6
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TOTAL ACCESS+ IS HERE!
"Passion Project": exploring something you are passionate about, yet technically it’s a project because it’s for work. Although when one is loving and enjoying what they do, is it really work at all?
For the past year our entire Edge team has been working hard, really hard, on the ultimate passion project. There are so many individuals that were instrumental in creating our passion project, that I’m not sure where to begin or how to name them all! Let’s start at the beginning. March 2020, we were on the cusp of a global pandemic. Grocery stores were running low on food, toilet paper was nearly impossible to find, and we were all trying to figure out how to navigate what felt like a bad dream. This COVID crisis was something we had never experienced before. In the midst of the chaos, we had an idea! The world was changing, but our intention to bring fitness to our members remained the same. If we couldn’t operate our Group Exercises classes in our 32 locations, we would devise, develop, and deliver a new way to access The Edge experience. When we dare to dream big, we often share these brave ideas with two types of people. The first type of people are the dream crushers; individuals who think that your idea is too much, too big, too bold, too expensive. They will try to talk you out of pursuing your dreams. The second type are the people in your life who encourage you, challenge you, offer advice, support you with a resounding “Go For It!” . I approached our Senior Leadership Team that fateful March of 2020 with the idea to move our Group X classes to social media via Facebook and Instagram. The Owner and Founder, the CEO, CFO, CAO COO, VP of HR and Director of Operations, they all, without a doubt said “Go for it!” They didn’t question it, they didn’t think twice. They believed in our purpose and our passion. If members couldn’t physically come to The Edge, we would bring The Edge to them. And so my friends, for the past eleven months we, as a team, have been redefining boundaries and going for it.
March 17th, 2020 we had our first class on Instagram. Our instructor was going through a workout with two Home Depot gallon buckets filled with rocks, a backpack filled with books and a warm welcoming smile. We all tuned in for that first class and I was hoping and praying that this was indeed a good idea!
People tuned in.. and not only did they watch, they LOVED it! It was in that moment we knew we were
creating something special. Our online platform proved to be a worthy vehicle to help others through one of the most difficult years of our lives. When we hire Group Exercise and Spinning Instructors at The Edge, do you know what their top two requirements are when teaching a class? #1. Deliver an ahmazing experience (yes, we spell ahmazing with an ‘H”) #2. Have fun. That requirement was no different for our instructors teaching LIVE classes.
You see, at The Edge, we’re all about the experience! From the cardio cinema, to the shakes, to the Women’s Only Area to the four different types of treadmills and the dry Sauna -it’s not just a workout, it’s an experience. Now we had to create that same Edge vibe through our mobile devices!
As for fun, we believe that joy is a key ingredient to your workout. Life is stressful enough, so at The Edge we see our buildings as sacred structures where you can move your body, clear your mind, and smile! Could we cultivate that connection and Edge vibe over the internet? Truth be told, we were not sure what we were doing at first! But we soon discovered members, non-members, and people around the world were tuning into our LIVE classes. We started a Morning Motivation group where every day we’d all jump on for 15 minutes to connect, share, learn, and check-in to see what was happening with our new virtual family. To our surprise... it was all a big hit!! In the past year hundreds and thousands of people have absorbed and appreciated our content.
While we had our share of successes, we also had a few challenges along the way. Oh Wifi, on many occasions the Wifi would go down and our online classes would disappear. Along the way we quickly became experts in music licensing and rights. We soon realized that we were outgrowing the limitations of Facebook and Instagram. The time had come to create a platform where we could evolve and provide you, our members, with an even better Edge experience.
What you don’t know is that for the past year, we have been studying, evaluating and building our own platform. A place were innovation and entertainment meet fitness. A place where we can create programs, workouts, classes to help you elevate your mental and physical game to the next level. A place where you can connect with our Instructors and our Edge community. After all, we’re more than a gym, we’re a team, a family, a community. We’ve spent countless hours testing everything from the sign-up process to how to watch replays. After all, we know that you love to watch the videos on the replay!
There was a lot of time, love, sweat and even a few tears in this year long process. Through it all our intention and purpose never wavered. We remain committed to bringing you the best platform so you can become your best self! You know the feeling when you graduate from High School or College? Or maybe the feeling of winning the Championship Game in overtime? That feeling of accomplishment, that’s what this feels like for us today. We had a big idea, a big dream that at times seemed scary. But our “why” was bigger than our fear. We knew why we were doing this. We knew who we were doing this for! Our passion project would positively impact The Edge Family. We were committed to “going for it". What was once our passion project is now your platform. Today we proudly share the newest addition to The Edge experience- Total Access+. Sincerest appreciation to YOU our members for inspiring us, to our leadership team for guiding us, to our Edge team for making it happen.
