Podcasts about LA Fitness

422. Dawn Staley on Knowing (and Demanding) Your Worth  Legendary coach and three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley joins us to talk about what it means to lead—with heart, grit, and unapologetic honesty. She shares: -The one lesson from her mother that shaped her entire coaching philosophy -How she stood up to her university and negotiated equal pay -What losing (and winning) has taught her about grace and dominance -The surprising toll of achieving your lifelong dreams -And how her North Philly roots continue to guide everything she does We also dive into her new book, Uncommon Favor, and why socks, smashed dishes, and LA Fitness-level gym disparities all make an appearance in her story. This is one of the most powerful conversations we've had about integrity, visibility, and becoming the coach of your own life. About Dawn: Dawn Staley is the NCAA National Championship–winning head coach of the University of South Carolina Women's Basketball team, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. Her new memoir Uncommon Favor is available now. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Cummings, a 57‑year‑old actor and film producer, recalled that in 2002 he and Combs were alone inside an LA Fitness steam room in Los Angeles when Combs made an unprovoked sexual advance. Cummings described seeing Combs reach toward the ceiling before suddenly bending toward him, placing his fingers on Cummings's legs. When Cummings rebuffed him—shouting “Hey, stop!”—Combs allegedly lunged at him and attempted to perform a sexual act. Cummings defended himself by punching him in the face, dragging him out, and continuing to fight until Combs fled naked, leaving behind only his sneakers.Cummings said the incident was terrifying and humiliating, and later even triggered a physical reaction—he was “depressed” and shaken afterward, according to his wife Jennifer, who was present when he emerged from the steam room shouting that the rapper had tried to orally assault him.  Though Combs reportedly avoided contact at a later encounter in a steakhouse, Cummings emphasized that he fought back effectively: “I beat him like the b***h he is,” expressing both pride in his self-defense and lingering emotional impact from the confrontation.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Hollywood producer James Cummings claims Diddy tried to force disturbing sexual act in gym steam room leading to nude brawl | Daily Mail Online

James Cummings, a 57‑year‑old actor and film producer, recalled that in 2002 he and Combs were alone inside an LA Fitness steam room in Los Angeles when Combs made an unprovoked sexual advance. Cummings described seeing Combs reach toward the ceiling before suddenly bending toward him, placing his fingers on Cummings's legs. When Cummings rebuffed him—shouting “Hey, stop!”—Combs allegedly lunged at him and attempted to perform a sexual act. Cummings defended himself by punching him in the face, dragging him out, and continuing to fight until Combs fled naked, leaving behind only his sneakers.Cummings said the incident was terrifying and humiliating, and later even triggered a physical reaction—he was “depressed” and shaken afterward, according to his wife Jennifer, who was present when he emerged from the steam room shouting that the rapper had tried to orally assault him.  Though Combs reportedly avoided contact at a later encounter in a steakhouse, Cummings emphasized that he fought back effectively: “I beat him like the b***h he is,” expressing both pride in his self-defense and lingering emotional impact from the confrontation.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Hollywood producer James Cummings claims Diddy tried to force disturbing sexual act in gym steam room leading to nude brawl | Daily Mail OnlineBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

James Cummings, a 57‑year‑old actor and film producer, recalled that in 2002 he and Combs were alone inside an LA Fitness steam room in Los Angeles when Combs made an unprovoked sexual advance. Cummings described seeing Combs reach toward the ceiling before suddenly bending toward him, placing his fingers on Cummings's legs. When Cummings rebuffed him—shouting “Hey, stop!”—Combs allegedly lunged at him and attempted to perform a sexual act. Cummings defended himself by punching him in the face, dragging him out, and continuing to fight until Combs fled naked, leaving behind only his sneakers.Cummings said the incident was terrifying and humiliating, and later even triggered a physical reaction—he was “depressed” and shaken afterward, according to his wife Jennifer, who was present when he emerged from the steam room shouting that the rapper had tried to orally assault him.  Though Combs reportedly avoided contact at a later encounter in a steakhouse, Cummings emphasized that he fought back effectively: “I beat him like the b***h he is,” expressing both pride in his self-defense and lingering emotional impact from the confrontation.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Hollywood producer James Cummings claims Diddy tried to force disturbing sexual act in gym steam room leading to nude brawl | Daily Mail OnlineBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

With Lara out of office, Carey enlists the help of dear friend and lifelong loler John Arthur Hill to guest co-host. They discuss messy gay representation on 2000s-era reality television, a Wahlberg-connected producer's harrowing claim about Diddy in a LA Fitness steam room, a man who posed as a flight attendant on 120 flights, a woman who practiced therapy for three decades without a degree, and what schemes they would run as con artists.Back on The Valley, Jax is released from fake rehab, 30 days clean and ready for revenge. He assembles the boys at a steakhouse to guilt them for supporting Brittany and deflects onto Danny, who's once more embroiled in booze-related drama with Jason and Janet. Nia and Danny help Luke plan his Hawaii proposal to Doute with a dose of God's love, Michelle calls Jesse out for not letting their daughter see her dying grandmother, and Brittany reveals the humiliating secret of Jax's secret burner account on Instagram. Jax crashes Benji's surprise party and is comforting Ed by Zack about being a text terrorist, then gets served (finally!) divorce papers by Shawts Cartwright. All is right in the world once more…Listen to this episode ad-free AND get access to weekly bonus episodes + video bonus episodes by joining the SUP Patreon. Watch video episodes of the pod on Mondays and Fridays by subscribing to the SUP YouTube. Relive the best moments of this iconic podcast by following the SUP TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five double o! I recount the colorful history of this here podcast. A fellow traveler in Los Angeles car wash-dom. The Studio, and the tragedy of Seth Rogan. The trouble with Instagram titties. I'm finding the rhythms for my rebound girl, the LA Fitness on Coldwater and Victory. The trouble with Jon Hamm, and Apple TV shows round up. (Who made the cut? Who didn't? HOW EXCITING IS THIS)

