Episode 235: The Purple Patch Performance Center - Journey to the Grand Opening
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The day has finally come to celebrate a vision nearly a decade in the making, as the doors to the Purple Patch Performance Center in San Francisco's historic Mission District officially open.
In this episode of the Purple Patch Podcast, IRONMAN Master Coach Matt Dixon takes us from seed to sprout with the story of how the performance center came to fruition through hard work, the endurance of spirit, and the adaptive evolution of the dream.
Matt takes us from a special idea tangled in red tape to an opening day threatened by the impacts of a global pandemic.
(22:07) "Greatness emerges from the ability to adapt, be changeable, and to navigate obstacles. And so the truth was that the center suddenly became a real-life situation of a phrase that we love at Purple Patch, we needed to evolve or die as a business, literally. And so we had no option, we had to adapt."
Matt gives us a preview of the center, its partners, and the services it provides, that embody the Purple Patch Pillars of Performance and helped make the dream of the Purple Patch Center come true.
With the official launch party set for October 20th, 2022, Matt welcomes everyone to attend the grand opening and to follow along today as he frames the vision for the center as a hub for local athletes of all levels and a beacon for athletes all over the world.
(38:58) "It's not just going to be elite athletes, there's going to be a hodgepodge, a melting pot of all different sorts of levels of focus and goals. The only key, the only demand is a thirst and desire and ultimately commitment to improve. And so this will attract, I hope, time-starved athletes. Really busy professionals and executives, parents that are looking to improve their energy and perhaps their body composition, and anyone that is invested in their personal health, performance, and energy throughout life."
The grand opening is a free event open to everyone. You don’t need to be a current Purple Patch member to attend. Feel free to bring your friends, family, and fellow fitness enthusiasts along to see what the Purple Patch Performance Center has to offer.
Episode Timestamps
00:00 - 05:49 - Welcome and Episode Introduction
05:57 - 09:02 - Matt's Newsings
09:14 - 13:34 - Word of the Week
13:42 - Episode 235: The Purple Patch Performance Center: Journey to the Grand Opening
Purple Patch Video Podcast and More
RSVP For The Grand Opening Of The Purple Patch Performance Center
More About The Purple Patch Performance Center
Learn More About IOG Services at The Purple Patch Performance Center
Learn More About Precision Hydration and Fueling Services at The Purple Patch Performance Center
Learn More About Sports Medicine Institute Services at The Purple Patch Performance Center
Training Camp - 2023 Kona Triathlon Camp
Purple Patch Coaching Consultation
The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit
Purple Patch and Episode Resources
This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20
Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt
Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program
Join Bike Squad - Don’t just exercise and work out; learn to train with our structured online cycling program
Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running
Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching
Learn more about Purple Patch Strength Programming
Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events
Full Transcript
Matt Dixon 00:02
I'm Matt Dixon and welcome to the Purple Patch podcast. The mission of Purple Patch is to empower and educate every human being to reach their athletic potential. Through the lens of athletic potential, you reach your human potential. The purpose of this podcast is to help time-starved people everywhere, integrate sport into life.
Matt Dixon 00:24
Alright guys, just before we get going with the show, I made a fluff, a big fluff. In today's show, I'm talking all about the center. And I mentioned that we are opening on September the 29th. But we've had a little shift. Due to me heading to the World Championships, the Hawaii Ironman World Championships, we thought we would give ourselves a little bit of breathing room. So when you hear me talk about the center opening today, we are going to be opening with the launch party on October the 20th. That's Thursday, October the 20th. And our invitation has been adapted to that date. So I apologize. It is rather frustrating because we did this wonderful recording. And we're all excited. And it was September the 29th. But just realize that we are having a launch party for the purple patch Performance Center on on October the 20th. All right, enjoy the rest of the show. Takecare.
