Daily blog #18

Give and it shall be given you

Yesterday marks the first day of our reopening in La Quinta since the California shutdown in mid-March, three months ago. As you can imagine, it’s an unbelievable feeling to be back to having students and members going about business as usual in the gym. Jiu Jitsu has always been a big part of our business so on top of being away from the people we love the most, closing our doors raised some serious revenue concerns and stress regarding whether or not we would even survive as a business and reopen. Throughout the shutdown the team did their best to stay engaged with all the students through zoom classes and social media but there’s only so much you can do. All the while, revenue continued to drop while unemployment numbers continued to rise. As a unit we fought valiantly to find new ways to keep the business alive while still trying to provide value to our customers, I can’t thank the team enough for going above and beyond to get us to this point where we have finally re-opened.

Yesterday we had our first kids class which had 18 ecstatic kids show up ready to train followed by 21 in the adult class. To say I was delighted is an understatement. Jiu Jitsu is a contact activity unlike personal training for the most part so it’s understandable some would be hesitant to return if not most. What a surprise to be rewarded with so many happy and smiling faces. As hard as it can be some times, life throws you curveballs and you just have to adapt, plain and simple. We had no idea if our business would make it, if we would have to un-employ the near dozen or so staff who worked for us.. We were forced to put our energy into unknown territory and do everything in our hands to keep our heads above water. I have an immense amount of gratitude for the fact that I know many had it much much worse and we are blessed to come out of this as a stronger, more seasoned crew with a deepened respect for each other. Life can be just plain hard at times but when your mission is to constantly do more for your community, you will be rewarded for it and that feeling alone is like nothing else. No matter what comes your way, I wish you the strength to continue developing yourself and giving to your community because it will give back to you and you will feel blessed, loved and respected in an immeasurable way.