Creating a Community

We all want community. We all yearn for it. We need it. Whether it’s on the track, on the playing field, or on the battle space that we call the work place. We all want to be a part of something. It’s why we spend hours on social media, why we message friends with crazy cat videos and horrible boss memes. But what IS a community exactly?

According to the definition provided by the Oxford Dictionary, Community is defined as, “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common”. Yep, that’s it. Pretty sterile. Pretty boring. Based on this, I would definitely NOT want to be a part of this definition. There’s no depth to it. No life to it. That’s why we’re lucky that there’s a second definition included in the Oxford Dictionary and it goes a little something like this, Community, “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals”. Now, THAT’S what I’m talking about! When I think of community, that’s what I imagine. That’s what I want to be a part of.

A few days back, I had an interesting discussion with my wife, who works in advertising, where I was asking her for help in developing a marketing plan for a new line of graphic t-shirts that I designed (Yeah, I know, super-shameless plug/GO BUY MY T-SHIRTS!). Long story short, she was wondering why I was now selling t-shirts, when I started my business by developing fitness programs to help people who were trying to join the military. Her question was, “are you a t-shirt company now or a fitness company?” This was actually a great question because it was at that very moment that I realized that I had done a horrible job of telling her what it was that I was trying to create. I was trying to create a community. Where did I get this idea though? Ironically, I got it from another community. The surfing community.

So there is a surfboard and surfwear company that you may know of called O’Neill. It was started in 1952 by a gentleman named Jack O’Neill in his garage in California. This man and his company basically created, with the pioneers of the sport, what we know today as the surfing community. Everything about it was created and forged by this man and his friends. If you’ve ever gotten into the water in an O’Neill wetsuit, it’s because of this man. This is a long-lasting and sustaining community that has new members joining every single day. Not only that, but it has an orbital community of people who wear the shirts, the hats, and the sunglasses, just to ride the vibe. I don’t think Jack O’Neill could have ever imagined what he gave the world by helping to create this community.

Every year, after six months, at least 50% of the people who decided to better themselves and their health quit some type of fitness program. People who join a gym. People who by weight equipment for their home. People who pay for an app to give them workouts. At least 50% of people join a community and then after six months, decide to leave it. Some studies suggest the drop off at three months is even higher at 90%!

A lot of the reason for this is boredom and a decline in motivation. I think that this is a failure. Not a failure of those who set out on this path, but a failure of those who maintain it. A failure for all us who are strength coaches, fitness coaches, and personal trainers. A failure for all of us who consider ourselves to be members of the fitness community. We can do better. How? By fostering a better understanding for how difficult this journey is to begin. By being there when quitting becomes conceived of as an option by those who look up to us. By being leaders to newcomers into our community. Leaders who make themselves available and are willing to impart our knowledge and experience to help anyone get stronger, healthier, and more motivated to reach their goals.

In my head I have a vision. A vision of a HoneyBadger Community. A vision of a group of people who think that Professional Tactical Fitness is more than just being fit and being healthy. They think that it’s a lifestyle. That it’s a way to live. That it’s a way to see the world. To a person in the HoneyBadger Community an obstacle isn’t an impediment. It isn’t something to stop you. It’s a problem to solve. And, if it’s a nut that you can’t crack on your own, then someone in this Community is going to be on hand to give you the tools that you need to overcome it. That is what my vision is. That is what I want to be a part of. Not part of a group of selective YouTube/Social Media Vet Bro’s who are always the hero of their own story. I want to be a part of helping you make your own story.

Help me make that. Because to me, that’s what a community is. That’s what I want to be a part of.

Let’s all be HoneyBadgers.

Michael Sahno, MS APK, TSAC-F