In this episode of Building Texas Business, I speak with Brian Birdy, the CEO of PMI Birdy Properties and a regional developer for Dill Dinkers. Brian shares insights about managing his family business, which his father started in 1979. He discusses the complexities of succession planning and how involving family members can strengthen the business for future generations. Brian's latest venture, an indoor pickleball facility, highlights his ability to identify emerging trends and foster a unique business culture. We explore effective strategies for business growth as Brian emphasizes the importance of a solid foundation. He talks about the need for a strong team, comprehensive training, and well-documented processes to navigate unexpected challenges. Additionally, we discuss the hiring landscape post-COVID, where Brian advocates for a proactive approach to recruitment and the importance of adapting to new employment trends. As we move into the topic of franchising, Brian shares his experiences with Dill Dinkers and the potential of using repurposed industrial spaces for pickleball courts. He reflects on the benefits and challenges of setting up a franchise in this fast-growing market. His connection to San Antonio adds a personal touch, as he expresses his passion for the local community and its cultural vibrancy. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS I discussed with Brian Birdy, CEO of PMI Birdy Properties, about managing a family business founded by his father in 1979 and his strategies for succession planning and family involvement. Brian shared insights on the importance of building a resilient business foundation through strategic planning, comprehensive training, and process documentation, emphasizing adaptability to technological advancements. We explored the post-COVID hiring landscape, where Brian highlighted the significance of a proactive hiring approach, prioritizing candidates with a positive attitude and aligning with changing employment trends. The conversation delved into the burgeoning pickleball market, with Brian expressing enthusiasm for his new venture in opening an indoor pickleball facility and the potential of franchising with Dill Dinkers. Brian revealed the challenges and opportunities in the residential property management industry, particularly in differentiating oneself in a competitive market and adapting to shifts in housing demand. We examined the process of opening a pickleball franchise, discussing the benefits of franchising for newcomers, the importance of choosing the right franchise, and the potential for repurposing industrial spaces for pickleball courts. Brian emphasized the value of surrounding oneself with capable people, investing in staff, and being open to new ideas and changes to drive business success, while reflecting on his connection to San Antonio and the local community. LINKSShow Notes Previous Episodes About BoyarMiller About PMI Birdy Properties GUESTS Brian BirdyAbout Brian TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Chris: Brian, welcome to Building Texas Business. Thanks for taking the time to come on the podcast hey thanks for having me. So you know, let's dive right in and talk about some of the things that you're doing as an entrepreneur and business owner and just introduce your companies to the audience. Brian: Sure. So I'm the broker and owner of Birdie Properties, which is a real estate company that specializes in residential property management. It has been in business for over 46 years. My dad actually started that business back in 1979. I've been running it and working at it and eventually running it since about 97 and have grown it to one of the largest residential property managers in South Texas, learned a lot of lessons in growing that business and the newest adventure is Dilldinker's Indoor Pickleball, which I'm sitting in, and I'm very excited that we will be opening our first location here in about a week and a half. Chris: Well, that's great. So two full-time jobs, it sounds like. Brian: Yeah, Well, the other one's a family-owned legacy business. It's three generations deep. Like I said, my dad started it. My brother and I both worked in it. I've owned it and run it for 20, 28 years and currently all of my three adult children and my daughter-in-law all work there and do the heavy lifting. With a little bit of guidance from me, that gave me the ability that could run effectively without my daily requirement, gave me the ability to actually continue that entrepreneurial spirit and try something completely different, which is indoor pickleball. I saw a true need in my city for this. There wasn't anybody delivering it. I saw it as an up and growing and when I actually started on it, less people knew what pickleball was. In the last 18 months it has really come to the forefront and so I got on. I started riding the wave at the right time and I hope it just keeps rolling, yeah well, it's certainly taken the last couple of years. Chris: It's taken on like a life of its own, it seems like. So let's go back to, I guess, Birdy Properties and maybe the unique part of what it's like in a family business to do the succession from your dad, who was the founder, to you and your brother then taking over that business. What were some of the maybe the pain points and lessons learned about doing that and what maybe advice you might give to someone that's in the process or thinking about it, of what to do or not do? Brian: Yeah, running a family business it's wonderful and it's tough, both hand in hand. The wonderful part about it is their name is on that business. Their future is tied into that business. Their commitment generally if they really care about it is they're a lot more committed than just an individual employee. But at the same time it's problematic in that you can't separate yourself from business. Family meals are filled with business. Taking an entire family vacation becomes almost an impossibility. And then succession is an issue. I bought the business from my father and it was clearly me. I own it. So my brother continued to work there but was not in ownership of it. That has its own problems. We found a way for him to actually build a business out of this and he's actually gone out on his own, is specializing in short-term management and is running his own business now, and so that was a way to kind of figure out how that could work. So he is the owner, sole owner, of Birdy Vacation Rentals. But I've got three kids that work for me. Each of them have unique qualities. They own all own a very important part of the business and they really can't survive without them working together, which works great now, but it's going to be. I'm going to wonder, I keep wondering and trying to figure out how, what is the best way to pass this on? And I don't have the right answer for it, but continuing to work at it, you know, giving them all individual pieces that they could own and be the masters of, and then by doing that, everyone needs each other kind of helps with that whole process. You can't no one of them can survive without the others. Chris: Well, it seems, if that's the case, right then you've set it up well for success because that fosters that team environment and team mentality. And you know we love talking about culture. So obviously you have the unique relationship with your children. How have you tried to take that beyond the family relationship with the other employees so that they feel the same engagement with the organization and tied to the organization's success? Brian: So we've gone through lots of that and growing and basically anybody who works for us can see that. I mean their last name isn't Birdy, they're not in the succession plan but we treat everyone within our business as if it was a big family. We believe in family. We believe in quality time. Individuals who work for us recognize we want them to do a great job for us but when they need time, when they need something they know they can ask for it, they can get it and just building that kind of culture has allowed us to have. Number of people who have worked for us for 15, 13, 12, I think is my current people that are out there have been here for a very long time. They're part of the family even though they're not. You know, their last name doesn't say birdie on it, but we work really hard in building a core that can. You know, property management is a tough business. I've said all along one of our core values is that we're going to have fun, and so one of the things we've always built is if we can have fun doing the worst part of that business, then we got it made. So we have a lot of fun when we're doing the fun parts of the business and when we go out of our way to make sure people are going to have fun. But we also find ways just to have fun and to really own that. There are tough parts of that business also. Chris: Sure, well, true for any business, right. There's always, yeah, the piece that you don't enjoy doing. But you know you have to right, it's a necessary piece but it may not be the most fun. I think you're right. If you can bring joy and fun into that, then the rest should be easy. Brian: right, because it's the stuff you like to do and want to do and, as I think about, I've been doing that for 28 years and I love going to work there. I love people that I work with and even though it's in a very tough and stressful because I mean, at times I have to evict people from their homes, I mean that isn't something that's fun, you know. But it has encouraged me that I'm waiting to see how much fun is running a pickleball facility going to be, where we have a core value of bringing joy to everyone through the sport of pickleball. And I'm like, if I can have fun doing property management, I think I should find it a little easier to have fun running a pickleball facility. But I don't know yet. We haven't opened our doors yet, we're going to find out, but it's. I mean, I'm just it feels like it's going to be fun, but you know, I don't know what, I don't know yet. Chris: So going back to Birdy and property management is anything innovative? Or you know how? Has technology or innovation kind of helped you be more efficient in what you do and maybe more profitable? Brian: Yeah, so we've. We have challenged ourselves to chase technology. You know, if you go all the way back to probably, I mean, and we've done this for a long time and we've had a website since 1998 when it didn't do anything and most people didn't have it, I mean we have a five letter URL. I mean we are www.birdy.com, you know, and people have wanted to pay a lot of money to buy that name, but it's just something. Fortunately, my dad said I think this might be something someday, let me just get our name now. He was lucky, he did that. But from that we've continued to chase the changes. Every business has had major changes. I will tell you that, coming out of the 07, 08 mortgage industry collapse and all the problems that happened, property management got brought way up into the forefront and technology, of course, coming on strong at that time saw this as an open lane that nobody was in and they have been chasing after us like crazy. And we have said all along if we want to continue to be relevant, if we want to be a hundred-year-old business, the only way we're ever going to get there is we have to embrace technology, embrace change, figure out the ways to do that, race to it, understand it and apply it. You know however that is, and so we've dramatically changed our business from where we first I mean when we first started, you know everything was on paper. It was all in a folder. The folder was in a cabinet. You know, you met people face to face. I mean, everything has changed and you know, at our last national event, the big thing that was there was all AI driven. Not only have we used technology and we use computers and we've automated some things, but now we're having the computer starting to figure out what can they really do for us in the industry, and I see that being big changes coming forward as to what can it really do for us. Coming out of COVID, we learned we can do a lot and we don't really need an office to do it anymore. We can have remote team members. We can do a lot on Zoom. We can do everything with computers. I think AI is just going to push that, and that even runs into this business. Bill Dinkers has changed a lot and it's only a couple of years old, but it's incorporated on court cameras that film the sessions for the players, and now that company is building AI, so it's going to be able to tell them automatically. You know some statistics from their match, you know counting things for them and I'm like, and so again, very early stages open landscape that technology and AI development is just stepping into, and I'm just curious and excited to see what can that take us to. I mean, because that's the future of our business, all of our businesses. Chris: Oh for sure, I mean, technology is not going anywhere. I think I had someone tell me one time never bet against technology. Technology always wins right Eventually it continues to evolve and you may not be an early adopter, but you better pay attention and learn how to integrate it sooner rather than later, or you're going to get left behind. Brian: Well, right, and it'll show you ways that you can like. We can manage more properties with less people. Because of technology, we can have individuals working for us now all over the world and we have been embraced that for a long time and we're about a 50-50 business. Half of our employees are here in town. The other half are all remote team members and primarily in Mexico, because I'm in South Texas, so I need people that can speak Spanish, and what greater way to have somebody work for me whose primary language is Spanish? So that part has been a significant change in the property management side of it. And that comes with technology. Right, because they have a computer. They can do everything. They have a phone line, so you call my office and you hit the phone. It's calling them Because phone is now what? A computer? Everything is a computer. If you can learn how to adapt the changes in your business to automation, you find ways to grow and to make money when you're doing it right. Chris: So you mentioned the 08 kind of market crash. What were some of the lessons you learned? I think that's a pretty important or severe impact on your business business and we always learn, kind of through some of those crises. So what were some of the things that you learned, maybe about your company or, more importantly, about yourself that kind of helped pull the company through to continue on a path of success? Brian: Well, if you think about it, most people saw that as a crash, as a problem. In my world it was actually a good thing. Besides the fact that people were losing their houses to foreclosure, that was certainly a negative. That didn't help me at all. But what came behind that was investors, and investors were buying those properties and turning them in to single family rentals and they needed management behind it. People who wanted to hold onto their house but had to leave them could not sell them Again. Another thing we were ready for growth. We were prepared for growth and we were not scared to grow as fast as we possibly could In those years. We doubled in size in both 07 and 08. And I think a lot of that was we were preparing for growth and then something happened that we didn't expect. But we were ready and I don't think anybody else was, so we benefited from that. We exploded over about a two or three year visit and really skyrocketed us up that. We've never lost that position since. Chris: That's amazing. So you talked about you were preparing for growth before those events happened. What was it you were doing to be preparing yourself for that growth? Brian: Making sure I have the right staff, all my training, all my processes, systems, policies and procedures. You know, you, when you first start and you're an entrepreneur, you have this great idea. You know how to do it all in your head, you make sure it can work right. What a lot of entrepreneurs aren't great at is writing it all down, systematizing it all and teaching people how to do it. And so, as you're growing, you're just throwing things trying to fill in these holes and you have to learn there's got to be a better process to your business and growing your business, and an individual who is forward thinking and really crazy ideas and just really interested to go do all these wonderful things can come up with some great stuff, but they're not the person that's going to carry it the long-term, step-by-step and so, understanding what you're good at, learning who you need around you to fill in those pieces where you're not and luckily for me, you know I have children who are from me but not really like me and so and they're not really like each other and so, collectively, the four of us and others that we've built into that start to create more of a complete package, and we learned and we're continuing to learn. We are forever changing and we are forever growing. It never stops, and that's, I think, it. I think at that time, what we wanted was I wanted to grow. We were talking about growing and I was trying everything to be visible because, remember, technology hadn't taken over. You know, people weren't finding you online. You had to. You know, I was still paying for ads and newspapers and the yellow pages because I wanted people to find me. But I found technology earlier than anybody else. I found a program called allpropertymanagementcom when it first opened and it was the first marketplace for property managers on the internet and I raced to it. I was the only one there in 2007. And that's when everyone started freaking out what am I going to do with my property? They looked and they found me, and that was a big part of so just the little steps like that was like not, I mean, that was an investment, I was paying money to do that, but I thought there would be a payoff. I didn't expect the tremendous payoff I got, but it really was a lot about just making sure you know what you have around you and a lot of times, what happens is we don't hire for growth, right, we want growth, then growth happens and then we get squished by the work. Everyone gets overworked, everyone gets stressed, nobody's happy, culture starts to get hurt and you can't sometimes, can never hire fast enough to catch up to train them all. So, knowing your business, watching closely, investing in growth by investing in your people, those are some of the lessons I learned because I did all that wrong at first and I suffered because of it and I've learned to do it differently because of that. Chris: Yeah, that's a beautiful point. I mean to your point about if you start to grow you haven't, excuse me, hired for it then you start making hiring decisions out of desperation and that's a recipe for disaster, as opposed to being able to follow that process. As you mentioned, that process is in place, that you stick to that. You follow that. You're always looking to evolve and change and tweak as times change. But if you're behind the curve, if you will, then it's hard to catch up. Brian: You also have to change with times. I mean when you can be hiring, when you don't need to hire someone, you're not in a hurry. During your interview process you don't settle for okay, this person's good enough, right? You're like, if none of them are good enough, well then they're none. Keep looking right. But if you're in a hurry, if you're in a need, then anyone close you're going to take and it may not be a good fit for you. And I would tell you, before COVID you had people in large numbers applying for jobs, but after COVID that changed dramatically and it became a point. I mean I used to say if I could get 10 people to interview, five of them would show up, or maybe six, and one or two or three potentially could be good opportunities there and you'd be able to windle it down to possibly one good quality candidate. After COVID you were lucky if one person showed up, and I don't think that's really changed dramatically even yet today. Chris: That was my question. It feels, like in the last, say, 12 months or so, there's starting to be a little bit of a maybe it's slow, but a swing back towards people realizing. You know you hear the bigger companies saying five days back in the office and you know that you know where we had the quiet quitting going on in 21, 22. It seems to me there's a little less of that and it's coming back. There are maybe more people out there and you hear that you know new college graduates are having, you know, really difficult times finding jobs because it seems like it's tightening a little bit Well. Brian: Luckily I'm in a season in which I've not needed to hire and I've got everything placed out right, and so I hope when I start hiring again in that space I do see that change, because I've noticed a big difference there and even had to change my whole process of what's really important when I interview people I mean I have put you know the number there are two things that are at the top of the list, and that is an overwhelmingly positive attitude and an undeniable desire to work. And if people come in with those two things, I can take them from there with anything else, because I can't give them either one of those. I can't culture that to anyone, I can't teach that to anybody. They have to have those two things If they have those, if they have those two things clearly, and you can find figure that out pretty quick. Chris: So I have a chance to identify with that, because the words I use are we look for effort and attitude Right. And I like your desire to work. You would think that would come natural, but you and I both know it doesn't. You're interviewing people. They just want a job sometimes or a paycheck, and they don't really have a desire to work or work hard. So I agree, you have to have an interview process that can kind of figure that out. Brian: That's true and we've, and that's something you have to learn and experience and get through and continue to tweak because, as you think you have the best experience, your market of applicants change and then you have to change and adapt with them. BTXBAdvert Hello friends, this is Chris Hanslick, your Building Texas business host. Did you know that Boyer Miller, the producer of this podcast, is a business law firm that works with entrepreneurs, corporations and business leaders? Our team of attorneys serve as strategic partners to businesses by providing legal guidance to organizations of all sizes. Get to know the firm at boyermillercom. And thanks for listening to the show. Chris:So we kind of look at the landscape out there. What are some of the headwinds that you either are dealing with now or that you think may be coming around the corner, that you're trying to prepare for to kind of not let them slow you down? Brian: I think that in the residential property management space, when times are good we do well, when times are bad, we do even better. So generally making sure that we're running the best business that we can, that we're providing what people need, figuring out a way to be being better Everyone wants to say they're better, but being better doesn't really necessarily draw anyone's attention anymore because it's like are you really better? You're just saying you're better. But when you're different and you can show someone why you are different, that's what really changes it, and I and so we focus on how are we different, why are we different, how can we be different and what differences are going to be important in the next five years that may not have been important in the last five years. Chris: That's really good. Yeah, I could see where and I would think even the lots have been written about it how difficult it is for people to purchase a home. Now, right, the interest rates, one thing, maybe the lack of accumulated wealth or down payments because of the lending markets. I can see where that would boost your business. Brian: I would tell you that in 2024, nationwide the market said that rental markets should have been skyrocketing and doing well, but for a variety of reasons it was not the best year. 2025 has started out as a much better year. Last year was a rough year on most residential property managers and when we look at that it came back to a tremendous amount of apartment complexes that were built coming out of COVID that opened and it drew a lot of the market space away People not buying, not moving, families coming together in one location, which reduces right. But we've seen a big change this year at probably one of our busiest first quarters in a while, so we're hoping that just continues. Chris: Very good. So, shifting gears a little bit Sounds like a company that you love. You said you love to have fun doing it. I guess we're in it for most of your life, bought it from your dad. All things going well, Kids are in it, Kids are thriving and against that backdrop you decide to step out and take on the pickleball business, which there's certainly some competition there. Maybe San Antonio's market was a little lacking. There's certainly some competition there. Maybe San Antonio's market was a little lacking, but there's all kinds of people doing pickleball courts now. So what was it that inspired you or drove you to make that decision and take on that risk? Brian: Well, so I started playing pickleball for the first time coming out of COVID in 2020, when our mayor said, okay, you can go and gather, but it has to be outside. And so there was a tennis place that had converted on a tennis court. Still, they converted and made these makeshift pickleball and I went out and said, hey, this is a lot of fun. Eventually, chicken and Pickle opened in San Antonio. I went inside to that and I thought, hey, I really like this, and started playing there. Quite regularly. My wife and a non pickleball related injury broke her ankle and we were out for about a year. When I came back one year later, everything had changed. It was almost impossible to book a court. The age of the players had dropped 20 years in a year. It used to be forties and fifties and I walk in and now it's twenties and thirties and I was like, okay, something has really happened here. So I did a lot of research, looked at all the numbers and then I started saying, okay, we don't have enough courts and we don't have any indoor courts, and I was like I think we could do a good job at this. I was first trying to find a place to go play, and what it led me to is there's a need. Maybe I can solve that need. And then, in researching it in the state of Texas, san Antonio was lacking in indoor courts In the country. We're doing awful. Houston was the only city in Texas even on the radar for the number of pickleball courts, and the number of indoor pickleball courts they have more than anyone in Texas. They have more than almost any other city in the country. So that city had figured it out and I'm like we hadn't yet. And I'm like we hadn't yet and I'm like, hey, if you're going to do something and you're going to be different, one of the greatest ways of being different is be first, because if you're first, you're different. There's nobody else, right? And so so I dove in, found a great Dill. Dinkins is a national franchise and I believed in what they put together and and so I'm one of their first franchisees. I'm going to be opening up my first club here in about 10 days here in San Antonio, and I'm a regional developer, so I have the right to develop up to 20 clubs. Whether I open them or help somebody else who wants to run their own pickleball location here, I will be supporting them and getting them open, and I can open all of my clubs. Other entities can open all theirs. There will not be enough pickleball, because if I fill all my clubs up all 20 clubs open and they're all completely full that would only represent a fraction of 1% of the Bexar County population, and so there's room for everybody and there's room for growth. And that's kind of one of the reasons why I got into this is that I'm like hey plus, I love it. I have so much fun, and I'm going to tell you what running a property management business has been a lot of fun, but I really hope that running a pickleball business is going to be even a lot easier to have fun. We'll see. I don't know yet. Chris: Yeah Well, in 10 days you'll start to figure it out. Brian: Well, that's free, that's free week, everyone's coming for free, so they're going to love me for at least a week, for sure. We'll see what happens after that. Chris: Good strategy there. Yeah, I know. Look, we've worked with some entrepreneurs and developers here in the Houston area doing this right, developing pickleball venues with the bars and the food service, and that's where they did the market research. And even in Houston it's interesting to hear your numbers on the covered courts in Houston, kind of leading all cities but there is a lack of courts in light of the demand especially, you're certainly private clubs have taken converted tennis courts or extra space where they put in pickleball courts, but if you're not a member of that club you don't have access. And so for the general public to have access, things like what you're doing and chicken, chicken pickle, et cetera, and some of the maybe non-national brands just worn off local things there's still a ton of demand for that. Brian: Yeah, if you look at it, lifetime Gyms and LA Fitness have both decided they're going away from basketball and they're going all in on pickleball. And I talked to their national developer and I said why are you making this change? And they said well, basketball has led to altercations and fights and problems and pickleball equals new membership and so they're all in and you can see, most of them are converting them. I have a couple of Gold's Gyms in San Antonio that have converted into pickleball in their courts. It's just there's such a need, there's such a desire. A lot of people say they find a way to play, they'll play anywhere. A lot of people haven't played because they say it's too hard to find a place to play. So we're hoping we can be part of the solution to that and start giving lots and lots of options for people to come out and play and see how easy it is, how fun it is. The community that's built around this is unlike other sports is the community that's built around this is unlike other sports? It is. It is a unique game in which it is the most gender equal and age equal. I can go out on any given day and lose to an eight-year-old or an 80-year-old, and both of them could be a male or a female. It doesn't matter, because this is. It is the equal sport amongst all sports. Chris: Yeah, well, I'll say you know, given the timing when you're opening and the fact that you know we're in Texas, being covered courts is going to be a nice added bonus, because I don't think you want to be in the middle of summer outside on a pickleball court for too long. Brian: Well, they've been doing it for years. What I have to do is get them in here so they can see, and that's the thing about being different. So some things that are different with us is we have pro cushion courts. They're all individually fenced. We have special LAD court lighting that's designed specifically for pickleball. Of course, it's not windy in here. There's no rain, there's no heat, there's no humidity and, as you can see behind me, all the walls are black in the playing surface, and that's so. When you're standing on your court and your opponent hits the ball pops, you know it's coming outside. You don't see that. You got wind, you got heat, you got sweat, you got movement, you got craziness, and so that's where we've dove into being different and we're hoping it'll pay off. Chris: No, all true. I mean having played myself. You're right, if you're outside and depending on where the sun is, you may, it's sometimes hard to see the ball. Brian: Yeah, true, not in here. Perfect lighting, perfect temperature, perfect courts. And the one thing I get annoyed I'm a spoiled. I'm a pickleball snob. Now. I cannot stand playing on a court where the court right next door is not separated and their ball keeps coming into mine. I'm like I can't even play that way anymore. I'm, I've become a. I've become a pickleball snob. I expect to be able to get on my court and play my game and not be disrupted by anybody else. Chris: There you go, as every man and woman should have a right to right. That's right. So so you kind of bit this off as a franchisee. Let's talk a little bit about that. What are some of the things that you learned about that process that maybe you weren't expecting that you could share with some listeners, and maybe a lot of people look at franchise opportunities. Brian: So I tell people all the time. So I've been involved in franchising in a couple of other ways. I went for about a four-year period and worked for a nationwide property management franchising company called Property Management Incorporated and I was up at the corporate level seeing. So I learned about franchising itself and people go why are you doing this, why should I do this? And I would give them reasons why. If you're already running your business, you already know what you're doing. You don't need a franchise when you're starting out from brand new and you have no idea what you're doing and you're not really sure how you're going to do it. You have to consider that Anyone can do the business on their own right. Even me, I could have opened this on my own. But do you know how much stuff I didn't know about pickleball that I learned from my franchise organization and the attention that it has drawn me? You have to figure out when that might be right for you. I think that there's been a lot of benefit of doing that. But you got to examine them all. I went and looked at every existing franchise when I started to do this Now. Since then, there are five new Pickleball franchises available and I'm sure there'll be five more in the next six months. So there are a lot of choices. I looked at them all, I checked into their history, I interviewed, expect what they need to do, and then I went and did a discovery day in Columbia, maryland, to find out what was Dill Dinkers all about, and a big part of it is who is the leadership? Who's going to be guiding you? Who are you going to be working with? And I absolutely loved the people that were involved, and that's a big part of this. You're going to be in business with them at the same time, and so this made a lot of sense for me. They were structuring in a very smart way of doing it, and they're the fastest growing Pickleball franchise that's out there, and they've sold 27 regions across the country. They've made great strides at improving everything that we do the play site cameras that we talked about earlier, with the AI involved that's something that's new. The pro cushion courts that's new from when we first started, and now all of our pro shops are powered by Pickleball Central, which, again, is also something new. So when you look at a franchise, it's like, yeah, they exist, but what are they doing to evolve? What are they doing to be different, because you're going to rely on that and work with them to show them how else they can be different. I decided this was the way for me to go and by being a regional developer here in town, I have my first one opening, I have my second one already under construction and I've got 18 more to go, but I'm probably not going to open all 18 of those. So there are opportunities right now and the way Jill Dinkers is, they have your corporate staff, but I'm the local representative. I'm here to help develop anyone locally. So anyone who wants to open one here has me helping them, and I've already gone through all the pain and suffering of what does it take to open a place. I know all. I know what you need to do to have it happen. They taught me what they knew. Now I've experienced here locally in San Antonio. I know what's going to happen here. Those are some of the advantages when you start looking at franchising and say, hey, I want to do a business, I don't want to do it alone, I don't want to start and it's tough. There's things you've got to know to be successful right out of the gun and you may not know everything on your own, it makes sense. Chris: And I said there's the franchisors got to show that value right. The why you're going to be making payments and getting the benefit of some of their things. It occurs to me too, one of the advantages, at least to what you're doing with these indoor courts and just kind of looking behind you is that you could take advantage of some of the big box locations that have been abandoned right that there's every city has those where there was some store that has either now gone to a bigger complex but left that space behind it looks like that's what you can kind of take advantage of from a real estate perspective. Brian: Right and I figured, with my real estate background, that this was going to be a piece of cake. But let me just tell you, san Antonio is a healthy city. We don't have big boxes just sitting around empty. Finding the location was the biggest challenge for me, and that isn't true everywhere else. That's why I'm franchise number one, but I'm not the first franchisee to open, because there are people who found it much quicker. The gentleman up in Pennsylvania went on his very first visit and found two locations and has opened both of them. One of them has 17 courts inside with 75 foot ceilings and no columns. Wow, I think it was like an aircraft hangar at some point. It was an indoor soccer facility for a while and it is like the perfect layout for indoor pickleball. But he found it in one visit, found one landlord, signed two leases and opened them both up. I have been to hundreds of places because I have to have the right hype, I have to have space between columns. I got to have air conditioning, I got to have bathrooms and I got to figure out, you know what's it going to cost to convert the place? And in San Antonio we don't have a lot of space just sitting around empty. Well, that's a good problem, it's good, it's good for the city. I mean, I found this one and I found my second one and I'm continually looking and there will be more opportunities and there will be more opportunities and there will be. Yeah, I think the strange thing in my city is we have probably the most vacant space in our city is industrial space. There's industrial warehousing all over and it's all empty and they don't want to talk to me yet. But they're going to one day they're going to say you know what I'm tired of being empty. Maybe we should talk to these pickleball guys, because it's the perfect layout giant empty buildings just sitting around empty. One day, when I can start turning them into pickleball, then the life's going to be real good. Chris: For sure. So just real quick, though, I want to ask about you kind of just as a leader right, your leadership style and how you think that's evolved over time, and kind of what you've learned maybe about yourself and about leadership in the process, in that journey. Brian: You know I learned leadership pretty young. I mean I go back and think about it and say you know, my dad was in the military. I was a military brat. We were all part of scouting. That was you start learning leadership and scouts right. I joined the Air Force myself, I served time in that and that the leadership is pretty well defined there. I mean, you know you can grow into being a good leader through that process. But in the military leaders comes with rank. Sometimes you don't really you haven't earned it, but you get it because you wear the rank and there's a difference in just knowing and understanding. And in that I learned I'm like if I want to be a leader, I've got to earn the right to be the leader of other people. As I started growing my own business, the challenge was I know how I want everything done. I like it done. A certain way. Most entrepreneurs are type A personalities we got an idea, we're going to run with it, we want to do it and no one could do it as good as we can. Well, you're going to be awful lonely and awful small if you think you can grow business all by yourself. So lesson you have to learn is how do I surround myself with people who make me better, who fill in the gaps of the things I'm not, and how do I let go and let them lead? So I've learned to invest in my staff and invest in them being leaders and letting it go. And remember, if you get from point A to point B and it doesn't cost any more money and it isn't illegal, does it really? And it doesn't use up any more time, does it really matter if they got there different than I would have? And honestly, it doesn't. But that's a lesson I had to learn. I was not very good at it, so my wife and my kids pulled things out of my gripped hands because they were like you got to let this go or we're never going to grow. And then you look back later and go wow, I'm so glad I did that. I mean, they're doing a better job at it than I ever did. And then you just have to make sure you're continually watching over what you're doing right, building good systems, checking on what you're doing, investing in your people, which means spending money on them, spending money to educate them, spending money for them to go out and try things, and also, don't be scared to try something. It's probably one of the biggest lessons I've learned Don't be scared to try something new that no one else has tried, because they're not all going to work, and I can tell you some of mine that were absolute failures. You figure it out, you go eh, switch back, we're done. But the ones that didn't work grew the business, made me money right, made us more efficient, and not being fearful to just change, adapt and be different is a big part, and when your staff sees that you're willing to do that and you're encouraging them and you're investing in them and you're giving them the ability to lead, you'll be surprised what they can do for you. Chris: Right. Well, so first, thank you for your service and second, yes, I think part of that for me is you can't be scared to fail, nervous. And second, yes, I think you know part of that for me is you can't be scared to fail. Uh. So if you don't take any chances, you won't learn, you won't grow. So you've got to be willing to do that and be observant of is it going well, is it not? Do I need to pivot, do I not? For your business and for yourself? Right? Brian: and you have to listen to your staff around you, because at certain point when you grow a business effectively, you start to get out of the day to day, and so you've got to check on it, you've got to hear from them, you've got to build on it and you've got to give them the ability to tell you maybe it is time to pivot, maybe we need to do something different, maybe there is a need out there, even though you didn't recognize it. They need to know. They can bring it to you and you'll listen Doesn't mean everything is going to change, but you give them a chance to speak it up and then it's out there and then you talk about it, and we do that regularly and it really changes the business when people have the freedom to bring up ideas and not be afraid of it. Chris: So let's move from the business side of things to just personal. Tell me what's your favorite part about San Antonio and why you decided to call it home. Brian: I moved here with my dad. He got stationed here when I was 13 years old and this has been my hometown almost ever since I joined the Air Force and I did leave here and I missed it all while I was gone. There's something about the community here in San Antonio the people, the events, the city that I missed. I've lived in other places. I don't think I ever missed not being there as much as I missed being here, and so this is truly my hometown. I love the city, all that we have going on, the fact we continue to grow and get big but we still feel like a small town Never and there's something for everyone. There's everything you possibly can want to do. You can do it here. I mean, we're in the middle of Fiesta. It's been going on forever, but there's still something in Fiesta that I still probably haven't even done. As many times I've gone out and done things and it's exciting just to be involved in that. I've been a Spurs fan since I moved here. I actually saw the Spurs as soon as I came back. We were coming back from Italy, moving to San Antonio, and the Spurs. I was 13 years old. The Spurs were in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Washington Bullets and they were up three games to one and I watched them lose the next three games and then not, and then I followed them and we didn't make it back to a conference championship for 20 years in 99. And then the next 20 years was a good payoff. We had a lot of fun and won a lot of games. Chris: So this is my town. Brian: I love my city. I love all that we do here. Chris: Yeah well, it's definitely spent enough time there to get a feel a very unique and welcoming culture and vibe. You mentioned Fiesta, but I don't see any badges on you. Brian: They're on sale at the front counter. Gotcha yeah, I actually was we made one, we've made one, we've traded some. A few people have bought them and it's a fun part to be part of that when you run a business in San Antonio. Chris: For sure. I've had the benefit of being there for a week on business during Fiesta and learned the whole thing about the badges and the trading and still have them with me. That's a lot of fun. Brian: Yeah, last weekend one of my managers took them all, went down and was down there handing out badges and also handing out flyers about our business Just getting the word out and getting connections to both people and other businesses. It's a unique time when everyone's just willing to talk to you and get face-to-face and everyone wants everyone else's medals. The Fiesta medals are kind of a cool thing, yeah for sure. Chris: Okay, last question Do you prefer Tex-Mex or barbecue? Brian: Tex-Mex for sure. I'll tell you this in traveling the country. There are other places where you can get barbecue. Maybe not quite the same, but there's some good barbecue out there. There is no good Tex-Mex anywhere except here. Chris: Yeah, yeah, I think it's a pretty accurate statement. Well, brian, I really appreciate you taking the time to kind of share your story, both on the property management side and Pickleball. Good luck with the grand opening coming up and look forward to seeing you guys succeed in that industry as well. Brian: All right, well, hey, great Thanks for having me on Great conversation. All right, take care. All right, bye, and there we have it. Special Guest: Brian Birdy.

