ERF 803: My New App Is LIVE + The Story Behind Building It

What is going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Eric Roberts Fitness Podcast. Listen, today is a very, very special day for me. My brand new Clubhouse app is officially live. You can click the link in the show notes of this podcast, or you can head to erfclubhouse.com. Clubhouse.com if you would like to join. A couple of quick things before we get into the meat and potatoes of the podcast, which is going to be talking about the story of this app. And trust me, it's a story you're going to want to listen to, and it's a story you're going to want to hear. But really quickly before we do that, I just want to quickly talk about what is included in this app and why I believe you should give this Clubhouse app a try. So first and foremost, it's going to be an all-in-one fitness coaching app. You're going to get gym or at-home workouts to be able to take out the guesswork of your training. It's going to tell you exactly what to do. You're going to get personalized calories and macros so you know exactly what you need to eat to lose fat and build muscle. There is a calorie tracker with a barcode scanner already worked inside of the app, so you don't have to use a different app like MyFitnessPal or something. There's going to be hundreds of low-calorie, high-protein recipes. There is going to be a step tracker that syncs with your phone. You're going to have access to our coaches and our community 24/7, which if you listen to the podcast, you probably hear a lot of our members talk about how special the community actually is. You're going to have a daily checklist, or what I call a daily kill list, every single day inside of your app to feel and to know you're checking off your items on a day-to-day basis, getting your action-based goals done that will lead up to your bigger goals of losing the weight, building the muscle, all these great things. You can track your PRs, your personal records. Like, you guys, there is everything. And the reason I built this app is to simplify your journey and make it easier than ever to stick to. I really saw something, you know, in the industry where people are using like 7 different things to try to like track their progress. You're tracking calories over here, you're doing your workouts over here, you're having your phone track your steps for you, you're doing this with your recipes. Like, I wanted to put everything all in one, and I promise you this app is going to be something that simplifies your journey. It takes out all the guesswork and it holds you accountable. I didn't even say this, but, you know, we see who's doing their workouts, who's not doing their workouts, who's inputting their measurements, everything. And so we can hold you accountable, the community can hold you accountable, the app in and of itself is going to hold you accountable by making sure you check off your daily items. So Guys, click the link in the show notes of this podcast or head to erfclubhouse.com. My brand new app is live. We also are having some special deals right now. So, uh, normally the price is $59.99 per month, and that's going to be paid every 3 months. So $180 for the entire 3 months. But right now we are having a yearly special where the first 100 people who sign up for a yearly membership are going to get $200 off. Normally, it's $720 for the entire year. Right now, it is $520 for the entire year. And again, this is only going to the first 100 people who sign up. So if you want to be one of those people, I'd act quickly. And yeah, you guys, so again, I've put everything I have into this new app, and I'm going to talk about the story of how this app came to be. So back in March of 2024, is when I started to officially start kind of the building process of this app. And now we had what is called a mobile web app for our current Clubhouse, for our current web app. So we did have something, but I just knew it could be a lot better. And the main reason really of me building this app was number one, to better the experience of the users that were already inside of the app. You know, I'm not naive to the fact that I know the people who choose to trust me, the people who choose to support me, are the reason why I am where I am and are the reason why, you know, my business and our company is where it is. And so I'm a, you know, maybe to a fault sometimes, I'm a loyal guy, hence being a Cincinnati Bengals fan. You know, if I'm a Bengals fan, I gotta be a loyal guy. But I'm a very loyal person and I just, you know, it means a lot to me. And so I wanted to really improve the experience for our members. And so that's when it started to, you know, kind of take off. And I was like, well, I wanna improve the workouts, like how we track the workouts, how we track people's personal records, how the workouts come up inside of the app. I wanted to get our own calorie tracker inside because I knew, you know, people were using other apps to track their calories. And I'm like, why don't I just put a calorie tracker in my app so they don't have to use another app? Same thing with steps. I was like, why do they have to track their steps