It was a blustery Spring day in March! (23rd to be exact). The sun was shining and the excitement was booming inside Macungie Memorial Hall with lots of workout and wellness opportunities to learn and experience at the Workout and Wellness Expo.
You probably would not be surprised to know it’s about a 9:1 ratio of women to men. F3 was well represented with 6 men bringing our own workout and wellness message. Sincere gratitude to Flame for bringing the technology, flyers, and F3 trinkets to help give some visual stimulation to this FREE, MEN’S ONLY, OUTDOORS, WORKOUT movement called “F3”. It would have been wet or painful without the help of Dr. Suess and his Mary Mats! So thanks for that Seuss, my knees and tailbone thank you. My sincerest gratitude goes to Boo Boo, Beaker, and Downsize for giving up a portion of their Saturday to help demonstrate what a table display could never provide……FELLOWSHIP!
When Flame and I dreamed up why F3 would attend this kind of EXPO and how it would benefit F3 Lehigh Valley we struggled to think there would be a tangible ROI (Return On Investment) in terms of FNG’s (i.e. new members). On the other hand we went by FAITH and said any exposure to what F3 does by men and for men in the community will be beneficial no matter if it results in new members or not. This concept of giving to give is as old as time; however, rarely exhibited. Where can you go 7 days a week and find a group of 6 to 12 guys genuinely wanting the best for you; while they are getting better themselves. There are no heirs, no paycheck, no prize for finishing first, just more hard work and respect from your peers.
So we decided to take our WIN WIN philosophy of F3 and bring it to the EXPO. We decided to offer a FREE Physical Fitness Test to benefit our group as well as those in the community. See press release Macungie Men Fight Back
Here are the tangibles that resulted:
- Six quality conversations with women who wanted to take this information for the men in their lives.
- Six High Impact Men (HIMs) speaking to every Workout and Wellness Vendor learning something from them.
- Connection with Emmaus High School PE teacher who is going to be hanging our flyer at school.
- Quality conversation with Joe (not from average Joe’s Gym) who happens to live right next to one of our AO’s (Lone Lane Park)
- Re-connection with friend from HS that owns Cross Fit Gym in Coopersburg; who invited us to do Memorial Day Murph at his gym. Additionally, Beaker was taking notes from him on how to Kip and Butterfly pull-up technique when to rip off 100 pull-ups in under an 10 minutes.
- Lots of ideas turning with organizer and vendors to stay connected and increase exposure with a website and different types of fitness events throughout the year!
- Four HIM taking an honest look at their physical conditioning via the Physical Fitness Test.
- Three sore F3 guys trying to make sense of how Yoga could be so hard and refreshing at the same time.
Many of us (myself included) take so much pride in our brand of fitness, nutrition, and medical expertise we stop growing, learning, and exploring new possibilities. This Expo was a great reminder it’s amazing what happens when we join forces and work together to encourage “all” people on their journey to health; whether it’s free or paid, aerobic or anaerobic, static or dynamic, high in protein or fat. There is a reason and place for it all. Last but not least this event would not have happened without the hard work of Angela Moreno. Thank you to her and her team for organizing such a great event.