Jimi Letchford, GoRuck President | Ep. 21 - The Cult of Recreationalism

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
get started so.
Sean I'll do the Sean you do the what's up everybody and I'll do the Jimmy facts.
I can do that.
But before we do that, are we recording yet?
Did he freeze?
Gross for me.
right now, all y 'all are frozen.
So I don't know if anyone's even on.

(00:22):
frozen now.
Okay.
that's, these are the glitches we try and work through on the, on the front end of allthis.
Jamie, when's the last time you saw blink 182 in concert?
my gosh, that would have been like 2000...
2001?
2000?
Yeah.

(00:42):
Last night.
Nah, are they still playing?
Dude, they are fully back together.
They all made up, put out a new album, and they're doing like the biggest stadium tour.
And my wife is just locked and loaded like, my god, blink.
And she's like, we have to go.

(01:02):
They're playing Petco Park.
Dude, like this is a 35 ,000 seat baseball stadium, and they sold it out.
Dude, some of these older bands, just like these classic ones, I mean, my son and I wentto Pantera and Metallica last year.

(01:23):
And you're just kind of like, I mean, I hope I don't offend anybody because I was justlike, yeah, these guys are like, I mean, these guys were.
like in their heyday when I was a teenager kind of thing, right?
And I'll tell you, the energy that these guys brought was insane.
I mean, I came out of there just so invigorated.

(01:46):
I was like, these guys are still doing it, still doing it.
unbelievable.
So I saw Pantera.
I was probably, I got a couple of years on you, but I've never seen him like 93, 94.
When it was like vulgar display of power and they were just like, Phil Anselmo just wantedto rip the head off the audience.
And it was like electric.

(02:06):
around, no, he had a tank top on, board shorts, really like fight shorts type of things,no shoes on, and he was just walking around the stage just like he was back then.
It was awesome.
It was so good.
I love it and dude, I mean, I've seen Metallica, I don't know how many times at thispoint, I'm just like, every time I see them.

(02:29):
It's just like, holy shit, they just keep bringing the they're getting grayer and grayer.
But they're getting gnarlier and gnarlier.
Day...
I'm taking some of our podcast time, but this is worth it.
Like they started playing this acoustic and it sounded like it could have been somethingfrom Ride the Lightning, you know, it was like kind of slow and everything.

(02:51):
And then it kind of went into like, could it, it felt like it could have started to gointo Nothing Else Matters.
And like just when they seem like they were going to go into what the song was going tobe, they went, give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which we desire.
place like every pyrotechnic went off and the place went bonkers.

(03:15):
I mean insane.
I gave myself goosebumps right now.
It was just kind of like, they were like, they're going to slow this down.
They're going to slow this down.
And then it was like everything lit up.
It went to like 25 degrees hotter in that instant.
And it was just like, it went crazy, man.
I was so pumped.
I'm a massive fan.

(03:36):
I mean, whoever brings it.
Like I actually, I like two shows I've seen at Petco this year that brought it in totallydifferent ways.
Blink last night.
And I'm not like a blink guy.
I'm the Metallica guy, but I was like, you know what?
I'll go listen to the whiny pop punk guys tell jokes and, you know, do all that, thattoilet humor.
And they were, they delivered Chris Stapleton.

(03:57):
Yeah, yes.
I'm like, you couldn't get two more opposite concerts in the exact same venue, and theyboth just brought it to where the whole audience is leaning in for more.
And I just love shows like that.
Crazy talent.
Blink was in Denver on Thursday.
I didn't realize they were here, I would have gone.
But they were here on Thursday playing in the Pepsi Center where the Nuggets play.

(04:21):
And Morgan Wallin was playing at Mile High Stadium where the Bronx, and those are likewithin a mile of each other.
And Downtown was a shit show apparently.
Like you couldn't drive anywhere.
Yeah.
Madeleine and I saw Larry Fleet at Tannahills the other night, which is, in fact, actuallywhere we're throwing a watch party during the games.

(04:41):
But it's just like a super intimate little spot.
And I don't know if you've, Larry Fleet's like really, really talented, like early signsof Chris Stapleton kind of thing.
And it was just, you know, maybe.
maybe 1 ,500, nah, probably 1 ,000 people in this venue, and it was so good.
So good.

(05:02):
Well, hold on.
We're here to record a podcast.
So let me jump in on that one.
What's up, everybody?
And welcome to the Cult of Recreationalism podcast.
I'm your host, Sean Lake, along with Nathan Morris.
And today on the show, we have the president of GoRuck, longtime CrossFit aficionado andMarine for Life, Jimmy Letchford.

(05:29):
Hey, thanks for having me, Sean.
to have you.
Yeah, and all that stuff about Blink with it, I'm leaving that in.
We're just gonna, that's part of the podcast now.
So all of that staying in.
Cool.
Jimmy, I wrote up some stuff, did a little, I searched your LinkedIn, found some stuff.
And so we just got a little quick bio for people who aren't familiar with you.

(05:49):
If I leave anything out, add it in at the end or correct me as I go.
So like Sean mentioned, president of GoRuck.
graduate of the Naval Academy where he was a D1 wrestler and boxer.
The boxer was new to me, I didn't know that one.
After leaving the Academy, went into the Marines and like Sean said, once a Marine, alwaysa Marine, you're still currently in the Marine Corps Reserve.

(06:12):
Cool.
After leaving the Navy, worked at CrossFit for over 11 years and now with GoRuck.
Also, father, husband, all that good stuff too, so.
that's right.
That's right.
Five kids, smoking hot wife, living the mountains.
Super blessed.
God blessed, really.
100%.
And I love the move to the mountains because you didn't just pick any mountains.

(06:35):
You went to the Wasatch.
You went to park city.
You went to God's country.
So good choice there.
Yeah, we looked at a lot of different mountain towns that seem to have it all.
Don't tell me.
No, locked up on that one.
We have a beep over the arc.
It is that wow, we'll leave it in.
So people have to figure it out on their own.
Well, one thing you did omit Nathan is that Jimmy is the undisputed national go rockchampion of shotgunning beers, or it might be booting beers.

(07:06):
I'm not sure which one is it, Jimmy.
I mean, it's like, I don't know if I've been taken out on either of those at this point.
It's funny, you know what?
I don't know if this popped up because someone in Spain put this video up recently thispast week and tagged me in a bunch of other places.
And this was at one of the old affiliate gatherings that we held up in Big Sky, Montana.

(07:28):
It's a funny story, but it was early days, you know, I think maybe 2000.
12, 14 -ish and weird.
affiliate that was held in Big Sky, like the famous one where everyone got fucked up ataltitude and like just destroyed people.
Yeah, that's right.
And this is like, and Dave would have all these athletes out and it would just be ad hocchallenges.

(07:53):
heck of a lot of fun.
Greg would speak, food, drinks, old reunion kind of thing.
And there was one night, I had my kids up there too, in Madeline and everything.
We drove up from Southern California and I had just bended all the way up there, likealmost 24 hours.
And it was straight through.

(08:13):
I hear Dave go, where's Jimmy?
Where's Jimmy?
And I'm just like socializing in this big tent.
He goes, hey, where's Jimmy?
Jimmy, get up here.
And he's like, and he puts
on the line he's like we're gonna do this competition it's chug a beer and then it waslike I don't know 10 burpees 20 burpees or whatever it was me Dave Rich Froning Dan Bailey

(08:34):
a couple other very well -known CrossFit Games champions
But also like we're talking devout Christians who probably don't drink a lot of beer.
So you might have the edge on them.
that's right.
And like, you know, I've done my fair share at this point, but they were good sports andDave's like, okay, this is what it is.

(08:54):
And long story short, I ended up winning that thing, right?
And my son was standing there who was, you know, I mean, he was eight, 10 or whatever, butwas been around in the CrossFit thing for a little bit.
And he walks up to me and he goes, dad, you beat Rich Froning.
And I'm like, yeah.
And he goes,
Does that mean you're the CrossFit Games champion now?

