Jed Rogers (00:00):
I appreciate you having me on man.
Sevan Matossian (00:02):
Oh, thank you for doing it. Bam. We’re live.
Jed Rogers (00:05):
Bam.
Sevan Matossian (00:06):
Uh, Amee. Is that like the horror movie cross it
Jed Rogers (00:10):
AIT, actually not like Amityville horror, a a meet a, I
Sevan Matossian (00:14):
Like an Indian guy went to elementary school. Hey, a meet. Let’s go play
Jed Rogers (00:18):
Kick’s I think it is part of Indian tribe. Um, I’m not sure. I know, uh, some of the local communities around us are, are, are from that, uh, from that area. So
Sevan Matossian (00:28):
I didn’t even mean that kind of Indian. I meant, um, dot, not feather.
Jed Rogers (00:32):
Oh, <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (00:34):
A meat. Yeah. A meat.
Jed Rogers (00:36):
A meat. Yeah. Suffice.
Sevan Matossian (00:38):
Yep. Um, where, what city are you in or what state are you in? So,
Jed Rogers (00:41):
So Louisiana, south Louisiana, we’re about, uh, an hour north new Orleans and about an hour, uh, north, uh, east of Baton Rouge,
Sevan Matossian (00:51):
Man, those are good people down there.
Jed Rogers (00:53):
We are. We are, yeah,
Sevan Matossian (00:55):
It, it, it’s a, uh, it’s a trip being raised in California and thinking about all this, just the way that, you know, you could, you stay in California, your whole life. And then you’re told that the south is a certain way and that California is different and that the north is different. And then you go down there and it’s nothing like it’s explained to you as a kid in California, it’s nothing so crazy. You never even seen people act like this towards each other until you go down there. And you’re like, wow,
Jed Rogers (01:23):
It’s a whole new world down here. Just like, it’s a whole new world, wherever else you go in, in the, in the country. But you know, the dynamic between California and Louisiana and especially the south is, uh, you know, on opposite ends of each spectrum. So, uh, we’re completely different down here. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (01:38):
I’ll give you an example. I went to a, um, so, so, and I didn’t leave home. I didn’t like I was well traveled, but like, I didn’t like really leave, leave until maybe like my twenties. And I remember I had a movie that I made and it was going to film festivals and I was somewhere in, um, Tennessee and I went to a nightclub and there were black and white people in the same night club, but the south was supposed to be racist. But where I come from from California and San Francisco, the black and white clubs were separated where it was supposed to
Jed Rogers (02:06):
Be, imagine
Sevan Matossian (02:07):
Where we were supposed to be open and welcoming.
Jed Rogers (02:09):
I imagine that dude. And so dude,
Sevan Matossian (02:12):
What the fuck is going on?
Jed Rogers (02:13):
It it’s, it’s people have such a false misconception of how we are down in the south. Yeah. We’re so integrated. Uh, you know, we, we, it it’s, it’s unbelievable how integrated we are and uh, I mean, you know, black and white couples are so common here it is. It’s we don’t even notice it. Um, so yeah, and a lot of people, if you, if you’ve never been down here, especially if you’ve never spent a whole lot of time here, it’s, uh, you, you you’ll be shocked at what you thought was true is not true. Uh, so, but yeah, we’re, we’re definitely, we’re definitely a well cultured group down here.
Sevan Matossian (02:45):
And, um, my, my, I I’m, uh, I come from a family of pretty like hardcore liberals, right? Yeah. Hardcore, you know? Okay. Go Hillary and my, my sister married, these fucking pieces, shit Republicans from Texas and we, and we go down there and the men stand up every time someone enters their fucking room. Mm-hmm <affirmative> yeah. And my mom’s blown away.
Jed Rogers (03:09):
Yeah. Oh yeah.
Sevan Matossian (03:09):
Yeah. Cause you won’t see that shit in California. She won’t use men. Ain’t standing up for nobody. Nope. And I was like, and everyone’s familial and everyone makes eye contact and everyone shakes your hand and I’m like, these Savage Republicans, they’re not
Jed Rogers (03:22):
Sage’s, they’re terrible. They’re terrible. I was like, we’re horrible. The hell is going on. We’re horrible. We’re
Sevan Matossian (03:27):
Horrible. It’s so different in California.
