Welcome to the Shark Bite show, where we dive into the stories of our members, coaches, friends, and family. Shark Bite fitness and nutrition. All right, let’s go. We have the meaningful opportunity to welcome someone back to the Shark Bite family, Brad Johnson. He was a member here for a long time, back in our normal CrossFit days. And then a coach for a couple of years, took a little break to pursue some cool career goals. And we’re going to dive in, and finally, he’s back. Yes, librettos. Thank you. Thank you for joining me on the podcast. Thank you for joining me on the Shark Bite show. Awesome.
Brad
Thanks for having me. Excited to be here. Same to be back. Thanks.
Nick
for coming back in general. Yeah, that’s happy. Yeah. So how’s it feel to be back in the gym again.
Brad
It’s awesome. It’s been short. And I’ve only been back for maybe, say, like a week now. And it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been great just to see everybody again, you know, many faces that I missed. I haven’t seen people through the pandemic who are just not in the gym. So reconnecting with people and feeling like I have that routine of returning to the gym and a sense of normalcy again is awesome. It’s been a lot of fun.
Nick
Yeah, I know how important that was for me back in. I mean, even May or after I got COVID Back in June when I take another month off. That was nice, and I can’t imagine for as long as it’s been.
Brad
Yeah, it feels like forever. But it interestingly, even though it’s been a long time, like just with the relationships that I had here at the gym, and it almost feels like, you know, you didn’t miss a day you come back in, and you see the people that he used to see. It’s like picking back up where you left off. It’s cool.
Nick
that. Yeah, I think I was. I had a reminder set to send you like a monthly text saying hey, man,
Brad
yeah. Just you know, we still want you. Yeah, yeah, that was tough. You know, it always felt bad saying, like, hey, not quite. Ready.
Nick
The day is here, though. Yeah, no, that’s good. It makes me happy. So alright, let’s back up a little bit. Who are you? How? How did you get involved in things like health and fitness? What’s your history, like working out or being healthier in sports or whatever?
Brad
Yes, it’s a good question. So I played sports growing up; I played baseball all my life, started in T-ball, and played it all through high school. So I was always an active kid. Just either through sports, or like playing outside with my brother, just, you know, anything that was like active, had me outside moving. I was always really into it. After high school, though, that pretty much stopped when I graduated and went to college. Like 100%, I didn’t do anything active. It wasn’t exercising or playing sports anymore. I was always kind of just ate whatever I wanted growing up, and that kept going. So that habit continued into college but stopped all physical activity. And I had gained probably about 40 to 50 pounds through just graduating high school and then getting through my bachelor’s degree in college through that whole time.
Nick
Well, anyone can see ratty, super skinny. Yeah, it’d be a big change.
Brad
Yeah, I was probably about 225 I got out of college. And so that was that; I felt terrible. You know, I noticed a huge change from being active to doing nothing and gaining a lot of weight. It felt unhealthy. And so, I knew I needed to make a change. After I graduated college, I came back home. I started running in the neighborhood and doing push-ups now and then. I’d lost a lot of weight doing that awesome but still felt incomplete in my fitness journey. And that’s how I came to CrossFit.
Nick
I guess you came to us in the second building, right? Yep.
Brad
Yep. Yeah. So that’s where I came to you guys. And I had tried CrossFit. once before. My wife and I were very short-lived. It was like a group where we found I had always been interested in CrossFit. So we went. I think the place was called saltwater crossing fort Myers. I don’t; I don’t know. It was, I guess, not very well guided like you just kind of got the group on you came in, you just joined a class there wasn’t any guidance or introduction to what CrossFit is or what it should be. You just kind of fell in. It was like, okay, I guess I’m doing CrossFit now. I still enjoyed it but felt no real direction or connection to the gym. So after like the month group, I ended it. Yeah, yeah, that was it.
Nick
It’s funny how gyms were across styles gyms for many years. That’s exactly how it was. You’re like, Hey, what’s up? Let’s snatch.
Brad
is a complex thing. Yeah. Which is cool, which I’m sure works out for some people, but you know there are a lot of problems with that, where you don’t learn what CrossFit should be and how you need to move what it’s all about. So, that fell off in that, but I was still interested in CrossFit. You know, I was a fan of the CrossFit Games and the sport. You know, I had known people who did CrossFit and had a lot of positive health experiences. So it was something that was still in the back of my mind. And I think it was January of 2015. When I joined up with CrossFit Cape Coral, then? Yeah, and that second location, you did my beginners course. And
Nick
yeah, it was cool. Yeah. It’s a wild thing, right? Like, I knew I had a hard time remembering because we were lucky enough to have so many members who were here with us at that building, like when you joined or even the building before that. Shout out to Frank for that first place. It’s hard for me to remember that some people weren’t at that first building because it feels like you guys have been here for so long.
Brad
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It feels like we were almost always here. Yeah.
Nick
It’s hard to remember the beginning of that. Okay, so we’ll talk about the beginner’s course later. So I don’t want to dive in too much like that. But what was it like? Joining the gym, finding, you know, like a whole group of new people you didn’t know, having to learn how to do something difficult like that with people around you.
