Greg Hammond, Concept 2 | Ep. 22

Greg Hammond joins Sean and Nathan on the Cult of Recreationalism #podcast! Greg works for Concept 2 which, if you're in the fitness space, you're very familiar with. They're know for the RowErgs, SkiErgs, and of course their BikeErgs. They talk about how he got started with the company , his love for endurance sports, weightlifting, action sports, you name it! They discuss rowing as an exercise and some of the methods it's been utilized by different groups such as  @crossfit  and other functional fitness activities. Greg is a "Vermont Guy" (whatever that means) so of course had and Sean talk about living and growing up in New England. But I'll stop telling you about it and let you experience it for yourself. Enjoy!

 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction and Background of Greg Hammond 

02:03 Greg's Journey with Concept2 

06:42 Greg's Personal Sports and Introduction to CrossFit 

15:13 Integration of Concept2 Rowers in CrossFit 

19:21 Concept2's Role in Endurance Sports and Weightlifting 

22:20 Evolution of the Concept2 Rower 

24:15 The Benefits of Rowing 

25:42 Concept2 Equipment in the Military and Adaptive Sports 

28:22 Concept2's Presence in Action Sports, Motocross, and CrossFit 

30:54 Popular Concept2 Challenges: Acid Bath and Holiday Challenge 

36:29 The Potential for an Iron Man-Style Challenge 

51:55 Jason Kalipa's Winning Strategy 

53:41 Rowing a Half Marathon: Preparation and Endurance 

01:04:48 The Mantra of 'Protect and Provide' 

01:06:18 Greg's Interest in Jiu-Jitsu and Love for the Beach 

01:08:46 The History of Concept2 and Refurbishing Rowing Machines 

 

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Follow Greg Hammond and Concept 2 at: 

www.concept2.com

instagram.com/concept2inc 

instagram.com/concept2greg 

 

Intro Music: Stock Media provided by eitanepsteinmusic

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
I'll have you do the intro just because I don't have that dock pulled up in front of mejust yet.
I'm sure it's in my slack somewhere.
Did you slack it to
for you.
I did.
Yeah, I put it this morning.
It's in the podcast channel.
All right, Gregor can play a little jingle and then we'll intro

(00:27):
What's up everybody and welcome to the Cult of Recreationalism podcast.
I'm your host Nathan Morris and alongside with Sean Lake and today on the show we've gotGreg Hammond.
Welcome
Hey, how's it going, guys?
Good, glad to have you.
Sean, did you get the stuff pulled up or are you still?
So so I got this and I like this I like this description What do you want to know aboutGreg you need to know that Greg is a Vermont guy And folks might look at that and be like

(00:55):
what I don't even know what that means.
He loves maple syrup He's a big fan of the leaves changing every October and all the massholes that drive up in New Yorkers to pollute the streets just to stare at Trees that are
essentially going into hibernation
And they use our snow in the winter time.
Yep, snows in the wintertime gets real cold up there.

(01:19):
And he is the face of a very well known fitness brand called Concept2.
There are in fact some founders way behind the scenes that hide out but when it comes tothe gram and when it comes to all things social, Greg is their guy.
He enjoys MMA, motocross and how we met this little sport called CrossFit.

(01:44):
And we're definitely going to talk to him about all of those things.
And we're to talk about a really cool concept to and bubs connection with him that came afew years after we got connected.
So welcome, Greg.
And thanks for joining
So Sean, are you

(02:05):
I am here.
All right, that was a little bit of a gap there.
All right, then first question, because we have the power of editing that little weirdawkward silence out.
Dude, how did you get started with Concept2?
Because I feel like you've been there really since the company started, but you weren't.
I mean, you've been there a long
Yeah, so it's crazy to think, but 27 years, I think it'll be 28 in March, but thecompany's almost 50 years old.

(02:32):
So although I was an early adopter, coming here when I came here, there wasn't manyemployees.
It's been around a long time.
It just seemed like it went by quick.
Right.
mean, 27 years and what was the, so that was like, we're talking first job out of college,like, like first job or like, did you just roll in?
Like, what was the scene like back

(02:53):
It was second job out of college, right out of college.
I held science degree and I started my own business and I went up to Maine because Ineeded a colder place in Vermont and did wellness for International Paper, which is a big
paper company.
And I was helping keep people fit who were working 16 hour days that would go six monthswithout seeing the sun.

(03:14):
And they were unhappy.
I was unhappy.
But I had that tide of Vermont and a lot of my good friends from college
We're a lot, two of them were working here and every time I called they're either skiingor playing basketball.
And I'm like, I gotta get back to Vermont.
yeah, it was, came back, you know, met the founders.
Actually it was a trail running day.

(03:35):
They used to trail run every Wednesday.
And my buddy's joking, he if you can keep up with us, they'll probably give you a job.
I was like, okay.
So ended up being way longer than I wanted to run through the mountains of Vermont.
But at the end they said, yeah, we've got a part -time
At the same time, I was also testing for the Burlington Fire Department because I was inthe Air Guard for a while and had a two -year fire science degree.

(03:59):
I'm like, I want to be a firefighter or do I want to stay in fitness?
I made the right choice coming here and been here, like I said, ever
And what was your first job?
Like they hired you part -time answering phones?
Like what was the deal?
actually doing production.
was making carbon fiber ores and hand turning wrenches on rowing machines.

(04:19):
was making it.
So Glenn's machine, which we'll get to later, is a model C.
So that was like the first kind of modern era what you would have seen in a gym ishmachine.
There was a model A, a B, and then the C.
I came in right at the beginning of the model C.
And at the time they weren't making that many.
So there was like six of us.
We'd come in at four in the morning.

(04:40):
we'd make a bunch of machines, then we'd test row the machines that we made, and then we'dtake off skiing at like 1 .30, ski until four, and then go out to the bars and come in the
next morning at four.
But at 20 something years old, that was easy.
Yeah, dream job.
was this all in Burlington?

(05:01):
Where are those guys based and what's your local ski resort?
So we're in Mooresville, so our locals either Stowe or Smuggler's Notch, or JP.
mean, Stowe is 20 minutes, Smuggler's Notch is like 20 minutes, JP is probably 35 minutes.
So we're north central Vermont.
Like I can actually be to the Canadian border from here in Mooresville in, you know, 45minutes to an hour.

(05:24):
I could be at the border.
All right.
And you started making machines.
So you were instantly familiar with the mechanics.
Did you ever get involved in those early years on the design side of how to evolve it?
Because there's some notable changes, but there's some fundamentals in the machines thathave largely stayed untouched.

(05:46):
Yeah, so the internals, really it's, you know, it's, there's some proprietary stuff, butbasically it's a flywheel, a big metal plate, some bungee cords and bunch of pulleys.
The real science is in the monitor.
so like at the time I was just turning wrenches, living a good life, know, doing, youknow, mountain bikes, living a Vermonters life.

(06:09):
And then actually it wasn't until CrossFit when they started asking my opinion, like
what do they want in the monitor?
Things like undefined rest and things that are specific to CrossFit and things that wouldhelp out that.
That's when I started helping out more with the design stuff, but it was more what wouldthey want kind of stuff.

(06:32):
Got it.
So it wasn't like, we're to go from a wood dowel handle to this more ergonomical handle.
That wasn't necessarily one of the, one of the contributions.
There are people way smarter than me on the engineering side of things that they're reallygood though, because like I'll give them an idea and they're very polite and smile and
shake their head and then they just forget.
So they're, yeah, I was like, yeah, go back to your other side.

(06:56):
So, but yeah, I've been everywhere here
So on that note, your personal sports, right?
Like you, your trial by fires, you got to go in some probably crazy, you know, 12 miletrail run.
The owners are like, this guy's got an endurance gear.
We can, we can work with him.
He's a little beefy for us, but you know, we'll work with this young buck.

(07:19):
were you, go
my sports background, it's funny.
I always did endurance type sports, except for I played rugby for a while, which was stilla lot of running.
But my natural size and like my father and stuff is like, we're stocky people.
So if you look in college, I ran cross country and skied cross country.