Jed Rogers (03:29):
Yeah, it is. It is. I, I, I spent some time there. I was stationed there. Well, not really stationed there, but I went there. I was in the Marine Corps for, for a while. So I, I spent some time out there and it, and it was, and I wasn’t aware, uh, politically aware, um, back then as much as I am now, um, you know, cause I joined the Marine Corps at a young, young age as you know, as a teenager. And um, so I was very unaware. Um, but it still, then it stuck out like a sore thumb, um, and even more so just
Sevan Matossian (03:55):
Because of how polite you were and familiar you were that as opposed to everyone in California’s kind of like more
Jed Rogers (04:01):
Yeah. That, yeah. And, um, you know, just, um, when you speak to someone, they, you know, I remember getting looked at like I was crazy, Hey, how you doing? And open the door for someone. I had a lady get offended that I opened the door for. She kinda looked at me like how I was crazy. And she said, I can handle a, the door with myself. I said, I’m sorry. Yes. Ma’am and yeah, it was ridiculous.
Sevan Matossian (04:22):
Uh, well, I’m, I’m thankful, even though I was raised like that, my mom did. Um, my mom did make sure maybe that was the arm in me, but, uh, once I started off as a young man, when women entered the room, you stand up and then I just integrated to anytime as the room show everyone, uh, equal respect, stand up, shake people’s hands, make eye contact hold
Jed Rogers (04:41):
Doors the first time, especially the first time meeting him. For sure. Yeah,
Sevan Matossian (04:44):
Yeah. Uh, uh, or, or just like really even my good friends. Right? Yeah. Like even my good friends stand up. Give, give, uh, that was one of the coolest things about working at CrossFit. Greg would all, if someone walked in the room, he would, he would stand up and hug them.
Jed Rogers (04:58):
Yeah. So a lot of people think Greg was like an asshole. Cause the only thing they see is what, you know, the, what he has on YouTube and his interviews. And I mean, he is, he is arrogant, but rightfully so. I mean, I, I love that about him, but he’s not the asshole in person that, that everyone, you know, portrayed him to be. Um, he was phenomenal. Um, I love him and I’m missing to be honest. So that’s
Sevan Matossian (05:18):
Very loving man. Yeah. A PHY physically loving to, to uh, to everyone like, yeah. Yeah. Cool. Hey, um, it’s funny you say that this is not how I thought the podcast was gonna start, but I, I was listening to the, to the, a little bit to the new CEO being interviewed by Stefan Roche. It’s a 20 minute video. I made it, I got, probably got like 15, 17 minutes through it. Sure. And the stuff he was saying, I, I don’t think it’s what the community needs. It’s
Jed Rogers (05:49):
It’s not, I haven’t seen that interview.
Sevan Matossian (05:50):
Okay.
Jed Rogers (05:51):
I haven’t seen it. I haven’t seen it yet.
Sevan Matossian (05:53):
He’s he comes across, uh, very polite, very kind, very interested in learning, very interested in being open, but it it’s how I feel about it’s. It’s how I feel about, um, politicians. Um, it’s it’s like a, when, uh, Elizabeth Warren said the majority, she was, uh that’s. Do you know who that is? Some politicians.
Jed Rogers (06:12):
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Sevan Matossian (06:13):
So she was saying that the majority of the country wants, um, wanted Roe versus way to stay in place and therefore it should stay in place. And I thought, wow, she doesn’t understand how the country works.
Jed Rogers (06:25):
She doesn’t,
Sevan Matossian (06:25):
She doesn’t, it has nothing to do with what the majority of the people want. Like the majority of the people in the country could wanna kill Jed Rogers because he wears yellow shirts, but our constitution protects us from doing absolutely. Even if it was 99% of us wanted to kill you, the constitutions to protect us from being animals. Animals.
