October 13, 2023 • 36 mins
In Episode 6 of Fired Up, we sit down with Chad Shipley, the unstoppable force behind SweatBar Fitness. Walking away from a comfortable corporate IT career, Chad took on the formidable challenges of lockdowns and social distancing to scale a thriving gym. Tune in to learn how his consistency, determination, and commitment to massive action powered a 10X growth trajectory in a seemingly impossible landscape. Don't miss this electrifying conversation; it's an eye-opening look at what it truly takes to pivot and prosper. 🏋️♂️🔥
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
the cool thing about you know I think my
story right now is that like I'm in I'm
in the trenches I'm still climbing this
mountain and it's really really hard so
the goal is to get people to shift their
mindset get out of a negative space get
away from the anchors the people that
are haters and that just drag you down
and to start opening up your horizons
and thinking about things a lot
(00:22):
differently that's going to get you to
that point of like being on
autopilot
everybody all right welcome to the fired
up Podcast I'm your host Brad Reba and I
got a very special guest with us today
in the studio we are sponsored by re
ignite reignite is a 10x business
(00:43):
coaching program specifically designed
for entrepreneurs business owners and
entrepreneur Business Leaders we help
you 10x your business your team and
really take yourself to the next level
my guest in the studio is 10 Xing the
fitness world please welcome Chad
Shipley a thanks Brad I uh excited to be
here excited to get into some of these
(01:04):
these discussions I think it's going to
be a lot of fun man yeah I I think so
too and I'm I'm I'm really interested to
just follow you and get reconnected
recently with you at a at a conference
where you were really speaking about
something that that touched me and as an
entrepreneur and resiliency I think was
the thing that I got the most out of
your talk and I'd love to hear about
(01:24):
that story today um you know maybe start
by talking about those resilient moments
you have in the beginning and why you
started sweat bar Fitness you know it's
it's funny because I come on these
podcasts and I tell a little bit of my
story and I I like to just come come out
and say I'm not at the top of the
mountain you know I think a lot of
people reach a certain point in life and
(01:45):
everyone's looking at them saying like
how'd they get there how did they like
make all that money and how did they
create this million-dollar business and
the cool thing about you know I think my
story right now is that like I'm in I'm
in the trenches I'm still climbing this
mountain and it's really really hard so
for anyone out there that's thinking
about starting a business or you know
pushing their boundaries and trying to
(02:06):
figure out who they are and what they're
truly capable of those are the people
I'm trying to connect with right so I
can share my story and help give them
you know the inspiration to to to climb
that mountain to do the things that they
never thought were possible and to
really take that journey and and just to
push their their boundaries so that's
why I like sharing it so much you know I
(02:27):
I always caveat these things with to
date I've probably lost more money than
anyone could ever even imagine with my
you know kind of self Journey here I
think I'm close to like 34s of a million
dollars yeah is what I gave up over the
last three years by leaving my job in
Corporate America but to come back to
your question for me it it really got to
(02:47):
a point where I I was like 32 years old
and I had done everything that Society
told me I was supposed to do so I was
supposed to go to college and get a
really good career and make a lot of
money and buy a big house and start a
family and I did all those things and I
felt like there was so much more and I
(03:09):
felt very
unfulfilled and I started really
thinking back on my life and even back
to high school and there were there were
just so much of my life is was just
filled with regret and what it all
boiled down to was that I was always a
person that took the easy path and I say
(03:30):
that in regards to if it were really
difficult I would walk away from it so I
quit every sport in high school I walked
off the team I never even gave football
a try and I got to a point in life where
I just started to
feel very regretful and I didn't want to
feel like that 30 years from now while
laying on my deathbed so I kept asking
(03:51):
the question if I continue down this
path and I continue making a lot of
money and I continue climbing the
corporate ladder at the end of all of
this while I look back on my life and be
thankful and proud and the answer is no
like I I just realized that I'd be full
of a lot of regret and so I started
asking the question like well if if if
(04:11):
you really think that there's more right
like the T the top of Abraham maso's
pyramid is self-actualization which is
the realization of one's true potential
if you really feel like there that you
have more potential then what does that
look like and for me that was starting
my own business you know chasing that
journey and not to go too deep here but
(04:34):
I I was just in a bad place um
physically uh I I didn't like the way
that I looked uh I didn't like the way
that I felt I had no energy I was out of
shape and so I started trying to get
into shape by running and I realized
really quickly that while I thought I
was out of shape physically I was
actually out of shape mentally so I was
just very weak-minded and I I knew this
(04:57):
because I would go for a one M run and
I'd want a quit and that was the Story
of My Life up to that day like if it was
hard I would quit and so I started using
running as the toll that I that I would
use to train my mind so it was actually
more mental conditioning than physical
and just over the transformation I had
with Fitness I felt like that was a
(05:18):
really good opportunity for me to go
down that path and create that business
because I wanted the business that
checked a lot of boxes like how do we
transform people's lives how do we have
something that we can build a community
around
something that has a good business model
we can make a lot of money and something
that I was so personally attached to so
I thought why not open a fitness
(05:40):
coaching based gym and I did so January
2020 if you know history really well you
know we were shut down march 2020 3
months later and so that that started to
be the realization of the decision that
I had made and for me it was all
about really getting backed into a
(06:00):
corner to the point where I had to
figure out who I truly was and what I
was capable of and there was no quitting
and there was no being weak-minded it
was now we got to figure out how do we
push through this thing right and so uh
for me to answer your question a
nutshell I really wanted to challenge
(06:21):
myself and to put myself into a
situation where I would figure out who I
am at my core and there was there would
be no way
to just easily walk away from it right I
wanted to kind of go all in
and the growth is probably what's most
important to me because in my career I
(06:41):
felt like I was going to learn like this
much more year after year I wanted to
learn this much more right year after
year right and and so I figured there's
no better way to do that than to just
throw it all away and set out to you
know do something on my own sure yeah
and and you did and I think the
interesting part of what you're saying
is that every step that you've achieved
(07:04):
all the successes that you had you sort
of quit on them earlier than when you
got to realize the full potential and
you mentioned you're still on this
journey but the important thing is you
hadn't you haven't quit this thing in
fact you've grown it during a global
pandemic when a lot of businesses or
especially a gym would would shut down
(07:24):
and it'd be very easy to walk away so
there's a personal growth story I think
that that needs to come out here and
explain the challenges you had and what
did you tap into that helped you
overcome them this time yeah that's a
great question so I I always describe it
as the burn the boats moment so March
came we were shut down and if anyone
(07:44):
knows that that that's saying burn the
boats basically it's you know there's
they're going to war and when they get
to the island the general tells them all
turn around and burn the boats because
we're going to fight here and we're
either going to win or we're going to
die here right we're not retreating and
so at that point there was no retreat I
I set out to do something and prove
something to myself and I was I was
(08:06):
going to die on the battlefield or I was
going to figure out how to make it
through this thing right so we did we
did persevere we made it through you
know the the debt has compounded over
those years and it's just been a ton of
fortitude and resiliency to keep
figuring out how do we in you know uh
increase Revenue how do we create
different business models Etc and at the
(08:28):
end of the day you know for me one of
the biggest things was just building the
relationships you know I had built so
many relationships that I knew we were
changing lives and I could see the
impact that we were having and I knew
people believed in what we were doing we
actually won number one gym in
Pittsburgh the year after we opened and
