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#26 Danny Lehr - Building a CrossFit & OLY Brand: Caffeine & Kilos
3 Plays3 years ago
Danny Lehr is the co-founder of the CrossFit & Olympic Weightlifting brand “Caffeine & Kilos” as well as the CrossFit gym Excel Health & Fitness. He recently won gold in world masters Olympic Weightlifting. We get into his routines, habits, being an entrepreneur, and the story of how Caffeine & Kilos as well as Excel were created. He shares fascinating stories from Top CrossFit athletes as well as Olympic Weightlifters. Besides from being an entrepreneur, coach and athlete, is also a very generous man who gives back in various forms to the fitness community. Danny is also dedicated husband and father to two girls.
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SEBASTIAN ENGSTROM
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Transcript
Introduction of Danny Lear
00:00:01
Speaker
you
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to episode number 26. I'm your host Sebastian Angstrom. And today, Danny Lear from Caffeine and Kilos, as well as XL Health and Fitness joins us. He's the founder of both. He is one incredible entrepreneur, Olympic weight lifter, crossfitter. We go into it all, his high performance habits and how he founded Caffeine and Kilos, as well as XL. It's a very interesting conversation. So, enjoy.
00:00:35
Speaker
Danny, it's phenomenal to have you here. Welcome to the podcast.
Daily Routine Insights
00:00:43
Speaker
So we jumped into a breathing exercise right off the bat. I see you as a phenomenal high performer, the creator, the founder, CEO of caffeine and kilos, Excel health and fitness, a decorator now, master Olympic lifter, husband, father, I mean, you do a whole lot of damn things.
00:01:07
Speaker
How do you fit that into your day? We were just, I mean, this is 6 a.m. the recording of this podcast. You said, I've been up for an hour and a half. How do you do it, man? Oh, I just think, man, I don't know how people don't do it. Right. So if I don't get up early and get to working on things, then
00:01:26
Speaker
I feel like I'm behind all day. Um, cause once the day kind of starts once really, you know, like the kids are up to start or especially once I leave to go to, you know, wherever I'm going to the captain kills warehouse or whatever.
00:01:38
Speaker
from there on out, uh, to a certain degree, you know, other people have some control over what's going on, you know, um, you know, you can structure your day and structure your life in ways that they don't have a lot of control over it, but you know, things happen, right? Things, things go wrong sometimes in business or, you know, there's things you have to do or, or, or something that, you know, jumps to the front of the line. So that time in the morning from, you know, five to seven am is, is my time to kind of,
00:02:05
Speaker
get, get the things done that I want to get done that, um, I don't have to worry about being interrupted in the middle of, if it's something that's like some deep work and a lot of focus or just something that's a priority that I'm working towards or something that I'm studying. Um, those types of things, anything that I just want to, you know, get a block of time dedicated to where I'm not thinking about other things or worried about other things or being distracted by other things. Um, I get those things done in the morning. Then by the time seven o'clock rolls around,
00:02:32
Speaker
And the kids were getting up. I feel like I can actually stop, like put a pause on those things, help out, right? Like help them get ready for school, you know, even go drop them off to school, that type of stuff, um, kind of before getting back into it. So for me, that morning time actually just kind of sets up my whole day, uh, for success, right? It sets me up where I don't feel like I'm chasing down any fires, you know, putting things out. Um, I got some time to actually kind of help out, um, around the house a little bit and help out the kids and all that.
00:03:01
Speaker
and stuff was really good. So instead of starting off your day, flustered. And I think that's what happens.
00:03:06
Speaker
with a lot of people. I know it has for me in the past is you get up and it's like to feel like from straight out of bed and you know, the first like two or three hours are, you know, you're running around trying to get out, you know, the fucking yogurt out of the fridge for your kids breakfast. And then like, well, I got to eat something at some point and you know, and the dog keeps like ringing her bell to go outside to go potty. And I'm just like, I'm trying to just try to like get it off. Yeah, man. So that's, I think that's a big, that's a big part of it. I think that,
00:03:34
Speaker
Like getting up early and kind of knocking out the most important work of the day, like moving those big rocks early in the morning, then it's kind of like, all right, the rest of the day, um, whatever happens, I know that I moved something forward, right? Like you, you end up with a no stagnant days. If you get up, it gets things done first thing. What does that look like? Do you have a routine in the morning? It changes. Um, depending on what my focus is, what I'm doing, um, it's kind of funny.
00:04:02
Speaker
But right now I mentioned like if the dog's ringing her bell to go outside to go to the bathroom. So we have a puppy, like a four month or three, three or four month old puppy right now. Um, so actually in every morning I spend like 30, 30 minutes or so, uh, like training this dog. That's become a part of my morning routine. Um, but like most things, then it was kind of like a temporary thing, right? Like eventually she'll, you know, in a couple months, we'll kind of be out of that stage. And then, um, that time we'll go back to other things. So.
00:04:32
Speaker
Sometimes it'll be studying. If there's something in particular that I need to learn or get better at or that type of thing, I'll get an online course and I'll take a chunk of that morning, say 30 to 60 minutes out of the morning to kind of work on that. If it's something, maybe I'm reading something specific, trying to learn better at a certain topic.
00:04:52
Speaker
Um, recently I've been really thinking and focusing a lot on writing, just being better at writing for different, different things, different reasons, different types of writing, as far as, um, a copywriting for sales stuff, or even just, um, as a creative outlet, you know, and get kinds of my thoughts out. So I did a couple writing courses. I've been reading a bunch of books on writing. And so I take that time for that. So out of that two hours, like that, you know, five to seven am, um, probably about split about
00:05:22
Speaker
maybe it's 75% 25% 75% of actual like doing work like whatever the physical things or the actual work I'm doing as far as um whether that's budgetary things or whatever but getting those those big rocks and most important tasks out of the way and then about 25% of that time or so it's been kind of studying whatever I'm trying to do like whatever I'm currently pushing towards or trying to improve on
00:05:47
Speaker
Sure. Yeah. No, no training was, was writing. Now I'm trying to improve on having a dog. That's not a jerk and she sold it. So before the origins of all this.
