverse and ever-changing property landscape of Palm Harbor.
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Welcome to Palm Harbor Local, a podcast dedicated to building community and sharing inspiring stories from the heart of Palm Harbor. I'm your host, donnie Hathaway, and today we are joined by Gonzo Mora, who is the owner of Core Fitness Athletic Studio. Palm Harbor Local is all about spotlighting individuals who are making a difference, overcoming challenges and fostering connections right here in our hometown. If you are passionate about growing together, getting involved and celebrating the people who are making Palm Harbor thrive, you're exactly where you need to be. In today's episode, you'll discover why Gonzo took over the gym in 2023, his vision for the future of Core Fitness Athletic Studio and why Gonzo believes in community boats inside and outside the gym. Don't forget to connect with us on Instagram at Palm Harbor Local for behind-the-scenes highlights, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter at palmroberlocalcom. Now let's dive in and build community together. Gonzo, welcome to the Palm Harbor Local Podcast.
Speaker 2:Thank you, don, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm excited to chat with you. Let's start with, like you know what it is you do and and kind of who you are right now.
Speaker 2:As a as a business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, me, yeah, as your business, yeah Right.
Speaker 2:Um, well, actually, what we really focus on, uh, we used to be a CrossFit gym, so we uh still have a lot of members that like that type of workout, so we do have, um you know, cross training style. We are not a crossfit affiliate any longer, so, um, the reason for that is we've added um yoga and aerial classes as well with a gypsy air partnership, and we've also introduced a youth athletic program, so it's a performance-based program for uh youth athletes to build on their speed, their, their vertical jumps, um, you know, stabilize the small muscles that really help your large muscles do what they need to do when you're on your field or track or court. Um, and it's really been a great way to kind of add back to the community, um, the the key to our business is the people that work out there. Um, you know, it's not necessarily the workouts, it's not um the the owners or anything along those lines.
Speaker 2:It's really when you get there and the people who are pushing you along, that's that's what motivates you to get up the next morning or come back after work the next day and and really, um, get to it and keep your goal going.
Speaker 1:So you, you and you guys recently took over this gym, correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're almost um a little over 18 months. Okay. So we took over in August of uh 23.
Speaker 1:Okay, and so it's. It's been a gym for, like we were just talking about, before you know, 13 plus years, something like that. Right, um, what led to you taking over the jam and, and you know, kind of making this transition into what it is today?
Speaker 2:yeah, it was really twofold. Um, what you know, my partner and I did it to to help out a friend you know who just needed some help, and, uh, we didn't want to find another gym or another group of members to really push us along in this journey. And so, you know, we just injected some money into it to build it up and change it a little bit, give us a little bit more of an advantage and then from there, just keeping the community together. I mean, that was really the main goal is to keep the community together and continue to improve on a daily basis different group types of people and stuff.
Speaker 1:But the community aspect of any gym I think the CrossFit gyms like have more of that, because you're in the classes and stuff together than like your typical commercial gym where you know you're going as an individual and you don't have the group classes. But the community aspect, right, is a big part of going to the gym.
Speaker 2:Completely, and especially in group classes, group group classes, group workouts, um, you start building on each other. You know, the first time you go in there you're received by people, right? So if you went into a regular gym like, uh, you know, planet fitness or LA fitness or whatever you want to call it. Um first time you're in there, you may or may not know somebody. If you don't know anybody, it's tough to kind of talk to people yeah right, not so much for guy to guy right, but for women it's.
Speaker 2:It's much different, right, um, if a guy approaches them, or if even another girl approaches them, there's, you know, a different feel, whereas when you're walking into a group setting, you welcome the approach because yeah you feel like an outsider coming in.
Speaker 2:So when people approach you, you feel like they're actually in. So when people approach you, you feel like they're actually welcoming you and you're part of the class and the group. And so the other piece of that is that the coach helps tremendously. So the coach receives you, introduces you to the class during warmup or during cool down, we may have some question and answer, where people get to know each other and things like that, and then conversations start in different ways and relationships start building and you start seeing people carpool.
