How to Stand Out in a Fitness Revolution with Khalil Zahar: An EOFire Classic from 2021

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire. brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with great shows like the Gold Digger Podcast. Today, we're pulling a timeless EO Fire episode from the archives, so the giveaway may not be active, and we'll be breaking down how to stand out in a fitness revolution. To drop these value bombs, I brought Khalil Zahar into EO Fire Studios. Khalil is a top graduate of the Founder Institute and alumni of Y Combinator. He created a fight club from a desire to quantify his progress in the ring.

0:36Zahara has grown the venture into an expansive community, making boxing an accessible workout for everyone. In today's Fire Nation, we'll talk about how focusing on creating a product that you'll ship to users. It won't be as fun and glamorous, but there's more success to that. And it's not about being in the competition. It was more about the opportunity to be the first to bring people a connected experience at home and so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Khalil and our sponsors. Online Marketing Made Easy podcast, hosted by Amy Porterfield, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

1:10With a focus on online business, including digital courses, list building content, and more, Online Marketing Made Easy breaks down big ideas and strategies into actionable step-by-step processes. A recent episode that will help you get more results with a whole lot less stress is on four ways to avoid burnout. Listen to Online Marketing Made Easy wherever you get your podcasts. Leveraging fractional staffing might just be the key to unlocking growth for you and your business. Get started today with an exclusive offer from Belay. Download their latest resource, The Power of Productivity, for free.

1:42Just text FIRE to 55123. That's F-I-R-E to 55123 to get started. Khalil, say what's up to Fire Nation and what is something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with? Yeah, John, thanks a lot for having me. So my thing that I believe in that most people disagree with, and it's a little bit of a reverse, but I believe that a lot of people think you need to be special to make it to a very high success. And I really don't think that's the case at all. I believe that there's an entrepreneur into each and every single one of us. And that at the beginning, people think you're never going to make it.

2:35I think that's like across the board. Then as you start making some progress, I think that some people think you're lucky. They still doubt you, but they think you just found a bone. And then as you actually made it, then they look back and say he was actually special. I love that. That is fascinating, Fire Nation. Something to definitely sit down, absorb, digest, and think about in your situation. And today we'll be talking about how to stand out in a fitness revolution because we are part of a fitness revolution. I can tell you that right now. I mean, I've got a Peloton in my gym right here.

3:13I'm thinking about getting a mirror. I mean, there's a lot of things that are going on in this world. It is a revolution. So, Khalil, that leads me to my first question of why boxing? Like, did you see a trend in the boxing space or is this more born from a passion for the sport? Yeah, it's a great question. And, um, you know, our story really tells that answer well. So, you know, a lot of people know us for fight camp today, but we actually originally started with a product called Hikso, H-Y-K-S-O, which was like a terrible name. But basically, I started boxing in my life pretty late when I was about, you know, 21 years old.

3:57And, you know, my background is actually more in soccer. But I really wanted, you know, I fell in love with the sport and I wanted to compete, you know, and starting a competitive sport to 21 years old, it's, you know, you're kind of behind. So at that point, I really wanted to shortcut my way to the best evolution possible. So I was very, really adamant about, you know, having the best training regimen possible, really try to optimize every single aspect of it. And that led us, you know, that led me to, to, you know, want to measure myself on a regular basis. And there was not a lot of measuring tools out there for, you know, boxing specific stuff.

4:38So we created this first version of the product that's you know our punch trackers You would put them on your wrist. They'll calculate the types of punch you throw measures the speed of Every punch and you could recreate a performance profile with it and that went on to be a very successful product in the elite community You know, we had multiple Olympic teams using it a lot of pro boxers and pro UFC fighters using it and then because boxing NMMA and kickboxing is a very special sport where 95%, if not like 99 % of the people that engage in it actually don't enter in the ring and get hit, but just do it for the fitness aspect of it.

5:22So we kind of, you know, our initial product started to spill to a very different, you know, typical customer. And that kind of drew us into the fitness world. Fire Nation, I really want you to just think that, hey, there's multiple ways to kind of make your start, make your splash. Like, is it because of a trend or is it because of a passion? Can it maybe be a combination of both? I mean, that can kind of be where a zone of fire lies and there can really be a spark that then of course leads to a conflagration. And Khalil, for you, since you started Fight Camp, how have you seen the connected fitness industry evolve?