Send us a textBosco takes the mic solo for a laid-back, intimate episode that reveals the origin story of Nobody's Talking Podcast while diving into current sports controversies and personal recommendations. With his characteristic blend of humor and straight talk, he reflects on how basketball games at LA Fitness in the early 2000s created the friendships that eventually led to podcast gold.The NFL draft takes center stage as Bosco unpacks the surprising slide of Shedeur Sanders to the 144th pick in the fifth round. Without rushing to judgment, he thoughtfully compares Sanders' situation to similar historical scenarios involving quarterbacks like John Elway and Eli Manning, questioning whether the reactions would be different if circumstances were the same. Bosco's nuanced take on the situation reveals his ability to examine cultural conversations through multiple lenses while maintaining his authentic perspective.Between sports analysis and pop culture commentary, Bosco shares his passion for health and movie recommendations with equal enthusiasm. From encouraging listeners to prioritize exercise in whatever capacity they can manage, to breaking down his recent viewings of films like "Sinners" and "Riff Raff," the episode feels like catching up with a knowledgeable friend. The Shannon Sharpe controversy gets a brief, humorous mention, showcasing Bosco's ability to touch on trending topics without dwelling too long. As the episode winds down, his genuine appreciation for the podcast's global audience shines through, promising the return of the full crew next week. Tune in to experience the warmth and wisdom of Nobody's Talking when it becomes Somebody Talking – and that somebody is Bosco.Thanks for listening to the Nobody's Talking Podcast. Follow us on Twitter: (nobodystalking1), Instagram : (nobodystalkingpodcast) and email us at (nobodystalkingpodcast@gmail.com) Thank you!

Still on the rebound after having my heart broken. (By the LA Fitness closing at Coldwater and Chandler) You basically need the shields from the Tim Burton Batman Batmobile in LA if you want your car to not be destroyed, broken into, vandalized, etc. I definitely go to Chipotle too much. I messed around with AI images and it blew my feeble mind. Mr Penis Powers came to town, and lead to a plethora of gallivanting. Seeing King Of Comedy in a theater was a whole different experience than I would have anticipated.