00:06:02
Speaker
So to some people, this sounds nuts. Like, okay, I still like, I like to get after it, but that is a lot to get done. I love it myself. I used to do it. And I'm starting getting swing of it again. Cause we had a young child, she's four now. And my, my wife has had that beautiful time in the morning and I've updated with her cause she would.
00:06:22
Speaker
She wouldn't sleep. Anyway, dad life.
Entrepreneurial Roots
00:06:26
Speaker
That being the case, how did this all come about? Even from an early age, you have multiple avenues that you are creative, you have an outlet in that you're running as a business and so forth. How did this all come about? Was it nature, nurture, parents? What's the origin?
00:06:48
Speaker
Man, it's funny. I don't know nature and nurture because, uh, you know, if you're raised in, uh, in a family that does a lot of the same things, you kind of end up doing that crisis. Is that genetic or is that what you saw? I think it's a combination. I think that to a certain degree, people are driven. I think that a lot of your internal drive is maybe more of a nature thing, right? Um, you just kind of see it. A lot of people.
00:07:12
Speaker
Um, because it's, it's not even always their parents, sometimes a grandparent or something, but you see that like, Oh, this person is very driven and their child is as well, that type of thing. Um, anyway, but then also there's definitely the, the other aspect of it, the nurture part. Um, so my, my parents owned a business, uh, when I was a, when I was a kid, they had a heating and air conditioning company, right? So, uh, they just kind of seeing that growing up and it was, it was interesting because my dad worked for the business. Um, and my grandfather had started it.
00:07:43
Speaker
And so, you know, it's this whole thing though of, yeah, like he has this job, obviously he's doing this thing, but then sometimes, you know, like after dinner, um, he has to run down to the shop to take care of something, you know? And so maybe he would take me and my brother ask the one to go and we're getting a little bit older. It's like, Hey, I'm going to run down to the shop for, you know, whatever half an hour. And I like this paperwork down or something you guys want to go. And so we would go down there and, uh, play with sheet metal in the back, you know, keep everything real safe.
00:08:11
Speaker
doing stuff like that while he was working. And so I knew, so to me, that was normal. That wasn't like this weird thing. It's good. Sometimes you just got to kind of like go do something or, or on, you know, anyway, different, different days. Like it wasn't just a regular nine to five necessarily. Right. Um, so, you know, seeing that and then my grandfather, uh, who started that business, he always had, he was always juggling a lot of things. Uh, I remember I was whatever 12 or so, and he bought this house. So it was on like a double lot.
00:08:40
Speaker
bought the house, fixed it up, split the lot, built a house on the other lot and then sold them both. Right. And it's like that type of a thing. And so where, uh, I was pretty aware of what was going on because I was 12 years old and he needed someone to take care of the pool and mow the lawns and stuff. And so that was my summer job that year. I rode my bike across town, took care of the pool, made sure the chemicals are all squared away and stuff as he kind of undertook this project. And so that was a lot of, when I was a kid growing up is there's lots of those opportunities. Um, it wasn't,
00:09:10
Speaker
like forced labor, but my grandfather would call me, you know, starting when I was, you know, I don't even know, like seven, eight years old. It's like, Hey, I need, I need an extra pair of hands, you know, today or whatever, if you want to come work for me. And so then I'll just go and help him out any way that he needed. And we kind of started doing that throughout, you know, different summers and after school and on weekends and stuff like that. And so I kind of saw firsthand somebody kind of doing these things, right? These like business minded entrepreneurial type of things.
00:09:38
Speaker
buying buildings, he had a new tenant coming into some building, he was leasing, so we have to go in and, you know, build a wall in the middle of it or take a wall down and stuff like that. So that was my, you know, through high school, that was kind of what my summer jobs, a lot of times were working for either my parents at the air conditioning place or my grandpa. And so I was around a lot of that as a kid. So it wasn't a weird thing. It wasn't like a
00:10:04
Speaker
What do you mean you're going to like start your own business or run or make your own money? I never had this upbringing where, you know, the idea was get a job, you know, working for 40 years and then retire, right? Like that was never the story. That's fine. And that was acceptable. Like there's nothing wrong with that. We weren't pushed away from that, but it was just kind of, you know, here's how, here's lots of examples of people who, you know, do their, do their own thing kind of.
00:10:32
Speaker
Hmm. So how did, and when did athletics start becoming a part of your life and how did they take expression and turn into Olympic weightlifting? Since I could walk. So my, my parents, uh, they, they did a good job with me and my brothers. As far as that goes, like they just put us in every sport, right? So we were students. I mean, it started when you're really little, like they like to go skiing and hiking and stuff. So they would take us up and we were going skiing and hiking, you know, really early on.
00:11:01
Speaker
And then as soon as organized sports came in, we were doing that, right? Like they put us in soccer and then in baseball and, you know, all these different things just to see kind of what do you like, what sticks. Also, you know, being active is important.
00:11:13
Speaker
Uh, and then they themselves are great examples. So when we were kids, my parents were playing soccer, like rec league, uh, co-ed soccer. And they also played softball, like rec league, co-ed softball together. And then my mom would play in like women's only leagues. And, um, and my dad, I think liked it, but he just liked, you know, something to do. My mom was into it. She was really like sports. So, you know, I'm like Sundays after church, we would go out to the soccer fields, you know, and, uh, my dad.
00:11:42
Speaker
driving out there to be changing into his cleats and shin guards while driving. So that was exciting for everybody. Um, so that was that like Sunday afternoons, we spent a lot of Sunday afternoons on the sidelines. You know, my parents were playing soccer, you know, or, uh, in the evenings, you know, we'd be out at those softball fields, um, you know, hanging out in the bleachers. My parents are playing a rec league softball. So they got us involved in stuff and they were doing that themselves. And so kind of sports and athletics and, and being active.
