Intro
In this interview, Joe Gray explains how the Garage Gym Competition was conceived, its growth, what you need to know this year to enter, and MORE. This episode can be listened to wherever you get podcasts! Check it out on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, etc. Below is an outline of the conversation.
(0:18) The Original Concept
In February 2018, Joe had this idea of a virtual powerlifting meet and reached out to a few others within the space at the time to see if they wanted to get involved (@garagegymlab, @garagegymexperiment, @garagegymscom). All of them & his wife, who was used as a sounding board, thought it was a good idea. Therefore, he proceeded! A few months later, the first Garage Gym Competition happened.
At this time, the garage gym community was forming. There weren’t a ton of dedicated content creators, and no one had hundreds of thousands of followers.
(3:44) Year One
84 participants, 14 sponsors, and $1,200 in prizes. The largest prize was a basic flat bench. While that may not sound too impressive, this is all with just a few months of communication beforehand.
Overall, the feedback was positive, so Joe knew he had to bring it back for another year.
(5:45) Adjustments Made After Year One
With a background in project management work, Joe immediately got to work on the second Garage Gym Competition. He knew he had nearly the entire year to prepare for the following year.
In general, it became more professional and clean. Plus, many involved continued to grow, and it was easier to gain visibility.
(8:24) YoY Growth
Year 1: 84 participants, $1,200 in prizes, 14 sponsors
Year 2: 214 participants, $5,000 in prizes, 16 sponsors
(Covid) Year 3: 1,278 participants, $10,000 in prizes, 23 sponsors
Year 4: 1,200 participants, $33,000 in prizes, 33 sponsors
While there wasn’t any participation growth, Joe believes that it simply went back to the original audience of home gym owners after seeing a “Covid-Year” spike of those who don’t typically lift at home.
(10:25) GGC Data
Some data highlights include:
- Over 40 countries have participated.
- Ages 3-62 have competed.
- The average athlete is 31, male, from the USA, and weighs 188 lbs.
- The average total is 900 lbs, which is not your typical powerlifting meet.
- 85% lift exclusively at home
- 79% do not have any other competitive experience
- Over a million pounds were lifted cumulatively last year.
- 76 athletes under the age of 18.
- From 2020 to 2021, the repeat competitors improved by over 1,200 pounds.
- The strongest country is the United Kingdom.
- Wisconsin was the strongest US state.
- Most train between 3 and 6 days a week.
- The closest tie to performance was “years of training.”
(17:43) Typical Feedback from Potential Sponsors
Reaching out to sponsors has evolved from “hey, do you want to do it?” to a structured pitch deck that gives an overview of the competition, includes what’s new, different sponsorship models, and then data to help show who competes.
While many understand the value of sponsoring something like this, some don’t have an interest in getting involved with a “powerlifting meet.” Or they are looking for a more traditional meet to get behind.
However, there is still a powerful list of companies that want to see the value of supporting.
(27:40) The Details to Enter This Year
There is no registration, fee to enter, or anything you need to do beforehand. You simply need to upload a max squat, bench, or deadlift to social media between May 14th and May 22nd, and you are entered to win.
There are many “exceptions” or workarounds if you cannot perform all of these normally (learn more at the website).
(30:51) 2022 Prizes
There are a little over $32,000 in prizes from 37 different sponsors for May.
The grand prize is a 4-post power rack via Ghost Strong that’s decked out with a Juggernaut AI theme and another prize package from Juggernaut to go along with it.
(34:40) The Future
Joe will continue to focus on participant growth from year to year, local meets, overall user experience, and much more in a sustainable way.
Joe’s participant goal is 2,000! Let’s see if he can hit it!