Leadership Lessons From People Who’ve Built Big Things in Fitness

In this episode, we revisit some of the most memorable conversations we've had on leadership, discipline, resilience, and the mindset required to build something meaningful.

Featuring Joe De Sena, founder of Spartan Race, Pete Holman, inventor of the TRX Rip Trainer and Nautilus Glute Drive, and Alan Leach, CEO of West Wood Club and one of the fitness industry's most respected voices in sales and leadership, this compilation brings together hard earned lessons from people who’ve spent decades building, innovating, and pushing through adversity.

From Spartan mentality and mental toughness, to leadership under pressure, to the importance of discipline, communication, and consistency, these conversations explore what separates high performers from everyone else.
Whether you’re leading a company, a team, or simply trying to become better in your own life, this episode is packed with perspective that still holds up years later.

Transcript

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this idea that they owe you everything is nonsense you hire them to do a job you provide the training you provide the rewards you help them do a great job and if they leave you you should keep that relationship going welcome back to another ATF W Vault episode where we revisit some of the most valuable conversations we've had with leaders founders and innovators across the fitness and wellness industry in this episode we're pulling together insights from three very different voices who each have shaped the industry in their own way you'll hear from Joe Desena founder of Spartan Race Pete Holman inventor of the TRX rip trainer and Nautilus Glute drive and Alan Leech CEO of Westwood Club and one of the industry's most respected voices in sales and marketing let's start with Joe Desena there were at least 5,000 times I wanted to quit but I don't have quit in me so you know what would the average person do I say to myself the average person would quit I don't wanna be average so we're not quitting the real tough time they were doing a cover story in the bankruptcy section about how Spartan probably wasn't gonna make it it was good clickbait for them I for the life of me I couldn't understand how that was helpful to the world here I am trying to get people motivated and they're you know taking my legs out from under me but but I remembered that in your darkest time is usually when naysayers show up and they pile on and and if you could just get through that you'll be OK number one I'm I'm a believer that like we've got limited time and so any chance we get to multitask and get a workout and take stairs instead of escalators in airports or carry around something heavy any chance we get is a home run so you're stand while you're at work um but specific to that kettlebell was a story on the farm where I helped a gentleman go from 696 pounds down to 265 pounds and in doing so I told him I would carry weight as he lost weight so that turned into 100 pound sandbag that I was carrying everywhere around the farm in Vermont ultimately the hundred pounds was too much to carry they wouldn't let it on the plane on my way to Tokyo the sandbag so when I landed in Tokyo I said to my wife would you mind ordering a kettlebell but let's make it reasonable make it like a 20 pound kettlebell I'll just carry this thing around and by accident we ordered 20 kilograms which is 42 pounds and so that became my three year cross to bear that you met me with was was my kettlebell I just don't appreciate lazy I don't do well with it I don't want to be around it I think it's incredibly attractive hard work I think we like it in books and movies and in real life we you know those folks that lean in and get it done and grind their whole life and I just don't understand sitting on a beach or sitting on a couch and you know wasting your life away in front of a screen I I love to just get after it Pete Holman this was literally just a passion project for this one clinic and then somebody that was a business person said you should produce these I was like huh and that's how it started and so I said alright well maybe I'll make you know 10 and see if I can sell them at a trade show that was my first Ursa trade show if you've ever been to a trade show there's one called Ursa and my first visit will be this March oh yeah I will see we gotta talk I'll see you there it's a it's called the International Health and Racket Sport Association Trade show and back in the day it was all for like racket sports racketball and squash and things like that and over the time over the years it's morphed into it's all the latest and greatest fitness equipment so if you're into fitness I mean it's I'm going to the candy store of it's like Disneyland it's it is really quite cool and they have prize you know competitions and prizes and you can test out sometimes even prototype equipment and people get feedback and and so I took I don't know 10 or 12 units to Ursa it was in the middle of a blinding snowstorm I'll never forget I'm I rented a U Haul I pack up the U Haul there's a foot of snow on the U Haul you know like a truck yeah and the next day I'm like are you kidding me drive to San Diego from Aspen Colorado which was you know took me a couple days and unloaded all my stuff sold out I mean one guy bought three racks he was a physio and he had a clinic and he says I'm buying all three and so I sold out of the product and it was just a great you know kind of great ego boost however then this was 2,008 and the economy collapsed housing prices I mean everything collapsed and steel prices doubled gas prices doubled and what happened for me to produce the product it would