Speaker 1:You know, versus anything else, the classes always start at the same time, so it's not a matter of oh, I'll make it at 7, 30 or I'll make it at you know, whatever time it's, you know you, you have certain times that you can get there yeah, I remember, I remember like when my wife and I when we did like a group fitness it was Camp Gladiator, like outdoor fitness, yeah, and like to that, I mean to this day like we're still friends with some of those people that we went to you know camp with way back then, and that was that might've been almost 10 years ago now, but but yeah, it's like, that's like, that's um, and you're right, Like that was a big part of it too. I remember we did like the early morning workouts. It was like 5am or 530 or something like that. You know. So, like that group of people boys go every day, because if I try to go at six, sometimes we can't make it. Seven we definitely can't make it.
Speaker 2:They start school too early, uh. And then the 5 30 class. I mean anything can happen during the day where some days you're going to make it some days you're not going to make it so yeah, um so the 5, am for sure, is the is the time that there's no interruptions.
Speaker 1:It's just a matter of whether you wake up or not. Uh, can you do it? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And you know that's it's a beautiful thing because, you know, everybody starts to kind of build their, their relationships in those classes, right. And when I first joined um, I tried out every class so that I can see the different people. Okay, right, so one day I would show up at six, the other day I'd show up at seven, eight, you know. And then I did. The three o'clock schedules were way different back then, but every class had its own like atmosphere, right. So some of them would be younger, some of them would be older, some of them would be more female, some of them would be more like competitive males or you know. So you really kind of pick what works for you. But, um, it really created an opportunity for me to not only meet all the members but um it was good.
Speaker 2:And I mean I had a Groupon, so I remember I got in for $10 for the first month and my goal was just to go meet people. I had just moved to the area. I know yeah.
Speaker 2:And, um, you know, you mentioned earlier that you're still friends with people from camp gladiator. When I did CrossFit the first time, um, I did, uh, sparta and it was, you know they, they were in Tampa, um, were in Tampa. Um, they're no longer around, but, um, and I'm still friends with them and it's been 15, you know, 16, 17 years since since that that happened.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what did you notice, like when you first started? Uh, when you moved here and you did all tried all the different classes and different times and stuff, which one did you end up selecting, like, which time did you find your, your group with, and then why?
Speaker 2:Like what, what stood out to you about that group? I ended up staying with the 6 am. Um, and it was mostly because, like me, they were, um, you know, business professionals that were trying to get stuff done in the morning and make sure that they had a routine. Um, you know, it was a. The kind of mentality that we all shared was get it done early so that we can go get our life done and not have to worry all day about well, I gotta get back to the gym. Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, um, the afternoon people were actually more. They worked early, right, so they couldn't make it to the classes at 6am, so they would come in. So then every once in a while I would sleep in or whatnot, and then go into the afternoon and and it was fine there too, because it was a bunch of good people on that at that time as well cool.
Speaker 1:So let's, let's go back to like your, your transition into like, owning the business and running the business. Like what was that transition like? Like some obstacles you had to overcome, some challenges you faced during that, during that time, and had you owned a business before that, or this is your first?
Speaker 2:Um, nothing, nothing like this I had. I never owned a um, a gym, I was. I was a diving coach for a long time in in in Arizona. So I had my small, my small business with that um, and then I had a real estate business, which I still own, some properties, but nothing like what we're doing now. Uh, the day-to-day running and anything like that. But challenges, I mean, I think the biggest challenge was, you know, connecting with the community, as now we have decision making and what we wanted to see from them and what they wanted to see from us, so really understanding what they liked about the situation, what they wished that we could improve on. That's where some of the equipment changes and you know things like that came into play, um, to make it a little bit nicer. Uh, we made some decisions that weren't received very well, and you know that's understandable. Right.
Speaker 2:But, um, you know, so trying to balance the fact that we went from just being friends to now my decisions make, know, people angry or yeah, or upset, or sad or happy, or you know whatever emotion comes from a decision I make. I mean, that was, that was tough because, you know, from the beginning the goal was to get the community together yeah and as decisions took place, we lost some, gained some, um, and you know we're, we're just, we're building on that, that foundation what led.
