The Kettlebell Comeback: How Pro Kettlebell Rose from the Pandemic Ashes with The Puchlovs

On this episode of All Things Fitness and Wellness Krissy Vann is joined by Amber and Nikolai Puchlov, the duo behind Pro Kettlebell.

Around the time of this release we are marking the fourth anniversary of the unprecedented global pandemic that saw the fitness industry face unparalleled challenges. With statistics from IHRSA revealing a staggering 17% of clubs closing permanently, a 58% plummet in industry revenue compared to 2019, and 44% of the fitness workforce losing their jobs by the end of 2020, Amber and Nikolai's journey through the closure of the Seattle Kettlebell Club is both poignant and powerful.

Dive deep into their incredible transition from the hospitality sector to making their mark in the fitness world, how the adversity of shutting down their gym led to the innovative reinvention of the kettlebell, and the birth of a new business venture. Their entrepreneurial spirit shines through adversity, offering invaluable insights, lessons, and fresh perspectives on resilience and reinvention in the fitness industry.

🔔 Before you dive into this compelling story, don't forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE for more episodes. Your reviews mean the world to us and help us reach more fitness and wellness professionals.

Connect with Amber and Nikolai  Puchlov of Pro Kettlebell
https://prokettlebell.com/en-ca
https://www.instagram.com/pro_kettlebell

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Transcript

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There's definitely so many periods dark days, but luckily because we are so opposite, one of us will be up while the other one's down and then the other one will be up while the other ones down. So we do kind of bring each other out of the abyss when life imitates art. You're just like a kettlebell swing. This is All Things Fitness and Wellness posted by Krissy Vann. Together we're uniting industry thought leaders and fitfluencers on the mission to inspire innovation and encourage people to live a life fit and well. On today's episode, we welcome Nikolai and Amber Puchlov. of a Pro Kettlebell. At the time of release, we're approaching the fourth anniversary of when a worldwide pandemic was declared shutting down businesses. According to stats from Ursa by the end of 2020 17% of clubs permanently closed, industry revenue fell by 58% relative to 2019 sales and 44% of the fitness industry workforce lost jobs. Ember and Nikolai were in the throes of it all having to shut the doors of their gym, the Seattle kettlebell club. On the episode you'll learn how they made the leap from hospitality to the fitness industry in the first place, how closing their business became a catalyst to bringing a new business venture to life. And on that note, why they reinvented the kettlebell. Their story is an entrepreneurial roller coaster with important lessons learned along the way, and new perspectives brought to light. Before we get to the episode, be sure to hit like and subscribe. I'd be so appreciative if you left a review and connect with me on Instagram at all things fitness and wellness. I'm your host Krissy Vann and this is ATFW. I am so happy to have you both Amber and Nikolai here. I know that you have a story that didn't necessarily start within the fitness industry, I believe from what I was told that it was hospitality. That was the background. So talk to me a little bit about where your career journeys began. I've always worked in hospitality since since I was like 11 years old really started off selling candy door to door and then you know, worked in bakeries reservoir. But I met Amber at a pizzeria called to Bella. And I was a manager was the front of house manager there and we were looking for waitstaff and I interviewed Amber and she was a great interview. And we've got to actually tell me more. I heard that I probably wouldn't have gotten a call back from that interview. That's not true. But okay. It was a let's hear she did a fine interview. I interviewed a lot of people, but it just so happened that she nannied for a friend of one of the investors of the business, and the the investor. His name was Matt Kellogg, like Kellogg. Kellogg, right. And Matt Kellogg called me and Matt Kellogg never calls me. And I'm like, Hey, Matt. What's what's up? He's like, Yeah, I heard you interview the Amber's at Amber cutlet to today. And I'm like, oh, yeah, he's like, How was she? I was like, Oh, she's pretty good. He's like, I think you should hire her. And I'm like, Okay, I'll consider that. And he goes, No, I think you should hire her. And like, Oh, all right. Like, this is like, this was not like being told, but not told. Yeah. And anyways, but it did. It turned out to be the best. One of the best decisions I ever made. We actually started dating shortly thereafter. And then one of us had to go, and you were the first to go right? Or as I remember anymore, yeah, one of us had to go. So we changed. I think you left first and then I left shortly after that. But anyways, we we've spent a decade and a half a piece. So like three decades combined. And