Level Up Your Fitness Game

Speaker 1: hi welcome to the sheo fit experience with Melanie you're here because you want to scale and grow your business Master business strategy and learn about new tech Innovation join me and my inspiring guests as we dive into the topic of how how to create build scale and operate the business of your dreams in addition to being an entrepreneur I'm also a twin mom and Optimist who loves empowering you to experience the life that you crave Magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us joy so grab a coffee or cocktail get comfy and let's dive

Speaker 1: in I'm so happy to be talking to Felicia Alexander Felicia is the co-founder of box Union and the chief Revenue officer of Title Boxing Club Felicia thank you so much for joining us today thank you

Speaker 2: Melanie so much for having me on here

Speaker 1: today please tell us who you are and about the leaps that you made throughout your career prior to becoming the co-founder of box Union and the chief Revenue officer of Title Boxing Club

Speaker 2: first of all I'm a wife I'm a mom a daughter a sister a friend a retired corporate executive and a lifelong Fitness Enthusiast turned entrepreneur I loved working out as a kid I grew up in a house where we were doing Jane Fonda on betamax in the living room with my mom I took my VHS tapes of Tammy Lee web and Tony Little's awesome abs Tammy Lee Buns of Steel and Tony Lee awesome abs to college with me I grew up playing competitive soccer sports and team sports in particular were always a huge part of my life I always saw Fitness as a way to bring people together I did my undergrad at Stanford I was always participating in fun runs they weren't necessarily organized by anyone other than myself and my friends I participated in half marathons always recruiting a friend along the way to train with me and actually do the races with me and I also became really fond of group classes while I was in college I found it really important to take a portion of my student loan and dedicate that to a fitness club membership because it was very important that I had a place to go to

Speaker 2: d-stress my career has been really varied when I graduated from undergrad I went to work for sun Microsystems common through line between the companies I've worked with is that they've always been at the Forefront of innovation so Sun Microsystems built the servers that powered the internet and the whole initial do Revolution when I moved to LA I went to work for Mattel doing Barbie marketing clearly another brand that has continued to innovate and invent itself over time and then I went to work for Sony where I led an influencer Market marketing program for a division of Sony Corp that was all about introducing case makers celebrities and high net worth individuals to everything that the world of Sony had to offer before social media platforms even existed following that I went to work for demand media who was really helping brands use content in a

Speaker 1: way to educate inform and help them connect with consumers it was a lifelong goal of mine to do something in Fitness if you ask my college friends about my current career path they'll tell you it's like no surprise that I'm doing exactly what I'm doing today it just took me a while to get there I find Fitness and going to group classes and trying all different modalities to be something that I really enjoy I also find it to be one of my preferred ways to socialize I would love to meet a friend for a walk or for a class not only do you get the endorphin rush from the awesome workout but it's a great way to connect and even meet new people even at home today because I'm homeschooling seven-year-old twins I make them go to the gym we have a treadmill and a spin bike and then because my daughter can't really go to gymnastics right now I bought a gymnastics bar and kind of brought the gymnastics to her but I'll say we're all going to the gym for an hour so now the kids get on the treadmill they get on the pelaton and I wouldn't say they're actually following a class but they're able to get a really good workout and it's brought our family together that's

Speaker 2: awesome and that's so fun that you can like instill those habits and that love of Fitness for them at such a young age

Speaker 1: my mom did it with us and my sisters and I are all incredibly active to this day and to your point just getting out for a walk with a friend these days since we can't really go to classes like we want to it's so every time I go for a walk with a friend I think oh that was so nice I was active and I was talking to someone and I was able to socialize it's great you can call Sweat working you can call it you know sweat togethers I find it's just a wonderful way to connect with people and do you

Speaker 2: think your previous corporate career helped you to make the leap to where you are now and can you tell us a little bit about your position at box Union and