Brad
Yeah, that’s, um, it was intimidating. At first, I thought I built it up in my mind that it would be way worse than it was. You know, it was nerve-racking you, you’re like, Man, I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb. I’m not going to know what I’m doing. And I’m going to look like an idiot or something like that. All those thoughts were coming to me. But once I got there and got through the first couple of workouts, and realized how welcoming everyone was, how, you know, everyone was on different stages of their fitness journey. And you know, everyone’s on different levels, but everyone respects where they were. And we’re all just part of a team trying to get everyone healthier and fitter. All those anxieties quickly faded away, and I felt like home was somewhere we wanted to be.
Nick
Yeah, that’s cool. I’m ecstatic to get here because, like, I get it. It’s scary to start new stuff like that.
Brad
Yeah, it’s intimidating. And you think, like, I didn’t know much about CrossFit at the time. I knew most of what I knew was the CrossFit Games. And I think a lot of people have that same thing. So you see these guys, and these men and women who are like at the tip of the spear, you know, they’re so fit and doing these crazy, insane things. And you think, ” Oh, man, I’m going to do that. Like, it’s kind of scary. You’re like, Man, I’m going to hurt myself, or this isn’t working out well, but you realize it’s not what, like CrossFit or what functional fitness is. Yeah, what goes on in the gym every day. So once you realize that and how welcoming everyone is, you know, it all fades away? Well, I
Nick
You were one of the people I talked to about this when we were going through the change and the pre-change, but that’s a big part of why we moved away from the CrossFit name. You see or hear CrossFit. And you think of scary shit. Yeah. And like, that’s not what we’re doing here daily.
Brad
Yeah, no, that’s not the goal. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that, right?
Nick
That’s what you want to do, and that’s cool. Yeah. But that’s, that’s the sport.
Brad
And that’s not what happens in our gyms day in and day out. We’re just people trying to live a healthier, better life and make positive, you know, habits and changes in our life. And so it’s a different standpoint, where we’re coming from here in the gym.
Nick
Yeah, it’s weak, man. We can talk about that one way too much. All right. So you had a really interesting way of becoming a coach. Right. So I remember this. I don’t know if you remember this. You’ve been a member for a long time. Yep. You fell off the map a little bit. We kind of disappear for a little while.
Brad
One of my hiatuses, Yeah.
Nick
This is your life. Oh, I guess it’s your second longest one. Yeah. Then kind of out of nowhere, you texted me and asked if we could sit down to meet. I remember we were in the back of the gym on the blue mat hanging out during a Friday open gym. And you just said, Hey, I would like to coach. It was interesting because it was when we were going through some structural changes here in the gym. And I’ve never had anyone up to that point be like, hey, I want to help coach other people. Right? There’ve been a lot of people who wanted a free membership, the key to the gym, or access after hours every night. You were the first person up to that point who came up to me and said, ” Hey, what I want to do is help other people through coaching—like helped me do that. Right. That blew me away. Because I was like, Oh, my like, talk about timing, values, and vision alignment. Like it was, it was perfect. Right. I was so talking about the ad. How did that thought process go in your head? What was going on behind the scenes?
Brad
Yeah, I guess I couldn’t have planned that any better. Yeah, no, I had no idea. Yeah, no idea. None of those things were going on with you. So I did. I did leave the gym. As you said, I had a hiatus, and it wasn’t that I didn’t want to do CrossFit anymore. Or I didn’t like the gym anymore. I was just going through a lot of personal stuff in my life. I was going through a career change. I had worked for Apple for a long time and then applied to a new company. So my schedule my whole life was just shifting, and I felt like I needed to take a step back and get things settled. And so that’s originally why I left the gym. And when I got into that new career, it was, you know, it was a Monday through Friday kind of cubicle office job. I was not happy with it. It was not What I thought it was going to be. It felt very unfulfilled and unhappy. And I took time with that to reflect on the things that I enjoy in life and the things that make me happy. And one of those things was CrossFit. It has transformed me from a health and fitness standpoint and a self-confidence standpoint on a huge level. And I felt like this was a good opportunity to give back on that, like, I wanted to give that what it gave to me, I wanted to give that back to the community.
Then I felt very strongly about that. So I paid and got a level one that summer in June. And that only further ignited that fire. I loved level one and met a lot of great people. And it solidified that I want to give back, you know, I want to give back what CrossFit gave to me, to others. And the way to do that was through coaching. Right. And so, after I got my level one, I wasn’t sure what that would look like, you know, I didn’t know if that meant, do I need to open up a gym? Or do I need to find a place to coach, and I thought, Well, why not start where I had, you know, I had done CrossFit, and that’s, and that’s when I reached out to you and, and you were very receptive. And then, we had that conversation in the gym, and it felt like our viewpoints aligned. Yeah, it was obvious right away on the same level as it was. Yeah. Yeah. And it was just; it was a natural, natural kind of transition. But that’s really how that journey happened for me.
