CFD 545 – EverybodyFights and the Quest to Make Fitness Free

September 2nd, 2019

George “Monk” Foreman III is an entrepreneur, professional boxer, trainer/coach, founder of EverybodyFights, and son of businessman and former two-time heavyweight champion George Foreman. He serves as the business manager and Executive VP of his father's business empire George Foreman Enterprises, Inc. He also starred on the E! network's reality series Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive.

He opened a boxing fitness gym in Boston called “The Club by George Foreman III”. In an effort to further promote the core beliefs of the gym's culture George eventually changed the name of the gym to EverybodyFights. In 2016, the company received a series-A investment from Breakaway in the form of $4 million and soon after announced the opening of another location in Boston. Since then, Everybody Fights has opened 5 locations and plans to open over 20 new locations by 2020 for growth in other major cities across the U.S.

Podcast Highlights

  • Who is George Foreman III?

George describes himself as a really sad and quiet child. He cried when he got his first B in school and he didn’t see his next one until he was 17 years old. To George, the real risk is life passing you by and never coming back. If you have the chance to look back at your life in your last moments, the real risk is regrets. As part of George’s boxing career, he had an agreement with his father where his dad would train him, but at the same time George had to train other people as well.

After finding some success in his boxing career, George realized that if he could make a reasonable living doing what he wanted to do, which was to teach and instill fitness in others, than that would be a success as well.

  • EverybodyFights

When George decided to open his gym he put his business plan together in seven days and it was during a brainstorming session with his friend where the EverybodyFights name came from. As soon as he heard it he knew he had a winner, but it actually held him back initially. When trying to lease a space George had to adjust the name to The Club by George Foreman III.

It wasn’t until a few years later and the business had found its footing that he decided to change the name back to EverybodyFights because it fit his core message better.

Brand is what you make of it. If you execute and your company culture is on point, your message is clear and consistent, and you act with integrity you can make a big brand out of any name.

  • Another Fitness Club?

At the time there weren’t a huge number of boxing clubs around so the market wasn’t too saturated. As part of his strategy with investors George took a large pay cut to prove his confidence and dedication to the business. Once he had the money in place, he also had to prove the concept to the community and that involved a lot of meetings with the city.

When you sign the right deals and have a business with a decent profit margin, you can take some chances and experiment with things. When George opened his first gym he had boxing and yoga under one roof, in addition to Pilates and cycling. He also taught a number of classes and within a year his gym became the best gym in Boston.

George’s ultimate goal is to make fitness free. He would like to create a way where other companies like Nike and Adidas or the local government sponsor the facilities and he can offer fitness to people for free. He wants to figure out a way he can provide people with a premium experience while bringing fitness to everyone he can.

  • Why should fitness be free?

We have a mental health issue in our country and it’s hurting our budget for healthcare, our families, and it leads to violence. We can tackle this problem, we just need the motivation to do so and one of the key ways to improve mental health is to improve physical health. By making fitness free and accessible it would have a dramatic effect on people’s lives, not to mention the cost of mental health to the country as a whole.

  • Tracy’s Takeaway

There is no life without love. That can mean the love of a significant other, but if you can’t wake up in the morning without loving what you do, you are choosing not to live. Decide what you’re going to do and love it, and have the stamina to tweak. If you love what you do and believe in what you do, you will figure out how to make money over time. Don’t abandon the process and love the journey.

Links:

EverybodyFights on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

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