(09:15):
And I was like, as a matter of fact, it does.
I went with that.
I went with that for years with him.
I was like, my dad's a CrossFit Games champion.
I'm like, you're right.
It was documented.
There's a video out there.
It happened people.
I was so proud.

(09:36):
It's funny.
That's great.
So, so, so kind of going back, I want to start historically first.
Tell me about the journey, you know, from high school, Jimmy into the Naval Academy intoserving and a little bit about those service years.
Cause I think those really informed how you rolled into working with this totally unknownentity called CrossFit in the late 2000s.

(10:03):
I mean, this thing was non -existent yet.
Yeah.
know when I met you, you were the VP of marketing or director of marketing.
You were the head of marketing for this little known cult movement called CrossFit.
But take me through like high school, going into the Naval Academy, into the Marine Corps.
Yeah, I mean, I had to step back one little bit.

(10:27):
I knew I wanted to go to the Academy.
Everybody in my high school knew I wanted to go to the Academy.
I wanted to serve my country.
It kind of stuck after my old man took me to a wrestling camp at the Academy.
And there's a big jet outside the wrestling room.
And I was just like,
Yeah, I'd like to go to a school that's got a jet outside the wrestling room and get thewrestle and that seems pretty cool.

(10:49):
And like never really knew much about it.
I mean, yes, I mean, I'm young, I'm young.
I'm just like, that's cool.
You know, and as like, you know, I was like 12, 14, you know, I was growing up and startedto learn a little bit more about, you know, what they did at the academy.
And I got more and more encouraged by, you know, just local influences, old coaches andmentors and teachers.

(11:14):
in high school, middle school, just really being like, hey, this would be a really goodthing for you.
That's a very well -known institution, very respectable.
you grow up, Jimmy?
Like just frame a reference, like small town, big town, where'd you grow up?
of big, I mean, it was a small, it's funny, small town, huge high school.

(11:38):
I grew up outside of, just on the Jersey side, outside of Philadelphia.
So, wrestling, football, baseball, those are the sports, right?
And then if you crossed onto the other side, you got some basketball and soccer and stuff.
But like, really well -known sport culture there.

(11:58):
Parents always very, very supportive, taking us to, it doesn't matter, go play football.
You're practicing every night, football games on the weekend, fundraisers on Sundays kindof thing.
And same thing, wrestling season comes around.
It's practice almost every day, all full day weekends in wrestling, in gymnasiums, right?

(12:22):
They didn't have the electronic.
you know, tournament systems that are smart and put brackets together.
So parents like coaching at the same time as writing out brackets from, from like matchsheets and everything.
So yeah, so grew up out there.
I mean, my high school was, geez, 2 ,500 kids, right?

(12:44):
So it's pretty decent size high school group four type of thing.
Whereas
New Jersey goes up to at this point, but hard nose, work in blue collar type familyneighborhood.
And then you get really hard nose kids in and around that sort of Jersey area that mightnot live in same kind of neighborhoods, I guess is the best way to put it.

(13:07):
So really, really good competition there.
Tough.
out there and look it, you're gonna cross over with some of the wrong kids or some tougherkids and it could be a scrappy environment.
It was very scrappy.
And you know, that's like, I'm not saying I grew up in a bad way, right?

(13:29):
Like by no means.
But I did grow up in a culture and an accepted culture where, you know, you said somethingto the wrong person, you get punched in the teeth, you know?
And that's okay.
Like actually nowadays, in my opinion, yeah.
maybe not even done enough.
And I mean, whatever.

(13:49):
Kids have zero consequence right now.
I'm kind of waiting because I've got a son who's eight years old and he's pushing theenvelope a little bit.
And I'm kind of warning him.
I'm like, hey, not all kids are going to play the way you like to play.
And so now I'm looking at it like, well, number one, your lack of body and self -awarenessis going to get you into trouble.

(14:09):
Yeah.
okay with him getting into some trouble because I got into trouble.
Like I was that wild little shit, if you will.
And like, look, you get knocked, you know, you get knocked in the face once or twice.
You learn to either one step up and, and, and, and take that and, and give back, or youlearn that you went too far and where your line is.

(14:30):
So.
a big thing, right?
And mommies and daddies get too involved in that nowadays.
And I'm going on rabbit hole and like what's, like walking uphill to the snow, to school,both ways kind of thing.
But these are formative years of mine and Nathan, I'm glad you brought it up because like,again, I didn't grow up like in the hardest of neighborhoods.

(14:55):
I'm not saying that, but I grew up.
them and we definitely interacted with them and I grew up on a wrestling mat with some ofthe toughest wrestlers in the country, especially at the time.
And in high school, that had everything from star athletes that went Division I, All-American, and then eventually pro football, like my good, good friend that I played with

(15:21):
on the football field and wrestled with.
He was a co -weight of mine that I ended up going to Virginia Tech and playing for some ofthe professional teams.
But like, you know.
In that same neighborhood, it was OK for like, you know, like you said, get kicked in theteeth a little bit.
And you know, some of those years are formative.
I mean, I remember a very specific time where, you know, there were some kids that weregetting in a lot of trouble.

(15:47):
Let's just say that.
Running with the bad crowd or whatever.
And I walked into English class.
And you know, I'm not going to cuss or anything as much as I possibly can because I
I still am a Marine, but I walk in and this kid had some beef with me.
And he called me out right there and he's like, you're a pussy.
You are a pussy.
And I'm like, hmm, OK.
Let's see about that.

(16:07):
And he's like, all right, fine.
Be here at this time.
So I was still a freshman in high school.
I got on the bus.
This was in springtime.
So baseball hadn't started yet.
I got on the bus.
I'm not going to name his kid's name because I do remember him, but I don't know wherehe's at, and it's probably not.
anything that's crazy necessary, but anybody who remembers me at this time remembers thismoment.

(16:31):
I got off my bus.
I was a latchkey kid.
Got off the bus, went right into my house, grabbed my old Haro bike that didn't have anybrakes, was all beat up, and I rode all the way back to the high school and went to this
kid.
kids house like where this whole thing got called out and there was it just there musthave been 40 or 50 people and I wasn't getting off my bike before I was getting attacked

(16:58):
and I beat the snot out of this kid I beat the snot out of this kid and and and everyonewas just and none of the people there were really on my corner you know because it was
like all kids with older cars and all this stuff and I'm a 14 15 years old riding my bikeup there but one of the guys

(17:20):
up to me and he's like damn I respect the fact you did this he threw my bike in the backof his car and drove me home and it was just like one of those things it's kind of like
what happened I tell you me and that kid ended up being friends ended up being friendsbecause you know we got it out and you know other than some bloody knuckles and a few
scratches and you know a few black eyes and a lot of her pride it was a good thing

(17:43):
but that's the thing.
He learned a lesson in that too.
These are all lesson learning.
They're teachable moments.
If you let them be teachable moments, they're teachable moments.
If you don't, shame on you.
That's the miss.
So you go through that.
You go through a high school experience and look at anyone who looks back at their highschool.
And I think maybe it's having a little bit of gray in the beard or whatever.

(18:04):
We can all look at that and say, yeah, that informed a little bit of how
our social interactions were like, you know, I remember getting in a couple fights overthose years and it was like, hey, one, I'm going to defend my sister.
Two, I got to defend myself for Mouth and Off.
And, you know, three, you get the kind of the bully card or whatever, like, you know,whatever happens.
You know, you go through that experience and then you kind of, you kind of learn where youfit into it.

(18:30):
Like I got buddies that went in the Navy that were just like, they just fucking love tofight.
That was their, their default was fighting.
I got other friends that went into the Navy.
that their default was dismantling the fight.
Because they knew how to fight, but they didn't, they're like, hey, it's actually the artis really in diffusing the situation.
Yeah, and there's like, amen to that, because I am not, I'm not...