here? Why can't they just do it here instead? So I wanted to make truly an all-in-one app that I wanted to, you know, I wanted to kind of give to our members. And yes, I knew it would most likely, you know, attract other, you know, members and, you know, have people sign up because of these really cool features. But, you know, I don't take it for granted, the fact that the people who choose to support me and support my business, I, I want to, I want to say thank you, and I want to give back as best I can. So that's kind of how it started. So back in March of 2024, you know, everything started off great. Those were the famous last words, because I had no clue. I truly had no clue what I was getting myself into. Like I said, I had I had built the web app before with the same development team that I'm working with currently, but it was nothing like this. And it was exciting at first because it was just like, it was new, it was novel. I was like, all right, cool, we're gonna have a calorie tracker, we're gonna have a barcode scanner, people are gonna love this, I am so excited. So like all of these things started to, It was an exciting process, but that lasted for like about a month or two, and then things just started to— I don't want to say go downhill because everything I'm going to talk about today and the journey of what happened, it's all led to a bigger purpose and it's all led to lessons that I'm incredibly grateful for. But like, it started to go downhill, and I'll just tell you a couple of the examples of this. I don't want to— I could literally make this like a 4-hour podcast, but I will spare you the time. Some things started to happen, and I will use the biggest example at the beginning. So in this app, there was gonna be a paid version, like for our current members and for the people who are inside of the Clubhouse, and there was gonna be like a free version. And the free version was just gonna be like, right now I have a calorie calculator that people can use, and I have a free workout Workout program that people can download, and so in my head I was like, cool, I'm just gonna make the free version of the app with the calculator and the workouts, and then obviously the people who are you know paying and actually in the clubhouse they will have access to everything else. And so that's what we started to do. I thought that was going to be the right answer. So you know we were, and again this was still like, oh this is going to be sweet. Da da da. So. Long story short, we get into it and we get to this like inflection point where I was like, holy shit, we're not going to be able to do this. And this is for— again, I don't have to go into the super details, but essentially we found out I'm not going to be able to do this. Mind you, I had already done the designs, I had already built the entire— like, it was there, it was ready. Everything was already built for it. This like free version of the app, and again, this was only really like 15-10% of the entire app, but I wanted to build it because I don't know, I guess I'm a bleeding heart and I just want to help everybody for free as best as I possibly can because I was like, well, whatever, if people don't want to join the app, like I'll just give it to— I'll give free things, whatever. It cost me 40 $40,000 to build this free version of the app. And mind you, this is never going to see the light of day. It's basically, I took a stack of cash of $40,000 and I lit it on fire. That is essentially what is going— what happened to— and again, this is my own personal money. Like, yeah, it's money from the business, but it's like, That's my money that I just absolutely poured down the drain. And so, you know, at that point I was like, holy shit. Like, I had never— I don't know, I guess it didn't even cross my mind that it wasn't going to be able to be released. It didn't even cross my mind. I was like, I was paying this money, paying this money, paying this money. And now it's not ever gonna be used. And I was like, holy shit, I just wasted 40 fucking grand. So at that point, and mind you, that again, that was just for the free version. At this point, I was basically about 70 grand deep. I was about 70 grand deep into building this app. And man, this was probably around the August or I would say August slash September time frame, and I sat there one day and I was like, "I'm not doing this. I'm I'm fuck this." Like I was so, as you can probably imagine, I was I was mad. I was discouraged. I was I was I was shook. I was like, holy shit! I cannot believe this actually just happened. And again, moving forward, I'm like, is this even the right choice? I'm like. What? Why did I just spend? You know, I'm seventy grand into this project. I'm like, I might as well just stop now before it gets any worse. Now mind you, I had already put forty grand down the drain, and now I'm saying, well, what's another thirty grand? I might as well just pull the plug on this thing. And I did, by the way. I did. I stopped production on building this new app for about two months. And you know, looking back on it now, obviously I wish I hadn't because it. Probably would be out 2 months sooner, but