6:01I mean, how, you know, we just are connected to, you know, other people live or, you know, whether we've got stuff strapped on this, this just kind of connecting all of our stats and what we're doing here. I mean, are people working out from home instead of gyms? Is that going to become the norm? Absolutely. It will be for a portion of, for a majority of the portion of the fitness community. I think we're still, you know, like obviously with COVID, things have been accelerated a lot, but, you know, we really believe that in the long run, working out in a workout room makes a lot more sense to have in your home the same way you actually have a living room and the same way you have a, you know, you know, a home theater and a big screen TV and a kitchen.

6:50We think it's like an, it's going to be an extension part of our living spaces, just because it's not something you, you're doing only once a month, you know, like a good fitness routine, you will engage in it at least, at least three times a week. So, you know, having to add friction every time that you have to do this, uh, with the commute and having to hit the class right on time where it starts, we just don't think it's aligned with, you know, the frequency on which you have to engage with it. um so that's one aspect the second aspect is you know like home fitness home fitness is very popular today but you know it started a long time ago um you know and i'm sure uh some people remember jazzercise or taibo oh yeah you know that was really like the the beginning of the category but it led to a lot of scammy products, specifically in the late 90s, a lot of infomercials at the end of the night, like black and white, and trying to target people that kind of really wanted to buy a dream, but not necessarily incorporate a fitness and a healthy lifestyle.

8:08And I kind of feel that this new generation of companies are a lot more authentic. They're genuine. They're offering a better way. And they're not targeting someone who's trying to press on the fact that you may not feel good about yourself. Look at all these people. They're in shape. But they're targeting a healthy lifestyle. And I think they're building their products accordingly as well. I mean, Khalil, it's critical these days to stand up above the noise, to be unique from your competition. I mean, that just is in every single industry, 100 % across the board. And let's be honest, comp is fierce in the fitness space.

8:48So what specifically have you done to make Fight Camp stand out? We're yet to see a serious competitor in boxing and kickboxing, right? Like we, you know, there's some concepts out there. But, you know, when we started, it was not about, you know, trying to beat the competition. it was more you know like there's a very unique opportunity here and being the first to bring a connected experience to you know boxing and kickboxing from home and you know we thought the power of teaching people how to do boxing well was also like a you know a statement for you know the growth of boxing with like a lot of um you know franchise that were growing as well you know like pre-covid boxing gyms and kickboxing gyms across the nation were growing very very fast it was becoming a very big um you know a fast growing exercise uh that was gaining in popularity but you know boxing is not easily uh you know it's not easily accessible in terms of like there's a lot of technique.

10:03You know, you can just get a bag and hit it, but it is not proper boxing. You actually have to develop the foundation. You have to, you know, work on your reflexes and then you have to know why you throw a certain punch and why you don't throw that certain punch and how to move. So we wanted to provide an authentic experience and at the same time make it interactive. And, you know, there was nobody else that, you know, was doing that at the time. Fire Nation, when you are trying to stand out from the competition, you need to ask yourself, what is it that I'm providing that's a void in the marketplace that's not currently being filled?

10:41And guess what? The fitness revolution, it's fierce. Competition's everywhere in the overall fitness space. But I mean, what did Khalil step into? A void. You know, he can't even really talk about a competitor right now in his specific space because there's really not in his specific space. He is right now the one shop in town. Like I like to refer, you know, back before Netflix blew up Blockbuster, you know, in the 90s, if you wanted to rent a movie, there was one Blockbuster. You went there. And right now when you can be the only show in town, you're going to win on a certain level. And now it's like, can you build a moat around this business when you have that first mover advantage?

11:16First mover advantage is super important. Khalil has that. Now, how can he build a moat around his business to make it hard for people to storm that castle? How can he put the barrier so high that the competition stays so low? And we're going to be talking about advice that Khalil has for you, Fire Nation, making a splash in any industry when we get back from thanking our sponsors. Expectations are at an all-time high these days for sales leaders and sales teams. Beyond your daily cold calls, the relationship building, and actually closing deals, you're also expected to leverage a slew of different tech to-dos.

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13:31Text FIRE to 55123. That's F-I-R-E to 55123 to get started. So Cleo, we're back and what would your advice be to Fire Nation, our listeners, who want to make a splash in their industry. I mean, you've been able to do that in the fitness space, you know, with a very unique opportunity, you know, with Fight Camp. What would your advice be for someone who wants to do something similar with a splash in their industry? I think it is to really try to not see where the ball is going to be in a year from now, not see where the ball is going to be in two years from now, but maybe have a little bit more of a you know five seven depending on the industry but five seven ten years from now and instead shoot for that um and you know my experience is it leads you to building just something that becomes 10x better instead of just trying to catch up and always be playing behind someone else, you actually are trying to build, you know, the one whole order of magnitude above the current stage of products.

