Cut Seven Workouts, Now From Your Living Room
How Closing Our Doors Brought Us - Live, At Home and On-Demand
Some of you know who I am, others may have only shown interest in Cut Seven, the gym I co-own with my wife, Alex. With the spread of COVID-19, prior to the government’s directive, we closed our studio doors to do our part in social distancing.
For those of you who may not know, Cut Seven is a boutique fitness studio in Washington, DC. We’ve found that working hard is a lot easier in a collaborative environment. When you work together, you work harder.
At Cut Seven, we have a saying: The hardest shit we do in life cannot be done alone. The workout we do is very hard. We know this shit we’re going through right now is very hard. We’re reaching out so you know you’re NOT alone. If you need a team (or know someone who does), we’re building new ways to connect, even while staying (a safe distance) apart.
Two claps,
Chris
What’s it like to close your business and sole source of income overnight?
At 3:50 p.m. on Sunday, March 15th, I called my wife Alex crying, I’m pretty sure I was having a breakdown. After a week of calls, texts, and debates, we agreed the class I would coach in ten minutes would be our last. To do our part in slowing the spread of COVID-19, we closed the business that took seven years to plan, save for, and piece together.
We went through a lot to open that studio. You can read the unabridged version here but here’s the gist: We saved for seven years, worked three jobs apiece, took out a six-figure loan, ran out of money during construction, ran out of money again, and almost sold my wife’s engagement ring. Oh, and we got a little surprise along the way, finding out Alex was pregnant with our baby, Mak.
Opening Cut Seven is the second-hardest thing we’ve ever done—closing it is the first. So yea, that got me.
We always said we were a team—not a gym
I’m not looking for sympathy, there are people out there in far worse situations than us and they are the ones who deserve your sympathy. I’m telling you this story because I know when we feel alone, we need proof to see that we are not. Last week, I learned firsthand how not alone I am. The outpouring of love and support from teammates is what kept us going, and now we want to extend that support to all of you.
If you need a team, join us.
Two years ago I said, “If we closed today, we would hold a free workout tomorrow. This has always been and will always be about bringing people together and supporting one another. So if you know someone who can use a team, send them our way.”
Alex and I created, and will continue to build an online training program to support you in your health journey (from your living room). Last week, the day after we closed our doors, we launched our first Instagram Live workout and YouTube Live which has now been moved to Vimeo due to copyright restrictions. Since then, we shared our free workouts three times a day, seven days a week—and we want you to use them.
Now we are ready to take things to the next level. We will continue to offer several workouts each week for free, and we are adding additional resources to support your health and fitness goals. But you can get access to multiple live workouts every day, online workshops by industry experts, and an on-demand library of workouts that fit your schedule by joining the Cut 7 team online. It’s just $49 per month. Keep reading for all the details.
We think this program will help you, and it will also allow our small business to survive and our employees to keep their jobs. If you know anyone who may be interested in this, please share.
New Online Workout Videos, Leadership Training, Nutrition Workouts
Right now, we have three goals at Cut Seven: 1) Make sure we have a Cut Seven to come back to. 2) Keep our coaches employed. 3) Keep our team healthy.
We are launching a complete, online portal of free workouts, leadership training, and workshops encompassing resistance training, nutrition, recovery, and goal setting. As our team grows, we will continue to scale this platform to support you in your goals—physical or mental.
In April we will be hosting a Live Talk with a Dietician, a Leadership and Courage workshop, and a Vision and Goals workshop, for free. All of our workshops will be available for free during this trying time.
So yes, we have a free (and-always-will-be-free) tier available to you. Here are two ways you can join this community:
Health care employees, service employees, and anyone who lost their job due to COVID-19 will be given free Cut Subscriber access.
Want Even More?
We are also launching a Zoom small group training class with multiple time slots daily. Please email us at info@custeven.com to find out more. Cut Seven resistance packs (featuring resistance bands, mini bands, sliders, and a door anchor) are available for purchase now and will be shipped to addresses outside of DC next week.
It All Starts Monday
For the past two weeks this has all been free. We are committed to providing valuable free content daily. For subscribers, you will have access to the content at any time and anywhere. Our second newsletter will arrive in your inboxes on Sunday.
Thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown this community.
Two Claps,
Chris & Alex
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