The Unofficial Company Story

From Who I Was to Who WE Are

Copyright 2014 by David Tate
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other
electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of
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reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Table of Contents


Part One - Broken ......................................................... 5
Part Two - Reject ........................................................... 9
Part Three - Flunked Out ........................................... 14
Part Four - Back to School ......................................... 18
Part Five - Columbus, Ohio ........................................ 23
Part Six - The Lean Years ........................................... 30
Part Seven - The Bootstrapping Years ..................... 33
Part Eight - From I to We ......................................... 42
Part Nine - Being A Father ......................................... 49
Part Ten - The End of a Powerlifting Career ............ 56
Part Eleven - Mistakes ................................................ 65
Paert Twelve - Adversity (Shit) .................................. 71
Part Thirteen - The People Are The System ............ 82
Part Fourteen - Underground Strength Sessions ... 91
Part Fifteen - Issues, MAW, and LTT ....................... 101
Part Sixteen - Almost Today .................................... 113



5



Part One

Broken



6
I have no idea how long or how many parts this will be but by
the time Im finished youll know exactly where elitefts comes from
and where it is going. These posts will also fill in many, many whys
behind the company.
Elitefts is what I define as a value based company. Every action
within the company is based on a set of defined values, as defined in
our Legacy manual and on the about us page on elitefts. Our team
has grown from me alone to a group of nearly 100 members (I think
this group makes up 80). And part of writing this story is to redefine
the meaning of these values in tandem with our growth. How were
these values defined and where do they come from? To best illu-
strate this let me go back in history. I strongly feel we are influenced
by our environment but I also feel we can decide how to be influ-
enced by it.
I come from a lower middle class family. Im not a story from the
hood, but, regardless, I never really fit in with anyone in my neigh-
borhood or grade school. If there was a label for learning disabled I
was given it. I kept a special paper clock on my desk to tell me when
to get up and go see my special ed aide. With two sessions a day, I
had two paper clocks on my desk. I was the only one in the class who
needed this extra help and the rest of the school and neighborhood
never let me forget that fact. If I was spat on or beat up on a daily
basis, I was also called names and excluded from everything. I spent
a lot of time alone in my younger days, not by choice but for want of
peace and comfort.
Much of these days I dont remember. But I do remember the
dinner conversations between my mom and dad. They owned their
own appliance business and, through these conversations, I learned

7
the importance of quality over quantity, that its better to buy once
and spend more than to buy twice and spend double or triple the
amount. The customer is not always right but should always be res-
pected I learned that too. I learned that when you own your own
business you need to work your ass off. Theres no excuse not to.
I remember going out on service calls with my dad on Christ-
mas. Hed talk people through how to use their new oven on
Thanksgiving Day. I also remember the long hours he worked. I
learned value and that your brand name is based on those values.
While you might screw up, you need to always return to home base.
Finally, junior high came and I got my fresh start. No longer did I
need the kids in the neighborhood and no longer was I the only spe-
cial ed kid. I was now in classes with others just like me. No need,
really, to go into that stuff any further but, as side note, most of the
kids I hung out with are no longer living so there were many lessons
learned there, too, about life. I began my involvement in wrestling
with those kids and I got my ass kicked all over the mat my first year.
I sucked and I knew I sucked but getting my ass kicked was nothing
new to me. After the last practice of my first season ended, my Mom
was late picking me up so I decided to run the stairs. I ran and ran
and ran. This went on for around 45 minutes. My coach walked by
and asked what I was doing. I told him I was waiting for my mom. He
then told me something that has never left me and changed my life
from that point on. As long as you work harder than everyone else
you will never be beaten. Id listened to this guy yap all season. I was
in his math class, sat with him at lunch when nobody else would sit
with me, listened to all his premeet pep talks and none of that hit me
the way this one statement did.
You NEVER know the impact you can make on a life with one

8
simple statement. When I went back and told him 20 years later he
had no idea the impact he made on me. You NEVER know who you
can change.
From that day on I busted my ass training. I ran my ass off. My
dad got me into a Powerlifting Gym where a group of 30-40 year olds
took me under their wing. They taught me how to lift, technique,
how to train. Two were cops so they MADE me clean my personal life
up or they wouldnt let me train with them.
I was a snot nose, 13 year old pain in the ass, learning disabled,
weak, a broken kid and they didnt care about any of that. They
CARED about me and wanted to see me get stronger because they
knew strength would change my confidence, how I felt and the ac-
tions I would make outside the gym.
I FUCKING loved the gym. This was my haven from all the bull-
shit. It was my place to let my rage out and not get sent to court.
With time I grew and got stronger. I actually got really fucking strong
and never lost another wrestling match again. I also went from being
the guy people picked on, made fun of and beat the shit out of to the
guy nobody wanted to fuck with.
Training changed my life but it was SO much more than that. Be-
ing told that Hard Work pays off changed my life. Having belief and
support changed my outlook. Being instructed on how to train made
me strong as fuck. Others in my school trained but they were not
being trained with any type of real programing. I was. Being around
people who wanted to see me get better made a difference - a huge
difference.
But this is only the beginning...



9



Part Two

Reject



10
Reject Classes
As I made my way through junior high, I was tracked into what I
refer to now as reject classes. The good thing was that none of the
kids from my neighborhood were in them. The bad thing was (well,
good at the time) that the teachers didnt give a shit about us. I was
with the same group of kids as we moved from class to class, and
usually within the first few weeks, the teachers would just stop
teaching us altogether, so all the classes became free time. I cant
blame this on the teachers as my entire class didnt care at all, and
all we did was anything except coursework.
Discipline wasnt effective as we were all used to being sus-
pended, having to stay after school or paddled. I could write a book
on this, but the one memory that sticks out the most was during one
of my English classes. One side of the room was drawing pictures on
the chalkboard, the other side had people smoking and blowing
smoke out the windows. Two kids were snorting black beauty (stimu-
lants) on the window sill, most of the others had headsets on and a
few were reading magazines. The teacher used this time to grade
papers from her other classes. None of us got great grades, but we
all did get by with just barely passing grades. Some were expelled
and moved to other schools. I got to stay because I was a very good
wrestler.
While all this was going on, I was power lifting after school and
loved every second of it. I also loved wrestling and spent all my time
training and practicing. If the teacher would let me out of class, I
used this time to run the halls.
My education sucked, but this was also at a time when good ath-
letes slipped through the system. I also had all the labels that al-
lowed for even more latitude.

11
Football
Fast forward to the 9th grade (High school was 10-11 and 12). In
the 9th grade, I was recruited to play high school-level football. I
played football at junior high and destroyed people because I was
way stronger and ... well... hated people. This caught the attention of
the HS coach, and I remember sitting down with him in the junior
high Lunch Room and telling him I wasnt planning on playing in high
school because I wanted more time to powerlift, and if my weight
kept going up that I would have to wrestle super heavyweight. I am
not sure of the weight, but it was around 200 pounds, and I was al-
ready lifting in the 181 class in eighth grade. The football coach
wanted me to keep gaining weight.
My plan was to stay OUT of the super fat class and keep wres-
tling and powerlifting. That was until the pressure from my parents,
the coaches and every single person I knew kept pushing me and
telling me how big of a mistake I was about to make, how I NEEDED
the team work to better my life and an entire bunch of bullshit that
still pisses me off today. The coach came back the next day with a list
of reasons why I had to play football. Rather than deal with all the
bullshit, I gave in and played. I will not say I disliked the game, but I
didnt love it. I was All State and did play my role but didnt get along
with my teammates at all. They were all into drinking and parties
while I just wanted to train and win.
It pissed me off.
I never wrestled again but did barter that powerlifting would al-
ways be in the deal. So I was allowed to leave practice early on squat
days (20 minutes early) and didnt have to do any of their condition-
ing. I played my ass off even though I didnt want to and learnt after

12
all of this to never give in on something I really love. I did finish HS
weighing close to 250 with a single ply 650 squat, raw 500 bench and
600 single-ply pull in the 242 class. I wont bitch about that, but I still
know I could have been a hell of a wrestler and let someone else dic-
tate my dreams instead of being around people who wanted to help
build my own dreams.
College
During my senior year, I decided that I needed to begin looking
into college. This is when I realized I never thought of this before (or
my future at all). I also discovered that I was tracked to just get out
of school. I had no advanced math, science or foreign language. My
English classes were called things like Reading and Comprehen-
sion, where I would read a magazine article and tell the class about
it. My science classes were things like rock science where I got to
learn the names of rocks. I also had business math that was really
nothing more than adding and subtracting. All through high school, I
never once did home work or took a book home, let alone to class. It
was also arranged so the first 4 periods of every day were Gym,
Study Hall or Volunteer Work. Once these were set up, my coach
would give me passes out of these, and I would spend the first few
hours of each day in the weight room. After two months, I was teach-
ing all these classes, and my coach stayed in the football office
watching game films, porn or whatever else he did. I never saw him.
This allowed me to train using double split for the last two years of
high school.


13
Now What?
Back to the grades and classes. Basically I was fucked. I didnt
have the credits to even graduate from HS. It took some tinkering,
but they were able to find a way to give me credit for all the weight-
training classes I was helping with because I spent most of the time
teaching and instructing. At 15 I was already an unpaid personal
trainer - strength coach.
I was looked at from several schools to play football until they
saw my grades. I actually spoke to Buddy Morris at Pitt because they
were looking at me, and I wanted to speak to the strength coach be-
fore deciding on a visit. Buddy was cool as hell, but once I told him
my course work and my GPA was 1.6, he told me I didnt stand a
chance in hell but would be one of the strongest guys on the team.
After two months of working in a factory, I knew I had to find a
way to get into college... but how?

14



Part Three

Flunked Out


15
After barely graduating high school and while working in a facto-
ry making fake orange juice, I continued to powerlift and kept driving
my total up and earned my elite status in my second weight class. I
also helped with the strength and conditioning program at the high
school and worked as a fitness instructor at a local health club. I
knew I needed money for college even though I couldnt find one to
accept me.
Killing It
Finally, after many phone calls and interviews, I got a break and
was accepted into Tiffin University (a business college). The only
thing was, none of the first-year classes would count for credit be-
cause they were all classes I should have taken in high school. I
learnt algebra, biology, English and other basic subjects I slid by not
taking in HS. The crazy thing was these were not hard classes at all. I
went to class, listened, did my homework and got passing grades. I
also hooked up with a decent group of powerlifters, but we were not
able to match up training times so I ventured into bodybuilding. Af-
ter one year there and a 3.2 GPA, I was ready to get the hell out.
Getting Killed
I spent the next summer training, strength coaching my HS
football team and working as a fitness instructor. Once the summer
was over, I was onto BGSU. This place was awesome. I now found
myself roommates with a former Mr Ohio, was training in the best
gym I had ever seen, was bouncing and able to pay for school and
food, Life was good. The other really cool thing is that I discovered
this really cool place called the library. I joke about this, but until

16
then, I had never stepped foot in one except for detention or a tour.
I had a girlfriend at the time who loved to study there so while she
was doing her thing. I found a section packed full of Soviet Sports
Reviews, NSCA Journals, Nutrition Journals. I spent hours upon hours
reading this stuff - making copies and reading more. The one thing I
didnt do was go to class or study. They gave me a syllabus on day
one and class wasnt mandatory, so I did the cram the night before
thing. This didnt work out so well, and I flunked out and packed my
shit to move back home. I was only out for the next semester and
could begin again in the summer if I liked.
At the time, I was done with school. I did well at Tiffin, but it was
only basic high school stuff that I should have learnt years before.
Once I got to the next level, I got eaten up and felt it was beyond my
intellectual capacity.
Lesson Learned
When I was back home I started back out helping the high
school players again and ran into my old wrestling coach in the park-
ing lot. Even after I stopped wrestling, we still trained together often
as he loved hitting the weights and used to use the phase rip or be
ripped at every chance he had. I had great respect for him because
he was intense and trained his ass off. He asked how I was doing at
school, and I spent the next 30 minutes explaining periodization, un-
ilateral periodization, how the Bulgarians trained and how I thought
it could be modified to powerlifting and strength training. I did learn
a shit-load in that library. He stopped me mid-sentence and asked
how my grades were.
I told him I flunked out and that school just isnt my thing and
that ever since I was a kid, I needed extra help and still couldnt cut

17
it. He knew I barely graduated and he was familiar with my past. His
listened and asked more questions about what my future plans,
which were to get on at one of the better factories in town and keep
training. He asked what I valued most in life, and I didnt know how
to answer. He asked a few more questions about what would make
me happy and what I though I was capable of. Most of these an-
swers were training-related.
Looking back, I see what he was doing. He let me talk and ex-
plain all of my reasons why I couldnt do things before making any
suggestions. Once I was done, he told me something that
changed my life and the way I saw education and learning for-
ever. He told me that, regardless what anyone has ever told me, la-
beled me or said, I wasnt stupid. He said that I just taught him more
about training in 30 minutes than he had learnt in 20 years under
the bar and from all the books he has read.
My problem was not that I was stupid, it was that I was fucking
lazy. Yes, it would take me longer and yes I may need extra help but
this is no excuse to not be who you want to be. Lazy people make
excuses and rest on labels and what other people say and think.
People who make a difference and live the life they want work for it.
Some have to work really fucking hard, and I was one for those
people that needed to work harder than most.
I spent what seemed to be two hours driving around PISSED OFF
and confused about what I was told.
Was this true?
Was I not stupid but just lazy?
Have I ever really applied myself at anything other than lifting
weights?
Honest to God...
I didnt know the answer.
But I was going to find out.