Nick
That’s cool. So like, I remember at that moment, being like, man, like, if, if this guy’s not bullshitting me, this is going to work? Because you’re still very green. And there’s a lot of training to be done. And you went through our internship after that. Yeah, I think the first, like the first phase of our internship, like the first iteration of that, you know, yeah, yeah. And it’s gotten better. Sorry. Yeah, since then.
Brad
No, I thought it was great. At the time, maybe I didn’t know any different.
Nick
So I mean, it got you ready to go to classes. And the virtual training was fantastic. But it was great, right? Like, at the time you were here was awesome. And I think every time we talk to other coaches or members; I bring your name up like nothing but smiles and like when the hell is he coming back? You know, that’s a mark of a good coach. Right. And while you were here, that was awesome. But you know, we talked about it a little bit at the beginning, and it got stronger as we went through; you had a dream you wanted to chase. Right? There was something there that you were looking to try to pursue, right? Yes. The thought process of that, right? I don’t want to say I’m not going to spoil it; he’ll say the second the thought process of taking that massive leap of making such a lifestyle change.
Brad
And then what was, yeah, so. So the career and then the dream I pursued was a law enforcement position with Florida Fish and Wildlife. So essentially, a game warden, or, you know, a fish cop, I guess many people like that. Yeah. So that’s what I wanted to do. And I think when I mentioned earlier that I had transitioned to your career. It was that Monday through Friday job, and I was really unhappy; I was doing a lot of that reflecting on what are the things in my life and either previous jobs or hobbies or things that I’ve done that made me feel fulfilled, that I was passionate about, that I want to spend the rest of my life doing. It was; it was helping others. I love the outdoors. And I grew up in Florida hunting and fishing, and I wanted to help be a part of protecting that for future generations to enjoy. And so, not only coaching, CrossFit would help with that, you know, helping others. But I felt like this; this career would do that as well. It ticked many boxes of the things that made me feel fulfilled that I was passionate about. And so I decided that I was going to go for it. I was going to pursue that career, which, as we’ve learned, was a very lengthy process.
Nick
Oh, crap. Yeah.
Brad
That’s cool. I decided to go for it. That’s cool.
Nick
Let’s talk about that process a little bit so you can talk about it. Yeah.
Brad
Yeah, I think I can be pretty open about it. Okay. There’s nothing super secretive. So the first part of it is just generally applying for the job, which even that alone is lengthy. The application windows on those stay open for about a year. So that alone feels like, you know, it’s forever just getting through the application process.
Nick
I was so frustrated with you, not with me. For, and you. I was so frustrated with you during that process.
Brad
Yeah. It’d be funny because a lot of times you would ask me like, hey, what’s, you know, what’s next? Or like, how’s it going, you know, what’s the next step? And I’d be like; I don’t know, step one. So, so, so that was kind of funny to go through. But once you get through that, you have a physical assessment test, which I’m sure many law enforcement couriers have, like an obstacle course type test and an assumption test, so you have to pass that. Assuming you pass that you go to the interviews, we went through the whole interview process and a lengthy background check process. And then you spend about eight to nine months up at the Academy, which takes place in Tallahassee, so you literally for me, and I moved across State and lived up in Tallahassee to go through their police academy there.
Nick
And, and only during the wildest time, it’s ever happened in our lives.
Brad
Yeah, it was a global pandemic going on and all this craziness and a lot of actually, you know, civil unrest too, which changed many people’s view of law enforcement and felt like it needed reform. So I was entering that career field at a very uncertain time. Yeah.
Nick
Oh, I didn’t, I didn’t even think about that. Right. You’re entering a field at a time that it’s possibly changing in ways like that.
Brad
Yeah, it was; it was kind of crazy. Yeah. Left, you know, you’re not questioning, you know, is it the right step? Or is it still something you want to do? And also, what will it be like when you know you get out of the academy and start doing the job day in and day out?
Nick
Well, so now that you’ve been doing it for a little bit, and we can talk about during the academy a little bit to how you were very physically fit before you left here, you were near the top of the leaderboard. You are probably one of the fitter cardio people I knew every workout we did at the time. Yeah. Well, how did that benefit you? How did your training benefit you when you got to say to the academy, oh, it was huge?
Brad
It was huge like I would, it was one of the things that prepared me the most, and I think when I reflect on it, it was something I believe you said to me through your military experience; you said your physical fitness when you get there, it’s going to be great because that’s going to be just one thing that you never have to worry about. No matter how hard the academy is and all this crazy stuff that you’re trying to figure out and get through, just all the physical parts are going to be something you just don’t have to stress about. And, and that rang true. Through the workouts that we did, you know, we did a lot of CrossFit style workouts, PT, you know, every morning at 5 am, you know, the smoke sessions were there, you know, and that you and you’re doing push-ups. Sit-ups and running up and down hills and all that stuff, you know, through the defensive tactics, tactics, training, where you’re doing like a lot of fighting and jujitsu style stuff, whatever it was, I just, I always knew that I didn’t have to worry about my physical ability and whether I was going to be able to get through it. Like that was something that I knew I had. And so I didn’t have to stress; it was almost an afterthought. And I could focus on, you know, learning the other things that I needed to learn. And I saw many people who didn’t have that struggle because maybe the biggest part of their day was, Am I even going to be able to get through PT or Oh, my God, they’re yelling at me. I can’t even do a push-up and, like, they’re spending so much time and energy stressing on that, that they’re not learning the other things they needed to learn or they’re suffering on the other things that because they’re just worried for the physical aspect. I didn’t have to worry about that.
