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064 - Burning Gas & Building Trust w/ Josh Dobbie
96 Plays12 days ago
Squatober is here! In this episode, recorded live at Summer Strong 18, we sit down with Josh Dobbie—marketing leader at Sorinex—to explore a leadership philosophy that challenges everything we've been taught about control, strategy, and development.
Josh's journey from college tight end to culture architect reveals a powerful truth: the best leaders don't create something from nothing. They recognize what's already there—the talent, the passion, the potential—and burn the gas on it. They fill gaps instead of micromanaging. They create space for creative risk instead of demanding rigid adherence to three-inch binders full of strategy.
Whether you're coaching athletes, leading a team, or developing your own potential, this episode offers a masterclass in trust-based leadership. It's about creating environments where people don't wait for permission—they take action, learn from the broken plays, and grow into their fullest expression.
Training - Old Bull Program - 7 Day Free Trial - https://bit.ly/old-bull-train
Education - Why They're Not Listening: Coaching the Modern Athlete - http://listen.captainsandcoaches.com
#LeadershipDevelopment #CoachingPhilosophy #TeamCulture #EmpowermentLeadership #StrengthAndConditioning #AthleteDevelopment #CultureBuilder #TrustBasedLeadership #CaptainsAndCoaches #Sorinex #BeLegendary #Squatober
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Transcript
Introduction and Viking Analogy
00:00:00
Speaker
It's like the old Viking thing, right? Like they hung a rope behind the boat so that they could see where they were going. Right? So you turn around and you look, is the rope straight? right, in the right direction.
00:00:10
Speaker
Oh, it's curved? No, we are off course. Get it back going. And so, you know kind of look into the past there with Pops and Nelson.
Podcast and Guest Introduction
00:00:18
Speaker
um My experiences with those guys give us a little ah a very strong kind of direction forward. and Welcome to the Captains and Coaches podcast. We explore the art and science of leadership through the lens of athletics and beyond.
00:00:29
Speaker
I'm your host, Texan Quilkin, and today I'm in Lexington, South Carolina at Summer Strong 18, sitting down with Josh Dobby. the marketing leader at Soarinx and architect of one is strength and conditioning industry's most authentic community experiences. Josh and I first connected in 2018 and I've seen his work evolve into something special, a blueprint for leadership built on a simple but powerful philosophy, burn the gas. Not creating something from nothing but recognizing what's already there, the talent, the culture, the potential,
00:01:02
Speaker
and then throwing fuel on it.
Transition from Athlete to Leader
00:01:04
Speaker
It's about trust over control, creative freedom over rigid playbooks, and empowering teams to own their craft without waiting for permission.
00:01:13
Speaker
In this conversation, we'll dive into Josh's journey from college tight end to culture builder, exploring how the coaches who believed in him shaped his approach to filling in gaps, developing talent, and creating space for people to make decisions without a safety net. This is about more than equipment and events. It's about principles that turn potential into performance in business and in life. Now, let's pass the torch to Josh to help us raise the game. Ready, ready, and break.
00:01:43
Speaker
Ready? Yeah, yeah, I'm ready. I'm ready. Listos, listos. Ready, ready. Action. Welcome to the Captains and Coaches podcast.
Live Recording and Personal Touches
00:01:51
Speaker
We are live at Summer Strong 18.
00:01:54
Speaker
18, baby. Lexington, South Carolina. Yeah. And I'm sitting down with Josh Dobby, and I want... Is that your phone? I don't know what the hell that is. step up Okay.
00:02:11
Speaker
Magic's in the editing. Let's go. yeah It's my little son. Dylan. Pamela. little Hey, my man.
00:02:21
Speaker
Hey, Dylan, you want to see my big muscular friends? These are my big stud friends. Yeah, that's my hockey player, Dylan. Oh, all right. That's my hockey player, Dylan. Relax on ice.
00:02:34
Speaker
That was awesome. We should definitely keep that in ice. Of course. Okay. Yes.
Evolution of Strength Conferences
00:02:39
Speaker
Josh Dabby, I'm going to take us back to NSCA Coaches Conference, January.
00:02:45
Speaker
yeah it must have been 2018. It was in Charlotte, North Carolina. Okay. And we were maybe the last two men standing. We were at the sushi bar, and we're talking about the future of strength and conditioning.
00:02:57
Speaker
Yeah. I vaguely remember that conversation. Yeah. Just because it was so long ago, right? Well, you know, i probably had a couple of cocktails too, to be honest. Yeah. And it in the essence, it was events.
00:03:10
Speaker
It was events like this. So the the the conferences that as they existed, those were getting less and less attended. Yeah, sure. Sponsors are dropping out. And you're at these, I'm at these.