(07:40):
I looked like the bouncer for the team.
And actually
He was my exercise physiology professor, but he was also my running coach.
And he used to yell at me if he saw me in the weight room.
He really was not pumped on that.
goes, guys stay light.
But I ran, I ran pretty well.
then, I said, I've done, I've never been great at any sport, but I enjoy playing everysport.

(08:08):
It was one of the things that got me when I started hearing about Glenn through you.
And I thought it was kind of funny.
You also, you and Glenn, it's like you meet some people and you're like, yeah, we could befriends.
These guys seem like they like to do stuff and have fun.
was like, Glenn did all these different sports.
You can see when you post the pictures and stuff.
And that was me.

(08:29):
I was never going to go pro in anything or even D1 college.
But if someone called me up and says, do you want to do this today?
I'm like, yeah, hell yeah, I do.
Let's do
that's, mean, that's the fun, right?
It's like, yeah, I want to show up.
I'll have that adventure, whatever it is.
you want to go on a long trail run?
No problem.
We're going to go hike up that mountain and go ski down it.
Sure.
That sounds like a blast.

(08:50):
You know, like what, what's, what's the adventure.
And that's a great thing about being in Vermont.
mean, yes, as it's downsides, you know, it's dark and cold, a lot like that.
But when you grow up in Vermont, you are the kids just out riding his bike.
You're mountain biking, you're running, you know, if anything, might be a rarity untilCrossFit.
Like, you know, gyms were like, why would you go to a gym when you can play outside?

(09:14):
For some reason, I've always liked lifting weights.
I had a college roommate who actually, do remember Solo Flex?
There was like these rubber bands.
So my roommate was a natural bodybuilder and actually was in a commercial for Soloflex.
And so I would just go work out in the gym with him.

(09:35):
And he kind of taught me something.
I actually started lifting weights like in eighth grade.
I actually got a gym membership at a local Gold's gym.
just liked it.
Something about it kind of spoke to me.
Can I go back a little bit?
I want to go back a little bit because I also ran cross country in high school, Greg.
And I've seen you, you've seen me.

(09:56):
It's like we do not look like cross country runners.
were you, what did you weigh when you graduated high school and what do you weigh now, ifI can ask?
Yeah, so it's funny.
So I've also run a marathon in my times and stuff like that.
And so even in college, and when I did my marathon, the lightest I ever got was 178, know,175, 178.

(10:19):
I'm one.
So I say 510 on my license, it says 510.
I'm not 510.
I'm maybe 58 or so.
But it's
stats.
Yeah, well, it's funny too.
I went in college when I was playing rugby.
Actually, it's just after college.
We went over to England and did a tour over there.

(10:41):
And on the program that we could write ourselves, I was 6 '2", 220.
And then I'd come out on the field and they're like, who's this guy?
But they made it.
They said, fill in your own stats.
I'm like, I'm not going to miss this opportunity.
I thought, that's
That was in high school.
I was the same.

(11:01):
I've maybe grown an inch since high school and I was 150 pounds when I graduated highschool.
Like I was skinny, but I could run a 204, 800.
That was like, which wasn't even that good, but at that time it was.
Now I'm like 200 pounds.
So now that I've been doing jiu -jitsu for a while, it's funny, there's all these youngguys that are light, but they wrestled and stuff like that.

(11:25):
So now I lie with my weight the other way, they're like, dude, you feel really heavy.
And I'm like, I don't know, I'm like 180.
I don't know, I just gave off 15 pounds off the top.
And I was like,
That's awesome.
Yeah, no, that's cool.
That's yeah, I did a couple marathons in college as
I got a drill.
I got a drill on this one small component when, did you finish that marathon in sub fourhours?

(11:48):
Yeah, yeah, my goal was three, a sub 330 and it's 328 on there.
But this was, mean, I was 30, I'm 54 now.
Yeah, that could be a different, could be a different one to, you know, running that onetoday.
Well, it's funny because like, I, I used to joke about running a marathon with Glenn andGlenn was always like, well, look at, if you're going to run a marathon, you better do it

(12:12):
in sub four or you don't even claim you ran a marathon.
Cause really at that point you're walking and I'm like, a four hour marathon is still likea nine minute mile Glenn.
that, that, that's, that's fine.
Right?
He's like 401.
You don't claim you ran a
sub four hours you finished and you ran a marathon.
I'm like, standards.

(12:33):
So I had that in my head and I ran Boston.
had a charity bid for Boston 2014, 10 years ago with my wife.
And I was like, no matter what happens, no matter what happens, I have to beat the fourhour marathon.
And I guess I was what it was like 43 years old at the time.
And I trained up for it all winter in snowboard season.

(12:55):
So Mike, my training was one run a week.
CrossFit snowboarding.
Three hours and 50 minutes.
I walked away from marathons ever since then.
But I married a gazelle.
My wife has run like 11 marathons.
So, you know, she's just got like, let's run another marathon.

(13:15):
And I'm like, I kind of finished.
I don't want to have to run another sub four marathon.
That would be horrible.
it was 100 days to marathon training program and you plugged in the time that you wanted.
So I started working backwards from that three 30.
I'm just picked it out of the air.
I'm like, okay, this sounds like a good goal.
And so I did it.

(13:37):
did it just religiously, which is not, I'm more of a wing it guy, but with that I did,okay, every day I had to run and we think we were running three, four times a week and,
timing ourselves.
I did it with a friend of mine and we got to the last stretch of
this long straight road before the finish line and I was having a good time, but I washurting bad.
Like I knew I'm like, we got to finish this or, or I might not make it.

(13:59):
And this guy ahead of me, I can use probably maybe a hundred yards ahead of me.
He drops like drops and I'm coming up on him.
Like, I'm literally thinking in my head, am I going to stop for this guy?
I'm like, am I willing to let this man die so I can finish my race?
And it's, you know, I had time to get the kid up to him to have this whole thing goingthrough my head.
Like what kind

(14:20):
Am I if I'm not gonna help this guy and all this stuff and then luckily two spectatorscame out I was like, thank god because there's no way I would have got started again.
I find stuff.
Yeah Those life things you're like, yep.
Yeah, this is where you know, if you're a good guy, we're a bad guy, you know Luckilydidn't have to stop

(14:40):
all sorts of kids stories that would suggest that I'm supposed to drop everything and makesure this guy's okay.
But then there's that time I want to hit.
so, so you, here you are with a great endurance background.
You've been a fan of and participating in the weight room at the same time.

(15:03):
You go to work for a company that kind of naturally
almost marries the endurance element and that that almost crossover piece of equipment.
It seems like a marriage made in heaven.
When did you discover CrossFit?
Because obviously like that feels like the ultimate marriage of this what would be a veryniche piece, a very niche piece of equipment, the stationary rower, and suddenly gave it

(15:27):
this audience that just took it, you know, farther and wider.
So we were really early.
Matter of fact, at the first games in Aromis, I was out there hanging banners and it wasactually well before the games.
It was like two or three years before the games.
Greg Glassman, we didn't know who he was.

(15:49):
He kind of cold called us.
He bought a couple of rowing machines.
We kind of heard the story.
And how did it go?
So he needed somebody to go to Bud's out in San Diego, who was prior service.
to teach rowing.
And I was like, they asked, they're like, anyone want to go to Bud's?
And I knew about the Navy SEALs.
I'm like, hell yeah, I totally want to see what these crazy guys do.

(16:12):
So I went out there and that's the first time I met.
Castro was an instructor at Bud's.
Greg was there teaching a level one to all Bud's students.
I thought I was the man because I could still run and I could lift weights, but I'd neverrun and lift weights together.
So as I'm listening to Glassman, I'm thinking, who is this guy, looked a little out ofshape, and he said everything that four years of my health science told me in two days.

(16:44):
And it was more easily remembered.
it was so, I was just like, I was that guy just drinking in the Kool -Aid.
And I don't know, one of the Navy SEAL guys said, we're gonna do a workout after class.
Like they do in level ones, you know, they do the workout.
And they had muscle ups.
in this workout.
I had never done a muscle up, but I, being young and confident, yeah, I'm like, I liftmyself up and this should be easy.