18



Part Four

Back to School


19
There were two main reasons why I wanted to go back to school:
1. The gym in my home town sucked. I was now the strong-
est there and knew this wasnt good.
2. I wanted to find out if I was really lazy or not.
For the first time in my educational history, I wanted to see what
I was really capable of. My first goal was to bring up my GPA to 2.5
(after flunking out, it was 0.75). I decided before going back that I
was going to study what I wanted to study, not what everybody else
wanted me to, such as business. Trainers really didnt exist at the
time, and I didnt want to be an exercise lab rat.
I knew two things. I was NOT going to repeat the courses I had
failed and would fail again. This would result in me getting tossed
out again and I would probably not be let back in. This risk was too
high even though I knew that if I did get better grades in these
courses, it would cancel the other. The two major failures were sta-
tistics, pascal and micro-economics.
The next step was to take courses that I knew I would have in-
terest in. I dumped the counselors and used two things to pick my
courses. I first looked at the course catalog and went through all of
the classes and highlighted the ones that looked interesting. Then, I
went to the book store to look at the books to see if they really
would be interesting or not. One time, I found two different classes
using the exact same book - this was like finding gold. I took them
both. I used this approach for 3.5 years and finally got my GPA up to
2.5.
Now, I had to figure out what the hell I would do. I wanted to
transfer but wondered with all the classes I have taken if I was close
to graduating at something. While I worked as a bouncer and gym
manager, I never took more than three classes at a time but went

20
year-round. I made enough to pay for school, live and train, so it was
all good, but I didnt want to be a full-time student.
I spent two days going to every college on campus looking at
their course outlines to graduate. After speaking to counselors and
administrators, it was determined that I was one semester away
from graduating with a degree in Sociology. Sociology? What the
hell? It turned out that all the classes I picked at random fit this path
almost perfectly. I like learning why people do what they do, what
motivates them and why we, as a society and social groups, think
and act the way we do.
I was three classes away and one of them was a foreign lan-
guage. This is where I had a huge problem. I had tried Spanish sev-
eral times before and dropped it at the last moment I could before it
affected my GPA. I had major issues here because while I was still
trying to figure out how to spell the words everyone else was speak-
ing and using them in sentences. Even with extra help, I wasnt able
to grasp this. WAY to much going on at one time for me to grasp.
I decided that it was time to transfer and move to the University
of Toledo. I sat down with an advisor, and we mapped out an indivi-
dualized program based on training people - being a strength coach.
I didnt want the standard ex phy track because I felt it lacked nutri-
tion, leadership and the marketing skills that were needed. We
mapped out a two-year program (year round) that was independent
studies with a major in exercise science and nutrition. This is what I
always wanted to do and was excited to learn.
I kept my bouncing job (but got a much better one) and dropped
the gym manager thing because I was making four times more
bouncing. I used my time to train and study - that was it. Nothing
else. A turning point for me came when I took a 400-level nutritional

21
biochemistry class that I had to get special permission to take be-
cause I didnt have any of the courses needed to take this. I was ac-
tually warned by my administrator to not do this, but I figured I
could always drop it if I had to. This was the second-most awesome
class I ever took in school. It was hard and did take hell of a lot of
time as I have to learn chemistry while also taking the class, but this
was an amazing class because I learnt how nutrients moved
throughout the body. Throughout the entire class, I didnt miss one
text question. I knew after this that I was not that stupid kid in grade
school. Not even close. Maybe not a genius or even gifted, but I
learnt if I worked as hard in school as I did in the gym, I could have
success.
I then went back and retook all the classes I failed and got As in
them all. I graduated with a 3.5 GPA (you start new when you trans-
fer) and more importantly learnt I was not stupid just lazy. I also
learnt that I do have to work harder than others, and I accepted that.
As a bonus, I was able to add a more scientific background to my
Under The Bar experience. Teachers have no idea now to really
train, but at the same time, most coaches and lifters have no idea
how the body really works. I wanted to work for the balance be-
tween the two. Lastly, I realized learning was going to become a
HUGE part of my life. The real word was coming, but to this point,
my education far exceeded what one learns in the classroom.
Throughout all of this I did a few bodybuilding shows and de-
cided to go back into powerlifting. When I went back, I was em-
braced and invited to train with World Champion Bob Wahl and his
group. George Crawford also trained in the same gym and was ex-
tremely helpful with me (this guy is a PL Legend). Once again it was
lifers and coaches who welcomed me in and showed me the way of
strength. I learnt the importance of technique from them and hit my
3rd elite total in the 275 class. I know I had an ego at the time and
knew that I understood training better than they did, but they were
world champions and I wasnt even close. I kept my mouth shut,

22
asked a few questions and did what I was told. I learnt, and I got
stronger. There were two other PL groups in town, and I would have
been one of the best in their groups. The guys in these groups
avoided the group I was in because they wanted to be the big fish in
a small pound. I selected Bob because he was the best in town and
knew the best in the country. I didnt care if I wasnt the best in the
gym. Thats just where you train. I wanted to break my own records
and let the cards fall as they may come meet time. I am happy for
my decision because I learnt so much that I would not have learnt in
school or any other gym.
Graduation came and it was time for another move...



23



Part Five

Columbus, Ohio


24
Columbus, Ohio
I knew once I graduated that my education had to continue to
grow for me to gain the knowledge I needed to advance as a lifter.
Throughout my college years, I did spend a couple years bodybuild-
ing but fell back into love with powerlifting and wanted to keep
pushing as hard as I could. However, after six or seven meets with
my total in the 1890-1970 range (at 242), I was going nowhere. I tried
every type of periodization cycle I knew of, from linear, non linear,
undulating, to some things that were just randomly tossed together.
I even ran a short six-week program based on a scheme based of
how the Bulgarian weightlifting team trained. No matter what I did,
the end result was always the same. I seriously began to think that I
hit my genetic limit and that I was the strongest I would ever be. Be-
fore this time, I did suffer a few muscle pulls, slight pec tears, but
nothing I would really consider major.
Injuries Adding Up
During my last year of college and while spinning my wheels, the
wheels began to fall off. The first was lower back issues, then a torn
groin. I pulled my quad so bad it turned purple for four weeks and I
needed crutches. I found a way to train all of these and did the best I
could to keep trying to pull meets together - even when injured.
Louie Simmons & Matt Dimmel
I had known Louie Simmons since I was a teenager but really
began communicating with him and mostly Matt Dimmel two years
before graduation. They wanted me to move to Columbus after
graduation, so I would make a trip down to train with them every

25
month and did learn quite a bit. I tried to implement what I was
learning into my training, but didnt really believe in most of the stuff
they were telling me to do.
Torn Pec
One month before graduation, I lifted in a bench meet in Co-
lumbus, Ohio that Matt Dimmel was lifting in. I traveled to the meet
with Matt, and after I hit my opener with 460, I knew something was
really wrong. This was a weight that would usually take 1/2 second to
press and a weight I had done for 2 sets of 5 in training (raw). I bare-
ly made the opener and pressed 540 in training (raw)
I jumped to 500 for my second and right before lockout, my pec
tendon blew out, and the bar about broke me in half. I had a giant
gap in my pec and the entire muscle was on the other side of my
nipple. The nurse at the University clinic told me I pulled a muscle. It
never bruised, but I was also not able to lift my arm.
I trained what I could but was not able to get the bar out of the
bench at all. This was an injury unlike anything I ever had before. I
stuck it out until I finished my finals, and we moved to Columbus.
The first thing I did when we got to Columbus was to find a good
doctor. I say we because I met my wife my first year at BGSU (1988),
and we have been together ever since. I was then told that I had rup-
tured the pec tendon off the bone. The muscle was torn - the tendon
was torn off and would need to be screwed back in - that was the
biggest issue.
Surgery was scheduled and rehab begun. My first two months at
Westside were split doing yoke bar work with a sling and spotting
and loading plates.

26
Looking For Work
While all this was going on, I was trying to find work. I had years
of experience as a gym manager, years of experience as a bouncer, a
couple years working with my high school football team, and many
year of what they now call personal training (I called it teaching
people how to train) but I didnt have any experience to get my foot
in the door as a strength coach at the University level. I was having a
hell of a time getting hired in a gym doing anything.
I worked for a temporary service and hated this with a passion
and almost moved back to Toledo because I was making ten times
more bouncing in Toledo and Detroit. I came to Columbus to power-
lift, and my wifes family was also from town. This was the most
broke I had (we had) ever been in our lives, and it sucked. I was
working well over 40 hours a week at min wage and still making all
my training sessions. My first few years of college were tough but
the bouncing thing ended up paying way more than I ever imagined
it would.
A Real Job
I finally caught a break and was offered a $10.00 per hour job as
a fitness instructor in a downtown corporate fitness center. After
some research, I discovered the average member made over 200K
per year and was the elite of Columbus, as it was in the downtown
area where all the banking, legal and lobby offices were.
When I was presented the offer, I made a counter offer that I
would accept minimum wage as long as I could do personal training
and would be paid 50% at the time of hire (I also knew they did have
a personal training program but it only did 4K the year prior - keep in

27
mind this was a long time ago and personal training was not the
same as you see today). The 50% was 10% under what they were
paying other fitness instructors but I had bigger plans for myself and
their program.
I would accept these terms if they would agree to create a head
personal trainer position and put me in charge of it. With this they
would also agree to pay the personal training percentage of 80% for
all my clients, $10.00 per hour for administrative and 15% of all oth-
er trainers (they only had one at the time). It would be my job to
train and educate all the trainers that would be hired down the line.
This would only happen after the personal training program
broke 100K in gross sales if or before 1 year. If this never happen my
rates would stay the same until after my one year review. This had to
be done between me and one other person I had yet to be intro-
duced to.
This was a risk, but I figured the risk was worth it and if they said
no I would still be ok to fall back on the original offer. When I pre-
sented the counter offer I think they thought I was nuts but I laid out
exactly how I thought this could be done, the work it would take, and
that based on their members and the number of people through the
doors each day I really believed it could be done. After I demonstrat-
ed that I did my research and put a lot of thought into this they
agreed.I am sure because they figured there was no way this could
be done and they had nothing to lose.
After that year was up, we did 215K in training and I had 3 train-
ers working under me. This wasnt rocket science; it was just know-
ing that this was an untapped market and my assumption was right.
Nobody was even asking the clients if they were interested in train-
ing. I did have a sales process I used beyond just asking people, but

28
that is beyond the scope of this.
What I discovered is that I loved to help other people reach their
goals regardless of whether it was just getting into shape, to de-
stress from work or to squat 900 pounds (I was doing my training at
Westside).
Within a couple years, I was tapped out, had a waiting list, and
we really didn't want to add anymore trainers. Managing them
wasn't easy, the drama was off the charts and trying to teach them
to sell and train clients was more than I could handle. I could have
done a better job of this but it would have meant dropping my client
load or working more hours. I didn't have that much time to work
with them and the club didn't want to pay my "training rate" for my
administration time - something I also agreed with.
I was finally making almost as much as I was as a bouncer but
loved what I was doing. I would train clients from 6am to 8:30am,
drive to WSBB and train from 9-11 and then back to work from 11:30
to 9pm. This was every weekday. I did work every other weekend but
was able to get out of these based on the income the trainers were
making.
I knew the club really wasnt making anything off me, as the per-
centage was too high (combined with admin hours and payroll costs
I was costing them money), so I had to make sure they were making
money off my staff and that they did a great job. As noted I was able
to do this but it took more time than I liked and to really do the job
how I felt it needed to be done would have taken another 15-20
hours per week.
After almost a decade of doing this I needed a change. I came to
the realization that I didnt want to live the rest of my life this way,
and I didnt see how I would be able to have a family being in the

29
gym from 6am to 9pm every day. If I was to make any more income I
would have had to add more weekends into the mix and then never
be home.
I loved my work (well most of it) I just couldn't see how this was
going to grow from where I was. I was making more than the man-
ager of the club so any promotion would have meant taking a pay
cut. I felt stuck and we were in the process of adopting our first child.
It was time for another change, and I needed some help but who
to ask?



30



Part Six

The Lean Years


31
I had spent the last decade doing my own self-study of strength
and conditioning. This included reading all the Russian manuals that
I could find; everything on strength and conditioning I could get my
hands on. I also passed my NSCA C.S.C.S and ACSM Fitness Instruc-
tor certifications, attended 6-8 seminars per year and networked
with as many coaches and trainers as I could. I studied the book Su-
pertraining, where I was able to find the authors email addresses
and correspond directly with them. I spent close to six months di-
gesting all the information.
This all turned into assisting Louie Simmons with all of his con-
sulting and speaking engagements, thus allowing me to build an
even bigger network of coaches. I also learned from Louie how to
create elite and professional powerlifters. I really didnt care about
other sports, but I wanted to perfect the craft of helping other lifters
get as strong as they could. I became extremely proficient at disco-
vering technical and physical weak points and, outside of Louie, was
the best person doing this on the team.
I was able to use some of these same skills with my personal
clients (personal training) as the core essence of what I was doing
was the same. The meant and the skill levels were vastly different,
but I was able to use experience gains from each to help with the
other.
As time went on and I started to do more of these seminars, I
was offered an assistant strength coach position with an NFL team.
The pay was less than half of what I was making, and I would have to
move. I wasnt ready to leave Westside, as I felt I still could get more
out of myself and help the team more, but I also didnt want to
uproot my life and wife to a lifestyle I wasnt sure I really wanted to
do. It was at this point that I realized it really was time for a change.
I approached the CEO of the company I was working for and told
him I had started my own company a year earlier (i.e. doing some

32
off-site training, selling supplements and consulting) and didnt feel
right answering calls between sessions. I felt it was best if we
changed my structure from employee to contractor. This would
mean no increase in pay (actually a decrease as I would now not
have administrative hours), and I would have to buy my own insur-
ance and pay all my own taxes. To me, this was the right thing to do
because if I was going to try and build a business, it was not right or
fair to do it on someone elses time.
He agreed with the deal and spent the next two hours speaking
with me and giving me advice (very honest and good advice). I
worked for a VERY good company that was very value and system-
based. They lived and worked by the mission, vision, credo and val-
ues. Many of this structure can be found in Elitefts today - this came
about from the two-hour meeting I had with him. He also suggested
I set up an advisory board, and we looked over my client list and
came up with a group of 8 people we felt could help me best. Look-
ing back at this now, I still cant believe the time and knowledge he
gave me knowing this would eventually end up with me leaving the
company.
I did set up this advisory board, and the first time we met, we
discussed what I wanted to do. When asked, I stated I wanted to help
people get stronger and to see that what they learn in the gym can
also be applied in other areas of life. We discussed and broke down
many different business structures and arrived at a training center
and consultation services. As we dug deeper and looked into what
my non-financial goals were, we finally arrived at online retail with a
focus on education of which anyone could take advantage. Before
this decision, I was already doing a Q&A online, first though another
site and then through Elitefts. It started as just a Q&A. It was after
these meetings that we decided to add a store.


