Chasing BIG Goals - Part 2 | ETP220

ETP#220 is the part two follow-up to last week's episode, and this is the one we really wanted to get to. We ran out of road last week before doing CrossFit Pacific Beach any justice, so this episode picks right back up there and runs all the way through the rest of the arc: going online, the failed business that taught Bryan everything, the origins of Straker Nutrition, building Undefeated, and Aaron winning his pro card on the first try.

The throughline is the same as part one. Spotting the gap in the market before anyone else does, putting in the reps when no one's watching, leaning on the people around you, and making things so simple it'd be unreasonable to screw them up. A lot of what looks like luck in hindsight is really just opportunity meeting preparation, over and over again.

Before we get into it, Aaron's got some big news that we're both pretty fired up about.

Covered in this episode:

• Big news: a little baby Straker (a boy) is coming in December, and Bryan's headed to Steamboat to celebrate his wife's birthday, twelve years after the trip that made him want to move to the mountains in the first place
• Updates: new Paragon hypertrophy cycles starting 6/22 with the core challenge, and a reminder on Good Labs (code STRAKER for an additional 20% off the cheapest labs in the US)
• How CrossFit PB built its reputation as the gym where everyone was actually jacked, and why Bryan refused to just do CrossFit for the sake of CrossFit
• The first real business goal: getting to $35K a year each so they could quit their day jobs, and the absolutely brutal 5:30am-to-midnight grind it took to get there
• Sharing a wall with an urgent care, opening a second location as a safety net, then maxing out both
• When the love started fading: the CrossFit burnout, the animosity with Anders, the balloon rent payment, and the slow unwind
• Going online before it was a thing, building Evolved Training Systems, and spotting the price gap in the market
• The failed business (Active Traveler Network) and why underpricing the market and failing taught Bryan everything he needed to succeed later
• Jenny's "I'm not rolling any fucking dice, I'm making this happen" moment and how reframing it took failure off the table
• The COVID inflection point: dumbbell-only programs ready to go the day the world shut down, and why removing everyone's excuses produced better results
• The origin of Straker Nutrition: spotting the gap between female-led coaching and male bodybuilding prep, and serving the people in the middle
• Building Undefeated around equipment because bodybuilders build better gyms than businessmen do
• The pro card: going from "natural Aaron who said he'd never compete" to winning on his first attempt, the TRT goal physique that left him feeling empty, and the pressure Jackson put on him
• Structuring the prep like a pro, turning the brain off, and the "crack in the dam" philosophy
• Why posing is the worst, and using accountability to your circle as the thing that actually drives you
• Closing thoughts: don't fear failure, expand your network, and drop the ego that keeps you from hiring a coach

Timestamps: 00:00 Intro: Chasing Big Goals Part 2 00:55 Updates + Bryan's Big Party Weekend Recap 01:35 Steamboat Springs and the 12-Year Mountain Dream 03:15 Aaron's Big News + Good Labs Reminder 05:05 How CrossFit PB Differentiated on Training 06:50 Bodybuilding First, Metcon Second 11:25 The First Business Goal: Quitting the Day Jobs 13:30 Two Locations, the Urgent Care War, and Maxing Out 14:10 Falling Out of Love: Burnout and the Unwind 16:50 Going Online and Building Evolved 20:00 The Paragon Partnership and the COVID Surge 24:00 The Failed Business That Taught Him Everything 26:30 Jenny's "I'm Not Rolling Dice" Refra