we shut down for like four four out of
(08:49):
the 12 months and I saw that you had
people out before this was like the
thing people Outdoors you actually took
the equipment from the gym brought it
out in the parking lot and had people
exercising so they could continue their
sessions yeah so it's it's funny because
we the second time we were shut down was
in December and I thought well I'm gonna
hire this this guy he's a buddy of mine
(09:11):
he's a good uh cinematographer so he's
really good shooting footage and then
editing it and I thought I'm going to
have him come make a really cool movie
and so at the beginning of it you know
I'm kind of walking up and there's this
dramatic scene where I'm like you can
make us shut our doors but our members
will never shut down and uh and then it
just cuts to us working out in the snow
(09:31):
in the parking lot and that that video
he he even messaged me one day and he's
like I can't believe the amount of views
that that video has gotten cuz it just
really inspired I mean that was a really
dark time no one knew what was happening
no one knew what was coming seemed like
the entire world well the world was
changing and we're out there like
working out in a parking lot in the
freezing cold you know and so that's
(09:52):
that it was that that is a that's a
bigger theme to what's happened over the
last couple years in that we've we've
just been doing so many fun things you
know this whole journey while it was a
nightmare in so many aspects it was also
the unlock to a lot of freedom for me
you know so time Freedom it allowed me
to actually work on all of the things
(10:14):
that I'm passionate and working on and
building community- based events is one
of those things so like the outdoor
workouts we got into like Trail Races we
get into we we do we did a half marathon
we launched I got a thing going on at
sers cabin park next year it's a a swim
and run and so we're doing all of these
events and just bringing all these
people together from all walks of life
(10:36):
to be a part of it and to see the the
impact that it's having on people's
lives and the amount that it's changed
their lives is like kind of what kept me
going yeah and that's interesting that
you early on couldn't hold yourself
accountable right you'd easily quit on
yourself yeah but it sounds like the
difference this time is you wouldn't
quit on other people right and you were
changing their lives and you saw that
(10:57):
and you felt committed to stay stay the
course for them yeah yeah 100% And I
mean it's a good it's a good probably
time to interject that if at any point
it didn't work even if it like still
doesn't work you know down the road I
think one of the the big takeaways for
me is that there was so much that I
(11:20):
learned in this experience you know we
talk about like 10x I actually think
I've 100x my skills and and my value
um over the last couple of years because
I just put myself into a really really
difficult situation and so I don't it's
not it's not about you know fail like to
(11:42):
me I I'm not going to quit and walk away
but if it doesn't work out the way that
I had planned to work out I think the
big takeaway for me is that I became a
totally different person because of this
this this leap that I took and that's
what I try to communicate to other
people because if you configure fure out
who you are as a part of the process I
don't ever see it really as a failure I
(12:03):
have to completely agree with you on
that and and I subscribe to that idea I
also listen to other speakers on
leadership like Simon senic who talks
about leadership and and business as an
infinite game and it's interesting
because like we're talking about Fitness
and and sports we always use these
Sports analogies of like are we gonna
are we winning you know and and what's
(12:24):
the score on our team and and how do we
measure that success and those metaphors
don't always translate because there is
a finite end to sports and games and
some of these Fitness and even a workout
right I can go hard until the my my
session's up but this doesn't quit this
is a journey and you know if you look
back on that Journey are there anything
(12:44):
that anything that you would do
differently if you had the opportunity
or is it uh you know if you think about
that whole time through was it all good
growth yeah so one of the things that I
will say that might help people that are
out there trying to build a business
maybe you're on the trenches right now
or you have this desire to go down the
entrepreneurship route is that uh you're
(13:06):
going to have really dark days and
sometimes you're going to be in the
middle of this mountain and you're going
to be like not even able to see the top
and you might look backwards and you're
not really even to kind of able to come
up with like how far you've come it's
just a windy snow blizzard and you feel
like you're really lost and there were a
(13:28):
lot of things that happened to me
personally um that were you know kind of
happening in parallel to this this uh
journey of creating my own business and
there were so many times where I just
said I'm I'm going to shut the doors and
I'm going to walk away from this thing
uh because it was literally turmoil you
know especially a service-based industry
(13:48):
99% of our members are great but the 1%
are enough to really to pull you down
and um and for me you know I I gave up
my entire ire life I gave up all of my
Financial Freedom I could have probably
retired in 5 to 10 years and I threw all
of that away went massively into debt
and created a business that like people
(14:08):
love to the point where they take a lot
like the 1% would take advantage of it
and just really make me question
everything and so you know there were
you asked the question like if there's
things that I would do differently I
think for me it would just be to try to
block out the noise and focus on what
you set out to do to begin with and so
(14:30):
now one of the things that I'm I'm
really like trying to to Prime myself on
is look back over the last three years
and think about all of the opportunities
that you could have made it better but
you didn't because you were focused on
this thing or you weren't focused at all
because you had this other issue going
on right like just clear away the noise
(14:51):
get set on one thing that you really
want to knock out of the park and do
everything you can to crush that and so
so the easy answer is that I wasn't I
wasn't laser focused okay because I got
massively distracted and there were a
lot of times where I felt like none of
this is worth it and I just wanted to
give up and quit and when you have all
(15:12):
of those things happening you really
lose focus of what you originally set
out to do and so I had to pull myself
out of that realize that we have 99% of
people that I care a lot about that are
that believe in what we're doing and
we're growing and growing and growing
and it's actually the point now where I
have a chance to knock it out of the
park like this is the moment that we can
(15:34):
really do something big and I'm blind to
that you know they always say that that
most people quit right before you
actually see the light and it's so true
and I keep thinking about how close I
was to walking away from all of this and
it's it's just getting that mind reshift
(15:54):
it and saying listen you're closer than
you've ever been and you got to get
laser focused on this I saw something
the other day that um I really it really
inspired me it said if you don't
sacrifice for the things that you
want what you want will become the
sacrifice so you'll never get what you
want unless you're willing to to put in
(16:16):
um the work so for now that to me that's
like every day I'm up at 4:00 a.m. I'm
in the gym I'm working with all of my
members as much as possible on all of
their goals you know making sure that
they're hitting the the that they're
looking for and actively just going back
out in the community and doing
everything we can to let people know
what we're doing and how it can change
(16:36):
your lives and from there we become
something that's pretty amazing wow yeah
yeah that's that and what you've
achieved amid everything is is very is
amazing and touched a lot of lives I
think a lot more than you might have
thought possible yeah and and
it's it's interesting when I hear you
talk a lot of the things that you
(16:58):
subscribe to is consistent with 10x
principles although you talk about 10
times 10x you're you're 100x guy I love
that I love that and and so it's it's
interesting because the things that you
talk about get up before the sun you
know and and staying focused and and
really trying to find the positivity in
what you're doing yeah and make sure
(17:19):
that that's always top of
mind that is is right in line with with
everything that t talks about and and
you just embody that it's it's really
great and then you pass that on to the
members to the people that are involved
with your your events and and when you
think about all these things so whether
it's your personal fitness journey or
(17:41):
the gym with with sweat bar
Fitness what are there moments that you
look back and can say I'm proud yeah
yeah and actually before I even jump
into that because you just talked about
something I think is so important to
kind of hit on which are all the
principles that really lead towards
success ESS right and so one of the
things that I've really learned over the