00:03:23
Speaker
So we see this just decline and it continues over the years here. We see the opposite with Summerstrong. Now you got me firing. now Now I'm remembering the conversation.
00:03:34
Speaker
yeah So it was a late night conversation, but it was still like, let's get freaking charged up. Because there is a vision and a future for strength and conditioning. And you've taken and run with it. And we see this every single year. And this is freaking blocked out on the
Career Journey and Leadership Challenges
00:03:51
Speaker
my calendar every single year. And I'm here. Yeah, yeah. Because it is something special.
00:03:54
Speaker
Yeah. So now just... just your position within Soren X, it didn't start with this responsibility, this opportunity that you have every single day with the team.
00:04:06
Speaker
Go back. Was it, I know Jeremy started with those buzz and force plates. I don't forget what they're called. You know about? Yeah, power plates. Power plates. what What was your origin? Yeah, so I i started there.
00:04:17
Speaker
so yeah That's why I hired Jeremy. That's how he worked there. for yeah And then when I left to come here, I hired Jeremy come here as well because he's awesome. So, yeah, man. ah Well, shoot, the first part of it, right?
00:04:29
Speaker
Events. I think that... ah in our strength and conditioning field, which is definitely, ah you know, kind of a part of the overall health and fitness realm of things.
00:04:40
Speaker
Events have always been very hit or miss to me. um I think it's it it's not from a lack of quality people with quality ideas. I think it's a difficult decision to decide, am I going to go down the route of being like very educational based and like we're going to make this a serious thing and we're going to try to dig into it?
00:04:57
Speaker
Or are we going to like just try to have some fun?
Success of Summer Strong Events
00:05:00
Speaker
Right. And it's difficult because on one hand, this is very valuable, but is sometimes not the most exciting and entertaining thing to be around.
00:05:08
Speaker
And the other hand, you have kind of more rah-rah events, which those are fun, but also lack substance a lot of times. And so I think that some are strong and some of the events that we try to put on, we try to blend those two to the best of our abilities. Right.
00:05:22
Speaker
Um, that little secret sauce spot in between where you grab a little bit of this and a little bit of this and well how's that speaker gonna affect the next speaker and how does you know and how are they going to relate to each other that's kind of how we've tried to think about this and of course you know I started summer strong um I think so summer strong seven was my first one and then eight and nine i was there to kind of assist with but I really didn't do much I mean I was I was a part-time friend vendor whatever 10 here was the first time that was like all right we're running the show here um and dude I mean just side note bless that like I'm able to sit here and do this during the event while things are happening because we have such a quality team there
00:06:06
Speaker
Shoot, I remember Summer Strong 10, I was standing up on a chair holding the damn microphone to the TV so people could hear what was on the TV because we weren't at high speed. And now we got dudes like Ricky and Darren and Jake and these guys that are just crushing,
Leadership Philosophy and Team Empowerment
00:06:18
Speaker
make it so much better.
00:06:19
Speaker
um So anyways, all that to say, finding that space within the strength conditioning community and market to have an event that has those different types of elements, which of course, Summer Strong has been around for 18 years now.
00:06:31
Speaker
But how do we take those elements and apply them into all right, we go to the NSCA, we go to CSCCA, we go to other things and bring those things to there so that, you know, we are hopefully doing something good that people are interested in being around um and hopefully doing it in a different way. So it's a little unique and stands out.
00:06:50
Speaker
General idea at least. Yeah. And you you did a great tip of the cap to your team and where it started. So now how do your How do you do your best to communicate where it started and what they have and still have them appreciate like this whole experience to keep the authenticity alive?
00:07:11
Speaker
the The thing that I think is, is most important for us is just leading by example, right? Like, I'm not a big and we're not a big company. Let's go get in a conference room and talk about the stuff and have meetings and do all that kind of shit. Like, we're just like, let's just go do it.
00:07:26
Speaker
And we're going to look to hire and bring on the best type of people that we believe will want to be as invested in this situation as we are. And if they are, then they will lean into the situation. They will learn, they will grow. And then it's easy to then hand the keys off to like, all right, now your little piece of that is yours. Now a little piece of that is yours.
00:07:43
Speaker
And over time you keep stacking years and keep stacking good people you know, that starts to come together. And so that's at least been the strategy that I've kind of informally had, I guess. um But I think it was also me understanding who I'm working with and how I believe they want to be led and want to be kind of, you know, given opportunities. That makes sense.
00:08:05
Speaker
Yeah. I'm tracking that. And then you as a leader, you can see they did well. So here's more responsibility or, Maybe they they didn't do as well as they needed to or the expectation was not met.