00:12:12
Speaker
And just a part of, of every, you know, my, my upbringing, you know, it was important from going backpacking, you know, over the summer with my dad to, um, being involved in new sports to watching them play sports, you know, just the whole, the whole thing. Um, so that was just a really big part of it. And then, uh,
CrossFit and Weightlifting Journey
00:12:29
Speaker
when I was in high school, I started wrestling and that turned out to be kind of the sport that I, uh, was best at at that time. And, um, so then.
00:12:40
Speaker
I graduated and I was kind of working out. Um, couldn't really, I mean, I was working out. I just thought it was what it was, you know? And then I had a friend who's a firefighter who found CrossFit and he's like, dude, you should try this CrossFit thing. I think you'd like it. Uh, 2007 early. Okay. No.
00:12:59
Speaker
And so it reminded me of wrestling practice. I was like, man, this is the only thing I've ever done that makes me feel like I felt during practice, right? Like that type of conditioning, that type of like hard work and everything. And so I really liked that. I figured, well, I was in the best shape of my life when I was doing that. Now I'm doing this. That's probably where it's gonna lead. So then doing CrossFit and that kind of led me into Olympic weightlifting. And then that's kind of how that lined up
00:13:30
Speaker
You're not an average Olympic weightlifter either. Like for anyone who hasn't checked out the video, there's a video online of fricking Danny just putting up some monster weights and winning the masters. It's, it's impressive, man. And coming from a background of, uh, of wrestling and CrossFit and then going into it. I mean, that's, yeah. How did I feel winning that? Oh, what felt good to win. So when I, when I was competing in weightlifting, when I was a little bit younger, um, but before we had kids,
00:14:00
Speaker
Um, or even when we just had my, my first daughter, uh, it was, it was fun. I was on a really good team. I was looking for California strength. And so I was surrounded by guys. Like when I first started lifting for California strength, there's two national champions on the team. Right. And, and, uh, and a junior American record holder. Um, so that's like yours in that environment. You're around these guys who are just, you know, the top, the top, right? There are, they're going off to compete at Pan Am games and going off to compete at world championships. And like these are your teammates. Right. And so kind of.
00:14:30
Speaker
Expectations are a little bit different than someone who just starts kind of, you know, messing around at the barbell a little bit. And so in that environment, you know, it was, uh, you were expected to win and expected to do well. So I kind of had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder or a monkey on my back. What we want to say is that I had a handful of goals. Um, and it was, they were lined up for me by my coach as I first, when I was first lifting or I'd done one or two local meets and, uh, he thought I had a lot of potential.
00:14:59
Speaker
I said, all right, that's what we're gonna do is we're going to, uh, we're in train and they're in qualified for the American open. Um, and you're just going to go lift and have fun. And the next year we'll, we'll go to nationals and just lift and have fun. And then we'll go metal at the American open and then we'll come back in place, like top 10 at nationals. I said, okay, sounds good. Um, and so then that's like pretty much lined up. Like I went and I lifted and just had fun. Same at nationals and then.
00:15:26
Speaker
but I never meddled, right? So then I went to the American Open and I think I got fifth and I was like, Oh man, so close. And then nationals, uh, the best placing at nationals are like seventh. I was always like kind of between like at all these national meets, I finished between like fifth and you know, 13th or something like that. And kind of depending on the years and stuff. So it has never got that never got on the podium.
00:15:48
Speaker
And so I was done weightlifting. Um, I moved on. We had, you know, um, our second kid and everything. And so, and then, uh, I turned 35. So I was eligible for master's meets, but that was never part of the plan. I honestly like never gave a shit. I didn't really want to do them. Then I have a friend who does a lot of them and he said, Hey dude,
00:16:10
Speaker
Uh, master's world cup is in San Diego. Like it is so close. You know, normally they're in Germany or whatever, like you should just go and go compete. It'll be fun. So, um, no, it wasn't clay. Oh, um, actually this was, uh, James Thomas. So James, uh, Jay Gaffdo, if you want to find him on like Instagram, this dude just runs the circuit. Like he'll go compete at masters worlds, pan amps, national championships. And you just like run around winning.
00:16:40
Speaker
winning all these titles. And so, but yeah, you know, well, I never, I never got that medal at a national meet. Um, as a screw it, let me go. Like I'll, I'll just train hard for, you know, whatever it is, like 20 weeks out. Um, and then we'll just go and see, see if I can see if I could do something and kind of feel like I get that goal checked off the list. Yeah. Um, so, so I did. And so I was, uh, and go out there, ended up winning, had a good time. Um, and,
00:17:09
Speaker
I remember during the meet, having so much fun. So it'd been a couple of years since I had done a weightlifting meet. Um, and then it was over and I felt great. And then I was on the plane ride home, like an hour after I got the medal, I was like on a flight home and I remember thinking like, uh,
00:17:28
Speaker
Yeah, that's probably it. What I've found is that I, I really liked, uh, I liked winning. I liked the competition, but the training leading up to it is just not the, not the season of life I'm in right now, you know? So yeah. So how did it feel? It felt, uh, it felt amazing. I felt really good. And it also felt like, uh, um, yeah, like a release, right? Like, all right. Got that.
00:17:57
Speaker
got that monkey off my back. Now I can move on, you know, don't feel like I have this thing hanging over my head. Like I never accomplished this thing that I set out to do, although it wasn't meddling at a national meet. Um,
00:18:09
Speaker
whatever world cup counts, I think. Yeah, for sure. So there is wrestling. There's CrossFit was that, what was your profession during that? And how did eventually, uh, CrossFit become that you open up a gym too, and then caffeine and kilos. I know maybe some of them have heard this story. I think it'd be just good to get into. Yeah. So I was teaching PE and coaching high school wrestling. Um, and I taught PE for eight years, I coached wrestling for 10 years.
00:18:39
Speaker
Um, so I was doing that and that's when I got exposed, you know, kind of exposed to crossfit, right? Totally about crossfit. Hey, you got to try this out. So I started doing it, um, loved it. And I had some experience with, uh, like a barbell and Olympic lifts. I had a track coach actually that was pretty good. Um, he didn't really know the intricacies of the lifts or great technique, but he was aware of them enough to teach us, you know, we learned the difference between a power snatch and a snatch or a hang clean to clean and all that, you know.
