The Business of Rowing & Connected Fitness - Shane Farmer

Shane is the founder of Dark Horse Rowing, the leading educator of indoor rowing education and career training for fitness professionals and athletes. 

Shane has a BA in Business Administration, a certified CrossFit Kettlebell Certificate, a CrossFit rowing certificate and is CrossFit Level 1 Certified, Concept 2 Master instructor, and a certified ACE Group Fitness Instructor. 

How did Shane get to be where he is now in the business that he created? (3:26)

• Shane was never the best student or athlete in high school. 
• But he loved sports too much to give it up and eventually his grades and sporting abilities approved. 
• When Shane started University he overslept for baseball tryouts and ended up trying rowing and fell in love with it instantly. 
• Going to championships during his university years, Shane ended up being introduced to CrossFit through Stefan Rochet.
• So from there, Shane’s rowing team was using CrossFit as strength training for their rowing.
• Coming out of University, Shane was too light to be a heavyweight rower and too heavy to be a lightweight rower so he was stuck in purgatory so to speak for a bit. 
• Jumping over to CrossFit, Shane says he luckily fell into the lap of Invictus a decently competitive gym. 
• Competing in CrossFit and simultaneously coaching rowing made Shane realize that there was a desperate need for people to learn how to use the rowing machine. 
• This led him to teach several CrossFit Rowing seminars over several years and through that and enough exposure he ended up creating Dark Horse Rowing. 

The Business of Rowing (8:15)

• There has truthful not been a lot of research done on the rowing market. 
• British rowing did some market research three or four years ago which was more to show what their future goals were.
• But looking at the number of machines sold, it’s about 4 million and that’s just Shane’s guess. 
• These machines last forever, Shane calling them lifetime machines.
• But then there’s the water rower and hydro which are new players to the game and all of the inexpensive amazon rowing machines, Shane estimates that they’re actually sitting at close to the ten million.
• And that was talking pre-COVID, which has essentially now cause the purchases in rowing machines to spike.
• So the rowing industry is growing in popularity swiftly. 

Is rowing a standalone fitness offering? Can people completely devote themselves to rowing alone and stay healthy and fit for the majority of your life? (17:18)

• Shane says rowing is such a diverse exercise. 
• It is low impact and risk-averse. Meaning there is little risk of anything negative happening to you. 
• You can train your strength, your conditioning, your lactic threshold, and even your coordination.
• Is it the one thing you should choose? That depends because the thing you choose to stay healthy and fit is ultimately the thing that you will love doing every day for the rest of your life. 
• Shane says yes it can keep you healthy and fit for however long you pursue it, but so many other things could also do that for you. 
• So find what works for you.

What does Shane envision gyms are going to be like in 2 years? (34:10)

• Any gym that physically exists is going to realize that an online feature will become a wholly integrated part of their business. 
• This is because too many people at this point have tasted what home fitness can be. 
• Many people however will still enjoy that experience of going to the gym and engaging with people. 
• So, therefore, physical gyms will still exist but will start to rapidly integrate online and digital training into their business models. 

Dark Horse Rowing

Dark Horse Rowing was the pursuit of Shane Farmer’s passion for fitness and rowing. They strive to create the best possible experience for athletes so they can continue to provide support for a lifetime. 

Resources

Connect with Shane: LinkedIn

Dark Horse Rowing: Website

Connect With Eric: LinkedIn