American Ninja Warrior Alan Connealy
If you’ve never watched, American Ninja Warrior, you’re missing out on one of the most compelling athletic reality competitions on TV.
It brings together athletes from a variety of backgrounds to compete in the ultimate obstacle course competition.
People who do best are typically gymnasts, rock climbers, and Parkour enthusiasts. The courses require a combination of strength (especially upper body strength), agility, balance, and hand-eye coordination. In addition you have to be able to quickly assess a course and take the best approach to each obstacle.
The drama results from the diversity of backgrounds (race car driver, football player, bobsledder, rock climber, gymnast, etc.) along with the unpredictability of the courses. Even seasoned competitors can fall on an obstacle and end their quest early.
And at the end is the Vegas finals where they try to complete all the obstacles known as Mt. Midoriyama and this year win a million dollars. So far no one on the American course has completed all the obstacles at the Vegas finals.
Alan Connealy – American Ninja Warrior Competitor and Businessman
So how does Alan Connealy enter into this?
Well, after seeing the 2nd season of American Ninja Warrior I decided to take up an old man’s version of Parkour (good strength and agility training minus the flips). It was great to get into shape.
Then my kids started watching ANW with me and they wanted to do that too. So we would go to the park and play together. Climbing on the various obstacles, hopping over and balancing on railings, and running around together.
So after doing this for a year I asked myself, “Is there a Ninja Warrior or Parkour training facility anywhere local?”
Well as luck would have it, there was a gym nearby in Concord, California that housed both disciplines.
So I went there one day after work and checked it out. There I met Alan.
Apex Movement NorCal
Alan was a chiropractor who also owned the Apex Movement NorCal gym. When I signed in Alan was behind the counter and showed me how the gym worked and what I could do during the hour of Open Gym time. He looked familiar but I wasn’t sure why.
Later I was watching an episode of ANW are saw Alan competing. I thought, “I know that guy.”
So later I took my kids and Alan showed them around as well. He was very helpful and kind to my kids.
I tried climbing the infamous “Warped Wall”. I got about 3 feet from the top. Later that day Alan showed us how he gets up it. Three steps and vaults to the top. Wow, it was amazing. At that point you definitely understand there is a difference between the top competitors and an average Joe…
Although Alan uses the gym primarily as a way for him to train for American Ninja Warrior, and not for profit, he has some great business skills that are implemented there.
What You Can Learn From Alan about Business
Here’s a few of them.
- A great, positive attitude – makes people enjoy being at the gym
- A unique experience – there are no other gyms nearby that have the ANW obstacles (he even expanded into the adjacent warehouse bay to put in a full ANW set of obstacles in addition to the Parkour and general obstacles in the original one)
- He uses and understands strategic alliances – this gym was modeled after the original one in Colorado; he regularly trains with other high profile ANW competitors and does side-by-side competitions in his gym for people to watch.
- He creates a solid membership and achievement model to keep people coming back – whether it is summer camps, youth band system (qualification levels), Ninja Warrior and Little Ninja memberships, or regular competitions.
- He’s a model of success for his students – he is competing again in the 2015 ANW Series and just qualified 2nd in the latest first round qualifier in Venice, CA
- An awesome story – this year he was competing for his business partner who had competed in past years but couldn’t this year due to an injury
- Complete synergy between his various activities and business offerings – whether it is his ANW competition, gym, or chiropractic practice – all work well together
Check out these links for more information about his gym, him, and his chiropractic office.
How might you use some of these approaches in your business?
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