(17:08):
And I couldn't do one and everybody else did and I felt like a fool.
I came home after that, told everybody how great it is and how CrossFit's gonna change theworld and about Greg Glassman, everyone's blowing me off.
And the next day in the mail, I thought I got a pizza in the mail, it looked like a pizzabox.
And it was a set of rings, I don't know who sent them and it said, get practicing.
That's all it said.

(17:29):
And I don't know if it was one of the seal guy.
Well, actually, I believe it was someone, Eddie Lugo.
Do you remember that name at all?
From San Diego.
I do remember Eddie Lugo, yeah.
think it was him that sent it to me because he was starting like a kind of an equipmentcompany early, early on, like way before Rogue or again, faster those guys.

(17:50):
I'm pretty sure he sent it to me and I did.
I hung them here in front of all the rowing machines in the workout room and practiced andjust started doing them.
I mean, it was months of ring dips before I could even get one because I didn't want toshow me how to do it.
Yeah, so that's the early days.
I'm guessing 2006, probably, around there, maybe.

(18:15):
Yeah, I mean, that makes sense.
early, mean, it was so informal back then there was this like, you know, one page websitethat was on this constant scroll.
And but you know, the it feels like from those early days on the concept to rower was inthe conversation, the concept to rower was programmed into and utilized in like, I don't

(18:39):
ever remember going to a CrossFit gym that didn't have a
And I started in 08, so I wasn't too far, but I was a couple of years behind, but I justfeel like there was always at least a rower in the
Well, that was what was so crazy is like back in the day, if you had three rowingmachines, you were balling.
You were like, man, my gym is killing it.
I mean, they might not have a bathroom.

(19:00):
There might be a portal let out back.
But if you have free rowing machines, you are the best affiliate in your neighborhood.
And now, you know, I've seen places that would have 20, 30 machines in there.
I mean, easily that if you add the skier and the rowers and all that stuff together.
But yeah, it's.
back in the day, and like I said, everyone says, how did you get CrossFit to likeConcept2?

(19:24):
And I'm like, I'd love to claim it was us, but they were already using it before we camearound.
It was all them.
Greg saw it to be a great metcon and total body and all the reasons we like it, and he sawa place for it.
So we got really lucky.
Well, it's funny like that.
Go ahead.
Nathan.
Well, because you mentioned a little bit that figuring out settings on the rower andstuff, did CrossFit request certain things?

(19:53):
Or did you guys build things specifically because you saw a need from that community orother communities?
Did you have any part in
Yeah, so the owners here who are Olympic rowers and stuff like that, they never wanted toput calories on our monitors.
They did not believe that people should be counting calories and our calories aren't likea real gas exchange calorie, like how many calories are in food.

(20:18):
And so they never wanted to put it on there.
When I told them they were using calories, they thought that was the dumbest idea they'dever used.
They wanted to call it CFUs, CrossFit units, as opposed
This is a little bit of trivia.
So on all of our monitors, like I had to put up a fight.
I'm like, listen, they're already using calories.
It's because it's like a rep number, know, 15 reps, 15 cows.

(20:41):
And the owners were like, I mean, I was really adamant.
I'm like, listen, we're not going to change them.
But if we put this in there and we make it for them, it's going to be good for us.
And they...
Yeah, but I mean, even now everyone says like, they know now it's not a real calorie.

(21:03):
Like if you're like, if you drink a beer and you row and this rowing machine says ahundred and something calories, it's not a one for one because our calories are based off
155 pound male.
So if you're heavier, you're actually burning more calories.
And if you're lighter, you're burning less of the, I'd say real calories, but not the unitcalories.

(21:24):
Right.
Yeah,
150 pound male.
Either 150 or 155, I believe, because that's the difference between a heavyweight and alightweight rower.
This is way, way back they made that call.
And by the way, were you ever a rower or like when you joined the company, was it like,how do I, how do I row?
So we have learned a row days for all employees.

(21:46):
again, back when I first started, I'm like, how hard can it be?
So we go out to the lake and they have us in racing shells where your butt is wider thanthe boat.
I swam, it was more like a biathlon, a swim row workout than it was a rowing workout.
So I have rowed in a racing shell, you know, multiple times, but I've never, it's not myjam.

(22:10):
I raced a little bit of marathon canoeing and some kayak stuff.
I prefer to go forwards when I do stuff, not backwards.
But instant respect for the sport.
If you ever met an elite rower, there's no question these guys are just engines.
walking lungs.
I mean, they're engines are absolutely massive engines.

(22:30):
It's funny.
So like the rowing as an exercise, it's funny that you didn't have that as a background,but they made sure that you got indoctrinated quick,
Well, and also too, when I first started going, we would go to like the World IndoorRowing Championships and all these events.
And I'd be in an elevator and I'd be looking at belt buckles at my height, you know,because everyone's so freaking tall and they see the concept too.

(22:52):
And they're like, well, clearly he can't work for concept two.
He's not even six foot, you know?
So yeah, there's a lot of tall people.
Right.
Let me show you an old program.
so, but no,
We have a good mix here now, but there's a lot of really tall folks here that rode incollege and stuff like that.

(23:13):
Yeah.
So it's funny, like back to the idea of like, why, why would CrossFit want this piece ofequipment and like, what does it represent for them?
And before I got into CrossFit, I had been introduced to rowing and my introduction torowing was through Glenn and Glenn, you know, had a concept two rower that was probably

(23:34):
built in the late nineties, early two thousands.
because you know, this machine
It was Glenn's buddies.
It was someone from SEAL Team 3 had the rower and his wife hated the rower.
So wanted the rower out of their house.
So he gave the rower to Glenn.
Now, Glenn was this guy that would never, ever throw away anything that had any kind ofintrinsic value to it.

(24:01):
And so to him, you know, a thousand dollar used rowing machine was absolute gold.
Well, Glenn goes and gets a divorce.
And he's got this rower and he can't keep the rower because he's got to move around a lot.
And he's like, I need some place to put it.
And I had my own marital issues at the time, first wife.

(24:26):
And Glenn's like, I need to put this in your garage and you should really use this becauseit's an anger management tool.
Like, what do mean Glenn?
Like, what are you talking about?
He's just like, if you have only one piece of equipment to use in 30 minutes of time touse
there's not a single thing you can do that's gonna be better for you, in my opinion, thanrowing.

(24:49):
And he was steadfast in this belief and he held on to that forever.
He's like, anywhere you are, if you have 30 minutes of time, and you can only pick onething to do one activity, not like a big workout, you can only pick one thing to do the
whole body mechanics of the rowing machine is going to get the best job done and
believed in that and I believe in it because I've used the machine at various differentsettings on like, go for a 30 minute row and see what happens.

(25:15):
And I mean, you're a puddle.
It's a phenomenal exercise.
Well, however you want to do it from, you know, hard settings on 10 all the way down toone anywhere in between interval style, but you just consistently row.
It's a blaster.
So I use that rower that he left in my garage because he couldn't hold on to it in like2007 or 2008.

(25:38):
And that thing literally coached me and Glenn through a divorce, like his divorce, I got adivorce.
I'm like, get out there and row because you're so angry.
And then I'm like, I'm feeling kind of fit for a while.
Well, if that's the same one that we fixed up, now I understand why it was in such roughshape.
If two divorces got worked out on that thing, that makes a lot of sense now.

(26:02):
Yeah.
So that thing ended up becoming that rower ended up at my house.
And then Glenn and I, both ended up as roommates.
Like, you know, he gets a divorce.
I get a divorce.
Hey, we're living together.
And at the time we then didn't have room for the same rower.
Like all of sudden, like, man, like we just don't have room for this thing.
So we gave the rower on loan to us CrossFit, which was also known as seal fit

(26:28):
That gym is notorious for kicking the living crap out of all of its equipment.
Plus it's three blocks from the ocean.
So like all that ocean water and that kind of misting stuff just kind of erodes at it.
But those guys did it no favors.
And that machine got the ever loving God kicked out of it when it was just kind of putinto rotation at their gym.
And every while we always use it and we're like, this is so sad.

(26:51):
Like this is such an epic rower.
And these guys are just shitting all over it.
Well, they left them outside.
remember going to US way back when and Encinitas had met Mark Devine and those guys.
And I went there and all the rollers are outside and I thought they just moved themoutside to like clean the inside and then like, no, we leave them out there.
And I'm like, what?
yeah.