cost twice as much and I kind of walked away from it with my tail between my legs and but I Learned it was almost like a master class in business you got a taste for it I got a taste for it and I Learned about product inventory I Learned about website design and development I Learned about uh manufacturing and fulfillment and kitting and shipping and all the costs and how to box things up and it was my head was spinning after that and it wasn't too long later that I invented the the TRX rip trainer how old were you at this first invention now I was older I mean I was in my so let me think here I was mid 30s OK that's still young cause that's where I'm at yeah no but I'm saying some of the folks are watching are like in their 20s early 30s and and you maybe you haven't done anything that you feel super proud to hang your hat on yet it's like give yourself time first yes that's why I asked and I appreciate you sharing because I'm like often times it's exactly that you turn a certain age and you're like well I'm done now and then you there's all these incredible stories of people even in their 70s bringing things to life and you're like fuck it doesn't end in unless you decide it has basically one thing you look at as you get further down the line in your career is most of us in this industry are trying to fundamentally help people with their health their wellness and their vitality right we want them to feel better feel invigorated feel empowered have more energy have better interpersonal relationships have more confidence and how do we do that we typically do it through one on one like I did it through one on one training one on one physical therapy and it was great it was wonderful but at some point you like man I want more like I want to help more people and how do I do that well maybe I could create some equipment or write a book or write articles or do podcast where you're you're spreading your wings a little bit and so I'm very proud of some of my accomplishments when I get a an Instagram post from Istanbul Turkey of somebody on the glute drive I'm like are you kidding me Istanbul Turkey I don't even know where that is you know Biograd Serbia these places all across the world you know so you know that's my mission now is now I got a taste of it I'm like what else can I do how else can I impact the world Alan Leech people that have worked for me over the years they're very good now as well and they you know when they work for me several years they've gone to work for the competition and um you know and they've done very very well and they'd still call me and um because they know if you stick to the basics the basics the basics and get them right first do not fall for the latest shiny object if there is a new shiny object research it and you're not gonna die because you were a little bit slow taking off with it actually in my experiences the people that jumped on these things too quickly they got badly burnt and a perfect example is paperclip advertising because people the most intelligent people on the planet still did not know is this a good investment a bad investment and even if it is a good investment you need to know what you're doing or you'll just throw money down the drain and so you know I I'm a firm believer spend the money but make sure you're getting the return on it the return on it all the time but you know when you're in it as long as I are you know tend to know what works what doesn't but when I say to somebody I say look do you understand really when you talk about digital marketing what most people are talking about and I say what you're really going to study is how to make two of the most richest companies in the world richer because when they talk about digital marketing what you're really talking about is advertising not it's not digital marketing it is advertising with two companies Facebook and Google you're advertising and so that's what you're doing and you can try free advertising through search engine optimization or posting on Facebook and trust me they're gonna cop on quick enough and they'll make it more difficult for you but generally you're paying those people more money and those two companies have shareholders and those shareholders want to return on their investment and when you tell people like that 98 over 98% of Facebook's revenue comes from advertising that's why you know they pump they have huge PR juggernauts to convince you that you are being left behind if you don't pay their money now that's not to say it's bad Alan Leech and I always say this sometimes and it's not to do with sales or marketing it's to do with management and uh and where some people get it wrong and it's Peter Drucker you you probably know Peter Drucker and uh he would say that and I I'm not gonna it's it's not fabrication but you get the gist of it that no employee owes any employer loyalty and what he was talking about is that this idea that an employer employee relationship be loyalty loyalty loyalty and he said it is nonsense they owe you good work for the money you pay and to deliver a good work ethic and do the job that needs to be done because this idea that they owe you everything is nonsense you hire them to do a job you provide the training you provide the rewards you help them do a great job and if they leave you you should keep that relationship going so he he would say and and that has always stuck with me this idea that you you have to be loyal to is just nonsense harden to do a job and then let them do the job and if they move on someday that's great too and and you shouldn't try and own them stay fit stay informed keep your fitness business in shape this is the ATF W podcast by Chrissy Van find us on LinkedIn like share and follow