and I worked in Nordstrom to and hospitality. She's worked in hotels, and the first drop out of high school was at a Salish Lodge, which is a very fancy hotel around around here. So I bar attended. And so actually, we, you know, I got into fitness. Because, I mean, I quit drinking when I turned 30 And I was bartending and so bartending and drinking and then turning 30 MIDLIFE CRISIS type thing. I'd always had a personal trainer like since I was 24. And that's a another interesting kind of scenario how a 24 year old has a personal trainer, but I'm like, Please tell let's get to the 30s But tell me about the 24 personal trainer because that's true. That's like a great choice. So when I started working at this restaurant to to Bella I started off at the bottom as a busboy, and I was poor, I had no money, but I wanted to join a gym because I was really skinny. And in high school I had exercised just randomly because it helped me deal with like the hormones and the stress. I just I enjoyed, you know, doing bodyweight exercises and curls for, you know, for the biceps and stuff. But there was a gym kitty corner to the restaurant, it was called bowl Stewart fitness. And it had a basically a likeness of bowl stewar, which is basically huge, powerlifter guy bald, and I was very, it was very much like a hole in the wall gym. It looked like a powerlifters gym. I was scared, but I wanted to join a gym and, and I wanted to put on some weight because I was really, I was really skinny. I was underweight that, in my opinion. And so I walked in there, and lo and behold, there's Bo and like, that's the guy on the signage. And I was in he, despite his appearance of being like, you know, 260 bald and ripped to shreds. Like he was the nicest guy ever. He's a southern guy from Tupelo, Mississippi. He showed me around the gym, he showed me a bunch of different exercises and like took me through a full body workout, but at no point do you ever make me feel like I was an idiot because I didn't know anything. He was very knowledgeable and supportive, and was kept telling me how I had potential how I had potential how I had potential. And then at the end of it, though, he hit me with the so, you know, how'd you like your session? I was like I was that was great. It's the best thing I've ever done. You know, it's awesome. It's like, how would you like to, you know, do training couple times a week. And I'm like, Whoa, ball. I just started working like, next door. Like, last week. I you know, I can't even remember how little I was making. It was like $12 An hour or something like that. And it's like, I can't afford personal training. And he's like, he's like, Well, what can you afford? And I'm like, I like, you know, $40 is like, great. How about we do $40 A session twice a week, we'll do 30 minute sessions. So, and I'm like, How can I say no to this guy? You know, I mean, it's like, he was, it was so big, you know, he's twice my size. And he was so nice. And he just taken me through all this stuff. And, you know, it turns out he actually had a like, on kind of a sales and hospitality background too. But other than that, he's just like, he was very, he was not what I was expecting from someone who is a personal trainer, he was empathetic. He didn't want me to overdo it. And he didn't let me fail. You know, I mean, like, even though I was doing things wrong, and I was doing things wrong, at that time, he just let me kind of go through it. And I felt like with him, I was like a winner. You know, I've done sports in the past, you know, as a kid, but like, I never had any coach, like really take interest in me and be like, Oh, this, this guy can do something special, I was an average growing up, I'm gonna get a little choked up thinking back because he did. He took me from like, average to like, make me believe in myself and excel, he got me into powerlifting I learned a ton. And every like, he was like a mentor to me, my dad was not around as much. And I was always looking for male, you know, figures whether it was a boss, or in his case, it was, you know, my trainer and I was asked him a million questions to the point where I'm sure I annoyed him. And, but I was like taking mental notes. And then when it came time for me to like, leave the restaurant industry, it was like Nikolai wants to come work for me. So now you have him kind of pulling you over into the fitness industry direction. So how does this go down? It had been six years of working with him, you know, straight non stop. I've made a lot of progress. I felt like he was like, you know, you get certified. And, you know, you come work here and work as an independent contractor or you worked out a split with me. I mentioned this to Amber and Amber's like, he's shaking her head. Don't Don't do this. He wanted to quit. He was like, I'm done with the restaurant. I'm not going back. I'm gonna be a personal trainer. I'm like, well, that's great. But don't quit your job, like start doing that. Get some clients and then quit little safety net. And he was not having that. He's like, No, I'm done. I'm not going back. Pull the parachute. So that was very stressful for me because I remember