14:44And I think that's ultimately how, you know, you're able to pass everybody. Now, obviously, you've made some mistakes on your journey. Everybody has. And you look back, you're like, you know what, I would have done this differently. I might have done that differently. Like, I wish things had worked out like this instead of like that. What's one piece of advice that you wish somebody had given you when you first started your business? Shipping product early when you're still ashamed of it, when you think someone is literally going to laugh at it. And, you know, really like focusing on speaking to your customers, I think is just foundational advice that is very hard to be more effective there's the and you know it's easy to know it but it's very hard to execute on it because like your whole you know the feeling of doing it is is really hard and not everyone can actually overcome you know uh that fear and put themselves in that type of situation like you know the the rejection fear is really strong in in most of us so you know like shipping the product earlier than you think it's ready, not trying to find an excuse for avoiding a conversation with a customer because you think either they're unhappy or either they don't like the product.

16:05It's like still a constant muscle that needs to be trained and maintained. So Khalil, we've talked a lot about your journey. I mean, you've had experience, like you said, in Y Combinator and other places, and you've had your successes, you've had your failures, what would be one piece of advice that you would just want to give Fire Nation based on everything we've talked about here today? For people that are starting off, you know, in any space, in any industry, like what's something that you just feel is a tried and true lesson that you've learned that you want to pass along to us? A lot of people focus on the glamorous aspect of entrepreneurship.

16:43You know, being able to call themselves an entrepreneur and being able to go to networking events and convince themselves that somewhat that has value and they're building a network. But really what they should be doing is being in the lab and building their product. So I think like an admin focus on at the end of the day, creating a product that you will ship to users and you will gain the feedback on and focus on that for the first big step of the entrepreneurship stages would save an insane amount of time. It won't be as fun. It won't be as glamorous, but there's way more odds of success doing that than just participating into the lifestyle of being an entrepreneur.

17:35What do you want to share with Fire Nation right now as far as a call to action for them to check out Fight Camp, if that is kind of part of the journey that they're on right now, maybe a health and wellness, and they find themselves at home more because maybe they're working from home now and they're not going to the gym. What do you want to share with them about Fight Camp that might make Fire Nation want to step up, give it a try, and then we'll say goodbye? Yeah, awesome. Thank you for the opportunity. I mean, I encourage everyone to go check out our website if they're looking to learn how to box.

18:06This isn't an advanced product for people who have been there before it is totally made for people that have zero experience go ahead and check us out at fight camp calm you can also have you know you can download the app check out the videos that are opened without to have to purchase the product if you want to get a feel and we also have we're investing heavily into our YouTube channel so you'll have a lot of value there as well. And, you know, if you're interested in potentially applying to, you know, join our adventure, we're heavily hiring right now. So, you know, we'd love to hear from you guys.

18:46Very cool. Well, Fire Nation, listen, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with KZ and JLD today. So let's keep up that heat. And Fire Nation, your call to action is to head over to fightcamp.com slash fire. As you know, if you've been listening to Fire Nation, Fight Camp is a sponsor of this month's episode. So if you want free shipping on your Fight Camp set, head over to fightcamp.com slash fire, check out what they have going on, get free shipping, and you'll be off to the races. And by the way, send me a before and after picture because I'd love to share that with the world.

19:24So Khalil, thank you so much for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thank you. Hey, Fire Nation, today's value bomb content was brought to you by Khalil. And are you ready to rock your very own podcast? Well, check out my free podcasting course where I teach you how to create and launch your podcast for free, freepodcastcourse.com, freepodcastcourse.com. And I'll catch you there or I'll catch you on the flippity flip side. Online Marketing Made Easy podcast hosted by Amy Porterfield is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with a focus on online business, including digital courses, list building content, and more.

20:10Online Marketing Made Easy breaks down big ideas and strategies into actionable step-by-step processes. A recent episode that will help you get more results with a whole lot less stress is on four ways to avoid burnout. Listen to Online Marketing Made Easy wherever you get your podcasts. Leveraging fractional staffing might just be the key to unlocking growth for you and your business. Get started today with an exclusive offer from Belay. Download their latest resource, The Power of Productivity, for free. Just text FIRE to 55123. That's F-I-R-E to 55123 to get started.