February 25, 2022
by Paden Hughes
Not all balls are created equal.
I recently discovered this because I was influenced on social media to buy what’s called an Ollyball. And my girlfriend who is another entrepreneur working mom said, “You have to buy this. I know it seems like a random purchase, but I promise you just have one in your home for that day. You have to get some projects done and you don’t just wanna stick your kids in front of the TV.”
Sold.
So I bought it, it was $15. (I’ll link it here.) And I kept it in my closet and hung onto it for when I really needed it. And that day was this week, this last week I had a nanny, call in sick the night before a workday with two important meetings. I’d have to run them from home. And I didn’t just wanna stick my kids in front of the TV for hours.
So I grabbed the Ollyball. It was my Hail Mary. As I unboxed it I thought, “I hope this is as cool as my friends said it was.” And it was every bit as good as she said. It’s a super reactive, light ball that you can bounce all over the house and it’s covered in designs you can color to personalize it. No wonder it won a 2019 award for best toy.
It was $15 but what I got was a full hour of the kids coloring happily on this ball and then another good solid hour and a half of them kicking it wildly around the house with no actual fear of them damaging or breaking anything. And as far as I’m concerned, that ball was worth a hell of a lot more than $15. I seriously would have paid a babysitter $50 for that same time to focus.
And it was such a good reminder to me that true value isn’t always about price. As Michael and I have been re-working our family budget, we’re talking a lot about price. And it always comes down to value.
So when it comes to fitness, what is it that you value? Is it the price? Or is it…
… the hour to focus on yourself?
… belonging to a community of like-minded people who are committed to improvement?
… being coached, being pushed and cheered for by someone who really cares?
… the coach and their ability to modify exercises that are starting to piss off that old injury?
… 1:1 attention of an exclusive session to troubleshoot a nagging pain or build athletic ability to say “Hell yes!” to that epic, adventurous backpacking trip this summer?
(I’m truly curious, so please respond to this email and let me know what makes you choose Gymnazo?)
Because at Gymnazo we are evaluating our business and where our value is relative to other fitness experiences. We don’t just want to be the fitness equivalent of a discount bouncy ball whose only real claim to fame is its neon color. No, we’re aiming to be the Ollyball of San Luis Obispo’s fitness community.
We want to wow and delight so much that the value is never questioned!
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