The How and Why of Creating the Hanzo Brand
This is the story about me creating something out of thin air (creatio ex nihilio, means, created from nothing) and having the awareness of the art form that I would be teaching, writing and living.
Bruce Lee would have Jeet Kun Do, Ali would have the Ropadope, Hunter S. Thompson would have Gonzo and now it looks like I've got Hanzo. The common thread is that each individual took existing forms and deconstructed the rules. They mixed in their own art form and identity, so goes the Hanzo road.
The template being that you can create any outcome you want. The only rules that exist are the ones you think exist. Unlocking your deepest desires and dreams to achieve the unachievable.
So, let's start the wicked tale of Whoa! Let's look at my approach to building your ability and to becoming free in achieving whatever comes to mind. Now keep in mind, I am not good with timelines, but this savage tale of fun and fusion begins about 4 years ago in earnest?
Wanting to be in the personal training business, I was coming to the end; my passion was dissipating and I was on the verge of quitting all together. This had created burnout from me personally training too many clients and spending lots of hours on the road.
To my clients I was a psychologist as much as a fitness expert, not to mention I always thought outside the framework of fitness.
There was never, I said never, a client of mine that did not meet their goals. This was at the cost of myself, not yet understanding the concept of balance and leaving everything on the physical playing field. Clients became dependent and needy and like infants, always needing more.
At the time, one of my clients was the owner of a successful exercise equipment store, and to no surprise, he was one of the least motivated of all my clients (the man loved to eat). He was aware of my reputation in the Twin Cities, as "the Man"," if you will. So, he proposed a solution for my burnout. He wanted to take the best equipment made, Cybex, and the most successful trainer, me, and build the ultimate gym experience. Let me think...drive 2.5 miles to train people as apposed to 100 miles a day, make the same consistent money, pick my own hours, choose my days off, hire my own staff, and no responsibility for rent, utilities, etc...hmmm...
In a week moment I said yes to a one-year deal. I knew somehow that it would not be what I would do forever, "but", you know the old saying, "too good to be true", well, they say that for a reason. In short, I am about people and helping.
He was pretending to be a mini Donald Trump, one year to the day I resigned. I was out the door with no plan and no idea; I just knew that I would never again compromise myself for money and the security of a conventional gig. I did what I loved: training in health, martial arts, and choppers (but that's another story).
So... I did what came naturally; I collected my six most adventurous clients/students and opened my garage door for business. I started teaching my own special brand of training. The Inventory in my garage consisted of: one jump rope, one heavy bag, one weight bench, a set of power blocks, one custom chopper, and one stock Harley Davidson. The garage left me with a very short timeline to get somewhere fast (this is Minnesota). I networked, I read, I studied, and I thought outside the box (or garage).
It's important to note that doubt was not in my view. Failure was not an option here. I had bills and responsibilities, but compromise was just as unacceptable as doing something for a buck.
Building Blocks
Enter the advertisement in the Open U catalog of classes (extended classes at the University of Minnesota), a small add for a class called Qigong (never heard of it). "It" would turn out to be the smartest thing I ever spent $35 on.
The class was a three-hour introduction to an ancient form of Tai Chi and a martial arts approach to life. (This was a lesson; if you are awake, the road map always presents itself). Qigong hooked me right away and meeting the teacher, John DuCane, would be pivotal in the choices to come. Studying with John lead to Hanzo building block #2 (Qigong being building block #1).
Block #2 would be a guy named Pavel and his vocation with the esoteric Russian kettlebell. Wait! Back to John, it should be noted that I studied with him for three years and all of it invaluable to my Hanzo philosophy. John and I stay connected and talk at least every other week, I truly value his friendship and his input into my path.