In the process of building an indoor training facility (Donate Here), I realized as I placed the gym equipment into the warehouse a lot of the items I selected felt more like play than training. I then recognized how many people are intimidated by things we all used as kids.
While the current sneaker generation may not have played with marbles, digging holes in the dirt and squatting to flick carefully crafted globes of weighted glass to win the coveted Cat’s Eye, kid’s today do squat while building Lego sets or sketching on their iPads.
As people age, they move from squatting and play, to sitting at work and then sitting for hours in traffic. They arrive home and sit on the couch to watch television before going to bed.
Building the facility for track and field training has led to interesting interactions. When delivery drivers dropped off weight plates and barbells, they all asked to see the building. My initial thoughts in creating the gym were to only make it available for my daughter’s training and other track and field athletes. I made the assumption that there were enough CrossFit and Lifetime Fitness gyms that there wouldn’t be a chance to do anything else.
The older delivery drivers all asked if I would be hosting classes. I said no. The guy who delivered my 33kg barbell stated he was looking for somewhere more private to workout. He saw my jumprope hanging and admitted he had surgery and couldn’t jumprope anymore. He looked to be similar in age and I told him about my disability from falling from the top of an F-14 aircraft while in the Navy and injuring my back my sophomore year of JUCO basketball.
I explained to him how it took years for me to finally regain about 60% of my mobility. For an ex-athlete 60% is comparable to 90% for most people. We spoke for a few minutes before he had to climb back into his truck and get back to his deliveries.
By the time the dialogue finished I decided I would take my experience in coaching and the journey back to a stronger version of myself and begin sharing workout videos. Having done some workout videos under the sneaker unboxing playlist, beginning to build a list of workouts wouldn’t be difficult.
I simply needed to find things which would be low-impact and wouldn’t require a lot of equipment. I also needed to explain why it’s critical for folks to begin some form of fitness training as we age.
What I’ve found is brands and gyms tend to cater to certain demographics. In the past I talked about how sneaker culture had overlooked the OG consumer who built the sneaker industry. I explained that ignoring this demographic while placing an emphasis on a demographic that isn’t truly connected to sport was a mistake.
“As dads and moms continue to introduce their kids to their music and their style, brands are looking only at the kids, leaving the marketing of products to old heads on the cutting room floor.”
Today, Nike is attempting to reconnect via sport after losing ground to smaller competitors. Bigger brands have seen the “new sneaker culture” collapse under the weight of expectations of overnight millionaires selling kicks. The new generation bought kicks for the Gram or for TikTok trends. The OG generation still supports cash-based stores in urban communities and now they are beginning to search for paths towards improved fitness. When I wrote the post below where the quote above came from, it was to initiate dialogue with brands about strategies to recapture an audience looking to be inspired and catered towards.
This post can be considered an addendum. Brands should be reinforcing the importance of fitness for an aging demographic by building campaigns connecting sneaker culture to health. The boom of sneaker resale and hype collaborations has waned, but to be honest it should have never become the sole driving force behind sneakers. Function and fitness is fashion and can move brands forward in a more consistent and meaningful manner.
CrossRope jumprope: https://amzn.to/3C6JSJg
1/2″ 30 foot Battle Rope: https://amzn.to/3CbwovM
14lb Wall Ball: https://amzn.to/3C6K2jQ