Hey, it’s Karl,

Thanks for arriving at this page.

Welcome to my little corner of the world.

Do you want to know something quite strange?

Given how large the industry is, don’t you think it’s odd that there isn’t a single, well-known resource for gym owners to go to if they want to level up their business?

While there are a million websites to visit to become a better coach… I can’t even count one website that is common knowledge to go to if you want to become a better operator.

After scratching my head for over 5 years waiting for such a site to emerge, I gave up waiting and said to Lachlan my business partner (the frontman of Athletes Authority):

“I’m going to make my own.”

So I carved out this tiny segment of the internet as a resource for gym owners and ‘behind-the-scenes’ guys like me to go to when they want to level up.

So if you’re a gym owner (or want to be one), then I think you’ll like it here. You can subscribe for free daily tips here, read the mini-courses I’ve written here, or even consider if you meet the criteria for my exclusive, paid newsletter here.

But before you go off exploring, it’s worth acquainting yourself with this page.

The reason this is worth reading is because it will take you on a 40,000 ft view of how I see the world of business, and how I approach decision making for AA.

I am a father to two boys, a husband, and a proud gym owner.

I’m also a lateral thinker, an outsider, and a misfit.

I’ve always looked at the path well travelled and said…

“Let’s try something else.”

It’s probably why the idea of betting against conventional wisdom has always appealed to me.

This is the concept of zagging while everyone else zigs. It’s not commonly done, but it’s also not new. In fact, it’s been a trademark strategy of any business in history who has produced asymmetric returns.

Think Uber, AirBnB, Tesla, Apple, Google, Amazon…

All the household names we couldn’t live without follow this strategy.

At some point, they all bet against conventional wisdom.

They look at the market, and they go the other way.

It is a key feature of differentiation…

And it’s by design, not by fluke.

In an extremely cluttered marketplace where everybody is shouting “me too”, traditional differentiation no longer works.

The marketing textbooks that line the shelves of the career academics that teach entrepreneurship couldn’t be more outdated.

In the age of the internet, there are two strategies you can choose from:

1. Do what everyone else is doing and slightly change something… whether that’s slightly cheaper, slightly better or slightly faster. This yields you typical results.

2. Do something radically different. Something that your market can’t ignore. While riskier, this yields you asymmetric and exponential results.

So let’s address the elephant in the room upfront.

Having the courage to zag while the industry zigs is scary. It requires you to be brave. To see where the industry is heading, and head the opposite way.

To take the path less travelled.

Because there’s so much more value for you and for those you serve, when you choose to go the other way. 

And the beauty of this strategy is that you don’t need to have the genius of Elon Musk to do it.

Heck, I’m a school drop-out who couldn’t get his Year 12 grades.. and now I’m here.

The only skill you require is having a sense of what the ‘herd’ is doing.

When they move left, ask yourself the question:

“What happens if I go right?”

But taking the road less travelled is not for everyone.

Because it takes a fair bit of ‘crazy’ to defy the crowd and go the opposite direction… most herd-followers will tell you it’s too risky.

But that’s also where the opportunity is… because you know only a handful of crazy ones (maybe like you) are brave enough to not blindly follow the herd.

Because if you own a gym like me… there is no way you aren’t even a little bit crazy, right?

Talking about crazy, one of the best ads I’ve ever come across is from Apple.

After Jobs returned as CEO of the company after his lay-off, he came up with this ad. He had realised something quite profound: Apple was for those who ‘think different’.

He had realised that those who thought they were crazy enough to change the world… were the one’s that did.

If you want to watch his speech where he first launches the ad, I’ve embedded the video below. It’s the best 7-minutes on YouTube I’ve ever spent. The pinned comment sums it up best:

“A 4-year marketing degree condensed into 7-minutes.”

Whoever Lorraine is… she won the internet that day.