Speaker 1: with tile Boxing Club yeah I've always

Speaker 1: wanted to do something in Fitness in college I would tell my friends like someday I'm going to do something in Fitness but the reality is I graduated college in 3 years I had a lot of student loans to pay off I had a younger sister who still needed to go to college and I was really eager to be financially independent when I was 16 my father died suddenly of a heart attack it was my junior year in high school that summer I did look in the Yellow Pages and I was seeking out a boxing gym I wanted to learn how to box there was this sense of strength that I was longing for my father for all intents and purposes had been kind of like the backbone of our family financially and then there was just something about going to that boxing gym it was everything you would have imagined it was a stereotypical smelly dirty truly authentic boxing gym and I remember putting on gloves for the first time and hitting the bag and it being such anath IC experience Fitness has always been my number one passion after 20 plus years in the corporate world the Stars aligned

Speaker 1: I have an amazing business partner who I've known for almost 14 years his wife is one of my closest friends he had been a founding member of an investment bank and has over 23 years in banking experience we have a really complimentary skill set so my business partner and I have a joint shared passion for Fitness he was looking to do something different in his career after founding an investment bank that then went public and we were looking really from where we thought there was a business opportunity to grow a market and do something that hadn't been done before and while Fitness Boxing existed in Los Angeles there were all variations of the same theme most of the clubs were founded by former boxers they had a ring they tended to have big intimidating guys leading the classes and they would put you into small groups and run you through a circuit style workout now some of these places offer incredible workouts and the men who own and operate these clubs are wonderful human beings but they weren't places that I could get my friends to go and take a class with me boxing in itself is a sport it's a skill and it's very intimidating we studied the data on participation rates within the category of Fitness Boxing they skewed male they skewed older and it didn't look like what we knew like traditional yoga or spin looked like from a consumer demographic standpoint so our idea was let's create an experiential group Fitness Boxing class where we have a charismatic coach to guide you on the journey where the lights are low everyone has their own six foot tall individual waterfill heavy bag we create an experience where we pair the movement to the Rhythm and the BPM of the music so we created this idea of boxing to the beat which not only is a ton of fun it paces the workout and it induces this amazing Flow State because literally you're matching your movements

Speaker 2: with the music I love that you say you lights down low because the worst thing is when you go into get a really good workout in and the lights are super bright So when you say it's fun with music I mean that's super appealing and I would assume it's super appealing to

Speaker 1: women also yeah it absolutely is 75% of the boxers who come through our doors are female and I would say over 90% have never put a pair of gloves on in their entire life and I don't think they would have necessarily thought of boxing as a vehicle for fitness and we even get people who have never really been Fitness Enthusiast to begin with but because the workout is so much fun because we're pairing the movement to the music the time goes by really quickly and people are having so much fun yes they're getting an amazing workout but they almost forget like

Speaker 2: they're working out and I would think if you have a frustrating day at work or you're feeling frazzled I would think that putting on those boxing gloves and thinking about you and what you went through at such a young age I'm sure

Speaker 1: that that helped you to emotionally get through things absolutely there is nothing more cathartic than hitting the bag so whether it is the stressful day at work or even if I'm like beaming With Pride over something that took place with my son to be able to punch those emotions is a wonderful experience how has Title Boxing been during this time from a revenue perspective and you just had a pretty fun announcement come out

Speaker 2: yeah on December 31st box Union acquired Title Boxing Club making us the largest player in Fitness Boxing Title Boxing Club has over 163 locations throughout the US the Dominican Republic and Mexico the majority of the clubs are open but they're operating at various capacities due to government mandates this pandemic has been hard on all of us universally it's been incredibly hard for small business owners which our franchises are and it's definitely been hard on the fitness industry given the disparity in regulations between Fitness versus salons like we have not had a lot of the same Liberties that other Wellness businesses have had that said Americans are more stressed out than ever before

Speaker 1: 100% it's so true parents are homeschooling people are at home want to get out want to go do something to your point want to socialize and we miss that social interaction completely we're seeing this renewed emphasis on on a

Speaker 2: healthy lifestyle I saw a study published by the Mayo Clinic in January and it said that there is a clear Link in higher levels of aerobic fitness with lower levels of covid related hospitalization so we know that consumers know Health matters it does and it's really a great indicator and a great way to protect ourselves Title Boxing Club is The Perfect Workout it's truly a no touch workout you can have your gloves on your hands you're not sharing equipment it's cathartic I challenge anyone to take a class and tell me that they don't feel better after punching something not only is it stress reducing but the endorphins that you're going to get after people report feeling more relaxed