(18:02):
last couple years that I think is an aha
moment for people it was an aha aha
moment for me and this is anything this
is people that have addictions people
that are looking to lose weight people
that want to make millions of dollars
the reality is that it I call it pain
versus pain so you're always going to go
(18:22):
toward the easier path right and so when
I say that what I mean is if someone
comes to me and says I want to lose 20
lb I say here's the path to losing 20 lb
and when they realize what they have to
do to lose the 20 lb they realize that's
more painful maybe than just staying the
way that they are so as much as they
think that they want to lose 20 PBS the
(18:44):
reality is they they're kind of okay
because the the the harder path for them
is to actually go through it now there's
people that are the exact opposite they
get to that pain point where they're
like I can't be like this anymore and I
want to change and they'll do whatever
it takes the change the reason that's so
important or like why I bring that up is
because that was the reality I finally
(19:05):
had it was like if you want to be an
Iron Man for example so I did this Iron
Man journey and I did a 50- mile ultra
journey I I did two 50 m Ultras now I'm
on my path to doing a 100 mile ultra I
made it 6 62 miles in 23 hours when this
is coming from a guy that 5 years ago
couldn't run one mile right I was
struggling and I wanted to go and so I
look back at those things because the
(19:26):
reason I wanted to do an Iron Man was if
I can figure out how to get the right
kind of
discipline to in inject into my life so
someone gives me a plan Iron Man coach
gives me a plan says do this every day
and then I figure out the discipline
required to do those things and then I
can become an Iron Man and I finish and
I cross the finish line now I'm thinking
(19:46):
I can do anything because that's a
really hard thing to do right and so
it's the exact same formula with
anything including building a business
to be a million-dollar business and and
scaling it to that and so the reality
for me was look you either have to put
in and do the things that are required
according to the plan or you have to be
(20:06):
okay not making a million dollars and
not building a huge business and and so
that's step one like really coming to
terms with what does that path look like
and are you willing to go down that path
I think that's where a lot of people get
tripped up because they say they won
something but when they realize what it
takes to get there it's way harder than
(20:28):
they ever imagined then they back off
they they realize they don't want it as
much as they thought they did and so the
second piece of this is once you're
convicted then yes there are certain
things that become instrumental
non-negotiable things every day right
like so as a part of the plan you have
non-negotiables you can't they have to
(20:49):
be there every single day you can't
negotiate with yourself on whether or
not you're going to do it you have to do
it and it could be different depending
on what the goal is but when there's
something big you're chasing you have to
come up with the things that you hate
doing but are very required in order for
you to get to the to the goal um and so
for like weight loss you know there's
(21:10):
just there's certain things that you
have to do every single day you have to
move your body right it's just that's an
easy example so 15 minutes every single
day sign up start there and we're going
to move our body more than we were in
the past and you can't negotiate with
that there's no days off right and so uh
the thing that coming back to your
question the thing that I'm really proud
of is over the last couple years from a
(21:32):
micro perspective is constantly
challenging myself with a big goal and
then figuring out the plan and then the
discipline to abide by that plan to
reach that goal so you know I started
with just running it was a half marathon
then it was a marathon then I ran 100
miles in 5 days so 20 miles a day for 5
days straight and then I did a 50 mile
(21:53):
ultra and then I did a half Iron Man and
then I did a full Iron Man then I did
another M Ultra and then I was training
for the 100 mile and now I have another
100 mile I'm training for next year so
I'm always really pushing the boundaries
to try to figure out what I'm capable of
um I think at a macro level the thing
that I'm most proud of is probably being
a father and the way that I've showed up
(22:14):
in my daughter's life um I just am
constantly looking for ways to support
her coach her interact with her engage
with her I mean just a story off the top
of my head is I I was taking her
cheerleading yesterday and we were like
30 minutes early and so we just went to
the park and we usually play games you
know at the park and there was a bunch
(22:35):
of kids playing and so I asked the kids
like what game they were playing and
they told us and we were like well can
we play with you and so next thing I
know I'm literally running around a park
with like nine-year-olds and we're
playing this game and of course I'm the
only 40-year-old guy running around a
park with a kid but uh but that's the
way it's been for the last N9 years
where I would just do anything I can to
(22:56):
be intimately involved in my daughter's
life and um just constantly playing with
her teaching her you know doing fun
adventures with her that kind of stuff
so I think the macro level is just being
a father the micro level is I try to
constantly challenge myself with bigger
and bigger and bigger and bigger things
and the real the real win of that is
(23:18):
figuring out what the plan needs to look
like adjusting along the way and then
just having the discipline to follow
that to eventually you know reach my
goals yeah so have long-winded answers
man no that's great there there's so
much packed into it too um you know
thing I take away from that is first of
all you you are a great father and and
you time and and just everything that
(23:39):
you've told me in in our conversations I
can see that you you show
up
(24:06):
yeah everything you've got going on in
the business you know what you're there
for and you're there for you know your
family and that that that comes first
that's great yeah and just to just to
share a story there so when I first
started out and I was just getting into
fitness I remember distinctly my
daughter she's probably like two or
three at the time um after I was done
with a workout I'm on the ground I'm
(24:26):
sweating and I'm just like wondering why
what is any of this worth and y y y and
she comes over to me and she said you're
like a superhero daddy you know so that
moment for me was huge because leading
up to that you know this was pre me
going on a fitness journey that's the
part of my life where I just felt so
(24:46):
unfulfilled like I felt like I had way
more to give I was out of shape
physically I was I found out I was out
of shape met met U mentally and I just
wanted to quit everything that was hard
and so for me to make changes in my life
and then right away have her you know
see that and see the way that I you know
what I was doing and why I was doing it
(25:07):
and you know years later I have
countless stories of things that she
said to me that I kind of just took
mental note of um but you know there was
a race at one point and she was like
well which one's further you know and
I'm like well this one is she's like
well I guess I know which one you're
signing up to because she knows I'm
going to go after the harder thing but I
think for anyone listening to this you
know I I always ask people that's my my
(25:30):
way of trying to figure out like are you
on the right path I ask people what's
something you're proud of in the last
six months right and if you're not proud
of anything it's a good you know it's
not to shame anyone but it's a good gut
check to say like maybe you're just kind
of like living in this comfortable space
going through the motions and you just
got to figure out how to bust out of
that you know and I was that person for
(25:51):
a long time and when I ask people that
question most of them stare at me like
I'm crazy it is a hard question answer
right on the spot but I think if you
just go at a micro level trying to get
out of your comfort zone a little bit
and show up a different person and
challenge yourself with easy things um
just to start that has a a cascading
(26:11):
effect you know and you'll start like
pushing more and more boundaries and
that's the big mission behind sweat bar
now you know we started that wasn't the
mission I had you know some other things
that I said was our mission But
ultimately what became our mission what
my mission is is to make people realize
that they're capable of far more than
they ever imagined both physically
(26:32):
mentally emotionally and to really have
them start pushing those boundaries so
everything we do you know I have two
podcasts I wrote a book I have a program
like we we have all these different
things they're all platforms that are
literally designed to help people
realize that they're capable of far more
than they ever imagined right and that's
just been the journey that I've been on
(26:54):
is trying to figure that out through
self-discovery yeah and you have some
really great programs that I think are
Universal no matter where you are in
your fitness journey your business
Journey uh after seeing you talk I mean
