HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT- WE ARE MOVING!
Team- PLEASE READ THIS POST IN ITS ENTIRETY
As you may or may not know, we are going on 4 years and 4 months of being open next month.
As you most likely have seen, we have grown a tremendous amount over this period of time and added additional offerings and classes. A letter with black & white words can never communicate how deeply grateful I am to you for being a part of this journey. You have honored us with your patronage, and I want to honor you with transparency and with a significant improvement to the level of service you have been receiving. We want to transform lives; not just say we are.
To live up to this, I wanted to make you aware of the effort we put into this on a continual basis, and what is coming down the pipeline that the coaching staff and I are incredibly excited about. A few of the continual improvements are as follows:
WHAT WE CURRENTLY DO…
Hiring & Retaining the Best Coaches: We strive to hire trainers who are sharp, have tremendous work ethic and a warm heart. We strive to replace the traditional model of an academy–watching the clock, pointing at you to do a technique, lack of enthusiasm, lack of knowledge or personalization–with a friendly face that knows your name, top notch coaching, and motivation to not only get you in the door, but to keep you coming back.
Continued Education: A couple of months ago we released our VIP Member Portal. This portal has hundreds of hours of learning content. From Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques, kickboxing, exercise, and mobility training. And we are adding more content monthly!
New Equipment: As we continue to learn new training systems and methodologies the investment in up-to-date equipment continues. This is both in new equipment like the new mats we recently purchased that cost several thousands of dollars. In the next few months, we also plan on bringing in even more equipment like a grappling dummy and heavy bags to give you even more things to look forward to and speed up your training and results.
WHAT IS COMING:
WE ARE MOVING TO A DEDICATED PLACE!!!! Yes, you read that right, we are moving to a new building that is larger and dedicated to us. We will be moving this week and have our first classes in our new larger building February 1st. Our new building is in Downtown Afton, right under the arch. This will allow us to offer even more classes, have more training space, bring in more training gear, and hold special events.
Member Events: To further build this community and connect you all with one another, we will be holding several community events. This includes our Feb 8th Women’s Self Defense seminar, and other similar events.
Specialty Programs: We will also be rolling out specialty programs to those members who would like more attention and individualized coaching to address specific needs on an even faster rate of progress than is possible in a large group setting. This includes our seminar schedule where we offer years of information in a four-hour period. These seminars will drastically elevate your training and speed of improvement.
Jocko Exclusive Academy: I recently signed paperwork for us to be the first exclusive Jocko Fuel Academy in Wyoming. This is super exciting. We will be able to offer wholesale pricing (20-30%) off all Jocko Fuel Supplements. Jocko Fuel is the only supplement company where everything is made in the US and uses only the cleanest and healthiest ingredients. I am excited for us to be part of the Jocko Fuel family and support American companies and jobs. Our affiliation will also allow us to receive grab bags and special items for when we go to tournaments.
A MASSIVE improvement to the level of service: This is the one we are the most excited about, it’s also the one I am most petrified of announcing. Because we have our own dedicated space, we are planning on adding more classes to help propel your training. Including fitness classes like Kickboxing and other strength training programs. This is with the full intention of making EVERYONE BETTER and provide you even better service.
Candidly, we never wanted to be just a Jiu Jitsu academy. Jit Jitsu is life transforming, but we want to be a place where people can come together and feel a kindship, escape the vigor’s of life and become the best versions of themselves. We want to be an academy that prides itself on technique & transformations (both internally and externally).
Now, all these continued investments and upgrades in the level of service we can provide you require significant investment in you and funds to become a reality. Since we have started our academy, our costs have more than doubled, while our prices remained the same. I have been reluctant to increase our prices because I want to make Jiu Jitsu available to as many possible. Jiu Jitsu has such a profound impact in my life, and I have seen it have massive impacts in many others lives and I want as many people as possible to experience this too. However, with the addition of moving to a dedicated place, our costs are increasing even more.
And to continue to stay aligned with our mission to provide a remarkable experience for our academy, we will need to have a small increase in our membership rates. For those that are on our legacy membership rates (all those billing through Peak Fitness), we will be having a small price increase. This increase is $20 per month for individual child and adult memberships and $30 for the family membership. Additionally, all who are having their billing through Peak Fitness, will need to contact the gym and stop your billing. Then I will need you to fill out paperwork with me to get on my billing system. The good news is my billing system is more flexible than the gyms and I can take credit cards, checks, and do bi-weekly or monthly billing. I will need you to do both of these items this week. If you have paid for a yearly membership, if your billing is already through me, or if you are in our 42-day Warrior Challenge, you will NOT be impacted by this change.,
I do not take increasing rates lightly. However, I have been spending thousands of my own funds to bring the improvements I’ve mentioned above to you. Furthermore, we have not had any price increases since we opened in 2020.
I have spent my entire adult life investing in myself to become a great martial artist and coach. I have been investing in our academy and you, and this has forced me to look at the numbers, calculator in hand, it is simply impossible for us to grow and provide the level of service and facility you deserve without this change.
For those of you concerned about the $20 or $30 a month increase, please know we are still the most affordable option in the valley. We are cheaper than dance, cross-fit and any other programs, and the value you receive is significant. Many other Jiu Jitsu academy’s charge $170- $300 a month per person and we do not charge for rank advancements or other programs. To help with the increase, we do offer pre-paid annual memberships that are a 10% to 30% savings. We also have options to bundle in our semi-monthly seminars at a significant discount. Lastly, we are simultaneously launching a refer-a-friend program where you get a full month of service for every friend you refer who signs up as a client. So, refer to 12 friends over the next year and get an entire year absolutely free as our way of saying thank you for helping us transform more lives.
I’ll be announcing this in video format in the facebook group as well.
Now – let’s be super real. Human beings HATE change. But we also on some level understand that change is a part of growth. What I do NOT want under any circumstances for any team member to leave us. You are part of our family and we value you. So – any questions you have related to the change I am are happy to address IN PERSON.
We want to talk IN PERSON – that way, there is 0% chance of miscommunication. Please do not post any questions on social media but reach out to me directly and I will be more than happy to speak with you.
I hope I have your support in allowing us to continue to serve you in the best way we know how. This is a big and exciting change for us all that I know you will LOVE!
Respectfully yours,
Professor Eric
Owner, Peak Fitness Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
P.S. I love you all, seriously