Matt Dixon 01:26
Hey guys, just before we get going with the show, we're going to be talking about High-Performance Training Center in San Francisco. Yes, the Purple Patch Performance Center. But if you want to have a high-performance body in life, then maybe you should think about integrating InsideTracker into your overall performance recipe, it provides some trackable results on all of the elements that make up you thriving. Whether you're an athlete, whether you're a fitness enthusiast, or just someone looking to improve their health and energy. It's very simple. You don't need to be a Purple Patch athlete to leverage instead, all you need to do is head to insidetracker.com/purplepatch that's inside tracker.com/purple patch, and you can put in a sneaky code, Purple Patch Pro 20, that's Purple Patch Pro two zero, and you get 20% off everything at the store. Alright, let's get on with the show.
Matt Dixon 02:28
And welcome to the Purple Patch podcast. As ever, your host, Matt Dixon. And I want to cast your mind back to February 2020. When Kelli myself and the whole Purple Patch team were hustling our booties off, getting the brand new Purple Patch Performance Center in San Francisco, sparkling and ready for a big grand opening. It had been a long journey up to this point loads of planning, grit, hard work, and all of us were excited for the physical and emotional home base of everything Purple Patch. And in March 2020, just a month later, we like everyone else, yourself included, face locked out. Now, it's been a really long journey since then. We live in an evolved world, let's face it. But now we get to say, officially, we are open for business. The Purple Patch Performance Center is opening. Two and a half years delayed after we originally thought we were going to get to welcome our very first athletes. And today, I thought it'd be fun and interesting and perhaps insightful to tell you a story that begins in 2013. But now ends with the start of another story, a new Purple Patch, with a Performance Center in San Francisco, completely built for a global community of athletes kicking off all at the end of this month. As I go through today, I want to weave in the fabric of the journey that we've been through, but also apply some lessons out of performance. I also want to paint a picture of why we're doing this as an organization. And maybe that will resonate with you and your journey no matter what your quest is. And ultimately, I'm gonna extend an invitation for you to come and celebrate with us. But I think you're gonna be surprised by some of the lessons today. And I'm going to tease you by letting you know that the whole model and mindset around the center has completely evolved over the last couple of years, the pandemic that we've all navigated, and I think it's a really good thing. And so today a little bit of a personal story from Kelli, myself, and the whole of the team, and I hope you enjoy. But before we dive in, I do want to mention one thing. We're adding to the team. Yes, we are hiring. In fact, we are looking for a few types of folks based in San Francisco. We are looking to add a triathlon coach. Yes, we are going to welcome in brand new triathlon coach the team someone who has a big passion for both in-person and remote support of athletes all over the world. We're looking for someone that wants to be bass and grow in a full-time position at Purple Patch. Also looking for people that are really enthusiastic and high-quality strength and conditioning coaches. We want to add to the team in that area. It's a core part. It's one of our pillars. Again, San Francisco based if either of those sparked your interest, feel free to ping us -- info@purplepatchfitness.com, and we can have a little bit of dialogue and I can share some job descriptions to let you know more of what that entails. But before we get going with the meat and potatoes, we've got a couple of things to get through today. And so Barry, I'm going to keep you busy again today. I've given you a very easy passage over the last couple of weeks. But now today we are going to return yes we are doing Matt's Newsings.