Ever at a loss for words when trying to partner with local businesses?In this episode of the Ground Marketing Series, I'm uncovering the secrets behind a compelling pitch that transforms your dental practice into a patient magnet. Start by rethinking how you present your offer to potential partners, focusing on partnerships that bring continuous value to both sides. Amidst discussions on common missteps made in ground marketing, we're diving into the psychology that dictates an irresistible pitch. We'll walk through the six psychological triggers—reciprocity, authority, social proof, scarcity, commitment, and liking—that can turn your pitch into an offer they can't refuse. You'll come away understanding how each trigger can be woven into your marketing narrative to capture the interest of potential partners from every angle.But the insights don't stop there; You'll be armed with a four-step blueprint for crafting a high-converting pitch that includes the hook, value proposition, social proof, and the decisive close. Curious about the application? I'll be giving some real-life examples, showcasing how these strategies have found success in diverse settings like gyms and coffee shops. As the episode wraps, discover advanced techniques for scaling your strategy: automation, social media dynamics, and powerful referral networks become part of your armory.What You'll Learn in This Episode:The role of effective communication in strategic partnerships.Common pitfalls dentists encounter in ground marketing.Psychological triggers that elevate your pitch.A four-step structure to craft a compelling pitch.Advanced strategies for reading reactions and handling objections.Innovative incentives to make your offers irresistible.Successful real-life examples of pitches in non-traditional settings.Techniques to automate and scale your ground marketing efforts.Hit play and discover how to skyrocket your dental practice with winning marketing pitches!‍‍Learn More About the Ground Marketing Course Here:Website: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/the-ground-marketing-course-open-enrollment/‍Other Mentions and Links:‍Businesses/Brands:CrossFitLA Fitness‍Software/Tools:Excel‍If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)‍Michael: mastering Your Ground Marketing Pitch. We're gonna be discussing how to competently communicate your offer to potential partners. Now ground marketing is one of the most powerful cost-effective strategies to create a continuous stream of new patients for your dental practice. Not only is it a continuous stream, but this stream has depth volume, however, success hinges on your ability to pitch effectively, turning cold introductions into long-term mutually. Beneficial partnerships. This is just good to do in general, even when you're just talking out and about. This is gonna really, really help you out with your ground marketing, but also people skills and so much more.Now, most dentists fail at ground marketing because number one, they talk too much about themselves instead of what's in it for the other person. Two, their offer is unclear, generic, or lacks an irresistible incentive. Three. They don't overcome objections with confidence. And four, they fail to follow up strategically.Now this episode's gonna break down every detail of crafting, delivering, and closing a high converting ground marketing pitch so you can walk into multiple businesses and secure referral partnerships Specifically, we're gonna be discussing three things, three events, three businesses in this episode, schools, gyms, and community events.Now, understanding the psychology behind an irresistible pitch. People buy into partnerships emotionally, then justify them logically. So if a business owner doesn't feel emotionally engaged by your offer, they won't care about the details. So here's how to structure your pitch so it triggers a yes response in their brain.There's six psychological triggers that make people say yes, and we've discussed them in previous episodes. And number one, reciprocity. People feel obligated to return favors, so offer something valuable first before asking for anything in return. Two authority. Position yourself as a trusted expert, not just a dentist looking for new patients, but you can possibly use phrases like most people don't realize how much their oral health affects.And then you mention a specific concern like how much their oral health affects their diabetes, their confidence, their fitness, et cetera. And continue with that. You're positioning yourself as a trusted expert.Three social proof business owners want to know that others already trust you. So mention existing partnerships. Four. Scarcity. If your offer feels exclusive or limited, they'll value it more. Five. Commitment and consistency. When they agree to something small, they're more likely to commit to something bigger later.And six, liking people do business with those they like and trust. So make your pitch conversational, not salesy. Okay, so those are the six psychological triggers that make people say yes, and that's what's gonna be behind your pitch. So the proven formula, we're gonna share it right now for a winning ground marketing pitch.There's a four step structure of a high converting pitch, and we discussed this in the ground marketing course with further details, but every effective pitch follows this proven structure. Number one, the hook. So instantly grab their attention. Start by focusing on them, not yourself. Here's a couple examples, right?Hey, I love how your gym promotes holistic wellness. I love to support that in, a way that makes your members even happier. Or, Hey, your daycare does an amazing job helping kids developing their confidence. You know, I love to offer something that makes parents feel, supported. Make sure it's a hook, grabs their attention.Not long, 10 seconds or less, Hey, it's free. Grab whatever you want, right? That's at an event. Make sure. It's a hook. Then the second part is the value proposition. Now this one's 30 seconds, or less, right? What's in it for them? So first we instantly grab their attention, Hey, it's free. And then what's in it for them?So explain how your partnership will help their business members, customers, or students. So here's an example. We found that parents at daycare centers love getting expert guidance on their children's oral development. I love to provide a free Healthy Smiles for Kids Workshop that adds value to your families.Or, our goal is to help your customers feel more confident about their health. We can provide a free small performance assessment for your members the next time you have an event. Boom. That is the value proposition. 30 seconds, that's what's in it for them. The next thing number three is social proof.That's another 30 seconds or less. Show that others trust you. So you can share a real world example of success to make them feel comfortable. You can say, you know, we've partnered with, this specific business and they loved it because it gave their customers an added benefit at no cost to them. Or you can say, Hey, when we ran this with another business, they saw a 27% increase in engagement from their members.So that's why it's important to track these things because data like this helps when you are doing your pitch, when you're providing the social proof. I personally like the first one, we've partnered with this local businesses and they loved it because it gave their customers an added benefit at no cost to them.Sometimes I say, Hey, you know what, for this month we're specifically doing this, blah, blah, blah. For the community, we wanted to promote you. A lot of people saw more of our patients become their clients, we just wanted to have your information. Boom. Social proof, right? And then finally the close 10 seconds or less.This is a soft, no pressure ask. Don't say, would you like to do this right? Say, Hey, let's test it out. Let's make this happen. If it works we can expand it. Sound good? Boom, that's it. That's all you have to do. So that was the hook. 10 seconds. The value proposition, 30 seconds. What's in it for them?The social proof show that others trust you. That's 30 seconds and the close, that's 10 seconds and it's a soft, no pressure ask. So that's what in total, that's about a and a half. Obviously there's gonna be conversation back and forth, right? Don't try to, I have a minute to do my introduction and that's it.No, make it like you're playing catch with this, right? Do the hook, play, catch value proposition, play catch, social proof, play, catch the close, play, catch right conversations going back and forth with them. Now you wanna learn, and this is huge, huge, huge advanced strategies for maximum impact. A how to read and adapt to their reactions.That's, I can't tell you how incredible that is because sometimes you will see people say, yeah, definitely drop off your signup sheet. I'd love to have this person. You can see their reaction. They're thinking of people in their mind to sign up. They have family members, all these things. Although you said it's for the employees, but they wanna sign people up.Then you see people who, their reactions, they could be saying, yeah, just leave it, drop it off. You'll come by and pick it up on Friday. they're not even looking at the sheet of paper or they're not even thinking about the calendar or anything like that. their reaction is, plain.nothing to it. That's where we're gonna be discussing right now, how to read and adapt to their reactions. So if they lean forward, nod, or especially ask follow-up questions, they're interested, move toward the close, right? But if they seem hesitant, use the softening technique and the softening technique is, you're just totally understandable.So you can say something like, Hey, totally understandable. I know you're busy, so let's just try this with a few people and see if they like it. Or we can try this with a couple of your classrooms and see if they like it. Or we can try this with a specific grade, or a specific daycare or a specific time.We can try this at your next event, right where you have more vendors. Totally understandable. Uses something we call the competitor mention technique. You can say, I totally get it. LA Fitness said the same thing at first, but when they saw how easy it was, they loved it.So you can mention something like that. You're mentioning the competition. I've yet to need to do that. But we do have members who have done that and it works fantastic. So you can go ahead it's a partnership and you see that they're leaning forward with success, once you do, you can tell, you can read and adapt their reactions from the hook once you're like, yeah.And then the value proposition, if their eyes get wider, their eyebrows raise higher, they see more excited. They want to sit and talk with you. They give you more time. You already closed it. You know, you don't need to, think about it and say, okay, you know, we can test this out with a couple people.No, you can just say, we'd love toparticipate at the event, or whatever you're trying to do right now. Objection handling. Sometimes you may get, people say, especially at corporations, we don't usually do partnerships like this. Now you can say, I totally understand. Neither did this specific business, but after trying it, they loved it because it added value to their customers.Had no extra effort on their part. We're doing everything right. So then they're gonna say, okay, cool. You may get objections like, I don't think our customers would be interested. that's where you say, I hear you. Most customers don't realize they need this until they're offered it. That's why we start with a, small group or we start at a small event, or we start with a couple of your people right, to see the response You may get, we already work with another dentist. This one I have gotten many times. Now you can say a couple things. One thing you can say is like, Hey, that's great. That means you understand the value of oral health for your customers, your children, your members, whoever, right? But what we offer is a bit different.Our approach is a hundred percent focused on than mention a unique angle. Would you be open to seeing how this compliments what you're already doing and then boom, you continue. Right? A lot of the times, especially at schools or daycares, you may get someone who says, yeah, you know what? We already work with another dentist.Say, oh no, I completely understand. You know, that's fantastic. That's wonderful. You value oral health for your customers, your members, your students. Wonderful. I love it. what we wanted to offer was a little bit different on their approach. I think they come like once a year, once every two years.Right. And typically, yeah, they do. Dentists come once every quarter or once every two years. And then you can mention, what we wanted to do was just offer like a mini workshop, no competition, nothing like that. We're not trying to steal customers or steal anything like that. We just wanted to enhance, the importance of oral health, right?Or enhance the importance of a specific unique angle. we can start off with just a couple classrooms. That'd be perfectly fine. It can be part of like an assembly or whatever, and then boom. You're like, yeah, you know what you let's make it happen, and then you can make it happen. A lot of it has to do with your tone of voice too.Now that's what you're gonna do with objections. You're gonna have those advanced strategies on how to read and adapt reactions.Now your secret weapon is gonna be irresistible incentives that close deals. Most businesses won't partner unless they see a clear win. So use high converting incentives and every community, every location is gonna be different. Giveaways that work, for example, are whiteningsfree whitenings. that's probably universal and makes their customers feel special.Then you can do free digital smile makeovers, it's digital. So more engaging than a cleaning you can do exclusive offers if you want, That increases engagement, gift cards and things like that. Personalized oral health and fitness guides. free mouth guards if you like.free office tour a special on a new patient exam at the same time. Sometimes we do have quite a few members don't offer anything for free. they're just available for them and they stay on top of mind. They have specific people who are just ground marketers who make sure they are up there in there, in the businesses, staying on top of mind, staying on the events.Helping them connect with other businesses. And they are just, I mean, they've never offered anything for free. They're just like, Hey, we're here. And then they're always participating in their, things. And those are fantastic. Those are fantastic when they do that. But me personally, yeah.New patient exams, free office tour, and free whitenings. Those are my top three for me. Now the urgency hook, we're only offering this partnership to two local gyms this quarter, or we're only doing this with one gym this month. It can be the health and wellness month or whatever that you want to call it.And yeah, they're gonna wanna partner up with you because it's, Hey, I wanna be that one gym, right? That's in front of your patients. Or you can say, Hey, we have room for just five daycares to receive our free Healthy Smiles workshop that we're doing this month, and we thought about this daycare and we'd love to do it.now, the follow-up system that converts interest into results, this is how you're gonna wanna follow up, okay? Now the day after, follow-up email or text, right? You can say, Hey, excited to work together. My name is great meeting you. Here's a quick summary of what we discuss and let's test this out, or let's make this happenand see how they like it.I'll follow up in a few days to check in, right? And then you wanna. Personal check-in. You wanna call or drop by in person and just say, just wanted to check in if you had any questions or needed any materials for me to make this easier, especially if you're gonna be a part of an event, if you're gonna be doing a specific workshop or a seminar, if it's a daycare, you might possibly be doing a workshop or something like that.If it's a gym, you're probably gonna be at an event. If it's a community event, you're gonna be at an event, right? You wanna continue to check in, see how you can be of help. And then week three and four you wanna share testimonial or success stories from other partners. Offer an exclusive upgrade to keep them engaged with these partnerships as well.Now the next step, scaling ground marketing to dominate your market. The way you wanna scale this is automate follow-ups. So use a CRM to track partnerships and automate email, text reminders. Now, in the ground marketing course, we do have, it's an Excel sheet that it's a template. We have it for you, and in there we show you how to do this, how to automate follow ups with potential partners and referrals, right?Businesses that you're going consistently in there. You're picking up signup sheets, you're dropping off flyers, you're doing their events, you're helping them out. But at the same time, obviously they're referring new patients. So following up is key. ' cause you're like in a relationship now, so you want to continue to show up.At the same time, you also wanna, number two, leverage social media. So tag businesses and posts to increase visibility, right? Once you've created this partnership, tag them a ton, even if you're near the specific business, if you're around the specific business. If you're in front of the specific business or you're obviously in the business, tag them.Leverage social media. Three is develop a referral network. So introduce businesses to each other and position yourself as a trusted local authority. the relationship doesn't stop there, right? Meaning, if you find they will benefit. Let's just say you're going to a specific gym and hey, the gym owner for this CrossFit will benefit knowing this other person or this person at the district.Let me introduce them. 'cause I know we've had that conversation that they wanted to be in the district too, or something like that with the schools or children or whatever. Make that happen. Make that introduction happen and that's it. Not only does this strengthen the referral, partnership, but at the same time.You're helping out the community and now you're providing benefits for both of those businesses. You're on top of mind for both of them, and it's easier for you to do things with them now, be a part of their events and so much more. And for finally, host joint events. So partner with local businesses for workshop, top of events, booths, things like that helps out a lot.So once you do that, that's basically it. The strategic ground marketing approach. You wanna make it low risk and high value, you'll close more partnerships and get more referrals and dominate ground marketing. Never say, what do you think? Never say, could we do this? Right? if you find any hesitation at all, just say, if you want, we can give it a quick try on, on the event that's coming up for you or on your next event.Or we can give it a try with a couple people in your group. If it works well, we can expand it. Sound good? Boom. That's it. This works. Most business owners don't want to feel like they're being pitched, but they love it when someone supports their business. So this approach makes them feel like they're getting the better end of a deal while naturally positioning you as someone worth promoting.So the key is get before you ask. They should feel like you're helping them first, make it feel effortless. No extra work for them. Leave a natural way for their customers to engage with you. Okay. So now I wanna share with you some scripts, for your initial approach. And remember, we wanna frame it like we're helping them. So we want to casually walk in and say, you know, if it's a gym, hey, you know, we're running a healthy smile healthy body campaign this month, and we love featuring local gyms.Can I grab your info so we can promote your gym to our patients and stay quiet? They will love this. Do this with every single fitness studio that you know of. The next one is a coffee shop. You can walk in casually and say, Hey, we're doing a sip and smile feature this month where we highlight local businesses.Our patients love. They love this coffee shop. I love this coffee shop. Can I grab your info so we can promote your coffee shop? that's it. Stay quiet. They will love it. Salon and med. Spa casually. Walk in. Hey, we're doing a confidence month, a spotlight, and featuring top local beauty spots. I'd love to include your salon, would it be okay?Can I grab your info to share with our patients? Boom, they will love this. And then daycare. Hey, this month we're doing a Healthy Smile for Kids feature and letting parents know about trusted local daycares. Can I grab your info to share with them? Not one person. Will say, no, don't. They will love, absolutely love this.you are gonna be a hero to them once you do these scripts. Right now, in the ground marketing course, we share these scripts in so many more scripts, as the initial approach to get your foot in the door, to start the conversation, to already start making this partnership happen. So many more scripts and we dive deeper on the scripts that I just told you about and show you way, way, way more.Right. But that's how you wanna do it. They give you their info without hesitation when you do this because you're helping them. And now once they're, you know, yeah, lemme grab some information for you. Yeah, of course. Take some more information, whatever, right? Once they give you their info, keep the conversation about them.Make it still about them. So with the gym, Hey, how long have you been in this location? Your gym looks amazing. The coffee shop. Hey, what's your best seller? I'll make sure to tell people to try it. The salon. Do you guys do VIP events? We see a lot of patients who love Self-care. That one's nice because they'll say like, yeah, you know what we do, VIP, eventual.We've been thinking about it. And boom, lo and behold, you guys can partner up and make something happen. The daycare. Are you guys taking new enrollments? I mean, parents always ask us about trusted daycares. Having these, conversations where you're still following up still continuing the conversation.Those questions specifically, ultimately crucial. I mean, you are deepening. You are building that relationship. You are dropping the reciprocity seed in there. By showing interest in their business, you're making them feel valued. They will now naturally start thinking about how they can help you in return.Now, step three, right? Once you're building the rapport, you can say, by the way, we see a lot of patients who are into fitness, sometimes they ask about gyms in the area. Would it be okay if we left a small signup sheet here for people who might wanna learn more about. Dentistry or dental wellness and how it connects to performance.Boom, that's it. Coffee shop. We have a lot of patients who love supporting local coffee spots. If it's cool with you, I'd love to leave a signup sheet here so anyone interested in wellness can get some cool perks in the future. salon. A lot of our patients are into beauty and self-care.Would it ever be okay to leave a signup sheet here for anyone who might want tips on how their smile plays a role in overall confidence? Or anybody here who might need free whitening? That's it. If you mentioned free whitening in a lot of them, gym, coffee shops, salons. leave that here and you're gonna see them sign up. But mainly coffee shops and salons are huge and a lot of the times gyms are too. Now with daycares you can say, many parents ask us about oral health for kids.Would it be all right if we left a little signup sheet here in case any parents have questions or want some free resources? We're running a new patient exam right now too, as well. Boom. This makes it feel like a helpful resource, not a sales pitch. And then finally, Step four, you wanna create an irresistible, non-salesy incentive, right? The gym, we're also giving gym members a free smile performance guide if they sign up or giving them free whitening. Same thing with,the coffee shop. if they sign up, we're giving them a free sip and smile rewards card, or they don't even have to sign up.It's just another free whining. If you want, justmake sure your incentive is according to location. It has to be appropriate, Step five is the indirect close. So getting them to promote you without asking directly after they say, yeah, you can definitely leave something off, or, yeah, you can definitely leave us your information or whatever.You can say, I'll stop by next week to pick up any flyers so we can let our patients know about your gym too, Would it be okay if I left some of our information here as well? You wanna say that with everyone? Make sure you're always, oh, thank you so much.This is fantastic. I love it. Hey, would it be okay if I also did this, a super small 5% at the very end? All you're doing is talking about them, you're highlighting them. You wanna provide more for them. And then you also wanna benefit their members, their residents, their customers, and at the very 5%, that's the ask, Hey, would it be okay if I leave some of my information here as well?Oh, and a signup sheet, just so anybody who's interested in blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, in a free whitening and this or that, they can just sign up. Would that be okay? Now they feel like. They got the whole good end of the deal, and the least they can do is, oh yeah, of course we can do that. So that's what you wanna do.And then step six, you want to keep, the business actively engaged, right? You wanna follow up casually drop by. Hey, just wanted to check in, see how if any customers were interested in the signup sheet wanted to stop by. Oh, okay. Cool. Yeah, there's a name. Hey, by the way, I gave a shout out to your business and our patient newsletter.Let me know if you want me to mention anything specific next time. That could be week two, week four. Hey, we had a few signups from your place. Just wanted to say thanks again for letting us set that up. If there's anything we can do for you, let me know. That could be week four, right? And then you just continually following up with them.You're continually following up with them. Now there's many, many things you can do when it comes to, how to do this right? Now, some real life examples on how this worked was with the gym, right? There's one where members secured a long-term referral deal with the gym was focused on airway and performance dentistry, and he realized that gym members were perfect candidates for his practice. He didn't use a generic pitch about dental health, which gym owners don't care about.before he failed to position his offer as a benefit to the gym. So that failed. Right? And he also, he never used reciprocity to make the gym owners feel like they were getting the better deal. So this is what he did. Instead, now he checked the gym's website to see their branding and target audience.He scanned their Google reviews to understand common complaints or interest from members, and that was huge. That was huge because that's already on the top of mind of the gym owner. And then he visited their Instagram page and saw that the gym was promoting an upcoming member appreciation month. And then boom, that's it.He just said, Hey, I wanted to be a part of that member appreciation month. Can we be a part of it? And then gave a little bit more conversation, extra value. He kept those Google reviews, the negative ones in mind and saw a way to combat that and used that to his advantage. But it acknowledged the Jim's current goal.It positioned him as helping them first, and it made it effortless for the gym. So it reduced all objections. And yeah, he used social proof, and then at the same time, he leveraged it. He can say, Hey, we recently did this with this gym, and their members loved it. Look at the social media.Other gyms reached out to him and said, Hey, can you come and do this for our practice as well? It was fantastic. So the results were really, really good. Members signed up in the first week. Many became new patients and the gym continued referring members every month, making this a long-term referral stream, and it was fantastic.Now here's another one where a practice owner, got into a coffee shop without paying a dime and she promoted her practice. Now this is pretty interesting because traditional flyers and business cards got ignored right at the coffee shop. so throw that out the window.If you feel like I'm just gonna drop off some flyers and hopefully people will sign up, it gets ignored, right? And she's proof. There was no compelling reason I. For customers to engage and coffee shop owners saw no benefit in promoting a dental office. So she did her research, right? She followed the coffee shop on Instagram and noticed they ran loyalrewards program where customers earned free drinks.She saw they often featured local businesses in their email list to boost engagement Just like most business owners saw that the coffee shop wanted to increase customer engagement and repeat visits, so she built her pitch around the goal. She said, Hey, I love your SIP and Earn rewards program.We're looking for awesome local businesses to highlight in our patient newsletter. Would it be cool if I featured your coffee shop? Notice how she offered something first, pre-promotion. She made the business owner feel like they were getting the better deal. Now the third step was she added a unique non-salesy signup sheet.So after a few minutes of chatting, she just said, Hey, I was thinking, you know, it'd be fun to offer your coffee shop customers something extra like a sip and smile rewards card for this month. Yeah, I was just thinking everyone who purchased a coffee or whichever 30 customers you absolutely love will also get free whitening with their coffee.I could stop by and bring some reward cards for you to give out. This worked incredibly. I loved it when she did this because here's the thing. You're not promoting yourself, you're not waiting for someone to sign up. You're not doing anything. This person, the barista already started having people in mind, oh my god, I can just give free whining to people.Yeah, you can give free whining to people. Oh wow. Okay. I had people in mind already. Oh, and then customers come in and you're like, Perfect. it ran out within like a couple of days. This was brilliant. And it worked because it was fun, relevant, and interactive. Not just boring dental flyers.This person's actually giving these out, right? This barista's, Hey, here's your coffee shop. And by the way, at the same time, the dental office right down the street, doctor, whoever right, told me I can give out a specific amount of free whitening to people and I just.I wanted to give it to you. You know what I mean?Or they conversated obviously, and then they said, Hey, here's free whining. Or they just said, Hey, you're coming here all the time. I absolutely love it. And we're able to give out free whitening to people. if you want it, here it is. Right?Never took it as offensive oh my gosh, I need white.None of that stuff. So get that outta your head if you think that's happening. That doesn't happen, at least in, it's never happened yet. You know, The coffee shop. Had increased engagement without doing anything extra. Right. But at the same time, obviously it brought in new patients immediately. that happened.She said, awesome, I'll swing by in a bit, drop off some loyalty, cards or some rewards cards. Would it be okay if I left a little bit more info and flyers as well around here? And then they're like, yeah, sure. Perfect. And that was it. That's all they had to do. 43 people signed up for the sip and smile giveaway the cards.17 booked appointments and then the coffee shop continued, referring customers and this was all within like a matter of days. So that was awesome. So the final takeaway, this proven ground marketing formula works every time you wanna research before pitching. Start with a hook that helps them.Offer something first, introduce the idea casually close with a no pressure offer. Follow up within 24 hours. Use this system and you'll turn every local business into a patient referral machine. Now, this is like the formula behind the scripts and strategies and things like that.Every business, every. Location, corporation Residency, HOA Chamber of Commerce business is different. They require different strategies, different methods, different ways, different systems, but the psychology behind it and everything is what we just said. So you wanna know more every. Specificity of the specific scripts, strategies and tactics and everything like that, that is found in the ground marketing course, like the gym one, the one we talked about, coffee shop strategies in their daycare events, all that with detail and templates and PD files and also real life examples of me doing them.have a hidden camera, like on my pocket so you can hear me, do some of these and also on the phone. That's all in the ground marketing course, and I teach you exactly how to do that. So if you're interested, go into show notes below. Click on the first link in the show notes below. It's the ground marketing course, checkout.Everything that's in there. I continue to add to it. Every single month, we continue to add more and more to it. So you never left alone, right? But yeah, definitely go check that out the ground marketing course. you want much, much more help, more detail. Next episode we're gonna be discussing networking hacks for dental practices.So thank you so much for tuning in. I'll talk to you in the next episode.

