Justin LoFranco is the founder and CEO of Morning Chalk Up, a daily newsletter and media company dedicated to all things CrossFit. He joins the BarBend Podcast to talk about his roots on Capitol Hill and schisms within the CrossFit community. He also shares reactions from his friends and family when he decided to leave behind a promising career in politics to focus on such a niche sport.
In this episode of the BarBend Podcast, David Thomas Tao talks to Justin LoFranco about:
- What is a “niche” media company? (2:50)
- Getting inspiration for Morning Chalk Up from work on Capitol Hill (4:00)
- When Justin realized he was done with politics (6:20)
- Lessons from politics in DC to running a curated content company (10:43)
- Business obstacles that Morning Chalk Up (and others!) face, and how that relates to imposter syndrome (14:30)
- How Justin originally found CrossFit and started the workouts in a House of Representatives gym (17:00)
- Finding community in CrossFit (19:40)
- The fittest people on Capitol Hill? (22:10)
- “CrossFitters are super vocal” (24:40)
- Schisms within the CrossFit community (27:30)
- Attrition for CrossFit boxes coming out of COVID-19 (30:20)
Relevant links and further reading:
