On this date -- August 2, 1999 (a Monday) -- I gathered 5 people together at 5:30am on the campus of the University of Memphis to start the first boot camp fitness program in the South. We were 1 of only 5 such programs in the entire country, all run by veterans. I started this program, not as a business, but as a personal necessity. At the time, I was teaching high school history and coaching, working 14 or 15 hours a day, and had no time to workout; in the classroom by 7:15am and not leaving the campus until 9pm or later. That left me no time to exercise. The only time I had to exercise was going to have to be carved out of the early morning. And since I missed the camaraderie and fun of group exercise from my career in the Marine Corps, it just seemed like a natural thing to start a program similar to it, but without the haircuts and deployments! The success of that first month cant be overstated! We started with 5 people and by the end of that first month wed grown to 3. Well, crap. Maybe this wasnt such a good idea, I thought. But I was encouraged by several folks to stay the course and by the end of our 3rd year I quit my day job and started leading USMC Fitness Boot Camp full time. To those of you whove been on the Quarterdeck during these past 15 years -- and especially to you who continue to join me -- THANK YOU! Its been awesome!! Ive got the best job in the world and Im excited as we begin our 16th year together!
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 16:46:56 +0000
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