Nick
Yeah. And that’s a big stress reliever, right. I mean, we know that we’ve had many people come here as members. And they stayed like during their notes when intro I want to join the army in the Navy; I want to join the police force want to be a firefighter, I want to be some other public enforcement officer in some way, or public safety officer where there’s going to be like a selection portion or an academy portion. And without fail, everyone comes back, and they’re like, that was easy. Yeah. And it’s funny because I remember when I joined the army back in 2006, that was not me. I was in really bad shape. I joined the Army during the surge where you could have a peg leg and no eyes, and they would like to find a way to get a great yeah, you’re a guy. They need to throw bodies of bullets. Overnight, I guess. And so they were like, Yeah, then whatever you need, come on. And so I got into basic, and I was not a Video Game Nerd. I was very overweight. And I was not ready to do anything physically, let alone when they wanted us to physically, you know, and I remember seeing the guys in my base training. The latter had, like, played football or had worked out beforehand. I was like, man, their days are just so much easier than mine. Yeah. Like they wake up, they don’t let go of work, and I’d be like, I’d wake up like I’m about to get kicked in the face. Yeah.
Brad
That’s just how my day started. You barely survived the workout, and then you feel like you can’t even move. So I have a whole day.
Nick
Twelve more hours of training. Later in my Army career, I remember being like, that’s not me anymore. Like, it’s mostly once I found CrossFit. I would then show up to the courses and be like, Oh, my God, this is so much nicer.
Brad
It’s crazy. You know, reflecting on it, how much of a benefit it was, it almost feels like you had a cheat code or you just, you know, it’s not that you weren’t pushing yourself during the PTS or anything like that, because of course, you know, I was. I wanted to continue to get in better shape while I was there, but it just was never something stressful. I had to think about or worry about it.
Nick
Yeah, I just feel like knowing you got one box checked automatically. You’re good. Yeah. That’s got to be a great feeling. Okay, now being in the job, right? You’re on the field pretty much every day, at least five days a week. How has that been helpful to you now?
Brad
Similarly, it’s still a huge advantage and a huge benefit in my job. I mean, are the one thing that’s different about you know, fish and wildlife, law enforcement or being a Game Warden, as opposed to your traditional law enforcement is we work in some pretty remote, pretty extreme areas, sometimes whether we’re out on the boat offshore or deep in the woods, and you don’t necessarily always have backup close by So one of the ways I look at my fitness differently now in how it’s beneficial is I know that if something happens, and you know, I’m either chasing someone, or maybe I’m having to fight with someone that I need to arrest, you know, hopefully, it never happens. But if it does, and I know my backups are not maybe 30 minutes, an hour, an hour plus away, I know that physically, I can hang in there, you know, for that timeframe.
Nick
You told me that the other day when we were talking, and that was like a glass-shattering moment for me; I don’t think I’d have to realize that, you know, I, I had to not kind words to say about how long the process for you. Yeah, because I was like, Man, this is not fair. This dude has changed his life so much to do this, and it just won’t ever end. But then when you said that, I was like, Oh, this makes a lot more sense, right? You need to be trained in a very specific way because so much of your job is done. A solitary solitarily is that a word by now. And if you need help, it might take an hour and a half to get there.
Brad
Yeah, the only backup might be another FWC officer because the local sheriff or police force doesn’t have the equipment or the vehicle to get so deep in the woods to you, but along the way, because it’s not an area they work in. And there are so few of us spread throughout the state that it can be a situation where you must rely on yourself. And so, physically, I look at my fitness like, you know that that may be the thing that gets me to go home to my family at the end of the night. So, it’s something that I take a lot more seriously now. Yeah, and maybe I used to.
Nick
Yeah, it’s cool to think about it like that, right? Because you can now you can use it other than just being fun, and you can equate it to a very important life goal.
Brad
Yeah, yeah. And you know what, I may not always be something where you know, you’re fighting someone, or it’s for yourself, but also like if I have to try and get to someone to save them if someone’s in the water because their boat sank or something like that. And I can’t, you know, jump in and maybe swim and take them swimming back to a boat or someone to shore if I need to because I’m not physically fit enough. You know, I would never be able to live with myself thinking like, if I was only in better shape, I could have saved that person.
Nick
Right? Like, it’s my first thought when you said that I was going out and liked mangroves or something like it’s really hot here. Oh, anyone is listening to this. He doesn’t live in Florida, and it’s like 90 degrees daily.
