THE
MARCH 2018
THE ORIGIN STORY O2 has come a long way, both as a beverage and as a company. It seems like just yesterday that I was driving my Prius across Ohio, making all of our deliveries personally, just trying to stay afloat. We’re now in gyms and retail outlets across the country, and we’ve just launched our own fancy newsletter. Getting to where we are now took equal parts hustle and personal growth, and while it’s been painful at times, it’s also allowed us to partner with some of the best small businesses on the planet. The O2 concept was born out of the active but unsustainable lifestyle of my late 20s. Back then, I ate clean but drank gallons of Gatorade and Red Bull to keep moving, all while trying to juggle long hours at my marketing job with working out and having an active social life. You don’t have to be a doctor to know how unhealthy it is to subsist on neon-colored sugar water and artificial caffeine. I was zombified during the day and too jittery to go to sleep at night. Finally, I decided enough was enough; there had to be a better way to fuel my otherwise healthy lifestyle.
As it turns out, making a unique drink that tastes great and actually works isn’t easy. We spent a long time prototyping, using a contraption built out of garden hoses and a fish tank to get the oxygen levels correct. Next, we had to play with the electrolyte and caffeine levels for the results we wanted. Dan and I started tossing around ideas in 2009, but it wasn’t until 2011 that we had a tangible product. We spent so much time and effort on the functional aspect of the drink that we forgot one little detail: the taste! When we bottled the first batch ourselves, the reviews we got back were all the same: “Tastes awful; works great!” We had lightning in a bottle. We just had to find the right way to flavor it. This was easier said than done. Improving flavor without adding artificial sugars or reducing function was a tall order, but I was determined not to sacrifice the nutritional elements of the drink. I’d started coaching CrossFit and Krav Maga after quitting my job at Nationwide Insurance to focus on O2, and I was a lot more mindful about health and wellness. Once I knew we’d nailed the function, I used the last of my savings to hire a team of food scientists to nail the taste. Through a long, expensive process, we finally zeroed in on a flavor profile that was crisp, light, unique, and uncompromising. It took nine months, and I’m certain we were the scientists’ least-favorite customer, but we’d made the best product we possibly could. Was this risky? Absolutely. But in making O 2 a reality, I evolved along with the beverage. My personal growth as a coach and athlete underscored the importance of what I’d set out to do and gave me our core values of honesty, humility, and hustle. That’s the ethos of our company. We’re not perfect, but we’ll continue to learn, grow, and strive for our full potential to serve you best every day.
I brought my beverage woes to a medical doctor: my friend, Dan. I knew he led a
pretty active lifestyle in spite of the stress of completing his residency, and I wanted to know how he did it. “A lot of Gatorade and Red Bull, same as you,” he told me with a sigh. I was shocked.
Was there really no alternative?
We hit the books, delving into the latest studies to find the answers we were looking for. We kept coming across references to oxygenated
Cheers,
–Dave Colina Founder, O2
water and its ability to help the liver process toxins faster. This was it! But why wasn’t anyone else making an oxygenated recovery drink?
O2 | PAGE 1 | DRINKO2.COM
HAVE FUN,
Throughout January, we ran a four- part series on how box owners can take a few simple steps to grow both revenue and retention. If you missed it, no worries — we’ve got the CliffsNotes version for you.
By finding ways to reward your new members with the products you sell, you simultaneously build box loyalty and introduce clients to your retail operation. There are multiple ways to do this, but they all boil down to one principle: To get a little (or a lot), you have to give a little. GIVE NEW ATHLETES A FREE CAN OF O2 This nice gesture strengthens the bond between you and your new athlete, increasing the likelihood they’ll stick around. At the same time, you’re giving them a product they really need, educating them about it, and introducing them to your retail operation in one fell swoop. MAKE IT A COMPETITION Holding competitions among your members is a great way to drive positive habits and have fun. Want to clean up your athletes’ diets? Create a nutrition challenge. Want to make more money from retail? Do a retail challenge. Here’s an example:
KEVIN SCHUETZ LEADS BY EXAMPLE A regional-level competitor in the CrossFit Games for the past five years, Kevin Schuetz runs one of the largest boxes in Oklahoma.
WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AS AN AFFILIATE OWNER?
I’ve had to learn to step away from the floor and into more of an oversight position. I really enjoy coaching people one-on-one, which isn’t really feasible at a box as big as mine.
WHAT GOT YOU INTO CROSSFIT?
I played baseball in college, which kept me in shape despite the occasional beer. After graduating, I put on a lot of weight — I got up to 240 pounds. Then, I saw the CrossFit Games the first time they aired on TV. I went straight to my Chicago box and signed up.
WHAT TACTICS HAVE HELPED YOU BOOST RETAIL SALES AT YOUR BOX?
Beyond bringing display cases into the main lobby, I would say leading by example. I promote products I like and use myself. I drink O2 all the time, and my members take notice.
HOW DID YOU GO FROM 240 POUNDS TO BECOMING A REGIONAL ATHLETE?
It wasn’t easy. When I first started, I was getting my butt kicked by middle-aged women! I just stayed focused on improving my personal best. I always believed I could make it to the CrossFit Games, but focusing on these small goals is what got me there.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR?
I like the Orange Mango! It sits well in my stomach, so I actually use it to get my pre- workout caffeine. On off days, I mix things up with Grapefruit Ginger.