00:08:18
Speaker
Then you step in as a leader mentor and you make a decision. going to give more opportunity and would rather see you not do it well and then we'll correct off of that versus like try to be so over proactive on the front end that like you don't even get to doing the damn thing before you're like already coaching and what to do and what to not to do. Like, no, let's just go do it.
00:08:36
Speaker
And then we'll figure it out. um And I think as long as we have the people with the right mind, heart, like intention of how they're going about doing what they're doing, they'll figure it out. And, you know, this is, know, simple things, but done the right way in sequence can be beautiful, you know?
00:08:53
Speaker
Yeah. and and and And I do want to spend some time with your your college athletic career. Oh, yeah. Let's go. Yeah. Just talk about gaining life experience. Yeah. so So, my college experience and my athletic experience there is what drove me to stay in this field.
00:09:11
Speaker
A hundred percent. I grew up, my dad worked for companies like Nautilus, Stairmaster, Strive, Free Motion. I've been going to like the URSA shows since I was 12 years old. I've been around the big box fitness side of things since I was young. Sitting in my dad's car, listening to him, talking to people when I don't want, when I didn't want to.
00:09:28
Speaker
I was around that my whole life. And then when I got into college and of course was playing football,
Career and Industry Influences
00:09:33
Speaker
um when I transitioned from Army to Florida State, I switched positions. So i went from receiver weighing about 215 pounds to play tight end, which I need to be about 250.
00:09:42
Speaker
And so that transformation that I went through over the course of two years, like built outstanding relationships with my strength coaches, outstanding relationships with my athletic trainers, understood the system. Like I actually cared more about it versus like I always saw strength conditioning is just like,
00:09:57
Speaker
Like in fitness is something I've always been around, but didn't really have a strong appreciation for it because I was just always around it. Like, dude, when I was in high school, my dad had 12 selectorized pieces in our two car garage that he just had because that was just he had that going on.
00:10:12
Speaker
So I was always kind of around it. But it was until I got to Army and Coach Swanson, who was my first strength coach, he taught me how to train. And then when I made the transition from Army to Florida State, and Coach John Jost was there at FSU, um and then years after that, was a few other guys, and um Coach Josh Hinks, who was an intern at the time, who's now with ah the Panthers, Jason Bengucci, who was an intern at the time and is now with the Cardinals.
00:10:41
Speaker
mean, these are dudes that were kind of like forced to work with me because I wasn't like the five-star guy. So like these were like the guys that had to work with me. you know Red Sanders, who was down at A&M, those guys were so influential in my life, and they taught me how to train because i I had to learn. I had to learn how to put the weight on the right way. I had to learn how to get stronger because I was moving from the outside of the field to the inside of the field, which was an experience within itself. um But through that whole process, i I just fell in love with that part of it.
00:11:12
Speaker
And so that's when I left and went down University South Florida as an intern and you know, like anybody just looking for a job. And that's when the power plate company basically called me and was like, Hey, want you to come do this in our world for us. And I was like, okay, cool. Let's do that.
00:11:23
Speaker
So it's kind of how our whole kick started, I guess. It's all connected, man. yeah Yeah. What I, what I do love. And then the big mission with captains and coaches is sports. Don't teach lessons.
00:11:34
Speaker
Captains and coaches do in the respect of the captain. Sometimes you have a tyrannical leader and that just brings you together and you get really tight with the boys and In respect to the coaches, when you said here for Coach Swanson and Coach Jost, like you you called them out by name and and are grateful. yeah so like that That speaks everything to me.
00:11:56
Speaker
And then what I ill also love to see now you stepping into leadership roles and then your team continues to grow. Like these guys' names are still at the top of your list. Yeah.
00:12:07
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, to me, like those guys showed me how to like how to fill the gaps. Like I wasn't the most I wasn't the best player on the team by far. I was had to earn my way onto that team.
00:12:19
Speaker
And
Company Culture and Creativity at Sorenx
00:12:20
Speaker
and those guys filled the gaps where others, you know, kind of left me to kind of figure it out by myself. Right. And so I think from like to translate that into like my leadership style now is i just, I want to see what's going on and identify where there's gaps and then go plug those gaps. Right. And then if I do that, and then hopefully the next guy to me does that and the next guy to me does that, then it really doesn't matter how great our plan is.
00:12:44
Speaker
We know that at the end of the day, we're going to accomplish what it is we're here to do because we just got a lot of dudes who are willing to just take action in a, on a short minute and short notice. Um, And i got I think it you know all falls back to, you know I can't say all that without saying it falls back to like the leadership that Bert gives on the overall direction, the overall vibe, and how he just lives his life is the guidance that we all get. you know How he and Pops did everything here gave us that guidance.