Matt Dixon 05:57
Yes, Matt's Newsings and what else are we going to talk about today? With the subject of today's podcast, I have to extend an invitation. We are hosting an official launch party. Now the good news is that by attending the party, you can put on your Sunday or Thursday best, you don't need to get sweaty. Instead, it's a celebration and open house a pure launch party at the Purple Patch Performance Center. It's between 4 and 7 pm on that Thursday. The address of the center, 268 Alabama Street in San Francisco. And who's it for? Well, the truth is, It's for anyone, everyone. You don't need to be a Purple Patch athlete. Instead, I just invite you to come hang out, see the space, connect with us, the coaches, the partners, the experts. We're going to have the team from IOG bike fit in there showcasing their process and answering questions. The Sports Medicine Institute are going to be in the center talking about tissue health, pain removal from your sport, that sounds like a good thing. Fuelin will be there on hand to chat about nutrition and fueling. Coach Brad will be with us showcasing the precision fueling and hydration sweat testing process that we go through. But most important you get just hang out with us in the team, a host of like-minded San Francisco-based fitness enthusiasts and athletes, it should be a lot of fun. Now, for those that get to come, we are going to be doing some big drawings of prizes, we're gonna be giving away a host of small group coaching sessions and services. And we're even going to give a dump away of a whole bunch of Purple Patch swag. And so it should be a lot of fun. Don't forget, of course, DJs food beers, and wine. Hey, I'm English. I got to have my beers in there have no. And so you are absolutely welcome. Now we ask you to RSVP so we can check what numbers are coming. The link is going to be in the show notes. But I invite you bring a buddy share with your friends. In fact, to make this thing special. And after you listen to today's show, I think you might be a little inspired to support and help her. But for us to make it special. In honesty, we kind of need your help. Because for San Francisco folks that are listening, if you could please share, encourage, put some pressure on your mates. It's going to be a lot of fun. As you'll hear later today, the center is really designed for San Francisco. And for all levels. You don't need to be elite. You don't even need to be a triathlete. Instead, you just need to care about your health, and you need to have a desire to improve. In fact, you might even see me doing a kegstand if I get really excited. But let's not hold our breath on that one. We're happy to send you a shareable invite. But if you're interested in joining, simply ping us at info@purplepatchfitness.com. And of course, we'll always add the link into the show notes as ever. But with that, why don't we get on with the show? Barry, your fingers and calluses are complete repaired. We are gonna do word of the week.
Matt Dixon 09:17
Yes, guys Word of the Week. And the word this week is rewards. I want to spend some time talking about the rewards of sport and the purpose that it can bring. And many of you guys recently followed my exploits through the seven-day riding challenge that's named Haute Route. One of the toughest things I've ever done. Also, one of the coolest thing that I've ever done, and along with seven friends, we took on the tough riding challenge. A magical part of that journey for me personally was being able to share the challenge with my two brothers. And in that week, I was really lucky. I actually felt good. I had magic legs I did pretty well. My brothers did great, but one of my brothers didn't do so well, Martin, he had to navigate a really nasty bug that he picked up along the way. And so unlike his preparation, he didn't have the opportunity to feel good. In fact, he said, I barely got to enjoy a single pedal stroke. And that was really challenging. That little nasty bug prevented him from really expressing to himself his trained potential. He certainly didn't get the outcome relative to what he deserved. He had by all measures, a bad race, and he was understandably devastated by that. And that happens in sport. It's tough. On paper, there was a failure. But guess what? He didn't fail at all. Because over the last couple of years he committed to a process and to training and he achieved fitness and riding levels better than one could ever have dreamed that he could achieve that. In fact, now in his mid-50s, he is in the riding and physical shape of his life. And his journey of preparation included so many wonderful hours, where he could share with his friends, and go and explore courses around Cornwall in England, where he got to go on roads and ride roads that he would probably have never gone on. The journey in anticipation was great. And he acted as a lightning rod for myself, Peter, my other brother, and Martin, where we could share our anxieties or fears talk about equipment, and challenges. It created a hub and a beehive of excitement for us. And over the course of the entire week, he got to share this journey and have great experiences meals with friends and brothers all the way through. He spent an amazing week in the Alps. Yes, he suffered and struggled. But out of it, he got to spend some really treasured time with his two brothers who live in completely geographical different places of the world. Now, elite sport is often rightly measured purely in outcomes win, lose, cutthroat. And that is elite sport. But in a broader context, sport has a more important role for us. For people that are doing it as a hobby. The folks that participate, still are ambitious, still looking to take on challenges still looking to improve. But the real purpose and mission and outcome is broader than just win, lose, pass, fail. In fact, it is an opportunity always to pull rewards for the journey, to take pride in commitment, the personal evolution, the opportunity to share a journey with others. And it is so much richer than just a finishing position, or a time that it takes you to complete the course or race. There is a place for podiums and qualifications and the satisfaction of a win. But never forget the bigger and more important mission. And realize that sport amplifies your health, your life and provides experiences that will be unmatched. And so the focus of the Word of the Week this week is the word rewards. Put sport into context and let it amplify your life. It has an important role beyond just winning and losing. And with that, Barry, we get to talk about buildings today. Construction is one of your favorite subjects. And so I give you ladies and gentlemen, the meat and potatoes.
