Skip to main content
Podcast

Brogan Graham On Igniting A Fitness Revolution

By March 5, 2017January 26th, 2024No Comments

“Pay attention to your voice. Be yourself. Be colorful. Be weird.”

Brogan Graham


There are leaders and then there are followers. The best leaders engender devotion to a big, new idea. But only a few successfully grow their conceit into a thriving a enterprise that withstands the test of time. Fewer still scale to mainstream cultural impact.

Then there are the charmed select who simply see the world differently. Not how it is, but how it could be. How it should be. The rare figure who infuses his or her vision with a contagion of enthusiasm and connectivity so infectious and powerful, it ignites a revolution – catalyzing a movement that penetrates the mainstream, hypnotizes the masses and forever alters the perspective and behavior of all who fall under its spell.

This is the story of Brogan Graham — an irreverent, way-outside-the-box fitness fanatic who, along with partner-in-crime Bojan Mandaric decided to flip the fitness industry on its head and make the world a better place with a creation dubbed November Project. No gyms or machines. No fees or dues. Just two dudes, wide open public space and a fervent, gung-ho tribe of thousands taking over not just urban landscapes but the world, one city at a time.

If you’re into fitness and live in a metropolis, chances are you’ve already caught wind of NP. Maybe you’ve even attended one of their infamous morning workouts.

But for those unfamiliar, November Project started as a simple month-long workout pact between Brogan and Bojan, two former rowers who wanted to stay fit through the cold New England months. One by one, a burgeoning community of fitness freaks joined the party. And before long, the few morphed into a fanatical multitude, bonding around NP’s free, open-to-anyone, frentic sweat revivals – the more ice, sleet, snow, and rain the better.

graham277_FBquote

Dubbed “the ‘Fight Club’ of running clubs”, November Project has matured into a flashmob fitness revolution that now dominates the pre-dawn urban landscape of cities all across North America, Europe, the United Kingdom and even parts of Asia. Thoroughly grassroots and populist to the core, it’s a category-defying movement that is redefining how we think about and practice fitness by leveraging community, a simple sense of accountability and open public spaces to motivate and encourage people of all ages, shapes, sizes and levels — welcoming everyone from Olympic medalists and professional athletes all the way to complete fitness rookies and recent couch potatoes.

The idea: use movement to turn strangers into friends and connect everyone to the city in which they live.

The goal: world domination.

This week I sit down Brogan — one-half of the beautiful high-energy, charismatic superhero duo that birthed it all — to find out how he did it, and why.

I was super stoked to meet up with Brogan. From the minute he pulled into my driveway and gave me a bear hug (he’s a big dude), I knew it was a bromance in the making. I have a strong feeling this is but the first of many future collaborations.

This is an amazing conversation about the power of community and storytelling to drive positive cultural change. It’s about the audacity to dream big, think different, and act outside the box. It’s about the freedom and power of being you. And it’s a conversation about unlocking untapped reservoirs of human potential to step into your best, most fully actualized self.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.

Peace + Plants,

RR-SIGNATURE-FOR-WEB 110

Listen & Subscribe on iTunes | Soundcloud | Stitcher

Spots are available for our next retreat — for info visit plantpowerworld.com

Thanks to this week’s sponsor:

Note: One of the best ways to support the podcast is to support the sponsors. For a complete list of all RRP sponsors and their respective vanity url’s and discount codes, visit my Resources page and click “Sponsors”.

SHOW NOTES

Check Out The November Project: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Brogan’s newly released book, co-authored by Bojan Mandaric & Caleb Daniloff, is available now: November Project: The Book: Inside the Free, Grassroots Fitness Movement That’s Taking Over the World*

Background, Context & Reference

Notable People Discussed in today’s podcast

  • Caleb Daniloff: American author who has worked in journalism, radio, and advertising, and is currently a contributing editor at Runner’s World
  • Bojan Mandaric: co-founder of November Project, a free fitness movement which started in Boston and is now in 29 cites across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and co-author of the book with the same title
  • Andrew Ference: former Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman
  • Winkelevoss twins: also humorously referred to as the Winklevii are American rowers and Internet entrepreneurs, Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss

Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy

WtH-screening_640x360

Thanks to Jason Camiolo for production, interstitial music and audio engineering; Chris Swan for production assistance & show notes; Shawn Patterson for graphics. Theme music by Ana Leimma.

*Disclosure:Books and products denoted with an asterisk are hyperlinked to an affiliate program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

The Plantpower Way  is available at these fine retailers!

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  IndieBound  |  Penguin

Are you a company interested in sponsoring the podcast? Click here to learn more & take our sponsor survey.

HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE PODCAST?

Tell Your Friends & Share Online!

Subscribe & Review:  iTunes | Stitcher | Soundcloud | TuneIn

Donate: Check out our Patreon account!

Download Our Free App! Now you can access, stream, download and share the entire RRP catalog in the palm of your hand on any iOS mobile device (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) with our mobile app. Never miss an episode, plus special announcements, discounts, giveaways. Already downloaded? Awesome. When you have a minute, and it feels right to you, do us a solid and give the app a review in the iTunes Store.

Leave a Reply