00:13:12
Speaker
In freaking 2016, when we were sitting in the front room over here in the conference room, and you know we um Nelson Lewis, who was our COO at the time, said, hey, man, we're all going to have – a, a marketing team for the first time, like a team, like we've had individuals do it and things like that. We're going to have team.
00:13:30
Speaker
And he's like, so they're going upstairs and like, we're going grow this thing. And I'm sitting there at the time I was kind of working as like an outside sales rep for us down in Florida. And I was in my head, I'm like, I can do that. I'm like, I can, I can do that.
00:13:40
Speaker
So I basically just raised my hand in the moment and was like, I could do that. and they're like, all right, sure, dude, whatever. And then look, but then I put together, like I saw an opportunity, like they said they were about to hire somebody. They didn't have anybody hired yet So i was like, shit, let me get my stuff together. I put together like probably one of the worst little slideshow presentations I could have probably ever put together.
00:13:58
Speaker
But then I sent it to them and they were like, okay, like tell us more. And it was simple to me. all the ah Everything was here. All of the the people, the culture, the things, everything was here. You just need to shine a light on it and just gas it up. You know, when you said burn, you know we say burn the gas. I use gas cans all the It's just me. It's just throw some fucking gas on that thing, man.
00:14:19
Speaker
And that's really what we just tried to do and find the right guys who are super creative in the media side and super creative in the design side and super like good at all these little things that I'm not necessarily great at, um made a good team.
00:14:32
Speaker
And um that allowed us to kind of really grow the brand, the marketing side of things, the events, the experiences, um which has been a huge part of you know our strategy.
00:14:43
Speaker
Yeah. And then there's parallels with that too. Athletic teams like I could say lacrosse and football. It's the same where the head coach isn't necessarily the most Tactical X's and O's individual, but they're they're good team managers. They're good game managers and they're good at at developing it or maintaining a culture that exists and then you hire those coordinators who are the the tacticians the X's and O's and that puts them in a position to call the right place and
00:15:13
Speaker
When it comes down to it, the leader ultimately makes the decisions of going for two or or leading from, and then, i mean, you can even look at the ah sports team as the freaking GM, CEO, and hands the decisions down and you're able to to manage this whole team. So you didn't have to be tactically,
Media and Company Culture Integration
00:15:33
Speaker
you were able to understand it, but at the same time, you could put great tacticians in place and then build this thing that you saw. Mm-hmm.
00:15:41
Speaker
Yeah, and it and it was important to find people that understood the culture and were interested in the culture and wanted to live that culture too. Because you can take a great person who's great at media and put them in to this world, and then you'll get the most generic fitness shit video you've ever seen in your life because it's just easy. Oh, here's another guy's sweat and chalk and doing a lift and whatever and looking at the camera and yelling like, okay, cool. We've seen that a million times.
00:16:05
Speaker
but like to catch the little nuances in the moments, the right angle, all that stuff, that's the stuff that our guys I think are are some of the best in the industry at because they see it that way. They spend enough time around everybody. They're they're here at this event. they're not just behind the camera.
00:16:22
Speaker
mean, shoot, Jake just got pulled up on stage and was given a gift right in the middle of you know awesome of the presentation. Like you don't see many guys that are behind the camera that getting pulled up and recognized in front of the crowd like that. And so I think that speaks to the fact that that guy lives this life. It also didn't help hurt that he was you know a coach at Oregon and a coach at D1. And like so he was a coach that then picked up a camera and learned how to do this.
00:16:44
Speaker
little bit of a diamond in the rough type of thing, but he's great guy. and um But I think he embodies that kind of thing. He wants to live this culture. So he cares about it enough that he knows the gear. He knows, and don't have to, we say, hey man, it's a new piece. He walks up and he's like, yeah, yeah, has this, has this, that piece, that does that, all that, right? And like, absolutely.
00:17:00
Speaker
Let's go. I don't have to sit down there and break it down. This is what this does. And this is, you know i mean Like it's, it just runs, but you know, finding the right people, you know, that are going to pour that level of, of intention into things, you know, is what matters.
00:17:14
Speaker
Yeah. And part of being a great leader and taking on younger talent or dudes that are, you see the potential in them. They don't have that talent yet. You just see, Oh, you'd be a good here. Time out.
00:17:27
Speaker
Let's take a second to talk about training and introducing you to the old bull training program. This is the program that I'm following and writing for myself because i was bored and beat up with other training programs out there.