Matt Dixon 13:42
Well, they say that every overnight success is 10 years in the making. Well, I can tell you this over the last few years, I've often wondered, would I ever be able to say those words open for business? Goodness me. Today we dive into the story of the Purple Patch Performance Center. This story begins in 2013 with a spark of an idea. At the time I was coaching some trainer base cycling classes, and we had a thriving swim program based out of a local high school. Unfortunately, the high school water polo team had to take up our slots. And so suddenly, we were homeless. We had no swimming pool. And after months of chasing around every single pool in San Francisco, surely, we could just get some lanes a couple of times a week. There was nothing. It was like tumbleweed going across the road. We just couldn't secure pool time. And it was incredibly frustrating. But through hook, crook, inspiration, and partnership, we started to think hmm, can we maybe do this ourselves? Now, you need to understand San Francisco a little bit. If you go out to the waterfront, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and that wonderful view heading up towards Marin in the East Bay. There is a series of historic buildings that all make up a part of the Presidio. Some of these buildings have been renovated. And in fact, they house some really wonderful community-focused businesses. There's a climbing gym, a kid's swimming teaching facility, a trampoline class, a bike shop, and it's a wonderful green of great thriving business. The same time there was some buildings that have not been renovated. And we thought, how can we do this? So over the next couple of years, we started to develop some really strong partnerships. In fact, we collaborated with the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. We started to map bus routes so that we could potentially bus underprivileged children from the poor districts in San Francisco and enable them to have access to this dream of a wonderful facility. Let's say that we could introduce swimming, bike riding, running in the wonderful venue of what is the beautiful part of San Francisco. And we collaborated with the Presidio around design historic constructions. And we were going to build the performance center of a lifetime. There was going to be a swimming pool overlooking Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, it was going to be anchored around community activities. It was going to be a performance center for triathletes, kids, community of San Francisco, and more. Ultimately, this magical center was going to be a win-win win-win for the Presidio, the JCCSF, the community of San Francisco, and of course, Purple Patch. And you know what happened? After two or three years of hard work, it all collapsed under a thicket of red tape, and unsignable contracts. The dream seemed over. Well over the course of 2015 to 2017, it was quiet. We carried on, we coached, we looked to grow Purple Patch, we started developing great relationships, we got our swimming program back and everything was fine, we marched on. But in 2018, out of nowhere, suddenly a potential space popped up. Now there wouldn't be able to be a swimming pool. And it was going to be much smaller. But it was an opportunity. And you know what was better about that opportunity. This shed almost was plugged on to a chocolate factory. Nothing reeks of performance more than a high-performance sports facility partnered with a chocolate factory. What more ironic could we dream off? It wasn't just any Chocolate Factory, it was dandelion, the artisan chocolate factory that's won awards for being quote, the best chocolate in America. We couldn't think of a better partnership. And so we proverbially just dove in.
Matt Dixon 18:01
Between 2018 and 2020 we started going through permits, planning, design, a host of serious hard graft. And over the course of those two years with a lot of support, a lot of friendship, and a little bit of elbow grease, we designed and built a magical space, 10,000 square feet, and a brand new home for Purple Patch. Now as we started to put on the finishing touches, we started to reach out to what we've believed to be the best in class partners to share the space with we reached out and secured a deal with the Sports Medicine Institute, SMI, masters of athletic training and orthopedic massage. We reached out to the best bike fitter that we knew, Ivan O'Gorman, and while based in Boulder, Ivan agreed, and when he was excited to extend and build a satellite facility out of the Purple Patch facility. We secured the services of FuelIn, the best, I believe, fueling and nutrition company that it is available. And of course, we partnered with my mates at precision fuel and hydration. We wanted to integrate sweat testing to help all athletes understand their own hydration needs. Now if we layer on to that our methodology, the Purple Patch methodology, we now we're building and creating a wonderful center designed wholly for time staff, San Francisco-based fitness enthusiasts, and athletes so that they could leverage world-class coaching services. And of course, get all of the support. But in addition to that, we wanted the center itself to be a wonderful home base for everything for us as an organization, Purple Patch. But most importantly, the real dream was a chance to connect our remote-coached athletes, who were based all around the world in a meaningful way, so that they can feel connected to us and each other. We were primed, we were excited, we were ready for something truly special, unique, and brand new. Our only challenge was there really wasn't anything like it. So we knew we had a lot of stories to tell.