(27:12):
Yeah, like horrible, horrible, horrible.
And these things just get destroyed.
So after Glenn passed Lance Cummings, seal good buddy of mine, he knew that that rowerwould just end up continuing down the path of destruction.
And he and a couple of the other coaches there led the effort to send the rower back toyou or yeah, no, they sent, they sent you the rower, after Glenn passed and then you got

(27:41):
like did your magic with
I think if I remember right, maybe when you and I met, you told me the story and then Ireached out to somebody there and I said, hey, I heard the story.
I love it.
It shouldn't die.
We should redo it.
And then we repaid to have it shipped back here.
And then we fixed it up and made a plaque for it and wanted to send it back.

(28:03):
But, you know, we've had a long history of supporting a lot of military guys that train onour equipment, especially the, you know, the team guys.
because they travel them.
I have some great pictures of our rowers on top of mountains in Afghanistan or on bases inIraq.
have them on aircraft carriers.
We have them on all over the place, submarines, one of the new Virginia class submarines,the USS Vermont.

(28:31):
We just made a custom machine for them to put on that sub.
So we kind of have a history of doing this stuff.
Especially the military guys if you're willing to train hard on our equipment, we'rewilling to go the distance and try to help out
Yeah, I mean it showed and I mean that was like it was such a cool experience to see thatmachine come back and I still get to use it.

(28:59):
So that machine is now at Lance's house and he takes great care of it and like you get theplaque and like you just hit it every time you're there.
I'm just like man like so cool and it's meant to be used man like these things are builtfor a lifetime like they
These things don't dissolve like other disposable pieces of equipment.
But the way you guys have honored the military and took honor of that was, was reallyfricking cool.

(29:23):
And you're right.
When you and I met in Aspen at the winter X games in 2010 for the first time or 2009, likeearly on, I remember talking you about that rower that had been through like miles between
both of us.
And, I love that it's still in my neighborhood today.
Like it's pretty, pretty fricking cool.

(29:44):
Yeah, it's wild at two because I was out there for two reasons.
So, so Aspen CrossFit wanted to do a rowing cert.
So we brought out Erin Caffaro, multiple time Olympic rower and just an awesome person.
We got her to go out and teach the class, but I was training a snowcross racer fromVermont.
He didn't have enough money to send me out to be his trainer when we were out there.

(30:06):
So I kind of pulled a little bit of a fast one and I was like, Hey, told people at work, Igot to go over this rowing
happens to be the same time X Games is going on.
And so went out there, got to help my buddy race and stuff like that.
did well at X Games, but then I was staying in the gym on the floor of the office withHeber and Rory, who I never

(30:28):
McKernan, Heber Cannon, and you, you guys had like air mattresses on the floor.
it was that guy, Eric's gym, right?
Eric Larson or something.
I remember Eric, yeah.
So it was fun, but you know, back then we were all just so just into just having fun.
seemed normal.
54 year old Greg, if he had to go to a rowing sir and they said you're sleeping on the gymfloor with no blankets, I'd be like, screw that.

(30:54):
But yeah, that was a good time.
Yeah.
then meeting.
Well, so here's the crazy thing.
Talk about era.
Heber and Rory were out there to meet with ESPN.
on the chance that they might get them to cover the first or one of the CrossFit games Ibelieve might have been Carson then.
Yep, yep.

(31:15):
So, that talk about.
and I was there, you know, I worked at DC shoes.
So I was there because we had a bunch of X games medalists.
Like they were all jockeying for, you know, snowboard, big air and snowboard slope style.
And, know, so I'm there for that, but I'm like, Rory, my old CrossFit coach from Encinitasis going to be in town at the same time.

(31:36):
I'll just roll over.
want to get a workout anyways.
And every free moment we all just kind
partnered up together and I was like practically playing hooky for my day job just to gothere and just rip some weights around and have a blast with you guys.
It was great.
then actually that same trip, I ended up backcountry skiing with Matt Chan and Rory.

(31:57):
Me on my snowboard, which actually had a rent.
wasn't in my snowboard.
Matt was on telly skis, I think, and Rory, he was on skis and we went.
Gnarly place.
I had never really done any cornice stuff or anything like that.
mean, Vermont, we don't have that stuff, but I was trying to be cool.
I'm like, yeah.
I'll jump that, no problem.
And it was like, that was a great trip.

(32:18):
The fact that I came back alive is pretty impressive to me anyways.
Well, she's already lived through Travis Pastrana and spending a weekend at his house.
So it couldn't be any worse than a weekend at Travis's, you know?
No, no, look, if you walk away from a weekend of Travis's house, you're doing pretty good,which is funny because two weeks ago I was up at Ken Blocks Ranch in Utah and I was up

(32:43):
there for a fundraising kind of follow up event and my God, like the whole Hoonigan set uplike a full blown outdoor moto track, full can am can am for like set like four of them.
Just you just go rip around the property.
a shooting range and like it just everything mountain bike.

(33:05):
It's like a total Mecca up just north of the Wasatch.
I'm like you guys built the ultimate playground of fun and sure enough Pastrana goes outthere and like they got a mini rally course out there just like just to do some tabletop
jumps.
Like of course you have that set up of course.
When we did this a long time ago with Travis, he was actually, so here's the thing, I wasswitching from production to marketing stuff and I had a bunch of connections in action

(33:30):
sports and stuff like that.
I knew they all use the rower because strength weight, you know, so anybody who did MMAaction sports, you need to be strong, fit, but not have a lot of extra weight on it, on
you.
And so I was working with this guy, Alden Baker, he trained like Ricky Carmichael and allthese top motor crossers in the day and

(33:51):
talking and he's like, you know, Travis likes your rower.
I'm like, really?
So that's kind of cool.
I knew Travis was, and I found a dirt bike magazine where Travis offered, if you couldbeat him in a 500 meter sprint on a concept two rower, he would give you a full set of
moto gear.
So I'm like, I'm going to reach out to this guy.
So I reached out to him at the time and it was a model C.
It was like, there's someone that, that you had and we were just about the model D.

(34:14):
So I'm like, I'm to offer him a brand new model D.
And he's in Maryland.
I'm going to see if I can drive it down to his house.
So then I could, you know, do both.
And so that's actually what happened.
seemed, he's like, yeah, I got in touch with him.
He's like, yeah, you know, you can bring it down.
And of course I brought my helmet, my riding gear, all that stuff on the off chance.
I could do some dirt biking and it was like you would have expected.

(34:37):
got 12 hour drive or whatever down in Maryland from Vermont.
get out, I pulled the things out of my truck.
He's like, you're Greg.
That's awesome.
Get in here.
And it was one of those like Sears and Roebuck like goat carts with like a Briggs andStratton motor on the back.
Drive this down to the ramp and typical Travis, stay left.
And I'm like, all right.
So I go down there and within a half an hour, I jumped this crappy goat car into a foampit and almost missed it.

(35:04):
right at like, I almost died in the first half an hour.
But instantly, you're friends with everybody.
Everyone's like, I mean, but it is the, compound and the people that you meet associatedwith Travis are the nicest, most fun people.
I don't even know if I should say this out loud.
Concept2 paid for a hotel room when I was down there.
I never used it.
I slept on it at his house because the nightlife was better than going back to my hotel.

(35:30):
And yeah, that was how it all started is like my marketing career.
No one here knew what Travis was, like the owners.
I went out and bought the Pastrana action figure and I brought it into our Thursdaycompany meeting and I go, this guy wants a free
Do any of you guys know people with an action figure?
And they're like, nope.
And then I got the okay to bring the rovers down.

(35:52):
It's phenomenal.
But I mean, you bridge that gap.
going back to X games, like winter X games in 2010 was, it was kind of almost at at azenith.
Like it was super, super popular.
It was still new enough.
And you brought an awareness that was this crossover from training to really high profilesports where, yeah, you've got an action figure.

(36:15):
and, and these sports, like you, sort of help take the training from like the secret backroom
into the public.
was really cool.
And working with moto athletes and working around those sports concept, who's always had abridge to that.
And same thing with CrossFit.
mean, they had to move you into marketing because that's really where I mean, I could seeyou on the product side being very knowledgeable.