(18:55):
Like when I was younger, it probably took me a minute to control that, you know, becauseyou don't know if you can fight unless you get into fights, you know?
And in fights that aren't controlled too, like that's a whole different thing.
You know, being able to stop into, you know, go into a controlled environment with rulesand, you know, rules being like, one -on -one, you know, and no weapons or, you know,

(19:22):
like, this is the start and the finish as a fighter.
getting hit in the back of the head in a restroom per se.
But like what I do say is like in those earlier days it's okay to get scuffed up, it'sokay to you know within reason you know you got to learn those things but as I went on it

(19:45):
was more of like all right you know
You've learned how to become violent and as you become more of a man, you have the abilityto become more violent.
And that's a good thing because you can't be peaceful unless you can be violent.
Well, there are two different things.
Because if you can't be violent, you're not peaceful.

(20:08):
You're just harmless.
And that's not a good thing.
And so that, in my mind, is a really important thing of a man.
being able to protect others or protect your family or protect yourself or stand up forthings that not everybody else stands up for.
And that's rooted in an elegant violence, if you will.

(20:29):
And so I learned those things.
And as I moved on, I never, I never, and I still am not, because I got control of thosethings, I'm not.
easy to incite violence, right?
Unless it's extremely important.
And then that can go up.
a necessary like like the diffusing violence is that that art right there's a skill inthat and deferring to violence is likewise like you have to know that when it's time to go

(20:58):
into that spot like like no one's gonna you don't choose that as your default I gotbuddies that did for years and years and
me too.
And they're liabilities.
They're liabilities to themselves and others.
I do think nowadays, especially with the coming of jiu -jitsu to the United States and somany opportunities for people to be around such humble practitioners, right?

(21:28):
Because it comes from Brazil and South America.
And these families that brought that sport to what it is today, those are very, veryviolent people.
Very, very violent.
However, like so peaceful, so peaceful.
Rip your arms off anytime they want to, but like they have taught this, they've broughthumility to...

(21:54):
to the sport, but then also that sports now percolated out and given people theopportunity to be okay with putting their hands on other people, to be okay with
understanding that there's limits to what you can do or what others can do or how to bringthose things together.
And then this is an art that can go on for your entire lifetime and on, right?

(22:16):
So it's given people the opportunity to be comfortable with these moments, whereas growingup as a wrestler that you start at four,
Every wrestler gets this.
It's like, you like to roll around with guys that don't have clothes on, right?
Or in tights or whatever.
But you become very, very quickly, you become comfortable with being so physicallyaggressive in a mano a mano environment.

(22:44):
And I don't care.
That takes some time.
That takes some time.
And now through jiu jitsu, people have that ability to do it.
And it's in a controlled environment.
And there's forms of that art that actually give you the ability to defend yourself ordefend others and everything.
So I think that's amazing.

(23:05):
So without going on a tangent, so then I wanted to wrestle through college.
I got the ability to do it at the Naval Academy.
And for me, it was just like.
I got to get a great education.
I got to continue a sport that I was, I mean, it is my, it's part of my identity, deep inmy identity.

(23:25):
And then I got to serve my country.
So I come out as a commissioned officer with a job and I get to serve.
And the timing, depending on how you look, was that?
Yeah.
into it with, you know, it wasn't like doing this in the 70s and 80s when there justwasn't a lot of activities happening.
You got to do it during a peak moment in US operations in the Middle East.

(23:50):
Well, I was going to bring that up because like on because I look what sorry, keeptalking.
Sean, there was if you go into Jimmy's LinkedIn and I know nobody goes on LinkedIn, but Idid just to like find like how long you were at CrossFit and all that.
But the very bottom, your first job, it's platoon commander, Charlie Company, FirstBattalion, First Marines.
The only description there was led Marines into combat.

(24:12):
That's all it says for like what you did at that job.
Yeah, I mean like I've just recently started to be a little bit more active on on LinkedInbut I'll tell you that platoon commander has so many different responsibilities but I I
sum up my time in in Marine Corps active duty side as like this is what I'm responsiblefor right and you know at that time like I'm a kid like look I was 20 when I

(24:40):
I was 23 years old, 24 years old, right?
Leading other kids into war and like how the core is structured is like, these platooncommanders, these small platoons, like they are the tip of the spear.
They send these kids, myself included, full of piss and vinegar in to do God's work,right?

(25:01):
And it's like, it is a blessing.
It's one of the greatest opportunities I had is to be shoulder to shoulder with some ofthe Marines in.
Jimmy?
Like, what year did you graduate?
I graduated 2003 in the summertime.
So by the time, so you have to then go to what's called the basic school.
All Marine officers have to go through there.

(25:23):
It's a six month school.
And I say school, but you're out in the field a lot.
You're learning field skills.
You're learning how to be an officer.
There's administrative stuff all the way down to like change your socks, right?
And the idea is not only to like,
Not only to embrace what the Marine Corps says is that every Marine's a rifleman first.

(25:45):
And that's a big tenet that separates the Marine Corps than drummers.
So the Marine Corps, no matter what your MOS is, your military occupational specialty,every Marine is considered a rifleman first.
And the rifleman is the core of the Marine Corps.

(26:05):
So no pun intended, but you learn how to shoot, move, and communicate as a Marine first,because the Marine Corps is structured every part of the organization around that
rifleman, and then the rifleman as they span out into units, like so small units to largerunits and such.

(26:25):
So if you're a pilot,
Your occupation has you obviously flying, but you fly for whatever purpose it is tosupport that infantryman.
So close air support, movement of troops or logistics or anything.
And so that goes to truck drivers, fuel drivers, cooks, artillerymen, you name it.

(26:50):
Everything is focused around it.
So the basic school.
The basic school teaches Marine officers that tenant.
But also in there, you start to see the separation of what people gravitate towards fortheir occupation, right?
A lot of people want to be grunts until it's time to do grunt shit, you know, because it'snot always comfortable.

(27:14):
And so that maybe that person went from wanting to be a grunt to maybe they're going to gointo artillery instead, right?
Or someone just might, you know.
You just, that starts to separate and someone might want to be a grunt and like they couldbe pretty good candidate, but the leadership there just doesn't feel like that's
appropriate.
So that separates and then you go to whatever your specialty school is.

(27:39):
Mine was infantry officers course, which is hands down the best school in the MarineCorps.
I mean, you draw up more rounds and artillery, and you do more live fire exercises inthree months as a 40 -person unit than an entire battalion will use in a year, which is

(28:04):
crazy, because a battalion is about 1 ,200 Marines.
was just going to say you've got a group of 40, 42 individuals compared to, you know, aliterally like 10 X in that, like, sorry, 20 X in that like giant.
so, so how long did you serve in the Marine Corps before, before you transitioned to areserve role?

(28:25):
I did five years active, so I got out in 2008.
And then I got out completely.
I didn't go right into the reserves.
I took off a significant amount of time, in fact.
I am probably the oldest captain in the Marine Corps at the moment.

(28:46):
Yeah.
Yeah, no, it's like I've got friends that look, no kidding.
In fact, I went to a unit and drove with them about a month ago.
And one of the commanders there, who's a lieutenant colonel, which is pretty high in theMarine Corps, he's going to be a colonel any moment, him and I served in Iraq together as

(29:13):
fellow platoon commanders in the same unit.
So he's got this picture up there in his office of us standing on a helo pad about to takeoff for an operation.
And when he heard I was coming over to the unit, apparently he was like, no, I couldn't bethe same guy.
And then they walked in and take a look at the picture, and it was me.

(29:35):
And so it's just like there's been this huge gap.
I got guys retiring, and I still have probably 10 years.
So I took off 11 years.
It'll be a fun 10 years and it's fun that you got to go back.
I mean, that's kind of a nice thing.
So how in the world it is, it truly is like to have this like really intense chapter fromundergraduate through active duty and then walk away and then years later be able to be

(30:06):
like, hey, I'm not done scratching that itch.
I'd like to finish my commitment and see this through, right?
That's a second chapter and a second chance that you're not always afforded.
No.
No, and you bring back all these different skills that come in from the active dutyMarines, man, they are good at what they do.
And they do it for 20 years, 25 years, depending on how long.

