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Want
SEAL-level fitness? Hoo-Ah!
Former Navy SEAL John McGuire can handle just about
anything - except a desk job. After spending 10 years
in the Navy, McGuire joined the corporate world. After
just two weeks, the highly motivated ex-commando found
the workplace too slow. He was so disillusioned by the
dweeby Dilberts surrounding him that he wanted out.
McGuire's
short stint with corporations, however, inspired a new
career. "I noticed a lack of confidence in corporate
America," he says. "I was around people with
a lot of potential who didn't believe in themselves."
So McGuire developed a business to utilize his experience
with the SEALs, who undergo some of the most rigorous
training in the military. Focusing on core values such
as teamwork, McGuire designed a physical training program
geared to accommodate all levels of physical fitness.
"My
initial goal was to put myself and kids through college.
I thought it would be a short-term thing," he says.
Armed with homemade fliers, McGuire canvassed Richmond's
Fan District, placing invitations for his physical training
program on hundreds of car windows. "It's scary
to start your own business, especially when you have
people relying on you," McGuire says. At 5 a.m.
on the first day of class, five people showed up. Almost
four years later, McGuire has graduated 104 SEAL Team
training classes.
McGuire's
first, and most popular, offering is the SEAL Team Physical
Training two-week course that encourages basic training,
meeting personal goals and teamwork. Participants train
for one hour a day and work through a series of exercises
ranging from running a mile to paddling on the James
River. McGuire planned to add corporate team-building
to his business after two years, but received requests
for this skill from local companies after the first
four months.
In
his first year of business, McGuire developed a membership
program for SEAL Team PT graduates and began a series
of weekend warrior adventure outings with individuals
who had completed the two-week course. McGuire now offers
a program for children and teens as well.
"I put a lot of time into planning," says
McGuire, who does not advertise, relying instead on
word of mouth. "If you like what you're doing,
you'll tell your friends."
-
Nicole McMullin
Return to Virginia Business - July
2002
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