such is life and we learn lessons. But I stopped and I was literally ready to just throw away $70 grand. As, as, as absurd and as crazy as that sounds, that's how bad it got. Now obviously, again, you know, like, again, because the Clubhouse app is now out, which by the way, if you're interested in helping me recoup some of my $40 grand that I lost Click the link in the show notes of this podcast or head to erfclubhouse.com to join our brand new app. There's going to be a link in the show notes of this podcast. So if you want to help me recoup some of these, some of this money I'll never get back, I'd be incredibly appreciative. But it got pretty bad. And then eventually I was like, no, I have to do this. I have to keep going. Maybe I'll lose more money. Maybe I won't. I don't know. But like, I'm just somebody who, if I'm going to start something, I'm gonna finish it. And that was really my philosophy. And again, I still wanted— there was still the same goal. The same goal was I wanted to provide our members a better experience. I wanted to kind of reinvent things. I wanted to bring something to the industry that currently wasn't there. So the goal was still there. Yes, I was pissed off. Yes, I was upset, but I knew I had to keep going. So that was first off, and that was obviously a big thing. And the second reason why this This was such a, and again, I don't wanna say a bad experience because I've learned so much from this and I'll talk about that a bit later. But I guess the second part that I wrote down here was I just really wasn't the best leader of my, of the team I was working with, with my development team. And really what I mean by this, I was talking to, so again, the team I work with, they're in Ukraine and you know, I've worked with them since day one of me kind of building the Clubhouse web app back in like, I don't know, 2022, I think is when we first started working together. So like, I know them, I trust them, we've worked together before, but I was under the assumption— because this is how I operate, and again, this is why I say like I'm learning more and more as a, as a leader every single day— the way I operate is like Tell me what to do and I will just go and fucking do it to the best of my ability. And I'm not saying they weren't trying to do that, but what I am saying is like, I just kind of took my eyes away from it. I would pay the fucking weekly paycheck every single week to them and like, I would assume— I was just kind of assuming they were going to make exactly what I wanted. And I know that sounds stupid, but when I say it out loud, But that's again, that's how I operate. Like if you join the Clubhouse app and you're like, Eric, take care of my workouts, take care of my nutrition, take care of my step goal, give me the resources. Like we give you everything when you join this Clubhouse app. Link is in the show notes of the podcast or head to erfclubhouse.com. Like that's what we do when people join our Clubhouse. And so in my head I'm like, okay, If I'm paying them to do this, they're just going to take care of it. I don't have to worry about it. That's not what happened, and that's not what I should—that's not what I should have been doing. In this entire time, I wasn't the best leader because I wasn't making sure things were prioritized correctly. I wasn't checking in on things I needed to check in on. I wasn't—I don't want to say being on top of it—but like to a degree, I didn't have my eye on the ball. I just assumed. Things were going to go well, and I just assumed they knew exactly what I wanted to make, which is just absurd. Like, I can't expect anybody to do that, but that's how I was thinking. And, you know, as we, as we kind of got closer and closer, I started to— closer and closer to the release date, I started to realize this a bit more. And, you know, how I started to realize this was A couple of different ways. Like, as we got closer, things just started to like break, right? So initially we were supposed to launch on January 1st. We got to around January 1st and essentially they were like, this, this thing is not gonna be ready by January 1st. And so I'm like, okay, fair, you know, understandable. We were gonna do like a one-on-one coaching challenge anyway. Which was super successful. And thank you to everybody who joined that because honestly, that basically kept me afloat. And I'll talk about that in a second. But I was like, okay. And then so we kind of pushed it back to January 20th, and that was going to be the date that it was going to be released. And so, you know, and then from there we got closer to that date and I was like, and they were like, no, we can't do that either. It's going to be January 28th or 27th or something around those, around that date. And mind you, The release date just keeps getting pushed back. I still have to pay these people $20 grand here, $10 grand here, $8 grand here, $15 grand here. Like, this money just doesn't come out of thin air, you know? And, and I am very grateful and, and, and I'm very appreciative and I'm very like, I was able to Pay it because of the years prior of me running the business in a smart way, where