you had me hooked man I signed up a
minute seriously because it's just what
you have to say is so powerful so I
think it's important and I don't do a
lot of promotion on here but I feel like
(27:14):
you know or just genuinely it touched me
in a way that I think I want other
people that might need that spark to
just know how to get in touch with you
and that program if I appreciate that
man yeah um for sure so I you know I
started it's funny cuz I I the Chad
Shipley show the podcast I started that
(27:34):
back in like 2015 that was just my
creative Outlet of like trying to figure
out what else I can do with my life and
that actually ended up becoming a pretty
cool thing um I'll have to come have you
on my podcast sometime man yeah it' be
fun um and it turned into more of an
interview style and I don't I don't do
it like so many times every week or
anything like when I find someone really
(27:55):
interesting that has something cool to
share I just just love to have them in
and have a conversation uh so that that
was that was always cool and fun for me
to do but I I I set out to do this
podcast called light your fire and
that's really just my journey up the
mountain and so there are not very many
people that would like that right you
have to kind of be that person that's
(28:16):
looking for pushing your boundaries or
maybe you're going into entrepreneurship
or maybe you're in it and you're just
struggling but that's a good free
resource that's out there I basically
did an episode like every single day
there only 10 to 15 minutes they're on a
certain topic and it's really my it's
something I want to be able to have and
look back on and just remember like what
that Journey was like so there's a lot
(28:37):
of raw honest stuff on there I talk
about you know going from jail cells to
boardrooms you know all my arrests
things that happened to me early on the
whole journey in the ultra route the
whole thing um in the business route and
so people might get some use out of that
but then um I finally developed a paid
for product it's 47 bucks that's the one
(28:59):
I uh that you're talking about it's just
called rise up hero and the reason I did
that is because when I was at that point
where I I wanted to turn off the music
and I wanted to change my inputs I
wanted to start listening to thought
leaders and I wanted to start reading
more books and I just wanted to grow as
a person I wanted to figure out like is
there something else more that I can do
(29:20):
and um I didn't know what to do or where
to start like I said I started with like
running and I trying to I kind just kept
using Fitness as the way of challenging
myself but I just wish that someone
would have said like just do this like
watch a couple of these videos and for
the next 28 days do this program and so
(29:41):
I thought well I'll just create that
right so for 47 bucks when people tell
me they're in a bad spot people tell me
this all the time right like I'm going
through this or I need help with this
and now I just have a way of saying like
look this is pretty affordable just buy
it watch the videos do the 28 days and
you're going to come out a different
person on the other side I can guarantee
it and um if they don't you know I'll
(30:02):
refund the money but um I think for the
most part people just need a push down
the path a little bit and and the
reality is when you start tuning in
different inputs so when you watch those
videos and I start talking about these
different topics your mind's just going
to start firing different neurons right
you're going to start thinking about
things differently so the goal is to get
(30:22):
people to shift their mindset get out of
a negative space get away from the
anchors people that are haters and that
just drag you down and to start opening
up your horizons and thinking about
things a lot differently and then here
is a 28 day plan for you to follow
that's easy to follow but it's going to
get you to that point of like being on
autopilot so every day you're doing
(30:44):
certain things and those things are
going to have a Monumental impact over
time one of the biggest things that I've
learned out of all of this is It's
consistency consistency absolutely it's
just little bit each day a little each
day yeah and and I love that with with
what you put together and it just helps
I think in the journey and that's what
we're all about talking about the
(31:05):
journey how you got there and so I guess
the last thing is where you're going
next right what what's next for for you
and your in your personal journey and
and also for sweat bar yeah uh that's a
good question I think a lot of people
are probably wondering that including a
lot of my members so for me um the goal
was always to let's see if I can build a
business right take all the skills I
learned and instead of growing like this
(31:27):
year over year grow like this you know
just go all in build something and um
that happened and now I'm like okay how
do I really start building more services
that nicely couple each other and we
grow I I always say we basically grow
platforms that serve right and so my
(31:49):
Lighty Fire book was that the Lighty
fire podcast you know the um the program
rise up hero now the gym itself so we're
doing we're building out all these
different capabilities and now we're
doing a lot of events like these races
and the runs and so ultimately my goal
is just to continue compounding that so
just continue adding more and more
services to people and
(32:11):
ultimately really change a lot of
people's lives as many as we possibly
can so a lot of people are always asking
like are you going to franchise it I'm
never going to franchise the gym they're
asking are you going to open up multiple
locations my answer to that is maybe way
down the road that's not of the vision
right now just because I I want to make
(32:32):
it so good where we're at right now like
I want to make it bigger um I'd love to
have a multi-service offering so we can
do all kinds of different things in a
bigger space eventually um but I don't
really have any you know goal of move or
creating another one anywhere I just
want this thing to get bigger and better
(32:53):
as much as possible and then you know at
the end of the day I don't think I'm
going to be tied to the physical gym
like my whole life I'll probably own it
but I don't know if I'll be there every
single day I think that I'm going to
keep looking for opportunities to
continue providing Services of like
helping people you know helping people
figure out who they are and what the
(33:14):
best version of them looks like and
helping them push those boundaries so my
future might not be like in the gym
every day but I think the gym is just
going to get bigger and better as the
years go on yeah sounds like an natural
extension of everything you're doing and
you can reach out and touch so many
people um really in different areas of
of the uh business World fitness
(33:35):
personal and I think it's great to see
the impact that you've had certainly had
an impact on on me thanks man yeah
likewise man person well it's so cool to
see what you're doing too like we're
kind of on the same we're both on the
same mountain and we're climbing and
we're in the trenches and so when I your
mountain and see where you're at like
hey man I I I'm inspired to keep
climbing mind for sure man and uh it's
cool because I think you you know when
(33:57):
we talk and there's things going on like
I can relate right it's um that's the
that's why I like us sharing now I think
a lot of people get to the top of that
mountain and they've built a successful
business and theyve made millions of
dollars you kind of lose a little bit of
what that was like you know like when
you were in it um and it's not on
(34:18):
purpose you just do like if you ask me
about an Iron Man now I'd be like ah
yeah I mean they're you know they're
hard but I I could probably do another
one but if you asked me what it was like
when I was in the middle of the race I
would have told you this is like the
worst thing I've ever done and I'm sick
and I'm like hurting and I'm questioning
why I ever did it and you like you lose
(34:39):
that rawness of like what's actually
happening um to some extent so I think
it's cool you know to be able to to have
conversations with people that are you
know uh doing the same things and we can
kind of feed off each other and you know
and we're both on the journey I think
that's what I've tried to create create
here is that you know you're right
there's so many that are sort of looking
(35:00):
back post success and sort of top of the
mountain and I want to create something
was a little more relatable to people
that are still going through that
journey and they can hear about there is
Success there are ups and downs along
the way but this is something that you
can do if you're committed and you have
the consistency and the resilience which
you've shown yeah it's awesome I I think
(35:21):
that's the cool thing about our world
now right like we just have so many
platforms to be able to share the
content and share the journey and for me
I'm just a big growth person so I try to
look for every opportunity to grow as a
person and to show up better so it's uh
yeah it's really cool to you know kind
of have people like you doing this kind
of stuff so you as well so yeah it's
privilege man great great really
(35:42):
appreciate having you on definitely man
and uh really look forward to continuing