I finally finished this goddamn Misfits project, so you won't have to hear about it anymore. (Unless something actually happens with it. 6% chance, hopefully the Bureau is understaffed…) I'd like to give most replies on Craigslist a Craigs-fist. The third favorite LA Fitness in 20 years is closing, because of course it is. A problem with my Harley that would only happen to me. Gene Hackman leaves us guessing, and stop bothering me about Epstein. Berenstein Bears Paradox: “homeless people are crazy” line, from Speed. I went to a Back To The Future event, and realized I'm so fucking old that half the things portended for the future IN sci fi movies are actually happening. (And much of it turned out to be pretty gay)

What We Cover In This Episode:  Why a strategic approach, not just "vibes," is essential for client experience and retention [0:27] What recent data is showing about customer retention and the importance of first impressions [2:50] The reasons that the first five seconds a client interacts with your studio is so critical, and what can do to ensure it's a positive experience [8:16] The “30-Second Hook Formula” you can use to guide them through the space, engage in conversation, and invite them to the next step [15:08] Tactics for enhancement, including why strategically placed mirrors will help boost confidence and familiarity for your new members [18:19] How to address any awkwardness clients may feel and create a welcoming environment for everyone [23:43] Quotes: “You should be following a formula on how to make people feel comfortable, but when you are a new customer in a business, it is all vibes. You know you get that ick feeling, and once you get that ick feeling, it is really hard to shake it.” [Nick, 1:20] “I cannot stress that enough, [that] you are a VIP expense, a VIP investment to these people, so you have to create a VIP experience. This is not group classes at the YMCA, this is not Group classes at LA Fitness. You are trying to prove that you are worth that top dollar, so you need to create that VIP experience.” [Nick, 6:45] “First impressions are not just important, they are everything….your studio should feel like home within the first 30 seconds of someone walking in the door, [and] I'd argue even less.” [Nick, 25:19]   LINKS:  Customer Experience is Everything (PwC report) Learn More About All of Our Partners & Get Exclusive Offers Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here!  fitDEGREE's Business Portal https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support  support@fitDEGREE.com https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/ ​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/  https://www.fitdegree.com/blog  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree  

Welcome to Episode 210 of Pelo Buddy TV, an unofficial Peloton podcast & Peloton news show. This week we cover the following topics: Peloton has teased that Kettlebell classes are on the way. Peloton has a new partnership with LA Fitness, and Adrian hosted an event to launch it. The Peloton App can now show, and let you set, your pace targets for running classes. Susie Chan will teach the second live 2 hour run in March. Both PSNY & PSL will close for a week this spring for maintenance. There are new Strength+ programs from Andy Speer & Joslyn Thompson Rule. There is a new featured artist series with Kirk Franklin. This Week at Peloton post highlights a few classes. Peloton is working on fixing a bug related to time-based challenges. The 2025 Peloton x NBA Ambassadors were announced. Most Peloton hardware is discounted for a Presidents Day sale. Peloton instructors are teaching classes at the lululemon GlowUp Studio event. Tunde Oyeneyin has an event in Florida. Robin Arzon's cookbook will come out next year. Alex Karwoski will teach running/walking classes on Tread. Mariana Fernandez was on The Allie G show. Chelsea Jackson Roberts was on Everyday Better. Rebecca Kennedy is in Well+Good. Selena Samuela was on Golf Yourself Happy. Peloton held a listening party with Jason Mraz. Class Picks of the Week Enjoy the show? Become a Pelo Buddy TV Supporter!  Find details here: https://www.pelobuddy.com/membership-account/membership-levels/ You can find links to full articles on each of these topics from the episode page here: https://www.pelobuddy.com/pelo-buddy-tv-episode-211/ The show is also available via YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PeloBuddy This episode is hosted by Amanda Segal (#Seglo3) and John Prewtt (#Kenny_Bania).

Send us a text*DISCUSSION TOPICS*Is Peloton about to drop Kettlebell classes???Is Peloton about to raise subscription prices???They're charging for Peloton @ LA Fitness???Tammy's tread repairs!!!Do we care that Danielle's Eagles won the Super Bowl?AJ Marathon update!Alex Breanne Corporation update!Peloton instructors teaching at Lululemon's GlowUp event!Anthony Mackie Superhero class w/ Alex Toussaint!Kirk Franklin artist series!Class Recommendations!

On this episode of TMZ Live: Wendy Williams fires back at her guardianship attorney for comments about her mental state, Yvette Nicole Brown joins 'TMZ Live' and says celebrities performing at Inauguration are cosigning Trump's views, Justin Baldoni speaks on how he's holding up amid legal battle with Blake Lively, and Tekashi 6ix9ine files lawsuit against LA Fitness over brutal gym beatdown." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tired of the NBA? We are too! This week, we dive into the dumpster fire that is the current state of the NBA. From Jimmy Butler's antics to the Sixers' LA Fitness squad and the league's obsession with three-pointers, we hold nothing back. Plus, Adam Silver is on our hit list for ruining the game with his streaming obsession!But fear not, football fans, because the NFL playoffs are heating up! We break down all the divisional round matchups, including:•Can the Texans pull off a miracle upset against the well-rested Chiefs?•Will the Commanders shock the world (again) and send the Lions home heartbroken?•Will Jalen Hurts step up his game as the Eagles face a tough test against the Rams?•Get ready for a slobberknocker as Lamar Jackson and the Ravens head to Buffalo for a rematch against Josh Allen and the Bills!We've got bold predictions, hot takes, and of course, our signature unfiltered commentary. Tune in for an episode that's guaranteed to be more entertaining than the Pro Bowl!Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What's going on Family! This episode of the podcast I'm going over: A.O.E (Align Our Energy): - Thomas Jefferson's quote: "If you want something you've never had, You must be willing to do something you've never done." Sports: Sunday NFL Recap Best & Worst Things I saw from Sunday Play Implication Mondays heat up! Can Washington stand the heat!?

JLP Fri 10-11-24 // Raising $100,000. Donate to BOND https://rebuildingtheman.com/donate/ Call 1-800-411-BOND (2663) Check/money order: BOND, PO Box 35090, Los Angeles, CA 90035 // Hr 1 "Southern Food Heritage." Anaheim homeless ban. Calls: Know God? Drop morals. Doubt thoughts. // Hr 2 DOJ sues LA Fitness: handicapped "discrimination." Calls, Supers. Dead friend's mom? Hell of a date! // Hr 3 TikToker, murder suspect. Calls: U.S.A. white natives! Real Jews. Love. Don't argue. Prayer. // Biblical Question: When was the last time you had a real conversation with another human being? TIMESTAMPS (0:00:00) HOUR 1 (0:04:51) Express Yourself Friday (0:06:08) Mexican lady at the gym (0:08:08) Southern Food Heritage Day (0:14:03) Homeless selfishness: Anaheim bans sleeping on sidewalks (0:21:58) STANLEY, CO: Believe in God, know Him? Doubt imagination. Parents… (0:31:55) Announcements: Raise money (0:35:43) STANLEY: Not ready to know God? Drop morals. (0:39:13) ROB, AL, 1st: Lies that blacks believed (0:41:30) Civil Rights, the worst (0:42:43) PETER, DE: Bible reference. Thoughts misguide you. (0:55:00) NEWS: Milton damage. Nobel prize. Trump-Kamala-Obama. (1:00:55) HOUR 2 (1:04:28) LA Fitness vs DOJ, Discrimination, Imagination. Evil. Nick? (1:18:08) RON, TX: Abbott vs Trump wall. BHI… (1:27:08) JASON? Supers… (1:31:23) Wall goin' up… Donate to BOND… Supers: FE vs Hake (1:40:08) ERIC, MO: Friend died, his b-day for his mom? Live now. (1:51:22) DENNY, Bulgaria: Dated a Christian lady: Will you obey? (1:55:00) NEWS: Tourist mine accident. Meat recall: Listeria. RIP Ethel Kennedy. (2:00:55) HOUR 3 (2:03:57) TikToker allegedly killed therapist (2:08:33) THOMAS, MI: Aryan Brotherhood, Native whites, Begging! (2:21:38) ARI, Canada: BHI vs real Jews. BQ (2:26:38) HANK, CA, 1st: Love. Kamala, blacks. (2:31:33) Announcements (2:36:27) GEROME, NJ, 1st: White people's country? No opinions. (2:42:27) Supers… 100,000 (2:48:33) MYISHA, TX: Don't argue with mother. BHI dad. Prayer. Son's father. (2:56:12) Closing

In this episode of 'That Queer Fitness Podcast,' co-hosts Lizzy and Rya discuss the ins and outs of choosing the right gym membership. They share their experiences and considerations surrounding different gyms, covering aspects like cost, equipment, location, and amenities. Gyms highlighted include Planet Fitness, Gold's Gym, LA Fitness, Anytime Fitness, and Orange Theory. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatqueerfitnesspodcast/   Follow us on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thatqueerfitnesspodcast  Music by: Kelsi CreekWebsite: https://kelsimusic.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelsicreek  Music mixing and mastering by: https://www.fiverr.com/onedayclint  Logo by: https://www.fiverr.com/juugend  00:00 Introduction 01:57 Choosing a Gym Membership04:37 Gym Equipment and Amenities09:35 Local vs. Big Box Gyms11:19 Navigating Gym Sales Tactics15:50 Exploring Popular Gym Chains22:58 LA Fitness 25:13 Anytime Fitness29:39 Orange Theory: Class-Based Fitness32:29 Choosing the Right Gym for You33:53 Personal Gym Experiences and Closing Thoughts

Another lovely Monthly Cooldown for you, my dear friends. This week Joseph gives his final thoughts on Dead Dead Demon's De De De De Destruction (that is the real title) and Arsene almost gets scammed again. It is what it is, baybee! -------  #FKM Discord https://playerplayerpod.com/discord Website http://playerplayerpod.com/ Twitter https://twitter.com/playerplayerpod Intro Music Provided by Aaron Miller https://www.instagram.com/themillerchild Joseph https://twitter.com/th3hoopman Arsene https://twitter.com/paxarsenica

BUY OUR MERCH HEREhttp://thegardenstate.comJoin the mail bag by leaving a voicemail at: 908-67-9999-3Welcome back to The Garden State, the only NJ podcast that gives you all the news you need to know this week. Thanks for tuning in once again and for supporting the podcast. If you're enjoying the show, make sure to leave us a review! We love reading those!Follow us on all our socials to keep up to date with that and everything else happening. https://linktr.ee/thegardenstate

Are you a gym owner or manager looking to improve conversions from prospects to members, member satisfaction, employee retention, innovation and profitability? Many fitness podcasts focus solely on lead generation, but we believe the real key to long-term success lies in effective leadership and reducing churn of both staff and members. Host Justin "JT" Tamsett, a leader in the global fitness and wellness culture, brings you actionable advice from multiple industry experts in each episode. With over 1 million downloads, this podcast offers brilliant strategies to overcome challenges in the fitness industry today. Whether you run a big-box gym or boutique studio, this podcast is your lifeline to hands-on experience. Educate yourself today on how to hit record sales numbers, boost member retention, build a high-performing team, and skyrocket your revenue through strong leadership. Listen and subscribe now! Join our email list. Join the Fitness Business Podcast community. Q: Is this podcast right for me?A: The podcast is for independent, chain and franchise owners, managers and department managers ready to be the best: Planet Fitness, LA Fitness, Equinox, Anytime Fitness, PureGym, David Lloyd Leisure, Virgin Active, Snap Fitness, Crunch Fitness, F45, Pure Barre, Barry's Bootcamp, SoulCycle, Psycle, The Movement Nation, and much more. Q: How often are new episodes released? A: New episodes drop twice a month, delivering valuable education to help you grow your fitness business. Q: What can I expect to learn from the show this season? A: Expect to learn about building strong communities, boosting member retention, creating a better employee experience, and navigating the future of fitness. Q: Who are your sponsors? A: This show is supported by REX Roundtables and Active Management. About Your Host: Justin “JT” Tamsett is a seasoned fitness industry veteran and passionate advocate for promoting physical activity. His mission is to reduce the health care costs across the globe by having more people move and move more often.  JT's hope is that his daughter Zoe can grow up in a world full of opportunity rather than one where governments and communities don't have the burden of an ageing and sickening population. With over 30 years of experience, JT has owned gyms, coached fitness classes, and now specialises in business coaching for fitness entrepreneurs.  Through his company, Active Management, JT provides guidance and support to gym owners worldwide, empowering them to build successful businesses and contribute to a healthier society. He also leads 8 REX Roundtables in the US and Australia, spoken at over 40 conferences in 23 countries, and consulted with gyms worldwide. JT's commitment to improving health extends beyond his professional endeavours, as he has also dedicated himself to coaching various sports and actively participates in industry organisations.

When was the last time you went on vacation without your kids? There's a lot of people who haven't been in years! It is National Radio Day! What's your earliest memory of the radio? We have a missed encounters at a LA Fitness and the guy says he's in love.. let's help him find his girl!  It's the first week for college students... how are you feeling? 

When was the last time you went on vacation without your kids? There's a lot of people who haven't been in years! It is National Radio Day! What's your earliest memory of the radio? We have a missed encounters at a LA Fitness and the guy says he's in love.. let's help him find his girl!  It's the first week for college students... how are you feeling? 

Life is sweet for Preston Brown. He's happy now.The middle linebacker who roamed NFL defenses from 2014- ‘19 is living in Atlanta. He's engaged. He has two dogs. He still works out all of the time at his home gym. Brown is also a man who can finally take a deep breath and reflect on the high drama that is professional football. As always, Go Long subscribers are welcomed to join these Happy Hour podcasts and ask players anything you'd like.This episode, Brown dished on a wide, wide array of topics…* Schwartz to Rex to McDermott. The defense was always changing during Brown's time with the Buffalo Bills. He has stories to share on all the above. The NFL could feel like WWE with Rex Ryan.* Did Mario Williams really quit on the 2015 Bills team? What made those ‘15 and ‘16 defenses so chaotic under Rex? Everything has to be perfect in this scheme. * Hell no, Donnie Henderson, he will not get you Krispy Kreme donuts in Canada. * To this day, Preston Brown wants to slap Odell Beckham. Seriously. He explains. * Off to the Bengals, he completely lost his zest for the sport and became a person he could not recognize. An extremely angry, agitated person. * You want to stay on Vontaze Burfict's good side. * Petermania. Believe it or not, Brown agreed with the team's decision to start rookie Nathan Peterman over Tyrod Taylor. Next, came an all-time disaster. * “$500 per pound.” Brown takes listeners through the manic race to shed weight ahead of a Friday weigh-in. Locals might've seen him at LA Fitness in Orchard Park, NY. You can access video/audio to this episode above and everyone where you pod, including Apple, Spotify and YouTube. Is there a player you're dying to shoot the bull with on a Happy Hour? Let me know at golongtd@gmail.com. New to Go Long? We'd love to have you join our community. Meet fans from around the world.Happy Hour Replays:* Alex Green* Week 18 Preview HH* "The McDermott Problem"* Steve Calhoun* John Hansen* Andrew Brandt* Peter King* Warren Moon* Isaiah McKenzie* Bob McGinn* Rob Johnson* Jamal Lewis* T.J. Lang* Jamaal Williams* Stevie Johnson* Richie Incognito* Wyatt Teller* Doug Whaley* Isaiah Likely* Stevie Johnson* Eric Wood* LeRoy Butler* Bob McGinn & Jim Monos* Quincy Avery* Erik Kramer* Frank Winters* Olin Kreutz* Peter King* Johnathan Franklin* Steve Calhoun* Jim Monos* Jace Sternberger* Doug Whaley* Isaiah McKenzie* Andy Janovich* Vince Williams* Ryan Leaf & Steve Tasker* Joshua Harris* D'Wayne Eskridge* Allen Robinson This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.golongtd.com/subscribe

A Daily Move Swiftly Thought, in which I speak on a "scavenger hunt," that a former employer had me do at LA Fitness, so I'd learn everything that the facility had to offer. MakeYaMove.com D1transfer.com AswandC.com

In this week's episode, we dive into all things happening in the news. First up, we dissect the shocking controversy surrounding South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's defense of her controversial act. Then, join us as we explore the saga of Arian's attempt to cancel his LA Fitness membership—spoiler alert: he is NOT happy with them. Plus, Big T breaks down the NFL Draft drama, including his passionate rant about why he's not a fan of the Falcons' Micheal Penix Jr. pick and what he thinks will happen with Kirk Cousins. But perhaps the most intriguing segment of all awaits: the unveiling of the new age death calculator. Tune in as we unravel the mysteries behind this innovative tool and explore its implications for the future. (00:02:26) Kristi Noem Defends Killing Her Dog (00:26:46) LA Fitness (00:32:35) Big T on the NFL Draft (00:41:59) NHL Playoffs (01:00:00) Death CalculatorYou can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/macrodosing

Welcome to another exciting episode of DaDojo Podcast! In this episode, we dive deep into the world of Nigerian gangs, exploring their origins, operations, and impact on society. But that's not all! We also discuss basketball sensation Caitlin Clark and debate whether she's on her way to becoming the GOAT. Then, we switch gears and imagine how NBA superstar LeBron James would fare in the chaotic world of LA Fitness basketball. Would he dominate, or would the unorthodox playstyle drive him crazy? Lastly, we tackle a question that's been on everyone's mind: Should you confess your love to your friend? It's a dilemma that many face, and we're here to dissect the pros and cons. Don't miss this jam-packed episode of DaDojo Podcast, where we cover everything from sports to personal dilemmas. Hit the subscribe button, leave a like, and drop your thoughts in the comments below. Let's get the conversation started! Contact us at dadojoproduction@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senseink/ #DaDojoPodcast #NigerianGangs #CaitlinClark #LeBronJames #LoveConfession #Basketball --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/senseink/message

We're joined by Dru Montana to discuss pipe babies, squirting moms, and heated LA Fitness basketball games. Listen to Dru's podcast, Durag and the Deertag. Join us at Patreon.com/dadmeatpodcast for part 2 of this episode. Pay whatever you want to become a Patron. See Tim do stand up live: https://linktr.ee/timbutterly See Mike do stand up live in Boston & Chicago: https://linktr.ee/MikeRainey82 Check out Tim's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@TimButterly for live streams and his killer new project, Field Trippin', which you can also support at Patreon.com/fieldtrippin Buy Mike's book at OnPercs.com/store Go to Patreon.com/lilstinkers for the best murder/Impractical Jokers-themed podcast out there Go to UseJoyMode.com to get 20% off and free shipping of their performance booster with code FATBIRD at checkout.  Upgrade your wardrobe and get up to 25% off @trueclassic at https://www.trueclassictees.com/FATBIRD ! #trueclassicpod Go to KushLifeStore.com and use promo code KushLife15 to get 15% off your first order.