Speaker 1:What led to this? Like new direction, like where did that come from? Versus just like trying to make small improvements over like what it was and before it was just strictly like a crossfit gym correct, like with the group classes and whatnot. Investing is extremely important, but it can also be somewhat confusing With taxes, asset allocation, stocks, bonds and funds. To know what to do with all this could be overwhelming.
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Speaker 2:Yeah, so it was group class CrossFit gym and it was open five hours a day, right? So you have 19 hours of useless space. So what really made the decision was we're not touching the community in the right way, right? So we added yoga. We added um aerial, we added the kids program Um, we added 24 hour access, so all our members get trained to understand what it's like to open the gym. Um, if they want the 24-hour access, they don't, they don't need to. It's included in their, in their package. But there's some people that only would like to do it within the group, right, um? But they know how to come in open doors, turn the lights on, make sure everything's safe, and we've. You know they've done enough classes to where we, as coaches, know that they understand the movements. They're not going to, you know being there by themselves trying to lift 400 pounds when they know they can't do more than 250, you know yeah.
Speaker 2:So things like that, that and um, but the decision of just, you know, ripping the band-aid right type of thing was done because you can only kick the can down the road for so long you know and, as that's working, as you're, as you're building what your, what your vision of your, of your community is, the hard part comes when you're not seeing the end of the road because you're focused on the pebbles along the way, and that was so hard for me to take, and it was.
Speaker 2:It was actually hurting me physically like I. I couldn't work out for two, two and a half months. I could barely walk.
Speaker 3:I was in crutches wow, and it was just stress related.
Speaker 2:Yeah like as soon as we ripped the band-aid. You know I'm running again. I'm yeah and it was almost like a week crazy and I didn't know it was stress related until I was in crutches on a thursday. I left friday morning to go to a wedding in Colorado Saturday. I was dancing at the wedding and I was like, oh, this is great, I feel great. I went skiing, it felt great. Came back on Monday and I was walking around. Fine, I did a workout. I felt awesome. Tuesday I couldn't walk.
Speaker 1:So you just get back into the business. The stress hits you and your body just crumbles yeah.
Speaker 2:Just shut down from my hips down, my knees were swollen, my ankles were swollen. I mean, it was just isn't that wild yeah it was bad, so, but I, I'm telling you then, you know, like I said, then we made the changes and um, um, and I've been fine ever since. I mean, it was tough, don't get me wrong. I lost a lot of good friends, you know, but I didn't lose them as friends, you know. That's the way I feel.
Speaker 2:I didn't lose them as friends. I lost them as daily companions in my workout routines. But you know we're still moving in the right direction.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I mean that happens like with any time you know we're still moving in the right direction. Yeah, and, and I mean that happens like with any time we change right and and I feel like you have to, um, like you talk about being 1% better every day, or better every day. I mean that's a big part of it. Like you have to be able to adapt and go through those changes to to grow and be better. Um, and you're always, anytime you're changing anything, like there's people, there's going to be people that agree with it and people that don't agree with it.
Speaker 2:Right, it's just part of it and you have to take the risk.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Right, so our slogan is better than yesterday. Yeah. That's what we focus on, and the reason we say that is because whatever you're doing today has to be to make you better than yesterday. If the action you're taking right now isn't moving you in the direction you want to go to, you shouldn't be taking that action. Mm-hmm, you know Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I guess, give us an overview of what you guys are about now and what you guys offer at Core Fitness.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we still have the group classes and we focus on cross training. So, really focused on um. We're called core fitness because COR is the is the root for in Latin for heart, so we're really focused on the cardiovascular piece of the body. Um, so working from the inside out, okay, um, if you have good core right, then your legs and arms and head can be strong.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But if your core is not there, then it's difficult to keep going. So a lot of our workouts are focused on engaging your core to then be able to use your arms and legs. Um, so that's, you know, that's what we really shoot for, and with that we're building a lot of muscle, right? So as we build muscle, then your metabolism improves, your heart improves, your you know fat burning and calorie burning improves. You know, a lot of times, people think that the time that you're at the gym is the time that you're burning calories. Well, you're at the gym for an hour, you're burning calories for 24 hours, right, but it's how you do what you do at the gym. That allows you to burn efficiently later on. So building muscle is the number one way to continue to burn for the rest of the day, whereas if you go to the gym and you do the treadmill for an hour, you know you're burning during that time, but then your body's actually in a different state for the rest of the day right.