(30:30):
But that's what you do.
Like, and that's what you're used to.
And you are, you're the best, you're the best at what you can do, or like what you dothere.
However, like when you get onto the outside world, it's very different.
You guys know this.
Like, it's just a whole different game.
It's a whole different game.
And so I had the opportunity, like I found CrossFit personally, and then I put it intolike more of an institutional, instructional kind of environment and got some recognition

(31:00):
for it.
Met Greg.
Dave met a bunch of the other people and Greg's like hey I want you to work for me and Igot to do that with zero marketing experience.
He was like
He's like, hey, let's run these projects.
And I just did it like a Marine would do it.
And the next thing you know, it's like, all right, let's do this project.

(31:23):
And it formed into whatever my job description was, which then when I met you, Sean, wasmarketing sponsorship.
job title is identical to mine, Nathan.
In 2009, Jimmy and I meet for the first time.
And I'm going to set the stage.
Well, I want Jimmy's version of this.

(31:44):
But at the time, I'm the global director of marketing for DC Shoes.
So I'm working for a $100 -and -something -million shoe company.
than and I'm managing a couple of the business units in there, which are doing, you know,like the snowboard division was like a 20 million dollar division and like you add them
up.
And it was like we were doing some numbers and I was in charge of all the athletes, allthe events, all the sports marketing stuff.

(32:10):
Well, I meet a guy who's got the exact same job title as me.
Director of marketing for CrossFit, and so we're peer to peer.
Little do I know this guy's been in the job for about two weeks and, you know.
Yeah.
And it's funny how that stuff worked because like we, I mean, look, we had a bunch ofcapable capital, capable people at CrossFit, right?

(32:35):
But we were what Greg referred to as like a biker gang.
Like we were all walks of life.
You know, you're like Dave Castro, former SEAL, you know, Andy Stum.
was a former SEAL.
Nicole Carroll, brilliant, but came from just the fitness world and whatnot.

(32:56):
Greg is obviously brilliant, razor sharp, brilliant.
This was a hodgepodge group of individuals, right?
We were figuring it out as we moved.
Tony Budding ran media, and then the games started going and it turned into, Daveobviously has done a fantastic job

(33:17):
job at growing that.
And Tony was doing a fantastic job at like media at the time and making sure everybody gotto see it.
Cause that's how we communicated was through CrossFit .com and a lot of there wasn'tInstagram.
I don't think there was Facebook because I've never been on Facebook.
started.
It had started.
So when we met, I did my level.

(33:39):
So I got into CrossFit end of 2007, 2008.
In early 2009, the owner of the box I was at, Mark Devine, another former Navy SEAL, says,Sean, you got to go get your level one.
So I go get my level one and I'm moonlighting.
Like I'm the director of marketing at this, you know, fun action sports brand.
And I'm only doing it because I just, I love the community.

(34:00):
Like I'm, I'm like everyone else in 2008, 2009, like you drink the Kool -Aid and you areall in on this fitness culture because I come from surf, snow, skate culture.
Like there's a, there's a culture inside of the activities that is very, very strong.
So I go get my level one and I meet Greg Glassman, Dave Castro.

(34:22):
And one of my coaches was teaching at the level one.
Rory McKernan, so like the original guy that I knew there.
And I meet Dave and Dave's kind of like, hey, you work with the X Games?
And I'm like, yeah, yeah, I work with them all the time.
And he's just like, huh, tucks it in his back pocket.
And I don't know, six months later, Dave Castro gets a hold of my my email address andasks to have lunch.

(34:49):
And I roll into some restaurant.
I don't know who Dave is, other than he's some guy I met.
at my level one cert.
I don't know the sport.
I don't know the culture.
I just know that I love my gym and the community and I got my level one coachingcertification.
So I roll into this lunch and it's Dave Castro, Jimmy and myself.
And my very first observation is we're at a Mexican restaurant and you guys are eatingcorn chips and salsa.

(35:14):
And I'm like, is that part of your diet?
Helio?
Ha ha ha.
We weren't such freaks about it back then.
I mean, CrossFit, like, no one was taking themselves as serious as we do nowadays.
You know?
So that was my memory was a year, the director of marketing at CrossFit and you guys havethis event called the CrossFit games.

(35:38):
And you're trying to gather information for where you can move it from Dave's backyard athis ranch in Aromas to a new venue.
And what a cool way to meet.
It was a lot of fun and you and I have been really close since then.
You've always been a great champion of CrossFit and me and any, well you're just achampion of anybody good, buddy.

(36:02):
So, I do appreciate that.
And hyper connected too.
know, it takes two to click in there and lock in because those were that was so much funto help.
like, it was so raw.
2007 games go down great, like wow, this could be big.
And then the next year, 400 people come to Aromas and it was kind of like, this is gonnabe big.

(36:28):
And then 2009 came and this was where we were like, okay, this is gonna get crazy becausethere were like 3 ,000 people that showed up and we shut down the highway.
Like we shut down the highway.
coming into Dave's ranch.
And that was like, cops were coming out, Dave's trying to run the games and all the eventsand everything.

(36:50):
And this was like...
There wasn't a huge staff, so he's putting that off.
I'm coming down, like we had walkie -talks, I'm like, Dave, cops and firefighters arehere, he's like, take care of it.
So like, I'm up on the hill looking down onto these events and stuff.
Tony has got the team, everybody's got cameras going, and I'm schmoozing thesefirefighters and police officers being like, hey, like, you know, just being like, it's

(37:14):
pretty cool, huh?
And they're like, dude, this is insane, you know, but like, you guys are shutting down thehighway, and I'm like, man, just work with us.
We're working on like, getting.
cars parked and all that stuff because, you know, we, we literally, someone's heard me saythis, but Dave certainly knows it.
We went to his neighbor because they had a, they had a grazing field next door.
We knew we were going to need the parking spots.

(37:37):
So, Mallie was actually working the whole parking system.
You know, she had like one of her projects was make sure people could park here becausethese people are getting lined up outside.
So Dave goes over to his neighbor,
Dave goes over to his neighbor and he's like, hey, look, we'll mow your field.
We'll mow your field.

(37:58):
We'll repair any damages to the fence because we had to open it up for parking orwhatever.
And we'll pay you five grand.
It might have been $2 ,500, but it doesn't.
is a farming community, Nathan.
You've been there, so you know.
Like, that's huge!
field right next to him, and I hope he's not gonna be mad at me for saying this, but Idoubt, I doubt his neighbors listened to your podcast, but regardless, because, hey, they,

(38:26):
yeah, yeah, eventually they will guys.
See, so we strike this deal, make sure everything's ready.
The morning of, morning of, he doubles the cost.
And he went from 2 ,500 to five or five to 10.
Care member was one of those, it was a while ago.

(38:47):
But he was like, and then we had to go get the cash to start put parking people in there.
And it was just like, this is how shoot from the hip we were Sean, because we were likesitting on this rocket ship, you know, holding all the pieces on and you know, and it's
kind of like, I'm up there schmoozing cops and you know, and like not giving themanything, but just being like, it's kind of cool, right?

(39:09):
Thanks for working with us.
I think that was a year we showed a UFC fight on the Jumbotron, like at nighttime, andpeople were camping in the field.
I mean, this is how it was, right?
And so to your point, we were learning as we went.
It was a very militant type of ethos.

(39:30):
It was like, find a way or make one.
Yeah, make it happen.
So when I met you guys, it was right after that games had gone down.
You guys had your battle scars and you were immediately like, we got to get out of there.
And Dave, you know, he laid it out.
He's like, I got kicked out.
Like, there's no way I can have the games there again.
I need a new venue.
And I'm like, no problem, man.

(39:51):
Like I like you guys, like here's three other venues you could do it with.
It was like Paula casino.
I think it was called home Depot center at the time.
Cause I knew it.
it was.
my X Games years, LA Coliseum, like some other like random venue.
And you guys honed in on Home Depot Center.
And I remember being like, well, let me introduce you to like the X Games salespeople,like from Home Depot Center, because they're, you know, they love selling this venue

(40:18):
because that's how they make their money.
And I kicked over the intro and I didn't think anything of it.
And I remember like Dave hits me up later or it was you.
Someone's like, hey, so
we're going to do the Home Depot Center, but have you ever done an event budget?
And I'm like, yeah, you mean like parking security, like, you know, like full eventbudget.