Fairytale castles and graveyards, a walking ghost steals an ambulance, The Hotel California sets a new kinda trap, a rocket launcher in a sedan, why stab someone in the back when you can stab them in the butt?, and a very sad girl scout. Subscribe to Tenderfoot+ for daily ad-free listening - https://tenderfoot.tv/plus/ Follow This Day in Crime on Social X: @tenderfootTV, @thisdayincrime_ IG: @tenderfoot.tv, @thisdayincrime Episode Sources: Michigan man admits to attacking 2 US tourists, killing 1, near famous German castle, Fox News Welcome to the 'Hotel California' case: The trial over handwritten lyrics to an Eagles classic, ABC News Eagles' Don Henley targeted by collectors in brazen scheme to sell frontman his own stolen, handwritten ‘Hotel California' lyrics: prosecutors, NY Post Checking Into the Eagles' ‘Hotel California' Criminal Trial, Vulture ATF called after Massachusetts police find rocket launcher in hotel parking lot, Fox News Rocket launcher, cocaine found during search of ‘suspicious' car, Sutton police say, Boston Army rocket launcher, drugs found in car outside Massachusetts hotel, police say, WCVB Passenger in I-66 crash that injured 5 on the loose after stealing ambulance, WUSA 9 Virginia hospital patient steals ambulance after walking out in medical gown, IV in arm: police, Fox News South Carolina woman running late drives through cemetery for a shortcut, damages graves, Fox News Woman runs over graveyard because she was 'late for an appointment', The Express Texas man stabbed at LA Fitness in dispute over leg press, police say: 'Who else wants some?', Fox News Texas Girl Scout troop robbed while selling cookies in front of Walmart: video, Fox News Man steals from Girl Scout while she was selling cookies in Fort Worth: Police, NBCDFW To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Biggest Stream with BizzJustBizz Stan Da Man Trigger Alert Tour Tickets Link uglymoneytour.com https://vinoshipper.com/shop/shoe_cra... Discount code "UME" Merch https://shopuglymoney.com/ Steaming Rumble- https://rumble.com/account/channel/li... KICK - https://kick.com/uglymoneytv Twitch -   / uglymoneytv   Facebook - Uglymoneyniche Follow the Ugly Money team: Follow Ugly Money Niche -   / uglymoneyniche   Follow Stan Da Man-   / darealstandaman   Follow Slump -   / slumpsterverse   Follow Bizz -   / bizzjustchill   --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/uglymoneypodcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/uglymoneypodcast/support

‍Have you been searching for a consistent flow of patients to your practice? Ground marketing to local grocery stores may be just what you need. Dive into this episode where I share a detailed guideline on how you can approach Trader Joe's for a ground-breaking opportunity. I stress the significance of integrating dental services with Trader Joe's core values, advocating for staff well-being, and championing community engagement.Learn how to engage with Trader Joe's staff - from store managers to frontline workers - with confidence, and pitch exclusive dental care benefits that are sure to capture their interest. I unveil the importance of preparing effective phone scripts and in-person pitches that are straight to the point yet personable. Admittedly, you may encounter some tough questions and objections along the way, but fear not, with the right preparation, you'll be equipped to counter them with ease and gain the traction you seek. This episode not only stresses the art of conversation, but also the essence of internal team alignment, ensuring that your dental practice is primed for success. By the end of the episode, you'll appreciate the immense benefits this unique partnership with Trader Joe's can bring to your practice and the community at large.What You'll Learn in This Episode:How to approach Trader Joe's for a unique partnership opportunityCrafting effective phone and in-person scriptsPreparation to anticipate potential objections or questionsThe importance of internal team alignmentThe benefits your dental practice and community could reap from this innovative ventureJoin us in this episode as we explore the exciting realm of innovative partnerships and deliberate on how your dental practice can leverage such opportunities with establishments like Trader Joe's.‍‍Learn More About the Ground Marketing Course Here:Website: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/the-ground-marketing-course-open-enrollment/‍Other Mentions and Links:‍Software/Services:ZoomEstablishments/Brands:AmazonTrader Joe'sLA FitnessOrangetheory FitnessCold Stone CreameryBaskin-RobbinsOrganizations:YMCA‍‍Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]‍p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.‍‍‍

