Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Marti
Hi Josh, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I guess you could say I was raised in an entrepreneurial environment in the small town I grew up in back east, just outside of Pittsburgh, PA and just east of the Ohio state line, where my Swiss-born grandfather started and ran a very successful cheese manufacturing company….known by locals as “The Cheese Plant.” He leveraged and employed the local Amish community and used the milk from their cow farms for many years until the industry became more regulated and he couldn’t use their milk. However, he kept many of the local Amish employed for years, and had a great reputation in the community of taking care of its people. He even went bankrupt a time or two, but still came out on top in the end. His business was at one time one of the, if not the largest supplier of cheese in North America. He sold the business, and passed many years ago. Seeing your grandparents, dad and uncles work in the business all their lives certainly has had an impact on where I find inspiration for business in general. My dad, who was my best friend, and my Grandfathers right hand man at the plant, would always say “no one will ever do what your Grandfather did again.” He was right. Perfect time, perfect place, with the motivation and vision to execute the plan.
An undercurrent to all this is the community in general in which I grew up in, embodies the blue collar lifestyle, hard work, work ethic, not being afraid to get your hands dirty. The area really is impacted a lot from the rustbelt, so it kind of has that vibe as well – not the most savvy or financially affluent area. Very close to West Virginia, Kentucky, Southern Ohio. Talk about “country” living. This is it. We grew up in the woods, hunting, fishing, and driving the backroads. Only one cop in the whole town. I guess I carry a lot of this with me in my life now and it has shaped a lot of who I am today.
I’ve been a san Diegan since 2007, married to my wife for 12+ years and we have 2 kids. (Or conveying this in the correct editorial way). I attended Kent State University for undergrad near Cleveland, OH. When I first moved to San Diego I was a personal trainer (where I met Emily). Have always been big into sports and fitness, you name it, I do it or have done it and fitness is still a big part of my life today and will continue to be. It’s my daily zen. Other than that, have always worked for big companies in sales in corporate America (and still do which I love) But have also always been passionate about business and entrepreneurial minded – coming up with ideas, looking at various markets, models, segments, buying and trading stocks, brands, I love a ripe industry for change or disruption, love to look at the lifestyle and history of various companies. Me and my wife Emily have an Air BnB we manage up in the mountains. It was very old and outdated when we bought it, needed a lot of work, which we did most everything ourselves from scratch. I guess you could say we are “doers.” Doing things, building things, making things, seeing things through, It just fascinates me and am always drawn towards these things,
I started Sweat Gear Fitness in 2015, Sweat Gear Fitness is a fully integrated retail and wholesale Fitness product brand. It is really the perfect storm with my passion for fitness and business. We currently stock acd retail various fitness-related products: jump ropes, wrist wraps, foam rollers, lifting straps, car seat cover sweat protector, cinch bags, gaiters, stickers, hats, with the eventual goal of getting the brand more associated with clothing and apparel as well. Really the goal was to build a business, brand, and company from end to end on my own, including the branding, the sourcing of product, the websites, the operations and negotiations, suppliers, the sales, etc. Of course some things are outsourced, like design work as I’m NOT a designer. But even that, I had influence over and knew what I wanted. The brand is really meant to portray hard work, work ethic, “sweating,” to achieve your goals and results. Both from a physical perspective (In the gym) and a metaphor for life in general.
Sweat Gear is small and it’s just me doing everything still (aside from some outsourced design work). Currently, we sell our Fitness products on Amazon, and wholesale to retail customers (small gyms, fitness retailers), Our growth plans are to sell direct online via e-commerce on our own website. I have experience building and executing Shopify sites for other brands I’ve created, but when I initially started this brand, Amazon made the most sense.
That’s really it, nothing crazy. I do have growth plans for Sweat Gear Fitness. Want to get into more fitness conventions and try to attain more wholesale customers, while also growing out the direct sales channel. I look at it like I’ve got all the right things in place and the “template” is there, now it’s just about execution.
Thanks for listening!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Lots of struggles, but that’s also what motivates me and makes it fun and a learning experience! I’ve learned more building/starting this business than most anything else I’ve done in life. There’s nothing like real-life actual hands on experience.