Jed Rogers (06:40):
Yeah. Yeah. So, so you’re, you’re
Sevan Matossian (06:42):
Also, and I’m like, and I want a CEO like that. I want a CEO’s like, I don’t, I don’t give a fuck what the affiliates think. If they wanna sell candy bars, I’m here to protect the methodology until I die.
Jed Rogers (06:52):
That’s and you’re also, that’s also coming from a lady who claims she was Indian and she wasn’t Indian, so. Right. Um, yeah. So, but, but you point,
Sevan Matossian (06:59):
Well, it’s no big deal. Don’t worry, Jen, a little bit of lines. Okay. Don’t
Jed Rogers (07:02):
Worry. That’s that’s from the Democrat. Yes. What you did, but, uh, so the, the disappointing, if, if that’s the route that he’s taken, because as a, uh, as a Marine Corps, as a, as a Marine officer, as, uh, from, from my understanding he was a, uh, platoon commander, um, you know, it’s, um, it’s pretty disappointing that he’s taken, um, taking that road, uh, you know, of responsibility if, if that’s his agenda, but, you know, cuz and that’s one of the reasons why I got out the Marine Corps actually is because it was becoming, uh, too political, too soft, you know, for lack of a better word too soft, the, uh, intensity for which, uh, we enforced discipline. Um, and, um, vigilance, uh, was starting to fade away, uh, because towards the end of my career, in the Marine Corps, the, the war was starting to fade out, um, in the beginning and in the middle of my career, um, you know, the war was at its all time high.
Jed Rogers (07:52):
So we didn’t have time to focus on, uh, social constructs that are outside of, of the military now. And it seems like that’s, what’s happened and we’re in peace time now. So they have a lot more to fucking shit to do, uh, than focus on combat, um, or discipline. So we’ve gotta make sure that we’re accepted by society. So it seems like the military has became this huge social project that we have to integrate, uh, into. And, um, and you’re seeing that from its leaders when they eventually get out and how they run things and even in the military and then how they run things politically or, you know, in a, in a, in a business setting like the, the new CEO. And like I said, I haven’t seen his interview. So if that’s the, if that’s the, the, the, the route he’s taken, then that’s pretty disappointed.
Sevan Matossian (08:36):
And, and, and, and I don’t mean to, to adjust, come in and bag may, may maybe, um, it, it’s just a short interview. Uh, you know, I, I don’t wanna say that he should come in and, and be like, well, I don’t know. Maybe he should have come in and been like, Hey, I read the first 30 articles Greg wrote in the journal. I’m getting the fucking shit back on track. I, I wish this, some of you aren’t gonna like it. So get the fuck out. Like maybe, maybe that would’ve worked.
Jed Rogers (09:04):
<laugh> the, the, the road that Greg has been taking since 2001. Um, you know, I I’ve been in the game for a long time. And, um, I, the tenacity in which he steered this ship of, of fitness and how he took on, um, everything that was wrong about what we thought we knew about fitness. Uh, he was the spearhead of it, and we don’t see that we need a spear, we need a, we need a tip of the spear. We don’t have a tip of the spear. Now we don’t have a face, uh, the way Greg was. And, uh, it’s pretty disappointing. Um, you know, cause I, I, for one, miss him and a lot of new affiliate owners and a lot of new coaches, you know, is unfortunate. They really don’t know who he is unless they learn about him at the level one. But even then, um, of course I haven’t had a level one. I, I didn’t even resert. Um, I got, I reer at my level two, so I haven’t been to a level one in 12 years. And, um, so I don’t even know if they even mention his name anymore.
Sevan Matossian (09:55):
Um, well I think they do. Okay. I, I, I, I do. I do think they do. I think that, um, you, you know, even, even when I would interview, uh, a, during the games, I interviewed Adrian a bunch of times, half dozen times and, and the, the old guard is, uh, the true old guard doesn’t have any issues mentioned in his name. It’s not a political hot potato. Yeah. They’re okay. Yeah. And I think that they still, um, I think that the Hobarts and the malos, and then Nicole Carrolls.