Brad
Yeah, like in December, 200% humidity, you know, like,
Nick
I think we see it whenever we go to outdoor competitions, you know, people that are not acclimated to the heat, because you know, those, even very few people will work out and like air-conditioned gyms and they’re just not ready for the way that he kicks your ass. Do you know? So yeah, you could see why fitness would be super important in everything you do.
Brad
Yeah, you’re out there, you know you’re wearing a bulletproof vest, you’re, you know, you have all this gear and extra weight around you. And you’re out there in the Florida heat. So just regular day-to-day duties, even not something extreme, takes a big toll on so being physically prepared for it just allows you to perform at another level and your job.
Nick
his sidenote, I remember being from Florida and being in the Army; just having been used to humid weather for years made such a big difference whenever we had the hot field training. Yeah, because the people from like, up north or from like the Northwest or cold areas, fall out in the heat and all the southern dudes be like, I don’t notice this.
Brad
Yeah, they’re having a heatstroke. It’s nice and nice, cool.
Nick
All right, so being in the job and, you know, realizing that your life has changed a little bit. You, you get a little bit older, like how has your fitness changed? How’s your approach to fitness changed?
Brad
I think I touched on it a little bit before. I take it more seriously now because, you know, I think my life and safety or someone else’s life and safety could depend on it, you know how physically capable I am. But I also don’t recover as well as I used to. And it’s something I’m realizing. Yeah, it’s been a hard truth for me to realize and one I’ve fought against maybe mentally more than I should. But I know I have to be smarter with how I approach workouts now. You know, I have to. I can’t skip warming up properly. I can’t skip recovery and cooldown times or listen to my body when I need a day off. When I first got to CrossFit, when I was younger, I could just show up at the gym, and my first rep was the 155 Clean I was going to do in the workout. And that was it. You know, I just went. That was my warmup, or like I did an air squat. I was like, Alright, start the clock. Let’s go. Yeah, and that would be fine. But now I have to be a lot more, you know, smarter about it, a lot smarter.
Nick
about that all the time, you know, especially back to being able to show up for the 930 class at 929 and a half and be like, alright, let’s do it. Time to snatch. Yeah, like, let’s go. Yeah, everything would fall apart if I did that now.
Brad
Oh my god. Yeah. You’d be out for a week.
Nick
Okay, so you, for a couple of different reasons, had to spend quite a bit more time at home during the pandemic, not being able to come back to the gym yet, both because of your work and personal life. What was it like having to work out on your own at home versus being in the gym? And how did you kind of deal with that? Because I expected it to be way worse.
Brad
I think during one of my first workouts, he said, I think you lied to me about how much you’ve been working. Yeah, that was tough; I think it’s a weird transition. Because just getting to the gym, being around other people who are motivated or working out, and being around your friends, you know, just helps you hit your workouts at another level. It’s almost like you don’t; you don’t need a lot of self-motivation. Because the motivation and environment you’re in are around you, through you, your coaches, and the other members. So when you’re stuck at home, and you don’t have any of that, it’s a big shift. You know, it’s really easy to let just distractions or things come up and either not work out at all or shortchange your workouts; I know, at first, I was skipping warmups, or I would work out, and since I was at home, I got let me just put everything away, and I don’t need to stretch. And I felt a big difference in how I was able to perform and, you know, not warming up properly, not stretching, things were a lot tighter, a lot less flexible than I used to be. Because you’re flexible. So I know, maybe some of that also has to do with age. So there was a big difference. And I think one of the things that helped was still following our gym’s programming. I guess the leaderboard, quote-unquote, or what we were everyone posted in our app, was a big motivating factor because I would see where other people were at. And that would help me push myself to know, okay; I shouldn’t be able to do, you know, as many rounds as that person, or I should be able to do as much weight as this person. And that helped me keep a little bit of that motivation, even though I wasn’t physically there with someone, to push myself still to go further than I would if I was just totally on my own. So even though I was at home, I still had some connection to the gym.
Nick
Yeah. I think that’s super smart. Right? Yeah. That is, you use the leaderboard as a tool rather than as a burden. Yeah, you know, because we could very easily look at that and be like, Oh, my gosh, I’m not as good as I used to be, or I’m not as good as this person. Right. But instead, you said, Okay, I, I know, I know, my general fitness level. I know this person’s general level of fitness. I have a good frame of reference for how I maybe should perform. Yeah. And I think that’s smart.
Brad
Yeah, it helps you set a goal for how you’re going to attack or approach a workout. And then you know, sometimes you do better, sometimes you do worse, and you don’t hit it, but you at least have something you’re shooting for that helps motivate you. Yeah,
Nick
I’m the same way. It helps me to like, back in the day, when you hear right or leave, or one of the boards looks at and says, ” Okay, I know, Brad is far faster than me at running. And he’s a whole lot more flexible in squats. It’s a safe bet that he will beat me on this workout. But I can probably stay within, you know, around him or something.
Brad
Yeah, or finished within a minute or whatever.