33



Part Seven

The Bootstrapping
Years


34
Now we are into the meat of the company story. You can see
where the foundation was built I just needed to find a way to build
the rest of the house. To try to avoid this from becoming a 20-part
series, I will skip through some of these stages pretty quickly.
The first years after I went full-time with Elitefts, I made nothing.
And when I did, I put it toward more education. I became very effi-
cient at bootstrapping and figuring out how to get the most out of
everything I had and how to workout fair trades to get work done. I
do not want to go into some of these exact items as this will be read
by people I am sure will one day leave the company and I will have
to compete against. I have learned over 15 years of business this
does happen and will happen again. So, I am not sharing my start-
up secrets but will share some example of what other compa-
nies have done to illustrate:
1. Many have asked for free pens at banks and so on so
they would not have to buy them on their own..
2. Amazon found a way to get around minimum book or-
ders buy buying the books they needed (say 4 and the
minimum was 20) and then ordered 16 others that were
back-ordered or discontinued.
3. Working out of coffee shops to avoid office space.
4. Trading one service for another.
5. I know of one training center owner who befriended a
journalist who just happened
to get tossed out of his house and later divorced. He let the guy
live with him until he got back on his feet. His training center and
clients got a TON of free press without ever having paid for ad space.
I found way to work with venders to help with inventory, terms,
customer service, etc. I never haggled on price, as I didnt want to be

35
a company that competed on price. I wanted to compete on service
and quality.
In business, you can only compete on three things:
Price
Quality
Service
In todays world, you cant be the best at all three. You can really
only be the best at one. The one for me is service because with this
you can offer higher quality and providing free education is service.
Service for Elitefts is the staff s customer service but also the free
content we provide on the site for the readers and customers. This
content IS our competitive marker and advantage. This is the one
area I wanted to own when the company was founded and strive
each day (15 years later) to make this always stay true.




36
This, my history and values are where the aim To Live,
Learn and Pass on comes from. What this means to me is:
To Live each day to its fullest; to not be scared; know that fear is
part of the process and adversity is part of living. Use this adversity
to become better while at the same time not losing sight of where I
come from or taking things for granted. Embrace life and help others
to find life is worth living - not just taking one day at a time.
To Learn understanding that the more you learn, the less you
really know. To always be looking for ways to become better in all
roles as your life. The only way to get better is to learn. I dont care if
it is through education, lectures, classes, experience, others or any
other means. You can experience it and let that be the end all - or
you can learn from these experiences to become a better version of
yourself.
To Pass on to give back for all the things we have been pro-
vided. Giving is the greatest honor and gift we can give ourselves.
The more you give, the more you live, the more you learn, and the
more you learn, the more you have to pass on.
The bootstrapping years seemed to last forever. It began
with a folding table and a used computer that barely worked. In
time, we moved out of the Columbus ghetto to a new house (we did
really well off the sale of our first house) and this allowed for a big-
ger office, and I was able to buy a real computer. For the next sever-
al years, it was still me doing all the work. I took all the calls, pack-
aged all the orders, handled customer service, prospected, ans-
wered the Q&As, answered all the emails, wrote articles, contacted
suppliers and load content to the web site. You name it, I did it.
I should note that Ken Hicks, whom I wrote about earlier, helped
me with all the online stuff for free for MANY years and then for

37
$300.00 a month for even more years until I was able to hire him
full-time. The site would not be what it is today without his help.
I could tell hundreds of stories from these years and very few of
them are good, but somehow I always had the faith that the bills
would always get paid and there were many times I am not sure how
this was done. I remember many times where the bills were due in
one day and I didnt have anywhere close to enough to pay them.
Then I would get a check in the mail that would be enough to cover
what was due.



Once I was finally able to hire someone to help me with my
business skills, the first typing I was taught was that the day you start
a business is the day you stop being a technician and start being an

38
entrepreneur. I was told I would need to find people to replace every
aspect of the business except those that were required to grow (the
strategic work). I cant begin to explain how hard I fought this one.
People were coming to the site to read my articles and my Q&As.
Now I was being told I had to have other people do this if the busi-
ness was to grow. I was the one writing articles all over the place,
doing seminars and branding the company (what I was really doing
was branding myself not the company).
I was finally convinced that this is what was in the best interest
of the company and added Bob Youngs to the Q&A and began look-
ing for other people to write articles. The KEY thing was that they
needed to fit the company values and they needed to want to do this
as a form of giving back NOT for money. This worked out well be-
cause I couldnt pay them, but this is how I knew (and still know) that
someone is on the site for the right reasons.
I had no idea at the time that sticking to these key points and
adding more people began to build a brand of integrity, character
and value. This was because we are helping because we wanted to
help not for money. As the company began to grow, I figured that
the product sales would be able to support the site and hopefully we
would never have to charge for the information we provided. I al-
ways (and still do) think back to myself as a kid and all of those who
helped me for free. What if they didnt? Where and who would I be? I
knew (and know) that the minute we charged for this information,
we cut off a HUGE number of readers who really need it and can use
it. I knew the pros and cons to this from the very beginning.
The net margins in retail are very low (some companies operate
on 2.5%, most groceries stores are in the 1% range. For education,
the margins are HUGE (in the 80% plus range). Tangibles like pay

39
sites, ebooks, consultating, and other services can be very high mar-
gin if done right. What I wanted to do (and we do now) is try to go
totally against the grain and give away the highest-margin education
in hopes that the lowest-margin product sales would support the
growth. Every consultant I have ever spoken with has told me that
this is totally backwards, and we should be selling the content and
products and that I am leaving all the profits on the table.
I agree this is true, but what about that kid I wrote about or
the coaches who do not have the capital resources to
learn?Where will they find quality content if most the stuff you see is
pure BS with only one motivation to sell something. Time will tell
whether this is a good concept or not, but we have been around for
15 years now. Although we are by no means the most profitable, I do
know we have made a difference in many lives and helped people
break many personal records.
I had no idea at the time that it would take SO long before I
would be able to pay myself. I never wanted to borrow money. Even
though I did need to borrow $500.00 to buy some of the first inven-
tory (paid back within 8 weeks), I havent needed to pull in any inves-
tors or partners to make ends meet. We have always used our own
profit to build the company, and if I could go back in time, I wouldnt
change this. This forced me to think very hard on what to spend
money on, how to determine what a real return on investment was
and how to detail line items to determine what is necessary and
what is not.
I know this section is scattered, but the early years were very
much the same: scattered. There was so much going on, and I was
always in way over my head but kept pushing forward. I still remem-
ber the first month we sold $1000.00 like it was yesterday. While this

40
only had a yield of $100.00, that went right back into new inventory,
and it broke the $1000 mark. We were stuck in the hundreds for a
long time. I knew when we hit $1000, it was just a matter of time un-
til we hit $10,000. $100,000 was a pipe dream, but I figured if I got
better each day then I was one day closer.


Over several years, the inventory did grow and was now taking
over my spare bedroom and office. I also now had a few more
people on the Q&A and knew that we needed to move for us to
grow, but that meant the added expense would also mean it would
take longer before I was able to get paid for the work I was doing. I
basically worked for Elitefts (elite fitness systems at the time) for free
for the first 4-5 years and was putting in 60-hour weeks - 70-80 if you
count the reading.

41
I did learn over this time that for the company to grow, it
needed to be branded Elitefts. This name came about from readers
online who didnt want to type elite fitness systems, so they short-
ened it. I like that they created it so I stuck with and trademarked it
as they were as much of the company as I, Bob, Ken or anyone else
was. Without them, there was no company. So I knew I needed to
become a business owner (not a technician), but I needed help and I
needed more space.
The next move was soon to come.



42



Part Eight

From I to We


43
The next thing I want to touch upon is the mission of the com-
pany. The formal definition of this is:
EliteFTS is driven to be the strength training industrys number
one online destination by providing readers the widest range of free
educational resources, outfitting them with highest quality products
and services, and supporting them with highest level of service and
care.
The short version and the one found on the front page of every
page of the website is:
Educating and outfitting the strongest athletes around
the world.
To define this means we provide the education, motivation and
empowerment to help athletes get better. We define athletes as
those who place training as a top priority in their lives (coaches,
trainers, lifters and strength enthusiasts). This is why we have always
had top powerlifters, strength coaches, trainers, performance
coaches, therapists, educators and others on the site.
When I was a trainer, all I knew was what I learned from po-
werlifting, bodybuilding and school. The more I engaged and began
to learn from the best personal trainers, strength coaches, perfor-
mance coaches, physical therapists, educators, strongmen and bo-
dybuilders, the more I realized how dumb I was in only segmenting
my education to those associated with powerlifters. There was (and
is) SO much knowledge out there but also so much segmentation. It
didnt take long for me to learn that coaches didnt want to learn
from PLs, PLs didnt want to listen to coaches, PTs didnt want to lis-
ten to the strength coaches and the strength coaches thought the
PTs were full of shit. Bodybuilders think powerlifters are fat, and

44
powerlifters think bodybuilders are weak. I used to think the exact
same way until I began to get out into all these different markets and
realized how much they can help each other BIG TIME HELP. The
site was created to put ALL of these people in one place so the
readers could see how they can learn from all these different
groups.
Over the years, I learned how to better dial in my training from
team strength coaches. I learned from team physical therapists and
chiropractors how to rehab and train around injuries, I learned from
team bodybuilders how to optimize my diet, I learned through those
on the team who had masters degrees in exercise science, coaches
with great experience and people like Mel Siff how to validate and
dial the material in my seminars. I learned more about business
from the performance coaches who had their own successful facili-
ties and in turn was able to have them help others on the team who
have gyms. I wanted to become the site to go to for those who want
to get stronger and we do this because we have top people from dif-
ferent disciplines working toward the same goal to make people
stronger.
As the site continued to age, the more I saw this concept
emerge and become a major factor in making Elitefts different from
everyone else. After adding Bob, six of the next 10 additions for the
Q&A were strength coaches, then came more powerlifters, trainers,
chiropractors and physical therapists. With each new addition, the
team began to form around something bigger than any of us ex-
pected. There was a TON of criticism with every addition much
more than I can describe. The hardest thing was getting readers to
understand that there was value in mixing all these professions to-
gether. While I could have done without the hate, I knew we were

45
onto something because I saw the readers that we were attracting
were not the same as you find on sites geared toward beginners. We
were attracting readers who wanted to learn and looked to other
disciplines to better themselves.This later became known as the
Darkside. It was a concept that wasnt accepted well (and didnt
help orders at all) but felt right.
I think at the time, we all knew we were growing something but
just didnt know what that was. All I knew was we were attracting the
right reader base, were giving back and doing it without cost to the
readers. From the product sales side, this was still a disaster. The
products were selling more and we still needed to move. Thinking
back, it doesnt sound like a risk but at the time it was huge. I had to
move the business from my house to a bigger location.



46
I found a dump of a place downtown for $400.00 a month. The
problem was that this REALLY was a tough business decision at
the time. I knew we would need to sell $4000.00 of product just to
generate enough profit to pay the rent. This was around half our
current sales. Then I discovered that to move would also triple my
internet and phone costs, as the cost of these services for a business
are three to four times what they are for a home. I couldnt afford
this, so what I did was make the move but only used the downtown
location to ship from. I would work from home from 9-11:30am,
then run downtown and pack up the orders so UPS could pick them
up at 2pm and then run back home again to work on the site and
answer the phones. I knew I would miss calls in the few hours I was
gone but also knew these lost orders wouldnt be enough to cover
the expenses of adding the internet and phone lines in the other lo-
cation.
The building was around 800 square foot and was FAR more
space than I needed. I used the front section for some of the proto-
type strength equipment I had, the middle for the office and the
back for warehouse. My desks and shipping tables were folding
tables, and the warehouse sleeves were purchased at K-mart.
The site was starting to come together, the Q&A was picking up
traffic and orders finally did start to pick up some; enough to actually
put in the cable and phone line and it began to feel like a real job.
Then I was hit with my first taste for the real word. I was saving for
more inventory and got a legal letter from a competitor who wanted
to sue me for reasons I wont disclose. This was BS, but I still needed
to take all the money I had to hire a lawyer to send a letter back and
then the issues went away, along with all my money.
A few months later, my wife lost her job and we decided that she

47
should work for the company since she was already doing all the ac-
counting and bookkeeping. I had to figure out how to make more
sales because we now lost all of our income (I was still not being
paid yet). We had to find a way to get paid so we could at least pay
the mortgage and eat. I began looking at how other retail sites oper-
ated that were not in
the same field to search for marketing and promotional ideas.
This inspired some of the concepts that we still use today and did
help with sales. The seminars also helped but not in ways most
people would think. . If I were to guess, I would say I did close to 200
seminars and actually made a profit on less than 10% of them. They
did allow me to see and scout other gyms across the county. This
provided a wealth of information that would later help with our
product development and offerings.