(36:39):
But when I think of you, I think of all the connections that you've made between theambassadorship of fitness.
and various sports and connecting those dots and that common dot connector is theConcept2Rower.
And that's, I think that's the gift.
It is crazy to think like in motocross and supercross right now, it used to be everyonewould just road cycle and it's still primarily road cycling.

(37:02):
It's how they train.
But after that, it's going to be rower skier, you know, and then now I watch racing stilland you'll see a biker underneath like the Honda trailer, KTM's trailer.
And it just, you know, I'm at home on my couch watching it just makes me smile.
I'm like, wow, that's so cool that these guys are still using this stuff.
But the early guys
then keep going.

(37:24):
even the freestyle guys back in the day, Kerry Hart, you know, some of these guys that youwould have known from like the DC days and you would think all they do is backflip dirt
bikes, but yet they they're athletes.
They trained and no one ever really got that, you know,
Yeah, no, it's funny because Nate Adams was like one of our guys who was like X Games goldmedals and Nate was like he took such good care of himself.

(37:46):
And again, if you're behind the scenes, you get a window like, not all these guys aredrinking beers till 5am, tearing the roof off hopping on a bike and flipping doing
backflips like some of them are actually fairly methodical.
Robbie Madison, another one who like he's the reason he's had such longevity in his careeris because he takes really good care of himself.
You guys are just right in the centerpiece of

(38:07):
the tool component there.
Well, it goes in probably the same reason, like how we met and stuff like that is like,Concept2 is a cool enough company, like we like like -minded people and we're down to
party.
Like, we don't care what your sport is.
If you don't mind hurting yourself and working in a gym and going, you know, and takingyourself into the pain cave and doing all this other stuff, you're like, you're one of us.

(38:28):
I don't care what your sport is.
I don't care if you're male or female.
don't care.
If you're willing to do what we do, then we're down to party.
Let's do it.
You know, and so we've kind
been able to get into a lot of different sports, same thing with MMA and now even JiuJitsu and some of that stuff.
And again, anything with a weight class is right up our alley.

(38:50):
It's perfect.
If you want to get fit but you don't want to get heavier, our ergs are the way to do it.
Yeah, hands and all of them.
I mean, the bike erg, the skier and the rower and I mean, as these pieces have come out,obviously you get to you know, kind of expand and dabble in different things like that
hellacious thing called a skier only a guy from Vermont with a cross country skiingbackground could think of that medieval torture.

(39:15):
You were probably one of the early adopters because I think that was a Skier 1, the firstgen.
I bet you it was not even more than three months out there when you tried it.
You were right.
There probably wasn't a thousand people that had ever tried a Skier before you did.
No, that was wild.
I remember just being like, what just happened to me because everything hurts and I feelreally wrong.

(39:35):
Well, and altitude too, so...
remember when that came out too because so that was not long after Kevin Ogarr got injuredand you guys sent it like with and it didn't even have like the platform had a pin where
you like plugged it into the rig and it got in so like cool Kevin can't row or rowing'slike he can only like his range of motion was just so short that it didn't make sense but

(39:57):
like he can get a full stroke down on the skier so I got to benefit from that like I justgot to he's like yeah let's do a workout with this like we're gonna do what like instead
of rowing we're doing this today
And it crushed me.
That's the thing too, is we're really lucky.
All of our equipment is so easily adapted to the adaptive sports market.
So like, I've been to the Invictus games and like I can say there's not a disability oranybody with a, know, anything like that that we can adapt to over our three machines.

(40:27):
So missing arms, we got you covered.
Missing legs, we got you covered, you know, all this stuff.
And so it's been really fun for us to be able to do that on the sides as well as like, youknow, we're involved in all these groups.
Unfortunately too with our ties with the military, sometimes we see these guys whenthey're able -bodied and then when they're adaptive, but they've always used our
equipment.
One of my good friends, well Jed Snelson is a CrossFitter, adaptive CrossFitter.

(40:52):
I knew Jed when he was racing motocross himself and I remember going to a CrossFit event.
He's like, hey Greg, and I'm looking at him and didn't put two and two together becausehe's in a chair.
And then I realized, shit, it's Jed.
He was a trainer and I raised that Loretta Linz I believe was the first.
which is a national champion.
So I mean, it's sad, but the good thing is these guys never gave up.

(41:13):
They're like, I'm still gonna train, still gonna be an amazing athlete.
I'm still gonna do more than most able -bodied people can do.
So yeah.
like we're not going to quit.
We're all right, it's going to look different.
It's going to be a hard road.
And again, your equipment is that conduit.
Like it helps folks get there to that next stage, which is pretty fricking epic.
And that's funny going back to Aspen.

(41:34):
I remember that and starting on that equipment and like learning the ski rig and all thatstuff back then.
That's why we will find that footage.
Footage of Rory.
and Greg and Heber and myself, like there was video cameras and we have photos and video.
just don't remember any of

(41:55):
I'm pretty sure I just got off the plane and all you guys beat me so I'm not I'm notletting that footage come out.
There's no way
No, we're absolutely finding that.
I remember beating Rory at some workout in that and being like, ha, I got you.
he's like, well, dude, you know, I like six months ago, I had testicular cancer.
So congrats, you beat a guy with cancer.

(42:16):
And I'm like, you asshole, you just took that away.
He's like, ha ha.
we were both standing next to each other, kind of bragging about some of our stuff, andthen he dropped that and we're like, that sucks.
We can't say anything now.
It did.
I was like, wait a second.
I almost was like in a calm, like, are you really?

(42:36):
I'm like, you're not going to lie about that.
So
No, no, no, I think karmically, you don't touch that one.
But yeah, man, that was his way.
Like he would just like slide that in there be like, well, you know what, like I just wentthrough a life changing experience and I'm back and I'm doing some crushing stuff.
And they're like, that is frickin awesome.
Yeah, and he's still, was one of more, like, Rory's one those guys you look at him, like,I didn't know his sports background or anything like that, but, like, he's still, what an

(43:00):
amazing athlete.
I mean, he's been that since I've known him, you know.
Yeah, ever since like, and I mean, he surrounds himself with just the absolute best inclass or constantly push him, whether it was on a mountain bike now, or whether it's, you
know, at Froning's gym at CrossFit mayhem, like he's just a monster.
It's pretty cool.
Pretty cool.
Even on the more recreational side of things.

(43:21):
Same thing with Heber.
Like dude just did Death Valley.
Yeah, that's, I know, it makes me think, do I need to find something to do?
Well, you know what?
There's going to be, we're going to have a talk about that.
I've been eyeballing this challenge called 29 or 29.
It's called Everesting and it's where you go to different ski resorts around the countryand you hike up and take a chairlift down over like a 24 hour cycle.

(43:50):
And you have like this fixed amount of time to get to 29 ,029 feet of elevation gain.
And that means you've summited Everest.
So they call it Everstein.
And it's like this private community deal and Bubb sponsored it this year.
So I'm like, I'm all about it at some point.

(44:11):
I don't know when.
You get a cut.
So I get roped in.
so Norwich Military School, like one of the oldest military school that is in Vermont.
And they have a special operations group there of kids that want to pipeline specialoperations.
And their instructor, guy, John, host this event called the day of pain.
And the day of pain is there's a mountain, a ski area at school and they have rowers andskiers at the

(44:36):
and you gotta hike up to the top and you've gotta do, it was echo bike and kettlebells andevery time you go up, you're carrying weight as well.
So it's the day of pain.
And I get my ass kicked by these cadets.
I mean, it's to the point where they're like, good job, man.
I know they're thinking that I'm older than their dad.
You know, I'm like, all right, thanks for that.

(44:57):
Yeah, yeah, but still I don't wanna hear it.
But maybe you come out for that or sometimes we'll get Bubs to do it.
I mean, they would love
the connection there with Bubs too.
But that's one I do every year and I keep saying I'm gonna train harder for it and Idon't.
You know what that that actually just might be.

(45:18):
Well, what's funny is that their strength coach I've met a couple of times.
So there could be something to that to be continued on that.
Tell me a little bit about like some of the challenges that you guys have because you havethese like famous challenges that you do around the holidays.
And I know Nathan's participated in a rather lethal one.