Nick
And then if I don’t, okay, now, what have I learned from this? Yeah,
Brad
yeah, you know, how to approach the workout next time or what, what gaps need to work on. And I think if I don’t know, if you don’t, if you don’t have that, if you don’t have like a gym, or something, or a leaderboard, to go back to, you know if you’re just totally on your own, there’s still ways you can try and just keep track of your performance and hold yourself accountable, you know, retrying workouts over time, and knowing what your previous scores were and trying to, like, re-meet those or, you know, exceed them. There are ways you can do it on your own and still stay motivated if you don’t have any connection to the gym. But for me, I still had at least some connection to the gym, and that and that helped.
Nick
I was that big; that was important for me. When you were gone, I must make sure this dude remembers he’s still part of this family.
Brad
were good about that. And that. I kept, I think, part of the time when I would keep reaching out to be like, Are you sure, a man like I know, I still have our programming, and I’m still doing this. Like, are you sure you’re okay with that? You were like, Dude, you’re fine.
Nick
Well, because we like to know what it’s like to be separated, you know? Yeah. Like, Shannon right now is off in training. And the same thing with him. It’s like a man doing a workout. Because it’s at least something that keeps you in the circle, that feeling of community we’re talking about?
Brad
Yeah, it helps you go out and attack or workout or, you know, just get there on days. You don’t feel like you’re tired. And it’d be easy to say, Oh, I’m just going to sit on the couch and watch a movie instead.
Nick
We were talking about it the other day. It’s also a lot harder to reach intensity on your right. Because, yes, I know. So during the first quarantine and then when I COVID for about two months, I wasn’t I couldn’t be around anybody. Steph and I were working out together in the garage, right? And then my workouts were turned into two and a half hours. Yeah, because I was just farting around like I wasn’t. I was not working out for two and a half hours. Yeah, it was a lot of wasted time distracted, hopping on slack to answer questions I could have waited 12 minutes to get to. Let me run inside quickly, a little bit, and Mark and go check on. Yeah, we don’t have any kids. But if we had him, I imagine they would be like, What are you doing and you find a way to get distracted by that. So I was very happy when I was able to get back in the gym and be like, the discipline is not needed anymore. I can just show up and have someone tell me what to do.
Brad
Yeah, that helps a lot. I was just having a class and a coach. You know, even as a coach myself, someone that just guides you though it doesn’t let you get stuck. Attract, oh, squirrel, I’m going to go over here like,
Nick
because that’s true. Like, as coaches, I don’t want to come in here and make everything up myself every day either. Yeah, I want to walk in, and have you told me what to do?
Brad
Yeah, that’s one of the benefits of coming to a gym. Yeah, that’s kind of a good point. And but I think if you don’t, you know if you don’t have that there are ways you can if you are someone who maybe you can only workout at home, and you don’t have a connection to a gym, there are ways you can approach it to try still and make sure you’re making the best use of your time. You know, you can set clocks for your warm-ups and, you know, set clocks for your cooldown and things like that. So you’re like, Okay, I know, I’m going to take three minutes to do my warm-up. So if you start farting around, you can see the clock ticking down, and you’re like, Well, I better start doing this because I’m about to run out of time. But it’s not the same as having a
Nick
job. But these are tactics. Yeah, who was good at it versus someone who was not good at it. If I had been out of the gym for nine months, I would not be able to do muscle ups. Okay, so you were part of to like for us men like groundbreaking things, right? So at Shark Bite, everybody at our gym who joins our gym does one-on-one training and starts right. And you know, other gyms may not choose to do that. But that’s okay. Like they’re, they’re welcome to do whatever they want. We feel that the best way to get someone to their fitness goals is to work one-on-one, right? And that one-on-one could be like traditional personal training; it could be nutrition coaching, our beginner’s course, right that we do. You were really important in two different ways there. So first, I did most of our beginners courses for years, good years and years. We had other coaches I would help out with, but I would probably have 70 or 80% of them right. And then you and Crystal were the first people I trusted to take that off my plate. And that was a really important man because it freed me up to do other things. Right. And I like our Jim saying it right now without you and Crystal doing those. Jim is not where it is. Now. I should say our gyms are not where they are.
Brad
Yeah, gyms now, right? Yeah. Nice. Little flex.
Nick
They’re just I’m being totally honest, man. It’s hard. Most of the time, it’s hard to be like somebody else can handle this. Yeah. And I trusted you guys to do that. You guys ran our beginners course. And you especially also kind of started our training process, our one-on-one training process. Right? So when we first talked, you wanted to be a coach, right? And one of the reasons that our visions and values align so well as you weren’t like, I want to coach group CrossFit classes. I only want to teach people power cleans and muscle ups. Right.
You were like; I want to help people through coaching. Yeah, I don’t think I’m being disingenuous by saying this; you helped me shape how we did our one-on-one stuff; you know, it was like, what do these people want? What do they need? How can we best get it to them? Yeah, you know, how can we best help them get what they want? And it’s like, for a lot of people, that is a group of, you know, 10 or 15 other people in a class and doing a workout together? For a lot of people. That’s not what it is, you know, what we’re, without saying too many specifics. What were some of the things we learned while creating our training program?