Speaker 2:It's in a recovery state versus a burning state. You know we do a lot of running and cardio and you know in our workouts, so it's not knocking the running. I think running is extremely important.
Speaker 1:Yeah, has its place. Yeah, Well, it's more has its place.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, it's more than has its place right, like you see some of the statistics that come out. You know people over 30, you know may never sprint again, but you think about that for a second and you, you know as an athlete right, I know you're right, yeah. As an athlete, you're going. It's impossible. Yeah. But then you start thinking of the people you know and it's like would you ask them to sprint.
Speaker 2:There's probably a bunch of people you'd be like no, I wouldn't even ask them to do it, let it go and do what I think they could. So it's kind of crazy to think about those things. So then you start to involve that kind of stuff into the workouts so that we challenge the status quo. Right, why aren't you jumping? Why aren't you sprinting? You know, and it's because we don't trust our bodies anymore. So when we're working with seniors or when we're working with injured people, right, if you're at home and you need to change a light bulb and you need to step on a stool or a chair or whatnot, the last thing I need you to be thinking of is I can get really hurt if I just have to step down quickly.
Speaker 2:If I lose my balance and I have to step down quickly, I'm going to get hurt. So our goal is to train that. You're not going to train it in a day. So little things, you know, build up. So, stepping onto a box, stepping off to a box, stepping on, stepping off, you know, moving side to side, jumping over a line I'm not asking you to do a broad jump of eight feet, right, just jump over the line, yeah, right. So just get those little muscles. Comfortable to where if you're up on that stool and you lose your balance. A little bit comfortable to where if you're up on that stool and you lose your balance.
Speaker 2:A little bit. Your body says I got this. I step off a box all the time, you know, and I've seen 60 year old women jumping on you know, 20, 24 inch boxes, missing it, falling to their side, getting up, laughing and saying, man, like that could have been. You know, that could have been way worse if I haven't been doing this for as long as I've been doing it.
Speaker 2:So you know it's, it's, it's an exact. It's an exciting thing to see the progression, you know, and, and you see the differences when, when people really dive in and we have some great members that you know are so committed to themselves and to the community and um, you know, it's just so motivating to just want, you want to be there to see them and then, in turn, you become better.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, you want to be a part of that, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so a couple of things that stood out.
Speaker 1:like it reminds me of um, I watched a documentary on like, like the blue zones, like some of the healthiest regions in our, in our, in the world yeah and like one of the things they talk about I think it was, it might have been like japan, like there's a blue zone in japan or something over there, and they talk about their core strength because I think is they. They sat on the floor like they didn't sit in chairs, right. So just the the act of like sitting down on the floor and then having the, the to get up and stuff, and doing that over a long period of time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they get up without hands Right. Yeah. Most people here. We're very comfortable right. Yeah. Most people here can't sit and stand up without using their hands.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they got to lean over yeah exactly, I'm one of them. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't have the flexibility yet, I say them yeah, I I don't have the flexibility yet. I say yeah because we're working on that.
Speaker 1:Right now I'm getting better, but I'm one of them where I struggle to, you know, get all the way down to the ground and then stand right back up without using my extremities in different ways yeah, and then the running part, like I used to you mentioned, like I used to run a lot too and I I recently started doing more strength training and I've I've noticed just a difference in the way I feel and like going about the day, like you said, just your balance, like moving through things, lifting heavier boxes or whatever it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like the, the core strength, the strength training is obviously it's an essential part of like being healthy, like long know too right you know, and one thing for me that triggered all of it was the um, like learning, just like how difficult it can be to build strength the later you get in life, absolutely so I think it's like after 40, like you really start to diminish, like how Atrophy speeds up. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's after 30, but it doesn't really speed up to a level where it's noticeable. Okay. But after 40, 45-ish you start to see atrophy add up right. Mm-hmm. And that's where muscle creates longevity. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:Right, and running creates muscle too. It's just, your body's not going to be right as strong if you're not doing anything up there. Um, you know, but because I mean muscles, just it's just created by tearing it. And you know that when you run x or even at a certain speed, right, yeah, you're tearing the muscle. That's why you get sore. Yeah, yeah, you know. So, you know, and diet the blue zones, like you were saying. So not only is core very important, but then the diet comes into play. You know, and unfortunately we're in a situation where people are starting to notice that there's a lot of politics that play into our diet. And you know how, you know, our choices hurt us, um, and I just, you know we should be focused on the right choices you know, yeah, what, um, how long have you like, how long has like fitness been a part of of of your life?