Jed Rogers (10:24):
Yeah, thank God. They’re still there.
Sevan Matossian (10:25):
Yeah. And even, you know, even, uh, I don’t know this for a fact, but it sounds like even the guy who’s running the affiliate department, the Gary Gaines cat, it sounds like even he’s coming around, like he’s starting to get it. It’s hard to get, I, I, it’s a steep learning curve.
Jed Rogers (10:39):
Yeah. It is. It is. Um, he, uh, he, he, he had some big shoes. He left some big shoes to field. Um, he left some big shoes. He left his hand print everywhere and, um, you know, for a CEO to come in, uh, you know, and, and the credit to the new CEO we have now, that’s a, that’s a ballsy job to take, you know, that’s pretty, that’s how he has to be confident in his abilities. Um, so that says a lot about him as a leader is that he’s confident enough to, Hey, I can handle this multi-billion dollar industry with, you know, I don’t know we have 15 or somewhere around 15,000 affiliates now. Um, and, and the direction that we expect him to take. So that’s pretty ballsy of him to do that. So hopefully he, uh, hopefully he is up to par. Um, you don’t become a, a grunt platoon commander, uh, being a shit bag. So hopefully he carries some,
Sevan Matossian (11:25):
So he’s got great. He’s got good street cred with you.
Jed Rogers (11:27):
I, I think, I think so. I got, I’m gonna get him the benefit of the doubt because of, because of his, uh, because of his past and Marine Corps. Um, so, you know, hopefully he continues to, uh, float that
Sevan Matossian (11:37):
Cool, uh, Spiegel snatch $10. Thank you. Is Don foul, Eric Rose at 2.0, I guess only time will tell. I, I, I guess only time will tell the, the only thing is, is that people come into this company thinking that there’s something that they’re selling widgets, right? So like, Hey, let’s say me and you were selling candy bars and you’re like, Hey dude, red rappers sell better. I’ll be like, great. And I go, Hey, this shape sells better. You’re like, great. And we start putting together a product that we’re trying to trick people into buying instead of adding value to it. And that’s not how CrossFit works. We need someone just to protect the brand and the affiliates that are gonna fail are gonna fail. And the ones that are gonna succeed are gonna succeed. And that’s that.
Jed Rogers (12:17):
Yeah. And I, I think, um, you know, and, and, and like, I, again, going back to Greg, he was adamant about that. He was at the point where this is the hill that I die on. I would protect the methodology. I would protect my affiliates. Um, I will go broke before I throw up the white flag. And, uh, and everyone knew that everyone, you know, the, the NSEA the is S S C all those four letter, they, they knew they knew. Um, and, uh, you know, and they knew they were jumping into, um, when they, you know, got in the ring with him and, you know, his success rate for the lawsuits and, and the reason that he’s so successful too, because the, the, everything that he would put forth was correct. It was true scientific truth,
Sevan Matossian (12:59):
Proven information.
Jed Rogers (13:01):
True. And, uh, I mean, how do you fight that it was under, it was, it was, he didn’t make, he doesn’t make any money. Um, if I have 250 members in the gym, uh, the way NSEA, or is SD makes money from Coke, or, you know, any other of these sponsors that, I mean, there that’s, that was his big, that was, I think that was his last, um, his last big battle against, um, you know, the, the market was, uh, the soda industry. And I’m not sure if he’s still, I’m not sure if he’s still on that frontier or not, but, um, yeah. Yeah. So, you know, he didn’t have, he wasn’t making, he was making money from, you know, the affiliates and, and having 15,000 affiliates and whatever the company was
Sevan Matossian (13:38):
Worth, but, and the seminars
Jed Rogers (13:40):
In the seminars. Yeah. He, but he wasn’t making any money by telling me what I need to know and spreading out in town and getting my affiliate. I mean, getting my members in here, uh, uh, I could have 500 members and it didn’t, it didn’t raise his, uh, value at all. So he, he was genuine in what he did and everybody knew it. Um, he was confident what he did, and I, I hope, I hope we have a, a face that, that tries to match that. I don’t know if it’ll be able to, but I hope we have a face that does that.