On this topical show, Crystal welcomes Renton City Councilmember Carmen Rivera and Raise the Wage Renton Steering Committee member Maria Abando to learn more about the upcoming citizen initiative on the February 13th special election ballot. Modeled after the successful Raise the Wage Tukwila initiative that passed with over 80% of the vote in 2022, community organizers in Renton are campaigning to raise their city's minimum wage to keep up with surrounding cities like SeaTac, Tukwila, and Seattle. Maria and Carmen discuss how the ability to earn a living wage uplifts everyone, the signature gathering learning curve their coalition experienced, and the reaction - both positive and negative - to the effort. With ballots arriving in mailboxes this week and a well-funded opposition materializing, Maria and Carmen share how folks can get involved and help their campaign across the finish line. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii, find Maria Abando at @maria_abando, Councilmember Carmen Rivera at @riveraforrenton, and the Raise the Wage Renton campaign at @RTWRenton.   Resources Raise the Wage Renton   Donate to the Raise the Wage Renton campaign   City of Renton Initiative Measure No. 23-02 | King County Elections “Minimum Wage Initiative Launches in Renton, Builds Off Successes in South King County” by Christopher Randels from The Urbanist   “Renton $19 minimum wage measure qualifies for February special election” by Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks from The Seattle Times   “Renton City Council Rejects $19 Minimum Wage but the Fight Continues” by Hannah Krieg from The Stranger   “Renton voters to decide on city's minimum wage increase in February” by Bailey Josie from The Renton Reporter   “Renton residents, city leaders weigh in on raising minimum wage to at least $19” by KIRO 7 News Staff   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday week-in-review show and our Tuesday topical show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. I'm really excited about today's conversation with folks from the Raise the Wage Renton campaign. Today, I'm being joined by Renton City Councilmember Carmen Rivera. Hey, Carmen. [00:01:05] Councilmember Carmen Rivera: Hey, how you doing? [00:01:07] Crystal Fincher: Doing well. And also Maria Abando on the Raise the Wage Renton Steering Committee. Hey. [00:01:14] Maria Abando: What's up? What's up? [00:01:16] Crystal Fincher: So I am so thrilled to have this conversation. We have previously talked about other minimum wage increase campaigns. We eagerly spoke with, and then followed, and then celebrated the success of the Raise the Wage Tukwila campaign from last year. Last year, 2022? One of those years - time is weird for me these days. But now Renton is up to the plate. And so starting off, I just want to start with why this issue is so important - how did this even become an issue in Renton in the first place? - starting with Carmen. [00:01:52] Councilmember Carmen Rivera: Thank you so much for having us on and sharing the space with us. This was born actually from a coalition of organizers and labor union workers that really found that there was a need in Renton. When you think about Renton, you may not fully understand or know that she is 60% non-white, she is the fourth largest city in King County, the eighth largest city in Washington state. We have about 21% of our population at or below two times the poverty level, 8% at or below the poverty level. And almost half of our city are renters, with the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment at about $2,195. And so - yeah, yeah. We're right there on par with Seattle, so invite me back when you want to talk about tenant rights and tenant protections in Renton - because we do not have any more than what the state allows. We do not have any increases, and so that's another aspect of this that - happy to talk more on. But all that intertwines with having a livable wage - something that makes it just a little bit easier for people to not only just survive in Renton, but thrive. And so when organizers came to me in January of 2023, they presented this initiative that was pretty much a copy-and-paste from Tukwila. And we met and we spoke about it, and I didn't agree initially with all aspects of the initiative. However, organizers felt very passionate about it - they did some outreach. They stuck with what they had and they started gathering signatures. And I felt that it was important for me to use my position and my platform to endorse and support their campaign and help get the message out there. Because this represents not only over 6,000 workers who live and work in Renton, but 50,000 who also commute into Renton, the 45,000 who commute out of Renton - possibly to chase higher wages. So there is a lot going on here and a lot of people who can be directly and indirectly impacted by just increasing the minimum wage by a few dollars, so people can have a little bit more of a cushion. And I think Maria can really speak more to the coalition and the grassroots organizers who are really leading this initiative across King County where it's most needed - because we saw in a report from The Seattle Times in June of 2023, that you need to be making close to $30 an hour to afford to live in King County. And that isn't exempt in South King County, where we're a very diverse city and some people are just surviving barely. [00:04:16] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Now, Maria, what brought you to this work, and why was this so important to address right now? [00:04:24] Maria Abando: Yeah, yeah. So I was one of those organizers that came to Carmen asking for her to endorse and join us as well. But really, I feel like the origins of this campaign are really community, you know, that there's no other way to put it. And I think it really was community that was continuing to do the work post the Tukwila campaign with Transit Riders Union and also with the Stephanie Gallardo campaign - the Gallardo campaign for Congress in 2022 in Washington's 9th Congressional District, where we did end up doing work in Renton and across South King County. And so genuinely, a lot of those same folks from TRU, from the Gallardo campaign, recognized that we - regardless, temporary campaigns, they end. But when you do have true community-based organizing, this ensures that once those temporary campaigns are over, the movements continue, right? And in those campaigns - these were movements where we're talking about uplifting the oppressed, uplifting the poor, the working class people. And in general, I think, reminding our communities how powerful we are when we come together and fight together for a more just world - whatever that looks like, and particularly here in Renton - raising the wages. So it's a lot of those same organizers - myself, Guillermo Zazueta, who's chairing the campaign, Bailey Medilo, Aram Balsafi, Michael Westgaard, even some of our same volunteers and our canvass hosts - Christina Mann and Ben Warden - and so on and so on. I wish I could name more. But I do think that it's important to uplift those names because we are a community, right? It's not just Carmen, it's not just myself - there's so many of us working behind the scenes. And there are a lot of folks from those previous campaigns that happened to call Renton their home. And so after those campaigns were over, we knew we wanted to pivot, attempt to do this type of work in Renton, and started to begin really filling out our leadership and filling out our volunteers from Renton residents - because we knew we had to make a really intentional effort to make sure that Renton residents were the ones that were the leading voices, and everyone else just comes in and supports. But we all also, I think, have felt really inspired. We know that we are walking in the path that has been paved before us with the - of course, 2015 historic victories in SeaTac becoming the first city in the U.S. to adopt a $15 minimum wage. And of course, Seattle following suit after that. And it was 2022 - of course, Tukwila passing their ordinance mandating a $19 minimum wage after that as well. And, oh my gosh, being able to receive over 80% of the vote, which, again, incredible. And then there's more happening, right? There have been efforts in Burien. I know that last year, King County councilmembers were proposing a near identical $19 minimum wage for unincorporated King County. So all of this is, I think, coming to a point in terms of why is this important, right? Again, it's about uplifting the poor and uplifting the working class - and everyone else who benefits from that. But also, I think if we're zooming out and looking at this regionally - thinking about what happens to the neighboring cities, to the neighboring towns, to those neighboring suburbs when one major city raises their wages significantly, right? And the answer to that, I think, is that the region must follow. So Carmen speaking to the ways that there are thousands of folks that commute out in order to chase those higher wages. So your highways, your transit systems - they're flooded with people flocking to chase those higher wages. We know that what ends up happening when you end up commuting to work in a different city with higher wages - you also end up spending your money in that other city as well, instead of the city where you live. Because you're maybe getting your coffee, maybe getting some food, maybe hanging out afterwards in that city. Or you're just losing a lot of time - people commuting an hour to work and commuting an hour back, which could be time spent with family or doing things that you care about. And we also know, and I can say personally from my perspective as a Black and Filipino woman, that Black and brown folks are often the ones that are in these surrounding cities and towns because of gentrification. And Carmen has uplifted that Renton is very diverse - it is a majority-minority place. And so we know, keeping all of those things in mind, that this is something that uplifts everybody. When Renton workers are able to earn a living wage, everyone benefits - and especially folks that are having to commute, especially folks that are really struggling to make those ends meet. And putting more money in folks' pockets to be able to spend that money on basic necessities like childcare, healthcare - and are in general less likely to miss rental payments and less likely to be able to lose stable housing. So I think all this is really, really important. [00:09:55] Crystal Fincher: It's super important, and especially as wages haven't kept up with just about anything over time. But my goodness, the cost of housing is just out of control and has been out of reach for someone making minimum wage. And that is just fundamentally not the kind of community that we want to build. It's not what we think of when we think of "the American dream." It's not what we think of when we think of - Hey, get a job, work hard, and you'll be able to support yourself. You should be able to do that - that's what giving up your time and labor should be able to provide. And it used to, and it doesn't now. We've got to get that back to the right place. Now, I want to talk about what this initiative does. Reading from the ballot text - this proposed ordinance requires employers to pay a minimum wage based on that established by the City of Tukwila - which we just talked about raised their minimum wage. Offer additional hours to existing part-time employees before hiring new employees or subcontracted services - which is something that many cities and states have moved to, something that just makes a lot of sense and is more fair for workers. To not retaliate against employees exercising rights created by the ordinance and comply with administrative requirements. If enacted, the ordinance cannot be repealed without voter approval. And so this is for the February 13th election, a special election date. So make sure people are ready for that February 13th election. You will get a clue when you get your ballots in the mail, which will be mailed on January 24th. You can register to vote online. You can register online up until February 5th. You can register up until Election Day - even on Election Day - at the County Elections Office in Renton, up until February 13th, the date of the election. So you said this was largely based off of Tukwila's initiative - it refers to that in the ballot text. When putting this together, was it looking at - Tukwila and Renton seem to be pretty similar, this meets the needs. Were there any conversations about things specifically for Renton? How was this initiative put together, and how is it decided what was needed for Renton? [00:12:13] Maria Abando: So we definitely ended up working hand-in-hand with Katie and Artie from Transit Riders Union to see what was successful and to see what wasn't successful - for the most part, though, they were just successful with their campaign. And we did think about Renton and we were really recognizing that it's a very different place. Tukwila was fairly small. Renton has, I believe, over 60,000 just workers themselves that would be impacted by this - it's a lot bigger. It has some waterfront property kind of neighborhoods within the Kennydale area. It has The Landing, of course, which is a major shopping center where many, many folks come - not just from Renton, but from outside Renton as well - to be able to shop and spend money. And so we were really trying, I think, to do our best to recognize that because it was so much bigger and because the communities, I think, are - I wouldn't say more diverse than Tukwila, but just fairly expansive, there's just a lot there in Renton - that we wanted to talk to as many people as possible and grow a coalition with as many people as we possibly could. And so we really started with really working with our councilmember, Carmen Rivera, as much as we could. But also reaching out to as many labor unions as we could. We were really proud to get the very early endorsement from the Renton Education Association, which is our teacher's union. And then many unions followed suit - UAW 4121, UFCW 3000, the Teamsters, the MLK Labor Council, to name a few, and just so on and so on - and to ask their Renton members as well, what types of things are they looking for? What types of things that they foresee? What types of challenges might they foresee? And everyone was really communicative with us, which - we really appreciate it. And I think we really started to try and figure out our strategy based off of what our community was saying and really trying to let those Rentonites lead. But I also will say we had to learn some of this stuff along the way, Crystal. We had to learn - I think we had a little bit more of learning what didn't work that hopefully can be used with other campaigns in the future, because we know this movement is going to keep on and keep on. One of the things that we learned, for example - this journey was a long one in terms of gathering signatures to be able to qualify for the ballot at all. And of course, we launched in January of 2023. And so here we are on the special election in February 2024. So we obviously shot our shot for November and we weren't able to qualify there, despite the fact that we did, in total, gather over 17,000 signatures, made over 50,000 door knock attempts, engaged over 150 volunteers, distributed nearly 12,000 campaign flyers, and even employed part-time canvassers and signature gatherers to be able to make all of this happen. What we learned was signature gathering in places like Renton that has a huge also community of unincorporated King County, that we were going to have to be a little bit more strategic about that because folks might have a Renton address, but that actually be in unincorporated King County. And so they actually can't sign those petition forms to be able to qualify for the ballot. And so we didn't know that. We were out there tabling in The Landing, doing what we need to do, trying to chat up all the people that were coming through and educate them on what we were trying to do. And the reception was really, really lovely. And people were signing. And we didn't realize that some of those Renton addresses were in unincorporated King County. So that was a hard lesson that we had to learn and recognize that our efforts are best spent at the doors, despite the fact that we would be able to get a lot more signatures doing tabling. We had to recognize that it's not about quantity, right? It's a quality thing. I think we felt a lot of urgency and had to check ourselves on our values - that it's not about the urgency of this so much as it's about really improving the conditions of workers in Renton. And so we had to hit those doors in the areas that we knew would be able to vote for this. We had to have those conversations with those folks - genuinely get their feedback - and also work with businesses as well. So we've had multiple business walks - walking to chat with the small businesses downtown - to also get their feedback and get what their thoughts and their support in this as well. So I think, in general - trying some things, realizing some things that didn't work, and just continuing to be flexible and stay really grounded in what we're trying to do here. [00:17:08] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Now, what has the reception been like, Carmen, from your colleagues on the council? [00:17:16] Councilmember Carmen Rivera: I'm so glad you asked me that, Crystal. It has been mixed, and I think that's very reflective of the Renton community. Our council is very reflective of Renton, and something that Maria lightly touched on was - and I'm going to say it a little bit more candidly - this is probably the most conservative city that these organizers have attempted to pass such an initiative. I could arguably say that Seattle, SeaTac, and Tukwila - at the time that these initiatives were passed - were less conservative. And that being said, we have an interesting mix in Renton. We have a very changing tide of new Rentonites, young families starting out here, diverse majority, people of color. And we also have a lot of people who have been here for generations. And we have a lot of history with Boeing - being the home of Boeing - and union workers and labor workers. And so, some of my councilmembers did not agree with more aspects of the ordinance than I, but I think that they had differing opinions and they felt it was more important to leave it to the voters to decide if we should be raising the minimum wage in a place like Renton, or if it's going to be something that we decide. And they felt it was more important for the voters to decide. [00:18:37] Crystal Fincher: Right, because there was an opportunity for the council to choose to enact this without this having to go to the voters. The council could have made this happen - certainly a number of residents were asking the council to do just that. Residents, organizations, some small businesses that we saw in the area saying - We don't need to go through the time and expense of an election, we can just make this happen when we know it's the right thing to do. The majority of the council opted not to do that, so it is going to residents. Maria, what has been the feedback that you've been receiving from residents and businesses in Renton? [00:19:12] Maria Abando: So we've had a lot of feedback, a lot of concerns - of course. As we've kind of touched on, things are really, really expensive. And whether that's rent, whether that's cost of your groceries, cost of your fuel, whatever - folks are really struggling to make ends meet. So it's no surprise that when we talk about raising the minimum wage, there are folks who would get concerned that this is just going to end up raising the costs of everything else. And the fact of the matter is that isn't true. We have seen that after SeaTac and Seattle raised their minimum wages years ago, the vast majority of businesses ended up doing just fine and didn't have to really raise prices too much, or have to hurt businesses or force them to close. Studies actually show that raising the minimum wage does benefit small businesses by doing lots of things like reducing employee turnover and absenteeism, because not as many folks are going out and chasing those higher wages. It increases worker productivity because workers are feeling good, earning a little more, feeling proud to work where they work because they're treated right. It puts money back into the local economy because it increases, for us as consumers, our purchasing power. You got a little bit more money to spend at the Renton farmer's market. You got a little more money to spend downtown in Renton businesses. And overall, just helps ensure that working families can afford to live in Renton. So I think there was some pushback around - Are things going to get more expensive? Is this going to hurt small businesses? And we know studies show that that's not the case. I also think that we have gotten some feedback at the doors where folks might say - Yeah, isn't raising wages something that our legislators are supposed to do? Our councilmembers - isn't that something they're supposed to do? Isn't that something that unions do? Like I'm part of a union, and unions are the ones who negotiate wages for me. So that's something that we've heard. And of course, of course, right - in a perfect world, yes, our councilmembers, our legislators would do this. We know that the fight for higher wages does need a multifaceted approach and is connected to so many other pushes. We do need unions to continue to be empowered to negotiate higher wages for workers. And again, that's why we're super proud to have the support - I named a few of the unions, but there are, I think, 15 endorsed local labor unions. And I didn't mention, but thank you, Carmen, including the Boeing Workers Union, which is IAM&AW 751. The healthcare workers unions, public school teachers unions - the Highline Education Association included. We saw 2023 being a strong year for labor and for labor unions - from Starbucks to the UW grad students and so on and so on. And so, yes, of course, we want unions to be able to do this. And that's why they are working in-hand with us as well to make sure that we hit this from a really multifaceted approach. And two, are our legislators supposed to be doing this? We've hit on this a little bit. Yes, our coalition did show up strong at a December 4th Renton City Council meeting asking our Renton City councilmembers to just pass this outright. We had done a small letter-writing campaign to them, and so we did get folks to send over a hundred letters to our Renton City councilmembers before that meeting that were asking them to pass this - many of them unique. And like you have hit on, Carmen was our lone supporter. There were others that - on the council - more conservative members that ended up speaking against it. One of the councilmembers, even before it got started - perhaps seeing the amount of people that showed up - made a proposal at the start of the campaign to reduce the amount of time that people that showed up could testify and could speak. That was tough to see. But after meeting with more councilmembers and continuing to uplift why this is important, we were proud to be able to get the endorsements of two more councilmembers after that - Kim-Khánh Văn and Ryan McIrvin. And so we can see that we are gaining steam. And even when we can't necessarily do this by city council, the people can coalesce and come together and raise wages ourselves. [00:23:37] Councilmember Carmen Rivera: And I do want to add that we got real direct feedback - part of the initiative, you have a position open up - you have to offer those hours of that position to any part-time employee before you hire a new employee to ensure that you are not taking advantage of your employees by only having them work part-time so you do not have to pay them benefits, which is a way that we've seen employees and part-time employees and minimum wage employees be exploited. And so that was one of the things, I think, a lot of feedback was given. And when you look at the money - and always follow the money - 60% of the City of Renton revenue comes from our business taxes and sales taxes. And so the business community has a very heavy influence in politics - understandably so - and especially organizations that might be a little biased when it comes to advocating for workers over business interests and, in my opinion, corporate greed. [00:24:33] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, certainly all feedback is welcome. Everyone in the community has a stake in this - whether they're an employer paying people, whether they're an employee, other people who live and work in the city, other organizations and entities. But it really is about how out of balance things have gotten. And being responsive to community needs - it is not easy to collect that amount of signatures. I think for people who are not acquainted with signature gathering, it's like - Oh, you know, you just need a few thousand signatures. 10,000- 20,000 - just as many people thought - just set up at The Landing, or go to Renton River Days, or do whatever you want to do - gather a bunch of signatures there. Those are the worst places to gather signatures when you're in a place, especially like Renton, that has a high volume of people commuting in and out to work, the high volume of people, like you talked about, living in unincorporated King County and not Renton proper - the municipal boundaries. So it does take going door-to-door, it does take a long concerted effort, and it does take legitimate interest from the residents in the city. And so to me, what was striking was to see how dismissive some councilmembers were to the residents of the city who didn't just sit at home and think - Ah, this would be good. But took a step to say - You know what? I actually want this to change. I believe this should change. I believe this specific policy should be enacted, and I'm willing to go this other route if the council doesn't enact it themselves. That, to me, should have been a sign to the council - okay, let's at least listen. Let's see if maybe there's something workable here that we can work with, even if there was a compromise, right? Some kind of responsiveness to the residents who live there. Unfortunately, we didn't see that. But there is an opportunity for the residents to do this themselves, which we've seen them do in other cities. And in other states, frankly - some southern states have raised their minimum wage in places that people consider to be really conservative, are saying it's in the community's interest to make sure that we aren't trapping people in poverty by enabling them to work without making a wage that can support the basics in our own community. Everyone loses when that happens. And so this is why I'm excited and gratified to see this happen and this step be taken in response to what the residents have asked for via petition. So now we're at the point where this is now a campaign. And a lot of times when campaigns happen and you're like - This is a good thing - especially when we're talking about issues impacting the business community, opposition occurs. Opposition appears. And that is what's happened here in Renton. So what have you seen with this opposition and how are you countering that, Carmen? [00:27:30] Councilmember Carmen Rivera: Yeah, it's been interesting to see the opposition pop up. It came very quickly and very swiftly. And this was something that we were afraid of and tried to anticipate when we wanted this to be adopted outright - and that was my argument. We saw in 2022 the lowest voter turnout since 1936 in recorded King County history - incredibly concerning because people are a little, I think, apathetic and tired around politics and who can blame them? And so when the opposition came - almost a week after the meeting where we decided to place this on the ballot - the Washington Hospitality Association, the Washington Retailers Association, the Seattle Hospitality for Progress, all tried to create a No-PAC to campaign against raising the minimum wage. And they have raised, I believe, close to $96,000 at this point. [00:28:25] Maria Abando: Seattle Hospitality for Progress itself dropped $20K at the start of the year, which is a whole thing. [00:28:30] Councilmember Carmen Rivera: And it's just happening so quickly - that's the other aspect of it. We've been working on this movement for a year. And in that time, we've raised maybe $75,000 in a year. And from organizers - no corporations - organizers and organizational groups that are about people and community and coalition building. And in a matter of days, almost $100,000 has been raised by these corporations. And mind you, these are the corporations that are going to be most directly impacted. How the ordinance reads - and this is not being advertised specifically by the Renton Chamber of Commerce, which is believed to be an apolitical organization. However, they've gotten very politically involved - the president and CEO has become one of the champions, again, in the No campaign - using her platform and privilege to actually spread misinformation and to fearmonger some of her small business owners and some of the members of her Chamber. There is no information being spread in the business community, sadly, that if you have fewer than 15 employees, you're entirely exempt from this initiative. This initiative will not apply to you if you have fewer than 15 employees. If you have anywhere between 15 and 499, it is more of a tiered-step system, where I believe it's $2 the first year and then $1 every year after that. And so there is a more understandable system there when you explain it like that. And the direct impact, which is why we have this No-PAC created, is going to be to Walmart, Home Depot, Applebee's, Red Robin, Topgolf, World Market, LA Fitness, Starbucks, McDonald's, Fred Meyer, Safeway, gas stations, Target - those are the individuals that we're asking to pay just a few more dollars so people can have a little bit more comfort to live. And so I want to ask voters, and even those who are campaigning against this initiative - the entire No-PAC - can you really look me in my eye and tell me that the person who makes your coffee in the morning, or the person that you order your food from, or the person who checks you out, or helps you out at putting stuff away at Walmart, or helps direct you at Home Depot, or is working at Fred Meyer - doesn't deserve a livable wage? And that is going to be an interesting conversation to have on January 31st when we actually are going to be debating this at Carco Theater in Renton. [00:30:49] Maria Abando: And many of those corporations are making record profits right now, and they can easily afford a modest wage increase for their lowest paid employees. I also have some questions and concerns about the Renton Chamber of Commerce spearheading a lot of this opposition work, because they are supposed to be an official 501c6 - nonpartisan, apolitical, receives public funds to be able to maintain operations - and being a top contributor to the No-PAC is concerning. And I'll be honest too - although I wasn't as super familiar with the Renton Chamber of Commerce when I was jumping into this, I am absolutely familiar with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Folks who have been around in Seattle labor conversations - the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber were the ones that filed that lawsuit against the JumpStart Tax in 2020. They were crying that the JumpStart Tax was taking away the right of residents to earn a living wage - so they do know the concept of what a living wage is, which is funny because the JumpStart taxes for qualifying businesses taxed 0.7% for every employee making over $150,000. So if you're telling me $150,000 of a salary is a living wage, then okay - say that then. And then I think it increased for employees that are going over $500,000. So these folks know what a living wage is, and they spread misinformation to protect their bottom lines. I also have to just shout out and appreciate the dope Hacks & Wonks episode at the end of last year that Shannon moderated with BJ Last and Amy Sundberg from Solidarity Budget - when they were highlighting, again, that it wasn't just back in 2020 that the Chamber was getting involved with this. The Chamber was still involved now - they called out how the Seattle Metro Chamber has still been trying to pause the JumpStart Tax. And I believe it was Shannon as well that reminded us all that 15% of the JumpStart Tax revenue is supposed to be going towards small businesses. So if the Chamber is supposed to be supporting small businesses, why are they trying to prevent that 15% from going to small businesses in support of them? The Seattle Hospitality for Progress - again, the group that dropped that $20,000 into this No-PAC at the beginning of the year - happens to share an office in the building and work, probably together, with the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Hospitality Association. So they want to spread misinformation and say that - Oh, you know, this whole initiative is folks coming out of the region coming to change the identity of Renton - which is a little bit of dog whistling, in my opinion - but also not being transparent of the fact that they are pouring in thousands from other cities to be able to try and stop this from happening, something that will deny the lowest wage workers a living wage and continue to place the burden on the lowest wage workers of Renton. [00:33:57] Councilmember Carmen Rivera: It's disappointing. I believe chamber of commerce organizations are important. I think they're a valuable part of the community. I think that there is a lot of potential when it comes to chamber of commerce because you do want a small business community that is thriving. And you want a small business community that can grow, and I appreciate that. It's really just unfortunate where you see certain biases and power plays being utilized. And that's really just doing a disservice to the community because a very new Renton, a growing type of Renton, is coming here. And I think they're very scared of that. I think it threatens what they believe to be kind of their way of life. And I think there's a lot of emotion at play in terms of who's supporting this initiative and who isn't. And I just want us to all be able to have a wholehearted conversation without emotions and feelings. [00:34:49] Maria Abando: And at the end of the day - regardless of the opposition - we are very, very positive, Crystal. We know that we have a really, really strong winning strategy. And that winning strategy is engaging community. At the doors - I mentioned some of the questions and the feedback, but I didn't mention how many people were just immediately so overwhelmingly supportive as well. Many people recognizing - yes, things are so expensive. And so, yes, we need this. I know people who are working low wage jobs and I know folks who could really use this. So we engage community. We engage our unions. We are going back and engaging our signature signers, since we did have so many of those folks sign and so many of those folks write letters and express support. We're, again, engaging those businesses. And finding ways to continue to register voters and expand the electorate so that we can just turn out the vote. So I think the opposition is going to opposition. And we're just going to continue to keep on marching, keep on pushing, and don't stop until we win a more livable wage for folks. [00:35:57] Councilmember Carmen Rivera: And I think you bring up a really good point, Maria - because what we've also seen in King County over the years is the more that there is a nasty No campaign, it actually gives more power to the initiative and the campaign that is happening. And we've seen kind of these hateful campaigns backfire. And that's really my hope - because we've been on the ground for over a year - meeting with residents, outreaching to community, working with workers and business owners and community organizers and unions to make sure that we can get this passed. Because I think if we can get this passed in Renton, we can see this passed in other South King County cities. And I think that is also what is scary to the Washington Hospitality Association, the Chamber, and this No-PAC - because this will signal a changing tide. [00:36:44] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, absolutely. I think the time is now. This is a really important and necessary thing to do for our communities. And hearing some of the opposition saying that this isn't the role of local government, but fighting against minimum wages overall - I think this has been said several times online - but that's basically their admission that they would be paying you less right now if they were legally allowed to. I don't think anyone thinks that's where we need to be. In this era where we are hearing of record profits - billion dollar profits - looking at CEO and executive compensation in the tens or hundreds of millions, the idea that raising the minimum wage - the wages of your lowest wage workers, and not all of your middle management, not your executive pay and compensation packages. Not any of that contributes to higher prices - when we've seen pay stagnate and prices climb anyway. So it really isn't an issue. This threat, I think, is losing teeth of - Well, if we raise low wage workers' wages, then things are going to get more expensive for you. Well, you haven't done that and things have gotten more expensive and now no one can afford it because wages are too low. So we really need to address this and we need to give people in communities power to buy from the businesses in their communities. What we see when lower wage workers make more is that has a direct and immediate impact on local businesses, on businesses inside that community - because now people do have the money to spend on it. So I'm eager to see this - looking forward to the remainder of the campaign. If people want to get involved in this campaign and help spread the word before the February 13th deadline for this election, how can they do so? [00:38:28] Maria Abando: Yes, so we definitely need people's support. We need folks to give what they can, especially volunteering. And so you can get involved at raisethewagerenton.org. Additionally, I would not be doing my due diligence if I did not come to all of y'all and remind everybody that these types of efforts do take funds. When we are up against large PACs that are being able to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, it makes it more important for us to be able to send out mailers and have yard signs. We are hoping to raise $10,000 before Election Day to help dispel some of the lies and the misinformation that the No-PAC are sending out and also just to uplift the coalition and uplift the positivity of what we're bringing. And so I really, really ask everybody to consider, if you can, to also donate. And you can do that at bit.ly - so it's short link bit.ly/GiveRTWR - and that RTWR is capitalized. So please, please, please, folks - regardless if you're in Renton or not, we really, really need and appreciate the support. I also just want to uplift just again from a personal standpoint that we're in a moment where we are seeing 67% of Black folks in Renton living in poverty. We are seeing 72% of Latino folks living in poverty as well. And so just again, the recognition that we are really working to uplift folks like this. This is not only a struggle for labor. This is a racial justice struggle. This is a struggle, in general, for anybody that is struggling right now. And so we are committed to standing and staying in this fight for the long run, regardless. We know that this campaign is going to end and we're going to keep on pushing. Even after this campaign is over, our PAC does not dissolve. We are going to continue to stay and continue to walk businesses, continue to educate folks on what they can do to support with implementation, what they can do next. Maybe we work with Carmen on tenants' rights. Maybe we continue to take what we've learned and see if we can support in the coalitions in other cities to be able to get this done. So really, this is not something that's going to be over in February. We need folks to sign up. We need folks to help us knock doors. We need folks, if you happen to be in a South King County city - that you're hoping to see this be implemented in your city as well - join now. Join now. Because community endures, and we're going to keep on going. [00:41:20] Councilmember Carmen Rivera: Absolutely. And I would also ask - what is really forgotten by people who only live in Renton and only have ever lived in Renton is that there are people who used to live in Renton who would like to move back to Renton. There are people who are only living outside of Renton temporarily - I lived in Seattle for a minute, I owned in Redmond for a hot second. And I wanted to also come back home to Renton. And I was privileged enough to be able to do so. Not everyone has that ability. And so I meet students, I meet young graduates. I meet people that are either from Renton, they lived in Renton for a minute, or they got priced out of Renton - they want to come back to Renton. And if you have any tie to Renton, if you know anybody in Renton - if you care about South King County - help us get out the vote. Please, I am begging of you, so we do not give this election up to the old Renton that does not want to include the new, diverse, forward-thinking, progressive Renton. I want to involve all Renton, and so I want to make sure all of Renton is going to be able to vote in February. So my ask is please text your friends, post on your TikTok, your Twitter, your Facebook, your MySpace, your Snapchat, your Instagram, whatever. Just get the vote or get the word out there that we need to vote and get those ballots in by February 13th if you live in incorporated Renton - please. Because what we've also seen is the Washington Hospitality Association has bragged on their podcast about pushing off the unincorporated King County raise the wage initiative that Girmay Zahilay introduced last year. And so we need to really combat, again, corporate greed, corporate PACs, the Washington Hospitality Association - and advocate for workers and those that really need this, because that's who I'm fighting for. [00:43:02] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Well, we will include links in our episode notes to the campaign and where people can get more information and get more involved. We thank you, Maria and Councilmember Carmen, for taking the time to help educate us about the Raise the Wage Renton campaign. Thanks so much. [00:43:21] Councilmember Carmen Rivera: Thank you. [00:43:22] Crystal Fincher: Thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks, which is produced by Shannon Cheng. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on every podcast service and app - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get the full versions of our Friday week-in-review shows and our Tuesday topical show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