00:17:40
Speaker
Now I focus in on fun and a very time effective and efficient training program. It also targets different joint issues that I'm having. Shoulders, hips, back, knees, ankles. Everything from my athletic playing career and then career as a strength and conditioning coach. Lifting every single day. My body's beat up as I approach 40. This program is focused I'm building it back up in a very time-effective and efficient manner. I encourage you, check out the program. The most fun you'll have throughout the week and how I'm structuring the program and giving you the opportunity to choose your own adventure each day.
00:18:20
Speaker
For
Flexible Leadership and Over-Management
00:18:21
Speaker
seven-day free trial, click the link in the show notes, check out the program, and join me on Old Bull. And now, back to the show. Ready, ready, and break. You have to teach them a lot of ah social, emotional leadership, how to manage conflict.
00:18:36
Speaker
So now how, as a leader, as a manager, do you step into this role to take the fire aspirations? Right. They are artistic. They are creative, which comes with a lot of just outbursts sometimes or creative. I want it my way.
00:18:52
Speaker
How do you manage conflict within the team to then come together to just really push out stuff that is eye-catching? I mean, it's a difficult thing to do, man. It's something I'm still learning through, to be honest. You know, I mean, I by no means think I'm a great leader.
00:19:06
Speaker
Like, I think I'm a leader in training. Like, I'm trying to figure this shit out. You know what i mean? um And I very much understand the things I'm probably decent at and the things I'm probably not so decent at. And, um you know, giving these guys the space to work and make mistakes and not,
00:19:22
Speaker
or give not even make mistakes, but give them the opportunity to to do it kind of their way a little bit and thiss see what happens. i'm I'm not a big believer of like, let's sit down and and lay out this huge, well-detailed marketing strategy. Like I've been around CMOs like that.
00:19:37
Speaker
They come in with a three-inch binder, they slap it down on the ground, and here's here's the thing we're going to do this entire year. It's like, well, shit, man, things are gonna change in like three months. the culture might change. it might shift a little bit. these line Rules.
00:19:50
Speaker
Ruling mind things might change. Things are going to change. So it's like, I'm not super worried about that. I'm more worried about like, we're in a good space. We're in a good head space. Everyone's given the creative opportunities to kind of express themselves.
00:20:03
Speaker
And hey, if it hits, let's double down on it. If it doesn't hit, all right, well, what we learned and let's keep it pushing. you know And I think with that, you build a lot of very like independent people that are willing to go and take risks when they're when they're there versus, and i hate this the most. And sometimes, and I do it, I see it when I think I'm probably overmanaging sometimes. It's all of a sudden when it's like I'm standing there and it's just like, question hey, what should we do with this? Hey, what should we do this? Hey, what should we do with this?
00:20:31
Speaker
The more questions I'm getting, the more than I'm realizing that I did not do a good enough job of setting the stage for everyone to feel confident to make these decisions themselves. um That's something I'm definitely working through.
00:20:42
Speaker
Yeah, where where I see the the parallel within athletics, and especially at lacrosse, it's just what I'm closest to, and we call it joy sticking. So imagine the sideline, and I'm telling the players on the field exactly what to do.
00:20:57
Speaker
Josh, I need you to cut. Chris, go set a pick. whatever. So I'm telling them exactly what to do from the sideline. So they're not they're not learning to play the game. yeah They may be able to execute that and then we score the goal and win the game.
00:21:12
Speaker
But then exit coach or coach, I got to go talk to the referee. The team is just standing there waiting. Like, what do we do? ah Which if we scale up to their career, it it's going to hit a ceiling early.
00:21:27
Speaker
And
Parenting and Coaching Reflections
00:21:28
Speaker
so, yeah, I just see that within work. to really unlock the potential of this team. Well, to keep it in athletics, my son, my middle son, Brixton is nine, right? And so he plays travel soccer and this is his second year playing.
00:21:42
Speaker
So he's still very much learning the game, but you know, it's a competitive landscape. People are aggressive. They want to play. And, um, One of the things that that I've made a point to do is when he's on the field, I don't say, I'm not coaching him.
00:21:56
Speaker
First off, I'm not his coach, I'm his dad. And we can get into the whole that side of things, which is wild, because I've been privy to see a lot of that over the last couple of years, which is crazy, just parents and how they manage their kids and athletics at a young age.
00:22:08
Speaker
But I mean, I don't, I'm not on the field with him. He's out there. And I tell him very bluntly, no one's coming to save you, man. And I'm talking to a nine-year-old. I'm like, no one's coming to save you.
00:22:19
Speaker
No one feels bad for you on that field. When it's you 1v1 or you with your team 7v7, 9v9, it's just y'all. That's what it is. So I agree wholeheartedly. If they're getting coached to the point where it's, hey, joystick, joystick, joystick, joystick where are they learning the feel for the game that they have to understand by failing it on their own to feel that like, oh, I should have moved about 5, 10 yards right and found that open space.
