We’ve always believed high-quality content is the highest-quality (and most cost-effective) lead-gen. And we’ve been searching for what’s next. The idea was always to figure out what the space needed, try things, and if they work commit to them fully. Prove ourselves, then iterate. Our business model combines traditional advertising, premium content, & brand sponsorships with innovative tools & services + ecommerce for our users– things and/or products that better help to inspire & inform them to make healthier choices. And we need technical leadership, someone to enjoy the freedom of building out infrastructure and systems, someone with the creativity to take charge and build different prototypes for all the awesome things that can be done in the health & fitness space. It’ll be yours to lead.

Whatever we build with your help in this space, we’re already in an incredibly unique position to do it best (or at least close to it). How? We’ve got the following, the industry experience & connections, a trusted brand people in the space respect, and the perfect team to execute the on-the-grounds work if need be, the non-scalable stuff that we can do in NYC so that we can scale to the world. But all that doesn’t matter if we can’t build it best. All that is shit without building something people love. So let’s do it. Let’s build things people love that will help them, too.

To get there, we need a partner who can build this with us. Someone who’s thirsty and has something to prove. Someone who believes in what we’re doing, but more importantly can share and transform our vision with us. Health & fitness is the difference I want to make in this world. Greatist is the platform I’m going to make it with and continue to for the next 100+ years. We’re building an empire, not a business. We want to build the world’s first trusted health and fitness brand– no one has yet and we will. It’s an epic challenge & an awesome opportunity that I’m looking for a someone technically brilliant to share in, to balance out my weaknesses and challenge my strengths. We don’t have much money to pay, just substantial amount of equity to give (equity, though, that’s admittedly worth nearly nothing yet, of course)– the ultimate startup proposition. I’m not looking for a technical co-founder, I’m looking for a technical leader (but if you want to call yourself a founder and earn it, sure thing).

Interested? Email me anytime w/ anything: derek [at] greatist.com

Not fully convinced? Check out http://www.greatist.com/careers for all our core values & “perks.”

And/or join the discussion on this post on Hacker News.

Hey- been trying to get in touch with you, but not surprised it’s difficult to answer and respond to each of your 1.86 million Twitter fans + 4.75 million Facebook fans. I get that you’ve been distracted. That’s cool- no worries! I know you’re busy filming a thousand movies + wrestling + obviously working out a ton. That’s the life of a kick-butt celebrity, I hear ya! But all I’ve been trying to reach out & say is that you’d be the perfect advisor for Greatist.com, this awesome high-quality content-based health & fitness startup I run, and I think you should seriously consider coming on board. Seriously. (After all advising a startup is the cool celebrity thing to do now! At least Leonardo DeCaprio did it. You’re not Leonardo DiCaprio, but you could be the Leonardo DeCaprio of ##Boots2Asses?) Here’s why:

For one, you’ve got the perfect #greatist personality. Personally, have mad respect for how people trust you, recognizing your hard work and passion while admiring your positive, fun-loving mentality. You’re also impressively engaged with your audience and fans, motivating them to “stand fearless in the face of adversity and bring it every day” w/ you and your Team Bring It. That’s difficult to do & you’re clearly committed to it– engaging with your fans & making them feel special, one at time, in a way that most celebrities don’t care to do (or pay others to do for them).

At Greatist, we talk a lot about informing & inspiring the world to make healthier choices in a relatable and down-to-earth way– and you rock that, too. We champion celebrating the healthier choices people make , the #imagreatist mentality, without feeling bad about the poor choices– and you embody that. You wake up at 6am, push through a crazy workout, then you strap on a pair of CGI wings and make movies like the Tooth Fairy (where the joke’s on… everyone?). You challenge John Cena to throwdown, then sing Sam Cooke’s classic You Send Me on TV. You blow shit up for your day job, then say motivational & kind things like this. That inspires & resonates with people, exactly what we’re trying to achieve with our fitness, health, and happiness content.