Speaker 1: and less stressed after class 100% your point about about health and wellness and covid the year I ran the marathon I didn't get sick one time because I was working out every day and you know sweating and kind of getting those not so great things out of your body and I

Speaker 1: have been better with Fitness this year and I assume that a lot of people have put more emphasis into their Fitness because we're not spending an hour in traffic or two hours in traffic every day or we're not doing those commutes we're at home a little more and from a lot of people that I've talked to they've been able to increase their Fitness and also their sleep yeah which sleeping helps tremendously I would think with Fitness because you have more energy and you can make it through your day and without a 30 minute to an hour workout I have to do it every morning six days a week because endorphins are such a beautiful thing I think you're

Speaker 1: right one of the things that you're touching on is this pandemic was the Catalyst to turn Fitness into a true Omni Channel experience like we saw retail go Omni Channel early on where sure you can go into Nordstroms or you can purchase from Nordstroms and have it arrive on your doorstep so people have learned now that they can squeeze in a workout it will never replace the in studio experience there's a whole different energy and performance factor that comes from being in a room and sharing energy with other people and having the coach motivate you there

Speaker 1: in person one thing we did early on during this pandemic on the box Union side all three of our Studios have been closed since the middle of March we mobilize quickly to keep our community engaged we went on Instagram the day after the mandated shutdown and started doing Instagram lives we wanted to keep our community engaged because people were home they were B board they were scared so in addition to our signature Shadow Boxing class we introduced a sculpt class focusing on legs butt core all done to the rhythm of the music as well as a hit class and shortly thereafter we launched a full-blown digital subscription service where we stream four live classes a day and have

Speaker 1: created a library of hundreds of workouts that range in length from just that 5 minute workout all the way to 45 minute workout across a number of different categories whether it be

Speaker 1: boxing on a heavy bag which we also started selling branded heavy bags we

Speaker 1: amazing to see a business that traditionally marketed to a thre M radius now have a global reach and have people all the way from from Sydney and Rio to the UK like all part of our box

Speaker 2: Union family that's so fun and I think some people used to look at it as oh I have to work out for an hour right but I think to your point the pandemic has also taught us that even a f minute workout can make you feel better even a 20 minute workout you can get a really good endorphin high and have a better day because of that and I remember seeing your press release and thinking good for you because in a pandemic it seems like you're taking advantage of the opportunities that are coming your way because we will come out of this and we will go back to gyms and in-person classes but it's also good to have that technology to where we can make it a balance where we can work out from home some days if we're having a busy day and then go enjoy the workout with our friends on days where we have a little bit more

Speaker 1: flexibility yeah no I completely agree with you and we really see digital as a way to enhance the connection with the consumer people aren't always going to be able to make it into our clubs life gets in the way kids get sick work trips happen we know that most people do have some sort of digital Fitness membership and for our community we've had people say this is the best thing that could have ever happened my schedule was such that I could only make it to the studio two days a week and now I feel so much

Speaker 2: more connected with the brain because I can take class with my favorite coaches every day of the week

Speaker 1: you are busy caring for your family and running a business what management tips can you give us for staying organized

Speaker 2: life is crazy and I'm not somebody who's ever going to say I have it figured out or I have any sort of balance because I don't necessarily believe in work life balance my work is a huge part of my life I left a cushy corporate job in 2016 to start a Fitness business it's no joke it's 7 days a week it's 365 days a year you add in covid where the studios are closed you're having to make tough

Speaker 2: decisions regarding the livelihood of your employees you're having to manage emotions of so many different people not to mention the fear and uncertainty that I personally need to negotiate and go through there's times when Pace may slow down a bit but there's 100% no off switch in terms of some of the things that I've done I've

Speaker 2: leaned into my son's entrepreneurial side I have a 14-year-old son he's like 14 going on 45 he's way more sophisticated than I am in so many ways he launched a car wash business in July and he made the investment in all of the equipment he markets himself on next door does all the flying when giving him freedom to do that obviously there's not a lot of Hangouts with friends taking

Speaker 2: place so for him to be able to go and keep himself busy he developed a love of Surfing this summer and so we've really been leaning into that and he has a strong entrepreneurial Mom that I'm sure he sees every day yes going out and making it happen truth be told my husband has always been a Serial entrepreneur so I am got two Role Models yes yes and he is very much my husband's