00:19:08
Speaker
So I had some familiarity with those things. And so through CrossFit kind of got started seeing them again and started doing them again and had a really good time with that. Um, so I was kind of doing that just training CrossFit, um, teaching PE, coaching, wrestling. Um, and then, uh, that's when I started looking up like a local CrossFit gym. Let's see if there's one around here somewhere.
00:19:30
Speaker
And it was, again, it's like 2007 or 2008. And there was one who had just gotten affiliate and this guy was in his garage where he had just gotten affiliate and they just moved into this location. And so I got in contact with him and he was actually a PE teacher at a different high school. And he said, Oh, let's just go work out and meet up and work out a few times and start talking. And he's like, look, dude,
00:19:53
Speaker
Um, you know, we just got this building, you know, at this point he was running whatever, like three, three or four classes a day. Um, and he was coaching every single class and he was still teaching. And he's like, look, dude, and he had this business partner that kind of wasn't doing the work that he was supposed to be doing. He said, Hey man, look, like I just started this thing. Um, I'm coaching every single class. Like I need help. You know, like, are you, are you interested in, you know, what do you think?
00:20:19
Speaker
And, uh, I always knew that I wanted to have my start my business of some sort. Didn't know exactly what that looked like, but I knew that I would, at some point I would be, you know, getting into business. So, um, I said, yeah, let's do it. And so then I come on and we actually had another guy come out at the same time. And that was really when, uh, when Excel and CrossFit style really kind of started, um, it started as a garage and got to that point, but that's not really started pushing when that the three of us behind it, cause then we'd be kind of shared the load in classes and spend more time on that.
00:20:47
Speaker
on the other stuff to do with gyms as well. Right. Um, then from there, that grew pretty quickly. It's like, it has an eight. Um, anyway, and that grew, uh, from that little 800 square foot building. Um, eventually now we're in like this 10,000 square foot building. That's, you know, we have like showers and it's really nice. And we've been there for, for quite a while now. So I was doing this thing. Oh, Jim, doing some weightlifting meats.
00:21:12
Speaker
Um, having fun doing CrossFit and you meet people,
Founding of Caffeine and Kilos
00:21:15
Speaker
right? You go to these weightlifting meets, you meet the other weightlifters. Some of these other weightlifters are also CrossFitters who are just doing some weightlifting meets. Um, and so that's how I kinda, I just meet people that way. And that's how I met Charlie, Charlie Damora.
00:21:29
Speaker
who called me one day out of the blue, um, must've got my number from somebody. I don't know how he, how he got it and just said, Hey dude, I got an idea that I think you could want to be involved in or could be involved in. And I just want to host this weightlifting meet and get, you know, basically what the idea has to have to be after we talked about us, does how do we get the best weightlifters in the country to come with in this meeting?
00:21:51
Speaker
It's going to be a crowd and we need a cash prize. So we got some sponsors for the cash prize. We got some local, we decided to host a crosses style competition. Um, and that's way that then they could stick around and watch these lifters, you know, and we put together the Catherine kills invitational. And then kind of in the process of that, uh, Dean came in our third founder.
00:22:13
Speaker
Um, he understands, uh, what's cool, what looks good, the fashion side of things. Um, he has actually a pretty good business mind himself. Um, so the, he was kind of, we're all working together and he made some apparel for the meat. And we decided that, uh, we should call the caffeine and kilosimutational. So if that's the case, we should make this thing the real deal and get some coffee. So we started looking into getting our own, you know, some, uh, specialty coffee made just for us and our own blends and all that.
00:22:40
Speaker
And what it turned into is we're selling t-shirts and coffee online before the need even happens.
00:22:46
Speaker
And so he's kind of stumbled into this business. Uh, and then, and that was it. Right. So in the cafe, physical, mutational went really well. Bunch of people signed up. I went to a great time. Uh, we were selling t-shirts and coffee, you know, online before the meet and then that whole thing took off. Yeah. Right off the gate, the shirts and the coffee were started at the same time. Okay. So who came up with the genius thing? Yeah. Uh, that, so it was,
00:23:14
Speaker
Kind of fun. So Dean and, and Charlie were talking about like, again, different shirts and stuff like that. Dean, Dean wanted it. Sorry. Charlie wanted to make sure that just said my life and had a picture of guy lifting weights and a picture of coffee mug. And this was not connected to the, to the invitation at this point. We didn't know what we're going to call the competition. That was just this idea we're working on. And he said, Hey, I'm going to make some of these shirts for myself. I want ones and you also want one.
00:23:39
Speaker
And he got this huge response, right? Like hundreds of people like, yeah, I want that shirt. I want that shirt on, you know? And so then all these people are saying that is, well, maybe there's something here. Maybe this like coffee and working out, like that's something we all do. It's like, it really just happened to resonate with people. And then he was talking to Dean about it. And that's when they started thinking like caffeine and kilograms, caffeine and kilos, like it kind of has a nice ring to it. And
00:24:04
Speaker
So then, and in the meantime, we're all talking about these ideas, right? It's like, Hey, you know, check out these shirts, whatever, you know, cause we're talking almost every day, setting this meetup. And so then, uh, what was the kind of final part of that is I was, um,
00:24:21
Speaker
Looking at my phone, um, I had the programming for the meet all written out for the CrossFit part and we didn't know we were going to call it still. And I'm looking at the workouts and I'm thinking about it and I'm thinking about the shirts and stuff. And I'm just like, I'm actually looking at the format of these instructors workouts. And I'm like, well, I, this should be the caffeine kilos invitational. Like that's what it should be. Like it should be a caffeine kilos. And as I'm thinking that my phone rings and I answer it.
00:24:46
Speaker
And Charlie says, uh, Hey man, I think we should call the meet the Catherine kills them too. And I was like, dude, I was just like, I was having that exact thought when my phone rang. And so that was kind of, uh, you know, that's the end of that, right? Like pretty hard to argue that it's not a good idea what something like that happens. That was kind of, that's how the whole thing launched and the whole thing kicked off.