Burnout is all too common among agency owners. We have big goals and want to grow and then scale. Yet, in the process, we often lose ourselves.On today's podcast, we have Beth Carr, CEO of Fortified Branding, to talk with us about how agency owners can mitigate and lessen burnout as they are scaling.Beth Carr, Messaging Architect, Brand Strategist, and StoryBrand Guide, has over 18 years of experience building brand systems at well-known companies such as Nestlè and LA Fitness to biotechs and Bay Area start-ups. She has helped brands engage their customers and grow millions in revenue, investments, and VC backing.Her boutique brand messaging and marketing agency, Fortified Branding, applies the power of design and the neuroscience of storytelling mixed with marketing strategies to empower founders and high-growth companies to tell a compelling brand narrative - both visually and verbally- so they can stand out in the sea of sameness and thrive.

5 years ago Scott Holiday made the move into real estate after 20 years in sales, 10 of which were as VP of Sales Operation for LA Fitness. Scott quickly became a top performer for Remax West Edmonton and was responsible for 50+ transactions per year. Scott's preferred niche is New Home Construction and is currently working with the top builder in western Canada. [PARTNER WITH US] Get instant 1-on-1 access to over 26 of the top agents in the country to help scale your business.

5 years ago Scott Holiday made the move into real estate after 20 years in sales, 10 of which were as VP of Sales Operation for LA Fitness. Scott quickly became a top performer for Remax West Edmonton and was responsible for 50+ transactions per year. Scott's preferred niche is New Home Construction and is currently working with the top builder in western Canada. [PARTNER WITH US] Get instant 1-on-1 access to over 26 of the top agents in the country to help scale your business.

5 years ago Scott Holiday made the move into real estate after 20 years in sales, 10 of which were as VP of Sales Operation for LA Fitness. Scott quickly became a top performer for Remax West Edmonton and was responsible for 50+ transactions per year. Scott's preferred niche is New Home Construction and is currently working with the top builder in western Canada. [PARTNER WITH US] Get instant 1-on-1 access to over 26 of the top agents in the country to help scale your business.

Last day of the 2023, many highs many lows. This first week of 2024 we welcome Jamal & Raymon to start the new year and it's always a pleasure conversing with these two gentlemen. 2023 vices: Gambling, Candy, Pre Workout...Organic relationships in terms of matchmaking, social media dating and AI wives.Them IG stories spread throughout the week with no interest in coming back to the gym. Lifters vs hoopers and LA fitness memories. The most anticipated Toronto trip story with the gang, ending with a chipped tooth. Lost but never forgotten

This week, in a departure from Upstream's usual format, Erik sits downs with friends Nick DeWilde, Sean Linehan, and Justin Mares to exchange startup ideas in a new format called "Request for Startups." Please note that this episode contains some vulgar humor and won't be for everyone. Make informed decision for high impact donations with GiveWell, which is offering Upstream listeners donation matching up to $100. To claim your match, go to www.givewell.org ➡️ pick “Podcast” and enter "Upstream with Erik Torenberg" at checkout. -- We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com. -- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Live Players with Samo Burja Join host Samo Burja and Erik Torenberg as they analyze the mindsets of today's most intriguing business leaders, investors, and innovators through the lens of their bold actions and contrarian worldviews. You'll come away with a deeper understanding of the development of technology, business, political power, culture and more. Listen to Live Players: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers. -- SPONSORS: Shopify | GiveWell Shopify: https://shopify.com/torenberg for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all ecommerce in the US. And Shopify's the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one ecommerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/torenberg. GiveWell: https://www.givewell.org/ Have you ever wondered where your donation could have the most impact? GiveWell has now spent over 15 years researching charitable organizations and only directs funding to the HIGHEST-IMPACT opportunities they've found in global health and poverty alleviation. Make informed decisions about high-impact giving. If you've never donated through GiveWell before, you can have your donation matched up to $100 before the end of the year, or as long as matching funds last. To claim your match, go to https://www.givewell.org/ and pick “Podcast” and enter "Upstream with Erik Torenberg" at checkout. -- X / TWITTER: @jwmares (Justin) @seanlinehan (Sean) @nick_dewilde (Nick) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @upstream__pod @turpentinemedia -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Preview (01:25) Intro (02:03) Fake jobs for rich families (06:59) Ending San Fransisco burglaries (10:50) Better prenups (13:13) Brunch x Benihana (15:44) Sponsors: Shopify | Givewell (19:40) Fit Club (24:40) Justin's story from being a janitor at LA Fitness (26:49) Generative AI applications (37:26) Holistic fertility treatment (42:31) Combining workspaces with other services (44:58) Retraining software engineers (47:15) Quora for people (49:57) Wrap -- Upstream is a production from Turpentine Producer: Sam Kaufman Editor: Graham Bessellieu For guest or sponsorship inquiries please contact Sam@turpentine.co

The locquacious Lukester is coming at ya, with a dramatic and action-packed two parter. Talk about a stocking stuffer!! LOLLL!!!!! We begin somewhat heavy with a dramatic child welfare incident outside of Gold's Gym Venice, where I desperatel wish the Punisher was real. I went to the "Roast Of LA" 'comedy' show with the mighty T Dog, and share my thoughts & observations on that. I ruminate on the politics of ATM card charges at mom & pop Los Angeles establishments. I lament the lack of portionality at Chipotle of late, and the unequitable charges for double meat. (Which now gives you the amount of meat/chicken you USED to get) Hear about the dramatic incident at LA Fitness, where a hapless fool threatened us all with a 2 ton leg press. I revisit Mission Impossible 4, Ghost Protocal, and the motion picture "K9" starring the quite tactless "not John Beushi." Finally, I recall the saga of my Sony studios FX3 adventure, starring rock star cinematographer Jacques Jouffret, and the the guy that directed "Lights Out," whuuuut!!

A Daily Move Swiftly Thought, in which I speak on the differences between the LA Fitness app, and the planet fitness app. Who is Aswand Cruickshank - MakeYaMove.com Book a Workshop - AswandC.com MoveSwiftly - Sports Marketing

Are you ready for a power-packed session that's all about empowering you as a personal trainer? Welcome back to the Show Up Fitness Podcast, where we're not just interested in helping you survive in the fitness industry, but thrive! We're serving up a hearty helping of practical knowledge and skills, from the importance of gaining experience and certification, to the realities of working in different types of gyms. Plus, we're unveiling our new clothing line, Show Up Athletics. It's all about leveling up and becoming the best in our field.But it's not just all work and no play. We're also talking about an exciting line-up of upcoming events, including the 12 days of "hunk miss", and our schedule for 2024. Get ready to flex those muscles as we hone in on the bicep femoris and unpack the mechanics of Jefferson deadlifts. Plus, we're delving into the serious topic of sarcopenic obesity and why empathy is vital when dealing with clients battling this health issue.In our final segment, we underscore the power of persistence and professionalism in reaching out to influencers or potential clients. We're sharing insider tips to avoid coming across as creepy or pushy, along with effective follow-up methods that could lead to successful collaborations. We're also doing a deep dive into the mindset trainers should adopt regarding their pay and opportunities, as well as the pitfalls of entitlement and victim mentality. So, if you're ready to take your fitness game to the next level, join us as we chart the path to success in the industry. Remember, it's all about having a winner's mindset and focusing on continuous learning and networking. Now, let's get our fitness on!Want to ask us a question? Email email info@showupfitness.com with the subject line PODCAST QUESTION to get your question answered live on the show! Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/showupfitnessinternship/?hl=enTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@showupfitnessinternshipWebsite: https://www.showupfitness.com/Become a Personal Trainer Book (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Personal-Trainer-Successful/dp/B08WS992F8Show Up Fitness Internship & CPT: https://online.showupfitness.com/pages/online-show-up?utm_term=show%20up%20fitnessNASM study guide: ...

Hosts Julie Slater and Jason Friday check in on the past couple of weeks…they have huge news: they joined a gym, watch out 2024!! How buying a gym membership can feel like buying a car (thanks LA Fitness manager)…how J&J are headed to Roatán on a cruise and how the heck do you pronounce that anyway…former guest Congo Lindais back in the Congo for 3 months…saying yes to something even when you're scared…Julie's “candle emergency”…they talk about a recipe on the internets: a candle made out of butter that's placed inside of a huge loaf of bread…Christmas shopping…all the facebook groups for Virgin Voyages…all the events that happen on the ship…upcoming guest next week: Talia Schlanger – former host of NPR's World Café and now a singer/songwriter/ musician with a new album coming out in Feb. 2024…how Talia left that cool World Café gig to live her dreams CUZ SHE HAD TO…our Spotify Wrapped stats: 85% of our listeners discovered us in 2023…people listen to the pod mostly in the U.S., Australia, Germany, and the Philippines…most shared pod #140 Jim and Sam – LA folk husband/wife duo…our streams are up 165%...we created 1.5K minutes of pod content…our #1 pod in 2023 was #117 – Ben Bridwell from Band of Horses…Our #2 pod was Dean Sharp – the House Whisperer! Follow @cuzihavetopodcast on Instagram for all the latest news. We'd love to hear from you - email us at: cuzihavetopodcast@gmail.com.  Find other episodes or leave us a voice message for the show on the anchor website. Thanks for tuning in! Keep on living those dreams, friends, CUZ YOU HAVE TO!! - jULIE AND jASON --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cuzihaveto/message

Neil (not so) Young. JFK hangover. Chocolate cookie grenade. "Welcome in," and "full stop." Divine interventions, and the LA Fitness girl. Things that aggravated me on other podcasts again: Theo Von, and The Opportunist. 

This week Laurie Kilmartin joins Laura House and the two L-s have perhaps the longest introductory conversation in Tiny Victories history about a subject that's super personal to both of them.And for anyone who's even thinking of challenging Laurie to a push-up contest, just don't. It's not worth it, man. Things You Should Stop Worrying About This WeekChevy Chase's thoughts about CommunityCommander's biting problemOur date for mass extinctionDo YOU have a tiny victory to share? Call the Tiny Victories Hotline: (323) 285-1675We want folks to share their tiny victories on our hotline because, frankly, we'll assume we're just talking into the void every week and nothing matters. Prove us wrong. Did you finally do that thing you were putting off? Tiny victory! Reconnect with someone you haven't been in touch with for ages? Victory! We only ask that you try to keep messages to under a minute so we're able to play it on the show.If you prefer, you can record a tiny victory on your phone and then email us the audio. Email: TinyVictories@maximumfun.orgHOW TO @ USTwitter@GetTinyPod@LAGurwitch@ImLauraHouse@Swish (producer Laura Swisher)Instagram@GetTinyPod

One-on-one episode recorded live and uncut from Atlanta. We chat about Hey Dude footwear, grasscutters, what the LA Fitness in Atlanta smells like, french fries at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills, Augustinus Bader, they clown in Philly, two back-to-back Uber drivers, well-and-ness, watching boxing on the phone, take your Tesla to prom, the hotel gym smelled like onion rings, and don't act like this is the first time Chris Brown beat somebody up while wearing roller skates. twitter.com/donetodeath twitter.com/themjeans 

YSL Mondo brings Bricc Baby to talk about YSL, Young Thug, the case, Peewee Longway, doing time, Wack100 and more. ----- 00:00 Intro 0:05 Mondo and Bricc Baby break down how they linked up in Atlanta through Peewee Longway 3:10 Mondo talks meeting Peewee Longway through Young Thug 6:40 Mondo speaks on his relationship with Young Thug, going to high school with Thug and his involvement in the creation of YSL 9:30 Bricc Baby and Mondo give their take on the term "Slime" and Mondo on when he realized Young Thug was going to be big 13:30 Mondo speaks on being in and out of jail while Young Thug was blowing up and always wanting to get on the road to get out of the hood 15:00 Mondo speaks on the bidding war for Young Thug, if he feels like Birdman was the best cosign at the time 17:50 Mondo gives his perspective on whether or not Young Thug stayed true to himself after all of the success 19:30 Mondo on Young Thug not even knowing a lot of the people on the indictment and says he doesn't have any control over what some are doing 22:00 Adam asks Mondo why he wasn't charged in the YSL RICO case and Mondo explains how it would have been a conflict of interest 25:00 Mondo on finding out about the RICO case through Instagram and if people think he's an informant 26:30 Mondo speaks on how he feels about some of the plea deals, Gunna's current situation and says Gunna folded on his man to save himself 30:40 Mondo and Bricc Baby give their take on YFN Lucci refusing to snitch and if Gunna would be redeemed if Young Thug came out and said he was solid 35:00 Mondo speaks on how close he was to Gunna, how they met and says Gunna knew what he was doing wasn't right 38:00 Mondo and Bricc Baby on YSL being a record label not a g*ng and Adam asks Mondo if the "YSTell" comments ever bother him 40:30 Mondo and Bricc Baby on the current culture of snitching in the rap game, how having a reputation in the streets is important to the fans and Bricc Baby speaks on the Boston Richey snitching situation 45:30 Mondo speaks on 1090 Jake snitching when he was younger and also in jail 48:30 Mondo and Bricc Baby react to Gunna's name being censored in a new Lil Keed song and speak on the YSL Woody situation 51:40 Mondo gives his predictions on how the YSL trial is going to go and says it's going to be longest trial ever in Fulton County 55:30 Bricc Baby says people need to give up the streets once you're famous and you have to be more strategic with how you move 58:10 Mondo and Bricc Baby react to 6ix9ine's LA Fitness incident 1:02:00 Bricc Baby asks how they feel about Wack100 supporting 6ix9ine after the beating 1:04:50 Adam asks if rappers needing a connection to the streets is on the way out in the industry 1:08:00 Bricc Baby and Mondo speak on the perception of unity in Atlanta 1:10:00 Mondo on wanting to be more consistent with his music and how he thinks Thug is going to feel when he comes home 1:12:20 Mondo describes his mental state while dealing with everything going on at the moment, if there's a system in place to keep YSL going if Thug has to go away for an extended period of time 1:19:00 Adam and Bricc Baby speak on Crip Mac coming home soon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holmberg's Morning Sickness - Friday March 24, 2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up as one of seven siblings with a single mom, resilience was instilled in Amoila Cesar from a young age. After moving to Los Angeles to get his start working in fitness, he worked at LA Fitness until going out on his own — taking on personal training clients as an independent trainer. That leap of faith changed everything for him. Now, he's leading hundreds of thousands on their fitness journeys, pushing people beyond what they thought possible and changing lives as a BODi Super Trainer. Plus, he still works one-on-one with professional athletes and A-list celebrities (including Two Chainz and Julius Randle among others). In today's episode, he talks about the challenges that came hand-in-hand with success, and how he prioritizes self-care today to be his best. SOCIAL@amoila_cesar@emilyabbate@hurdlepodcast OFFERSFUTURE | Head to www.TryFuture.com/Hurdle to get your first month of training for free.LMNT | Head to DrinkLMNT.com/Hurdle to get a free sample pack with your purchase Subscribe to the Weekly Hurdle ASK ME A QUESTION: Leave me a voice message, ask me a question, and it could be featured in an upcoming episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hurdle/message