Greatist is different because, like you, we only do things in a high-quality way. We’re in it because, like you, we care passionately about achieving something great for the world, be it a few lost pounds or laughs. And we’re doing this because, like you, we love every second of what we do.

Finally, you’ve got some huge movies and roles ahead of you & we, too, have been growing like gangbusters. We’ve had nearly 300,000 unique visitors in the last 30 days and it just… keeps… growing. We’ve been mentioned everywhere, from Outside Magazine to The Huffington Post– and it’s only just beginning.

So, long story short (too late?), was hoping to have the chance to convince you to spare a few moments on a monthly basis to offer your thoughts, guidance, & wisdom on what we’re doing with Greatist and how we’re doing it.

Obviously, recognize how valuable your time is, but we know it’d be worth it: a very cool opportunity for you to support, an interesting world to get involved in, and a wonderful cause to champion.

We’re working to build the world’s first trusted health & fitness brand– and we’d love your help to make it happen.

So, Dwayne, if you’ve got a second to even think about this, let’s chat ASAP. And if the person who’s reading this isn’t The Rock, but knows him or went to school with him or knows the person that one time he looked funny at in college at UM, let me know ASAP too. Will jump on any leads I can get! (And in that case, thanks for reading, whoever you are, and in the future, though this time it’s cool, don’t get in the habit of reading stuff that isn’t addressed to you, you sneaky reader.)

Thanks Dwayne & would love to connect when you’re in NYC (in February, I hear, promoting Journey 2, right?). Just let me know when works. Thanks again,

–

The Derek
ceo & founder, Greatist + #TeamBringIt
derek [at] greatist.com

Unless it’s not. In yesterday’s New York Times, a researcher named Dipak K. Das was charged with widespread fraud by his employer, the University of Connecticut– a case that includes 26 articles published under his name in 11 scientific journals. It’s suspected he may have falsified hundreds of articles, 117 of which focus on the health benefits in red wine, especially resveratrol’s reportedly positive effect on the heart. Yesterday, a journal already printed a retraction and removed Das as co-editor in chief.

In Greatist‘s article on red wine, we cite his research twice. Shit.

Luckily, the New York Times reports his research was “low visibility,” appearing mostly in specialty journals, and ultimately peripheral to its central principles. Though we cite two of his studies, neither are (to my knowledge) under investigation nor the outcome of his research alone (both have at least one other researcher named). Nonetheless, we are working to remove both citations and update the article now. The truth is his work was ultimately peripheral to most of the influential research on the effects of resveratrol and, in fact, the New York Times quotes Harvard Medical School Professor David Sinclair, a “leading resveratrol expert” know for his work on longevity, remarking: “Today I had to look up who he is.”

We cite 7 other studies in the article (whose researchers, I’m assured, haven’t been charged for fraud), all of which confirming the general science suggesting that resveratrol in red wine is, in fact, likely pretty good for you.

So Das’ research may not have been that important, but it hits home an important point: not all studies related to fitness, health, and happiness are well done or reputable. Scientific misconduct or simply mistakes can go undetected– and sometimes even published by legitimate, well-respected journals. It’s the same for any publication. Heck, the New York Times publishes article corrections nearly every day.

So that’s in part why we do what we do at Greatist, going to lengths that are unexpected and unasked to present the highest-quality research we can on a subject or topic. And sometimes it’s true the generally-accepted wisdom on topics changes and shifts dramatically, often rapidly. That’s not the case here (and, hey, I’m drinking red wine as I write this), but it doesn’t mean it won’t be the case elsewhere. But it’s our jobs as both an editorial unit and in general as a team of educated people passionate about this space (who dove headfirst into this to do things the right way precisely because we believe people deserve better than what’s out there now) to do the best we can to summarize the best information that’s available (plus communicate it in a way that’s relatable and down to earth). And then it’s also our job to, if something changes, act fast to adapt it to reflect new circumstances.