to watch your journey and stay connected
to it awesome man thank you it's been a
lot of fun yeah it's great well with
that this is the fired up Podcast I'm
your host Brad Reva encouraging you to
stay fired up and do something great
start running your
up my crew ride
(36:02):
up up everybody
get
the cool thing about you know I think my
story right now is that like I'm in I'm
in the trenches I'm still climbing this
mountain and it's really really hard so
the goal is to get people to shift their
mindset get out of a negative space get
away from the anchors the people that
are haters and that just drag you down
and to start opening up your horizons
and thinking about things a lot
(00:22):
differently that's going to get you to
that point of like being on
autopilot
everybody all right welcome to the fired
up Podcast I'm your host Brad Reba and I
got a very special guest with us today
in the studio we are sponsored by re
ignite reignite is a 10x business
(00:43):
coaching program specifically designed
for entrepreneurs business owners and
entrepreneur Business Leaders we help
you 10x your business your team and
really take yourself to the next level
my guest in the studio is 10 Xing the
fitness world please welcome Chad
Shipley a thanks Brad I uh excited to be
here excited to get into some of these
(01:04):
these discussions I think it's going to
be a lot of fun man yeah I I think so
too and I'm I'm I'm really interested to
just follow you and get reconnected
recently with you at a at a conference
where you were really speaking about
something that that touched me and as an
entrepreneur and resiliency I think was
the thing that I got the most out of
your talk and I'd love to hear about
(01:24):
that story today um you know maybe start
by talking about those resilient moments
you have in the beginning and why you
started sweat bar Fitness you know it's
it's funny because I come on these
podcasts and I tell a little bit of my
story and I I like to just come come out
and say I'm not at the top of the
mountain you know I think a lot of
people reach a certain point in life and
(01:45):
everyone's looking at them saying like
how'd they get there how did they like
make all that money and how did they
create this million-dollar business and
the cool thing about you know I think my
story right now is that like I'm in I'm
in the trenches I'm still climbing this
mountain and it's really really hard so
for anyone out there that's thinking
about starting a business or you know
pushing their boundaries and trying to
(02:06):
figure out who they are and what they're
truly capable of those are the people
I'm trying to connect with right so I
can share my story and help give them
you know the inspiration to to to climb
that mountain to do the things that they
never thought were possible and to
really take that journey and and just to
push their their boundaries so that's
why I like sharing it so much you know I
(02:27):
I always caveat these things with to
date I've probably lost more money than
anyone could ever even imagine with my
you know kind of self Journey here I
think I'm close to like 34s of a million
dollars yeah is what I gave up over the
last three years by leaving my job in
Corporate America but to come back to
your question for me it it really got to
(02:47):
a point where I I was like 32 years old
and I had done everything that Society
told me I was supposed to do so I was
supposed to go to college and get a
really good career and make a lot of
money and buy a big house and start a
family and I did all those things and I
felt like there was so much more and I
(03:09):
felt very
unfulfilled and I started really
thinking back on my life and even back
to high school and there were there were
just so much of my life is was just
filled with regret and what it all
boiled down to was that I was always a
person that took the easy path and I say
(03:30):
that in regards to if it were really
difficult I would walk away from it so I
quit every sport in high school I walked
off the team I never even gave football
a try and I got to a point in life where
I just started to
feel very regretful and I didn't want to
feel like that 30 years from now while
laying on my deathbed so I kept asking
(03:51):
the question if I continue down this
path and I continue making a lot of
money and I continue climbing the
corporate ladder at the end of all of
this while I look back on my life and be
thankful and proud and the answer is no
like I I just realized that I'd be full
of a lot of regret and so I started
asking the question like well if if if
(04:11):
you really think that there's more right
like the T the top of Abraham maso's
pyramid is self-actualization which is
the realization of one's true potential
if you really feel like there that you
have more potential then what does that
look like and for me that was starting
my own business you know chasing that
journey and not to go too deep here but
(04:34):
I I was just in a bad place um
physically uh I I didn't like the way
that I looked uh I didn't like the way
that I felt I had no energy I was out of
shape and so I started trying to get
into shape by running and I realized
really quickly that while I thought I
was out of shape physically I was
actually out of shape mentally so I was
just very weak-minded and I I knew this
(04:57):
because I would go for a one M run and
I'd want a quit and that was the Story
of My Life up to that day like if it was
hard I would quit and so I started using
running as the toll that I that I would
use to train my mind so it was actually
more mental conditioning than physical
and just over the transformation I had
with Fitness I felt like that was a
(05:18):
really good opportunity for me to go
down that path and create that business
because I wanted the business that
checked a lot of boxes like how do we
transform people's lives how do we have
something that we can build a community
around
something that has a good business model
we can make a lot of money and something
that I was so personally attached to so
I thought why not open a fitness
(05:40):
coaching based gym and I did so January
2020 if you know history really well you
know we were shut down march 2020 3
months later and so that that started to
be the realization of the decision that
I had made and for me it was all
about really getting backed into a
(06:00):
corner to the point where I had to
figure out who I truly was and what I
was capable of and there was no quitting
and there was no being weak-minded it
was now we got to figure out how do we
push through this thing right and so uh
for me to answer your question a
nutshell I really wanted to challenge
(06:21):
myself and to put myself into a
situation where I would figure out who I
am at my core and there was there would
be no way
to just easily walk away from it right I
wanted to kind of go all in
and the growth is probably what's most
important to me because in my career I
(06:41):
felt like I was going to learn like this
much more year after year I wanted to
learn this much more right year after
year right and and so I figured there's
no better way to do that than to just
throw it all away and set out to you
know do something on my own sure yeah
and and you did and I think the
interesting part of what you're saying
is that every step that you've achieved
(07:04):
all the successes that you had you sort
of quit on them earlier than when you
got to realize the full potential and
you mentioned you're still on this
journey but the important thing is you
hadn't you haven't quit this thing in
fact you've grown it during a global
pandemic when a lot of businesses or
especially a gym would would shut down
(07:24):
and it'd be very easy to walk away so
there's a personal growth story I think
that that needs to come out here and
explain the challenges you had and what
did you tap into that helped you
overcome them this time yeah that's a
great question so I I always describe it
as the burn the boats moment so March
came we were shut down and if anyone
(07:44):
knows that that that's saying burn the
boats basically it's you know there's
they're going to war and when they get
to the island the general tells them all
turn around and burn the boats because
we're going to fight here and we're
either going to win or we're going to
die here right we're not retreating and
so at that point there was no retreat I
I set out to do something and prove
something to myself and I was I was
(08:06):
going to die on the battlefield or I was
going to figure out how to make it
through this thing right so we did we
did persevere we made it through you
know the the debt has compounded over
those years and it's just been a ton of
fortitude and resiliency to keep
figuring out how do we in you know uh
increase Revenue how do we create
different business models Etc and at the
(08:28):
end of the day you know for me one of
the biggest things was just building the
relationships you know I had built so
many relationships that I knew we were
changing lives and I could see the
impact that we were having and I knew
people believed in what we were doing we
actually won number one gym in
Pittsburgh the year after we opened and
we shut down for like four four out of
(08:49):
the 12 months and I saw that you had
people out before this was like the
thing people Outdoors you actually took
the equipment from the gym brought it
out in the parking lot and had people
exercising so they could continue their
sessions yeah so it's it's funny because