(45:41):
Is it called the acid bath?
Nathan, is that the
I just threw some in there because I feel like that one has, it pops up every once in awhile, like right when it came out and then Lance Armstrong just did it recently.
So just wanted to like, just yeah, talk, but yeah, Greg, go ahead.
Well, so acid bath, we didn't come up with that painful workout.

(46:02):
It was actually Diego Santino who puts on the Dubai fitness challenge or what was calledthe Dubai fitness challenge.
And Frazier did it the first year and it wrecked him and wrecked everybody so bad that itkind of like all athletes were like, that looks horrible.
I should try it.
And it's horrible for everybody.
And then buttery bros did it.

(46:24):
And same
almost died, you know, what's weird about it, so it's 500 meters ski, 500 meter row,thousand meter bike, fastest time.
And this is my theory on this.
So you finish it and you're you anywhere it's around the five minute mark is you're goingfor it.
You're not slacking.
You get done and you're like, that kind of sucked.

(46:47):
And you know you're hurting, but the lactic acid ramps up to almost a panic level over thenext five minutes.
Like you can't get comfortable, your quads are burning, your glutes are burning.
It really gets in your head.
I'll do it a couple times a year, but I need to really get egged into doing it because youknow how hard it's gonna be.

(47:11):
I I have to get egged into doing a 500 sprint like on a row or like just, know, it's thesame thing.
Like you do it and you hop off the ring like, okay, no, like 10 seconds later.
Well, if you break the modes down, it's like the kind of benchmark I've always held to besteady Eddie is if I'm going to row, you always want to row a sub two minute 500 meter,

(47:36):
like just to be respectable, like somewhere in the mid one fifties.
You can row it into the low one forties.
I think if you, if you're confident on a rower, but this is assuming that you're liketaking a lot of breaks, you're getting some breathing room.
Like if you're to do multiple sets.
But then like the idea of dipping it into like a minute 30 is like now you're going intosome hellish territory.

(48:01):
So to start with like a skier, which I think, I think for me, the skier and everyone'sdifferent.
I don't, I lack the technique.
I don't own a skier.
So, I don't have as much access to it, but let's say you get that one in sub two minutesand then you can row a little bit faster.
That's, but with your transition times, you're just under four minutes.
If you're really, really pushing

(48:23):
Then you got to hop on that bike and find that gear for a thousand meters.
So let's go two minute, two minute, two minute.
You're still at six minutes.
It ain't fun, but if you're really going to shave it down and get it to like that fiveminute mark, do the wheels fall off?
it's you're right.
It hits you.
You get off the bike and you're just like dizzy, dizzy, dizzy.

(48:45):
But then it's like two minutes later when you should be coming down, you're like, God,what the hell that's happening here.
Lance Armstrong, I think, did it really well.
He's just like, I don't even know what happened to me.
He's done it a couple times and it's funny because, you know, he's solid on both the Skierand the rower and of course his bike background, but when he gets on that bike, like you

(49:06):
can see old Lance show up in his face.
Like he's like, this is my jam.
Nobody will be and you can see the switch and it's they were down on it in Austin, Texasand they did it down there as a group and it was so wild to see his face I'm like, he just
he just flipped the switch.
That's pretty cool.
So yeah

(49:27):
guy on a bike machine let it
But we do like that's more CrossFit like, you know, specific, like we have other, we have24 hour meter challenges.
have continuous row challenges that go for days.
We have the holiday challenge, which is 100 or 200 ,000 meters between Thanksgiving andChristmas.

(49:48):
And then some people just keep on going.
You know, we have both ends of the spectrum, short, fast, long endurance thing, you know,
Yeah, one of these days we need to post like an Iron Man, like who has the best over allthe things, you know?
my God, that would be phenomenal.
So those challenges, like the holiday challenges I thought were great.
Like there was one shorter challenge that I did, before I found the rower in the backalley, which we'll talk about in a second.

(50:15):
And I would go to my local CrossFit gym and it's, if you don't stay on top of it, it getsaway from you.
And it was a 50 ,000 meter challenge.
And I don't know if I, I don't know, I had like three weeks to do it and it seemed veryattainable.
Like, just do 5 ,000 meter chunks.
and do 10 of them.
And for whatever reason, I ended up getting behind the eight ball.

(50:38):
And I like had to make up some time to get to my full 50 ,000.
And I remember like having to do a 10 ,000 meter row, and then a couple of 8000 meterrows.
And I was like, God damn it, this thing really sucks.
But the accountability of those challenges really helps folks, especially during theholiday season to like, we know the wheels are gonna fall off, we know you're gonna have a

(51:00):
couple extra IPAs and a bunch
like, you know, just opulent foods and like you're gonna be dealing with, you know,relatives and all that stuff.
But hit the rower, hit the rower, just keep going.
Just chip away, get your get your meters
It does work great.
mean, my strategy is always the front load.
I start all the like, I do the holiday challenge every that's non -negotiable.

(51:21):
That's my thing.
And just like you said, I know I'm going to eat and drink more.
So this is going to keep me honest.
And so I would start with a marathon day one or even a little bit more in day one.
And that way you're already ahead of the game.
Just don't miss any days after
But I'm also not going to lie to you and say there hasn't been some IPAs drank on the bikeyard while I'm making up meters too.

(51:41):
So it does fit on the handlebar, you know, so, you know, that's not
might have been the designer behind that cup holder that fits right there.
Now go over to CrossFit for me.
You've been to a ton of CrossFit games and I know Nathan wants to know the answer to thisquestion.
Of all the events done on the Concept2 Rower or really any piece of equipment, what isyour favorite challenge that's been featured at the CrossFit games?

(52:11):
you know, historically.
I was funny, I actually just texted Jason Kalipa today because I want to do a story orblog on it.
The year they did a 2K into a half marathon.
So even more than the marathon.
So you got two points.
You got points for the 2K and you got points for the half marathon.

(52:33):
And so we're looking at all the crowd is all the big names back then, know, the bridgesand all these guys.
And, know, there's some tall guys, you know, we're all saying, well, who's going to win?
Who's going to win?
And I'm like,
The real muscular guys, they're gonna just rip a 2K and then just chill and count thepoints or whatever.
Never expected Kalipa, who wasn't known as a super endurance guy at the time, had worked,that was the first year I think he worked with Hinshaw.

(52:57):
He had a strategy, and I'm gonna confirm this, but this is what I heard at the time.
He went out and did his PR 2K, or close to it.
He gave himself 100 strokes of rest, and he counted all 100 strokes, one, two, three, andthen when it was over,
He went right into his known half marathon pace and he won both.

(53:19):
And it was, I was blown away.
I was like, yeah, that was, and that was, you know, the whole time I'm in there, we had ithooked up to the Jumbotron.
You could watch all this stuff and I'm like, he's gonna die.
He's gonna die.
He's not gonna make it.
And they just kept on out front.
I'm like, unbelievable.
mean, if I didn't apologize to him, one of these days I should because I was not believingthat he could do it.

(53:42):
But that's what fuels him like that, that, you're going to doubt me.
No problem.
And just the gear just goes.
So I made a mistake on this one.
back to the Rory versus Sean life challenges.
I was inspired to row a half marathon and my buddy, Greg.
It's recording on his end, Greg.
I know we can't hear him.

(54:04):
Yeah, well, this is important for you guys to hear.
so, so on the half marathon challenge, like think about that.
How long you're in the seat for going and pulling and pulling and pulling.
And the best piece of advice I got was from Greg, cause I told him I was going to do this.
And he said, you should put some bubble wrap down.

(54:25):
Like just get some packing wrap and just put it on top of the seat because you're going tobe in that seat for a long time.
And you can't get up.
Like once you're down, you're
And I wrote that thing and I think I wrote it in like exactly two hours or like two hoursin a minute or like, I can't remember exactly what it was, but I took a picture of it and
I texted it to Rory.

(54:47):
And I feel like I did it in like two hours and a minute.
And then like three days later, he texts me a photo back and it was like two hours even,like he beat me by one minute.
Now think about that.
He gamed it out over that whole block of time.
only to beat me by one minute and he's held those bragging rights for a decade.