we were on our way to Arizona to visit my parents and we were on the plane and I'm doing the math. And I Mike you realize that you're gonna have to have 13 clients a day at the 30 minute rate, like you'll have to have 30 clients a day just to make what you're making. Now, every day, you know, is like this is ridiculous. And three months later, he was 6am 9pm I'm booked solid the whole time he had more of us turning people away for 30 am. I'm sorry, right? It was it was worth 30 or 30 am. But I was not pleased in the beginning. But bubble also he was very kind. So he called me Ms. Nikolai Miguel is going to be okay. Yeah. Don't worry about because he could see the potential of where this was headed. So what happens at this point, because I know this journey ultimately leads you to opening your own gym at some point. So where does this pivot come? And how are you both feeling about that life choice. So as I'm becoming more successful at this gym, I'm bringing in probably more money than I I've made before. I'm also bringing in the gym a lot of money somewhere along the way, I hurt my back squatting. And I, I was really bad to where I, you know, I was dragging my left leg around, and another guy who did Schuler, who was always around the gym, he was a bit older, but he was kind of a friend of and mentor bull stewar. He's like, Nikolai, you should try kettlebells that will help strengthen your joints. And, you know, it might help, you know, rehab that back years. And so I got into kettlebells at the gym. And he recommended I talk to this guy, Tom Corrigan, who's like, early days RKC instructor and very knowledgeable just happened to live within an hour of me. And Tom Corrigan trained me up. And I fell in love with kettlebells as I should have been doing the entire time, it's built for my body type by working in all planes of motion, I get cardio because I was built probably more to be a dancer than a powerlifter. I'm just kind of long and lean. And anyways, I fell in love with it. And and so I'm, I'm incorporating these kettlebell exercises with all of my clients, and my clients are loving it and having good success with it. And I'm like, oh, I want to do kettlebell classes. And he kind of let me do the kettlebell classes and the kettlebell classes start taking off a little bit. And I'm seeing this in my head. I'm like, I can really help more people. If I'm doing this in a class format, or a group format. And it's growing, growing, growing, interjection Meanwhile, I'm like, wait a minute, you're giving up your personal training clients so that they can pay less money to go in a class? This man is not gonna work. So I'm constantly interjecting my opinions to which get dismissed. Yeah. I mean, she was I mean, she was right in in the short term, but I could see that like, if I'm doing one on one, the max, people I could help a day was probably one point into like, 16 clients in a day, it was so draining brand new baby, like we've got this a while, yeah, got married, and then right after got married, got pregnant. So like, it all happened really fast. But here I am, I have all these ambitions to do these classes. And at a certain point, we created this business called Stryker fit, where I had taken other certified instructors, and I was I was getting so many clients that I would channel my surplus clients to these new instructors, but they were not doing well was keeping their clients. And so that just the wouldn't work, their turnover was too high. But when I had them teach kettlebell classes, I found that like that one on one, it was, it was just different on one on one basis, you know, you really have to have a connection with the client. But in a class setting, you can kind of interchange the instructors a little easier. And so that was working as well. And so I would write the classes and then they would instruct the classes. But Bo, and I and Bo's wife flow, and then me and Amber, like, we just couldn't quite get on the same page about where we wanted things to go. And this is a story that I think a lot of personal trainers have with like the gym owners, like they're seeing their business start to grow. And the gym owner kind of likes the way things are, and visions in the same space, right? And there's nothing wrong and inherently wrong with that because that's what growth is, but it is difficult. When you do have two people two separate visions, and especially when you're really passionate and feel like you've got something right and he's 25 years older than me he's got an established business I'm taking risks, like Whoa, did you take a risk with my business my clients, you know, and which is totally right, like I understandable. Anyways, we did we had a we had a falling out for a bit and this was after he was the best man at my wedding and here I am with a 1998 Jeep Cherokee full of kettlebells and a handful of clients and and I started doing like mobile training with my kettlebells doing Park classes going In the people's houses, I did this thing called How about we, which was like a basically a dating site? And like, people would choose, like, how about we learn how to do kettlebells? And so I drive to