48
I spoke everywhere: university weight rooms and lecture halls,
gyms, garages, bomb shelters, churches, business conference
rooms, schools, family rooms, commercial gyms, aerobic rooms,
outside, in prison, personal training centers, professional sports
franchises, a coffee house...pretty much everywhere. Every trip was
an adventure, and there are still stories to be told from each one. At
its peak, I was in five cities over seven days. Several times I slept in
the rental car because the seminar didnt get enough people that
allowed for the hotel room expense. While at times these were a
pain in the ass, I still loved every minute of it because I was able to
teach people how to break personal records and get stronger.
I remember speaking at a large conference and having dinner
with two other people who were big names in the industry, and we
began speaking about our seminars. I assumed they were making
tons of money on theirs, and what I found out was they had many of
the same stories I had. This made me feel better because I began to
see that I wasnt the only one who felt like they were paying their
dues. Based on my past, I knew things were never going to be easy
for me, so I was going to do whatever I needed to do to make this
work, no matter how long it took.
The one thing that I remember the most from this time was
when I was on the road for ten days straight. I couldnt afford to use
the hotel internet connection and we didnt have smart phones.
While I was working, I was away from the site and the office for one
week. When I came back everything was fine. The Q&As were still
rolling and my wife had everything under control. It was then that
my view of the company changed from I to We. It was no
longer just about ME.
I wasnt quite sure of how I felt about this at the time, but as you
will read, it did change the course and direction of the company.
I was also in my "prime" competing years.

49



Part Nine

Being A Father


50
I had to take a break from writing these as they were getting to
be depressing to me. Too many bad memories. Well, not really bad,
but there were a lot of hard times, stress, adversity, and we seemed
to be growing, but the pace was too slow to make any significant dif-
ference. Even when you are growing at 20% per year, when you start
at nothing, it takes time for your capital to build. Add to this our net
margin was between 5-7% and losing money on almost every semi-
nar. I would be lying if I said there werent a number of times that I
wanted to go back to being a trainer. I had a fraction of the stress
and made way more money.
I was taught at a young age that if you begin something you
finish it and never quit, so I stuck with it. Months went by, and I was
ripped off by a supplier that once again drained half our capital with
no product to show. I just happened to be scheduled to do a private
seminar for a building contractor. This was one of the oddest semi-
nars I have ever done because it was only him, his CEO and his assis-
tant in the room. I did my thing (by this time it was pretty locked in),
and then we went to the gym for the practical side. His corporate
gym was amazing. It was HUGE and had everything you can think of
to be strong. While being a very successful building contractor, he
was also a meathead just like me. After 20 minutes of teaching him
how to squat, I no longer saw him as the multi-millionaire who was
setting me up like royalty but just a guy looking for a bigger squat,
bench and dead.
After training, we went out to eat and then back to his house. He
asked me about Elitefts, my current state and future plans. These
were not BS questions; he was generally interested. I told him of our
aim, mission and values, where I wanted to be and the struggles we
were having (mostly financial). This was REALLY hard to admit be-

51
cause I didnt want to ask for money and not have him think I was
asking. The last thing I ever wanted or wanted people to think I
wanted was a hand out. He made me feel comfortable enough to tell
him the truth and I did so because I could tell he cared and would
offer something better than money advice.

I also expressed that my greatest fear was we were barely
able to pay the bills, and now I also had an adopted baby boy that
was just going to make matters more complicated. I was going to
have to find more time and money so I could be there for him and
pay for his needs. I didnt see how I was going to be able to make
this work.
I actually had no clue, and it scared the hell out of me.
I can still hear his exact words in my head today:

52
Being a father WILL make you better in business.
I asked him how, and all he said was that in time, you will know.
We kept in touch over the next few years as he would buy some
items from time-to- time, and he would ask how things were going.
The answer was always the same we were plugging along but no
huge growth spike. He would tell me this was good, and I would jo-
kingly disagree, but about a year later, things began to come togeth-
er, and I started to understand what he was trying to tell me.
When you are a father, you need to think more clearly with your
business because now others (who cant take care of themselves)
rely on what you do and what decisions you make. They are also un-
der your wing for 18 years, so growing slow and steady can keep you
in business longer than fast and furious. As soon as I put this to-
gether, I sent him an email telling him that I got it and the reply back
was
Almost
To this day, I still dont know what part I have yet to learn, but I
do know that when it happens, I will know.
I made MANY great contacts through these seminars and
meets I was attending. Most of the team members were gathered
his way. They were people I got to know well, knew their values (or
thought I did - I did make some mistakes) and more people were
added to the site. Slowly, we were becoming known as the go-to site
for strength and conditioning information but also a site known for
its character and integrity. We were not jamming highlighted text in
peoples faces and using all the latest and greatest internet market-
ing tactics.
We did know that we HAD to have sales, because if we were not
going to jam the sales at people in articles and product copy, we

53
needed to let people know we actually did sell products - as this was
what was paying for the site. This is still one of our biggest problems
to date.
Throughout the years, we continued to grow, but I knew that I
was missing something. I needed more top lifters on the site, but
getting them was an issue because of other sponsors who offered
gear. We didnt have Metal Gear at the time and the other compa-
nies, while they did express interest, would never get back to me
with price lists or how to place orders.



I met with Metal Sports and Wear, and in a hotel room in New
Orleans, we worked out a deal we both could live with. There are
many factors with importing: customs, duty, taxes, shipping, classifi-
cation, carriers, material labels, margins and returns. It took some
time, but we finally worked it all out and this time it wasnt going to

54
cost half of what we had saved, it was ALL of it. This had to work or
we were screwed. Oh, the gear was also two to three times the price
of all the American suppliers (they dont have to pay all the same
fees; customs, duty, shipping, taxes, and make the stuff on their
own). My hope was that they would see the higher prices and in-
stead of holding their prices down they would jump them up as it
would provide them with 2-3x the profit they were making. That was
my hope because if they didnt we would have had a hell of a time
selling products 200-300% higher.


55
If they would have held to their price, we wouldnt have sold any
gear at all, but they didnt. They introduced new lines and doubled
their prices So this move didnt tank us, and it also gave us some le-
verage to sponsor top lifters. The only issues were the gear and ex-
penses for us. Even today, to outfit a new lifter can cost upwards of
$2000 because we dont manufacture it. While free to the sponsors
its not free to us. We didnt have the money to do this, but what we
did have were guys like Brian Schwab who were interested and will-
ing to work with whatever we could do. My exact words to him were,
I am not sure what we can do but together we will figure it out.
To this day, this is still pretty much how the sponsorship and
team program works. It is and has always been important to us that
we help our sponsors succeed both on and off the platform. Looking
at our current team and past alumni you can see this isnt just typed
words but something we take seriously. I am proud of what our
team has done on the platform but take the greatest pride in what
they have done outside of that.
Around this same time, we started getting some school
weight room orders and we were now building a business (still at
the same rate). With more capital to invest, we began hiring people
to help. Out of the first three, two are still with us today. One is part-
time purchasing and the other is still active on our Q&A.
I had a lot to learn about staffing and leadership, so it took time
and I had to start the learning process all over again. However, I was
slowly beginning to delegate most of my administrative work so that
I could focus on what needed to be done to grow the business and
myself. This learning phase was critical to the journey into the next
phase of Elitefts.

56



Part Ten

The End of a
Powerlifting Career


57
Before moving forward, I want to go back to the night I spent
with the building contractor as what I learned from him in one night
continues to teach me today. Here are some points that we dis-
cussed. I have found every single one to be true, but when I was first
told them, I thought to myself nope, this wont happen to me. I was
wrong on every count. Here is a short list of some of the items we
spoke about:
1. No matter what you do, your life and business are very hard
to separate, and you will, in one shape or form, work all the
time.
2. Nobody will care about your business as much as you do.
3. Everyone will think you earn 100 times more than what you
really do.
4. If you fail (and the odds are very high that you will), your best
option is to start a new business because finding a job will be
extremely hard and your work experience was failing. If you
do fail, there is a good chance that you will lose everything
you own in the process. Losing a business is not like being
fired from a job. There is no unemployment package you can
apply for and there is a good chance your assets will be leve-
raged to try and save the business. If you are fired, you just
go and try to find a new job; two different worlds. I am lucky
that I have not found this one to be true but have had to leve-
rage all I own to get through tough times.
5. No two years will ever be the same, and forecasting is an art
as much as it is a science.
6. There will be times when you will feel completely isolated and
have no idea who you can trust.
7. You are responsible for ALL actions of the company. Not just

58
yours but every single person who represents you. This is
both in the public relations and legal sense.
8. You will never use a vacation away message with your
email, and if you do, it is not sending a very good message.
9. Your personal income will never be steady or secure, and you
will always be asking yourself, should I pay myself or reinvest
back into the company
10. The saying You cant please everyone becomes a reality, not
just something people say. You will face this everyday.
11. You will always be a dick to someone. The best example I
have with this is our sponsorship process. It is very tight, re-
searched, long and not easy to become a team member. The
last two that were added took a year or more of following
them before adding. Just to be considered should be an hon-
or, but for some reason, if they are not selected, then I am
the biggest dick in the world.
12. The fear of failure never goes away. The fact is that in todays
environment, a business can tank in 3-4 weeks.
13. Regardless of how you feel, do the right thing anyway. You
will always come out better for it.
14. When people take advantage of you (and it will happen), you
will be told something along the lines of business is busi-
ness. But, if you are the one who makes the strategic move,
then it was all personal.
15. You get to discover who your real friends are. The first clue
will be that theyll be the first ones to pay and WONT let you
have it any other way. Associates will ask for a discount, and
the real assholes will just feel entitled to get everything for
free.

59
16. People who feel they know better than you will offer great
advice, point out how youre wrong in what youre doing and
know they could do better, yet they have zero vested interest
in the company.
17. If you do begin to succeed, you get the added bonus of family
members, friends and associates hating you for any and all
reasons you can think of. You will also attract critics at an
alarming rate.
18. You will be sued more than once
19. You will be screwed over by those who you NEVER thought
would ever do so.
There are many more. I wrote them all down and even wrote
one article about this already. The take-away from this is that the
road is not this nice, linear growth road where you make PR after PR
and get stronger and better every month. This sky is not always
clear, and the money doesnt fall from trees. The reality is that you
are really in a shit-storm hurricane trying to find a coffee can of
money buried in somebodys backyard. If you study, learn and pay
attention then you MIGHT be able to know what yards to look in, but
regardless of what you know, the hurricane is still going to be there
trying to knock you on your ass at any chance you have. The sooner
you realize this, the easier it becomes because the unexpected be-
comes expected and you become much more aware of triggers (or
indicators) that let you know when things are falling off path. Many
times, these indicators are the core values of the company.




60
That intermission is over. Time to get back on track. Where were we?
Oh, the main street address with a handful of employees.
Over the next couple years we had to expand next door, and
about a year later, I was no longer able to hold onto a squat bar (this
is relevant). I had had two surgeries before this and went in to have
it looked at again only to be told my shoulder was full of arthritis,
bone spurs, degeneration, torn librium and a torn rotator cuff. My
choices were to live with the range of motion I had left and do all I
could to keep it from getting worse or a total shoulder replacement.
After being told the same thing from three specialists, I opted for
keeping it as it is as the pain is not too bad. I just cant overhead
press, hold a barbell on my back or bench heavy to my chest.
In 2005, my powerlifting career was over. I was and am not
willing to trust the technology that is now out there for a shoulder
replacement unless the pain is so bad that I cant live with it. I can
still do 90% of the movements I want to do and my limitation barely
affects my life. This did mean that I would no longer be spending 4
weekday mornings in the gym and not getting into the office until
noon. I would now be in the office during regular hours as well as
the same night hours that I had always worked.
I changed my training from morning to after work, and this al-
lowed me better focus on the strategic and planning aspects of the
business. I also discovered that my best strategic and planning
time was in the morning from 6am to 10am. My focus was far bet-
ter, and this allowed for me to drill down into what is really impor-
tant and how to get these done, as well as how to use the staff of
Elitefts and team members to help drive this aim home.
We still kept growing at the same 20% rate but ran into a
problem where we ran out of space and couldnt add inventory or

61
hire one more person because there was no where to place them. At
this point, we were able to save up enough capital to pay for a move
and the expenses, as well as afford double the rent we were paying.
We looked for close to a year, and right when we were about
to give up looking, a friend of a friend let us know of a place. We
went and checked it out. It was more than we could afford to pay but
decided to take the risk and move into the next location.



We would now have 4000 sq foot for the warehouse; 2000 for
the weight room and 1500 for the office (3 different building loca-
tions, AKA Compond). There was also room to expand if needed. We
bit the bullet, made the move, and as always, everything did cost
more than we thought it would and there went all of our capital
again. The difference was this had happened so many times to this
point, and I knew it would come back up; it would just take time with

62
the owners getting paid less or not at all. Even to this day I cant justi-
fy being paid (as an owner) if the company is not growing. To me,
this means that it is not making money, and that this is my fault. Im
responsible and shouldnt be paid.

Next we had to expand the warehouse into the weight room and
move the weight room off-site. This was a very cool building but we
knew this had to be short-term because it was propane-heated and
very expensive. We did not have memberships and used this as a
showroom and for staff and sponsors to train. If they left the heat on
after one session and we didnt get back into the gym for a few days,
this easily would cost $300.00 in heat.
This brings us to 2008 and the recession. This kicked our
asses. Very little equipment was selling at all, and this is 50% of our
revenue. We could barely pay the bills, we cut expenses everywhere
we could, owners pay was cut and we still had to cut some em-
ployee benefits. We didnt have to let anyone go, even though the

63
orders and sales were down. At the time, many of our equipment
and accessory products ideas were being borrowed by others (this is
just how business works), so our plan was to do our best to misdi-
rect our competitors into thinking we were putting all of our re-
sources into equipment marketing and design. We knew that based
on the sales and the economy, we needed to change our focus to
smaller, higher-profit items but didnt want our competitors to know
what we were doing. So we started looking into our own straps,
wraps, apparel and accessories.


64
Around the same time, a few of our suppliers ran into money is-
sues and began asking us to prepay for items 90-120 days in ad-
vance when we were already set up at net 30. They tried to make
their money issues ours, so because we would not agree to their ri-
diculous terms, nor would they accept anything else we offered we
created our own lines, thus opening up a few other revenue
streams. BUT all of these would take months to come together and
once again... all the money we had. This plan worked well, and we
ended the year 5% over the prior year. We were also able to restruc-
ture our strategic plan for the future. It was a very stressful year, and
I think that we all learned a lot that year that would help us though
the harder times that would come later.
Throughout all this, we kept adding team members that unders-
tood what we were doing and wanted to be a part of it. I also began
to get over my head again and began looking for new people to help
as advisors for not just the company but for me as well. As we grew,
my weakness had to improve. I needed help and found that help
through some team members but mainly through a small group of
people I set up based on the skills that I lacked the most.
For the most part, things were going well, but little did I know
just how bad the shit was getting ready to hit the fan.


