Christian Guzman, founder of Alphalete and creator of Alphaland, joins the show to break down the real highs and brutal lows of building a multimillion-dollar brand from scratch. It’s tempting to assume overnight success when you see big launches and flashy gyms—but Christian walks us through the failed gyms, manufacturing mistakes, and sleepless decisions that built the empire. From ordering $2.5M in inventory without a finance team to managing influencer trends, middlemen, and changing buyer habits, he shares what it truly takes to scale.
- 00:00 Welcome to Alphaland
- 02:23 From first YouTube video to fitness icon
- 04:05 Choosing entrepreneurship over college
- 05:18 The humble beginnings of gym ownership
- 09:22 Pivoting to digital and apparel
- 10:45 Alphalete's birth and early growing pains
- 15:38 Building community through content
- 20:47 The costly lessons of scaling too fast
- 28:16 Learning the women's apparel market
- 33:49 How women became Alphalete's core business
- 36:46 Mastering production relationships
- 41:38 Nearly losing it all: financial turning points
- 45:46 Building a proper finance foundation
- 50:02 Adapting to evolving marketing landscapes
- 53:52 Reimagining the Alphalete brand
- 55:40 Thoughts on selling vs. building legacy
- 57:19 The 3D Energy drink adventure
- 1:02:28 Fighting to reclaim a stolen brand
- 1:05:53 Rebuilding 3D from the ground up
- 1:11:16 Managing multiple ventures and life
- 1:15:37 Confronting addiction and burnout
- 1:19:48 How Alphaland transformed a community
- 1:22:55 Vision for the brands' future
» Escape the 9-5 & build your dream life
https://www.digitalplaybook.net/
» Transform your physique
https://www.thrstapp.com/
» My clothing brand, THRST
https://thrstofficial.com
» Custom Bioniq supplements
https://www.bioniq.com/mikethurston
40% off your first month of Bioniq GO
20% off your first month of Bioniq PRO
» Join our newsletter for actionable insights from every episode:
https://thrst-letter.beehiiv.com/
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https://join.whoop.com/FirstThingsThrst
» Follow Christian
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianguzmanfitness
Website: https://alphaleteathletics.com
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