their house and teach these, like couples on a first date how to do. Awkward. Yeah, right. The date goes bad stories, such great stories. So sometimes, like a lot of times, the the date would be like going well, and they'd be like, you know, making eyes at each other and on my finger pain. Or, like, you know, it was so awkward. I could Gosh, in the era of only fans, that could be a terrifying thing to walk into, too. Yeah, yeah. And I mean, I've got some stories about some of those kids. You know, one of those couples actually turned into, they wound up getting married, they have child a child, and they introduced me to another couple bravi and Yoko, that actually, I'm kind of jumping ahead a little bit, but they actually helped loan me some money so we could start a gym. And so I have to think, how about we and I don't even know, they're probably not around anymore. Right. One of these Seattle startups, you know, that kind of rises and falls really quick. Hey, it served a purpose. Clearly, it did. But there were some rough times or dark days during? Yeah, because I had no gym to get new clients from. I mean, that's one of the benefits of working in a gym is sure always new people coming in, you could always get new clients. Well, now I'm like, How many people have space for a personal trainer come over to their house and do this thing. And I was always looking for a place to train. And I wound up renting space from a gentleman named Chris it is Jim was rich fitness. And I started Seattle kettlebell club, at that gym, outside underneath a tent. And because it's in Seattle, and it rains all the time. And we feel you're here in Vancouver. Okay, your Vancouver? Yeah. So you know, anyway to Tampa, like it was a patio with a, like carcoar to, you know, tent right over that. It was 10 by 30. We call it the revival tent, strong boxing lights. And yeah, I actually very nostalgic about that time, because at the time, it was like, it was so it was so perfect. It was like I thought that it was this is the best thing ever, because we had a roof over our head. And you did kind of skim over, we did Park classes nonstop to build a client base. So we would do and they were free. But I would do you know, get everybody's emails and build a list that way. And I did not. I mean, I had at this point, like I was I had been waiting tables until our son was born. And I'd like I'm not going back to that. So I'm all in to do whatever I can to help this take off. So we would I mean, we were going to every park in Seattle and posting posters about the classes coming up and posted on every neighborhood site blog, just as much free marketing on the ground begging people to come to these classes as we could and it but it did pay well after Yeah, after doing that we had some people to come to our to our new tent and get into our class. We had a handful of people. And and yeah, and it grew at Ridge fitness. So much so that the neighbor called you know, it was calling the police in the morning because the music was too loud because we're teaching 6am classes, and then another ma are like Rise and shine your workouts ready. Right? And then you know, so the owner, Chris, he was put in a tough position where he had to ask us to, you know, find a new place to do business at, you know, in gave us a week's time. And so in a week, we had to find a new space. So Craigslist was my friend there. I found a photography studio that was like down the road. And I called him and I said, Hey, would you let us teach classes there instead of doing photography? And he's like, Yeah, sure. Now he didn't really let us know that he actually lived in the studio to come out in the Pacific Northwest. Yeah, he'd come out in the morning in his underwear and go like make himself some eggs or whatever in the middle of like the class thing. And these people these these beautiful people that like followed us around like they just didn't even bat an eye. They just like, kept coming to classes. And eventually he got a girlfriend and they were together for a little while and then it'd be the girlfriend was not she was not she was not having us but There was a space just it was at the bottom of a condo became available for lease. And just as we were getting kicked out of our, you know, our next space, this other space became available. And that's when we that was the first phase that we got there was actually like, wow, I have signed a lease, it was ours, it was 1087 square feet. So it was so small, the windows didn't open, which is a, you know, hard call when you're in the gym, then you have to open the door, but it would like get so sweaty and hot in there. And then it would condense on the ceiling and dripped down, like we had so many issues to overcome there. But it really started to take off. So we we were we could only fit about 10 people in there and a class but we were just adding classes and adding classes. And it was so much fun to have our own space. Like it was amazing. However, it like he said was in the bottom of a condo building. And the neighbors were always the neighbors. They hated us. And because this thumping like the repetitive summers from doing jerks and