00:22:45
Speaker
So that pass for that guy would have been easier. Now, of course, on the back end, I want to help him realize what he maybe he didn't see. um But I do that sparingly because, you know, he's nine. So, you know, I want him to love the game.
00:22:57
Speaker
but i But I think it's the same thing here when you take the jump to the business side of things. Overcoaching these cats is going to make everyone get burnt out. You know what i mean? What happens on the broken play? Yeah. I mean, do you i mean just – Do they get creative and find a solution that you as a leader didn't think of and you're like, that's it?
00:23:15
Speaker
100%. Oh, man, we didn't do that thing. Why? Well, this happened. Okay. You know, so did we do we do anything? no and And so then that point I go, all right, shoot, like, I have not done enough to enable this person to feel confident enough or to feel qualified enough to make that decision and then be able to come back and say, hey, this is what happened. This is what I did. This is why we did it.
00:23:38
Speaker
Roger that, right? Because if you come back and it's sound, and even it might not be the right decision, I still respect it because we made a play. you know what I mean? um'm I'm not one for the – and I think for overcoaching, you can get these kids to freeze up.
00:23:51
Speaker
And I mean that for athletics or or business, yeah you know, for sure. Sure. And then reflecting on your athletic career, was there any moments where you were overcoached or anything else that now you hold on to that you – you don't want to be that guy. So then you intentionally be the opposite leader that you had way back when.
00:24:10
Speaker
Yeah, no doubt. I mean, Jimbo Fisher was an asshole. I mean, he was, and I mean, he's very accomplished and he's great at what he does, but his style of his way of doing things was, was that it was very aggressive. It was very, you can't play here. And a lot of kids that was tough for them to deal with. And, and it's something that like you had to be very mentally,
00:24:33
Speaker
stable and strong to be able to navigate. um And so, you know, I learned a lot through him and other guys like that, but him specifically, because he came in um, as our office of coordinator.
00:24:45
Speaker
And so it was like kind of come in, all of sudden new offense, like all that kind of stuff. And, um, but it was very much like he wanted it done his way. And I, and I understand completely why he was doing it. Like you got to come in, you got to change the culture. Like you gotta, you gotta get things spinning in the right direction.
00:24:59
Speaker
Um, but wait, the way he went about it was very, um, like, I'm going to get into your shit and I'm going to expose you in front of everybody and not necessarily expose you from a play style. I'm going expose your mindset. going expose you like that.
00:25:11
Speaker
And, um, It was interesting. Now, I'm not trying to sit here and just, you know dog on him or anything like that, but that was my experience with with a coach like that. um And so, you know, for right or wrong, I definitely probably have a bit of a different approach to it.
00:25:24
Speaker
um ah so At times, I think it's important. You've got to have your lines, right? Like you've got to have the stuff that's like these are the things that are non-negotiables. Like we're going to do these things a certain way or else it kind of just unravels, right?
00:25:38
Speaker
um And I think that's been very difficult for lot of people. I'm 39. I think a lot of people that are kind of in that like mid-30s, early 40s range, getting into leadership roles, you know, how are you managing those type of people?
00:25:50
Speaker
um it's it's It's a hard thing to do, you know. It's it's difficult. But um it's enjoyable and one that I think if you can kind of take it day by day, right, and learn from it and realize that, well, I guess I'll put it this way.
00:26:04
Speaker
pops used to always tell me just don't die today man just don't die today and so i went on the most difficult days when i feel like i'm being a shit leader and i feel like i'm being a bad teammate or i feel like i just i'm not able
Leadership Influences and Informal Learning
00:26:15
Speaker
to figure anything out that day it's like all right i didn't die we didn't quit let's go back let's take it this let's go take a rest let's get something eat let's go let's get some sleep come back we'll try again tomorrow and uh you know i think that's helped me a ton yeah yeah and what i What I do appreciate about this office, and then it's a lot of leaders coming together.
00:26:35
Speaker
How often are there lessons learned or just kind of bullshit and set water cooler sessions that you then like picked up on something from cross department that really helps each other grow?
00:26:47
Speaker
Oh, yeah. All the time, man. I think those are the best, right? But you just have to be willing and able to like see it and be aware of it. Like that emotional, social awareness to see what's going on around you.
00:26:59
Speaker
Oh, shit. I see Bert talking to that guy and that guy. and Interesting. all right. Well, I can either walk back my desk and just get on my computer again and go to the emails that I got to do that day. Or I can go, let's go over there and see what's happening real quick.
