Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Myers.
Ryan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The year is 2020 before the shutdowns, and my roommate Aaron and I were invited out to a lunch with some friends which used to train at the CrossFit gym which we both coached at — Aaron as the Head Coach. They sat us down and flat out told us that we needed to break out and do our own thing. They expressed such confidence in our abilities as coaches and furthermore gave us so much practical advice from how they started their Muy Thai gym. In that moment, dominoes began to fall, and quickly.
Fast forward a few months as the lockdown mandates began waning slightly, I went to a bar with my other close friend Ben Jackson. We also met at the same CrossFit gym as Aaron and I. We simply went to the Copper Tap Tavern to hang out, and I told him of the thought of opening a gym with Aaron as the Head Coach. He immediately responded, “Oh I’d get in on that.” Another domino falls — there is now realistic support for actually moving from a dream to a concrete possibility.
As with everything, it takes a village to cultivate growth. It was clear that we didn’t have the complete crew we needed. We needed to round out our expertise and fill in the gaps in our ability to operate a business. Enter Ana and Greg. Ana and Greg, yet again, went to the CrossFit gym with Aaron and I, albeit a different era from Ben. By this time, they had moved solely into the world of Olympic Weightlifting, and on top of that, both had mentioned in passing how opening a gym would be a dream! They were the perfect couple to join our journey and ultimately finalize our dynamic ownership group.
With finalizing the ownership group, the dominos fell in quick succession. By July 2020, we had our LLC filed in Texas. By August, we had found a space. In October, we were handed the keys. By December, we had nearly 20 Founding Members. And on January 11, 2021, we had our first class at 5:30am with a single trial athlete.
And the rest is history. We have learned, tried, failed, rebounded, and learned so more over the past nearly 5 years. We consistently incorporate more and more to provide more value, more structure, and more joy in both fitness and in life outside the gym to everyone who walks through our doors. We all have a passion for contributing to and lifting up our community, and we do that through health, fitness, and camaraderie.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
If everything went smoothly, where would be the fun in that?! All joking aside, there are have been plenty of struggles over the past nearly 5 years. The biggest struggle we have faced is balancing our gym responsibilities with our “day job” responsibilities. While Aaron is a full time coach and owner, the other 4 of us partners have careers in tech — IBM, NI, HEB, and Stoplight. We perform our Strive responsibilities — coaching, member management, accounting, etc. — around our work schedules. It’s not hard to see that the stress can build quickly, and we have faced burnout on more than one occasion. We’ve had to shuffle schedules, offload/transfer responsibilities, and consistently find ways to maximize our efficiency when it comes to operating Strive.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Strive Athletics?
Strive Athletics (Strive CrossFit) is a community-driven athletic club located in and servicing North Austin, Round Rock, and the surrounding areas. We operate a 2,400 sq. ft. facility with expert-led coaching programs that prioritize long-term results and longevity in both fitness and lifestyle. Our offerings include CrossFit, our Sculpt bodybuilding program, Olympic Weightlifting program, and a FREE community class every Saturday morning. We aim to serve our community through fitness, and we want to give our community the opportunity each week to experience what makes Strive special. Our community of athletes (and yes you are an athlete!) are second to none! When you join us, you’re part of the crew!
Our mission is built around consistency and effort. If you walk through that door multiple times per week and put in work for 1 hour, you will see a change in how you feel, how you move, and especially how you look! There’s no secret sauce or shortcut. It’s just dedicating that 1 hour a day to yourself and your betterment — that’s where change and results start!
We have a highly skilled coaching staff all with CF-L1 credentials or higher! On top of that, we have a breadth of specialty knowledge, whether it’s weightlifting from the multi-time Texas state champion, gymnastics and cheerleading from a former competitive gymnastics coach, or nutrition guidance from a coach with a Master’s in Nutrition. Whatever specific training you’re looking for, we have someone for you!
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
At Strive, we foster a relationship between coaches and athletes. We take the time to understand your strengths, weaknesses, limitations, injuries, etc. in order to make every workout tailored to you in ways that allow you to, first and foremost, stay safe as well as progress to heavier weights and more difficult skills. We have had a number of athletes make comments to the effect of “I love the way you take the time to warm-up and get us ready for the workout. It seems like everything we do here is very intentional.” And yes, we are very intentional with what we are doing. Anyone can write workouts that make you sweat and breathe hard. We aim higher — we aim for progression.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://strivecrossfitatx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/striveathletics_atx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/striveathleticsatx
Image Credits
Charles McCoy