stuff, and you got 10 people doing it at the same time it would reverberate through the whole building. So that was probably one of the most like stressful. I mean, we have a lot of stressful situations coming up over the next couple years. But that was the first one that really like kept me up at night and was making me like because I do not like not being liked. Like I don't like just having people like the neighbors would come by and they you know, they would scowl at me or you know yell at you get like walked by and open the door and like swear at me and stuff. And I just I can't I just couldn't handle it was stressful too. Because like there can be implications if there's a strata involved and things like that. And then if you're dealing with notices and having to mitigate, while you're trying to grow and run a business, it's just this extra stress that you have on top of it. Yes, the board started sending us notices and then hitting us with like fines. And every time there was a complaint and there was really, it was becoming clear that this actually this space was not going to be perfect for kettlebells even though we thought it was originally and we had done this beautiful build out like, you know, it was really a nice build out. But it became, we actually were able to, we found another space, again down the road, which was three times the size. We both knew immediately that we we had to have it, we were able to sublet that space that we build out the smaller space to an aerial yoga paradise, which was actually a much better fit. And they had to hardly do any build out because we did such a good job. And but then the new building we got was over 100 years old. And it was a furniture furniture repair place prior and they just closed up shop. And so that was our that was our last build out. That's where Seattle calibogue club like really, really took off. So we went from being able to have 10 people in the class to eight, eight, we had 18 platforms. And then there was like squeezing people in here and there. And then there was a back room that it took us a couple of years to actually come up with the money and the time to build that out too. But we eventually were able to build out like a second workout room in the back. And yeah, by by March 2020, we were finally doing it. We were we were full waitlisted classes like we had just got because there was a point in there where like we were both walking to work because our tabs were expired. And we couldn't afford to pay the ticket we've gotten for the tabs, it's fired to get new tabs and like, but we had it we knew that we still had to have the help because we had all these classes. So we had at one point like eight employees, they're all you know, like they're getting paid, and we're walking into work and like borrowing money to pay roll. And it was so stressful. But we could also see it growing like right in front of us. So it was it was an amazing experience. But it was it was literally it was January was the first time that we actually like paid all of our bills on time and said this is we're making we're finally making what we need to make to run a business. And at this point, you've gone through quite a bit of adversity from hopping around every move I'm sure it was a massive stress because you have this growing family at the same time. You know, the vision is strong it is being you know, utilized by the community that you've clearly created and that believes in you so much if they're willing to help you and that's one of the things that I love about like boutique and smaller gyms is that sense of community that can be fostered so greatly. And then I know what's coming because with just the signaling of March 2020, so what happens? So we finally figured out how to onboard people and get people to stay and like, we were like, we were actually crushing it. We we'd figured some stuff out. And then, of course, COVID hates, everything happened within the first week. So we our last class was on a Monday at noon, and then by ICE, like, I went home and said, Okay, we've been talking about doing online classes for a long time. And we'd also talked about growing beyond how do you grow Seattle kettlebell Club Beyond Seattle, so we already had it in our head that we would be pro kettlebell. And that would be like a bigger all encompassing organization that we could grow with. These were nuggets of ideas already. But I went home, built a new website got, like everything online, and we were driving into the gym when we weren't supposed to be on the road, even to me in our you know, to our private gym that people were like, you can't go to your gym by yourself in your own car. It was so crazy. So we were making to go and film each other in the gym to have the online workouts to put online. But but we did it and all we did the kettlebell checkout. So people would they would book a time and they would come, the members would come down and we would check them out a kettlebell and they would take it home smart, so smart. So thankfully, that was one thing. We had overthought. It's so brilliant too, because I remember that period in time and anyone that wanted any semblance