Speaker 2:Like I know you mentioned before, like you were, you were a coach and and and did swimming and stuff yeah, so I've grown up in sports my whole life, so I've always been in sports and I was in martial arts, I wrestled, I did diving and that's what got me into college, um, I I coached several olympians, several national champions, um, and started really focusing on weightlifting. That's when I got too thick to be a diver anymore. So I really fell in love with the push, the mental aspect of it, and then, as going to the gym got boring for me, just by myself or with the same one or two people, then I found group classes.
Speaker 2:And that you know, created a whole different atmosphere. It was like going back to being on a team right. So if you grew up in sports, you understand the importance of going to practice right, not because you're getting better, but because you go to practice most of the time and today you see it significantly. I see with my kids they go just to be with their friends more than I want to do this drill or I want to get there at this right.
Speaker 2:It's all about I want to talk to the freshmen, and so on and so forth, right, um, and then you move through that level, always being like, oh, I'm less than these people or more than these people, based on what age I am. Then you get into corporate America, or you get into the world Right, and you realize you're working side by side with a 60 year old, or you're working, you know, side by side with a 60 year old, or you're working, you know, side by side with a 16 year old, and you got to figure out that you're all at the same level and you all have to move this ball forward. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's what group training does as well. You know, you walk in and you may feel like you're strong and there's going to be workouts that it's all about your strength, and then you're going to come in the next day and it's not your strength and you're now feeling like you're inferior to those around you. Um, and that is so powerful, right? It's kind of like if if corporate America was allowed to post reviews in ranking order yeah. Right, so you could see I'm 10th on my team. Holy crap. Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know that would be so powerful. Yeah. Right, they keep it quiet because they want to make sure everybody's happy Right. Yeah. You know so, uh, so that's, that's losing that that bit of it. But you get that from the group training and you know, sometimes you have partner wads and you know it might be me and you and again your strength is running and if our partner wad doesn't have running but it has deadlifting right, then you're looking at me like please help me carry the load here, right, um, and that's okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right, or we all go down and wait a little.
Speaker 2:Um, and that's okay yeah right, or we all go down and wait a little bit, and that's okay too yeah, you know like we. We got to make sure that we are pushing each other. You know evenly like the mental strength and the physical strength will all come into play, but it's it's the mentality of the group that really creates that, that excellence.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you so going back to like the, the corporate America, or just working in a in a job, in a, in a in a company, um, and like that group, team aspect? I'm sure there's some companies that that have that nailed and they create that camaraderie and yeah.
Speaker 1:And where they're all motivating each other and stuff like that. But do you think that's missing a lot from these larger companies? And is that come from? Like you know, some of the individuals like not growing up in team sports and stuff like that, because I grew up playing baseball too. So, like you know the team aspect, the camaraderie aspect of it all, like I understand that and do you think I mean, I feel like there was there's so much you can learn from from team sports too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, and I'm obviously biased that perspective because I grew up in that space. But if I were running a business where I was hiring multiple people, right, I would always be looking for athletes and military Like because especially team sport athletes or collegiate athletes who were part of because it might be like diving is not a team sport until you're in college, and then you're an event for the swim team right.
Speaker 2:So you're competing as a team, but the reason I say that is because you really get an opportunity to learn, like what's my task, right, what's my role here and in a team sport, right, you can't do everything right, you gotta be the pitcher and the catcher right.
