Hero’s, Icons and Inspirations

This weekend Aimee Cringle dominated the women’s division at the CrossFit Games. It was an iconic performance, and a star has been born. Once again it reminded me of something I have always believed to be true.

What does it take for a sport to survive, and what does it take for a business to survive? Success in both fields requires similar drivers. The dull side is the financial side — you need capital and a solid business plan. Anyone who has tried to start a gym (where sport and business meet in plain sight) without those two elements will fail. Passion without a plan runs a short race.

I am more drawn to the intangibles — the reasons some businesses and some sports thrive long-term. Because it goes beyond the numbers and above calculation. It’s capture without contract. It’s emotion without a price tag. It ignites the senses beyond the rational and leads from the heart rather than the brain.

We invest in something because we feel connected to it. It may be someone’s story that reflects our own, or it can be a single moment — a moment where we see the purity of complete surrender to the task and the beauty of the human spirit on full display. It’s almost impossible not to be affected by that. When we witness triumph and understand what it took to get there, what it means, what was sacrificed… it’s powerful. We know that person held themselves to a higher standard, and we hope that same dedication is possible within us.

We love a rags-to-riches story because it gives us hope. If a person or a business can go from nothing to something, then why can’t we? It’s Rocky. It’s Phil Knight (Nike). It’s Jordan. It’s BPN. It’s Gymshark. It’s the Williams sisters. If we aspire to be something more, watching exceptionalism against the odds in real time might just be the fire we need.

Sports suffer when they fail to produce icons. Businesses suffer when they have no great story. Would bodybuilding be what it is without Arnold? Basketball without Jordan? CrossFit without Froning? Hard to imagine. Kids need someone to aspire to — and so do adults, when we are honest with ourselves. This is different from the idolisation of celebrity. “I want those qualities of leadership, skill, ability, ownership and composure” is a world away from “I want to be famous.” That is why sport can be so important and so infectious. In an age when parents are fighting to keep their kids off the numbness of screens, sport can make them feel something real… and want to chase something great.

We can be cynical about sport and call it little more than “gladiators in the arena” — a distraction for the masses. And to some extent that may be true. But the human impact of it is undeniable and raw. No doubt there are kids who watched this year’s World Cup and now want to be like Haaland or Bellingham. And I hope there were young women who watched Cringle’s performance and felt inspired to chase strength instead of skinny. I also hope these sports recognise that the real power lies in the icons they produce, rather than in the organisation that profits from it all (did we really need a song by FIFA, about FIFA, celebrating FIFA?).

Most of us do not connect passionately

with numbers or statistics. We connect when we feel something honest. We have an emotional reaction that makes us want to do more, explore more, find more, and grow. That requires a relationship, and real relationships are human. We see a quality we admire, a failure we have experienced, a doubt we all face — we understand it, we appreciate it, and we know its value. The best that is in them is the best that is in us, and we all want to find that.

We started this company under the banner “Icons are Built.” Whenever I see it on full display and witness the impact it has, it reminds me why it was so important in the beginning and why it remains important now. We are inspired by the individual who has chosen the highest of standards in their chosen field. We have seen living proof. And if we are willing to open the door, we can carry that spirit with us in our own quest to build the icon that lies within ourselves. That, in turn, has the power to impact the person next to us. That is how a culture of example is built — and a culture like that is very hard to defeat.

See the example.

Be the example.

See you in the gym,

Pieter