Brad
Yeah, that’s a good question. You know, I think, Well, number one, just seeing the benefits of, of the one-on-one training and knowing how many people would have just gotten, say, lost in a class and probably would have tapered off and started coming, or stopped coming rather, after a while and just gotten lost in the fray. I think seeing the difference between some of those people as you’ve worked on them one on one, and they’ve progressed so much, so much more quickly, and they stuck with it for such a long period of time. And you can picture similar people who just got stuck in that group class, faded it off, and got lost in the fray.
Nick
and the hell because you could think back over the years and kind of think of those people, right? Yeah, like we can see some of my head right now.
Brad
Exactly. Yeah, you know those people and feel like a man at the gym. We almost failed them because they got lost in the fray, which wasn’t the right fit in that group class. So seeing that difference right away was a great learning experience. And that was maybe more just solidifying that we were going down the right path. And I also think just seeing that with personal training, we could help such a larger variety of people, you know, from whatever needs people who have serious health or medical or mobility issues, but can still benefit from, you know, some type of physical training that we can offer them, and see how we can customize the personal training programs and different ways to work with those types of people and still reach their fitness goals. That was cool. And I think we learned a lot there. And also things like different timeframes, and we played around with things like our personal training, 45 minutes, 30 minutes, different times a week to work with people’s schedules. So it was a great process. And I think we learned a lot about serving such a larger community of people better. Yeah, personal training. Yeah,
Nick
I agree with that. I think we’ve learned a lot, right? Like you said, kind of deciding timeframes, the type of programming for them to use, and how to help people reach those goals. Like I think it’s really common for those of us who work out on a regular basis to assume You need to be working out six times a week.
Brad
Yeah, yeah. But because that’s what works for me. You thought you were in. Yeah.
Nick
Right. And that doesn’t make us special or better. It’s just literally we’ve been training for half a decade or a decade at this point, like, our training age is different than somebody who is brand new to fitness and health lifestyle. Right. So like, that was something we learned, right? We brought people on for too much to start sometimes, yeah. Not realizing that man, maybe once or twice a week would have been fantastic for them.
Brad
Yeah, yeah, at a slower pace. And, you know, maybe a lesser intensity and a way to help them learn the movements. And just even sometimes being comfortable in the gym, too, you know, if you’re someone who group classes is intimidating, just the gym environment, as well as intimidating, working one on one with a coach and like building a strong relationship, and then slowly start to get to know other people in the gym, and you feel comfortable being there. And you know, you feel, you know, you can be more vulnerable there. Maybe you don’t stick with personals forever or get into group classes, but you need that period to just get comfortable in the gym and get comfortable with the movements and CrossFit. And then you were, we could set you off there, and you were good to go.
Nick
So it sounds a little bit like what you’re talking about. It’s kind of like our beginner’s course. Right? Yep. So I know, hands down as a coach, my favorite and most fulfilling times we’re working with beginners. Right? Doing our beginners course, a course where you, when you sign up with us, do a very specific set of things to get you to a goal, right? Whether that’s continued personal training, group classes, shark fit, or whatever else you want to be doing. This course was the most rewarding thing for me, I think. Yes, it was. It was so cool. I was helping somebody who was like, scared of escaping me. Like, maybe some people want to say they’re too cool to say they were scared but like you were. Yeah, no, I was when I started. I was a 22-year-old guy who had just come home from Iraq. And I was still kind of scared of it like yeah, it’s intimidating as hell. Well, how was it? How was being a beginners course coach for you? What did you learn from that working with newbies,
Brad
I think you learn a lot as a coach, number one, just how to coach better and give cues better because sometimes you get people that you have to get creative with the cues you give them or the ways you’re trying to approach and the teacher movements. And so it makes you better as a coach working with beginners it forces you to think outside the box. Nothing makes you better than that, I think; oh. So that accelerated my development as a coach in many ways. But it also helps you build some really strong relationships with your members. And it’s rewarding to see them go through that journey. Have you had them in a beginners course, you started them where they can only do this or they can only squat, you know, couldn’t even squat the parallel, and next thing you know, six months later, you’re seeing them run circles around other people in the gym and just make huge life improvements. So it’s a huge reward as a coach to see someone go through that transition and then develop. Yeah,
Nick
I think you’re right about that. That was something I was like, keep this as a mark of pride, you know, like the people I worked with and beginners. How long are they around? Yeah, how many positive life changes did they have? And I always kind of felt like I got to like have a little selfishly just have a little piece of that, you know,
Brad
yeah, it’s yeah, you feel like you contributed and which is why I got into coaching in the first place and you build such a strong relationship with those people that those are the ones that you bring to the beginner’s course, it’s, it’s, you have a bond that almost like they’re your favorite people, you’ve seen the Jimson turtles because you’ve just seen them from the get-go.
Nick
Whether you realize it or not, you’re their favorite person. Yeah, they look at you. And they’re like, that was my coach. Yeah, exactly.
Brad
So it’s, it’s just, it’s a really rewarding experience.