(55:10):
I'll give you guys a pro tip because I have friends send me workouts all the time on ourequipment.
There's a screen that has projected finish.
And so while you're rowing, you gave me the same situation, if you sent me once at twohours, one minute, I would sit on two hours even the whole time just so I knew I could
edge you out on there.

(55:32):
the bubble wrap thing, which is great because you know, if you get hotspots, you can justpop the bubble that you need or whatever like that.
You can make it pretty conformable.
We used to have these foam seat pads and we went to the games the year of the marathon andI'm good friends with Danny Horan.
She, you know, competes at a Champlain or Champlain Valley here and she was out there andDave announced the marathon.

(55:53):
I got a text.
She's Greg.
Do you have any of those seat pads in your booth?
I'm like, I do, but I'm very afraid of the games
I'm not seen as playing favorites.
You know, I can't even with Frazier and those guys, they know where I'm friends.
They're Vermonters, all this stuff.
I can't, can't do it.
That's a work thing.
That's not a friend thing.
And so I said, if you can get, Dave says it's okay.

(56:14):
I'll sign as many seat pads as I can for people.
Somebody checked and Dave said, no seat pads.
People can't use seat pads in the marathon, which is typical Dave, you know, and there,think I tried to sit on a towel, which is the worst thing you can do because it holds the
sweat and just chafes you like crazy.
But then people did like other weird things like they wore gloves, which is not a goodidea.

(56:35):
They would put camelbacks on so just tore their shoulders up from rowing.
I mean, really, some of these people just went into it with no like they had never done adistance, a long distance on a rowing machine before.
Wild, wild.
I mean, it just shows though.
Go
I would say one of my favorite clips came from that event.
I can't remember who it was, but it was like a slow -mo of there.

(56:57):
It's this girl, she's rowing and then she smells a fart and it's like this slow -mo like,ugh, while she's rowing and like looking over like who did that?
Is it Steph Chung?
know.
There was a lot of that going on.
mean, it was three plus hours of rowing.
mean, people did what they had to do, you know, and I probably should have this is prettygross.

(57:21):
probably shouldn't say it, yeah.
So everyone said afterwards, they're like, that's not all sweat.
People must have been peeing on the machines and this.
I'm like, no, they didn't.
It's all sweat.
mean, first of all, it's hard to pee because you're so dehydrated from rowing and stufflike that.
So I just laughed it off while I'm in
elevator at the hotel after and they came up again.

(57:43):
I think there was pee on all the machines.
I go, there's no way.
And a woman in the back, nice older woman, she goes, there's at least a little bit becausemy daughter was rowing and she peed on the machine.
And I was like, great.
I'm like, okay, I was the one that cleaned those machines.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
man.
And obviously no insider tips.
Your equipment will be there this year in Dallas 2024.

(58:08):
Any previews?
Any expectations around half marathons, marathons, or other just horrible challenges?
So we actually create a bit of a firewall so that we don't know.
we sell rogue our equipment in advance a certain amount.
We don't know how they're being used or if they're being used, but that's where they go.

(58:29):
I go up on site.
This is well, except for like the marathon or something like that, like that they neededmy help back then, you know, to get it started.
So I knew about the marathon, but only like about a month out.
So like this year I'm going to go like I always do to Dave day one.
I'm like, Dave.
where do you need me for anything like that?

(58:49):
Or I'll go to Rogue and I'll just say, hey, so are there any times during the day and oncertain days where you want me to be here with you?
And they'll just say, yes, be here at this time on this thing.
And then we just keep it close to the vest.
Because even though I go with coworkers, they're typically doing the booth or the otherstuff.
And then I'm kind of just like the guy that goes to make sure everything works smoothlyand stresses out when the machines are being used and stuff like that.

(59:16):
Yeah, make sure everything goes flawlessly, which is funny because they never fail.
Like they're always working flawlessly, but.
And everyone says that thinking it's going to make me feel good.
It's the opposite.
And we did actually, we didn't fail.
But in Carson, one year, Camille LeBlanc's machine timed out.
This is another thing that we added into our machines for events is we can put them in amode that they don't time out.

(59:39):
But back then, in two minutes of non -use, they would blink out.
So I believe Rory was announcing for this event, if I remember right.
So what we would say is we would say,
You know, we start the machine, we have it set for the distance that you want.
Whoever the announcer is, you need to get them rowing before they time out.
And if not, the judges have to hit the menu back button to keep it alive.

(01:00:03):
And I was right there in the tunnel and I see Rory's doing his shtick or whatever likethat.
And I see all the judges doing what they're doing.
And one guy in lane one staring off into space and he's not doing it.
I'm like, my God, that monitor is going to time out.
So they go three, two, one,
She goes to pull, monitor blinks out.
If she had just kept rowing, it would have just popped right back on.

(01:00:24):
It's not a big deal, but she dropped the handle and started bawling, just started crying.
so we quickly switched it out with another one to make sure it wasn't something actuallywrong with the machine.
And of course it was fine.
But she actually is a strong enough athlete that she caught up pretty closely to everybodyelse by the end of the war.
There's enough movements that she was able to catch up.

(01:00:45):
And so I don't even know if they credited her any time for
But it really was her judge's fault.
It wasn't her fault.
It wasn't the f**king fault.
But talk about a panic reg.
mean, my heart just sunk, you know.
I'll bet.
I'll bet.
Because you don't know in real time.
Like at the moment, you're like, God.
But we're here now.
Why look forward?
I mean, I look forward to seeing what what kind of medieval tortures, you know, DaveCastro comes up with for the 2024 CrossFit Games and how your equipment will play an

(01:01:16):
essential role in all of that.
Nathan, I think we got a great opportunity for some rapid fire questions.
What do you think?
We do, yeah, you down for some rapid fire, Greg?
All right, just clear your head and just whatever the answer is, just as quickly as youcan think of it, just spout it out.
We might've done this first one already.
What was your first

(01:01:37):
Like after college, I done, counting bottles.
My first job ever was counting bottles, redemption center.
Yeah.
13.
yeah, I could chuck bottles across the room and put them in the box.
Like no one's business.
There we go.
Didn't see that one coming, but eye -hand coordination, valuable skill.

(01:01:59):
Rank the following from best to worst.
Now this is interesting because it's going to be the Vermont opinion on this one.
Your choices are salsa, queso, guacamole.
Queso would be the least salsa and guacamole being number one.
Okay.

(01:02:19):
All right.
So salsa edges out guac barely and then queso is in distant
But yeah, queso, not, I love cheese.
I just don't, not queso, I think, but salsa, pico de gallo, I love them, but I'm a guacguy.
I love guac.
Spicy though.
Yeah, right.
Do you have any hobbies or interests that people don't know about?

(01:02:42):
Like things they don't see on social media?
I don't show lot of jiu jitsu, but that's kind of my thing right now, doing it, but I suckenough at it that I don't want to show anybody.
Come on, that's the magic right there.
Just seeing you either face in the mat with someone's elbow pressed up against you.

(01:03:03):
Come on, man.
Rogue Invitational, I got to roll with Tim Kennedy and some other guys, like really goodguys.
And so it's, I'm getting better.
I'm getting better.
I've been doing it.
I started during COVID actually, because everybody was going opposite.
just, I got lonely.
like, I got to find some, found a guy who's now black belt, my instructor and another guythat we're training for this big tournament.

(01:03:28):
So they just needed a guy to beat up.
And I'm like, I'm that guy.
You beat me up.
Greg was lonely, needed a hug.
Wait, hold on, because you were talking about Rogue Invitational.
Sean, that was actually where I met Greg for the first time was that I believe it was a2021 Rogue Invitational and Concept2 had a booth there and you were doing a, I think it

(01:03:51):
was a wattage challenge on the biker and we're like standing there watching someone and hejust turns to me and he's like, you got big quads, why don't you do this?
And I was like, damn it.
You know, it is booth life.
haven't like eaten all day.
You're just like surviving on coffee.
I'm like, all right, let's go as hard as we can on this biker now.
that'll wake you up.