There’s a reason we cite every single fact with a PubMed study, link out only to an internally-approved list of high-quality sources, edit every single sentence with a fine-tooth comb (not literally), and have multiple experts (never just one!) approve every single article. And there’s a reason we don’t write articles on topics without the right research, present definitive conclusions when the science is murky, or write irresponsible sensationalist headlines. Not because anyone asked, but because that’s what you (and your body) deserve. I’ll be the first to admit we’re imperfect, we’ve made mistakes and will make mistakes. But we’re working our hardest not to, for the right reasons, doing everything that is humanely possible to produce only the highest-quality content in the health & fitness space on the web.

Ultimately, it’s important to maintain a certain skepticism about everything you read, from scientific studies to celebrity advice (oh really, Kim Kardashian?). It’s why we started Greatist. It’s what we do everyday. And despite the fact that we’re doing our absolute best to give you the highest-quality go-to fitness, health, and happiness resource on the web… sometimes a researcher just goes ahead and cuts & pastes images of western blots to come to fraudulent conclusions . Rest assured we’ll tell you anytime that happens– and what it actually means.

“I like our cartoons to be put together like a symphony. You know, there’s a conductor–I guess I’m it–and then there are the solo violins, and the horn players, and the strings, and a lot of other fellows, and some of them are more stars than others, but every one has to work together, forgetting himself, in order to produce one whole thing which is beautiful. You have to cast artists as you do actors. Some are better at drawing characters and some are best on flowers. Some artists are funny in every line they sketch, where others are solemn. You have to know all about a man to be sure that he is doing the work he loves best.” – Walt Disney

Gyms are a horrible business. For a small time when I was in far away in San Francisco, I seriously considered becoming co-owner of a gym I loved: it was independent, beautifully run, beloved by its customers… but barely broke even (we’re talking single digits). From the research I did then, it was clear that outside of some personal training gyms, a bunch of CrossFit boxes, and a few huge chains (and even most of those are suspect), it’s nearly impossible to make the classic “gym model” work. The reason? I think it’s that the model is sorely lacking in innovation. Its most recent trend, the Planet Fitness-style small cost of $10-20/month for a tiny space and minimal equipment, is just a testament to the fact that ultimately nearly every gym is based on the principle of incentivizing people to sign up for a long term contract, then hoping (or even expecting) they don’t come back. That might make okay business (not that any of these gyms are really crushing it– most success or failure in the gym space has basically fluctuated in step with the economy and expendable income), but not the best business. And definitely not business to feel good about. [1]

For the average consumer, gyms should be places people love to go to, feel good at, and rave about to their friends. I think they should be small, lean, & focused, dedicated to building a community atmosphere and working to keep people around so they can keep spending, stick with the gym, buy other stuff there, and convince all their friends to join.

Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to know what will work. My life is 100% Greatist and what we can do to make health & fitness easier for people now on the platform we’re building. But for shits & giggles here’s what I’d look into & try if someone suddenly proposed to fund a massive new chain of brick & mortar gyms:

I’d hire people to work at & represent the gym just like Starbucks hires baristas, based on attitude, interest, & ability. But mostly attitude. The gym should be awesome, a positive, uplifting experience– and that starts at the person who’s at the front desk (if there is a front desk) and ends at the person cleaning the towels.

I’d have a very clear, standardized pricing system– one where everyone pays the same, w/o having to scrounge up random discounts all the time.

OR another option (which I think could really work and potentially be pretty transformative) is to do a Zipcar-like thing where people agree to pay a minimum per month, but really pay per visit (and even perhaps sign up as specifically as the machine they want to use, the weight lifting area, or both– either way, maximizing the efficiency of the equipment, which no one really does right now). They schedule their visits when they’re coming & the visits change prices based on the demand/popularity. This means the gym will never be PACKED (because of a maximum number of slots & because economics will convince people to go work out at another time that’s better). Plus, if people are paying already, they’re more likely to want to go (‘course the whole pay-per-visit thing might also disincentive people from going at all, but then they shouldn’t have bought the package in first place, maybe?)