Speaker 2:You can't be the first base, second base, no-transcript. That's so strong. So when you're bringing that mentality in as a business owner, then you're now all you have to do is explain your vision and explain where you see them. As a big part of that vision, and most of the time they'll buy in and they'll say, all right, you know, and they'll know what their strengths are and they're going to put their strengths into it, not just their time. Right, I think that's powerful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like that, that's and I wonder I'm sure you can get that like outs without team sports, whatever Right, but I feel like as as a young kid growing up and stuff like that's a a great way to learn you know that, that trait or that skillset of being able to just work together as a team see the larger picture yeah and and focus on, on your role completely and, like you said, you don't have to be in teen sports right but surrounding yourself with people who have that kind of mentality, and that could be as simple as coming to a group class or joining a running group right.
Speaker 2:Not everybody's going to run the same pace, but if you know that Saturday long run is going to be a group run, so we're all going to run the same pace. So the weakest link, that's the pace we're running. Right, I don't want to call them the weakest link, but you know it is what it is Like. That's, that's what we're. We're going to run as a group, we're not just going to run at the same time. You know, what I mean. That's the type of chip that some people have. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And others. Don't Not saying that one's better than the other. I'm just saying that, depending on what your goal is and what your vision is, that's really where you want to um elevate that that mentality right is is it's not about me, right? It's how do we get the whole group to be better, and that's what this community is about. Right, that's what your podcast is about. Yeah, you know, um, that's why, when we met, it was so easy for me to connect with you, because I was, like man, like that's my mentality.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, my mentality isn't about yeah, it's not like.
Speaker 2:our goal in our gym is to make it a co-op where everybody becomes an owner. But if we did that right now, we'd be charging everybody way too much. You know what I mean? We don't have that. We don't have enough members, but as we continue to grow and we were we're going to be able to cover all expenses. Then every member makes it cheaper for everyone. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's the way it should be Like. If I could get I think I have 38 members right now, If I can get to 100, every single one of our members would be paying 50 bucks. Crazy, you know yeah.
Speaker 2:Versus what we're paying now, and I mean it's kind of nuts to think about it that way, but we're right there. All we need to do is continue to build the foundation of the community we want to embrace. I'm a big believer in Jesus Christ and. I think that he put me here to be able to do that. I'm not smart enough to know it quickly. It takes time, yeah it takes time.
Speaker 1:So I've got to go through the process and I've got to continue to pray and know it takes time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it takes time. So I've got to go through the process and I got to continue to pray, and I got to continue to listen and and learn. So sometimes you just got to roll your sleeves up and hop into it.
Speaker 1:I think that's uh, yeah, I mean, that's a good point, right, like it, and I don't nothing, I don't think anything comes easy. Um, even if you've been in business for for a long time, right there, there's always obstacles or challenges and and stuff. I mean even with the podcast too. Like we're in the new studio now. Like there were some challenges the last few weeks of like getting to this space and stuff and and I've been doing the podcast for for five years now, you know. So it's like they're uh, you know there's there's always obstacles to overcome. But I just having that, that mindset of like I'm going to roll my sleeves up and then, I'm going to take on this challenge today and and I'll be better for it.
Speaker 1:Right, that's awesome yeah.
Speaker 2:I'd love for you to meet Brandon, who's our coach. Yeah. Um, he's going to be doing, uh, ruck marches. Oh cool. Like every month on Saturdays, um, he'll do one a month or one every other month, or something like that, just to kind of get the community involved. It's not, you know, it's free to everybody. Just come out, we'll start at the gym. We'll walk down to Palm Harbor, you know, um, or up to Tarpon, or whatever.
Speaker 2:Cause, we're right next to the trail, far, you know, and then from there, you know, you get to know each other, walking, talking, you know, and then you know, bringing, bringing friends along, and you know. I think it's easier to say, hey, let's challenge ourselves for an hour of walking with a ruck on yeah then it is to tell somebody hey, come lift with me, yeah, you know.