Nick
Yeah. And what I like about it, too, is that I’m sure this is true in all other types of fitness. I don’t know; I’m sure it is. But especially in CrossFit coaching, it is sometimes very easy to hide as the coach when there’s a big group of people. Oh, absolutely. No, you have 2025 people. It’s very easy not to coach, you know, yeah, yeah, I see. You’re kind of just like directing traffic and starting to clock and saying, like, let’s go, you know,
Brad
Yeah, it’s easy to say, Okay, we’ll get everyone through this warm-up, and then we’ll get them to get over the workout. And then once during the workout, I’ll just kind of make sure that the music’s blaring and no one dies, the workouts are over, we can go. So you can in, you know, almost see like, say you’re taking a class of 20 people, and you’re trying to teach, you know, run through the power clean. And you see someone in the back corner doing some weird thing; you’re like, I have no idea how even to correct that. You could almost ignore that in a group class and get away with it. Yeah, you’d be like, I’ll just go over to Nick and say, Hey, clean, Nick, and then we’ll move on to the next thing. Like it never happened. But when you’re one on one, and you’re teaching someone a power theme for the first time, and they’re doing some weird and you can’t figure out how to give them the right cue to get through that like you’re one on one like you’re not moving on until you get through that.
Nick
Yeah, I’ve always felt like there’s no hiding there. Yeah, it’s like I’m a coach and have to coach.
Brad
you. Yeah, like they’re looking at you like alright, man, tell me what to do. And you’re just like,
Nick
very obvious if you don’t know what to do. Yeah. That’s like that’s one of the reasons why we cut down our classes, you know, it was, it’s really hard. It’s not real easy to hide when there are 30 people in front of you a whole lot less when there’s 12, you know, oh, yeah, it becomes really obvious like, okay, I can now dedicate time to that person. And a big part of that dude is what we learned when creating our one-on-one training. Yep, how much we were able to give in that one on one setting is like, okay, cool. How can we take portions of that and put them in that group? Yeah, because you remember when we had 35-person classes?
Brad
Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was, it was insane. And for me, I was young and relatively fit, and you know, knew the movements pretty well. So I maybe didn’t notice as much of a difference at first. But for someone who’s like, trying to imagine myself being new, and like struggling to get a cue or learn a movement, like, it would feel like hopeless, yeah,
Nick
madness, like, No way. I have always loved that feeling. And I know, I understand that that could make some coaches, especially newer coaches, kind of uncomfortable. But I love that feeling of being on the spot and lie; this person needs me to help them do the thing they’re trying to do. They don’t know how to do it on their own. And that’s why the hell they’re here for me, you know? Now my challenge is like, let’s do it. Let’s make it happen. Yeah. And you only really get that way in one on one sessions.
Brad
Yeah. Yeah, I agree. But if you’re able to make it work, it’s such a huge reward.
Nick
Yeah. And the development curve is so high. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that’s cool. I want to make sure we talked about that because I’m saying it again, without you Crystal, taking that off my plate. I can’t imagine where we’d be right now. So Well, I appreciate it. Yeah. Dude, anything else you want to bring up? Is there stuff you want to talk about? Am I not thinking of it?
Brad
Um, oh, that’s a good question. I guess, do you want to get into it all? I don’t know. If you may, we’ve talked about it with other people on podcasts. Like, I know, we touched on it a little bit, but like moving away from the CrossFit name and maybe how you view it, our gym is a fully functional fitness gym, and what does that look like going forward?
Nick
Yeah, let’s, uh,
Brad
Let’s sound like I’m interviewing you now.
Nick
Let’s hold off on that for another hour-long conversation. Okay.
Brad
I don’t know. Yeah. I don’t know if anything comes to mind. Oh, this isn’t
Nick
going to be the last Yeah. So I’m being that you’re somebody who came into brakes and then took a long break. Like, if you were talking to somebody who’s new, right. And they were scared about joining or trying to work out or making that next step to like a healthier lifestyle. What would you tell him?
Brad
Just go for it. I mean, you have to take that leap of faith. I know it’s, I know, it’s scary. And it’s nerve-racking, and there are many easy excuses, you know, to prevent you from ever going there, but just walk through the door. I promise you that once you walk through the door and realize how welcoming it is. You know, even if it’s not a shark Shark Bite fitness jam, if your whatever gym out there is worth their weight and salt. Once you walk through the door, you’ll realize that it’s just a place of welcoming people where everyone’s trying to get better. And once you get through the door, the hardest parts are over you’ll love it. You’ll never go back.
Nick
Perfect. Thanks for yeah, we’re going to do this again. Oh, yeah. I look forward to it. Thanks, guys. Thanks for hanging out with us today on the Shark Bite show. If you’d like to get a hold of us, you find us on Facebook or Instagram at Shark Bite fitness Nutrition or on our website at SharkBiteFitness.com. If you’d like to learn more about our guests, their information will be in the show notes. If you’d like to talk to us about getting more fit. Feel free to schedule a free no-sweat intro at one of our locations in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, or Naples, Florida.
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