Tiffy (00:02):
It’s Two-Brain Radio and we’re talking to Two-Brain award winner Nick Seabcok of CrossFit Off the Grid. He cleaned up in the clients’ choice award category, meaning his clients love him enough to tell everyone about it. Nick will help you inspire your own clients right after Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper shares a word about this special award.
Chris (00:23):
The Two-Brain clients’ choice award is a really, really big one. We all came into the fitness industry for different reasons. You know, in my case, fitness changed my life and my outlook on life when I was a teenager. For other people, they just wanted to continue along the path that they had already started earlier in life, maybe with sports, and maybe you had a big transformation, you wanted to share that with other people. But the bottom line is that we all got in this to serve others, to help them find the inner peace, the sense of confidence, the sense of happiness with ourselves, the sense of fun and competition and length of our lives that we found. So the clients’ choice award is really important because it’s a signal from your clients that they love what you’re doing, that you’re doing it right. That the reasons that you got into this in the first place are the things that you’re doing.
Chris (01:13):
You’re achieving, you’re winning. Winning the clients’ choice award is more than winning a trophy. It’s seeing reflected back at you, your effort, it’s having your clients say to you, “we love you too.” I’m really always excited to give this clients’ choice award. And this year it seems like it’s even more important because more than ever before gym owners and coaches had to demonstrate their care, they had to wear their heart on their sleeve for months at a time in the dark, in their basement with no gym, no tools, no kit, no contact, nothing. And the people who demonstrated that care best won, just like this guy.
Chris (01:54):
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Tiffy (02:33):
Nick, nice to have you with us. Congratulations on clinching the clients’ choice award. That’s a mouthful. How did it feel to receive this? Were you surprised or?
Nick (02:46):
No, you know, it was interesting, to say the least, I just kind of put it out there and reached out to the members and said, Hey, you know, we got nominated for this thing and did not expect the amount of feedback that I got getting that email from Eden was really awesome. And just reading through those was nice and that’s kind of, you know, I don’t really ever expect anything. So to get that, it was awesome. And then I got the email like, Hey, you won, I’m like, wait, what? So that was after, through all the challenges of the past couple of months, it felt good. Yeah.
Tiffy (03:28):
Clearly beloved by your clients. What do you do differently that sets you apart from other gym owners?
Nick (03:34):
Well, I think we’ve always, you know, the gym’s been there for 10 years. I took over in 2019 and there’s always been a level of care and just caring, you know, regardless of what the workout is, you know, at the end of the day, it doesn’t, the workout doesn’t matter. It’s are you getting results, but also, are you being heard, are you being listened to, you know, do the people at the gym care other other than the coaches? I think taking over, I kind of had an idea of where I wanted things to go, but finding Two-Brain, that like helped me solidify and just stay on path there, you know, Two-Brain’s been a guide and a light and it’s helped just stay the course. And I think that’s what paid off the most, to be able to get to this point, to have a culture where people do care.
Tiffy (04:29):
How would you describe your approach to client care? Like, does it actually fit into your mission and vision itself or how does it sort of play out?
Nick (04:38):
Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely evolved. I think, you know, at first it was kind of just the process of the intro and then the OnRamp program and then getting them into group class, but as I’ve learned and grown as an individual, I never felt like that was like, good enough, like, all right, what’s next. And learning different retention strategies, you know, and things that do help with the client journey, and just different ways to approach it. I think we weren’t really expecting what was thrown at us with the whole COVID thing. So it really came down to what would work best for your clients. And I think we knew inherently what would work best? So it was an easy transition. But you know, our approach now is it’s just, you know, intro, foundations, group class, but after COVID, it really gave me a chance to sit down and figure out, OK, what other things can we do other than, you know, our check-ins and the workouts and the occasional nutrition thing and the sleep eat, move and manage is really, that’s like, OK, now, you know, we have our foundation, these are things I’m about.
Nick (05:57):
So let’s start seeing how we can install these things in the business and provide higher value care and quality.
Tiffy (06:05):
How did the pandemic affect your business, were you shut down immediately or was there ever a shutdown?
Nick (06:13):
It was very quickly, it was March 17th. I got an email from one of our members and he was kinda like, Hey, this is what’s going on. You know, kind of keep an eye on it. We don’t really know what’s going to happen. And then within a couple of days you sent the email and then, you know, I think it was the week before Monday was our last class. And it was like, the executive order was, you know, everything was closing down and the next day it was, we weren’t in the gym. So that night I remember coaching class and I was not present with the class.