00:25:11
Speaker
And to this day, I haven't seen anything... There's uniqueness, for sure, in the design as well, even the feel to it. And it was early on, and I mean, some of the awful work I close, they're out there. I mean, yeah, talk about game changer. I've worked at Lululemon myself, so I have love for Lululemon, but that's different. It's not the nitty-gritty street style, which you guys have.
00:25:33
Speaker
And something that is coming up now more so lately is buttery bros. And I saw collaboration coming up here too. That's, that's going to happen with the two of you somehow. Yeah, definitely. So we, we did one with them a while ago as we did a coffee, waking cake blend. Cause that's one of their kind of things they do and they go to different places. They go eat pancakes. It's a part of their kind of stick, you know? Sure. So we ran through that and then with the holiday season coming up and everything in fall. So we're coming out now with.
00:26:01
Speaker
uh, collaboration of butter bros can be called, um, the, uh, pumpkin spice pancakes. And so it's like, you know, it's straight coffee. It's real smooth, but it has kind of those, you know, like the nutmeg cinnamon kind of undertones in it. Um, nothing's added. It's just coffee. It's the types of beans, um, blended and roasted in a way that kind of brings out those different flavor notes, you know? Yeah. So yeah, that's a lot of fun doing things with those guys.
00:26:26
Speaker
Yeah, you even see it and for example on it has been very mean all the colors they use in any type of marketing. I mean, yeah, you guys were early on on that and with the response. What do you attribute that to the major explosion? Why do you think the community just took on caffeine and kilos like they did and it just exploded?
Caffeine and Exercise: A Perfect Match?
00:26:45
Speaker
Well, I mean, so caffeine as a whole, I mean, that's been the number one test and improvement ergogenic aid, right? So like caffeine and exercise have just been paired up for, for as long as anyone can remember, right? Ever since like exercise really started becoming popular and like the, you know, the seventies, eighties type thing. So, uh, that's, and coffee obviously is the most natural way to get caffeine. Um, and so that's kind of the whole thing is just a lot of people, man, it's just so common that
00:27:13
Speaker
Um, people who like working out and exercising and kind of that, that, you know, healthy, active lifestyle, just drink coffee, you know? And I mean, a lot of people drink coffee that aren't in the don't exercise as well, but they're definitely two things that, that, uh, go together a lot. People pair up. And so it's funny to start talking about the things that you're into, right? Like, what do you like doing? Well, I drink coffee. Like, well, you're a pretty good company, right? A lot of people share those, uh, share those hobbies. Sure.
00:27:38
Speaker
And so they go together and that's kind of the whole thing. So one of the early ways I want to introduce to you was I heard you and one of the co-founders on the podcast of Jason Frugia and you were talking about people wanting your sweaty shirts and socks as well. It was pretty crazy how much interest there has been. What are highlights that stick out?
00:28:07
Speaker
During all that time. Sure. Uh, that's funny. So yeah, that that's one of those things where, you know, cause all that stuff we make is as limited edition, right? Like we'll make one round of it, um, or maybe we'll get like one restock on it, but then that's it. Right. It's not stuff that we, we sell for years. It's like, there's, you know, there might only be a hundred or 72 of this one particular shirt floating around, you know, or at most a couple hundred of them, you know? So sometimes it's happened before at events. I was like, Oh man, that shirt, like I got one.
00:28:36
Speaker
Um, and I loved it. And then like whatever in the wash, it got bleached and it has this stain and I was pissed because I can't get another one, you know, and I'm looking at it. I'm like, man, this guy wears the same size as me. Well, how like you just have this one, you know, it's like taking it off and give it to him. Um, so that's happened quite a bit because I figured I got plenty of clothes. And then same thing, um, with socks too. It's been really funny because the,
00:29:02
Speaker
our socks, uh, they really are. They're the best, like they're the most comfortable socks you'll, you'll ever own. And so, but that's happened at a different events too. As someone's come up and said, Oh man, I wish, you know, um, you know, cause we've had different color ones, right? Whether they're red, white and blue or, or just different color schemes. Um, so what, one time in particular, uh, there's this guy at my gym and he was, uh, he was going to a giants game that night, like San Francisco giants. Um,
00:29:32
Speaker
And so it's like, Oh, I'm going to the Giants game. We're talking about whatever. And I was actually wearing a orange and black socks. Like I had these orange and black Caffeine kilos socks on and, uh, I was like, Oh dude, you get, do you have like some of these? He goes, no, I wish, you know, I got whatever. And, um, I'm like, well, do you want, you want these ones? Like he's like, Oh hell yeah. He's like, you're at the gym. I think we just got done working out. I'm like, Oh dude, the years like wearing the game. So.
00:30:01
Speaker
Anyway, I've actually, I think I've given people the socks off my feet more than I have the shirt off my back, but still anyway. Yeah. Yeah. Those, those things happen. Um, I don't want to say like,
00:30:14
Speaker
frequently, but I bet you two or three times a year, I'm walking away topless. Whatever, whatever, dude, you wanted it's yours, you know? Sure. So what are other highlights that you remember from starting this? Well, so it's a put me in position to meet a lot of fun people or get coached by a lot of people. We did a video series with Flow when there was a
00:30:44
Speaker
when they were doing a lot more in the CrossFit, as far as like streaming different things, whatever. And so we paired up with them. It's got Arm and Hammer. And he was one of their big, you know, like journalists at the time. And we went around to different weightlifting coaches. And so we kind of traveled around the country, went to down to LA for Sean Waxman and said, all right, for the next
00:31:07
Speaker
For the next three days, like I'm on your weightlifting team. Just like treat me like you would anybody who, who lifts for you full-time, you know, and soon you get, okay, how, how does he coach? What's his coaching style? What's the programming like? What's the kind of environment there? All that type of stuff. Um, we went to the same thing in Texas under, uh, coach Ursula Poppinger is right. So.