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1. Get a group of new members together before or after a workout and give them all a can of O2. MAKE MONEY
2. Put two minutes on the clock.
3. Whoever continuously air squats while holding the can out in front of them to reinforce good squat form gets to keep the can at the end of the two minutes.
This drives camaraderie and rewards your members with a product they’re now more likely to seek out in the future.
DO RETAIL RIGHT There was a time when all you needed for a successful CrossFit gym was a warehouse, some decent equipment, and money for an affiliate fee. The mantra “If you build, it they will come” rang true. That time is over. New affiliates are popping up all over, and box owners are feeling the pressure on their bottom line. These days, a successful gym has to simultaneously offer increased value to members and generate more revenue. With a good retail plan in place, your gym can do both. Retail can boost your per-member revenue by 20–40 percent while improving your members’ experience. Here’s how. RETAIL 101 Whether you run Whole Foods or a CrossFit gym, retail boils down to one simple equation: product visibility + education + ease of access = sales. PRODUCT VISIBILITY For a member to buy a product, they have to know it exists. It’s a hard-and-fast rule of the grocery industry: The more visible your products are, the more they will sell. A good rule of thumb is to allocate more visibility to the most profitable products. Take it from Kevin Schuetz — bring those display cases into the main lobby! EDUCATION Now that you’ve shown your members what they can buy from you, give them a reason to! Use your gym’s social media pages to announce which products you have for sale and why you carry them. Host a sampling event. Give away a free can of O2 to new members! When members know the value of your products, they’ll want to buy. EASE OF ACCESS Workouts should be a challenge for your members, but buying should be easy. Avoid cash-only policies and vending machines. Fewer people carry cash these days, and our research has yet to show a single instance in which vending machines have resulted in meaningful sales. Instead, increase your sales by putting a smooth payment structure in place. The honor system with a tally sheet works well. Retail isn’t rocket science, but success doesn’t happen by accident. By following these principles, we’re confident you can instantly improve your retail operation.
OFFER SAMPLES Making new friends is hard, and starting at a new gym can be intimidating. Holding a sampling event between classes is the perfect opportunity to give new and old members an excuse to mingle. Everyone loves free stuff, and there’ll be plenty of time for watercooler talk. SWAG BAG Who doesn’t love swag? Rewarding folks with branded merch after they sign up for a membership strengthens the bond between you and your newest client. Something as simple as a drawstring bag with your logo on it, packed with O2 and other goodies, can go a long way. But if you want to make a big impact, include a handwritten welcome note. This one simple gesture can mean the world to new members. AFFILIATE SPOTLIGHT DALE KING, SHARK TANK SUPERSTAR I’m a proud husband, father, veteran, and entrepreneur. I’m a dude who loves his hometown and loves to work hard, laugh, sweat, think, and drink coffee in the morning and beer at night. WHAT’S SOMETHING FUN YOU’VE DONE RECENTLY FOR YOUR MEMBERS OR STAFF? Installed a kegerator, took the crew to work at the CrossFit Games, and went to a Zac Brown concert. WHAT’S THE MOST EFFECTIVE THING YOU’VE DONE RECENTLY TO BOOST SALES OF RETAIL ITEMS? Flash sales do really well. You just have to be careful not to run them all the time or they lose their luster. We give all new members a can of O2 for free; that way, they feel rewarded and get to sample the product. WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB? Watching happy people kicking ass. Being able to watch an awakening of self-confidence and capability is amazingly rewarding. O2 | PAGE 3 | DRINKO2.COM We’ve kicked off a monthly installment spotlighting O2 affiliate retail partners, and we couldn’t be happier to have begun the series with Dale King, owner of PSKC CrossFit and Doc Spartan (as seen on TV!). A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW YOU AS THE GUY WHO WORE SHORT SHORTS ON SHARK TANK. WHO IS THE REAL DALE KING?
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How O2 Came to Be Page 1 Marketing to Newbies Featured Athlete: Kevin Schuetz Page 2 Affiliate Spotlight Retail 101 Page 3 Book Review: ‘Extreme Ownership’ Page 4
EXTREME OWNERSHIP: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win We’ve got a little book club here at O2. Each month, we’ll read a book designed to help us improve as people, leaders, and as a business. A few months ago, we read “Extreme Ownership” and loved it. Effective leadership is the most important key to success, and to say that “Extreme Ownership” will empower you as a
LAWS OF COMBAT Simplify, prioritize, and execute. Applied to a business setting, these combat strategies show how simplifying plans and organizing priorities will improve your operational efficiency. There’s not enough time in the day to do it all, so effective leaders must choose their battles wisely. SUSTAINING VICTORY To drive their point home, Willink and Babin provide a plan for how to implement and sustain the concepts of extreme ownership. They highlight the importance of decisiveness and show you how to create planning checklists that enable your team to operate like one fluid unit. “Extreme Ownership” differs from other leadership books by emphasizing that there can be no leadership where there is no team. Its main points revolve around the importance of teams, not just individuals. Leaders who embody extreme ownership don’t just take the blame for mistakes — they own them.
leader is an understatement. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin use their experiences as former U.S. Navy SEALs to provide a backdrop for their views on leadership. The book is divided into three main points and designed to make it as easy as possible for you to apply extreme ownership in your own life. We recommend it for any small business owner. WINNING THE WAR WITHIN Leaders are responsible for everything and everyone within their purview. Willink and Babin make the bold assertion that there are no bad teams, just bad leaders. Is there something not going the way you want it to? If you’re at the top, it starts with you! It may be a tough pill to swallow sometimes, but it’s always true.
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