Matt Dixon 20:13
But you know, the rest, March 2020, boom, shut down. We were all locked down. The pandemic floor, it fell upon us. And of course, the doors never opened. In fact, the floor started to gather dust, we got no relief from an organization, no relief from various vendors around so much of the paid equipment that we had, as an example. And I know, we're not the only ones that went through this. But we had purchased a lot of really nice treadmills, and suddenly we were spending $4,500 a month on lease payments for those 10 treadmills that will ultimately remained pretty much unused for the next two years, and so instead of being this inspiration or wonderful and exciting journey, the center, our magic center became a weight on the shoulders of the business. An anchor that we were going to drag around for the foreseeable future. Like so many businesses in the pandemic, we've got our backs pushed against the wall, and our only option was to adapt. Now, there's a little lesson here, because I'm a coach, I can't help but sort of align the metaphor of Ironman to this. In Ironman racing, we talk so much about fitness, training, and preparation, the critical need for commitment, you need to show up fit and fresh. But the truth is a truly great race performance ultimately, emerges from that athlete fully prepared and fit. And their ability then to adapt and problem solve throughout the day when adversity strikes them. And guess what? There is always adversity in an Ironman. And so yes, fitness and preparation and planning is key. But greatness emerges from the ability to adapt, be change able, and to navigate obstacles. And so the truth was that the center suddenly became a real-life situation of a phrase that we love at Purple Patch, we needed to evolve or die as a business, literally. And so we had no option, we had to adapt. So let me explain how we went about this. And there was a lot of thinking a lot of discussions a lot of late nights. But what are we going to do here? Well, in order to tell you what we ended up doing, I have to first anchor around centered design little bit. And let's go back to our thinking in the design process of this center.
Matt Dixon 22:54
We identified three main reasons for building this space that I sit in right now. The first was it for it to act as a home base for all things Purple Patch, for the team, the coaches of Purple Patch and the rest of the team to work out, but also as a destination, either aspirational as a destination or a practical destination for our community to visit. Now, as we're mostly supporting athletes remotely, all over the country and all over the world, we felt that this was really important. It was the look touch and feel, the tangible space, the real home that provided a certain authenticity, to our coaching and our services that we provide. And so reason number one was a home base. The second reason that we designed and built this was a destination for training. A place where we can come together for services and for small group coaching for our San Francisco-based athletes, and fitness enthusiasts. We have a wonderful crew, very low ego, wide performance level range of folks that are based in San Francisco. And ultimately, we wanted to give him a home, a place that we could come together on a consistent basis, and not get pushed through that cycle of homelessness that we went through all of those years prior. And so we have a home, we have a place to come and congregate and train for our local community. But finally, the third reason and the most important reason is that this center was designed from the ground up as a production center. And the reason we designed it as a production center is we wanted to ensure that we could enable ourselves to really radically ramp up our live and recorded education. Education is a big part of what we do. I think it's very, very important to help our athletes as well as the broader community foster improvement in their own performance. We're wanted to also deliver some really powerful live and on-demand coach sessions across various disciplines, whether it's strength bike, what sessions, even circuit and treadmill sessions, but we wanted to ensure that we could improve remote coaching. And that was the big mission. The third mission was to ultimately solve a challenge. How can we radically improve the remote coaching experience? With our athletes spread all over the world, we wanted to invest to ensure that we can make the best remote coaching experience possible. In fact, we wanted to humanize it but also amplify its effectiveness that it became really important. And with that, we realized that that was an opportunity to tie our geographically spread athletes together as a community. This was the mindset and the mission. I know it was big and bold, but it had three main roles.