Speaker 2: son I would say dinner is the one time where we truly all try and sit down together I taught my son how to make chicken parm he is like the master at chicken parm so that's become part of like our weekly menu last night he made it and I didn't sit down for dinner two previous nights with them and I just feel myself feeling so much better it reminded me that sometimes you just need to put on the breaks and make the time even when you don't think you have the

Speaker 2: time that's so true in terms of a calendar every weekend we try and do at least one Adventure somewhere new so even though la is pretty locked down like we've done Adventures to parts of LA that we've never been we are all shifting and pivoting at such a rapid

Speaker 1: speed today what has been your biggest challenge during this time and how have you been able to successfully overcome it I know we've talked about a lot of pivots that you've made especially recently from a lot of people that I talked to they had went from a brick and mortar store to having to go online and every conversation I have is how are other companies doing this because it seems like everybody is figuring out their own way but we can always learn from other companies who have made that leap successfully so we're no different than the other companies that you've talked to in terms of taking what was a very hyperlocal high touch in-person experience and figuring out how to deliver that in a digital world there's been so many UPS in Downs in terms of we're shutting down we might be allowed to reopen we might be allowed to reopen at this capacity oh no whoops Fitness is closing down again and I think one thing that has been key throughout this entire Journey we've been on is to just stay really focused on the things that you can control and really lean into those things that you can control it's how do we continue to deliver the experience and be there for this amazing Community all while also welcoming new people into our family every day and it was so smart of you to make the leap into Tech when you did and that push we definitely went on early and it's paid off in Spades

Speaker 1: since we are dreaming of travel right now and I love your weekend La Adventures but what is a favorite trip

Speaker 2: that you have been on and why my husband and I are huge on travel and experiences when we first got engaged it was during the do crash in early 2000 he proposed we put our stuff in storage and we went traveling for six months knowing that we were leaving the Bay Area I had applied to business school at UCLA he had started his own company and we were going to land in La when we got back from our travel and our adventure we don't give each other gifts all anniversaries are around an experience and a trip where we're going to go somewhere I love that Co put a little wrench in a lot of our plans but we did make the very bold decision to leave the US in early December and head to Costa Rica and it was absolutely fantastic magical wonderful my younger sister had lived in this town called noara off and on during her late 20s and early 30s this town is beyond it's beautiful it has one of the most amazing beaches my son had developed this passion for surfing we rented a cute little two-bedroom place we did Zoom school from there I work from there and aside from some internet that would be a little iffy if there was witer rain it was so refreshing to leave Los Angeles and to be in a place where covid was so well managed and all of the restaurants are built Outdoors to begin with so we lived in like this alternate reality for a few months and it was great because a part of us that had felt like a little dead inside became reignited and it just reminded me how important it is for me personally to be able to experience life through travel and I'm sure after so much time in our houses it was so amazing to get outside and to be near the surf and to be able to eat outside again it's just a very special

Speaker 1: place magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us joy what is one tip that you can leave with us today about how you find and live your joy in your life and in your business

Speaker 2: love that you ask about Joy I know when you and I started talking today you were talking about my sister's podcast and I don't know if you were referencing her first podcast wild ideas worth living or the podcast that she recently launched called vitamin joy we all need to look for joy in everything we do for me joy is sweating it's also being of service to other people one of my greatest Passions is Connecting People I love connecting with people that I've never met before and I love connecting people with one another this is a skill I inherited from my mom it's something that both of my sisters also possess and I'm always thinking about other people and how I can potentially help them it translates really well to business because I do a lot of Partnerships but honestly it just brings me joy thank you

Speaker 1: so much for joining us today it's been so great to have you on and to learn more about box Union and Title Boxing Club how can we find you and more importantly how can we find your online

Speaker 2: classes oh yeah so I have a special promo code for all your listeners if they type in she built it they can receive a 50% off our monthly digital subscription and all you need to do is go to digital. boox union.com

Speaker 2: boxunion is on instam at boxunion Studio you can find me at fees La La Land everyone says I should change it to like Felicia Alexander but I still love fees La it is um and you can also find Title Boxing Club at titleboxing Club on

Speaker 1: Instagram great thank you so much for

Speaker 2: joining us thank you for having

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