(40:43):
They like, yeah, yeah, that stuff.
I'm like, yeah, no problem.
So I got literally drummed up an old budget and like put together, you know, like whateverit was, a $50 ,000, a hundred thousand dollars.
Like these are the general areas you want to cover.
Like here's parking over here.
Here's this, here's, you know, this, and I just, I handed it over.
didn't think a word of it.
You guys never contacted me again, operated off of that to a T.

(41:07):
And then my next memory is it's now the summer of 2010.
And Jimmy, I think you reached out to me and were like, can you get up here on X date at Xtime?
And it was like, you know, early August, be here at this time.
And I was like, yeah, yeah, like, I would like to see what you guys did.

(41:27):
You know, so I roll up to Home Depot Center, drive up there on like a Friday afternoon.
You meet me in the parking lot and like grab me, whisk me through security right up to thetop.
Run me up a flight of stairs and then up a ladder to get on the rooftop.
Of like one of the suites.
Now I'm looking down at the tennis center of the Home Depot Center, which is like a famousarena that a lot of famous matches have gone down in right in time.

(41:53):
Like we're talking like we have maybe 30 seconds to be like.
Cool view, bro.
Yeah.
Nah, I got some F18s to come over.
That was like, that was a feat to do.
You know, because it was, that's a long process, but you gotta put all this paperwork inand everything with the DOD.

(42:23):
Then you've got to, you have to interface with the FAA.
in the area.
Now think about it.
We are just short of LA, Long Beach, Burbank, Ontario, San...
Orange County Airport, John Wayne, like San Diego, the flight patterns, not to mention,you've got Camp Pendleton flying, you've got a bunch of other Air Force bases up there.

(42:49):
So I had to coordinate with those guys and pulled that thing off in the last final minutesbecause what they do is they post this to the board, to this board.
And once someone picks up the request, if at all, then that's what you're stuck with.
And I'm calling friends and I'm like,
you got anybody's flying this weekend because we got this cool event and sure as hellsomeone picked it up and that was like such a proud moment because we didn't have like a

(43:18):
ton of people there that year, you know, it wasn't crazy.
It was 3 ,000.
defining moment.
I mean, as a guy who'd been at that point, what, seven, eight X Games, and like, I'd beento arena -sized sporting events from the organizational side and then watching, you know,
these key moments happen in sport history, to see that, like, that's the kickoff to theCrossFit Games.

(43:43):
And I'm like, you guys are legit.
Yeah, we were starting to click, Sean.
And that was one of those things that we were very proud of, because that's not an easything to do, number one.
to actually put it in a run of show and hit it on the moment when like they, that lastnote of the national anthem was ending and to have those birds right on top of the

(44:15):
stadium, it was like, wow, like this is gonna be big.
And it's funny because it was that year that...
Reebok was coming out.
I had been chatting with them a little bit and it was kind of like, I mean up until thatpoint I was selling sponsorships and it was all me calling my buddies or people you
introduced me to or whatever like going, hey you know anybody over here?

(44:37):
And it was more like, guys trust me this is gonna be big one day.
And you're like, OK, yeah, how many people you have coming?
And it was kind of like, you know, impact numbers for big brands is important, right?
And like, dude, we're probably going to have 3 ,000 this year.
And we were like, OK.
And like, no one was listening to me.

(44:58):
And we had some brands, Indigenous, Concept 2 and Rogue, obviously, and all these brandsthat are friends of ours, number one, but also very Indigenous with the CrossFit space,
we're always
supporters, you know, then you start getting the attention of some of these bigger boysand those big boys were there when that flyover happened.

(45:19):
And the next thing you know, we were on a plane flight out the following week to Boston tomeet with those guys.
It's funny because under Armory under armor came in, brought like this trailer bus.
And I remember they set up like a bunch of ropes to like, just, you know, do the ropething.
And I was like, that's how you're going to do it, huh?

(45:40):
Boys.
And then, you know, Reeboks they're taking notes.
What's that?
won't get into that story.
That's probably for another time.
Yeah, we'll do that one over a beer someday.
But I mean, obviously, like stratospheric rise.
And I guess if there's a compliment in that it's being able to apply what you knew fromthe Marine Corps and going into different situations, you got a job title, you had a job

(46:04):
to do, and you improvised and made it happen.
Whether it was year one at Aromas.
But you literally you walk into this fitness organization that's run like a bike gang.
And you come from a structure of organized that they needed.
and I mean, you ran it through the absolute peak growth years when you guys had acheckbook that got commiserately increased with great corporate partnerships.

(46:33):
And I mean, you know, like you rode that wave as good as you could during that chapter.
I mean, what amazing years to be a part of CrossFit.
pretty magical, you know?
And like, again, hodgepodge group, but it certainly wasn't, but from my efforts, right?
It was a lot of us making really good decisions and working in a growth period wherethings got like crazy, you know?

(47:01):
Like companies like at that size, you know, in the beginning it was kind of like, well,all the people that have some sort of job.
Right?
And it was just this, this kind of like, well, I think Jimmy handles that or that's whatDave does.
And Nicole is a part, like she normally takes care of that.
Like is this big round table of decision makers.
And then when you start to, when you start to do like, do this in a company, you know,like make sure my hands in this, you can't like those, that round table can't turn into a

(47:31):
hundred people.
Right.
And so now it's like, we're, we're scattered about the United States mostly and different
responsibilities on different planes going to meet with different people and it's kind oflike...
You got to, there's a lot of trust that was needed to make things happen.
And start to develop relationships where you said, you know what, I'm no longer a part ofthat decision and this person over here is responsible.

(47:59):
And the military and those big organizations, they already have that, right?
And they put people into these organizational charts that define who answers to what andwho and how the communication lines go.
When you're talking about an organization like ours at such meteoric growth, it wasdifficult.

(48:22):
It was difficult.
Yeah.
to watch that and just to be around it.
Nathan, how did you guys connect?
Because obviously I've got my history with Jimmy, which is just, it was such a cool,unique period in the growth of the sport.
How did you roll in?
That's, yeah, and like, and as like a CrossFit nerd, that's such a cool story.
Like, I hope people can like find that who like, so it was the 2014 games.

(48:44):
Cause it was, I was actually out there with Kevin Ogarr, cause he had been injured inJanuary of that year and Jimmy and coach Glassman, every, like Kevin was invited out there
and I don't know, Kevin was like 210 before the accident.
And then when he was in recovery, he went down to like 150 pounds and he had
to have like a chair to use the restroom, a chair to use the shower, like all thesechanges, like he would have accidents, like you don't have control of your bowels.

(49:09):
So like I was literally his bag man.
And he's like, I just need someone to take me through the airport.
And he's like, if you can like crossfit, they said they'd give me an extra ticket.
Do you want to go?
I'm like, hell yes, let's do this.
And then when we got there, Jimmy was one of the first people that we met.
Cause he's like, Hey coach, cause Kevin, I don't think at that point had ever met coachGlassman.
And so Jimmy like basically came and grabbed us.

(49:31):
He's like, boys.
come with me.
And then that was like my first introduction to Jimmy.
And then Kevin's phone kept dying.
So I gave Jimmy my phone number so he could text me when we needed to get somewhere.
I think I did Kevin's seminar, right?
And so I think, I can't remember, but I think I did his seminar at one point.
And we always kept in touch.

(49:53):
And then it was just, what a shame of an accident.
But I'll tell you, man, I don't think I could handle that as well as that man has.
Talk about just pure grit and.
humility and just like man like that dude is amazing that is amazing man

(50:17):
the being there, like the, cause I hadn't, I'd only known Kevin for less than a yearbefore the accident.
We became really fast friends.
And so when it all happened, like we would hang out and like, it was like, there wasdefinitely dark times, but the overwhelming, like, nah, I mean, if this is the, this is
how it's going to be, this is how it's going to be.
I'm going to get really good at bench press or whatever the thing was.