Matt Dixon 25:58
Now as we design this, and we were marching forward to 2020, we had our original plan, and I cannot count the amount of hours that we spent on our business plan. This is how we're going to do it. The first was, of course, to finish construction on the center. And then with an opening, we would put all of our focus on developing the local community, and really establish and make a vibrant center in San Francisco, focused on the in-person services. And once we had that done, and we felt like it was consistent and robust and thriving, then our mission was going to be to expand out and transition to the remote video coaching.
Matt Dixon 26:44
Well guess what pandemics tend to change things. And so as I mentioned before, with backs against the wall, we had no option, we had to evolve. In fact, that whole business plan was thrown out of the window. We were all isolated, we were locked down. In fact, we couldn't even get access to the center at the start of the pandemic. And so, in the end, after many discussions, were decided the only thing we can do, the best thing that we can do is actually aim to leverage this very stressful situation, this rather frustrating situation, and seek to leverage it for opportunity. And so we took our business plan and took it out of the trash, and instead just flipped it upside down. Why don't we begin from the other side of the coin? And so starting in my living room, with a little blanket hanging behind me, we started live coaching sessions on the bike. Now, these were a little rough around the edges, maybe some pretty poor audio, a few breakages with Wi-Fi and other connective issues. But they were also really fun. And they served as the ultimate beta test or beeta test if I'm allowed to say that in English, and enabled us to evolve and refine and gather feedback and start to build community. It also was timely, with everybody stuck at home unable to really congregate in groups whatsoever. And so it created what we actually will really after in the first place, which was Remote Connectivity of our athletes around the world. We started to host two-way so that we can see you as coaches as athletes at home and the athletes could see us, two-way bike classes, and then two-way strength classes. We even hosted some dry land swim band sessions to help with our swimmers that couldn't get access to swimming pools. And as soon as we could access the center, we brushed down the dust. And we rewrote the roadmap. We focus 100% on the connected athlete experience. Now out of that, we started to build out our education. We've done a series of educational webinars, we've really focused on building out the podcast quality, we've even transitioned to doing this video podcast. But most importantly, we anchored a lot of our emphasis and efforts on video coaching. A whole series now of robust on-demand and live coaching sessions that are two-way so that us as coaches can actually see you ride the bike, refine your technique, remind you of posture, encourage you and ultimately, whether it's positive encouragement, or beating you with a spatula, ensuring that you are executing the training, how we want you to train, whether you're living in Berlin, London, Santiago, Chile, Kansas, New York, or of course, San Francisco. We also do the same in strength training, we have on-demand mobility, and we have plans to expand it out from there. And all the while over those two years, as we focused on the remote coaching experience, the center was here with myself and Coach Brad, and a sprinkle of other services. But for the most part throughout the day, quietness. Just that, quiet, quiet, empty building.
Matt Dixon 30:25
Now, as we focused on the video production, of course, we had to change a whole staffing needs. We hired a post-production expert and editor and we didn't hire a staff to run the center, because there was no center to run. And so all of the other challenges that I'm sure as you listen, maybe you own your own small business, maybe you were part of an organization that had to navigate similar or parallel experiences through the pandemic, we were certainly not alone in our struggles.