Sevan Matossian (14:08):
He, he, towards the end and, and, and I’m totally open to being, having him come on the show and tell me, Hey, you’re fucking wrong. And I’m gonna see him later today. Maybe I’ll, I’ll run this by him. But towards the end, the last, I’d say 2000 17, 18, 19, he knew that there was nothing else he could do for the affiliates. So what he did is he put on his fucking hunting gear and he went out and started hunting for anyone who was a threat to the affiliates.
Jed Rogers (14:32):
And yeah. And he did that.
Sevan Matossian (14:34):
Yeah. And he did that. And, and not just to the affiliates, but to the industry as a whole. And not because like, he didn’t care if someone drank Coke, he people have it all wrong. He just didn’t want Coke involved in exercise science. He didn’t want, he didn’t want them absolutely bastardizing the science. That was it.
Jed Rogers (14:48):
Yeah, sure. I mean, it’s all over the university. You go to like LSU, Louisiana state university here in Baton Rouge is 45 minutes up the road. Um, and their sponsorship is part of, is Powerade and, you know, Powerades owned by Koch. So, you know, if in exercise his class, the minute they start, it’s all. If, if Koch is giving him millions of dollars, yeah. You’re, they’re, they’re not gonna, they’re not gonna preach, uh, a doctoring that tells or influences people to stay away from those sugary drinks they make. It is you can’t tell me that they don’t have their hand in the curriculum. Some, some way shape or form there’s too much money involved for them not to have their hand into it.
Sevan Matossian (15:25):
Right. And look who started, uh, are CrossFit Amity shirts available online for sale?
Jed Rogers (15:30):
Uh, yes. Uh, we, we post the links. We post the link every, um, every time we get new, new swag. So, uh, we just started a new Instagram page. Uh, uh,
Sevan Matossian (15:41):
I know only, only four posts.
Jed Rogers (15:44):
Yeah. So, so we had 4,000 people following us and we had like 200 and some, you know, several thousand posts. Um, we got compromised and for some reason, Instagram completely deleted, completely deleted our, um, completely deleted our page because we couldn’t be verified. Um, we got compromised and I’m not sure how that happened, but we’re ready to restructure. Anyway, we’re getting ready to move into a brand new facility. Uh, so we’re excited about kind of, you know, kind of re re you know, re-energizing, um, the gym and making a new post. And, um, so,
Sevan Matossian (16:19):
Um, yeah. It’s
Jed Rogers (16:19):
So old website. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (16:20):
When did you, when did you open the gym and, and why’d you open it? So 10 years, right?
Jed Rogers (16:25):
Yeah. 2013, uh, April, April this say coming April will be 10 years. So we’re pushing the 10 year mark. Um, congrats. Yeah, appreciate it. Yeah, appreciate it. Um, you know, I started CrossFit, uh, well, I found CrossFit around 2006. Uh, I was in new Arizona for, uh, WTI, uh, while I was in the Marine Corps and we took a trip to San what’s,
Sevan Matossian (16:44):
WTI, Jed
Jed Rogers (16:45):
Weapons, weapons, tactics, and instruction. Okay. Um, and it was just a part of training. Um, I was standard train that we do a couple times a year, um, in the Marine Corps. And, um, we took a trip to, uh, San Diego, um, before we headed back to North Carolina and, um, we were on the beach and I, for, for, for love me, I can’t remember the, this, this gym’s name. I seen some guys running with sandbags and, um, they were moving, they were running into this warehouse and, uh, I saw him doing some Berkeley box shops. I think it was Berkeley box shop overs. And, um, I, I noticed they had long hair, so I was like, okay, they’re not in the Marine Corps. So who are these cats that are doing this crazy stuff? What is it? I, at this point, I’ve never heard of CrossFit in my life. And I walked in and I said, Hey, you know, what is this stuff? And, uh, one of the coaches introduced me and I signed. I said, Hey, do you mind if I get a, you know, get a session in, I signed a waiver. And dude, literally within like four minutes, I was puking on the ground. I was puking on my shoulder. Cause I was laying on my back. I couldn’t roll over. I did not know what the hell hit me. And I was like, holy shit, what is this
Sevan Matossian (17:47):
Crap? How old were you?
