This Marine is 制造业 weights in the U.S.A.

Grant Broggi has been struggling right alongside many other small business owners due to the worldwide pandemic. 但可能有一个 big 不同之处在于:他是海军陆战队员.

Broggi打开 力量公司. in 2017 after receiving his Starting Strength Coach Certification in 2016. He opened his second gym location in southern California in January 2019 and was getting ready to open his third location when COVID-19 hit the United States, forcing business closures due to quarantine mandates. “I always thought if it [a pandemic] came, it would be bad. I also knew I had a responsibility to my coaches and the members…I’ve faced harder things than this, 但这是一个漫长而艰难的过程,他解释道.

Going through training within the Marine Corps definitely prepared Broggi for the pandemic. “In Marine Officer School the number one thing said is, ‘Make a decision, lieutenant!这可能是对或错，但你 有 做出决定，”他说. When the quarantine mandate came down, he didn’t simply close his doors and wait.

布罗吉立即行动起来.

“Any hesitation and you lost speed and tempo…I had a bunch of members but only 16 squat racks. 我在海军陆战队做过蹲架, so we started cranking those out and giving them out for free to members.” Broggi’s company also adapted and started offering online strength classes to keep their members engaged. But he wanted to do more and when he couldn’t get the equipment for them, 他决定自己做.

布罗吉的健身房开始了 制造业 会员衣架.

“我开始买钢，然后去找焊工. It was always very clear to me that it had to be done. The only way now it seems is to invest more and double down…People asked me why I was 制造业, 我会说人 需要 继续提升. I think it’s important for their survival and is good for them – especially now,布罗吉说. 力量公司.’s overall mission is to use barbell training to help people get strong for life – mentally and physically.

He credits his team for their strength as well, saying that because everyone truly follows the concept of strength for health and survival – they’ve been able to adapt and keep going in the midst of the pandemic.

“Now more than ever, people are dealing with adversity daily in their own homes and cities. There’s unrest in American cities that just blows my mind,他分享道. With the country beginning to feel the negative mental health effects of continued quarantine and social distancing measures, Broggi sees the negative impact it’s having every day. He continued, “It can’t be underplayed on how people are feeling. They are not prepared for this… When we get deployed, it’s what we signed up for and what we trained for. 人们没有受过这方面的训练. I think people just 需要ed leadership, they are scared. A lot of what we do is to try to bring positivity back,布罗吉说. Keeping people connected and engaged is difficult without the ability to open his gyms as the cases of COVID-19 continue to soar in California, but Broggi remains committed to finding ways to be innovative in helping people continue to train and build strength.

Sometimes Marines themselves 需要 a little strength coaching, too. Even with the Marine Corps having one of the toughest and longest basic training around, he said he was still surprised when he took leadership of his first group of Marines in 2012.

“I got my first unit in the Marine Corps…I remember looking at them the first time thinking, “你在开玩笑吧??’ Of course, Marines are scrappy no matter what – so I started coaching them. We had less people going to med or falling out on hikes and we had a more prepared unit by the end of it. 这真的引起了我的共鸣, that this [building strength] is preparing you for life or an uncertain event,他分享道. When he and his unit deployed to Afghanistan, they didn’t stop training either.

他们很有创意.

“We had weights on a wooden platform, it was very hodge-podge. We hung a big whiteboard and it had every Marine’s name on it. It’s not just about being competitive, it’s the achievement and hard work that matters,布罗吉说. When he returned stateside and went into the reserves, he knew he wanted to continue teaching and helping people develop their own strength.

Fast forward to now, owning two gyms during a global pandemic. Broggi continues to think and power forward like he was trained to as a Marine. 该公司不仅在生产蹲架, 长椅, deadlift mats and all American leather weightlifting belts, but now they are having ‘Made in USA’ cast iron Olympic weights being manufactured in Wisconsin.

“I think we are all cut from the same cloth in terms of the driving factor. 这就是我留在预备役的原因, it made me feel fulfilled even while launching the gyms,布罗吉说. He explained that most members of the Armed Forces seek that deep feeling of purpose and fulfilment. It’s something he hopes to bring to each of his gym members.

一次只锻炼一次.

To learn about the Starting Strength method and 力量公司.，看看他们的 网站.