65



Part Eleven

Mistakes


66
The years 2008 and 2009 were very challenging years for Eli-
tefts. 2008 was 5.07% over 2007, and 2009 was 7.08% under 2008.
These were very challenging because this was unexpected based on
the average growth rates since 1998, and we had no idea how to fix
it or what to do.
We did get through this with a lot of strategic planning, careful
control of expenses and only investing in people, ideas and products
that we felt had a great chance to breakeven and yield a high return.
I would rather not speak about all the lessons learned though
this time but instead to focus more upon what we did discover as we
began to try to expand the team members slightly outside the cul-
ture of Elitefts. We wanted to expand into different markets to try to
bring in much needed revenue, but at the same time, we wanted to
stick to the same values of only bringing in those who were in the
top 10% of what they did.
This didnt work and actually backfired, and it created more con-
fusion than conformity. We brought in people from different sports
and professions hoping that this would bring these markets to the
site. What we didnt realize is that these markets were ALREADY on
the site and using it was a reference to help their own sports and
professions. They didnt add value and may have hurt the value be-
cause they were providing information that readers from these
fields already saw as basic.
While on the topic of mistakes, I feel I should admit something
that I feel is necessary and is important to be added into this series. I
have made FAR more mistakes than things I have done right. There
is no doubt about this.
I have close to 400 articles on the site and there may be 20 that
are really good. I have answered over 100,000 Q&As, and I am sure

67
that less than 10% would be things that I could copy and paste to a
book. I have added hundreds (if not thousands) of products to the
cart that never sold only to have a small percentage sell well. I have
completely changed the specs of specific machines to make them
100 times better to only sell maybe one unit per year. I have created
products, like the Blast Straps, that I should have patented but never
did, and now there are knock-offs that are making millions off this
idea. There have been other products we had created to which the
same thing has happened.
I have not done my due diligence more times than I should
have. I have said things that I should not have said and stayed quiet
when I should have spoken up. In short, what I am saying is that I
have done most of what I have done wrong or failed at what I was
doing, but there are two constants:
1. I made sure they were executed from start to finish.
2. I went into each one knowing that they would work be-
cause even if they failed, I knew that there would be
something to learn from it that would help the compa-
ny.
This is why I am so big on execution because a job half done is a
job NOT done. A job that is completed and failed is something that
can be inspected, annualized and learned from. One job done that
succeeds pays the bills. A job that is half done to sits on a to-do list
forever and is neither paying the bills nor creating a situation that
makes anyone better.
Over these years, we added some GREAT people to an already
very good team. As always, there were some that didnt fit well, but
there were many who did fit extremely well and are still with us to-
day. It was during these years that the team began to form more in-

68
ternal relationships by emailing and calling each other. The process
of helping each other was taking place behind the scenes, and a cul-
ture was beginning to develop. People were not helping each other
to get props or credit online; they were doing it in order to help oth-
er team members. For many, close friendships were being formed
and stronger relationships developed.
We may not have been growing externally from a financial
perspective, but the seeds were being planted for the internal
growth that was beginning for flourish into something special. Due
to the stress on the company, I was not as active as the team mem-
bers as I was years in the past, but small tribal groups of team
members who knew each other the best or lived closer together
were forming.




69
By no means am I suggesting that there were not problems.
There always have been and will be. This is just part of being a team,
but unlike years prior, it started to feel like most people were work-
ing toward the same goal of living, learning and passing on. And it
did lead to a great rebound year in 2010. This is when I began to see
that when our internal staff was working together, things moved
forward. When there were internal issues, things would come to a
halt. This was only one of the lessons I learned about the power of
teamwork. 2011 would be the year where I would see what team Eli-
tefts was really about and could become. This will be my next post.
During these years, we moved the weight room back on site
because our warehouse space opened up. It was a HUGE cost sav-
ings bringing it back in house. We also kept expanding the apparel
line and brought our equipment line up another notch. We were also
now beginning to deal with many competitors, big and small, that
were borrowing our product ideas, reverse engineering with cheaper
materials and, in many cases, call the products the same name as we
were. I figured that this was just part of business and imitation is a
form of flattery. I would also soon come to realize that that line was
BS.
Oh, I was also served legal letters from two companies I NEV-
ER, EVER expected to get from. The threats of legal suits began to
come, but none of them cost more than a phone call to work things
out or a letter back from our lawyer. Nonetheless from people I con-
sidered friends. They could have simply called and the "issues"
would have been resolved easily. I learned and this has stood true,
in business, the ones you trust most or speak the most about it will
be the first ones to stab you in the back. I was told this years ago but
it doesn't hit home until it starts happening. I had to learn to sepa-

70
rate what is best for the business from all relationships.
I was beginning to realize that many of the things I was told
and warned would happen were actually beginning to happen, and it
was time for me to grow up and learn how to deal with these things
in a business manner instead of personal.
As you will read, there is a BIG difference.


71



Paert Twelve

Adversity (Shit)


72
It has been a while since I wrote the last part of the company
story. Its not because I havent had the time. Its not because of writ-
ers block. The reason is, I wasnt sure how to write it. It was Mike
Szuderak who reminded me that I already did.
As company presidents, business owners, coaches, mothers,
fathers and so many other roles we hold, we have been told,the
best stay cool under pressure. When others are freaking out stay
calm, cool on, and on track. You may have heard, lead by example,
keep your head up and drive on. While I do agree with these state-
ments, there is another side of this that usually isnt told.
Behind every great leader there is a person who has had to deal
with a ton of shit. It is the adversity (shit) that is partially the reason
they are in the place they are. Better said, it is what they have
learned from the adversity that has put them where they are. There
are those who deal with pain and those who avoid or run from it. As
humans the storms WILL come and what you think is a hurricane
today will only feel like rain many years from now. If you dont learn
from these storms, every rain shower will feel like a hurricane.
I am no different than anyone else. I have had to deal with my
share of adversity in my life. One of the worst times in my life was in
2008-2009. As you will read below, this was a living hell for me.
Thinking back on it now, I am extremely grateful for it because...
It completely changed me. Up until this time I thought I knew
who I was and I was completely wrong. I was nothing like the man I
thought I was or wanted to be. Im not really sure I ever knew who I
really was until this period in my life.
It changed how I saw other people. I began to open up more,
trust, and look for the good in people instead of keeping my dis-
tance.
I began to see conflict as a good and necessary thing. While I
wont say I welcome it with open arms or go out looking for it, I will
say I will not shy away from it if I think it will make my family, the

73
company, or myself better. I also know it will always (at some level)
be part of my life.
I realized just how small and insignificant I really was.
I discovered what true friendship is.
I began to understand that I couldnt do everything on my
own.
I became a better husband, father, son, brother, and friend.
I realized that team elitefts was not just a marketing tool,
but needed to become a culture of people who cared about
each other and something bigger than us all.
Over the course of one year, my life as I knew it completely
changed. I still may not know exactly who I am, but I do know who I
want to be. I work each day to become one step closer to this. There-
fore, my vision of what elitefts was, is, and will be became much
more clearer.
As I was told on the phone yesterday by one of our sponsored
lifters, Elitefts is much bigger than me or any other team member.
Its even much bigger than Dave Tate.
Elitefts has to always do what is best for elitefts
To be honest if I was told this years ago, it would have pissed me
off. But when I heard it yesterday it was one the greatest thing I have
been told all year. I may be the founder, but by no means am I eli-
tefts.
As I write about the next five years, you will begin to see how
this period in my life completely changed the life and culture of the
company. There are many of you reading this that were part of the
team before and after this time period. If you think back you will see
what I am speaking about. Those closest to me will know exactly
what I am writing about.

74
I hear and read so many times that people cant change. My
response is always the same: You can do whatever the hell you want
to do. The reason you arent changing is because you dont want it
bad enoughyou havent figured out what bad enough means.

75
Excerpt From Raising The Bar Pain
1. physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury:
Shes in great pain.| those who suffer from back pain.
2. a feeling of marked discomfort in a particular part of the
body: He had severe pains in his stomach. | chest pains.
3. mental suffering or distress: the pain of loss.
4. (also pain in the neck or vulgar slang pain in the ass) [in
sing. ] informal an annoying or tedious person or thing:
Shes a pain.

Evil being the root of mystery, pain is the root of knowledge.
Simone Weil,
19101943 French philosopher, mystic

Nothing begins, and nothing ends that is not paid with moan; for we are
born in others pain and perish in our own.
Francis Thompson,
18591907 British poet

The violence and obscenity are left unadulterated, as manifestation of
the mystery and pain which ever accompanies the act of creation.
Anais Nin,
19141977 French-born American novelist, dancer

There are two big forces at work, external and internal. We have very
little control over external forces such as tornadoes, earthquakes, floods,
disasters, illness, and pain. What really matters is the internal force. How
do I respond to those disasters? Over that I have complete control.
Leo Buscaglia,
American expert on love, lecturer, author

76
Personal note: I wrote the following during one of the lowest
points in my life. People have suggested leaving this material out of
the book, but I think we learn the most about life from our failures.
Against the wishes of many of my advisors, Im keeping this chapter
in.
Journal Entry
The last few days have been pure hell on me, and the storm keeps
brewing. My greatest fear in life has arrived, and I had no idea it was
coming. I have no idea what to do. I suppose the best way to write about
this is to leave out the cause and look at the effect.
Writing that the last few days have been hell is an understatement.
Im in the worst hell Ive ever known, and I dont know what to do or
where to turn. The pain runs so deep, the depression is so fierce, and Im
wracked with guilt, worry, loneliness, emptiness, sorrow and remorse. My
head wont stop pounding, and my nerves are in a state Ive never known
before. Im not sure whats happening beyond this mental pain that
simply wont stop.
A few hours ago, my arms began to go numb and my upper back
was in knots. Spasms ran up the back of my neck, making my head feel
like it was in a vise. My entire world is closing in on me. All of my dreams
are gone. My purpose is gone. My reason to live...
All I remember is that something wasnt right. I got in my car and
drove to the hospital. On the way there, I was unable to see and think
through the tears caused by my physical and mental pain. The drive
seemed to take a lifetime, and I found myself in the emergency room
parking lot with no idea what was going on. The mental strain I was un-
der was enormous, and the guilt I felt was beyond my comprehension. I

77
tried to get out of the car, but I couldnt move my legs because the feeling
of pins and needles ran from my toes up to my knees. I was filled with
pain, worthlessness and emptiness. I had no self-esteem whatsoever at
that moment, and I hated the person I saw looking back at me in the
rearview mirror.

I pulled out my phone, thinking Id call the ER to come out and get
me. I wondered if there was someone else I could call. After going
through my list of contacts, I realized there was nobody I could call if I
needed help. I have people in my life, but I had no idea who I could call
in worst case scenarios like this one. Nobody in my life, or so I thought,
gave a shit, and it was my actions that had caused this. The pain in my
upper back grew so intense that it forced me to pull my head up to seek
relief.
As I looked up, I saw the same familiar clouds I used to spend hours
staring at as a kid, and I started wondering what death would be like.
Would I be alone?

78
Would I be in heaven or hell?
Would the pain go away?
Would I be free of the constant pressure in my head?
Would I be free of this?
Would I be free from that?
Would I be able to leave my past behind me and find true happi-
ness?
Could I be the person I wanted to be?
If I died, would I even be a person?
What was there?
Whatever was there simply had to be better than what I was living
for the past few days.
I decided not to go into the hospital, hoping I would die in the park-
ing lot and finally be free. I was okay with this, and sat in my car for two
hours waiting to die. After that, I figured this wasnt going to happen
easily, just as nothing else in my life has never happened easily. I was
going to have to find a way to do this on my own.
I spent the next few hours on the internet trying to find the best way
to be free. I found many options, but all of them had survival rates that
I wasnt happy with. Knowing myself, I knew it wouldnt work according
to plan. Nothing ever does. I could try to smash my car into a tree, but Id
survive. I could try to overdose or gas myself, but Id end up living the
rest of my life brain dead. I could try to hang myself, but the noose
would break. I came to the conclusion that my best option was to blow
my head off, so I went to Walmart to see if I could buy something to do
the job. I knew I wouldnt be able to buy a gun, and I didnt have time to
borrow one, but I figured there had to be something I could find.
I sat in the parking lot too depressed to even go into the store. It hit
me that I was totally fucked up at this point, and I drove back to the

79
hospital. I sat in the parking lot for another hour, but I was afraid to go
in. What would I tell them? I wanted to die, but I sucked so bad at it that I
couldnt do it myself.