Probably one of the biggest learning experiences I had along the way (to be specific) was one time I ordered 500 or 1000 foam rollers. They were the small, hollow PVC cored rollers. Great rollers and product. But it kind of back fired as I didn’t fully do all my research, just “winged” it. So after my shipment arrives, I needed to drive to Long Beach to pick them up (if I recall I think for some reason I thought they would arrive right at my doorstep) so I rented a U-Haul and drove up there, little did I know, I’d never worked with customs before so had to find a customs broker last minute and pay a lot of extra fee’s I had no idea about. Then, after I get the product up on Amazon and for sale, I realize after a few sales, I’m actually losing money on every sale! They were so big that the cost to ship and store them ate in to any profits. It wasn’t a big deal, we de-listed them and still sell them today, just not on Amazon. That’s one of those things that I learned so much from, so now in the future when we do orders like this, we will have a lot more knowledge and what to expect.
The biggest struggle is juggling everything with a full time day job and two kids. Lots of times a project or goal will take much longer to execute since it’s just me and I can only allocate so much time. Whereas if I was doing this full time, I could get certain things done much faster, or if I had a team of sorts. But I am OK with slow, steady growth. Also now having to pivot the business, to direct sales and wholesale, that takes time to build out things. But again, it’s fun and enjoyable for me and I”m excited to execute my ideas.
I’d say in starting a business or brand, don’t overthink it or over complicate it. You don’t have to have every single T crossed to start. Of course you need to make sure you know the rules and industry, but for example, when I first started the brand, it was just a logo/name, and I built around that. I didn’t even worry about getting incorporated, or a business checking account, that sort of stuff until a couple of years down the road. First I wanted to make sure I had an idea, could make a product, could sell a product. Without all of that stuff, the corporation didn’t really matter.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sweat Gear Fitness . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Fully vertically integrated fitness brand. We live and die by the motto that you have to work and “sweat” for it. Whatever IT is. With Sweat Gear, you will have the latest and greatest most quality fitness products, as we research the industry and trends and have a vast global network so can get our hands on anything. We offer wholesale (bulk orders to gyms, studios, retail outlets, etc) and retail sales. You get a hands on person (ME) doing everything for YOU. We don’t take shortcuts, we make everything right and fair because our business and brand literally depend on it. If you’re not happy, we’ll make it right.
Think I am most proud that the brand exists, people know about it, proud of what we stand for and that I was able to build something that embodies my personal mantra of hard work, grit, determination into an actual product that requires this attitude and mantra to get the most out yourself and the product itself. Meaning like, “OK, I have a jump rope, I want to get better cardio and be stronger, so have to ask myself should I do 3 sets of 10 or 3 sets of 100.” Well, I mean if you want to get the most out of that jump rope and yourself, you should probably find a way to do 3 sets of 100. That’s it really, we don’t overcomplicate it, we just do what needs to be done.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
There are so many resources out there, use LinkedIn, research your local networking groups via Google, there are all shapes and sizes out there built for various types of focus. Get out there and give some that interest you a try! Usually you can attend a meeting or two for free or for low cost. Take a friend with you if you’re not sure. Talk to people! Just like Sweat Gear’s mantra – just gotta get up and do it, give it a try. If you fail or don’t like it, find another one.
Find people who you like and who intrigue and interest you. Find someone who is smarter than you to learn from, but give back to them your skills tips as well. They can learn from you too. Also, be flexible, don’t be so hellbent in your own views or opinions, that you don’t let yourself grow and expand. I have so many friends, mentors, colleagues, confidants, from ALL walks of life and for many of those, we couldn’t be more different and that’s what makes it beautiful really.
I think you have be yourself at the end of the day. Be genuine. I’m always myself, love to laugh, make jokes, take situations lightly…I think people see that and gravitate to it.
Ask someone to grab a coffee or lunch who you’re interested in learning from. Many of my great network and connections have started like that, whether it be me or them asking.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/CFCAFD7C-CEB7-4312-B092-09D9A1D4F114
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweatgearfitness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweatGearFitness/