Speaker 1:or let's go run 10 miles, yeah, or let's go run 10 miles exactly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sometimes we'll you know, maybe we'll just meet at a bar or something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know like we do that too. You know we've done that in the past. We've tried doing like events at our gym and things like that. So you know, I think we're like I said we and things like that. Um. So you know, I think we're like I said, we're really building a strong foundation as to when you walk in, you're going to be introduced to people who care about themselves, care about the gym, um, and care about making others better. And you know, as as that continues to build, it'll just snowball. We just have to have the patience to let it get there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and just stick with it, right, yeah, and that's a big part of it too. So we talked a little bit kind of like throughout the conversation. But, like communication is a big part of, I think, a business or or, and especially like, as you transition into the you know this new concept and what you guys have now um, talk to me a little bit about, about just like like that piece that part of like your business, like communicating with the um, with the members and stuff and, like you know, bringing them along, and obviously some of them, you know, didn't stick, stick with you but um, but what's important there?
Speaker 2:More important than communicating to the members is is having the right message as a team. So if you're talking to me, or if you're talking to Pablo, or if you're talking to Brandon, um, it should be the same message, cause if, if we're not delivering the same message, then the members don't know which way to to run, especially if one member talks to Pablo and the other member talks to me. We deliver different messages and then they talk to each other. Well, that's not what I heard. Yeah, you know yeah.
Speaker 2:So then that creates um trust issues. It creates, you know, um a a mentality of uncertainty, um, so, I mean, a lot of our communication is done through email, really, um, so everybody gets the same message, um, but the key for us is making sure that we know if they come to any one of the three of us, they will receive the right answer. So, before I send out an email, you know I I talk to the others and make sure that they know, like, hey, this is what I'm sending, this is what I mean by it, right, or, and that's, if it's something, that's just whatever. But if it's something that is being like, you know, a management decision is better for the community or better for the coach, then you know we've talked about it beforehand. And before we leave the meeting, we know, hey, this is what we mean, right, and then we'll go ahead and deliver it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so everyone's on the same page.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I like that. Where is what do you want to? Where do you see the future?
Speaker 2:I know you've touched on a little bit about it, but like where do you see like the next, you know, let's say, two years of the gym. Like what does that look like? I would love to have a situation where our gym is open from 5 am to 8 pm, with different classes coming in and different things. Right, we're called a studio because we want to reach the masses. Right, we want the right people to find the right place for them, and not everybody wants to lift weights and that's okay. But four hours out of the day maybe five we have weightlifting classes Three hours out of the day, we have youth performance training Three hours out of the day, we have youth performance training Three hours out of the day, we have yoga and then, if we continue to add things, then we're going to get to a point where the whole day is open, but with options.
Speaker 2:We're not walking in and always seeing the same thing the beauty of that goes with. Maybe on Mondays and Tuesdays you like to lift weights, but on Wednesdays you want to do yoga.
Speaker 2:So you're going to the same place. You're just coming in at a different time. That's really the goal there. But I would tell you, the main goal for us would be to grow the space right. If we can get the right members in um, then we can continue to grow the space the. The sky's the limit from that perspective, in a sense that if you could tell me that I could run aerial and yoga at the same time as I could run, you know, across training, oh yeah you know, class um or a youth performance class?
Speaker 2:that's game changer.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm, you think that's something that separates you guys from like other gyms, because I don't think there's any other gym that does like the variety of stuff, right, it's usually just like a CrossFit gym, right, and they just have those classes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that separates us from a target perspective.
Speaker 2:We're not targeting only CrossFit-minded people, and there's some really good CrossFit gyms around here too, I'm not taking anything away from them, so that piece of it is strong, but there isn't, to my knowledge, any youth performance training or anybody who is focused on agility and injury prevention for everyone, right. For years, crossfit had this, you know, bad perception that they were just pushing you to get hurt. Just go heavier. Just go heavier, you know. Try the movement even if you weren't there. And it's such a bad perception because I've never experienced that and I've been doing CrossFit for almost 20 years and every coach I've ever had was always focused on um, on form and and keeping you in line. When I say keeping you in line is because I'm the dummy that wanted to beat you, donnie, so I pushed myself for an extra rep or an extra hound Right, and when my body was telling me not to, yeah, you know, and that's when you know you blow a shoulder or you, you know pipe a hip out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the back goes out yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:But, uh, but if you're, you know, if you're there to you know, do what you do and get your day started, and things like that, then I think that that, just it's such a good way to work out yeah you know, crossfit had it right. The mentality was is so good. Um, you know, obviously as a, as an organization, they're having their issues right now and it's a shame to see because they're like I said.