of gym equipment, which was everyone that was indebtedness that couldn't access their spaces, like what a beautiful problem solving for your clientele as well because it is such a versatile piece of equipment so brilliant. People were calling us asking to buy or equipment and also like I swear there are people like casing the building a bat and looking to like break in. I mean, we got the call from the manager like a trainer from the for them set from the Sounders, Seattle Sounders soccer team. They wanted our they wanted our kettlebells. But they didn't want to pay for him. So crazy. No. We kind of have some bills right now, clearly, if we're not bringing in people into our gym, people were desperate for exercise. It was really, yeah, it was strange, because they didn't go to there. And suddenly they want it. Yes. Oh, definitely. So, but we did have more time on our hands, like we were filming, you know, a couple of classes. But normally we'd be doing classes from 5am till 9pm. But now we're only filming like maybe a couple of a couple of classes a day. And we're like, we're not the type to just we don't stand still rocking shocking based on this entire story. And we we've been talking or you know, we've been talking like if we were to one of our hardest problems with client acquisition was getting people to try kettlebells and then stick with it because they're just a little bit uncomfortable. On the back of the arms and people in people would always say, is it supposed to her? You know what I mean? I do I don't I haven't done not to interrupt you there. But I haven't done a lot. I'm like an avid workout enthusiast, but I am like more of that traditional bodybuilding style of lifts. And I just started doing some kettlebell workouts and I have a video of how awkward I look when I was first like doing the movement because I went through exactly that. I was like, am I is it just my risk older swearing, everything feels funny. So I 100% relate to exactly what you're saying here. Right? And it's because they were never designed like a dumbbell was designed to be lifted that way, right? A kettlebell was never designed to be lifted, the way we lift it, it was designed to be a scale weight. And you know, you've have your kettlebell is your, your weight standard, and you'd have like your bushel of hay on the other side, and your ways up. But then like, you know, these markets, people started having competitions and trying to outdo one another, but they never really changed the design. The fact that it could be swung and use ballistically is like great for it, but it always felt uncomfortable. And unless you're like accustomed to discomfort, I couldn't get over that. And that's why I remain very niche. So when we had this opportunity to like, extra time on our hands, we're like, this is the time that we're gonna this is perfect. We're going to make our own kettlebell and I said, No, we're not. No, we're not we have we have like a second to breathe and figure out how we're going to do the new online classes and the other stuff like we're not two weeks later, we're in our first like CAD design meeting with an engineer. And we're working on it. At some point I do get on board with the idea as but like, the initial reaction is always that it. It's just too big. Like he's very, he thinks long term and I think short term. So we're good team that way. Yeah, I was gonna say that's a good balance. Because I mean, definitely like the dreamer you need for the innovation, but sometimes, because I can be a little bit of a dreamer myself. And it's important, even with my own husband, he's kind of that you need the little voice of reason for certain things sometimes that when you are in dreamland, you may overlook. And then it just makes such a nice pairing when you have both of those pieces together. For sure, because you're like, Okay, well, how do we get there, you have to have someone going, how are we going to get there and in the most efficient manner. So we started working on this kettlebell design, while the gym was because we started sharing CAD drawings on our, our Seattle, cannabis clubs, social media, people were kind of getting excited about it. I also meanwhile, I've listened to some of your other podcasts. And I know that I particularly like that there was one guy who was like, I called and I said, we're not paying rent, this isn't my fault, you know. And as far as while the gym is still closed, and Seattle was very, you know, we were the first people to shut down and we stayed shut, and, and we were paying the rent, I did not make that call. Because, you know, it's a risky call for sure. It's not necessarily gonna go well, like with that particular choice. No, so I kept paying, and meanwhile, you know, the members through all stuck with us at first, and then every passing month, it's like, I'm really sorry, I'm so sorry. But I gotta cancel. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. So this number is just like going down and down and down. And while we're working on the developing a product isn't if free venture either CAD designers are not cheap. Neither were the protests, you know, there was there was SBA money available for for businesses at that point. And we were dipping into that we are dipping into that to, you know, no strangers to risk at this point. So, for going for it, we didn't know if the if the gyms were ever going to come back, I'm pretty quick to, to say, let's focus on the online in this kettlebell, though, because the big key point of this do that she doesn't know is that our we only had a four year lease at that space, because it was slated to come down and go become like, great story building. So we knew that we that we might not get to renew it now. Because in a lot of scenarios, they're like, Yeah, we're gonna tear it down. But then they, they don't, then you get to renew and renew and renew. But we could kind of see what was going on in the neighborhood and where the gain were, we might not get to renew, we were going to have a choice of either just have to shut down the gym, if it when we lost our lease or move to another location in Seattle, that was going to be the choice. And then that became, by that point, like we had so few members left, that there was it did not make, it did not make sense, it was too big of a risk, you don't know where you're going to move to all of the build out of it. Who's coming, you have half of the people saying, you know, if you're if you're enforcing the vaccination rules, then I'm out and you have the other half of the people saying, if you're not enforcing the vaccination rules, then I'm out, Kevin, you couldn't win either way. And I was like, I'm, this sucks. Like, this is not fun anymore. You can't, you know, we just like taking care of people and making people happy. And everybody's like, it was like, we're not allowed to do business the way we knew how to do it best. And then besides that, the rents were just continuing to go up, and then other build out was out of the question. So I think we kind of, we did look around for another space. But we couldn't find anything that was within our budget at this point with with where our membership was at, we were heavily invested in this app, and then and then the kettlebells. And we're like, we have to go all in on the kettlebells, which breaks our heart like looking at the pictures and the gym and everything. We still got messages all the time. Like, when are you guys gonna reopen? And you were, I mean, it's super cool. We made something like really special you pour your heart and soul into something and you create something that's really wonderful and does create connection with other people. So all of those emotions are so valid, but what I will say is that the circumstances that were so out of your control if it hadn't happened in this way, and Life is funny every time when we look back and do that audit because in the moment and part of my language, but you're kind of like what the fuck, like, the only way you feel when it's out of control, but you look back and I doubt, even though I know you two are very tenacious, but I doubt you would have moved so quickly. And so certainly, to make this next step happen if you hadn't been faced with this adversity, the learning is really on, everything always feels like we're playing catch up, because we're learning, as we have had done so much trial and error to finally end up with a product that we really love. But if I cannot believe it's taken four years, almost like on a lot of determination, and a lot of times that it probably would have been easy to throw your hands up and say, We're done, but clearly by your story, so not your style, which is wonderful, because pro kettlebell did come to life. So tell me, where is it at now. And what makes it so unique, the number one differentiating characteristic is that it has contours where your arm is supposed to sit, it took over 30 prototypes for us to get to the point where actually the angles match perfectly. A normal kettlebell has just a round sphere with a handle on it, because it was just meant to be a scale weight in the beginning. And that round sphere sitting on the back of your your forearm on that bone there, that radius creates a pressure point. And I was always noticing, because I compete in the sport as well, especially with people who do a lot of kettlebell work, they would get a raised bump on the back of their forearm, callus. And eventually, a lot of times that callus would become infected, and it gets cellulitis. And that would have to have surgery or antibiotics. I'm like, this is God, this cannot be the way and also like just trying to get new people to introduce them. barbells, like my mother in law, for example, she's not going to deal with that like, even though like kettlebells would be great for her health and like help her golf game and all that stuff. Like she's not going to go through that Coliseum period to develop that pain threshold to deal with kettlebells. So like, that is what we're the most proud of is that we solve that where it spreads that weight out. And now it just feels like it actually is. It hugs your arm almost. And it feels good. And it makes holding it more intrinsic. So you don't really have that kind of like, Oh, what do I do with this thing or whatever. We also