Jed Rogers (17:48):
I was, was, uh, 19 at the time, I think 19, um, yeah, 19 or 20. And, um, all I could think of on my way home, I was telling my buddies that whatever we do, doesn’t ever make us feel this way, we’re doing something wrong. So we need to figure out how to start training like this. So, um, I was unaware that they had a.com website. So, um, I found that, um, not too long after, and I tried to do some of this stuff. We didn’t have a gym on base that allowed head bumper plates or anything like that. Cuz you know, CrossFit was still in its infancy, especially on the, on the east coast and even less so in the, um, in the, uh, in the military at this point. Um, so I did some of the stuff like more grunt work, things like sprinting and, you know, air squats and sandbag runs and stuff like that. But I really, really got into it on my final deployment. Um, in 2010, um, I really started to push it and then I got my certification, my L one right after that. Um, and uh, and decided, uh, to eventually open a gym, um, and opened up in my hometown because I saw a need for it. And, uh, here we are 10 years later
Sevan Matossian (18:59):
In 2010. Where were you deployed?
Jed Rogers (19:01):
Uh, Afghanistan. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (19:04):
And what, what, what equipment did you have access to there?
Jed Rogers (19:08):
So faithfully, we had a kick ass Sergeant major who loved to work out, um, uh, for the first three or four months of our deployment. We didn’t have much, we had a couple dumbbells and we had some, um, some tires, uh, but we didn’t have any barbells at the time. Um, and, um, I had a, uh, I had a UN I had a uncharacteristic deployment, most Marines deployed for eight or nine months. My deployment was 13 months. Um, so I was, I was able to work out towards the end when we finally got bumper plates and barbells, um, not sure where the equipment came from. Um, but, uh, we were able to start doing, uh, we followed.com, uh, the workout of the day, uh, from the.com website, which is, that’s what I, that’s the template that I followed for the longest time. Um, I still
Sevan Matossian (19:52):
Remember three on one off.
Jed Rogers (19:53):
Yeah, three on one off. I still remember Josh bridges doing Fran to a medicine ball. Um, you know, I remember when, and I remember when, um, Spieler got a hundred double under unbroken and every, the whole CrossFit community went crazy cause you got double up. So that was, that was pretty. That was, that was that’s funny. Um, so that’s when I started really getting into it and um, got home, got outta the Marine Corps off active duty and I stuck with it and um, you know, I saw a need in the community, uh, in my hometown, especially, especially in the south. And um, so I decided to step in that, uh, step in that pit and see if we can light a fire. So
Sevan Matossian (20:32):
How, why did you take your, um, L one, did the military provide it?
Jed Rogers (20:36):
No, they, I, I was unaware that they offered that. I remember Greg doing some things, uh, in camp Pendleton. I believe he did some L ones in camp print, camp Pendleton. Yep. Um, I tried to actually get over there and my, my, my Sergeant major was actually open to it when I asked him about it, but, um, that didn’t pan out. And um, so when I got out, I just decided to, to get it on my own dime and um, you know, I think, um, I can’t remember. I know Chuck Farwell was the flow master and um, I can’t remember who the other two coaches were, but I know Chuck was, so
Sevan Matossian (21:14):
It it’s, it’s, it’s a lot of money for a kid outta the military to spend
Jed Rogers (21:18):
It was. And I had save, well, you know, I deployed a lot. I was, I was operational for a long time and I deployed, deployed, deployed. So I had some money saved up. So at the time that grand, uh, it was a grand in, uh, still, I think it still is maybe it’s 1250 now, but it was a grand in, so it was a lot, uh, but I looked at it as a long term investment. Um, you know, and, um, I was so happy that I did it, um, especially back then, cuz we only had like 10 people, um, in, in our class maybe 10 or 15 people. So the coaching that, that we, we received from the, the, the, the flow master and the floor coaches was, uh, substantial, uh, the, the hands on the 1 0 1. Um, it was the practical application towards it was, was, was great. Um, and, uh, and I, you know, I hope it’s still like that today. Um, but I see pictures of 30 and 40 people in the L one class and I’m like, man, that’s rough. Um, that’s hard to do
Sevan Matossian (22:12):
You, you mean, what do you mean by that? You mean to teach that many people simultaneously
