23 Years in Business: What Loss, Leadership, and Long Days Have Taught Me

After 23 years of building businesses, one thing’s clear: the journey never gets easier—it just changes shape. Some days, everything clicks. Other days, you’re just holding on, waiting for tomorrow to give you another shot.

This year has been one of the toughest in my life—personally and professionally. I came into 2025 with a clear vision: go all-in on scaling my businesses in the health and fitness space. That was the plan. But life has a way of rewriting your roadmap when you least expect it.

In May, my Dad passed away.

By June, my partners in another company asked me to step in as CEO for a 12-month turnaround. I took the job and started in July. Since then, it’s been 12-hour days, 5 a.m. sales calls with global teams, and nonstop recruiting to build the kind of crew that can pull off a true transformation.

I’m not new to long hours. I’m not new to pressure. But this time, something’s different. The one person I used to call every single day—no matter what—was my Dad. Always just a quick check-in. Same with my Mom. They were the first people I’d talk to when I needed clarity, advice, or just a minute of peace in the middle of the chaos.

Now, I still call my Mom. But that other call, the one I instinctively go to make—it’s not there anymore. And man, there are days I really need to talk to my Dad.

That absence hits hardest when the stakes are high. When you're leading people, trying to keep it together, and wishing you had just one more voice of calm in your corner.

But here’s what this year has taught me:

No matter how far you go in business, how many wins or scars you rack up, or how many years you’ve put in—the journey will keep testing you. You’ll have chapters that feel impossible and chapters that feel electric. Both are part of it.

And through it all, what really matters is the people who love you. The ones who listen. The ones who remind you who you are when the world is too loud. Don’t take them for granted. Don’t be too busy to call. And don’t forget that success without connection isn’t really success at all.

We build for a lot of reasons—freedom, passion, legacy. But at the core, we build to make life better for the people we care about. Keep them close. Especially when things get hard.

Because they’re the real foundation