00:31:27
Speaker
down there and she's the highest ranked female coach in America. She was actually the acting IWF president for a while, all this type of stuff. So like very well decorated weightlifting coach, went down and what's the life lifting for her for three days? Like what if I was on her weightlifting team? Like how does she coach? How does she do things and all that? And so
00:31:49
Speaker
That was a really cool experience is being able to go and get exposed to these different coaching and different people and kind of done the same thing with Travis Mash and we've done the same thing with different people. So that's been a lot of fun is just going and getting opportunity to be coached by these different waylifting coaches. I mean, we would film them, put together these videos and then kind of go that way too. So that was some stuff.
00:32:19
Speaker
CrossFit Games, sometimes we'll rent a house because we have so many people that are going to be working at the event. And so sometimes we'll have people stay with us that maybe aren't going to be working at the booth, but are just involved with the company in some capacity. And so we've had Olympic gold medalists, you know, stay at the Caffney-Keeler's house. And one year in particular, when it was CrossFit Games in LA, this was like,
00:32:43
Speaker
Maybe it was a 15 or so. Anyway, at the house, we had like world record holder power lifters, um, Olympic gold medal weight lifters, uh, and then his coach, and then it's some, uh, and then some like, like how strength guys, you know, as well. So then we're talking, you know, like.
00:33:02
Speaker
guys that are going and lifting at world championships, that type of stuff. Um, and anyway, we were all on this one house and I remember it was just interesting sometimes walking through and, and just like looking over and these guys, you know, there's Ukrainian, you know, weight lifters or, you know, then you look the other side and it's this, uh, power lifter, you know, who's from Brooklyn who's hanging out with us doing this thing. And, and so there's been some unique experience like that. We're just kind of looking around like, what is going on? Like, why are.
00:33:30
Speaker
like why are these people staying in this house together like really kind of like odd mix of odd mix on passive characters type of a thing you know what was the food consumption like that oh well that depends on the person right um so it was enough like family meals yeah go ahead oh yeah well so a lot of times we didn't have eaten out whatever because it was like we weren't at the house that much you know most throughout the event throughout the day
00:33:53
Speaker
Uh, there's one time where the, the, the Ukrainian weightlifters, they'd never had seized candy before. Like they didn't know what seized candy was, you know? And I remember just watching these guys just absolutely demolished this box of seized candy with a childlike joy seen anywhere else, you know?
00:34:09
Speaker
Oh, okay. And one more thing was a unique experience that really stands out because we're sponsoring this meet in Florida. And Morgan King was a friend of mine. She's a captain. He was an athlete and she was lifting his meat. She didn't have anybody to count, like to coach her, to count her cards, whatever. And so she wasn't, she didn't go to the Olympics yet. This was a year or two before that.
00:34:33
Speaker
I was like, I'll do it for you, whatever. And so I coached her through this meet my counter to cards and helped her. And then I coach her in the back room, you know, and then a year later, she goes to Rio and gets sixth place in the Olympics. Right. So that's kind of a fun experience too. Right. Like, I don't know how many people have, uh,
00:34:48
Speaker
have coached, coached, uh, you know, Olympians through their workouts or their, their meets even. Right. Yeah. Meeting all these amazing people. What are, what are teachings, lessons, tips and tricks that you've taken away? They were like, wow. Okay.
Mental Preparation Techniques
00:35:03
Speaker
One thing with Morgan is during that meet, um,
00:35:07
Speaker
I remember this very, very well is she's in back and it's down in Florida. So a lot of the bars in the world room are rusty and shitty and everything. Uh, she's in backed in a world of temps. And she asks me, says, Hey, on the platform out there, are they using competition callers or spring callers? And so competition callers way two and a half kilos each. And so the bar is loaded differently.
00:35:30
Speaker
you know, um, in order to make whatever a hundred kilos, you would use, you know, different big plates since that way the collars cause it makes up that extra five kilos by the time you need to cook on. Uh, and also the bar feels a little bit different, um, with that weight as well. Anyways, she asked me that and I thought it was an interesting question. She said, well, shit, I don't know. Let me go look. And I came and said, okay, I did spring collars. She said, okay. And that was it. And then later after the meet,
00:35:55
Speaker
Um, I mentioned that I said, Oh yeah, the last month was the callers. She said, yeah, it's not even about Barfield is about the visualizing. So then she started telling about her visualization process. And I believe in, in doing some visualization and getting some mental reps. And I said that she asked because when she was lifting on the warmup platform.
00:36:16
Speaker
she would visualize herself on the competition platform. And so she wanted the bar in her head to look like what it was going to look like on the platform. So even in her warm-up attempts, she would picture the bar loaded the way it would be loaded during the meet if that was the weight.
00:36:36
Speaker
Um, and so then every, every single warmup attempt, not just every competition, but every single time she touched the bar, um, she had visualized herself, you know, making a lift two or three times, um, with, and again, in her, in her head, the bar is loaded the way it's going to be on the platform. It's not, not how it doesn't matter what it actually looks like in the warmup room. Um, it's almost like doing like a, like a filter overlay. Yeah.
00:37:02
Speaker
And so anyways, that was something where I was like, Oh man, that's, uh, like that's visualization at the next level. Right. It's like, not just picture yourself making this lift, but actually picturing the barbell, the way it's going to look. So when she goes out to take her first attempt on the platform, you know, the bars lined up and, but she's seen that bar. She's already lifted that bar, um, you know, in the back room. So that was something that was, that was interesting. Um, asked her if she ever misses and her visualizations. And she said that sometimes she does.
00:37:32
Speaker
And, um, if she like in two attempts, if she like keeps like mentally missing this weight, she'll visualize somebody else who she likes, who she thinks is really good technique. Um, she'll visualize them making that same weight. And then I'd go to the confidence and then she'll be able to like make it, um, mentally and then in her life as well. So anyway, that's something that, uh, like that level of like focus and mental focus and, uh, visualization is something that.
