Starting Line
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our listener survey so far - we’re just about to close it up, so if you haven’t already shared your input (it takes about 90 seconds) with us, now is definitely the time. We have learned a lot from the feedback so far, and we’d love to hear from you if you haven’t already contributed to this form. Help us make Second Nature even better by sharing your thoughts here:
How To Build a Business, Not Just a Following
Alyssa Olenick, known online as Doc Lyss, has spent the last eight years building a seven-figure fitness and training business while simultaneously earning a PhD in exercise physiology. She started with $35-a-month one-on-one coaching over Google Sheets and a MacBook that literally overheated. Today she runs a training app, a coaching team, and a quarter-million-follower community built on a simple philosophy: talk to your customers, act fast, and never stop iterating.
In this conversation, Alyssa breaks down what it actually took to build a business that didn't feel real until nearly a decade in, why she turned down far more brand deals than she accepted, and what "world-building" really means in modern marketing: the idea that people buy into an identity, not just a product. She also gets candid about the hardest season of her business, the difference between growing a business and running a company, and why she deliberately paused an entire second brand for years because she knew she couldn't do both well at once.
Here To Help
The most common refrain we hear from friends working at brands is “we need to find content creators, but we are strapped on time”. This is the exact problem that Popfly has solved. If you’re working at a brand that needs this kind of help, you need to check this out (and tell them we sent you), it’ll be worth it. And…if you’re an athlete or creator, you should definitely get on this platform - there are brands, ready to support you and looking for your talent. We’re using it outside of the podcast and having a lot of success with it - and this is exactly why we wanted to partner with Popfly in the first place. Highly recommended!
Job Of The Week
👉 Wahoo is hiring a Director of Marketing & Customer Growth. Check out the other roles listed on this link, too - there’s some interesting stuff, like a Running Product Manager and Retail Specialist for KICKR Run.
😳 If you listened to last week’s episode with the Bentonville crew and thought “that’d be fun to work with them”, here’s your chance!
Article Of The Week
UTMB is everywhere this week, so here’s something completely different: a story about the MADE Show, where beautiful custom bikes and brands come to shine.
Show Notes
Second Nature Is Supported By Halo
Halo is a hospitality platform built by trail runners specifically for sports and event travel. They work with brands, event organizers and professional leagues to simplify one of the most operationally painful parts of any event: lodging. If you’re a brand thinking about experiential marketing, managing travel for your team or professional athletes, or a league handling lodging for your athletes and fans, Halo’s platform gives your brand a custom hotel booking platform and locks in better rates so you’re not managing hotel logistics from scratch. They’re already working with names like Western States, Aravaipa, Rabbit and New Balance.
And if you’re just heading to a race or event yourself this year, it’s worth checking out, too. Same platform with great rates, community, perks from band partners and less hassle. If any of this sounds like you, reach out to their team and tell them you heard about Halo on Second Nature.
BPC - Brand, Product, Content
BPC is our closing segment where we share Brands we’ve discovered, Products we’re using and Content that we love. Alyssa went for the trifecta: usually our guests just drop a Brand, Product, or a piece of Content, but she brought all three!
⛰️ SENIQ: Alyssa’s go-to for stylish AND functional hiking gear. If you missed it, we just had the founders of SENIQ on the podcast a few weeks back. Check it out here!
⛷️ Halfdays: Another outdoor gear brand that has caught Alyssa’s attention - bringing both style and functionality to the world of outdoor.
⌚️ Suunto Race 2: Alyssa’s go-to watch for training and running at the moment.
🏆 Courtney - Post Hardrock Interview: Courtney’s champions interview post-Hardrock win, full of energy after a mega effort to smash the course record.
🎥 HoverAir X1 ProMax: Aaron’s latest camera test - this drone follows you (up to 37 mph) and films in 4K.
Thank You
We just got home from Outdoor Retailer, where we were able to capture a bunch of interviews for the podcast. Stay tuned, next week’s pod is a fascinating insight into a platform that we’ve come to know and love.
Stoked for this one!!