I’d also offer alternative pricing for: families, coworkers, friends/roommates (switch off going), and one w/ exorbitant pricing that becomes super reasonable if certain goals (pounds, strength, endurance), whatever, are met. If someone recommends a friend and they sign up, they get something (free visits or whatever). Tracking visits, ps, can develop a leaderboard and all that, too. [2]

I’d consider an invite-only gym in the beginning to preserve some specific userbase (or not & instead just be super open & super willing to let people have day passes to check it out).

I’d definitely couple it w/ a small cafe/smoothie/food bar. It’s silly to have so many people leave the gym and then go eat somewhere else when they’d be more than happy to grab something healthy and go. It’s an expense– but if done right (and not half-assedly like most gyms do), it could be a big revenue driver. Has to be done well enough for people to go just for that (“healthy food” but not overbearingly so). For fun, I’d also maybe try a “tax” on bad goods that are offered in gyms. Sure, you can buy that piece of cake… but it’ll be $20/slice. How much do you really want it?

Can the cardio machines generate enough power to fuel the place? Make it cost-efficient if possible. People will love that and it could potentially save a ton of money. If not, invent machines that can (or at least find relatively affordable ones that could).

I’d invest heavily in technology that allows you to go to any of these gyms with a passcode/sign-in or whatever every machine recognizes you & tracks your data (if you want it to). Obviously tracking software/app with the website so people can add diet if they want or whatever. This can be a sticky feature & also be valuable data-wise down the line.

I’d make them small, compact, & everywhere. Working out & traveling sucks. Moving to a new place & finding a gym sucks. They all vary super widely, even within the same chains sometimes. Plus, location is everything– gyms are usually out of people’s way & that’s among the top factors people use as an excuse for not joining one and going regularly. If they’re everywhere, small, and the same– that’d be huge.

I’d pay crazy amounts to make sure the equipment & bathrooms are kept outrageously clean at all times. Think that’s key to the experience. And the extra cost minimal compared to everything else, really

I’d spend the time to recognize & reward great members who are motivating & helping others. Why just have a wall of trainer photos when the regular members are just as important at setting the gym’s pace & satisfaction? What if a gym treated its members like constituents, not customers? [3]

I’d experiment with using the late evenings (or really any non-peak times) as theme nights/events of some sort. Even if it’s just to play a certain type of music. Again, when signing up for times, stuff like that will be clear so people won’t be surprised. But then it can become a truly social place. A place people go to have fun & want to go to.

I’d also 100% do movie nights, sports game nights, big TV show airing nights, where people all come together to watch these games while on cardio machines or whatever. The shared sense of this could be a really interesting alternative to a sports bar or whatever– and there aren’t really all that many alternatives.

I’d try everything I could to hack at the current trainer-client model (right now, group classes & revenue-share with trainers is where most gyms make real profit… so they upsell the hell out of those things, regardless of whether people really need them or if that’s really the best, most effective way). I’d look into how to have trainers teach in classes more (for example, from 12-2pm today, come to the gym and Frank is open & willing to help with anything) and consider having 3-4 person training sessions (where Frank trains them together and sets up circuits or whatever)– these are sometimes called “semi-private training sessions” and definitely not widespread enough. A lot can be done here. [4] People could go back at different times for their favorite trainers.

Find a way to really have the best trainers only. The certification system is basically broken. There are too many– no regular consumer knows which to trust. There’s little to no updating, so trainers could have gotten certified 10 years earlier or whatever. I’d find a way to fix that, make it universal, and then really be able to keep only the best. the truth is most trainers suck, so the fact that they’re certified shouldn’t be enough. Worse, it’s also difficult to figure out who’s bad or good fast, especially if the client is inexperienced. The true solution here, I think, is ultimately some form of government regulation, but that’s a whole different blog post.

