I’d always had a passion for thinking differently, for seeking something outside the ordinary.

I noticed how health clubs served their customers poorly, and my desire was to build a club based on the customer’s point of view.  This idea consumed me to the point that people thought I was crazy, but there was no doubt in my mind. I had a vision. 

During my workouts, I’d imagine the perfect experience: driving up to an immense facility on generous acreage, arriving to a sprawling community that had swimming pools big enough for laps, a restaurant, full-service spa treatments, a basketball league. I thought about Saturday mornings and families arriving for swimming lessons. Where people wanted to come, so there would be no contracts. Just a monthly fee.

(This surprised a lot of people; it was not how you did business.)

It’s a daunting challenge for many people and organizations. It can seem unrealistic, or that it takes more work than it’s worth. It requires a lot of sacrifices. I personally found the time, energy and effort it required to earn, and then keep, that hard-to-obtain title of “the best” to be a driving force. I loved the challenge it presented and was dedicated to making it happen.

It was good that I loved it, because it was tough. The work was hard and the path was anything but straightforward. 

There were years I didn’t work less than ninety hours per week. There were times it seemed the company might go down the drain, taking me with it. The very day my son Akiliez was born was the day in 2008 the financial crisis hit. In the months that followed, I was lucky to get three hours of sleep each night, up all the time, searching for solutions to problems unlike any we’d ever faced. 

What I understand now is how solving these problems created even more possibilities to make even more meaningful differences in people’s lives and do even more important work.

By continuously trying to maximize our potential and maintain our high standards, we have continuously helped drive competition.

That, by extension, inspires the next wave of performance, invention and innovation that will keep moving us all forward. 

Once you’re the best in your field, the work doesn’t end. We’re constantly on the lookout for new techniques, tools, and ideas; thinking creatively about fresh strategies that will help us be even better than the day before. (The minute we relax or ease off the pedal, someone else will be right there, ready to move to the head of the pack.)