It was November 2021 and the prior 3 months confirmed I was no longer fat, drunk and directionless in life.
I did my first 70.3, qualified for (and competed at) 70.3 Worlds and did my first Ironman.
I also sold my house in Philly so my wife and I could move to Boulder. I felt like a modern day cowboy headed west to conquer the frontier.
My 900 day journey from 70.3 signup to 70.3 starting line had become a 900 foot tidal wave that was eviscerating every “normal” aspect of the mundane life I was running from the whole time.
I went from…
gym bro to endurance champion
city living in Philly to mountain life in Boulder
9-5 cube job to remote work with an online side-hustle
For most of the journey, it felt like I’d never make the life breakthrough I was craving.
Then it felt like it happened overnight.
I Got A “Web Guy”
During those 3 months, I started working with my web guy Jeremy to build out the Tribal Training brand.
I had 4 online coaching clients and wanted to elevate my online operation from “coaching service” to “brand.”
I wanted a logo, website, merch and more. I wanted to be legit.
But I needed help.
At the time, Jeremy was a random dude I connected with on Twitter.
We were into some of the same things: internet biz, grass-fed beef, questioning the Gov in 2020… typical Twitter things.
He saw a tweet I posted on my goals for the brand and sent me this DM:
I was in.
Two Early Birds Share Worms
Here’s a lesson I learned in this process:
Two people who are just starting out can help lift each other up.
It’s easy to be a beginner creator (or beginner at anything) and crave connections with people who are well established in whatever industry.
But there’s an alternate approach you can take:
Connect with people at a similar level as you and work together to grow.
Tribal Brand Origins
Name:
I decided on the name Tribal Training for 2 reasons:
The “Tri” in Tribal fit into triathlon
“Tribal” was a nod to the life-changing diet evolutions I’d made doing my Carnivore vs. Plant Based diet challenge (resulting in eating more meat and real whole foods).
Logo:
Here’s where the axe logo came from:
I was inspired by Cam Hanes when I started endurance training.
“Keep Hammering” is his brand/tagline/hashtag and I’d see him use the hammer emoji on Instagram posts.
The day I got my bike, I posted a photo to Instagram with the hashtag #sharpentheaxe and an axe emoji.
I didn’t even know what it meant. It just sounded tough. And I wanted to be tougher.
Tagline:
Jeremy helped me pull out the themes of my endurance journey.
What was the transformation I’d gone through?
What were the steps along the way?
And it all became so simple.
I committed to a race. I paid the entry fee. I bought a bike.
I endured the obstacles along the way. The broken ankle. The pandemic.
And I ascended through it all. I had new priorities. I kept my word to myself. I built confidence.
“Commit. Endure. Ascend”
Mission:
There was a photo of me coming out of the water at Boulder 70.3 that captured my entire journey.
In that swim, my right goggle lens flooded the moment I got in the water. I was kicked in the face at the first turn.
But none of it mattered.
I never stopped to adjust myself. I just kept pushing.
And I came out of the water looking like this:
“Escape average. Become savage”
This “Tribal Origins” post is the first installment of me sharing essays from the Zion Book I’m writing.
I decided I’m not letting myself spend hours writing without publishing anything along the way.
Onward.