Matt Dixon 30:56
But throughout it all, just as you can probably imagine, we had all of those strains of fixed costs. But we navigated it. And we decided this is an opportunity. In fact, this is an investment, let's not worry too much about the fixed costs, they are what they are, and they're not going to change. But instead, let's really aim to amplify what is the core and central part of the Purple Patch business. Let's build on what we always said, we wanted to do, the effectiveness and the quality of our coaching of our athletes who are not in San Francisco. And with those athletes, let's double down on community. Let's try and connect them remotely. And let's continue to develop the shared and supportive and really fun community aspect of remote Purple Patch coaching. And then when we're ready, when the world really allows us to be ready, we will be excited to welcome San Francisco folks to the center. And then and only then will we really try and ramp that side of our passion. And that relieves a lot of stress in many ways because we had the fixed costs, but we had purpose and passion to really continue to drive on the other side of it. And so here we are, today, as I said just a couple of weeks away. And we are ready to open? Indeed. And we are really, really excited. But the interesting part of it is while we went through the last two years, we've actually gone through a massive evolution in our thinking as well. We had to evolve our approach. But that's been a catalyst of really a shift in how we even look at the center. And in fact, even what the center will be. Two years is a long time. And two years is certainly a long time in the life of Purple Patch and Purple Patch has evolved. And we realize that the center needs to evolve with that. And so yes, it is a performance center. And we still have those fantastic partners who deliver the best in class bike fitting, orthopedic massage, nutrition services, athletic training, rehabilitation, sweat testing, and so much more. And we are still a team of coaches that are excited to open up some small group structured coaching sessions across so many disciplines. And the truth is, though, that there is nothing like the space, exquisitely designed high end, almost beautiful and spa-like in this building that will deliver health and performance centers surfaces and coaching. But, and this is the important part, we want this center to be something truly special for San Francisco. Because while it has really high-end finishes and services, we actually don't want to make it high-end in price. Instead, we're focused around community and opening up access. Now, why did we think about this? Well, there's a lesson in here as well. Kelli and I paused and really reflected as we're thinking through the opening of the center. And we thought about what makes an athlete really successful. And we know that no matter the level of the athlete, or the fitness enthusiasts, there are always key components that tend to predict long-term success. And that's what we're looking for long-term success. And some of the components of that are, of course, yes, having the appropriate and smart training program and performance recipe for yourself. So there's the coaching element, and making sure you get the plan in place and ensuring that you have the right supporting elements around quality sleep and nutrition and everything that we talked about on this show.
Matt Dixon 34:48
But the amplifiers, the predictor of success, also come in a sense of accountability and support. And add to that community and a sense of the person or athlete feeling like they belong to something. And that's when things start to get really powerful. And these elements are really important. And of course, the part of the center that's so important is we want to try and help folks thrive. And so we realized that if these elements are really important to anyone been successful, why don't we really lean into them? Why don't we make this a home for folks in San Francisco? And so on the back of this our whole model actually shifted. We said, let's make it really smart. Let's open it up a little bit more. So we plan to partner with local clubs, groups, and communities so that those groups can bring in their athletes and teams into the center to be able to utilize the space. We've decided to launch at price points that are actually just directly the same as some regular group fitness pricing. If you go to a fitness class, it's going to be about the same price, despite the fact that it's more intimate. It's small group. It's coached, it's progressive, and it's part of a program. And we're planning to open up the Center for Educational and Community Events so that organizations can leverage the space for their group meetings and their own events in-house. And most importantly, perhaps, with our upside-down plan that we ended up implementing, we really want to leverage the fact that we evolve like this, and allow the center opening to create a thriving in-person, and remote community of folks that are seeking to improve. And so sure, yes, we opened the center and San Francisco, you are welcome, come in, come and enjoy and benefit from the small group coaching and services. But if you live elsewhere, we welcome you to visit the center, you can come and try it and look, touch, and feel at any time. But, even if you live in Kansas, L.A., London, Santiago, Tokyo, or beyond, you can use the center. You'll be able to leverage the center coaching services, whether it's live or On Demand with our enhanced video remote coaching. I'm sorry, but how fun is that? I think it's a lot of fun.