(50:39):
Like that was always his attitude.
He's like, if I'm going to be in a wheelchair, I'm going to be the best damn athlete thereis in a wheelchair.
was from the get -go.
That was his attitude.
So yeah.
but then I remember cause I was not long after that, I took a job in SoCal, in the non-profit in the CrossFit space.
And the thing I remember was like, I ran into Jimmy a couple of times and like, you alwaysremembered my name when you really didn't have a reason to, not that you didn't have a

(51:08):
reason to, but it was like, I've actually noticed that I was like, you remembereverybody's name and what they do.
And I think that's.
like a really cool quality to have that I wish I had.
Thank you.
I do my best.
I look like I really, I think it's important to care about others and especially like inour other, in our community, right?

(51:30):
And like, this is a community and you know, as a community then it's a community now.
It's a community taking some pop shots, but that's what communities, they have thestrength to make it through those things.
But you've always been fantastic to me, and I will always reciprocate.

(51:53):
Yeah, I always think.
a skillset though.
I mean, it's engaging.
It helps people feel like truly engaging in it.
I'm going to jump gears just a little bit over because you go through the years ofCrossFit.
You did a couple of years, you know, independent contract, kind of like float around like,all right, what am I going to do next?
And then you discovered GoRuck.

(52:15):
And tell us a little bit about the kind of evolution of, of, of meeting this, you know,different group yet.
identifying some similarities in it and kind of where it is now because it's a reallyfascinating organization and movement, if you will also in the fitness space.
Yeah, I mean, I've always known Go Ruck.

(52:37):
Being in the CrossFit community, I've known Rucking for obvious reasons in the militaryand everything.
And Go Ruck, being a leader in this space, it was just always an amazing brand.
And the brand affinity at the time was probably smaller, but just as fierce.
And I met Jason.

(52:57):
I was doing my thing at the CrossFit Games when I worked for CrossFit.
And I was,
Water flying around and checking on the teams and you know nurturing relationships orwhatever I was doing and I bumped into Jason McCarthy him and I had not met I knew who he
was and he was standing in fact he was standing with a t -shirt on that said the TravisManion Foundation and Yep, and Someone who said hey, you know Jason

(53:26):
And I'm like, no, I know who you are.
Love, go, rock, or whatever.
And he was wearing the shirt.
I was like, you know the TMF.
And he goes, yeah, I do.
And he's like, I was with Ryan last week or whatever.
And Ryan Mannion, so Travis and I wrestled together at the Academy.
He was killed in 2007, April 29, 2007, in Iraq, saving a couple of his comrades.

(53:53):
So the family started a foundation.
It started as like 5K runs, right?
Like, we don't know what we're going to do with this.
Me and Mike Bigrig were the second 9 -11.
So year one, 9 -11 heroes run out in Doylestown.
Year two, 9 -11 heroes run in Doylestown and one in Orange County.
Mike Bigrig and I ran the Orange County thing.

(54:17):
And I've helped TMF in whatever ways I can because I love that organization and I love thepeople a part of it and I love this man.
And I love who this man stands for, which is other fallen comrades and people that didstep up and say, if it's not me you're going to send, well, then who will it be?

(54:38):
If not me, then who?
And so when I saw Jason with the shirt on, I called it out.
And he was like, I was with Ryan last week.
And he was like, really?
And I think he was a little skeptical.
Kind of like, OK, yeah, sure.
Like, Ryan's this big time executive of this amazing
organization that's doing work all around the globe at this point.

(55:01):
So he takes a picture and sends it to Ryan and Ryan immediately, she immediately respondsshe's like Jimmy Ledgeford, you know, so there is this thing and Jason and I exchanged
numbers or whatever and we started becoming friends and he's like I'd like for you tostart doing some stuff in this consulting period Sean and I'm like yeah sure like I love
you guys like call me anytime and he's like no like let's figure something else out so Iwent on

(55:26):
board of advisors.
I went to the board of advisors meeting.
I knew barely anybody other than Blaine Smith.
If you remember Blaine, he was team red, white, and blue, great leader, SF guy.
Just like I knew him.
But I didn't know anybody else other than Jason and Paul Litchfield, who worked at Reebokand was the shoe dog.

(55:48):
But there was a big room.
And I kind of just.
let it loose, kind of like, this is what I would do, kind of thing.
And after that, they're like, let's get some contract, more contract time.
And it just grew.
So then it was like, growth officer, focus on growth.
Like, what can we do to grow?
partnerships, relationships, sponsorships, you know, like offense, go on offense.

(56:12):
And then it kind of like, okay, how can we take offense and then put it back to marketing?
And so I got the growth officer and marketing officer role.
And then just, well, about a year and some change ago got promoted to be the president.
And it's a huge honor, I'm telling you, because...
There are a lot of similarities with CrossFit and GoRuck in a lot of ways, right?

(56:36):
And then they're also so blaringly different that makes it, again, it's another specialmoment.
The culture in the company, the employees is amazing.
I think that if I had one thing that should be on my job description is protect theculture of the company forever.

(57:00):
And I think everybody in the company, of course the CEO and founder and then co -founder,Emily, this is what we're.
to do because the people are amazing and the brand means something than just like sellinga rucksack to go on your back right like it's it's about community it's about getting

(57:21):
outside it's about being healthy it's about being a family member you know it's pickingeach other up kind of thing and you know that's something special to be a part of and so
down.
I mean, just to double down on that, in 2010, 11, you see someone wearing a CrossFit t-shirt in the airport, and you're drawn to them.
Where's your box?

(57:42):
What do you do?
Where are you at?
It reminded me of I've seen snowboarders in the 90s.
We were so few and far between that when you identified and found each other, your tribecomes together.
CrossFit was like, I remember seeing Nanos when they first were in the wild, the Nano 2s.
You're like, my god.
You got to know to know that shoe.

(58:03):
You got it.
And then with seeing the go -ruck packs, like if you see a pack in the wild, like, youknow, like I use mine for everyday travel, literally, like if I do like a short overnight,
I've got a GR2 and that's just I've been using it for years.
Things completely clapped out, but it's so overbuilt.

(58:23):
It's going to last forever.
And you see other folks with it, you know it.
And they're just like.
2014.
This has been my driver since 2014.
with a Gen, it was a Gen 2 GR2.
It didn't have, it didn't even have like the area for the Velcro patch and everything.
And I was like, is that Gen 1?
And he goes, that's Gen 2.

(58:45):
And, and I was like, how long you had that?
And he was like 10 years.
I mean,
And I mean, that thing looked amazing.
Like, still looked amazing.
But like, you're right.
And that's important for us, right?
Because Jason comes from the Army SF world, right?
Where, you know, like, this is a very elite group of individuals, right?

(59:06):
And they stand shoulder to shoulder with other elite guys.
And he wants to always make sure that him being an SF guy, he's number one for him.
is I always want to do my community justice.
I don't want to be one of these jerk guys out there.
I never want to embarrass the community I come from and therefore wear the patch, theproverbial patch out into the business world.

(59:33):
So that's important to him.
And with that comes built to we build the world's toughest gear.
And we stand by that, meaning we will replace your gear if it rips, whether that's throughrepair or just
in your new stuff and then we'll also promise that it's not gonna happen again in a waythat we're gonna go out and build it tougher.

(59:54):
Like we destroy our gear.
before it hits the shelves.
It's really easy.
We're starting to see this a lot in the CrossFit space because, number one, we got intothis CrossFit relationship a little bit later than a normal brand might.
And I'll talk on that in a second.
But we knew we'd be a little bit behind.

(01:00:16):
And we are still testing all our products in a way where it needs to be up to ourstandards.
And so just being able to throw a bunch of colors
together and getting them up on the site, like, yeah, we'd sell them for sure.
But probably not to our standard.
And that's something that we won't waver on.

