Today we’d like to introduce you to Gus Manke.
Hi Gus, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
In sports in high school and college, we have a championship or a goal to aim for. But after you graduate, it’s tough to find a goal or north star to train for. Personally, I was overweight coming out of school, and between my poor work, eating, and drinking habits, I wasn’t progressing my fitness anywhere.
I made major life changes and lost 35 lbs as I committed to completing a half-IRONMAN. But triathlon life wasn’t sustainable or appealing to me – I noticed I lost a lot of muscle, and I wanted to strength train more, not just do all endurance… that’s when HYROX stepped in.
I first heard about HYROX from some friends trying a new type of fitness race. I was in the middle of training for my second half-IRONMAN and figured it could be a cool way to test out my fitness during my training block. I signed up for HYROX Dallas. Back then, it wasn’t that popular – maybe 2000 racers total, in a hotel ballroom, with a few fitness fanatics like me running around in circles.
I knew after crossing that finish line that I was hooked and wanted to try this challenge again. I quickly encountered more people wanting to train for it, too, but they had no idea how to balance running, lifting, and other workouts. As a fitness coach and endurance athlete experienced doing both, I wanted to help.
I quickly saw the need to build a HYROX training program, calling it “Hybrid Animal Bootcamp (HAB)”. The term “hybrid athlete” was rising, and I figured I could differentiate us by not just being hybrid athletes, but hybrid animals. Plus, many friends called me Goose, and geese fly farther together (it’s the aerodynamics of their V-formation). Together, we trained for HYROX once a week.
We started HAB in Feb 2024, renting gym spaces at Squatch Frontier Fitness and using local tracks as the group grew. Hybrid Animal Bootcamp hosted four seasons, averaging about 22 members each season from Spring 2024 into Fall 2025.
Why was I doing this? My life improved drastically because of fitness, and completing a challenging race like 70.3 IRONMAN and HYROX was a major motivating factor and milestone for me. I wanted to share that pursuit of joy and fitness with others, and help others achieve their fitness goals.
Beyond the HYROX races, the best part of the bootcamp was that nearly all the athletes became best friends outside of fitness. From bachelorette parties to future roommates, and now invited to weddings, ‘shared suffering creates strong bonds’, and the bootcamp was a n incredible social and fitness experience.
I also started teaching HYROX classes at ONNIT Gym in December 2023, and HYROX workshops to get more beginners and women involved, hosting at ONNIT Gym. I saw the opportunity to grow the workshops into full race-simulations, to let local Austinites get a ‘test run’, or even try their first HYROX race in a low-stakes environment, before the official Texas HYROX races in Dallas (November) and Houston (March). I hosted 5 simulations, growing from just 35 racers and 6 stations in our first one, to 150 racers and all 8 stations in our most recent simulation in October 2025. We had sponsors, DJ, the official HYROX emcee Danielle Gertner. It’s been an absolute blast, and I love converting new athletes to try out HYROX races and challenge themselves.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
HAB had it’s own struggles, from finding a gym space with the available time frames, to recruiting members, to managing all the odds-and-ends of starting an official business.
Race simulations at ONNIT Gym (now KORRECT Fitness) were also challenging, as events have SO many logistics involved. From equipment setup across 3 large rooms to event flow, managing changing heats to athlete requests, and overall convincing that this could be profitable – all were obstacles.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Hybrid Animal Bootcamp?
HAB trains everybody for HYROX races – ideally first-timer racers. Athletes from all different backgrounds come by, with all different levels of cardio.
We host workouts at 615pm on Wednesday nights at GRIP for Longevity. We do these in 10-week blocks before the Dallas race (Nov 22) and Houston race (Mar 15). The next block will start in January 2026, send a DM to @hybridanimalbootcamp if interested!
We are great because of 1. the community and 2. the coach. Beyond the HYROX races, the best part of the bootcamp was that nearly all the athletes became best friends outside of fitness. From bachelorette parties to future roommates, and now invited to weddings, ‘shared suffering creates strong bonds’, and the bootcamp was an incredible social and fitness experience.
Also, the coach Gus Manke is a 13-time HYROX athlete, has been to the World Championships twice, and is leading the charge in HYROX science and hybrid athlete training. Learn more from him at @thehybridgoose
What does success mean to you?
Choosing to do (and follow through) on a challenge. Typically, that’s a HYROX race, but sticking through the challenging parts of life is what breeds success.
I also equate success = health = wealth. It’s tough to enjoy any form of ‘success’ if you’re not healthy. Even if you’re living a luxury lifestyle, if you have a bad cold, it kind of sucks, right? Health is a prerequisite for most of enjoyment in life.
Pricing:
- 10 pack ($20 each)
- 6 pack ($25 each)
- 4 pack ($30 each)
- 2 pack ($32.50 each)
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehybridgoose/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/hybridanimalbootcamp/
Image Credits
Eric Estrada, Austin Depew, Chris Kim