we the second time we were shut down was
in December and I thought well I'm gonna
hire this this guy he's a buddy of mine
(09:11):
he's a good uh cinematographer so he's
really good shooting footage and then
editing it and I thought I'm going to
have him come make a really cool movie
and so at the beginning of it you know
I'm kind of walking up and there's this
dramatic scene where I'm like you can
make us shut our doors but our members
will never shut down and uh and then it
just cuts to us working out in the snow
(09:31):
in the parking lot and that that video
he he even messaged me one day and he's
like I can't believe the amount of views
that that video has gotten cuz it just
really inspired I mean that was a really
dark time no one knew what was happening
no one knew what was coming seemed like
the entire world well the world was
changing and we're out there like
working out in a parking lot in the
freezing cold you know and so that's
(09:52):
that it was that that is a that's a
bigger theme to what's happened over the
last couple years in that we've we've
just been doing so many fun things you
know this whole journey while it was a
nightmare in so many aspects it was also
the unlock to a lot of freedom for me
you know so time Freedom it allowed me
to actually work on all of the things
(10:14):
that I'm passionate and working on and
building community- based events is one
of those things so like the outdoor
workouts we got into like Trail Races we
get into we we do we did a half marathon
we launched I got a thing going on at
sers cabin park next year it's a a swim
and run and so we're doing all of these
events and just bringing all these
people together from all walks of life
(10:36):
to be a part of it and to see the the
impact that it's having on people's
lives and the amount that it's changed
their lives is like kind of what kept me
going yeah and that's interesting that
you early on couldn't hold yourself
accountable right you'd easily quit on
yourself yeah but it sounds like the
difference this time is you wouldn't
quit on other people right and you were
changing their lives and you saw that
(10:57):
and you felt committed to stay stay the
course for them yeah yeah 100% And I
mean it's a good it's a good probably
time to interject that if at any point
it didn't work even if it like still
doesn't work you know down the road I
think one of the the big takeaways for
me is that there was so much that I
(11:20):
learned in this experience you know we
talk about like 10x I actually think
I've 100x my skills and and my value
um over the last couple of years because
I just put myself into a really really
difficult situation and so I don't it's
not it's not about you know fail like to
(11:42):
me I I'm not going to quit and walk away
but if it doesn't work out the way that
I had planned to work out I think the
big takeaway for me is that I became a
totally different person because of this
this this leap that I took and that's
what I try to communicate to other
people because if you configure fure out
who you are as a part of the process I
don't ever see it really as a failure I
(12:03):
have to completely agree with you on
that and and I subscribe to that idea I
also listen to other speakers on
leadership like Simon senic who talks
about leadership and and business as an
infinite game and it's interesting
because like we're talking about Fitness
and and sports we always use these
Sports analogies of like are we gonna
are we winning you know and and what's
(12:24):
the score on our team and and how do we
measure that success and those metaphors
don't always translate because there is
a finite end to sports and games and
some of these Fitness and even a workout
right I can go hard until the my my
session's up but this doesn't quit this
is a journey and you know if you look
back on that Journey are there anything
(12:44):
that anything that you would do
differently if you had the opportunity
or is it uh you know if you think about
that whole time through was it all good
growth yeah so one of the things that I
will say that might help people that are
out there trying to build a business
maybe you're on the trenches right now
or you have this desire to go down the
entrepreneurship route is that uh you're
(13:06):
going to have really dark days and
sometimes you're going to be in the
middle of this mountain and you're going
to be like not even able to see the top
and you might look backwards and you're
not really even to kind of able to come
up with like how far you've come it's
just a windy snow blizzard and you feel
like you're really lost and there were a
(13:28):
lot of things that happened to me
personally um that were you know kind of
happening in parallel to this this uh
journey of creating my own business and
there were so many times where I just
said I'm I'm going to shut the doors and
I'm going to walk away from this thing
uh because it was literally turmoil you
know especially a service-based industry
(13:48):
99% of our members are great but the 1%
are enough to really to pull you down
and um and for me you know I I gave up
my entire ire life I gave up all of my
Financial Freedom I could have probably
retired in 5 to 10 years and I threw all
of that away went massively into debt
and created a business that like people
(14:08):
love to the point where they take a lot
like the 1% would take advantage of it
and just really make me question
everything and so you know there were
you asked the question like if there's
things that I would do differently I
think for me it would just be to try to
block out the noise and focus on what
you set out to do to begin with and so
(14:30):
now one of the things that I'm I'm
really like trying to to Prime myself on
is look back over the last three years
and think about all of the opportunities
that you could have made it better but
you didn't because you were focused on
this thing or you weren't focused at all
because you had this other issue going
on right like just clear away the noise
(14:51):
get set on one thing that you really
want to knock out of the park and do
everything you can to crush that and so
so the easy answer is that I wasn't I
wasn't laser focused okay because I got
massively distracted and there were a
lot of times where I felt like none of
this is worth it and I just wanted to
give up and quit and when you have all
(15:12):
of those things happening you really
lose focus of what you originally set
out to do and so I had to pull myself
out of that realize that we have 99% of
people that I care a lot about that are
that believe in what we're doing and
we're growing and growing and growing
and it's actually the point now where I
have a chance to knock it out of the
park like this is the moment that we can
(15:34):
really do something big and I'm blind to
that you know they always say that that
most people quit right before you
actually see the light and it's so true
and I keep thinking about how close I
was to walking away from all of this and
it's it's just getting that mind reshift
(15:54):
it and saying listen you're closer than
you've ever been and you got to get
laser focused on this I saw something
the other day that um I really it really
inspired me it said if you don't
sacrifice for the things that you
want what you want will become the
sacrifice so you'll never get what you
want unless you're willing to to put in
(16:16):
um the work so for now that to me that's
like every day I'm up at 4:00 a.m. I'm
in the gym I'm working with all of my
members as much as possible on all of
their goals you know making sure that
they're hitting the the that they're
looking for and actively just going back
out in the community and doing
everything we can to let people know
what we're doing and how it can change
(16:36):
your lives and from there we become
something that's pretty amazing wow yeah
yeah that's that and what you've
achieved amid everything is is very is
amazing and touched a lot of lives I
think a lot more than you might have
thought possible yeah and and
it's it's interesting when I hear you
talk a lot of the things that you
(16:58):
subscribe to is consistent with 10x
principles although you talk about 10
times 10x you're you're 100x guy I love
that I love that and and so it's it's
interesting because the things that you
talk about get up before the sun you
know and and staying focused and and
really trying to find the positivity in
what you're doing yeah and make sure
(17:19):
that that's always top of
mind that is is right in line with with
everything that t talks about and and
you just embody that it's it's really
great and then you pass that on to the
members to the people that are involved
with your your events and and when you
think about all these things so whether
it's your personal fitness journey or
(17:41):
the gym with with sweat bar
Fitness what are there moments that you
look back and can say I'm proud yeah
yeah and actually before I even jump
into that because you just talked about
something I think is so important to
kind of hit on which are all the
principles that really lead towards
success ESS right and so one of the
things that I've really learned over the
(18:02):
last couple years that I think is an aha
moment for people it was an aha aha
moment for me and this is anything this
is people that have addictions people
that are looking to lose weight people
that want to make millions of dollars
the reality is that it I call it pain
versus pain so you're always going to go