like, I don't just go spend every single dollar that we make, and I try to reinvest back into the business, but I'll be very honest with you, things started to get a little bit, like, a little bit scary for me, like, I was having to do what I had to do to keep the business afloat, because I had to— I'm paying these people, literally, like, I'm not kidding when I say this, like, some of these paychecks I had to write were for $20 grand, $10 grand, $15 grand, and that's like on a weekly basis. I'm paying this kind of money and I'm like, fuck. On top of the fact I have to pay my employees, on top of the fact I have to pay for the email marketing software that I'm using, like, everything is just getting very expensive and it was honestly stressful for me, like, I'm wondering how I can keep this thing afloat, not only the Clubhouse app but also the business in general. Like, my employees, I gotta pay them. I gotta pay rent. I gotta pay all these things. And I'm like, it was getting a little bit scary, man. And you know, I'm somebody who— I have a lot of faith and, and I believe in God, and I knew God was going to work everything out and everything was going to be fine. That's just how I think and operate. But like, regardless, I'm, I'm kind of scared and, and I'm very stressed, to say the least. Maybe I don't always show it, or I don't always, you know, maybe come on here and talk about it, but like, it, it was really a lot for me. And, and so kind of bringing all this back together, I'm, I'm in Vegas, um, for like a business, uh, workshop to try to learn how to run an even better business, funny enough. But But while I was there, we were supposed to launch the app in like 5 days or 4 days or something like that. And I remember I woke up one morning, it's like 3:00 AM Vegas time because I'm from the East Coast and I just, my internal clock was all weird. So I wake up at 3:00 AM and I get a text from one of the people on our development team and she's basically like, Eric, I'm really sorry. We're not releasing the app in four days. She's like, there's just no way we can do this. It would be way too much of a risk of like a critical failure. They were like, it's not ready. People are gonna have a really bad experience. Like we I'm I'm sorry, but we can't do this. And at that point, again, talk about inflection points. At that point, I'm like, so many thoughts are going through my head. First and foremost, I'm a fucking failure because I've been telling people it's gonna launch. I'm sending all these emails. I'm talking about it in the podcast. I'm talking about it on my social media, and I'm like, fuck, dude. Like, how does that make me look? Like, I try to be somebody—I'm not perfect with this. I don't think anybody is, but I really do try to keep my word. I really do try to be transparent. I really do try to be. Truthful, and, and if I say something, it's gonna happen. And now I'm like, well, now I look like a fucking idiot because this is not gonna happen. And then also on top of that, I'm like, what? Like, how am I going to continue to keep paying for this thing? Because this is where, like, I think a lot of people shit on, like, oh, making money, or, or so on and so forth, which is funny because everybody wants to make— everybody I talk to wants to make more money. But yet, like, when people make a lot of money, people are like, oh, fuck that person. But like, I don't know where this money's gonna keep coming from to keep building this fucking app. And so like, I literally remember just sitting in my hotel room in Vegas looking out over the Sphere, and the Sphere was like a moon because it was 3 AM. So like, it was fucking pitch black, and it was like the moon. They turned the Sphere to like the moon overnight. And I was, I was almost just like stuck. Like, I remember not being able to do— usually I'm like very productive. I'm like, let's go, let's go, let's, let's, let's, let's get this done, let's get that done, let's push forward. I literally sat there for like an hour, hour and a half, and I just couldn't do anything. I couldn't write an email, I couldn't text people back, I couldn't text her back. I couldn't do anything other than just like sit there and wonder, what the fuck am I gonna do? And again, it was scary. Like, it was stressful. It was scary. And, you know, after about an hour and a half of me kind of sulking, which, like, I think, you know, that's really what I was doing, I was like, all right, well, it's not gonna fucking happen. So what do we do now? And I'm a firm believer you can only control what you can control. I had no clue how long it was actually going to take for us to actually release this app. You know, she had said like, hey, we need like 2 to 4 more weeks. Again, meanwhile, I'm wondering how the fuck am I going to keep paying 10 grand a week, you know, 8 grand a week to keep fucking doing this. But I'm like, is that even gonna happen? Because it's already been pushed back like 3 times. So like, when is this actually going to occur? When is this actually going to happen? I had no clue, but I can't really control that. All I could control was How do I make sure this happens to the best of