Hi,
It’s Darin and I wanted to write a special note to you.
Really it’s a reflection of the past two years and kind of a culmination of events that took place last Saturday.
Two years ago I made an offer to a trainer in Green Bay to work with I and my business partner Andy to help him grow his business, but in a much different way than he was comfortable in doing. The business that we layed out for him was Fitness Renegades.
After a couple of meetings it was obvious that he was happy with his current model and that was in fact the best thing that ever happened to the future of Fitness Renegades.
Andy and I saw that using fitness and the proper nutrition we could change peoples lives in a major way. So we decided to make an investment into this business. An investment of both cash, time and many other resources.
The first thing we needed was a leader of the gym as neither Andy who lives in South Carolina or I would be in the gym to run it. We have other ventures and our role in Fitness Renegades is to provide a vision, a mission and investment of both money and other resources.
We posted our Craigslist ad and interviewed a number of people, but there was one that stuck out. It was Joe. His philosophy of fitness, training, teaching and nutrition lined up exactly with what we knew to be true. His personal integrity also seemed to be very in line with ours over the phone. So I booked a ticket to Omaha to meet him and have dinner with his wife Jill.
We hired Joe on the spot. He’s been a truly great blessing to help us bring Fitness Renegades to life. His dedication taking naps on a couch for an entire summer after getting up at 4 AM to drive from Chilton to Green Bay to coach classes and then stay until nearly 8:00 PM at night.
But his work ethic really is a small part of our success and his. He’s a wonderful coach and a great person. He truly cares about each and every one of you. He’s made many sacrifices over the last 2 years to help us and you reach your goals.
Thanks Joe! If you get a chance to say thanks to Joe in person for me I’d sure appreciate that too!
Along the way we’ve also had many other great team members including Charlene, Alli, Leah, Gwyn, Ann and a couple of others who have come and gone along the way. They too were important pieces to the puzzle. Also Zach who is not really a team member at the gym, but he’s a key part of my companies. He helps at Fitness Renegades when needed, but also keeps my other companies running well and has allowed me to spend time developing Fitness Renegades.
But This Note Is Not About Us It’s About You!
On Saturday we had 14 or 15 Renegades attend the Obstacle course race in Fondu Lac.
RenegadeObstacleCourse04182015
When we started Fitness Renegades it was our vision to dramatically change lives, not just help people reach a new lower number on the scale, but change their life in many other ways.
Saturday we got to the obstacle course and there were 30ft. climbing ropes, 4 ft., 6 ft., 8 ft. walls to climb and jump over, a ramp that was probably 20’ or higher to run up and climb over, climbing nets, tires that weighed up to 600 lbs. and many other challenges along the way.
The Renegades who attended were excited, some nervous, some scared…you could see it on their faces.
But…In true Renegade style everyone took on the challenges. Every Renegade was cheering the others on.
I can still remember the first day that Renegade Sara O. came in for her her benchmark workout and struggled to finish. Heck she struggled to finish the first 50 sit-ups.
But on Saturday I watched her look at an 8’ wall climb up it, roll over to the other side and run for about 1/3rd a mile to the next obstacle.
I can remember Renegade Erin K. struggling to finish the 10 minute jump rope workout.
But on Saturday I watched as she ran the track. But the moment that I wish I had on camera was as she was going across the tight rope. She was struggling, but she never quit. Inch by Inch she moved across it as her arms were struggling to hold the bar above her. But she kept going and finished it.
Renegades Lisa, Kari and Dena were struggling with the rope climb so Joe and I provide a few pointers for them to work on the rope climb. Every Renegade watched as they tried to climb and within a few minute each of them had achieved a new height record on the rope.
It was great to see Kari & Mark along with Dena and Scott there as couples. We know that when we have families participating together we have a chance to improve the entire family.
Saturday was the culmination of two years of hard work, frustrating days and a dream that unfolded right in front of us.
Yes, we can help you lose weight at Fitness Renegades.
Yes, you can get much stronger at Fitness Renegades.
But what’s more important to us is that we can change your mindset. From “I can’t” to “I can” or at least “I’ll try and I’ll get better”.
Not only in the gym…but I know that what we’re teaching at the gym transfers over to many areas of your life.
There might be things in your life right now that are “tough” but they aren’t impossible.
We’re trying our best to reach out to you if you haven’t been showing up and getting you back to the gym. The only failure is not getting back on track…we don’t judge you if you’ve been gone a while. We can’t pick you up and bring you to the gym…you have to make that choice.
We want you to succeed, so please make an effort to visit this week.
I can’t tell you how proud I am of our entire team at Fitness Renegades and you the Renegades. There are so many of you that have made such dramatic lifestyle changes and it’s what keeps us going.
Just as we teach you to continue to improve we will too. There are many things we’ve done that have worked out great and others we had hoped would have worked out that haven’t…but we didn’t quit.
One thing that I will leave you with that I feel is very important. As I look around at the Renegades who attend our monthly cooking events, show up for events outside of the gym like the obstacle course, or participate in events like the Cellcom 5k, Bellin, Spartan Race or other events…they are the Renegades who’ve got the best long term results.
It’s because they have a definite goal to reach. They tend to train more frequently. They tend to eat the Renegade Way more frequently. But they also seem to be the Renegades who meet more friends at the gym who then become training partners for many other events.
So make it a point to sign up for something this week. Make it a point to introduce yourself to a new Renegade. We have room on the Spartan Race bus yet! But if that’s not your style or it’s too much…
Run the Cellcom 5K I’m currently training a bunch of 4th and 5th grades that I’ll be running with the day of the event. I’m helping the slower kids, I get more enjoyment out of helping them succeed. These are kids who can’t run from one side of the gym to the other right now. So if you’ve never done it and you want to join me and my kids just send me an email.
If you’re training with us now you can do a 5k for sure. If you’re looking to run with someone else about your speed let us know and we’ll try to connect you with another Renegade Runner.
Dedicated To Getting You Fit,
Darin Spindler
Co-Founder, Fitness Renegades
PS…If you know a friend or two that could benefit from becoming a Renegade please have them register for our FREE Renegade Transformations Live event. I’ll be interviewing a number of Renegades next Tuesday night about their transformations.