Jed Rogers (22:16):
Yes, yes. To make sure that each, each individual gets, you know, I really appreciated that, that, that small group, that, that 1 0 1 attention, yeah. That constant constant eyes on me all the time. I enjoyed that pressure. Um, cuz you had that kind of pressure in the Marine Corps, especially at my job and, and from my team that we had. Um, so when I didn’t mind that kind of pressure, um, and I really enjoy that. And when I did my level two, which is when I got in the level two as a coach’s prep course at the time, I even, it was even more so that way. And I, that was phenomenal
Sevan Matossian (22:49):
That that was a brutal course. That was brutal. That was the, um, that I think that, yeah, that was the one where they gave you the beat down. Not, not physical beat down, but the, the psychological one, that’s the one where they like fucking critique every fuck up of yours. Right. That one used to make people, a lot of people cry.
Jed Rogers (23:06):
I didn’t think, I honestly didn’t think that I was good enough to be a gym owner
Sevan Matossian (23:10):
<laugh> I didn’t
Jed Rogers (23:10):
Think that was gonna be, I was like, fuck, I, I
Sevan Matossian (23:12):
Can’t do this. I heard crazy stories about that.
Jed Rogers (23:14):
I can’t, I, it was. And, and I, the level two, I did ER, level two in, uh, Austin, Texas a couple years ago. Um, and it was great. It was phenomenal. The new, the new information that they kind of brought in was phenomenal. Um, but it was enough in compared to the coaches prep course, as far as the, uh, critique. I mean, they, I think they changed. They wanna make people in a sense kind of happy and, and, and feel, uh, fulfilled when they leave. Um, I did not feel like that when I left the coach’s prep course, I felt like I’m not even sure if I can be a gym. O I, I, I, I was so insecure when I left, but I was glad cuz it did it sharpened. It sharpened me big time. It sharpened my iron big time. So
Sevan Matossian (23:52):
Just so people know that’s how the L one team treats itself, each other too. The feedback inside of that seminar crew is Savage. Yeah. But they all, but they all handle it because they all just wanna be better. But even the best guys at the very top are getting critiqued by like, it’s just a, it’s a nonstop critique machine.
Jed Rogers (24:11):
And you, you can see that, you can see that by how they deliver the information on, in the courses, you can see that you can see even on.com or, or on YouTube on, on Instagram when Hobar excuse me or Nicole, Carol, or Farwell, or when they post something, the way they speak, the way they talk, the way they execute. You can tell that that, that drive to be, even though, you know, you’re not gonna be perfect. You still say, I don’t care. I’m I’m gonna be perfect. And if I’m yeah, so you can see that drive in all the level one seminar staff. Um, and it really is. If you, you can take it as far as you want to go. And if you wanna be a CrossFit coach, the information that is at our hands for free, essentially, um, you can take it as far as you want. And I don’t know of another certification process that can even match what we have
Sevan Matossian (25:04):
When, when we started CrossFit. It, it sounds like I started the same time you did, uh, 2005 or six. Um, all the, the, it was very obvious when you went on.com that the program was for people whose life depended by life. I mean, survival, the difference between being alive or dead the program was for anyone who felt that, um, being physically prepared could be the difference between life and death. So, um, yeah, firefighter needing to rescue a two babies out of a building quickly so that he doesn’t he’s strong enough to do it. Um, Marines who had to load up a truck full of fucking ammo quickly before the enemy came, um, police officer who had to run, uh, and resuscitate someone. It was all that’s everyone who is doing it. And then there were the rest of us who we did the program. Not because our jobs, not because we had those kind of jobs, but because we wanted your guys’ mojo, right? Yeah, yeah. It was the closest thing we could get to doing like boot camp or buds or any of that was CrossFit. And so we kind of hung out with you and it, what it did, is it assimilated, you know, I was raised to hate, um, first responders as a Democrat, you raised to hate first, even, even though it’s subliminal, you’re raised to hate first responders and, uh, military, but then people like me started assimilating with those people and like,
Sevan Matossian (26:26):
And falling in love with them.