I made a call to a friend of mine and asked him how you know when
youd hit rock bottom. I explained my situation, and he told me I wasnt
even close to rock bottom yet. Things would get worse!
Itll get worse? I asked in astonishment. I already want to die!
You havent done it yet, have you? he replied.
Then youre not at your all-time low. If you were at rock bottom,
youd be dead. The question is, why arent you dead yet?
I dont know.
I do, he said. Its because you want to survive. So do it. You have

80
time to figure out how to live. Just turn the car on and drive away, taking
one minute at a time.
I knew from talking to him that I didnt want to die, but I didnt know
who I was anymore. Im not sure I ever knew who I really was in first
place. All I knew at the time was the pain, and it wasnt stopping.
I knew I didnt want to die, but I had to figure out the rest for myself.
I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I wanted to survive and I knew
that as long as I kept taking one breath at a time, I wouldnt die. One
breath turned into one minute. A minute turned into an hour, and then
an hour turned into a week.
Did I really hit rock bottom?
Who can answer this for anyone?
All I know is that I thought dying was an acceptable option, and I
found comfort in that. Id never been that low before, and Id never expe-
rienced so much pain in my life. Sitting in that parking lot, I was the
same boy from my past wondering what life would be like outside of my-
self. I wondered what life would be like if I could be free of who I really
was.
The pain didnt come in avoidance of knowing who I was. It came
from taking a close look and myself and not liking what Id seen.
The pain was not avoidance. It was acknowledgement.
After the pain and the decision to survive, I made a change that day.
I changed. I no longer wanted to live life chained, carrying a heavy suit of
armor. I embarked on a journey of self-discovery filled with even more
pain as each layer was peeled away. Each brick fell, and the armor was
taken off one piece at a time.
Im not writing this to scare you or impress you. Im not writing it to
make you feel sorry for the kid with no friends who grew into an adult
who hid his true self. Im telling you this to impress upon you that we all

81
have hard times. Well all have some very hard times, filled with ob-
stacles, adversity and pain.
The cause of the pain is irrelevant. Its our reaction to it that makes
us a spectacular species. We have to ability to choose, to seek out why,
and to find ways to change and create the life we really want. If were
willing to look, we have the tools to be happy. Sometimes these tools
seem very far away, and we look to others for happiness. We think ma-
terial things or more money will make us happy. We think wed be happy
if others would change.
If... If...
If...
If....
You fill in the blanks. Yes, there are times when we all need help, but
we usually just need to look at ourselves in the mirror in order to
change. Look beyond the eyes looking back, and look into your heart.
In powerlifting, as with any other sport, we all live with pain. Ive suf-
fered more injuries than just about anyone Ive ever met. I thought many
of these injuries would put me out of the sport for good. As athletes,
however, we know there are always ways around injuries if we have
enough desire and enough will.


82



Part Thirteen

The People Are
The System


83
Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of
the surest stepping stones to success.
Dale Carnegie

While things slowly got better with me, I also began to realize
(as noted) that I needed help. I also started to look very closely at
with whom I was surrounding myself, meaning staff, team members,
people in the gym and so on.
Were these people that I could trust?
Why were they in my life?
While I did a lot of soul searching on myself (for well over a
year), this began to expand into the company and culture of Elitefts.
Were the people on the team, suppliers, staff and other associates
the people who were going to help build the brand or were they
there so the brand would build them? While I wasnt ready to make
changes, I was becoming much more aware.
The one thing I did notice was that the companys sales suc-
cess was directly related to drama associated within the company.
It didnt matter if it was staff drama, supplier drama or sponsor
drama, it always had a negative effect on sales even when readers
and customers had no idea it was going on. With this, I realized that I
needed to spend more time working in the office instead of from
home. My work in the office was so that I could be more aware of
what was going on. I used to be out of the office much more than I
am now because I could get more work done at home as there were
no distractions, but this work was only one role of my job. The other
role, the one I didnt even know mattered that much, was being neg-
lected.


84
To be an effective leader, you first need to be aware. Aware-
ness is EVERYTHING! What I used to see as a waste of time soon be-
came my highest priority. Just being in the office and listening to the
people on the phone, seeing how they work, how they interact, what
they bring to my attention and what they dont bring to my attention
all has value. After I finally embraced the importance of this, I saw
there was much work to do.


85
While I did go through a very intensive business develop-
ment course that focused on the importance of systems, and I did
for a very long time think a system-driven business is an effective
business, I began to see this is not entirely true. You need people
to work and create these systems. I was shifting my focus more
away from a system-driven business to a people-driven business.
There is no doubt there is importance for both, and to me, when
these come together, you get what many call culture. This is what
my new objective became. I wanted to create a culture for Elitefts
that was mirrored online and offline, regardless of the position. But I
had no idea where to start.
Then life hit again...HARD!
This time, I had no control over any of it. Within a span of a
few months, my wife had a pulmonary embolism that put her
seconds from death and from being at the farm to open-heart sur-
gery in less than 12 hours. I lost my Dad after a hard fight from hav-
ing a stroke. We had a business deal go bad that wasted seven
months of work and tens of thousands of dollars, my sons school
life came to its limit, and we had to pull him out of the system (a
special needs child in a system with a shitty special-needs program).
The difference between this hell and the hell I was living before
were two totally different things. This time I had faith that no matter
what happened, I would make it through. The old saying, When you
find yourself in Hell, keep walking comes to mind. Also, I didnt feel
alone. I WASNT alone and didnt have to deal with this on my own.
As I noted previously, I became a better husband, father, son,
brother and friend because I had people to help that I didnt feel
wanted something in return. I felt I could be open and ask for help
and not be judged for it.

86


87
I also discovered something else. As I have always been open
with my training log, I discovered something that makes Elitefts dif-
ferent, something that gave me strength and confidence.
Something...
I cant really describe accurately. Since I am writing off the top of
my head, I will just keep typing.
What I found was the team of Elitefts staff were not just staff
members or people who only discussed and talked about training.
They (you) were people from all backgrounds (mostly professional)
who cared! When my wife was recovering, I had emails from people
who had been through the same thing with their family members (or
themselves). One even took over the treatment of her to make sure
everything was right and made damn sure I knew not only what had
happened but what I needed to do to help. When my Dad went
down, I had emails and calls of support and many follow-up emails
asking how things were going. One came to town to help the busi-
ness while I was home with my family.
When dealing with my son, I discovered there are three eli-
tefts team members who work with special needs, and they have
NO IDEA how much their support helped. I could write pages about
the help that I have received from team members in regards to train-
ing, business, injury and surgery rehab. It wasnt that long after that I
realized this same support was being given to other team members
by team members. Each one was reaching out, asking for or offering
help.
The culture I wanted to create was always there. I was just too
blind to see it. That is, until I opened my eyes and put all the fucking
systems aside. This isn't to say there were not problems, there were
and will always be.

88


89

2010 went on to be one of the best years we have ever had
as a business. Many changes were made, some easy, many not so
easy, but all made with the best interest of the company in mind. I
no longer made decisions based on my gut but set up a small group
of advisors that I could toss ideas and issues to that have helped me
see things from totally different perspectives, more so than I would
have without them. I relied heavily on them for some time, and while
they are still there, they have taught me how to step back and to
look at issues from 10,000 feet and to see the big picture, not just
what is right in front of me. I can't stress the importance of this and
how it TOTALLY changed my perspective of what "culture" means in
business.
Through this period of the business, I became better because
the team made me better. My family became better because the
team helped me see what other professionals wouldnt tell me. The
team got better because the team helped them get better. Through
Karma or whatever you want to call, it this was also a great competi-
tive year for most of the team members, and the business was back
growing at its average growth rate again.
The objective wasnt to increase the bottom line or beat
sales records. This was a side- effect of finding the culture known as
Elitefts. That was the ONLY objective we had that year. I learned to
sales are not the goal but the side effect of the process. Don't mi-
sunderstand you must have sales and more importantly profit but
the focus needs to be on those things that are most important to
creating it. Value is an underused word in business discussions but
one that needs to be used more. For example, we can do something
TODAY that will generate a TON of sales but at what cost? What val-

90
ue does it really have? The value isn't the sales it brings in that day.
Value has a long tail. If it was a sleazy sale you may sell a ton of new
people but drive away repeat business so your short term sales will
look good but 3 months down the road you will be wondering what
the hell happened.
I began to look at the value of everything this way and it
changed our entire marketing mix.
But the story isnt done yet. We have a few more years to go.


91



Part Fourteen

Underground
Strength Sessions


92
culture [kuhl-cher] Show IPA noun, verb, cultured, culturing.
noun
1. The quality in a person or society that arises from a concern
for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners,
scholarly pursuits, etc.
2. That which is excellent in the arts, manners, etc.
3. A particular form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain
nation or period: Greek culture.
4. Development or improvement of the mind by education or
training.
5. The behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular so-
cial, ethnic, or age group
...and less of a Brand

brand [brand] Show IPA noun
1. Kind, grade, or make, as indicated by a stamp, trademark,
or the like: the best brand of coffee.
2. A mark made by burning or otherwise, to indicate kind,
grade, make, ownership, etc.
3. A mark formerly put upon criminals with a hot iron.
4. Any mark of disgrace; stigma.
5. Branding iron.
Just reading the definitions of each of these shows a tremend-
ous difference. When you think about how this can change the dy-
namics of a company its overwhelming. For so many years, I was
consumed with branding and what we needed to do to establish a
market share, brand identity and appeal. While this is important, it is
NOT everything or even close. I would debate if it really should be
on any companys radar.

93
We all know and have seen those brands in the industry that
are well known and have established names and in many cases large
market share...
But, who are they?
Who are the people behind the brand?
What do they do and why?
This all began to make more sense to me after the first Under-
ground Strength Session.
Lets back up a bit. In 2005, I was faced with a decision. After
two shoulder surgeries and a repaired pec major tendon, I was told I
would need a total shoulder replacement. At this time, I was no
longer able to place my arm in position to hold a straight bar on my
back. When I did (or tried), the pain was intense, and I still could
barely hold the bar. After seeing three specialists, they all said the
same thing in slightly different ways. This is a summary of what I was
told.
1. Shoulder replacements are serious, and the procedure is
not perfected. If you have it done (a partial was not an op-
tion it would have to be a total replacement), it was highly
suggested that all my training after it was completed was
not to exceed bodyweight or at the very most, light
weights. They explained how the artificial joint would be at-
tached, how it would move and its limitations. I was told I
might be able to squat again (maybe), but benching and
deadlifting would be out of the questions (unless very light).
2. Because there is only pain when I do certain movements
and my lack of movement doesnt restrict me from living a
normal life, it would be very unwise to have the surgery
done. To provide and idea of my lack of range of motion. I

94
cant reach the back of my head, I can't put my hand in my
back pocket, I can't reach over head, I can't hold a squat bar
and I can't lower a bar to my chest without pain. When I say
I can't, I mean even of you grabbed it and forced it - it will
not go. I've tried that.
3. The odds that the shoulder would have more range of mo-
tion was only around 50%. Therefore, I would have a less
stable, weaker joint, and the ROM may not be better.
4. If I stopped stressing the joint so much (change the move-
ments I do), then I could postpone this for years or decades,
but it would mean I would not barbell squat or bench press
(to my chest) again.
My decision was to not have the surgery and live with a bum
shoulder that had limited range of motion. This was eight years ago,
and while the shoulder is not better, it is also not worse so I have no
regrets on this.
However, I did have a VERY hard time coming to terms with that
I was done powerlifting (this is an understatement as I could write an
entire article just on this). I suppose I could have just done deadlift-
only meets, but the issue there was that I have always hated the
deadlift ALWAYS so this was not going to happen. One thing that
makes powerlifting different from other sports is there is no end.
There is no coach there to say you will not make it to the next level.
There is no getting cut because you are too old. If this is REALLY in
your blood, there is really only two ways out. The first one is where
you leave on your own terms. You just decided its time and that you
are done. Basically you just fade away. The other option is the wear
and tear or a serious injury takes you out. You burn out. So you ei-
ther burn out or fade away. If I could go back in time, I would have

95
MUCH rather faded away, but that was not the card I was dealt.
The next couple years were mentally hard. I KNOW I could
have done more than I did. Maybe not exactly what I think I could
have done but better, rather than what I did do. This ate me up for a
couple years because I knew I would NEVER be able to find out. I had
a very hard time being around the sport and other lifters who were
still competing. Its not easy to do when you are in a business built
on powerlifting roots.
I did my best to remove myself from it and focused more on as-
pects of the business that didnt directly involve the sport. To be
blunt and honest, I began to hate the sport. Not in the way you see
other lifters today, who bash federations, judges and lifters. I began
to hate it because I didnt know how to love it without doing it. I res-
pected the lifters, and we kept sponsoring them and even added
more. I respected the sport and those in it but from arms length.
I did still train. This is the part of all of this that I LOVED the
most. Regardless if it was bodybuilding or powerlifting, training hard
was my biggest passion. It was my way (and always has been) to deal
with all the shit the world tossed my way. As the Elitefts weight room
grew, the more I had other retired lifters ask if they could come out
and train on the weekends. This was great because many of these
were guys that I trained and competed with for many years. We
killed each other and ourselves to become better. Just to be able to
train with them again was a great time. The difference was it was
now all for fun. We were not competing. We didnt HAVE to train a
certain way, do certain lifts or have to worry about what our body-
weight and strength was. We just trained hard and had a good time.
A bunch of retired meatheads with nothing better to do then train
hard and bust each others balls.

96


After about a year of this, a couple of them suggested bringing
in a handful of local lifters who wanted to get involved in powerlift-
ing and we would help them by teaching what we knew. I wasnt a
fan of this at the time for the reasons above, plus I now had two little
ones at home and wasnt sure I would be able to commit to a specific
training time 3-4 days per week. So we set it up where they would
come in on a Saturday and Sunday, and we would tell them what to
do during the week. This was a great plan, and I had 5 other ex-
lifters to help out.
I didnt really do shit for the first few months except watch. I
wanted to see if the people we brought in were even worth my time
and if they were serious. To make a long story short, a couple
months later, most of my helpers became very inconsistent. I was
working with programming a group of lifters who had never com-
peted before.

97
I am not so sure how much later this fell, but they all did do a
meet. It was not a pro- level meet, and there were not any pro lifters
there. They lifted the following day. It was on this day I fell in love
with the sport again. I saw why I got into the sport in the first place. I
saw people breaking PRs because they wanted to do it. The weight
didnt matter. What mattered is that they got better. They didnt have
pressure to lift X amount of weight so they could win, rank or make
some list. They just wanted to beat their own records to get better.
I also saw one of the guys from our group pull a PR deadlift. A weight
he never expected to be able to pull, but he did it. I saw the will and
resolve to try something slightly out of his reach, take it and own it!
THIS IS POWERLIFTING.






