THE THUMBS UP EMOJI

Allegiate officially opened the Gates of Strength on April 10th, 2017. As members and employees we now have a physical space to congregate, improve, develop, genuflect (look it up), challenge ourselves physically and mentally and – together – define what Allegiate is going to mean.  We’re nearing the half-year mark as a business and that means we have to do something official about it. So: we’re starting the blog. 

Now, I know that announcement might carry as much excitement as buttering your toast, but here’s why this is important. The written word is a cornerstone of how Allegiate went from a concept in our minds to a real thing. A physical place and a diehard, badass, ambitious community. By going back to that initial spark, we have the potential to tap into something bigger.

As the Allegiate story goes, two and a half years ago I started a blog on codyromness.com. It was a blog haphazardly writing about the connection between Strength Training and Success. Scientific hypothesis like thicker necks leading to bigger paychecks and strong backs building stronger minds. I shared my musings, writings and Hail-Mary connections on Facebook with no idea what the hell what would happen, but firmly believing, “you never know unless you put it out there.”

Steve Blackhart, co-founder of Allegiate and teammate at USC, was an avid reader of the blog. Post college, he was going through the pains of not having a place he loved to train, an engaging training program to follow, lack of results on his own, and a real coach who knew his shit. Professionally, Steve was in the industry of investing, buying, and selling companies. Allegiate as a concept was starting to burn for him, too.

Around the exact same time, T-BONE, co-founder of Allegiate, was head-strength-coaching his ass off at Army West Point. He helped spearhead Army to an explosive victory over Navy – for the first time in 15 years. But, ever passionate about the climb to the proverbial top, he had eyes on the horizon for his next professional challenge and opportunity. An opportunity to leverage his knowledge, passion, skill set, and potential to fundamentally shift the course of people’s lives for the better – through the Platform of Strength Training. 

Chalk it all up to timing, luck, potential, opportunity or a cocktail of all four but, Allegiate happened.

So what in the hell does this have to do with a Thumbs Up Emoji? 

Two weeks ago, Pyros Dimas – 3x Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting, widely considered one of the greatest Olympic Weightlifting champions of all time – followed Allegiate on Instagram, saw what we were about, and direct messaged us a Thumbs Up emoji.

So let us take this Thumbs Up Emoji, the modern day tip-of-the-cap, as a sign. A sign from the Champ to continue working, building, striving, challenging, and fighting to show up, day-after-day, week after week, in the pursuit of the marginal improvement that makes the difference.