(01:04:11):
That'll wake you up.
well, and that that's exactly what I would expect.
And that's exactly how you make a distinct impression.
And Nathan will never forget that.
And Greg will be like, Yes, and I will do it again the next time.
Right.
I remember I tried to game it because the guy who went before sorry I know we're this isnot rapid -fire at all but the the guy who went before it like just cranked it up to a ten

(01:04:34):
and And like you could just tell he was like pumped out just from like the pressing downthere wasn't clips You were just pressing down and so I terms like can I turn the damper
down to like a four or five?
like is that the strategy here and He's like, let's find out.
So I remember I put up I did not put up the top time, but I feel like it was respectable
No, yeah, you're at the top.

(01:04:55):
Yeah, yeah.
It's perfect.
Do you have any mantras or a piece of advice that you live by?
I don't know if it's an actual mantra, but you know, protect and provide.
You know, what is our job as husbands and men is two things, protect and provide.

(01:05:16):
Provide could be financial, food, support, any of that stuff.
And then, you know, protect is protect.
Don't, you know, be fit.
Have something in your back pocket, be able to do it.
I mean, I don't say it a lot, but I've always, it's what my dad did for our family.
That's what I see other good dads doing for theirs.

(01:05:38):
Protect and provide.
That's pretty much it.
Yeah, that's phenomenal.
I mean, it encompasses quite a bit.
And that protection is, you know, our daughters, our wives, our sons, our community, youknow, everyone around you that that's important, that person who collapsed on the
marathon, you know, ahead of
came after that.

(01:06:03):
Greg would have done the right thing.
know that.
And Nathan, last question.
do to relax?
The older I get, I'm a lot better at relaxing than I used to.
I like beach.
like going to, we go to Mexico once to twice a year.
I like a good book, beach, ocean.

(01:06:25):
That's my jam.
It never used to be that way.
My wife jokes, like something clicked and all of a sudden I can be beach Greg and shelikes beach Greg.
He's a pretty laid back dude.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Beach.
Greg is definitely chill because I get to talk to you.
I love touching basically right before you go on those trips and you're always like,heading down to the beach.

(01:06:46):
And I'm like, I can't wait.
You're to be totally unplugged on your own program.
Two weeks.
Like just recharging.
That's awesome.
But just for the...
When I do go though, and I think I've posted pictures, people will think I work for Bubsbecause my beach shirts are all the cool t -shirts you guys have.

(01:07:06):
I have my Bubs stickers on everything, my hydrate or dye.
Everyone's like, I don't think I have anything that says concept two.
All my stuff says Bubs when I go down there.
What's funny.
And then you guys just made a great round of t -shirts.
I got a few of them like this is great.
This is awesome stuff.
But yes we will keep the good stuff coming and make sure your vacations are well equippedand maybe you know just to rotate it in the occasional blank shirt for your wife's sake

(01:07:33):
just to keep her happy.
But we got you covered.
Well, that's great.
Now you guys have been really good to me.
And like I said, anytime I promote the story of Bubs and what you are doing, I do.
it's, yeah, I'm happy to do it.
Like really proud of for you guys, what you're doing.
like, I'm saying I've got these buddies and they do this.

(01:07:53):
And now it makes me happy.
Yeah, likewise, man.
Likewise.
I mean, ever since we met in 2010, it's like, just wild having so many things in common.
And I mean, you and I kind of pulled that from outside of the traditional CrossFit spacewhere like, the CrossFit guys know each other from CrossFit and doing CrossFit.
And you and I immediately like, yeah, these moto guys over here, these snow guys overhere, these ski guys over here.

(01:08:14):
And like, that, and you know, both being from New England also helps.
But just having that that common ground has always been it's been it's been epic.
And when I'd find
you know, 29 year old rowers in the back alley behind the office completely destroyed.
It helps to know a guy on the inside to refurbish those machines.

(01:08:35):
And now that is my daily
Well, one's a bad a couple of head scratchers on what to make it work.
But I mean, because I literally made them from parts back in the day, I treated it like achallenge.
This is interesting.
Yours is not.
should send you a picture of the worst one.
And it was the British military always had rowers before our military did.

(01:08:56):
And it was Iraq won way back in the day.
And some U .S.
allocated.
a British rowing machine that was behind in a dumpster.
And we ended up helping them get it going.
And that was the first time I really helped with parts with the military guys to do it.
But when he told me they stole it from the British, I wanted to help even more.

(01:09:18):
I'm like, that's awesome.
Hey, man, one man's trash is another man's treasure as I proved, because this team in hereinternally saw me dragging this rower from the alley behind our office.
Like, what are doing?
I think it's covered in leaves like it's it's baked in rust and leaves.
I'm like, I'm gonna, I'm going to refurbish this machine.

(01:09:40):
I'm going to bring this thing back from the dead.
No one believed me.
And I mean, like, literally, the seat didn't roll
Like the wheels were welded on.
I mean, I WD -40 this thing, greased it up as much as I could.
And ultimately, I mean, we replaced about 80 % of that thing to get it up to snuff.

(01:10:00):
But she's purring like a kitten now.
She's just rowing just fine.
It sounds like a marketing thing, but really I would think that almost every machine we'veever made since and model A is still in use.
mean, because, you know, even these people that are passing away now, these older folksthat had the first model A, you know, they're no longer around.

(01:10:21):
So the grandson takes it and then he uses it for a while.
And then he goes, he gets a new one.
He's like, you know what, take my old one.
And they just, they just keep on rotating.
Yeah.
it's perfect.
Greg, thank you so much for joining us today and help people find out if they want tolearn more about you and about concept doing and what you're doing, where can they find

(01:10:42):
Well, we'll be at the games, of course, if any Crossfitters are there, you can stop by thebooth, love to talk to everybody.
I have my own personal Instagram, which is just Concept2Greg on there.
you know, I usually try to promote what other people are doing more so than what I'mdoing, but you can always reach me through there.
Here at Concept2, you know, I'm a phone call away.

(01:11:04):
It's an 800 number, you know, we're not, we're not too Hollywood not to take phone callsfrom people if they have questions and stuff.
But that's it.
And then also too, the story of Concept2 is a really good one.
So I encourage people, if they're interested, to go on the website and look at the historyand the videos and all that
Yeah, there's some deep history

(01:11:25):
I will vouch for the phone call because Sean, I have called Concept2 about replacing awire on a rower for my gym and Greg picked up.
Was not planned.
He's like, hey, this is Greg.
can I help you?
I'm like, Greg Hammond?
He's like, yeah.
And I was like, dude, this is Nathan.
He's like, what's up, man?
So that's one thing over time, like for a long time in CrossFit, especially the earlyfirst 10 years, you meet so many people that it was every time I picked up the phone, it

(01:11:55):
was somebody that I knew and wanted to talk to anyways.
So it was made my job so fun, you know, back then when you knew all the affiliate owners,because there was, I mean, when we first started getting into it, when Sean and I first
got into it, I think there was a hundred affiliates, maybe, when we first got into it.
So it was always fun to talk to people.
Yeah, cool.
that's half the fun is meeting this community and being able to share a share on all ofthat.

(01:12:19):
That's that's the good stuff.
Nathan, please take the outro.
I'll, I'll close it out.
And then, and then listeners, if you, will throw Greg's info in the description of thispodcast.
So if you want to follow him and we'll throw concept two's information in there as well.
and then when Greg was describing that rower, go

(01:12:40):
Sorry, make sure you put the acid bath workout in there in the show notes as well just sothe people, know, they need a quick little takeaway.
Comment your times.
If you listen to this and you do it, comment your times and just tell us how much fun youhad.
But earlier, Greg, it was really cool because he sent over some photos of the rower thatwas restored, Glenn's old rower that we talked about earlier.

(01:13:03):
We'll throw those up on our Instagram.
Greg, we'll make sure to collab that with you too, just so we kind of get that story outthere whenever we get the story.
Whenever we post this, we'll post those as well.
Yeah, listeners, as always, thank you for listening.
You can find the cult of recreationalism on all podcasting services.
And don't forget to check us out on YouTube, social media.
If you look up Bubbs Naturals, you will find us.

(01:13:25):
And while you're there, leave us a five -star review.
Leave us a thumbs up.
Whatever positive things you do helps and gets us in front of more people.
So Greg, thanks again for coming
Thank you guys, it was fun.
Dude, this is awesome.
You're have a blast at