It feels strange celebrating the 11 year anniversary of RevFit. Starting this year, we were continuing our trend of year-by-year growth. That’s an amazing thing to think about.
Then, we spent the last half of March and all of April watching the Coronavirus affect nearly every possible industry including our own.
While we did make the transition to online/virtual training, we saw how those available options affected our clients in different ways. Some were okay with having personalized workouts based on the equipment they had available at home. Others had no desire to purchase equipment and needed workouts they could do with minimal props and just bodyweight. Still others just wanted touch points, 1-2 calls via FaceTime or Zoom each week to catch up and get over some psychological hurdles.
We even experimented with a Virtual Happy Hour and a Virtual Coffee Hour on the weekends.
The most important thing was to find a way to stay connected, stay as positive as possible and stay engaged. I’ll be the first to admit, it wasn’t easy.
We officially celebrate 11 years on May 1. So, I write this post with an eye on the fact that we will be re-opening sometime in May.
We will be limiting capacity initially and slowly getting clients back into the fold back into some sense of pre-Corona normal.
I want to also celebrate this anniversary by giving gratitude across two fronts: to our clients and to my staff.
To our clients: You have made us who we are today. It was one thing to be able to provide a service to you during “normal” times. It was something else altogether to continue providing at least a complementary service when we were closed.
To those who were able to financially show support during that time: Thank you. We will reciprocate that in every way we know how.
Many of our clients took a financial hit during the virus. Personal training is a luxury for many and, of course, it made sense when that expense needed to be deducted from the lifestyle under the circumstances. We stand by you and support you and we do hope, that when it is financially feasible again, that you return when you’re able. You will always be welcome back with open arms (well, you know, social distancing aside…)
To my staff: Over the past year, I have had the great pleasure to work side-by-side with Luke Whittenberger, Emily Blidy and Mike Roder.
To Luke: Last year, Luke accepted an opportunity to continue his studies in a Masters/Phd program at Ohio State University to become a physical therapist. We miss him and I know he will go on to do great things in that field. Thank you, Luke, for the time you spent with us and helping improve the lives of the clients who were fortunate enough to work with you. As we have continued to stay in touch since you left, I do hope our professional paths cross again. You will always be RevFit family.
To Emily: When we first connected, we knew that the opportunity to work together was well into the future. Emily would be completing her masters in dietetics and I knew that she would only have limited time to be a part of the work we do here. I went a slightly different route with hiring Emily. Rather than hire someone with a background in Exercise Physiology (as I did with Luke and Mike), I hired someone with a greater degree of nutrition insight than I had. Fortunately, she had an athletic background and love for sports performance. Emily has been excellent for us. Unfortunately, the ramifications of the virus forced us into a position where she had to prematurely end her face-to-face tenure with us. It has been my hope to continue having Emily as a part of our crew for as long as she would like even though geographically, her career has called her out of the state. Emily, I wish you the very best as our “resident” dietitian. You will always be RevFit family.
To Mike: Mike joined us right after we expanded into our current location (fall of 2017). He started as an intern, referred to us from one of our clients (Thank you, Shon) and found his groove rather quickly. Mike has always needed very little direction. He catches on quick and I’ve always tried to give him credit for seeing things I don’t see and helping to teach me things I don’t know. I guess if I’ve learned anything from all the years of having this business, it’s to continue to hire people who have strengths I don’t have and perspectives I can also learn from. Mike finished his Masters last year in Cardiac Rehab. While he still has his eyes set on that field, it’s been a great joy to see him build up his clientele of youth athletes. Like Emily, Mike has a true love for athletic performance. You can see that come through in the time and effort he spends with his roster. Mike, you have taken it upon yourself, without cue, to help make every other trainer who has stepped foot in these doors feel like they have the tools they need to succeed here. I greatly appreciate that you take the care of this business into your hands as if it were yours. That is an invaluable trait. I know that your career, at this point, can go a lot of great directions. I know you will do exceptional work wherever you go. These doors remain open to you for as long as they serve you well. You will always be RevFit family.
To everyone who continues to read my articles, purchase my books, listen to my podcast and engage with us across social media platforms: Thank You.
Whether you are a current client, a former client, or a potential future client (online or face-to-face), we’re coming to the other side of strange, unprecedented times. Thank you for your support in every way you have given it.
You don’t get to celebrate 11 years in business by accident. You celebrate it by helping as many people as possible to the best of your ability; by learning what you’re good at and improving but also to recognize your weaknesses and shore them up as well.
Thank you to everyone, who has made this possible.
(L to R: Jason, Mike, Emily, Luke)
“We Make Great People Greater”