00:27:11
Speaker
And I see now I get into a conversation that was totally unexpected, and I learn a few couple things, and maybe that's it, and maybe I leave after that, and that's what it was. Or maybe it turns into, which happens a lot around here, it turns into, like well, what if this?
00:27:22
Speaker
What if we grab one of those things? And then that's where like a lot of the innovation stuff comes from around here. Listening, being aware of the problems, the the information we're receiving from people in the field, from guys here that are training at that level.
00:27:37
Speaker
And then, you know, being inquisitive enough to kind of go down those little rabbit holes. Our favorite thing that i'd love hearing around here all the not to go down a rabbit hole and it's like, oh, here we fucking go. Like, we're about to be in this for like two hours.
00:27:48
Speaker
that Totally unexpectedly. But, Yeah, that's on the same level as,
Innovation in Strength Equipment
00:27:52
Speaker
ah ah um don't get offended, but. Yeah. We're going down a rabbit hole. ah You're going to get offended. Mm-hmm.
00:28:01
Speaker
Yeah, but I mean, I think if you can kind of just roll with it, you know what i mean? Then, you know, you never know where you're going kind of end up. Yeah, I do want to cover in line with innovation. So was able to to train on lot of the new machines out there that you all have conveniently placed on display on the outside. Thank you.
00:28:18
Speaker
and And getting into the the nature of college athletics and the evolution there. And talking to one of your your reps, they were communicating to me, and I found it fascinating, since the transfer portal,
00:28:31
Speaker
Like coaches are moving away from more teaching and technique and getting into more machines. Like I could hammer away on there now and have some fun and really express power and strength.
00:28:45
Speaker
And I was in a safe mode. So in line with innovation, are you seeing the nature of college athletics? and you guys getting ahead with it, these awesome toys? Where are these cool creations like sparked and coming from? Yeah, for sure. And like so that was just like some anecdotal feedback we got from one coach.
00:29:05
Speaker
um And I do think there is something to that. I wouldn't necessarily say that's broadly what everybody's got going on. um Everybody's experience and situation is different. But I would say, Burt calls it strength fashion.
00:29:17
Speaker
and the pendulum swings, man, the pendulum swings. And about three, four years ago, we just kind of saw the signs that like this, the pendulum was swinging back away from the, it's a rack with only attachments. And let me get 40 racks in a room and nothing else. Like that's not always been the case. That's an over-exaggeration of it, but we kind of just felt and saw that pendulum start to swing. And so i was like, all right, well, let's,
00:29:46
Speaker
let's make a row piece. Let's make this piece. let' me And then it kind of just kind of started steamrolling. And then as we made a few, then on jobs we were working on, was like, well, hey, can you make me one of these? Can you make me one of these? And so just kind of kept kind of unfolding from that point. And I think now we, I mean, I think we have,
00:30:00
Speaker
about a dozen machines in kind of that leverage line, plate loaded line, um which was a lot of fun to be involved in to create that um because it was definitely something different than how we've been traditionally doing things over the last decade plus.
00:30:14
Speaker
um But yeah, I mean, we had our ear to the streets and we're kind of like, all right, like, you know, transparently, there's a lot of people making racks that look just like our racks now. So like, all right, if everybody's diving into the rack game, like, cool, let's go right over here and dive into the machine game.
00:30:30
Speaker
As everybody was trying to do this, we went that way, little zig and zag, right? Trying to find space, trying to find separation. And so was kind of along those same lines. um But of course, it wasn't just thought of in a room and we just kind of came up with this. Like, I think that that is a, especially for our market.
00:30:46
Speaker
In our industry, that is a false way of strategy. Like you have to be in this shit to understand it and to and to really have ah have a grasp of what is happening in real time.
00:30:59
Speaker
and And then also to have an understanding what's the stuff that's really nice, but it's still maybe 10 years away from or longer from like where it's really going to be. Because you can invest in a lot of time in the wrong things, which we have. but um But this most recent stint of things I think has been a lot of fun and pretty cool. Yeah.
00:31:14
Speaker
Yeah, they are pretty awesome. Yeah, they're sick, man. I mean, Bert, his concepts of how to do it to Johnny and the boys in the back and how they actually put it together. I mean, it's it's ah I would I'd be.
00:31:28
Speaker
I'd be willing to challenge there aren't too many companies out there that are able to move at the speed that we can move at for things like this. There's very little bureaucracy, very little, you know, um you know, kind of want that level of oversight that you kind of get with bigger corporations and everybody wanting their little opinion on how things go. And like, I'm branding marketing guy, but at the end of the day, like just slapping your fricking logo on everything sometimes looks kind of lame.