00:38:01
Speaker
man, really, I can think about that a lot. Yeah. That's fascinating. How, are there other habits that might surprise you or they're very unique that you've come across during these interactions with these people too? Well, that's one, you know, one thing that blows my mind a lot of times, and I don't know if I'd say exactly who or whatever, but man, the,
00:38:25
Speaker
the nutrition of a lot of these top level athletes is not what a lot of people think it would be. Right. Like you assume like, Oh, they got it together and they're, you know, whatever. And it's like, Oh dude, like you're hanging out with some of these guys and they're just sitting there like hammering gummy worms throughout the day. What are you doing?
00:38:44
Speaker
Just, you know, so just the, yeah, the, the, that's one thing that what's surprising a lot, um, just from a kind of like surprise shocking or, you know, type of thing like, man, I can't believe this is what, this was some of these people are eating, you know, and then going and being, being top performers, you know, in their, in their sport. Um, so, but that.
00:39:05
Speaker
That visualization with Morgan, that particular conversation was unique to her, but that idea of the mental reps and the visualization is something that I've kind of found with a lot of top athletes. Also, it's the attitude of, if anybody else can do it, I can too. Wes Kitz, who just competed at the Olympics last year, he had that comment one time as he was sitting there and we were lifting together.
00:39:35
Speaker
um that's another fun thing is actually like you know sharing a bar lifting some of these people right so you know we're lifting together and he uh he said um there's a weight coming up and it was really heavy i know it's like real big but you get the point it was like a little bit heavier than what he'd been lifting that day and he was gonna gonna go for us oh you think that you think getting like
00:39:58
Speaker
whenever, the next, the next step, the next lift. You think you're ever going to, you think you're going to get there? And he's like, well, yeah. I said, yeah, what makes you think that? He goes, well, other people do it. It was great. It was like Southern accent. Other people do it. I'm like, well, shit, Les, I guess that's a good reason as any, you know, and that's something I found of lots of different
00:40:20
Speaker
Um, lots of different high level athletes that kind of, you know, it's, it's, it's not that they, for my experiences, it's not that they think they're special. Um, in fact, the, the best athletes that I, that I've come encounter with, you know, we're coming contact with, um, that they, they don't think they're special. They actually think that they're just like everybody else. And you know what, if anyone, if anyone can do it, then everyone can do it, you know, type of a thing. And that that's what drives a lot of them to, to be better.
00:40:47
Speaker
It's not this like God complex. It's almost the opposite. It's like, well, like if other people can do this, I can too. Like I just need to work harder. I need to put in more time. Like I just need to do the things it takes. Like other people are not going to do the things it takes. So if I do the things it takes, then I can be as good or better than anybody else. You know?
00:41:07
Speaker
Sure. When it comes to even your own gym or California strength, for those who don't know, I mean Dave Spitz is just genius. I've done his programming, lifted out an affiliate of his as well with Kaleo and our connection there.
00:41:23
Speaker
What are what are unique things you would say one about Cal strength? You've mentioned that there are high-level athletes and they're just there's a different atmosphere What is unique there? Would you say other than that as well as with your own? What have you created that has been the secret sauce to to excel? oh man, they're so different so California strength is a
00:41:48
Speaker
Uh, so unique and it's funny. People say it like, you know, I'm still in the walls, like something about that place just makes you want to work hard and makes you, uh, put out like there's these expectations, you know, and part of that is the people training there, right? Like you're surrounded by, um, people on the weightlifting team who are, you know, competing at nationals or competing at the international international level, most of them. Um, and then also they do combine NFL, combine prep. So you get these guys in there who were, you know,
00:42:16
Speaker
with the best guy on their local, on their college football team, who are there training to see where they can get drafted for the NFL. And that's just the, the environment down there all the time is there are people who are pursuing, uh, you know, athletic, uh, performance at the highest level, right? Like that's, um, that's just how, how, what it's like down there.
00:42:37
Speaker
So when you're in there, they're not environment, it gets pretty intense. You know, I remember times where, you know, I mean, there's fist fights, uh, amongst teammates in training at times.
00:42:49
Speaker
Uh, you know, also just the, the way to motivate, uh, one another down there. And it has changed a little bit over time. You know, when Glenn Penley was the coach, she was a little bit different than when Dave is the coach, um, with different people on team as people kind of filter through and, and, you know, either age out or retire or new people come in or move away and all that. Um, you know, it changed a little bit, but there's this, uh,
00:43:16
Speaker
aggressive support structure that is very unique that I have not experienced anywhere else as far as demanding on one another and the way to motivate is sometimes not what you would think. It's not usually I mean there is some of this but a lot oftentimes or at least back in the day not as much like you miss a lift
00:43:40
Speaker
You can do it. Try again, you know. It was more of you missed the slip, but it was, you know, something like you could make it. You start loading it on the bar again or start getting the bar ready and you get your teammates chirping at you, saying things like, what are you doing? Stop wasting everybody's time. Mike is too heavy. You're not strong enough. Like, what are you doing? You know?
00:44:03
Speaker
And so you gotta be, if, if you could be motivated by that, then, uh, you know, then that makes a big difference, you know? And I think that that side of things, do you get this kind of mental training in as well? Whereas then you're in a meet, you're in a competition and you miss a lift. Um, you know, maybe you have those internal voices, right? Your own head, like, I keep going to miss that. Like what's going on? What's going on? You know, you only got three attempts at a snatch. And if you miss your opener and I only got two, like you're gonna bomb out and.
00:44:30
Speaker
And you know, you, everybody, it's naturally, you kind of have these, uh, like, you know, internal doubts, but I think training, uh, on a team where every now and then, uh, you miss a lift and people start chirping at you and telling you that it's too heavy and you're not good enough. And it's, it's, you're wasting everybody's time and it's just, it's just not there. Like shut it down. What are you doing? You know, you're going to hurt yourself. Stop. Um,
00:44:54
Speaker
And then kind of being like, yeah, all right, screw you. Like I said, I am going to do that. I'm going to show you, I'm going to show you what it looks like. Right. Um, and then doing that and making the lifts. So you build this kind of mental toughness of, you know, coming back from, uh, missed lifts or difficult times and training and, and kind of the, uh, you know, screw you, I'm going to do it anyway. Um, type of a type of an attitude. Um, it it'll toughen up an athlete, uh, like nothing else.