like there's these things called fat Bell's or they're basically a circular dumbbell where your hands go on the inside, I was really intrigued by the ring on the bottom how and so we incorporated that bottom ring on our kettlebell. So you could actually hold the bottom like a handle. Another thing like people would drop kettlebells just because they're, they get swung a lot. And they would roll all over the place. So we incorporated a flat spot on it. So like when they hit the ground, they don't roll as far they're a little bit more stable. So there's like all these little things is like a gym owner and class instructor like person competes if a kettlebell was ever to be designed from scratch to be used for fitness. This is how I should have been made in the beginning, rather than a basically a modified scale weight. That's where we are now. And right now. I'm heavy into the kettlebell sport aspect of it, we've kind of focused on getting it recognize in the US and all the kettlebell sport Federation's successful doing that, and we're breaking records with our design, because it just, it's more ergonomic, the center mass is higher, it just performs a lot better than other kettlebells. And so that's been good. But that's a small market. And now we're focused on the fitness market, and trying to get in just the hands of people who are just for general fitness, and sharing our love and our desire for kettlebells. You basically been doing market research for years and years and years and years, and being very aware that there were things that could be better, and then being given through a terrible circumstance. But regardless, given that time and space to actually sit down, and then having the guts and the courage to actually do it. I have no doubt that your story like that type of tenacity and teamwork, obviously, between the two of you to make that happen is so commendable. Because within the story that you shared, and I have without a doubt that there's probably story after story within each of those moments that you shared today that were probably so hard to overcome. There are so many humans that would be like I'm done, I quit. No Why me victim mentality, and the fact that you were able to rise above that over and over again. That is just inspiration that you've instilled I'm sure in people not just in your community, but by sharing your story with me today. Thank you so much. I will say I got so emotional earlier about missing the club but I just wanted to finish with that. The when I went to the first call Competition in person, I don't know, year and a half ago now where people were using our bells. And it used to be if you go to a competition, it'd be like, I'd be so focused on just just our lifters, you know, like, oh, the pro, you know, sound Kobilka lifters, and I see all these different people that I didn't know using barbells. I was like, Oh my gosh, they're all our team. Like, I get to root for everybody. Now, what is it that felt amazing, there's definitely so many periods, dark days. But luckily, because we were so opposite, one of us will be up while the other one's down and then the other one will be up while the other ones down. So we do kind of bring each other out of the abyss when it feels like there's no hope. When life imitates art. You're just like a kettlebell swing. You get it? Yeah. This is a pendulum. The pendulum swings back, swings up sometimes swings down. Yeah, so luckily, two are just like on the teeter totter together. So you've got the support from the other person cheering you on when you need it. What's kind of a little, I mean, you've shared so much inspiration today. But I always like to leave on a little nugget of wisdom, it can either be a motivational quote, or just a thought from yourselves, that we can kind of instill and fuel for people's days you have to do before you can be, you're not going to be great at something, as soon as you start it. And you have to fail a lot of times before you get good at anything. And don't be afraid to fail. And that's an important lesson. And I always appreciate when there's people that have garnered achievements that are able to like acknowledge and remind us of that, because especially in the era of social media, it can be so easiest for us to forget that there is struggle, but nobody really is posting the struggles ever. So we get this disillusionment that it's like just success and you're just up there and everyone's up there and they didn't struggle ever. And so I think it's just really important for us to remind ourselves that you know, if you want something, the path is rarely linear, like in life it's not and without the contrast, I don't think we would ever appreciate the successes in the same way so I thank you both so much. Thanks for so much crazy it's really a pleasure to talk to you. You've just listened to the All Things fitness and wellness podcast hosted by Krissy Vann This episode was brought to you by fitness world your fitness your way. Be sure to hit like and subscribe. We have new podcast episodes weekly featuring industry insiders and influencers together we're on a mission for everyone to live a life fit and well