[Pictures coming soon!]
So it’s Friday, and I’m finally back at work. These past few days have been a whirlwind of P90X, meeting people, discussing fitness, promoting Beachbody and having a blast. Our team managed to pull everything off with smooth efficiency, and we celebrated last night with a large dinner, everybody at once proud of all our work and glad that it was over. Who would have thought sponsoring and running such events would be so tiring? When the adrenaline finally wears off, you’re left thinking: Wow. How did I just do all that?
The best part of course was being able to bring Tony to South Florida and give people the chance to not only listen to his words, but to work out with him and then meet him in person later on. What is Tony like? The man is gregarious, friendly, up for meeting everybody and a consummate professional. Whether it’s posing with a group of fans for yet another photograph or taking any and all questions after his speech, whether it’s pumping the crowd while leading over 400 people through a brutal Warrior workout or just exuding charm, delight and energy, having Tony Horton in town is unforgettable.
We kicked everything off on Wednesday morning bright and early. 7.15 we all met at the office to then carpool over to Florida International University, where our core team and a group of wonderful volunteers gathered to assemble our tables, mount our banners, set out our displays and prepare our protein bar samples. By the time students started wondering in through their campus center, the our P90X display was dominating the expo, four large tables covered in sumptuous black cloth, over fifteen people in P90X shirts working the floor, floor to ceiling professional grade P90X banners and three flatscreens rolling different workouts. We looked good, we looked professional, and we immediately became the center of attention.
One thing I immediately realized: everybody already knows about P90X. The students were familiar, if not conversant, and everybody knew somebody that was doing it. Their roommate, their boyfriend, their best friend, this guy in class. Everybody was curious about this workout, wanted to know a little more, were a little hesitant, a little shy, a little skeptical, but came away convinced. Hundreds upon hundreds of people signed up for more information, and the auditorium filled up quickly when Tony went to give his speeches. It was great to see such enthusiasm, to see countless faces caught up in the potential the program offered them. By the time Tony’s Warrior workout rolled around at 2pm, I felt almost dizzy with the sheer number of people I’d met, conversations I had had, and information I had given. I must have spoken to some three hundred people, easy. Fantastic!
Tony’s workout was a huge success. Over 400 people attended, from ripped dudes in P90X shirts to an old lady who must have been in her 70’s. Tony warmed them up with a speech, grounding them, explaining how they should go at their own speed, should do their best and forget the rest, and then he got started. I was outside, manning the tables, but everytime I stuck my head in I saw hundreds of people gasping, red in the face, streaming sweat and struggling to keep up. Tony was a machine up on stage, never even breaking a sweat, while kids less than half his age were rolling around trying to get their breath, grimacing and hoping it would end soon.
Finally, Tony selected the winner of our day long raffle, and everybody streamed back out into the large hallway, where we served them P90X Recovery Formula and more chopped up protein bars. Pumped by Tony’s workout, everybody wanted to know more about P90X, about Beachbody, about the coaching opportunity, and we could hardly keep up with the demand.
And then, like that, we were done. 5pm, and we broke everything down, loaded it into the cars, and drove away from FIU.