98
I have spent so many years, decades in fact, lifting in big meets
and never once attended a small meet. I lost touch of the grassroots
of the sport. Hell, it was HARD to even train the group I had because
I was so used to working with advanced lifters. I had to basically shit-
can all I knew and find what would work for them and the build from
it. To this day, there are still a few of them, and I will be the first to
say their program isnt what I would really love to see them do, BUT
it is the most optimal for THEM. From this, three of them became
pro lifters. All the rest have achieved Elite totals.
While this was all going on, I was emailed and asked if it would
be okay for a group of our sponsors to come up and train for a day. I
do not remember the day, except for it was a Saturday. We had
around eight sponsors show up to train my beginner crew I had at
the time and all the retired meatheads. It was years later that I saw
the real dynamic of this. The sponsors wanted to come down and
train because they grew up watching videos of all of us retired
meatheads and they wanted to meet and train along side of us.
Meanwhile, the group of beginners were currently looking up
to the sponsors. In one gym in the middle of nowhere (and at the
time, the gym really was in the middle of nowhere) three different
generations of powerlifters trained, discussed training, told stories,
busted each others balls, had a great time and became human.
Became Human The sponsors saw that they were NO dif-
ferent than the guys they used to look up to, thus they could be bet-
ter than they were. They were no longer images on a DVD but real
people just like them that had to deal with the same shit, the same
injuries and the same frustrations. If they were able to do it, then so
could I. Their perception on who they were and could be changed.

99

Became Human The beginners saw the sponsors the
same way. They were NO different than the sponsors were.
They could become just like them with time, effort and will.
Became Human The retired meatheads, if only for a
day, got to feel and be a part of something very cool. We were
able to pass on what we knew best. Not the general day-to-day

100
training information you see online. We were able to share and
help all of them with the small details they may not have seen,
such as the tiny mistakes that took us years to learn. The mis-
takes it takes 20 years of training before you even begin to
make.

Meanwhile, the sponsors were able to help us teach the
beginners because they work with lifters of this level every
time they are in the gym. We discovered I discovered that I
was trying to find advanced answers to really simple problems.
This was Living, Learning and Passing On at the grassroots level.
Out of ALL the seminars and Underground Strength Sessions we
have had, this is the one I remember the most.
THIS played a big role in moving from a Brand into a Cul-
ture.
How this role would play out later will soon be seen.

101



Part Fifteen

Issues,
MAW, and LTT


102
There is a time in every mans education when he arrives at the convic-
tion that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take
himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide un-
iverse is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but
through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to
till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he
knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has
tried.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those that succeed know that chaos and adversity are part
of the process. They come to expect and want it around. Its when
you are being tested that your view becomes real. When you are
being hit from every direction you learn to keep your eyes and ears
open, and after a while you begin to see the shots before they are
thrown. If youre too busy giving high fives and growing your own
ego there will be someone waiting in the wings to take it all away
from you.
You also cant spend your time wishing things were different,
less demanding, or easier. You need to except the circumstances for
what they really are. You need to know exactly what they mean and
what they can become. If you cant gain perspective, you need to
seek advice of others to help you see things clearly.
This is why I think things like masterminding are
amongst the most ridiculous concepts Ive ever heard. The con-
cept is not all that bad, but the way I have seen it applied ends up
being a total waste of time. The way to gain perspective is to get out
of your comfort zone. A group of like-minded people in the same
market sector can offer you nothing except mentorship if you fall

103
into the lower end of the spectrum, but even this is simply mentor-
ship in the form of imitation.
To succeed in business you have to embrace your differ-
ences and the things that make you unique. The concept of doing as
others have done will work to a certain point, but it will never create
what really could be. If you need mentorship, find people who are
outside your area of business or use focus groups of your own cus-
tomers. Better yet, use both. The best lifters never imitate all the
practices of other lifters. They take what they feel they can use and
disregard the rest. Very few do this in business because it takes risk
and realism, two things missing in most business owners.


The passage above in from an article I wrote in 2011. This
was shortly after going through the most stressful business expe-
rience Ive had to date. I write to date because there will be more but
this one was bad, really bad. I underestimated what was really hap-
pening, I never expected it to last as long as it did and I never
thought it would cost so much. This one almost sank the ship.
I still remember it like it was yesterday. I soon as it started I
was pissed and sent an email out to Mike Szudarek. Then I sent a
couple other emails out and realized this was some serious shit. RE-
ALLY serious. I emailed all my advisers and explained the situation
and it was agreed that it was a serious situation that needed outside
council. Once this was decided I was asked what my plan was. Hav-
ing faced a lot of shit in the past this was one road I have never tra-
veled so I replied that I was going in with all I have because soon-
er or later something like this was going to happen and I have

104
to learn how to deal with the stress associated with this while
at the same time keeping the company moving forward. Trust
me, this is much easier said than done.

Knowing the outcome could very well sink the company and
keeping focus on moving it forward is not easy by any stretch. While
there were choices (there always are) there was no way I was going
to settle with the ones I was presented with. They would have been
fast and easy but would have killed who we were and it would be like
starting over. If I was going to start over than it was going to be for
real. I was told and knew what I was getting into and I was told it was
going to be very hard, I wouldnt sleep and the stress at times would
be through the roof. I was okay with all of this because of three
things.
1. I had been through hell before. while a different type of hell
it was still hell and I knew one thing for sure... just keep
moving. I knew THIS I could do.
2. I was not willing to just let go something I knew was in the
best interest of the company.
3. I knew I had to do this so I could learn from it. You can learn

105
a lot about business from other people, books, teachers,
mentors and advisors but somethings you have to live
through to really learn. This was one of those things.
Before this was all over I did not have everything I wanted
and compromise had to be found. Elitefts did change forever but we
found ways to make it work to our advantage. It also costs WAY, WAY
more than I ever expected it to be. To be exact it cost 3900% more
than expected. That was not a typo. Once again I found us spending
everything we had plus some.
This one issue would have been fine on it's own but during the
process of dealing with this two other popped up that had to be delt
with. I have learned now what issues need to be taken slow and
what issue need to be swift.
When I started the business in 1998 I had to borrow $500.00
that I paid back the next month. Other than that we have never had
to borrow a dime. Everything we have has been our profit reinvested
back into the company.
In 2011 we had to borrow money (use our credit line), a lot of
money. Looking back on it now I see it as making a huge investment
in my business education and when I say this I am speaking the
truth. Throughout the entire thing I was in what I call my OCD
mode. Every step of the way I studied, asked questions, did research,
and asked more questions. I wanted to learn everything I could
about what was going on and why. I knew the risks we were taking
and came to a point were I accepted the fact that we may go out of
business if this keep going but there was NO WAY I was going to
make it all worth nothing! Before the end of the year EVERY cent was
paid back.
Since this issue we have had close to 15 other issues

106
tossed at us and because of the experience and what I learned
about the process, the system, the rules of the game and the ex-
treme importance of being patience (and when to not be) I have
learned how to deal with all the others day by day and as they come
around. Anyone of them could blow up into a big deal but there is
no need to stress or worry until that happens.
There were several lessons I learned from all of this that
changed the course of the business.
I learned that, in business, it is very easy to THINK things will be
much worse or much less that what they really are. The key is to
KNOW exactly what it currently is. Not what it could be, not what it
was but what it is right NOW. This is what you deal with. Everything
else is fiction and no matter how many moves you want to plan
ahead things change. This is not saying you shouldnt have a plan.
Just be prepared for it to change.

I learned there is no such thing as a minor issue, or for that
matter, a major issue. They are just issues.
You cant let anything get in the way of the creativity and
innovation of the business. This HAS to and MUST continue no mat-
ter what is going on. You can stress all you want about how bad the
issue may be four month down the line but its important to know
that if you head in not in the game you can put yourself out of busi-
ness in two months.
Business can be brutal and there are no playground rules on
what is fair or ethical. There are laws we all have to work within but
there are ways people can abuse those and work them to their ad-
vantage. People you think you can trust will screw you over, words
are just words and mean nothing, action only matters if there are

107
results from it, those who talk the best talk usually suck at what they
do, negative people don't become positive and very very very few
people ever change.



Just because others people and companies are scum doesnt
mean you have to be the same. There is some truth that you better
know how to fight it you get into
a fight you have to keep your emotions out of it and plat the
smart game while always putting the better needs of the company
first.
There is not always light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes
you drive out into the dark. Just because you had to walk through
hell dont expect a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. While it is

108
nice when the issues are over there are times when celebration isnt
really in order. Its just good to be over.
I know who I am when my back is against the wall and I know I
can keep my values in check.
When building a business think of building a fortress that can't
be fucked with. Have weapons nobody knows about and only use as
needed - if ever.
How did any of this change the company and the culture?
First, it changed how I thought about business. I was told many
years ago that leadership is a nice buzzword people like to toss
around but very few really understand. I was also told that in busi-
ness it will be the last skill to be mastered and for most it never will
be. I will be the first to admit I have along way to go but I became a
much better leader because of this.
Second, I need to touch on the Learn to Train Seminar before
touching on this point.
Since 2007 we have been associated with the Make-A-Wish
Foundation. Namely the OH, IN and KY Chapter. This came about
because 2007 was a pretty good year and I have always wanted to
give more back to charity. With some help from Mike Szudarek (as
you can see he has been a vital asset to elitefts and myself. I cant
thank him enough) and weeks of research we decided the Make-A-
Wish foundation was the perfect fit. They fit our values and aim of
the company. After meeting with them I knew within the first five
minutes this was the right choice.
We did do some work with other charities in the past but I really
didnt do my research and had no idea where the money was really
going. With MAW we know exactly where it is going and for what it is
going to. There are so many great things about this foundation that I

109
will just stop with that and keep the story going. In 2008 we wrote a
holiday eBook with all the profits goings to them (every cent). We did
the same in 2009 and beat our number from 2008. In 2010 we did
the same except didnt beat the number.



This pissed me off. So, after many years of not doing any semi-
nars I tossed up a seminar and called it the Learn to Train Seminar.
For one day and $100.00 I would basally run the same format semi-
nar I did for so many years. I recruited a couple staff members and
tossed it on the web site and noted that all profits would go to MAW.
On a cold day in January with two staff members, snow on the
ground, no food, and the office bathroom we did the first Learn to
Train Seminar. We ended up beating the 2009 donation goal.

110
I also LOVED the seminar. When I would think back on the semi-
nars of the past all I would think about was the travel, loosing money
on most of them - at best breaking even, all the prep work, etc.
When I did this one I was reminded of why I did do them for so many
years. The seminars ARE what we do everyday on the web site but at
the grassroots level. It also allowed my staff to see, hear, and feel
what we do everyday online. While I was ass beat when it was over I
knew we had to do another one and we had to bring our team in so
they could also see, hear and feel what they do everyday online.
Thus began the Learn to Train Seminar. We are now embarking on
the Learn to Train 7 Seminar and ALL the profit from them, except
one, have gone to MAW.
Except one.
How did the main issue of this section impact the culture of
the company? I already said it made me a better leader there is
another reason. Actually to me a much bigger reason.




111
When we are at the end of the above issues our capital was
rock bottom, we did borrow money but my goal was to find a way to
pay it all back before the end of the year. We needed help. I called a
couple of our long time sponsors who had helped with 1 or 2 of the
last Learn to Train Seminars. To be honest these calls were like try-
ing to call and ask a girl on a date. It took me two days before I called
the first. What I wanted was for them to come help but unlike other
times I wasnt able to help with any of the expenses and that none of
the money was going to go to charity.
I started the call simply saying I needed help and asked if
they could come to help at the LTT and that it wasnt going to before
charity - just that I needed help. NOT ONE of them even allowed me
to tell them why. NOT ONE. I only made three calls and by the end of
the day I had twice the help I needed. There were over 20 who
showed up and not one question was ever asked.
They have NO IDEA what this meant to me. As I thank each of
them the day of the seminar they still didnt want to know. It didnt
matter. All they knew is I needed help.
They helped.
They put me and the company about their own personal and fin-
ical needs that day.
I didnt sleep at all that night. While the money we raised was a
drop in the bucket to what I owed it gave me much more than a
start.
It light a fire under my ass because I knew this was way bigger
than any issue, or myself. It was bigger than anyone person.
This company and what we do became some much bigger to all
of us that day. I am not sure what it is but this is NOT a company or
brand. It is not a way life, or about getting strong. This is about hope,
trust, relationships and knowing that when the shit does hit the fan
you are NEVER alone. NOT when you are on team elitefts!

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I have always worked to build and protect the brand but this
changes that day. Collectively I know what this all means now. I know
what to look for in new people and when it's time to part ways. I
know the essence of the culture and what needs to be done to build
it.



By the end of the year all the money was paid back and we were
on the road to recovery.
Was it worth it? The stress, sleepless nights and finical cost?
Yes, with 100% certainty YES.
I know this has been a long story and we are almost unto
date but there is still more to be told.


113



Part Sixteen

Almost Today


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Important Note
As noted at the beginning of each of these posts this was written
and posted as an internal document. These have been and will con-
tinue to be my unfiltered words thoughts and ideas. I am more than
aware of the typo's, grammar and spelling errors. This is why these
have been posted in my log instead of an article. I want this to be
100% authentic and me. With that comes typos and such. I think in
this story these serve an important purpose and another take away
but I will leave that up to the readers to figure out.


As you have read, this hasnt been an easy journey, and there
have been many defining moments. Nothing is really easy. Things
like selecting which internal operating system to upgrade to seems
like a very simple process until you see the cost will run close to
$100K and you have to find contractors to help with the integration.
What seemed simple just became a major project. At the same time,
things you think will be very complex can end up being solved very
fast and easy.
When I started the company, I never thought I would be
doing most of the work I spend my time doing today. I certainly
didnt think I would actually enjoy it. The thing is, I really dont enjoy
much of the day-to-day work I do. What I do enjoy is the outcome it
produces (how we help people get stronger in and out of the gym).
This is completely opposite to when I competed. I really didnt care
that much about the meets but loved the training process of getting
there. When I wrote the book Under The Bar, I spoke about all the
things I learned in the weight room that have helped me in life and
business.