00:45:23
Speaker
Um, if you can survive it, right. Um, that's the catch is for some people that doesn't work for some people, you start saying things like that and you can just watch them crumble, uh, from, from the inside out. Um, and if that's the case, you just don't, you're not, you're not on the team very long, you know, stick around, you kind of move on to somewhere else that matches what works for you better. Um, so the environment out of Kyle strength is, is extremely demanding, uh, but in a, but in a good way, everybody knows that everybody is there to get better.
00:45:52
Speaker
And so if you don't like what someone said to you, if they're trying to help you get better and you don't like the way they phrased it, then like, that's on you. Like it's not on them. Like the worst thing that could happen is that they don't try to help you. Right. And so there is zero, there's zero wiggle room for getting your feelings hurt. Um, when you're, when you're lifting out there, when you're, when you're training and cow strength, there's one goal and one goal only, and that is to improve. And so, and so like, so you just got to deal with it.
00:46:20
Speaker
Um, so that's, that's what it's like to cast strength. Um, and I, and I love that place for that. I'd excel a little different Excel is a, you know, look, a word gym and we have a mission and our, our goal is to, you know, promote a
Community Atmosphere vs. Intensity
00:46:35
Speaker
healthy active lifestyle and, you know, uh, give, improve the quality of life, like people in the community, you know,
00:46:42
Speaker
And so out there it is, it's almost the opposite. It's just encouraging. It's extremely encouraging. You get people from all ages, we have like in a class, we'll have someone who's 21 years old and we have an 84 year old woman who goes to three days a week, doesn't miss, type of thing. And they'll be training together and encourage each other along with the ways.
00:47:04
Speaker
and giving each other a little fist bumps on our app that tracks workouts and that whole thing and so the number one word to describe excel is community, right? It's everybody at the gym is hanging out on the weekends with other people to go to the gym and people are happy to see each other down there and have something common and work out together and talk and
00:47:26
Speaker
We do events about once a month. We try to have some sort of a social event of some, you know, something for people to kind of get down there and see each other outside of just while working out and doing all that type of thing. So that's really the main, the main feeling or vibe at Excel is just this feeling of community and support. Everyone's there helping each other out.
00:47:49
Speaker
And absolutely people are getting after it. And, uh, we got some people putting on pretty big performances. We have, you know, we have some athletes, whether they're masters or whatever, who are, you know, either going to the games or one step away from going to the CrossFit games, um, every year, but that performance side of things, isn't what we push.
00:48:08
Speaker
If you want to do that, that's great. We can support you for that, but we're really just there to get people, you know, working out and encouraging one another and just helping each other, you know, feel good on a daily basis.
00:48:20
Speaker
Hmm.
Charitable Efforts and COVID Response
00:48:21
Speaker
So one of the most impactful things that you do is giving back. And this is by supporting, I mean, you have, of course, caffeine kilos, you have your cross-stitching, you have other avenues to give back from that too. Do you mind going into that and how, what, what, what is it that you do in that sense? One of my favorite things that we do at Excel is, uh, we have every, uh,
00:48:49
Speaker
November, we do a Turkey day throw down. And so we do a little internal competition, but the, uh, the price of admission, right? Like the price of sign up for the meat is you have to bring in a frozen Turkey. And so we, we gather up all these frozen turkeys we donate into the local food bank. So, um, every year we end up with right around a hundred or last few years. And we've been pushing that 100 number. Um, and so that's been a lot of fun. So it's just been, Hey, we get, you know, we get together. Everyone has a great time too. They did this little.
00:49:17
Speaker
internal competition that maybe they wouldn't want to do or these, you know, wouldn't want to sign up for normally because they're not a competitor. They're just, they're working out having a good time, but there's a, there's a community event involved. There's a cause, you know, so when you have a chance to donate these turkeys, the local food bank, and that's always a lot of fun. I really like that. It's something local and tangible, you know, it's not just like sending money somewhere. I'd be like, I see these turkeys, you know, and I know that they're going to be delivered to these families and it's going to make a big difference for them. You know,
00:49:47
Speaker
So that's something that I really have a lot of fun with. And then with caffeine kilos, we're always into something. Whether it's making some special products for like breast cancer awareness for October and releasing those and then donating all the profits to, there's this local organization Sacramento we're working with this year. We've done it with Barbells for Boobs years prior. So we do that pretty frequently.
00:50:17
Speaker
when COVID first hit.
00:50:19
Speaker
We did a gym scholarship thing. We raised some money and then we had people apply for it and got on the phone and we basically just paid their gym memberships. Like people got laid off because of COVID. We just paid their gym memberships for a year. Did that for a few different people. So that was a lot of fun. So that's, I really liked doing the things that are more, more tangible. There's a person involved I can talk to, or there's a, you know, those types of things are things that excite me, you know?
00:50:47
Speaker
That's amazing. And I think that's just a wonderful way of wrapping it up. I mean, that's what it comes back to. I mean, it's my number one goal too, is yes, first and foremost, right? Being able to pay the bills, but also a big thing is that how do you give back in the same time? And I think you're just in a phenomenal example and thank you freaking so much for what you're doing. I mean, you're an inspiration to myself and so many people out there by creating something awesome, something cool, and you're giving back in the same time. So Danny, amazing to have you on. Thank you.
00:51:16
Speaker
Yeah, thanks fashion had a had a good time man. Appreciate it. Danny shares some amazing stories. He is just a very generous man gives back to the community sponsors people in the weightlifting CrossFit overall in the health and fitness community. It's just amazing what he does.
00:51:36
Speaker
not just helping out the people that are close to him by putting a roof over his family's head, but also the people at the companies that he has founded as well as reaching out to people who don't have much. So I respect the hell out of that as well as Danny.
00:51:54
Speaker
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00:52:24
Speaker
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