(18:22):
toward the easier path right and so when
I say that what I mean is if someone
comes to me and says I want to lose 20
lb I say here's the path to losing 20 lb
and when they realize what they have to
do to lose the 20 lb they realize that's
more painful maybe than just staying the
way that they are so as much as they
think that they want to lose 20 PBS the
(18:44):
reality is they they're kind of okay
because the the the harder path for them
is to actually go through it now there's
people that are the exact opposite they
get to that pain point where they're
like I can't be like this anymore and I
want to change and they'll do whatever
it takes the change the reason that's so
important or like why I bring that up is
because that was the reality I finally
(19:05):
had it was like if you want to be an
Iron Man for example so I did this Iron
Man journey and I did a 50- mile ultra
journey I I did two 50 m Ultras now I'm
on my path to doing a 100 mile ultra I
made it 6 62 miles in 23 hours when this
is coming from a guy that 5 years ago
couldn't run one mile right I was
struggling and I wanted to go and so I
look back at those things because the
(19:26):
reason I wanted to do an Iron Man was if
I can figure out how to get the right
kind of
discipline to in inject into my life so
someone gives me a plan Iron Man coach
gives me a plan says do this every day
and then I figure out the discipline
required to do those things and then I
can become an Iron Man and I finish and
I cross the finish line now I'm thinking
(19:46):
I can do anything because that's a
really hard thing to do right and so
it's the exact same formula with
anything including building a business
to be a million-dollar business and and
scaling it to that and so the reality
for me was look you either have to put
in and do the things that are required
according to the plan or you have to be
(20:06):
okay not making a million dollars and
not building a huge business and and so
that's step one like really coming to
terms with what does that path look like
and are you willing to go down that path
I think that's where a lot of people get
tripped up because they say they won
something but when they realize what it
takes to get there it's way harder than
(20:28):
they ever imagined then they back off
they they realize they don't want it as
much as they thought they did and so the
second piece of this is once you're
convicted then yes there are certain
things that become instrumental
non-negotiable things every day right
like so as a part of the plan you have
non-negotiables you can't they have to
(20:49):
be there every single day you can't
negotiate with yourself on whether or
not you're going to do it you have to do
it and it could be different depending
on what the goal is but when there's
something big you're chasing you have to
come up with the things that you hate
doing but are very required in order for
you to get to the to the goal um and so
for like weight loss you know there's
(21:10):
just there's certain things that you
have to do every single day you have to
move your body right it's just that's an
easy example so 15 minutes every single
day sign up start there and we're going
to move our body more than we were in
the past and you can't negotiate with
that there's no days off right and so uh
the thing that coming back to your
question the thing that I'm really proud
of is over the last couple years from a
(21:32):
micro perspective is constantly
challenging myself with a big goal and
then figuring out the plan and then the
discipline to abide by that plan to
reach that goal so you know I started
with just running it was a half marathon
then it was a marathon then I ran 100
miles in 5 days so 20 miles a day for 5
days straight and then I did a 50 mile
(21:53):
ultra and then I did a half Iron Man and
then I did a full Iron Man then I did
another M Ultra and then I was training
for the 100 mile and now I have another
100 mile I'm training for next year so
I'm always really pushing the boundaries
to try to figure out what I'm capable of
um I think at a macro level the thing
that I'm most proud of is probably being
a father and the way that I've showed up
(22:14):
in my daughter's life um I just am
constantly looking for ways to support
her coach her interact with her engage
with her I mean just a story off the top
of my head is I I was taking her
cheerleading yesterday and we were like
30 minutes early and so we just went to
the park and we usually play games you
know at the park and there was a bunch
(22:35):
of kids playing and so I asked the kids
like what game they were playing and
they told us and we were like well can
we play with you and so next thing I
know I'm literally running around a park
with like nine-year-olds and we're
playing this game and of course I'm the
only 40-year-old guy running around a
park with a kid but uh but that's the
way it's been for the last N9 years
where I would just do anything I can to
(22:56):
be intimately involved in my daughter's
life and um just constantly playing with
her teaching her you know doing fun
adventures with her that kind of stuff
so I think the macro level is just being
a father the micro level is I try to
constantly challenge myself with bigger
and bigger and bigger and bigger things
and the real the real win of that is
(23:18):
figuring out what the plan needs to look
like adjusting along the way and then
just having the discipline to follow
that to eventually you know reach my
goals yeah so have long-winded answers
man no that's great there there's so
much packed into it too um you know
thing I take away from that is first of
all you you are a great father and and
you time and and just everything that
(23:39):
you've told me in in our conversations I
can see that you you show
up
(24:06):
yeah everything you've got going on in
the business you know what you're there
for and you're there for you know your
family and that that that comes first
that's great yeah and just to just to
share a story there so when I first
started out and I was just getting into
fitness I remember distinctly my
daughter she's probably like two or
three at the time um after I was done
with a workout I'm on the ground I'm
(24:26):
sweating and I'm just like wondering why
what is any of this worth and y y y and
she comes over to me and she said you're
like a superhero daddy you know so that
moment for me was huge because leading
up to that you know this was pre me
going on a fitness journey that's the
part of my life where I just felt so
(24:46):
unfulfilled like I felt like I had way
more to give I was out of shape
physically I was I found out I was out
of shape met met U mentally and I just
wanted to quit everything that was hard
and so for me to make changes in my life
and then right away have her you know
see that and see the way that I you know
what I was doing and why I was doing it
(25:07):
and you know years later I have
countless stories of things that she
said to me that I kind of just took
mental note of um but you know there was
a race at one point and she was like
well which one's further you know and
I'm like well this one is she's like
well I guess I know which one you're
signing up to because she knows I'm
going to go after the harder thing but I
think for anyone listening to this you
know I I always ask people that's my my
(25:30):
way of trying to figure out like are you
on the right path I ask people what's
something you're proud of in the last
six months right and if you're not proud
of anything it's a good you know it's
not to shame anyone but it's a good gut
check to say like maybe you're just kind
of like living in this comfortable space
going through the motions and you just
got to figure out how to bust out of
that you know and I was that person for
(25:51):
a long time and when I ask people that
question most of them stare at me like
I'm crazy it is a hard question answer
right on the spot but I think if you
just go at a micro level trying to get
out of your comfort zone a little bit
and show up a different person and
challenge yourself with easy things um
just to start that has a a cascading
(26:11):
effect you know and you'll start like
pushing more and more boundaries and
that's the big mission behind sweat bar
now you know we started that wasn't the
mission I had you know some other things
that I said was our mission But
ultimately what became our mission what
my mission is is to make people realize
that they're capable of far more than
they ever imagined both physically
(26:32):
mentally emotionally and to really have
them start pushing those boundaries so
everything we do you know I have two
podcasts I wrote a book I have a program
like we we have all these different
things they're all platforms that are
literally designed to help people
realize that they're capable of far more
than they ever imagined right and that's
just been the journey that I've been on
(26:54):
is trying to figure that out through
self-discovery yeah and you have some
really great programs that I think are
Universal no matter where you are in
your fitness journey your business
Journey uh after seeing you talk I mean
you had me hooked man I signed up a
minute seriously because it's just what
you have to say is so powerful so I
think it's important and I don't do a
lot of promotion on here but I feel like
(27:14):
you know or just genuinely it touched me
in a way that I think I want other
people that might need that spark to
just know how to get in touch with you