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There are many other things I learned in the weight room that
have been and can still be damaging to the company. Some of these
are:
1. Self Reliance
In the gym, your outcome and results are directly related to the
work YOU do. Nobody can do it for you. In business, you CANT do it
all. There is no way in hell Elitefts would be what it is today without
all the team members we have had over the years. While I have and
always will take full responsibilities for any and all mistakes the
company makes I am in no way responsible for the success - this
credit belongs to the team.
2. Diversity
In the gym, it works best when everyone who is training togeth-
er does the same thing - trains on the same program, does the same
lifts on the same day etc. It is also helpful if they think the same be-
cause it becomes easier to diagnose and overcome technical and
physical sticking points. It also reduces conflict and builds better
team unity.
As I have seen time and time again, unity in business means the
death of innovation and creativity.
Business is NOT sport, and its not a game that can be coached
like football. Business is, for a lack of a better term, business. It is a
growing and evolving process that HAS to be able to breath, expand,
contract, evolve and change.
Unity is NOT change.
It is the complete opposite of change. Change comes from dif-

116
ference of opinion, conflict, adversity and thinking in ways different
from your own. If all you have are a bunch of robots, you will not
make it. Adversity and conflict HAVE to be expected and embraced
because the gift they offer is change.
There is a reason why we hire people that have totally different
backgrounds.
There is a reason why we have people working jobs they may
not know anything about when they are hired.
There is a reason why we have sponsors that do not work in the
strength and conditioning industry.
There is a reason we have sponsors who do work within the in-
dustry.
There is a reason why we recruit people who we feel share the
same values but know may not fit into certain clicks.
We specifically look for people who are DIFFERENT from what
we already have. On the surface many lifters may look the same but
inside they are totally different.
We KNOW this could, can and will cause some drama and con-
flict down the road. From this conflict, regardless of the outcome, we
ALL get better.
The team gets better. The business gets better. The business
gets better the team gets better.
It FORCES us to get better. Even if this means parting ways, both
parties are better for it and this has been the case in every situation
to date and will continue to be in the future. These situations are an-
ticipated not avoided.
This was learned though years of trial and error. We have
had moments in time where everyone pretended to be the same
and we were not getting better. We have had more times where we

117
embraced the differences worked with the drama and adversity, and
we all kicked ass. There have also been times where we were parting
ways with team members left and right but through all of this we all
became better.


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This is really simple when you think about it. People grow, busi-
nesses grow and cultures grow when they are tested and face ad-
versity. People do not grow when they hide from there issues and
fears, Businesses do not grow when they dictate and dont listen.
Cultures die when people do not accept each other for their differ-
ences. Yet, they all thrive when they fall back on their core values
and see each other as different and unique individuals who all have
something to offer. The trick is knowing the "value" of the offer and
what advice to take and what advice to ignore.
If you have a business you know this already...
Everyone knows better than you do.
Everyone can do it better than you.
Everyone has the best advice in the world and you are always
stupid for not taking and using everything they say.
It is always and has always been someone else's idea first.
Remember they don't stand in your shoes nor do they know
how every action has a reaction and in almost all cases this reaction
will hit another person or department they know nothing about.
When I write listen that is what I mean - "listen". To me this
means absorb and figure out if their suggestions and advice is prac-
tical to use. Hearing and acting on what you hear is stupid business
and will get your ass burned every time. As I have noted many times
before. With many business owners their business is their life's
work. It needs to be treated as such, protected as such and every
move needs to be made with this in mind. Your actions impact way
more than yourself. They directly impact the "silent ones" (I will have
a chapter on these people) but also impact everyone associated with
the company. When we take on the role of business owner we also
take on the responsibility of making decisions based on what is best

119
for the company. This may not be what you feel is best for you, is the
most comfortable, or convenient but it IS your job.
3. Pay Backs
In the gym, if someone asks you for a spot, there is pretty much
a 100% chance if you ask them they will spot you if you need it. In
the gym, if you help someone, there is a very good chance they will
help you. In business if you help someone, there is a very good
chance they will do nothing to help you back. Every day I see, hear
and read people bitch about this.
This always reminds me of a song by Martina McBride called Do
It Anyway.
You can spend your whole life buildin Something from nothin
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way Dream it anyway

God is great, but sometimes life aint good And when I pray
It doesnt always turn out like I think it should But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This worlds gone crazy
And its hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all YOUR heart For all the right reasons
And in a moment they can choose to walk away love em anyway


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God is great but sometimes life aint good
And when I pray
It doesnt always turn out like I think it should But I do it anyway
Yeah I do it anyway, yeah,

You can pour your soul out singin
A song you believe in
That tomorrow theyll forget you ever sang Sing it anyway

Yeah sing it anyway, yeah, yeah
I sing
I dream
I love anyway, yeah.
---

Far too many times in business (and life), people expect a return
on what they give or they will not give if they do not think there will
be a return. If you are giving EXPECTING a return, then you are total-
ly giving for the wrong reasons. This is not to be mistaken for invest-
ing. When you invest you should expect a return on your investment.
Giving and Investing are two totally different things.
This is SO easy to get caught up in and is something I have to
remind myself of very often. There are so many things that have
happened in my life that I could feel bitter about, should feel bitter
about and have every right to feel biter about but choose not to.
This is a choice, my choice, and one we all have the right and
power to make.
I don't want to live a life being bitter, holding grudges and hat-
ing people. I would rather give myself the gift of forgiveness and
keep doing the best I can do to try to make the world a better place. I

121
am only one person and the difference I can make is very small
compared to all the problems in this world. Yet, there were people
along my path in life who were also only one, that only took one
moment and made a difference in me and who I would become.
As noted I'm human and fight the same inner battles as every-
one else. I ALWAYS circle back to a few simple concepts:
It is in our human nature to give
There have been others who gave to us, so we owe it to
them to pass on.
I believe we are put on this earth for a reason and I am will-
ing to be it is NOT to make money. I am also willing to bet
that somewhere in there is helping others.
It feels good to help others. If you do not know or under-
stand what I am talking about try giving more and you will
see what so many others have discovered.
Do you really want to be known as the person who has
helped nobody, gave nothing, and doesn't give a shit? Do
you really think these people are happy?


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We have the platform and the ability to change peoples
lives through something we love so much. We share a common
bond with SO many that brings us together.
Training is that bond.
It is through this bond that we have all come together.
It is through that bond that we have all helped each other to be-
come stronger.
It is through this bond we can help others see that they do not
have to settle for what they lift or who they are. They can be so
much more.
While I love the Rollins piece on training entitled, The Iron, I
do feel he got one piece of this wrong. He states 300 pounds will al-
ways be 300 pounds. YES, it will always weigh 300 pounds, but the
perception of what that means can change, how heavy it is can
change and the ways you lift it can change. For many, 300 pounds
may be too much of a load to carry on their back today, but in time,
they may become strong enough to press it over head, not just carry
it on their backs. People CAN get stronger, mentally and physically.
That load may not be 300 pounds, but it may be dealing with their
past, dealing with sex abuse, dealing with death, dealing with disabil-
ities, dealing with cancer, dealing with special needs, dealing with
conflict, dealing with marriage, dealing with...
Think of ALL the things we have been through as a team. Think
of how many times we shared these things in our training logs or as
articles. THINK of how many people read these. THINK of how many
this has helped.
We are not just a company that sells equipment. I have al-
ways said we are an education company that just happens to sell
equipment but when you really think about it we are much more
than that.

123
Look past the drama,
look past the criticism,
look past the products,
look past the promotion,
look past the training,
look past the mirror and you will see this is a culture of people
making a difference in peoples lives.
Life does not work like a medicine ball rebounder, where
you toss out good and great stuff comes right back. The seeds you
plant today may never even grow in your life time. You may do all of
the planting while someone else may take care of all the nurturing
while generations from now someone else gets the harvest. Maybe
you don't like the way this sounds or disagree that it shouldn't work
like, that's it's not fair but let me ask a question.
Are you reaping the rewards from someones seeds planted
years ago, decades ago? Before you answer take some time and think
on that one.
I think the best way to end this segment is to post the team let-
ter I sent out after the Learn to Train 5 seminar. Just replace the
words Learn to Train with what you all do for Elitefts.


124
To Team EliteftsTM and volunteers,
It is always hard for me to express in words my gratitude and ap-
preciation for all that you guys do for EliteftsTM, the Learn To Train se-
minar, and The Make-A-Wish Foundation.
I have spoken about, written about, expressed and hopefully dis-
played my passion for giving back over the years. I have always been
very open about why I feel so strongly about this. Im not sure what it
was with this specific seminar. It could have been the season, the smaller
number of attendees or the number of specifics that we were trying to
make sure fell into place.
As you know from your own sacrifices for this, the LTT seminar takes
a lot of prep time, arrangements, travel time, time off work and time
away from family. Once these commitments are made, theres another
30 to 36 hours of time donated once we are all together. When this is all
added up, there are MANY of you who are donating close to are all to-
gether. When this is all added up, there are MANY of you who are donat-
ing close to 50 hours of your time for this one event.
I barely slept on Friday night, and it wasnt because I wasnt worn
out. It was because my mind kept looking back on how far some of you
have come since I first met you. I was in awe thinking back at what many
of you have accomplished, the adversities you have had to face and
overcome, and the successful positions you find yourselves in now. This
also brought me to thinking about the adversities EliteftsTM has had to
face and overcome, as well as how far we have come. While we dont see
each other enough and dont communicate as often as all of us would
like, we are growing together. Your personal, business, and competitive
growth is making us all strong(er). We are making each other strong(er).
This absolutely amazes me. When I think of what you will all be in the
future, it blows my mind.

125
Years ago, I thought I knew what strength was. I thought it was
ALL about setting PRs, chasing the next meet and trying to move one
more notch up the top 100. However, I soon found out what you cant
take it with you means. I discovered very quickly after the injuries
piled up and joints needed to be replacedthat it didnt matter who I
knew, what car I drove, where I trained, how great my gear was, or how
much money I had... I was done, and I couldnt take it with me. This is
sport.
We all come into this world naked, weak and broken. We will go out
weak and broken. I dont care how strong you are or how many world
records you have, unless you die young, we will all go out much weaker
than we ever were at our competitive prime. Most of us will go out not
even being strong enough to walk, and nobody will care about our PRs.
All the strength you gain, the gear you use and the muscle you add
are really just smoke and mirrors. Its just on loan to us for a limited part
of the time we are here. Time still moves on regardless if you bench 100
pounds or 900 pounds; time moves forward just the same on a Rolex
as it does on a Timex.
When you think about the Learn To Train seminar, while we were in
the gym teaching people how to train and showing them the skills re-
quired to do so, we were all teaching them about life. When we were
helping them break PRs, we were showing them what they CAN be when
pushed and when they work outside their comfort zone. When we were
doing our own trainingsweating, turning purple, chalking up, cheering
each other on, coaching, spotting, and busting each others ballsWE
WERE growing, becoming better and getting strong(er).
The thing that kept running through my mind this time around
wasnt what was going on inside the gym; it was the GIVING you were
doing. The giving to each other, the giving to the attendants and the giv-

126
ing to yourselves.
I once read that you should consider making your life one long gift
to others... and why not? We have it on loan, anyway. All that REALLY
lasts is passed on.
Now, think of this. While we were surrounded around our walls of
ironhelping people in the gym, breaking PRs, teaching them how to lift,
tweaking our lifts and gear, hitting ammonia caps, chalking up, holding
boards, grabbing, pushing and pulling bars, having dinner together,
sharing lunches, eating pizza, and telling great storiesoutside the gym,
not too far away, are children who wish for the chance to create their
own stories, form their own memories and have their own wishes come
true. Many are in bed hurting, healing, undergoing treatment and are
not sure how long they will be in this world. They have parents that will
take them to the doctors, get them their meds, cook them chicken soup
and run out in the middle of the night for whatever they need. Yet, the
one thing their children really wish for, they cant afford to give. They
dont have the resources to grant them their wish, and they may not
have the time to give it to them. Will they ever have the chance to sit back
and say, Do you remember that time...? For many of these kids, what
memories will they have outside of treatment? Most are silent, and they
wait.
We are the people in the gym, living the life we all love to live.
We have what so many would love to have, and we rarely give this a
second thought. This past weekend, we DID give it a second thought. We
have changed lives in the gym and WILL create memories that some of
these children will remember forever.
Giving isnt just about money and strength. Its about time and spirit.
This is what repays. It also helps us to know that we are not going
brokewe are in good health, and overall, we are OK. We are at a time

127
in our lives when we can, and are, making a difference by giving back
and have the power to do so for so many. I dont think there has been a
time in my life where Live Learn and Pass On has ever meant so much.
On Saturday night, while I was speaking with Harry, and Harry
was... well... being Harry, he caught me staring off into space. He quickly
asked, What are you thinking right now? I debated for a second wheth-
er to tell him the truth or just make up some hardcore bullshit to blow
him off, but I kind of knew I was stuck. He knew there was something
going on up there, and if I told him that I thought the orange mono lift
should have been made red, he would have known I was lying and
wouldve probably punched me in the throat. I have known Harry for
some time, and on many things we think in the same level, so I decided
to tell him exactly what was on my mind.
I began this letter by saying it is hard to express in words my
gratitude and appreciation. I know this for a fact because I did try to
explain this to Harry, and it wasnt easy to do. I told him that I was
amazed in what I saw over the weekend. Amazed that all these people
(YOU) would show up to help, amazed that YOU share the same passion
and vision for helping others, and amazed that people would pay to
come be a part of this. I expressed to Harry that I didnt deserve any of
this. Coming from what I had to go through, I didnt feel that I deserved
to be a part of an event like this, but here I sit, being the person people
are thanking for allowing them be involved.
Harry replied back, Who is?
Who is?
This is why it has taken me a couple of days to write this message. I
havent been able to get those two words out of my head, but now I know
the answer.


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It isnt me...
isnt you.
Its us!
Who is?
WE ARE!
Thank you for all you do. Your work and commitment is appreciated
more than you know.
Dave Tate

We are now at a point in this story where we need to ask
who are we NOW and where are we heading. The answers may
surprise you...