Jed Rogers (26:27):
Yeah. Fall in love with
Sevan Matossian (26:28):
Them. I mean, and being thankful and appreciative that there’s people like that absolutely. That exist. And then eventually to now, or, or to just prior to Glassman, I’m selling the company, it had morphed to holy shit, these are the lifeboats.
Jed Rogers (26:43):
Yeah. We’re the, we’re the, we’re the, we’re the swim coaches. Yes. We’re the swim coaches. That’s what he used for,
Sevan Matossian (26:48):
For just survival in a world full of fucking Cheerios and, um, pop tarts.
Jed Rogers (26:52):
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And, and I eat pop tarts every once in a while, but, uh, uh, so, but yeah, so, you know, and that’s, that’s been the, that’s been the motto from, I spend the, kind of the, the, the message from day one. I don’t think it has really changed. Uh, I think now, um, I, fortunately in my community, I’m able to reach a lot of senior citizens. I have, uh, an abnormally amount of, uh, men and women that are over 50 in, in my facility. Uh, fortunately as compared to the gyms that are around bat Rouge, new Orleans, um, the local gyms around. So I’m, I’m thankful for that. And that’s a lot of that is due to, uh, my mom, she’s 61 now. Um, and she’s in, she’s been doing it, you know, since I’ve opened, um, and she’s in phenomenal shape and what her testimony and what people see that she’s able to do, that kind of influences ladies and men, her age to, to kind of ease in there.
Jed Rogers (27:52):
Um, and I’ve had to figure out a way to be more diverse in the way I coach and the way I program, because my demographic is smaller. Uh, my, my community’s smaller, so I can’t target the mid-level 20 to 28 year old fire breeders that, you know, just want to go hard every day. I have to, I have to be inclusive to everyone. I have to figure out how to make a program, how to coach a 60 year old, 60 year old. And I also have to figure out how to, uh, how to be attractive to the 18 year old athlete that could be going to college. Um, so that was a challenge in time for me, but now, you know, we have, I have a good team in place, um, and we have a good program set up. Um, and so, uh, now you see people who, firefighters, police officers, military police number, using CrossFit as a tactical application operationally, um, you see people having that same mindset says, Hey, I want to attack it to suck us down the nursing home. Um, and it’s, it’s, that’s where we’re at now. And, um, you know, I’m, I’m so happy and thankful for it, so,
Sevan Matossian (28:58):
And they can still be hardcore. My mom’s 78 or 79, she goes to CrossFit, uh, still, and, and they still do. You just flip a smaller tire. She still pushes the sled. She still has the rope. And she drags the sled. They still, they still like let you build that, that mentality. And, and I’ll tell you a lot of 78 year olds can’t walk around in my backyard, cuz they’ll trip into a go for hold they’ll trip over a hose. Not my fucking mom. She’ll be back there with the grandkids. Uh, absolutely. And it’s all because of CrossFit. My mom will start crying occasionally. She’s not like that. If I, if being so thankful that CrossFit got introduced into her life.
Jed Rogers (29:34):
Absolutely. And you know, when, when people see what my mom can do and other 50 year olds in the gym and 60 year olds in the gym, they’re like, like, oh my God, they’re so amazing. And to their credit, they are, they, they, they put in the work, they, they had the dedication, they had a persistence. Um, so yeah, they’re, they’re, they’re amazing, but they’re not doing, they’re
Sevan Matossian (29:51):
Not special. They’re amazing, but they’re not special. Yeah.
Jed Rogers (29:54):
Not special. They’re not doing anything that you can’t do. Right. Um, it may, you know, so, um, and we’re working.
The above transcript is generated using AI technology and therefore may contain errors.
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