Speaker 1:The thought behind crossfit is awesome yeah, and just the community aspect right of crossfit and then like what you guys are doing too, I know you're involved like just being a part of the community aspect right of CrossFit and then like what you guys are doing too, I know you're involved, like just being a part of the community. That's how we met was at the downtown Palm Harbor market. Right, that's right, but I mean that's a big part of, I feel like it's a big part of maybe just like in our local area. Right, but like these small businesses and stuff, like if you can show up and be a part of the community in some way, like that's going to go a long way too.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I mean it's it's more important to be part of the community than it is to be um located centrally Right.
Speaker 2:So if I was located you know, near here, where most people drive in Palm Harbor, right, I think everyone would recognize our logo. Drive in Palm Harbor, right? I think everyone would recognize our logo. But I'm located in a spot where the majority of people who live in Palm Harbor don't drive by there, you know so. So the logo may not be recognizable. Or even when I tell you, oh, I'm right next to JJ Gandy's, right Like you know, jj Gandy's but you're like, oh, I've never seen your gym, I was like, well, that logo has been there for a long time. So it's one of those things. I think that's why getting involved and it's more about who you know, not what you know I may be the world's greatest coach or I might have the best equipment or whatever, but if nobody knows you're there, if nobody knows where your heart is, then what's their motivation to go check it out?
Speaker 2:right yeah, um, and that that's what's really cool about. When you come in and you know, you, you, you meet the heart by meeting the people who are working out there. You know that's, that's where it's at. You know you don't have to sit down with me or pablo or or brandon and to really know what our vision is, our vision is those people you know, and some of them Donnie. They've been there for man, mel and Robin, I think. Have been there since day one. Crazy yeah.
Speaker 2:I think they were part of the first owner started the gym thought in his garage, and I think they were part of going to the garage and working out with him. I mean T, I know TR and Paul were part of that as well and um, you know there's, you know you have people who. They are the heart of the gym.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, it's not about who owns it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's cool. And, like you said, yeah, I think that's cool, it's, and, like you said, like once you show up there, then that's when you really truly get to experience like what you guys are creating and stuff exactly, yeah and then you get bought into it, and then it's like yeah now you have some great friends that you're gonna know for a long time right and that's why, you know, pablo and I have jobs, right like, our goal was never to make money here.
Speaker 2:Our goal was to help a friend and, you know, continue to build the community. That's why we are really fond of the co-op. Thought Right, um, and you know we'll, we'll see that if we can get there, but that's uh, that's our next. You know, that's that's our next. Goal is to get out of the red so that we can start you know um bringing partners on. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Yeah, I like that idea can start, you know, bringing partners on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's pretty cool. Yeah, I like that idea. So where are you located for those people that don't drive up that way?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we're right across the street from Highlands of Innisburg, right next to JJ Gandy. So if you know where Gracie Palm Harbor is, we're in the same parking lot, just on the opposite uh building so right across the street from that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, kind of like north north Palm Harbor for some like off.
Speaker 2:Alternate 19 yeah, alternate 19, just south of Klosterman, north of Alderman yeah and um. We are just north of the entrance to Wall Springs Park okay, yeah, cool.
Speaker 1:Gonzo man, thanks for being here. This is this. Has been fun to get to know you a little bit more and learn about your business.
Speaker 2:So thank you very much for having me. I mean, I think it's a um great thing that you do. I love seeing the podcast and the people. That you're doing is allowing people who may not have that opportunity to know the story and the heart behind what's happening in Palm Harbor. So thank you for everything you do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I appreciate that. It's all about community, right, that's what we're doing is just building a community.
Speaker 2:Excellent, so thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Palmer Local, for tuning in to another episode of Palmer Local. We are incredibly grateful for our sponsors Jacob with Roadmap Money, who make this show possible. Now be sure to support these local businesses and let's keep building community together. We'll see you next week.