00:31:53
Speaker
You know what i mean? And like, we we joke about that a lot of times, like, man, like, you know, you maybe don't see enough of our stuff and it's like, yeah, but what looks cooler, man, the car that has 1700 emblems on it or the one that's kind of that old gnarly one that they took all the emblems off and you're like, what the hell is that?
00:32:08
Speaker
This thing's badass. so I don't know what it is. And yeah, think we kind of err towards that most of the time. That's awesome. Yeah. The, anytime there's a Sorenx equipment pops up on Facebook marketplace,
00:32:21
Speaker
Snag it. Yeah. Dude, some of the old stuff that Pops made, man, is still still the best, man. my By far, my favorite piece of equipment is it's this heavy step up.
00:32:32
Speaker
that you could leverage up for big box jumps. But I mean, i could load up 400 pounds and step on that thing. Like it's ready for yeah like me and and an extra, yeah, more than that. three the There's a gym in town. It's like West Columbia area. So it's probably like 20 minutes from here. That's called Grand Bees Fitness.
00:32:51
Speaker
And one whole side of the gym is all Pops' old, vintage Sorenx stuff. And you can tell because it's all white. There's no holes really in anything. It's got these like badass like chrome vertical Sorenx logos on it.
00:33:06
Speaker
You know, it has the red pads like that. And dude, that stuff looks amazing. It looks amazing. And ah so much fun. that Even there, I mean, that dude, it was, you know, dumbbell spotters and all sorts of stuff that were, you know, auto spotters and things like that, that I think were just ahead of the time.
00:33:23
Speaker
that he did way back in the day. It was a lot of fun. Yeah, even even on the step-up, it's not just a flat, it slants, so I could just change the angles of my step-ups or push freaking hat field, hack, squats, whatever. It's so innovative, it's not just a step or a box jump. up Yeah.
00:33:41
Speaker
Yeah, and... As Bert mentioned the it in the introduction today, like the the origin story, the live the livelihood that continues to be expressed through it, man, it's such a family-based, and yeah, the he brought you into that fold and trusted you to continue that legacy on.
Conclusion and Reflections
00:33:59
Speaker
Yeah, man. Be legendary, right? No doubt, man. And I mean, there's there's not a data that day that goes by that don't think about Pops and what he maybe would have thought about a certain situation.
00:34:09
Speaker
And I was fortunate enough, and I and i think, Bert so much that so many times he'd just be like, you talked to pops lately? Like, ah, maybe like a week ago or something like that. and he'd be like, go check on on man. And I'd just go walk into his office, hey, pops, what's happening, to man?
00:34:22
Speaker
And I'd be there for three hours, you know, and we'd talk about everything under the sun. he'd like, what you working on? And I'd tell him, he'd be like, and you just ask questions. You just ask questions, man. And eventually I could kind of feel like the way the questions were going as to kind of maybe what he was thinking along the way.
00:34:37
Speaker
And um it was invaluable experience and one that, um you know, I don't take lightly and I appreciate so much the time that I had to spend with him because it's such a strong beacon for what we're doing now.
00:34:50
Speaker
And, you know, everyone asks, like, hey, man, how you guys doing? Like, Yeah, emotionally, we're still getting through this shit, right? But we're confident in what we're doing here. And I'm confident in Bert. I'm confident in the team that we have here.
00:35:03
Speaker
And I'm really excited for just the shit that we get keep doing, that, you know, the the the groundwork and that the pavement was laid for all those years to allow us to run at the speed that we run at now.
00:35:15
Speaker
And, um yeah, you know, it's like the old Viking thing, right? Like they hung a rope behind the boat. so that they could see where they were going. Right? So you turn around and you look, is the rope straight? all right, we're heading in the right direction. Oh, it's curved? No, we are off course.
00:35:30
Speaker
Get it back going. And so, you know, kind of looking to the past there with Pops and Nelson, my experiences with those guys give us a little, ah a very strong kind of direction forward.
00:35:42
Speaker
Yeah, one even one lesson I held on from Nelson was the mirror in the pocket and holding that up. So a lot of, ah yeah, a lot of, good lessons, parables, stories to share, even from an outsider like myself. So, yeah, dude, we hear the rustle and the bustle. Oh, yeah, they're breaking, baby. It's time to move on to the next phase.
00:36:06
Speaker
I don't want to steal you away from the show, dude, but I always appreciate you, man, and this whole event, you're crushing it as always. So, yeah thanks for joining me. Thank you, listeners, for tuning in.
00:36:17
Speaker
Yeah, thank you, bro. Appreciate you. Got it. Hell yeah.