ceoprofile ily in our digital presence to increase our potential consumer reach . We know where the attention is , and expect foot traffic into our gyms to grow significantly because of how we ’ re attracting it .
Are your franchisees bullish or bearish about growth and adding additional units ? It depends if they have the money . If they can find financing , they will always add more units .
Personal
What time do you like to be at your desk ? My clock has no end . I have a fluid schedule . I ’ m ready to sit at my desk after I ’ ve slept 7 or 8 hours and had some kind of physical activity . I like to say that if you don ’ t sweat every day like you ’ re getting chased by the police , then there is something wrong with you . On the flip side , I ’ ll work at my desk until 2 a . m . because I can turn back on with a quiet house and a calm mind .
Exercise in the morning ? Wine with lunch ? Exercise in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon for an energy burst . No wine at lunch , but always a protein shake or nutritionpacked drink like the ones we offer in our Retro Blends Smoothie Bar .
Do you socialize with your team after work / outside the office ? Yes , it ’ s always social whenever we ’ re together because our hours are so blended throughout a 24-hour period . There ’ s really no “ outside the office .” For example , I ’ ll hang out on a Saturday with our COO Matt Schultz and we ’ ll put in a couple of hours together . Our CDO Jason Mattes had a delayed flight the other day and grabbed dinner with our CFO Robbie Sprechman and our attorney Justin Klein . We ’ re a pretty tight-knit group .
Last two books read : Tools of Titans by Timothy Ferriss and God Calling by A . J . Russell , which I read daily .
What technology do you take on the road ? MacBook Pro , iPad Pro , iPhone , Apple Watch , AirPods , and sometimes my Snapchat Spectacles .
How do you relax / balance life and work ? One or two times a day , I lie on a bed of nails and meditate . My wife thinks
I ’ m out of my mind , but it ’ s unbelievable what it does for you . You have to be able to put yourself in very uncomfortable places and be able to get your mind thinking right . This will help you make much better decisions when you ’ re under stress .
Favorite vacation destinations : They ’ re all beaches : Anna Maria Island and Palm Beach in Florida , and Long Beach Island in New Jersey .
Favorite company product / service : I love everything we offer , otherwise it wouldn ’ t be in our gyms . I live our products and services every day . Before or after every workout , I have one of the drinks we sell at our Retro Blends Smoothie Bar . My in-home gym
houses the same equipment as our gyms , or ones we ’ re testing . I regularly do our Retro 2.0 workouts .
Bottom Line
What are your long-term goals for the company ? Sustain growth by continuing to expand the way we ’ re growing now , which is healthy . We have a great franchise system that ’ s composed of phenomenal franchisees from all walks of life . I ’ d like to keep growing this way and keep more people in the United States and the world healthier because we ’ re doing life-changing things . If we keep up our expansion efforts , which I expect us to , without a doubt we will have
700 locations by 2020 .
How has the economy changed your goals for your company ? Never has and never will .
Where can capital be found these days ? Open your eyes , capital can be found anywhere . There ’ s more money around today than ever . I ’ m not just referring to institutional loans . There are so many other ways to find capital these days . There ’ s private equity all over the place dying to place money . There are people trying to diversify their portfolios because they don ’ t want to be pigeonholed in this market . And there are individuals looking to invest capital . You need to be creative with who you talk to , who you surround yourself with , and the types of questions you ask . Do this and you will find capital everywhere .
How do you measure success ? Personally , do I wake up and smile ? Money is the measured component of success , like a scoreboard , but what ’ s more important to me is happiness . Am I happy ? Am I making other people happy ? Is Retro Fitness healthy ? Are we in a good place ? That for me is success . It ’ s the constant continued achievements .
What has been your greatest success ? Marrying the perfect woman and having four ridiculously amazing children .
Any regrets ? I ’ m mindful of things I ’ ve done wrong or am doing wrong and adjust very quickly . I ’ m an eternal optimist , so I don ’ t ever look at things that go wrong as things I terribly regret . I learn from them . To me , regret is for people who don ’ t take action . For example , I could say that I wish I would ’ ve started buying shopping centers to place my gyms 10 years ago because it was a brilliant idea . I overlooked it early on because I was so focused on growing the franchise . But is this a regret ? Not really , because I learned from it and am doing it today .
What can we expect from your company in the next 12 to 18 months ? A lot of attention . We ’ re working on some innovative initiatives in the digital / tech space . We ’ re partnering up with the right people in marketing and media to garner a lot of attention . n
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