and that program if I appreciate that
man yeah um for sure so I you know I
started it's funny cuz I I the Chad
Shipley show the podcast I started that
(27:34):
back in like 2015 that was just my
creative Outlet of like trying to figure
out what else I can do with my life and
that actually ended up becoming a pretty
cool thing um I'll have to come have you
on my podcast sometime man yeah it' be
fun um and it turned into more of an
interview style and I don't I don't do
it like so many times every week or
anything like when I find someone really
(27:55):
interesting that has something cool to
share I just just love to have them in
and have a conversation uh so that that
was that was always cool and fun for me
to do but I I I set out to do this
podcast called light your fire and
that's really just my journey up the
mountain and so there are not very many
people that would like that right you
have to kind of be that person that's
(28:16):
looking for pushing your boundaries or
maybe you're going into entrepreneurship
or maybe you're in it and you're just
struggling but that's a good free
resource that's out there I basically
did an episode like every single day
there only 10 to 15 minutes they're on a
certain topic and it's really my it's
something I want to be able to have and
look back on and just remember like what
that Journey was like so there's a lot
(28:37):
of raw honest stuff on there I talk
about you know going from jail cells to
boardrooms you know all my arrests
things that happened to me early on the
whole journey in the ultra route the
whole thing um in the business route and
so people might get some use out of that
but then um I finally developed a paid
for product it's 47 bucks that's the one
(28:59):
I uh that you're talking about it's just
called rise up hero and the reason I did
that is because when I was at that point
where I I wanted to turn off the music
and I wanted to change my inputs I
wanted to start listening to thought
leaders and I wanted to start reading
more books and I just wanted to grow as
a person I wanted to figure out like is
there something else more that I can do
(29:20):
and um I didn't know what to do or where
to start like I said I started with like
running and I trying to I kind just kept
using Fitness as the way of challenging
myself but I just wish that someone
would have said like just do this like
watch a couple of these videos and for
the next 28 days do this program and so
(29:41):
I thought well I'll just create that
right so for 47 bucks when people tell
me they're in a bad spot people tell me
this all the time right like I'm going
through this or I need help with this
and now I just have a way of saying like
look this is pretty affordable just buy
it watch the videos do the 28 days and
you're going to come out a different
person on the other side I can guarantee
it and um if they don't you know I'll
(30:02):
refund the money but um I think for the
most part people just need a push down
the path a little bit and and the
reality is when you start tuning in
different inputs so when you watch those
videos and I start talking about these
different topics your mind's just going
to start firing different neurons right
you're going to start thinking about
things differently so the goal is to get
(30:22):
people to shift their mindset get out of
a negative space get away from the
anchors people that are haters and that
just drag you down and to start opening
up your horizons and thinking about
things a lot differently and then here
is a 28 day plan for you to follow
that's easy to follow but it's going to
get you to that point of like being on
autopilot so every day you're doing
(30:44):
certain things and those things are
going to have a Monumental impact over
time one of the biggest things that I've
learned out of all of this is It's
consistency consistency absolutely it's
just little bit each day a little each
day yeah and and I love that with with
what you put together and it just helps
I think in the journey and that's what
we're all about talking about the
(31:05):
journey how you got there and so I guess
the last thing is where you're going
next right what what's next for for you
and your in your personal journey and
and also for sweat bar yeah uh that's a
good question I think a lot of people
are probably wondering that including a
lot of my members so for me um the goal
was always to let's see if I can build a
business right take all the skills I
learned and instead of growing like this
(31:27):
year over year grow like this you know
just go all in build something and um
that happened and now I'm like okay how
do I really start building more services
that nicely couple each other and we
grow I I always say we basically grow
platforms that serve right and so my
(31:49):
Lighty Fire book was that the Lighty
fire podcast you know the um the program
rise up hero now the gym itself so we're
doing we're building out all these
different capabilities and now we're
doing a lot of events like these races
and the runs and so ultimately my goal
is just to continue compounding that so
just continue adding more and more
services to people and
(32:11):
ultimately really change a lot of
people's lives as many as we possibly
can so a lot of people are always asking
like are you going to franchise it I'm
never going to franchise the gym they're
asking are you going to open up multiple
locations my answer to that is maybe way
down the road that's not of the vision
right now just because I I want to make
(32:32):
it so good where we're at right now like
I want to make it bigger um I'd love to
have a multi-service offering so we can
do all kinds of different things in a
bigger space eventually um but I don't
really have any you know goal of move or
creating another one anywhere I just
want this thing to get bigger and better
(32:53):
as much as possible and then you know at
the end of the day I don't think I'm
going to be tied to the physical gym
like my whole life I'll probably own it
but I don't know if I'll be there every
single day I think that I'm going to
keep looking for opportunities to
continue providing Services of like
helping people you know helping people
figure out who they are and what the
(33:14):
best version of them looks like and
helping them push those boundaries so my
future might not be like in the gym
every day but I think the gym is just
going to get bigger and better as the
years go on yeah sounds like an natural
extension of everything you're doing and
you can reach out and touch so many
people um really in different areas of
of the uh business World fitness
(33:35):
personal and I think it's great to see
the impact that you've had certainly had
an impact on on me thanks man yeah
likewise man person well it's so cool to
see what you're doing too like we're
kind of on the same we're both on the
same mountain and we're climbing and
we're in the trenches and so when I your
mountain and see where you're at like
hey man I I I'm inspired to keep
climbing mind for sure man and uh it's
cool because I think you you know when
(33:57):
we talk and there's things going on like
I can relate right it's um that's the
that's why I like us sharing now I think
a lot of people get to the top of that
mountain and they've built a successful
business and theyve made millions of
dollars you kind of lose a little bit of
what that was like you know like when
you were in it um and it's not on
(34:18):
purpose you just do like if you ask me
about an Iron Man now I'd be like ah
yeah I mean they're you know they're
hard but I I could probably do another
one but if you asked me what it was like
when I was in the middle of the race I
would have told you this is like the
worst thing I've ever done and I'm sick
and I'm like hurting and I'm questioning
why I ever did it and you like you lose
(34:39):
that rawness of like what's actually
happening um to some extent so I think
it's cool you know to be able to to have
conversations with people that are you
know uh doing the same things and we can
kind of feed off each other and you know
and we're both on the journey I think
that's what I've tried to create create
here is that you know you're right
there's so many that are sort of looking
(35:00):
back post success and sort of top of the
mountain and I want to create something
was a little more relatable to people
that are still going through that
journey and they can hear about there is
Success there are ups and downs along
the way but this is something that you
can do if you're committed and you have
the consistency and the resilience which
you've shown yeah it's awesome I I think
(35:21):
that's the cool thing about our world
now right like we just have so many
platforms to be able to share the
content and share the journey and for me
I'm just a big growth person so I try to
look for every opportunity to grow as a
person and to show up better so it's uh
yeah it's really cool to you know kind
of have people like you doing this kind
of stuff so you as well so yeah it's
privilege man great great really
(35:42):
appreciate having you on definitely man
and uh really look forward to continuing
to watch your journey and stay connected
to it awesome man thank you it's been a
lot of fun yeah it's great well with
that this is the fired up Podcast I'm
your host Brad Reva encouraging you to
stay fired up and do something great
start running your
up my crew ride
(36:02):
up up everybody
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