Passionate, Pissed, or Picky?

Are you passionate, pissed, or picky about your race products?  A recent and frequent posting in the OCR world comes from folks who are all three at once when the dreaded Beachbody troll makes the rounds.  The new Coach is passionate and wants to drum up new members and sell product.  Those on the receiving end are pissed about another unsolicited pitch.  The picky ones like me are in the middle.  We’re careful about who and what we support.

Part of my background includes quality and statistics.  So whenever I try a new product, the seller usually follows up with a satisfaction survey.  Nobody ever gets a perfect “10” for me the first time.  I take the time to explain in the comments box.  If the product is repeatably and reproducibly “perfect” over time, then they get the gold star.  That means my experience and the experience of my peers must be consistently excellent over time.  That’s my criteria for success.  Wait and see and in the meantime I will keep using your product until I am either convinced or you screw something up and I drop you.  Once I am convinced, I will use word of mouth marketing to my best ability.  I will want others to know how great this product is.  Sadly, many others are a bit premature in this approach and their passion outweighs the real benefits or consequences of their product.

Beachbody just happens to have a few products that I love.  Shakeology is not one of them.  P90X and P90X2 are.  The system works.  Tony Horton is a man of his word and lives the system.  I’ve met him and worked out with him.  It may not be for everybody.  But that is your decision.  I’ll just give you the option and lend you a DVD to give it a shot.

I also review products for other companies.  Then I post them online – good, bad, or indifferent.  Same for race venues.  My main motivation is because I like to write and I like to race.  But more than these, I like the feedback so that I know I have helped someone.  That’s why I am also a course volunteer.  I love to be a part of the journey we all take in health, fitness, and training.  Whether big or little, I like to see people smile and get pumped up when they discover the magic of “I can.”  If that feeling comes from a product, a technique tip, or a word of encouragement, I’m all for it.  If that happens online, on the course, or any other time, I want to see more of it.

Here’s the thing.  Find what works for you and use it.  Just be smart and stay away from the junk.  There is nothing new under the sun.  If there were, we’d see the top rankings change hands all the time.  Remember, for most of us, this is about fitness, health, and training.  We’re glad to help friends and family sell things if they are good things.  It’s OK to say “No” sometimes.  We look out for one another in this OCR community to it’s good to keep things out that don’t fit the bill.  There are plenty of products I won’t pitch because I learned the hard way thirty years ago just how harmful some things can be.  Don’t be a guinea pig.  Before you agree to review, just be up front and let the producer know that you will read the label, do some research, and be willing to back out, accept “No”, or accept a negative review if things don’t work out.  We have to be brutally honest if we are going to help each other.

If that is difficult for you then do what I do.  I let my wife be the initial sounding board.  She is the family nutritionist and she is very good at it.  If I get her thumbs up, then I try it.  If she is with me at a race venue and hands me a cup of some new drink or whatever, I try it because I trust her.  I really don’t care who is in the tent, how flashy their sign is, or how much muscle or cleavage they show me.  I encourage you to simply be picky. 

Picky pays off.  Producers want picky consumers.  They want your feedback, your posts, and your word-of-mouth.  They don’t really want your passion or piss because these fade quickly.  But if you engage with your producer, they become friends.  And friends help friends.  In one case, I tried a new recovery powder drink mix.  It passed the wife test.  It passed every workout and OCR test.  I gave it a great review on multiple platforms.  The producer sent me another entire batch of the stuff for free.  How cool was that!

I see people post this kind of story on FB quite often.  They are not lucky.  They are not getting random free stuff.  They are engaged, picky, hard-working athletes looking for the best stuff out there to make themselves better at what they enjoy doing.  I’ll see them on the course long after the passionate ones have vanished.

And then there are some products I make myself like these gorgeous arm compression sleeves made from a cutoff tech shirt!