(01:00:40):
And I'm hoping that's the entire our participation and partnership with CrossFit hasnothing to do with selling product.
Nothing.
It has to do with us standing with a brand that we believe in is communal like us thatwould understand what we stand for.

(01:01:01):
It is a brand move.
It is a move that basically says, we are your work hard, play hard brand.
We are the brand that goes out and does that, and we'll laugh with you, and we'll hangwith you.
We're the ones packing care packages or taking hiking food to the food bank.

(01:01:22):
We're not there to like make sexy like we should we should continue to work on hermarketing But we're not here to like just make sexy flashbang marketing to hope that sell
to you and like have no affinity like no relationship with you Yeah
that's the tribe.
The tribe element is absolutely infused there because I mean, I remember talking to youabout the opportunity and I'm like, hey, man, when's the last time you saw a fitness tribe

(01:01:51):
come together the way Goruk is moving in that direction?
Like this is going to be a fitness movement the way CrossFit was in 2010.
And you had this at the helm in the president role.
It to me, it makes perfect sense that you would say, well, guys, CrossFit Games iscurrently going through that kind of third generation of, you know, rebirth.

(01:02:19):
What a great time to show the world what both of these things can stand for together.
Yes.
And here's the thing, right?
CrossFit's at a...
is at a moment, right?
And I think it's a great opportunity.
I am 100 % rooting for this brand.
These are my friends.

(01:02:41):
These are my friends that are gym owners.
These are my friends that are training on the weekends.
These are my friends competing on the floor.
These are my friends going to the Rogue Invitational Legends.
Bill Henninger, Katie Henninger, my friends.
And that's important to me, not my business friends.
These are my friends.
Right?
So like I am rooting for that and and I think this is gonna it's gonna be a good thinglike it's successful for CrossFit and successful for GoRuck and for a lot of the same

(01:03:12):
reasons and different for for each respective brand.
I do think like GoRucks at this important point where
You want to be ready for Special Forces selection.
You should probably go to some of our events.
You should definitely have our gear, and you should be using it a lot.
You won't break it.

(01:03:32):
Get ready that way, and probably a number of other ways.
We got that covered down here on this end, on what I say to my team, like on thisspectrum, on the dark end of the spectrum, where you better be ready for midnight hikes
going on for a long, long time.
And this was early days of CrossFit, too.

(01:03:53):
Here was one of those similarities.
CrossFit was like, this is what the SEALs and the Delta Force and the Marines are doing.
And so, yes, it's good enough for the SWAT teams and the firefighters and everything.
And if it's good enough for them, then it's probably good enough for the sports teams orwhatever it looks like.
And Greg and team used to always talk about, if it's good enough for your

(01:04:21):
If it's good enough to protect your life, it's probably good enough for your livelihood.
There was a smoother way that they used to say it.
But it's like, if your life depends on it, then it's good enough for your livelihood.
And that's what it is.
came out of that was prepare for the unknown and the unknowable.
And that concept to me was always like, hey, if you have a general state of physicalpreparedness and readiness, then you don't know what those curveballs are.

(01:04:49):
My curveball Friday night, my daughter wants superuppies.
She weighs close to 50 pounds.
She got superuppies for about 90 minutes walking the fair.
And I literally like holding on to her walking through the fair.
Every once in a while I can put her down and pick her back up.
And I'm like, I just clocked a couple miles of fair time with my six -year -old.

(01:05:11):
But like, that's the cute version.
Well, there's another version where you got to help someone out of a burning building.
There's another version where, you know, bad things happen and you want to be the personthat's dependable and can be counted on to help out of that situation.
Yeah, and that's Sean spot on, because that's where we were at CrossFit.
That's where GoRuck is.

(01:05:31):
And it's starting to happen, right?
GoRuck is just getting going.
Rucking as an activity, and as a sport, and as a modality, and as a weight loss technique,or a recovery technique, or a training for whatever it is, it is just starting.

(01:05:54):
Like, I'll put the scientific stuff to the side, one, the zone two and the benefits ofthat and getting out in the steps and all that.
I'll let the smart people talk about that.
But what we've done and what we're going to continue to do is just say, you want to beready for SF?
Great.
Like, we got what you need.
Put on a ruck and go fast.
And then down this side, it's kind of like, look, you want to get back in shape?

(01:06:17):
Well, maybe start with going for a walk.
You know?
And then when you want to make every step count a little bit,
Why don't you put this backpack on with a heavy water bottle in it?
and then put on five pounds, you know?
Then put 10 pounds in there and go a little bit further.
If you want to be a better snowboarder, Sean, you should probably be rucking.

(01:06:38):
You want to be ready for elk season, you should be rucking.
You want to be ready for ski season, you're a cross -fitter, you want to intensify yourworkout a little bit more, include go -ruck.
Or, you know what, like you're a gym owner and you're looking for things to do with yourpeople outside of the box, like instead of throwing another gym workout on,

(01:06:58):
why don't you start a rep club and just let people meet there Saturday morning, go for awalk with your people, and come back around a cooler.
And you can do this for any sport, any sport.
We've got golfers reaching out to us and golf coaches, professional ones.
And I don't want to blow their names up because it's not, I don't.

(01:07:21):
But in college,
it's trusted at the highest level, that's all that matters.
In college, these kids have to carry their bags.
And what these coaches are starting to do is go, you know what?
Like there's actually, I mean professional golfers are looking less and less like whiskeydrinking, cigarettes smoking guys.

(01:07:44):
And they're turning into stud and studettes, right?
And college coaches are realizing, I should probably be having my guys trained by carryinga lot of gear.
Because then when they go out for a tournament or a match, they're carrying their clubsfor a long time.
of time like endurance is a lot for everything.
hands down.
All right, so I want to let Nathan have a quick moment because he absolutely loves notjust the Ruck pack.

(01:08:11):
I'm going to let him close it out.
We have a rapid fire round of questions for you, Jimmy.
I do want to say I love you guys in the CrossFit Games.
I think it's a perfect marriage.
The footwear component of it, though, is where Nathan has converted me.
And I've been like.
the Reebok Nano, like specific years of the best shoes ever, maybe a Metcon here or there.

(01:08:32):
And all of a sudden out of nowhere, Nathan's like, dude, this might be my new trainer.
Yes.
Jimmy kind of hooked me up because it was at the Rogue Invitational.
He's like, yeah, what do you want, like 50 % off?
And I was like, I'll try a pair of these.
And like, that's all I've trained in for like the last two and a half, three years.

(01:08:53):
Yeah, like Murph, Miles, not the ballistic trainer, like I'm doing it in the, sorry, I'mdoing it in the ballistic trainers, not the rough runners.
Like I can run for Miles in those things and.
You can't do that with every trainer.
You can do that with most runners.
So I can do those.
I can squat heavy, snatch heavy, all that stuff.

(01:09:14):
I love those shoes.
Yeah.
it because we're getting, like, we hear the same feedback.
You know, we do recognize, like, we do believe and I believe, and it's not because I workfor GoRuck, that I think that's the best shoe.
Because I, Sean, you know, like, I've been around for a while.
I've had, you know, so many shoes rained on me.

(01:09:35):
It's crazy, you know, from brands we worked with to brands that wanted to work with us andeverything.
And I've worn them all, you know, and...
And I will tell you that these shoes are super legit.
Now, we do recognize that that's taken some time, because there's some good looking shoesout there.
And we've went with technical over aesthetic at the moment.

(01:09:58):
That's changing.
But it's going to be undeniable here in the future that this is the best CrossFit shoe.
You got it.
I got you, fellas.
something about a good aesthetic on a shoe, but if it's matched with the foundation, like,Hey, look at, I've got a really, really sexy packaging on my collagen, right?

(01:10:19):
The design and approach to it is meant to be very appealing.
Well, if the stuff inside the jar doesn't work, who gives a shit?
And with a footwear, it's like, you can make the most amazing looking shoe, but does itdeliver?
So.
I'm a fan of them both because I like a minimalist approach on the footwear in general.

