Sull's Gym: 2 Years

This week marks the 2 year anniversary of Sullivan Training Systems. I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect a bit on this journey. As my writing style dictates I usually like a bunch of random thoughts in bullet point format, I find it easier to read and hope that you do too.

1. I can't believe it has been 2 years since I first opened a training facility. It feels like last week I was still at 86 Hancock Street in Braintree. Not too long ago, I was cold calling at EMC immediately after graduation.

2. Old Gym was a second floor "studio" (used loosely) with no parking, hidden location, minimal signage, 800 square feet of training space, 8 foot ceilings with people over 5'10" constantly military pressing barbells through the shitty ceiling tiles, no room for speed and sprinting work, and 18 clients in my first summer of business.

3. STS Weymouth (newer Gym, will have been located here for one year this April) is a ground floor warehouse space, with good visibility in an industrial park, 25 foot ceilings, 35 yards of indoor turf, and 38 clients for the first summer session here, with this summer's goal of 64 clients (lofty, but so what).

4. With the new space, expenses have tripled, so I have had to really tough out some tough months as we get going. Increased expenses means increased stress as a business owner cutting the checks. It has been really important to remain positive knowing that business will continue to increase.

5. Business has continued to increase each quarter and I am expecting a huge boom for this upcoming summer season.

6. It is extremely important to have supportive friends and family. If it wasn't for my family letting me temporarily losing my mind and driving across the USA, I would never be in the position that I am today. My mom has been a huge help in keeping track of accounting issues and keeping the books organized, and Dad has been a huge help as a sounding board for business issues, sales advice, and being a dedicated client and walking billboard for the results he has gotten working out at STS.

7. I think the count is now at 734,000 for the number of times I have had this exchange: (Sull walks into watering hole in Boston to bend the elbow with some friends...) "Hey Sull, how's business?" "It's going great man, lot of fun, I love it." "That's great to hear, I gotta start getting in there a couple of times per week."

While the interest is great, I wonder: I hope people don't feel like we have nothing else to talk about. I am just interested in having a few beers, some shitty food, and relaxing, same as you. Just to let you know, people who say this NEVER come in to workout, and that is perfectly fine. I realize it is a pain in the ass to leave Boston after work to get to Weymouth to workout. So let's talk about the Olympics, where the most recent phantom bed-wetter has struck, whose girlfriend is the hottest, how great this burger is, etc.

8. As I settle in to this business, I am beginning to realize what I have to offer the marketplace that is better than my competition. I really believe that 50 percent of what I do is Fitness/Strength and Conditioning. I believe whatever makes up that other 50 percent is really where I excel. Some of it is intangible stuff, some of it isn't. I just know that if you hand me your 14 year old son or daughter for 12 weeks per summer, I will return you a kid who has gotten brutally strong, overcome numerous obstacles, no longer makes excuses for things that they can control, is mentally tough, and has a new found love for improving themselves in the gym. I know that anyone who spends a Fall Session working with Jeff, Brendan, or myself wouldn't dream of spending next fall anywhere else. There is a Planet Fitness one half mile from my door, so there is more to this thing than plates and barbells.

9. Every day when I turn the key to unlock the gym, I am thankful that I get to do this. My goal for every person that walks through the door is that the hour or two that they spend with me will be the best part of their day.

Mentally Tough Teenagers?

Lately I have been hearing from a lot of fellow coaches about the same issue. Their athletes are not mentally tough, they shut down when faced with the slightest bit of adversity, and they are not nearly as gritty as the athletes they have coached over the past 10 years. I have to agree completely. As I get more experience in dealing with young athletes it is clear to me that a good portion of these kids are weak. In every aspect possible. Now that we agree on this point, how do we move forward?

I often catch myself falling into the trap of "when I was in high school" or "when I was a kid" and stopping before I start a 5 minute rant. For me, berating people with how tough you were as a kid doesn't help anyone accept pump your own ego.

Instead of bitching and moaning about how weak kids these days are, do something about it. Personally I plan on taking the kids on my high school team and the athletes who enter my facility and placing them in difficult situations, often. Pushing them through discomfort and forcing them to compete against each other, and teaching them about digging deep. On a regular basis I implement rules and strategies at the gym that do not allow kids to say things like "I can't". I do not accept excuses from young athletes and practice the policy of brutal honesty with them. To me it is a change from the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality that they deal with at school and local sports.

In short, let's stop the "when I was a kid" rants and actually try to help these kids get tougher. Some kids will shut down and some kids will respond. Focus on the ones who respond.