Nick (06:49):
I was just thinking, OK, what can we do best? Like what’s tomorrow gonna look like, and how do I preserve the sanctity of the gym? And what’s that going to look like not being here. And, I felt confident because I knew I had Two-Brain to fall back on and my mentor and just, I didn’t, I also didn’t want to go paralysis by analysis cause I knew everybody was going to be doing something different. So I kinda just stuck with my gut and played the course. So, you know, we closed, we went online. I didn’t invest too much into the zoom thing because I knew that wasn’t, for some that was beneficial, but again, it just came down to knowing your clients and how to help them best. And for us, it was engagement and having fun and trying to take people’s minds off of the fact that like, Hey, we’re not at the gym, but how can we together, you know, get through this.
Chris (07:49):
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Tiffy (08:22):
How did you maintain a sense of community while you were all apart?
Nick (08:27):
So, you know, I’m fortunate to have a tight knit crew and after I want to say it was sometime in April, I believe it was the first week of April. So two weeks of kind of like feeling out this process, how is this going to be, a week long? Is it two weeks long? As a month long. Like in the beginning we just didn’t know. We didn’t know how long it was gonna last. And then it became clear, OK, this is going to be a little bit longer than we were planning. So I rented out some equipment and I started, I saw somebody posted in the Two-Braingroup, like a COVID games, like a, like a COVID open. So we ran the intramural model last year and that was very successful.
Nick (09:12):
And I was like, OK, let’s do that. So Thursday nights I would announce a workout. We had different teams, which helped keep that togetherness. There was points. People were posting on Facebook, Instagram, there’s extra challenges that weren’t gym related. It was just, you know, whatever, like sharing meal of the day, stuff like that. And that was hugely successful, you know, I got shirts made, you know, that that worked well. And initially I was like five weeks and the next thing was like, all right, bonus week. And the next thing you know, we had 10 weeks cause they just kept, we just didn’t know when we were getting back and I’m in New Jersey and it, you know, it took, we weren’t cleared for outdoors until June. So I think it was like the first week of September, we finally got clearance to go inside. So, which it’s just been different phases. Right. So we were in the Tiger King phase in the beginning and then it was COVID open, you know, then we got outdoors and it was like, OK, that’s phase three, we’re outdoors. And now we’re finally back inside. So it’s been a wild year.
Tiffy (10:24):
Do you feel like you learned anything new about yourself throughout this?
Nick (10:28):
I think I learned a lot. My wife was pregnant the whole time. So there’s been phases through that as well. Challenges there. I think a lot of the self work I’ve done over the past years has really come to light. I did learn, I learned a lot. I learned, you know, I think good enough has always been a struggle of mine. And this has shown like, Hey Nick, you’re you’re good enough. You’re definitely good enough. So that’s been pretty huge for me and definitely we’re in a new chapter as a business and as a family, you know? So as many negatives as it might seem, you know, there’s been a lot of positives, there really has.
Tiffy (11:17):
Do you think it brought you closer to your clients?
Nick (11:20):
Yeah. A hundred percent, absolutely. Between that and honestly the birth of a child, like that changed me, you know, and he’s only three weeks old, that was definitely a moment, you know, just, I felt instant like care and compassion and it’s always been there, but this brought out like a different outlook. But yeah, the lockdown definitely brought us all closer. For sure.
Tiffy (11:47):
Would you like to say anything to your clients who voted for you?
Nick (11:51):
Yeah. Thank you so much. This whole thing has really, not only has it solidified, like why I do what I do and us as Off the Grid coaches and us as a community, but the, you know, some of the things that, the feedback we got and just the, how above and beyond everybody went, you know, I had members sponsoring other members to keep working, you know, and that alone was like, wow, like, there’s something, this is so much more than just CrossFit. Like there’s something there. And that’s what I work hard for every day to grow and solidify. And you know, that’s why I do what I do. You know, that’s why I put all my best efforts every day.
Tiffy (12:39):
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to chat with me. This has been pretty inspiring.
Nick (12:45):
Thank you.
Tiffy (12:49):
That’s it for Two-Brain Radio. I’m Tiffy Thompson, thanks for joining us.
Andrew (12:50):
That was Tiffy Thompson on Two-Brain Radio. If you currently work with Two-Brain, ask yourself, what would it take to win this award next year, then take action. And if you don’t work with us yet, be sure to join the Facebook group Gym Uwners United, where you’ll find advice from Two-Brain founder, Chris Cooper. Every day, he’ll tell you how to improve your business for free. Thanks for listening to Two-Brain Radio. Subscribe for new episodes every Monday and Thursday,