Matt Dixon 37:21
But let me tell you, it's also a pathway for you to amplify and optimize the results from your training. And you can also become a part of a community. And so the truth is that Kelli and I and the whole team want to share this space, we hope to enable athletes and fitness enthusiasts of all levels, who are really focused on improving their lot in life to leverage our expertise. So who is this center for ultimately? What answer it's simply it's, it's for you. And the reason it's for you is that, yes, it will attract and we welcome very serious triathletes and endurance athletes. And you folks will benefit. But the performance center isn't reserved for the elite or the serious athlete only. In fact, because we can customize the intensity for every participant while in a small group setting, that enables us to deliver high feedback, hands-on coaching, but also apply the right dose of work for you at the right time. And so that means that we're equipped to support any person at the level that we're at, in fact, we can meet you where you're currently at, no matter how basement, and help you improve. This has another catalyst of change. This actually helps diffuse ego. In fact, it reduces fear intimidation, you can come and realize that it's not just going to be elite athletes, there's going to be a hodgepodge, a melting pot of all different sorts of levels of focus and goals. The only key, the only demand is a thirst and desire and ultimately commitment to improve. And so this will attract I hope, time-starved athletes. Really busy professionals and executives, parents that are looking to improve their energy, and perhaps their body composition, and anyone that is invested in their personal health, performance, and energy throughout life. Now, with all that said, and I say it's for everyone, I realized that it's actually not for everyone. In fact, it might not even be for you.
Matt Dixon 39:44
Because we are deadly serious about performance, albeit with a little bit of wink and nod and fun along the way. But in order to really thrive here, you have to embrace coaching, because we will hold you to account, we will challenge you, but ultimately we will ensure that you are successful. But it is not for those folks that okay, it's not for everyone, but it is not for those folks that absolutely thrive and chase some ego-fueled testosterone-saturated environment where the only claim is only the toughest win. No pain, no gain. That's just not the center. It's more welcoming, it's more accessible. And the real badge of honor is showing up and trying your best. And so that long journey to here. That story that I just outlined, it ends so that something new can begin. From 2013 to now, it's been a long and winding road, it's been full of obstacles. It's been riddled with challenges. But now this is our new beginning. And as you can tell, I'm excited. We've already navigated so much. We've evolved through situations of not our own, much like the journey of an athlete. But now we sit here just for the race to begin, eager and excited. And here we are, I get to say, we are open for business.
Matt Dixon 41:21
I'd love for you to come and join us in San Francisco. But most importantly, come and join us from wherever you're at in the world. You don't need to be in San Francisco to take a bike class, participate in a circuit session, even embrace some strength and conditioning that maybe you've put off in your prior performance journeys. Now, perhaps accidentally, that remote connection and impersonal experience, maybe that's the center or gym of the future, did we just do something accidentally really cool? Who knows. For you folks that are local, you are welcome, as are your friends. It would be very, very helpful. If you would share, we'd really appreciate it. And I hope you come and celebrate. I will even buy you a beer, I promise. And there it is, folks. That is our journey so far. All the way up -- hoof -- for the Performance Center. Kelli and I are excited. The whole team at Purple Patch, we're excited. I hope you enjoyed the show. Next week, we're back to thriving in education. And it's a good one. So stay tuned. We'll see you next time.
Matt Dixon 42:30
Guys, thanks so much for joining. And thank you for listening, I hope that you enjoyed the new format. You can never miss an episode by simply subscribing. Head to the Purple Patch channel of YouTube, and you will find it there. And you could subscribe, of course, I'd like to ask you, if you will subscribe. Also share it with your friends. And it's really helpful if you leave a nice positive review in the comments. Now any questions that you have, let me know. Feel free to add a comment and I will try my best to respond and support you on your performance journey. And in fact, as we commence this video podcast experience, if you have any feedback at all, as mentioned earlier in the show, we would love your help in helping us to improve, simply email us at info at Purple Patch fitness.com or leave it in the comments of the show at the Purple Patch page, and we will get you dialed in. We'd love constructive feedback. We are in a growth mindset as we like to call it. And so feel free to share with your friends. But as I said, Let's build this together. Let's make it something special. It's really fun. We're really trying hard to make it a special experience. And we want to welcome you into the Purple Patch community. With that. I hope you have a great week. Stay healthy, have fun, keep smiling, doing whatever you do. Take care.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
center, athletes, patch, coaching, san francisco, purple, journey, performance, fact, community, thriving, fun, pandemic, host, build, ultimately, class, improve, bike, sport