2019
One year ago today I built my parents a home gym. They had no idea what was happening or how useful it would end up being for them in 20.

They’ve diligently used it all year and are now both stronger than they’ve ever been.

It was the only home gym I built in 2019

By March 18th 2020 both my gyms were empty and we built our first 30 home gyms for our members. We dispersed all our equipment throughout Orange County until we ran out.

The. We started buying weights. All we could find.

We were out of squat racks very quickly. So we started building them in my driveway. Concrete buckets and 2x4s. We made a YouTube video on how to do it, and Home Depot bucket squat stands started popping up all around the country.

We updated our design, got a drill press and a concrete mixer and moved production into the empty gyms. Within 10 days we had built over 100 home gyms.

Had no idea what was happening, but seemed like we were doing the right thing. Swipe card, keep building, will work out later.

We made the “gunny bench”, vid went viral. Local news did a story. Phone wouldn’t stop ringing. People wanted equipment. I bought a truck, then two more. Then we bought steel. First a little, then a lot of it. We made first steel squat rack. By April1st - 200 home gyms

With gyms closed we went online. Same coaching staff, same clients — over zoom. Live online coaching was born. New clients popped up from everywhere — NY, KY, Spain, Netherlands... coaches we’re busier than when gyms were open. Phone kept ringing. More equipment.

We delivered equipment from Ontario to Malibu and everywhere in between. April 7th we shipped our first squat rack to San Fran.

Someone in Nebraska called and wanted a gunny bench. We shipped it. By 1 May 300 home gyms throughout the US and a fully functioning online retail

With production and shipping running wide open out of my closed gyms we ran into our biggest issue. No weights.

On 23 April I got laughed out of a local foundry at my idea for plates.

On 24 April a foundry in Georgia took my call.

By 15 May we had drawings to Waupaca Fndry

With plates underway we started to make barbells. Everything was USA made. I bought a leather sewing machine and a a couple side of US leather. We started making belts. The goal was if you needed to get strong we had it — equipment to coach. By 1 July over 500 home gyms.

Gyms opened up so we needed a place to work. Got our first warehouse, then second, then third.

Product improved, laser cutting, powder coating etc...

UPS gave us a shipping break. That was huge. Online retail soared.

August 4th I was in the Foundry with castings in hand. We had done it, USA made plates we’re back.

Issues with coating, delays in production, design revision. Lots of roadblocks.

Sep 26 first 44k hit our Santa Ana warehouse. By 1 Oct 1000+ home gyms

Customer service, shipping, production... There are issues every way you look. But we keep driving forward.

My mom send me the opening video to this thread this morning. She said “one year ago today”.

One year ago was home gym 1. This is America — Futures are open!