That’s a lot of ideas. A lot of random thoughts. And a lot of things I think the industry (and the world) sorely needs– or at least needs someone to try.

Know a gym that does some of this successfully? Have other ways in mind to disrupt the gym business? Share your experience & ideas in the comments below!

FOOTNOTES

[1] An exception, at least to me, are the gyms created only for the hardcore and focused. They exist because the have small (often closed) communities of people who love them, their founders are insanely well-respected, and… almost all of them are entirely on a trainer-client business model (the only model that really works right now). Of those, the ones that come to mind & kill it are Westside Barbell in Ohio, Gym Jones in Utah, Mike Boyle’s Strength & Conditioning in Massachussetts, NorCal Strength & Conditioning in California, and of course Peak Performance in NYC.

[2] My friends Yifan Zhang & Geoff Oberhofer are working on an external product to track some of this with Gym-Pact (and it’s launching January 1st, actually!)

[3] Special thanks to the always insightful Sam Novey for his thoughts on this point specifically.

[4] A lot of innovation in the trainer-client space is happening online right now, mostly with semi-tailored & video-focused programs like the new Daily Burn, GAIN Fitness, Exercise.com, FitOrbit, and others. It’s easy to think of these as the evolved version of Exercise DVDs which, though seemingly silly, is a hugely lucrative market. But the opportunity on the web to include so many other aspects, including real customization/personalization, food & fitness tracking, motivation & reminders, plus nutritionist advice & follow-through can give these platforms an opportunity to no doubt make an increasingly meaningful difference.

More must-read health & fitness news and information at Greatist.

At the very least, it’ll be the highlights (cop lights, flash lights, spot lights, strobe lights, street lights) from the very beginning of the Greatist story. I’ll be covering everything we did right (and wrong) before the site launched, how we built & grew social media + organic search traffic from the start, and how to create compelling content that readers love & share. Plus also evil wizard jokes (which is a new category of jokes I just made up).

If you’re in NYC and interested in growing or building a content-driven site, take the class! Or if you want to see Greatist HQ and haven’t before, take the class! Or if you’d just like to do me a smaller favor, don’t take the class and instead spread the news about the class!

Thanks for the support!

To make sure none go to waste, here’s what we designed:

But it’s more complicated than that, right? It’s hard to think differently, harder to take a risk– but what good has come out of thinking & doing the same as everyone else? Again, this doesn’t mean it’s easy. It doesn’t mean there aren’t steps along the way, times of hardship, & dues you have to pay. If you don’t know yet what you’ll love, that’s a frustrating process that needs to take its course. But, knowing what that’ll be, what’s stopping you from finding what makes you happy? What’s preventing you from discovering what makes every day worth it? And then why aren’t you allowing yourself to love every second of what you do?

The power brick & mortar chains have is astounding. Starbucks can remove artificial flavors & dyes from their foods and instantly affect, even in a small way, people’s diets. Starbucks can introduce free universal wifi and instantly become the world’s largest free internet hotspot provider, transforming the way people do work. Changing the way millions of people eat on a massive scale can have a big difference. Even just bringing smiles to millions of people today can have a huge impact. Making work and access easier on a massive scale can opening up new opportunities (think how many startups have started in a Starbucks– Greatist included). As any reader of this blog knows, I’m obviously a huge fan of Starbucks, less just because I like their coffee (when I go, it’s almost always just black/iced coffee or green tea for me), but more because they know they can have that massive effect and then try, for better or for worse, to have a positive one. Huge opportunity comes with huge responsibility and not too many brick & mortar chains embrace that chance as anything more than increasing value for their shareholders. It’s increasing value for the world that brings people back– and it’s why, as someone who’s quick to be critical with anything that’s uber-popular, I support Starbucks whenever I can.