(01:10:39):
Like that to me was attractive right from the way like a black shoe with a good gum soullike sign me up.
and I am loving that rough runners across trainer, like do everything in it.
Personally, I probably would have done Murph in the rough runner, but we can make sure youget some of those Nathan.
But I go and rocks run them.
I go runs.

(01:11:00):
I run my PFT for the Marine Corps and those things.
Like that is my, I've really, really enjoyed that shoe.
Yeah, I have a pair of those too.
That's what I coach in like for like standing around all day because it kind of has moreof a running shoe feel to it.
Like just way more comfortable just for standing all day.
So I got both.
I'm a fanboy.

(01:11:20):
Yeah.
love the idea that you can weave in things like Travis Manion Foundation into causemarketing with such amazing communities.
I mean, Travis Manion Foundation within CrossFit is just makes perfect sense.
Travis Manion Foundation inside of the go -rock community makes perfect sense.
So I love that you're able to weave in these different chapters of your life.

(01:11:44):
into your professional career and also layering in like this is where tribe and friendsand it all comes together in a perfect crucible.
So I've always enjoyed that and I'm really looking forward to this year's games as kind ofagain, I look at it like a third chapter.
It's a little bit of a rebirth for CrossFit.
It's a chance to like say, hey, we've gone through some of the rocky waters.

(01:12:06):
I don't think it's smooth sailing 100 % but it's smoother.
And I think they've got, you know, with Dawn at the helm and the way they've got itpositioned for the future, I think they're in a better position and having brands like
GORUCK that have such a rock solid North star and you driving that relationship, who knowsthe glory years of CrossFit and those that history chapter.

(01:12:27):
I think it's just it's bound for future success because you know where the pitfalls wereand you know what you have to drive it forward.
It's awesome.
thanks Sean.
We're excited.
We're honored too.
We're honored.
now, Nathan, can you lead us off with some rapid fire questions?
Jimmy, close your eyes, clear your head.

(01:12:49):
Listeners, you can close your eyes, clear your head unless you're driving.
But so Jimmy Letchford, what was your first job?
I used to mow lawns for 20 bucks in my neighborhood and I would just push my lawn moweraround with electric cord on top of it and a bag of trash bags and that was it.
Then a crab shack.

(01:13:11):
Next question.
Rank these from best to worst.
Salsa, queso, guacamole.
Guacamole salsa queso.
No hesitation.
He got it.
Do you have any hobbies or interests that people like just wouldn't see if they follow youon social media?

(01:13:33):
I love to hunt.
I spend a lot of time on my weekends just trying to get tags up here in the upperNorthwest, but that's probably my, you know, bow and rifle.
And so I've really adopted that since moving up here.
This is like, when I'm not thinking about go rock and work, it's, and family, it's that.

(01:13:55):
Solid, solid.
Do you have a mantra or a piece of advice, even a quote that was shared with you,something that you live by?
You know, I kind of mentioned it a little bit earlier before, like when we start and I gotpretty aggro from the beginning, but it's like you, you can't be a peaceful person, you

(01:14:15):
know, unless you can be violent first, right?
And, otherwise you're just harmless.
And so it's one of those things where when I'm training or, you know, I'm doing hardthings, it's like, I'm doing this for my family.
I'm doing this for, you know, my preparedness for them.
And so it just doesn't translate.

(01:14:36):
my health and longevity, but also my ability to always protect them.
So, you know, and since it's a fire round, that might not be my best answer, but it is ananswer.
That's a good one.
Not everyone has to have the Hemingway quote at the ready.
It's more, look, you've got something that steers you.

(01:14:56):
Again, I refer to the North Star a lot and things that guide your actions.
I'll also just, and I know it's supposed to be rapid, but these things right here behindme, this is a really important thing, you know, and without having like on the side, you
can't see this, but there's memorabilia from, you know, my, my, my active duty militarydays and some, and some stuff.

(01:15:19):
And some of it's very like, you know, very militant and I'm proud of those times.
I'm proud of this country more.
And instead of like,
Instead of putting those things behind me like a me wall, it's more of like, this says alot about where me and my family stand.
And up at the top of this and at the top of the dollars that we carry, it's like in God wetrust.

(01:15:41):
And I think that's a really important thing.
And that's something that my family lives by.
And it's one of those things where we believe in God and we believe in God.
this is the greatest nation on earth you know we should all be very thankful for beingable to live with inside these these walls.

(01:16:02):
Hands down.
last one.
What do you do to relax?
work out.
Yeah.
If you get to pick the workout, what are you picking?
Like if we go over to workout in your garage gym with you, what are you programming for meand Sean and you to do?
probably be with YouTube, probably something a little bit heavier, not a lot of running,maybe some short, you know, run iterations.

(01:16:26):
I also know that you guys, like, my home is just below 8 ,000 feet, and so, Nathan, youmight be a little bit more prepared for it, but Surfer Boy over there, I don't know.
Although he does sneak in and out of Park City here pretty often, doesn't he, Sean?
what a Dick.
What a day.
Just be like, I don't know.

(01:16:47):
You're, you're a bean pole lake.
So I'm going to throw some heavy dead lifts on you.
And yeah, maybe some sprints.
Cause I'm going to gas the shit out of you on some Metcon stuff in the middle there.
That's that's fair.
That's fair game.
That's we got that going for us.
This has been absolutely amazing.
So Jimmy, thank you for joining us today.

(01:17:08):
Where can people go if they want to learn more your social just, just
I'm going to go ahead and close the video.
Like I'm not really good at it.
I just feel like, this would be cool.
You know.
I will throw out there just like shameless pitch.

(01:17:30):
Get to the games.
If you're in the Dallas -Fort Worth area, get to the games.
Go to Will Rogers.
It's going to be spectacular.
Dickie's Arena is one of the most, it just won a crazy amount of awards for being one ofthe most spectacular arenas in all of the United States.
It is unbelievable.
The Jumbotron systems, the seats, everything's perfect.

(01:17:53):
CrossFit's put together a really nice Will Rogers experience for
and people that don't have games tickets.
I will put a shameless plug in there that GORUCK is hosting a watch party out atTannahills down in the stockyards.
So you can go to tannahills .com and buy some tickets there.

(01:18:13):
The intent is like you're coming in from a different country like you have a place to hangyour hat with other Crossfitters.
They'll also have that at Will Rogers, but this is something like once you've done yourshopping and you've watched enough there, like you can go, it's all you can eat, all you
can drink kind of thing.
We'll have activations and things like that.
And then this is really cool.

(01:18:34):
This is something we've been wanting to do for a while.
And we're going to do it at a different venue, but we just, the funds kind of dried up onme because we got some, you know, champagne taste on a beer budget.
But we are going to host an open mat with some very, very well -known black beltinstructors coming in and do some clinics.

(01:18:58):
It's all for the We Defy Foundation, which are a group of great men and women puttingveterans into the jujitsu rooms on scholarship.
But we got it.
Travis Stevens, Shonjay Riviero, Jaco, Alan Shibaro, hopefully my old sensei PaulGuillabel from San Clemente is going to come.

(01:19:20):
But people can buy some tickets, get some great clinics, and then all of that money goesto We Defy.
So all of that's on tanahills .com as well.
But we're just really excited of helping this festival in and around Dallas, Fort Wortharea, because it's flush with Crossfitters.
And we're really, really stoked to be a part of this big community.

(01:19:44):
Nice, man.
That's going to be absolutely awesome.
sounds really cool.
Well cool, Jimmy, thanks again for coming on.
And listeners, thank you as always for tuning in.
You can find the Cult of Recreationalism on all podcast services.
And don't forget to check us out on YouTube or our social media.
If you look up Bubs Naturals, you're gonna find us.

(01:20:05):
And leave a thumbs up, leave a five star review.
Whatever platform you're on, every positive review helps.
So, Jimmy, thanks again.
Thanks, guys.
Nice one.
All right.

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Jimi Letchford, GoRuck President | Ep. 21

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Jimi Letchford, GoRuck President | Ep. 21