my ability? And this is where everything's coming full circle to being a better leader and taking more control. Because at that point I was like, hey guys, we need to have a daily meeting. And for some of you, you're gonna be like, no shit, Eric, you dumb fuck. But I don't know what I don't know. So I was like, every morning We have to meet live on Zoom or whatever, and we have to have a daily meeting, and I need to go through everything that we're doing. I need to make, you know, make sure there's, there's a list of priorities that need to get done. I need to make sure I do everything I possibly can to ensure this happens in the most efficient way possible. Whether it happens or not, I need to make sure that I do my part. And that's where, once we started doing that, Having those daily meetings, going over everything, I was able to lead and prioritize a lot better. That's what like these past—it's been about two weeks since that's happened. These past two weeks have been the best two weeks ever in this development process. Not because there haven't been issues; there's there's still been issues. But we I feel a lot more in control over it as opposed to what I was doing beforehand. And again, I just. I don't know. I don't know what I don't know. I needed to again. I again personally, I pray every single night, and one of the things I pray for because I know this is what needs to happen for us to to move forward for myself and my business and and for me to help more people, help my employees. I need to get better at skills. It's not luck. It's not like you know these sort. I need to have better skills. Because if I have better skills and I have better experience, I'll be able to push things forward more. I'll be able to lead more. And I think this was God's way of teaching me. And unfortunately, I'm trying to change this, but unfortunately, some of the only ways I learn— I really do want to change this, but some of the only ways I learn is through like very, very, very hard times. Like I have to learn the hard way a lot of times. I hope that changes moving forward. I really do. Trust me. But this was all a lesson of that because now it's allowed me to level up. It's allowed me to gain these skills of being a better leader, of learning how to prioritize better. It's pushed me outside of my comfort zone to, to, you know, stretch myself and put myself in an uncomfortable position, whether it be financially or whether it be as a leader or a business owner or whatever. case may be, it's pushed me to keep going even when things don't go my way. So, you know, it's, it's, it's a $40 grand lesson that I, you know, that I had that, that was an investment into my, into my skills, into my leveling up. And, and sometimes the price to pay for that is expensive, but, you know, I believe God's giving those skills to me now, and it's exactly what I— it's exactly what I prayed for. And so although there's been a lot along the way, there's been a lot of, you know, Trials, tribulations, whatever the case may be. And, you know, I also get it too. Like, yeah, maybe I could have worse problems in my life, but I mean, nonetheless, they're problems and they're things I have to work through. But, you know, now kind of sitting here on the other side of it, now that the Clubhouse app is officially live, which by the way, if you're listening to this story and you're like, you know what, Eric, fucking right, brother, I want to support you, I want to join the app, feel free to click the link in the show notes of this podcast or head to erfclubhouse.com. We would love to have you inside of the app, and it would mean the absolute world to me. But now that I'm here, it's very rewarding, and I'm somebody who— I'm never satisfied. You can ask my team that, you can ask anybody who knows me that, and I'm not satisfied. I believe the work is just starting because it's like, okay, cool, we did all this work to get to this point, but now, like, when people join, we have to make sure they have a great experience. We have to make sure to give them great coaching. I have to make sure everything is is continuing to improve. Like it's not just here's the app and I'll never work on it again. Like literally we're already working on improvements. I think the the development team and everybody else who's been working with me, I think they want a fucking break. But I'm like no, we got to keep going. Um, but you know it's it's a we're just getting started. So I'm not satisfied with this, but I'm proud of the work that has gone into this. I'm I'm proud. That I never quit. And, you know, listen, whether you listening to this, whether you sign up for it or not, I, again, I can't really control that. You know, I can only control what I can control. And I just know I did everything I could, everything, man. And like, I'm not gonna sit here and cry because that's not, that's not what's gonna happen. But I, you know, I wake up at 4 AM, I work till 9, 10 PM. I've done everything I possibly can. I, you know, I've invested the time, the energy, the effort. Like, I really did all that I fucking could. And that to me is like, that's really what all this is about for me. You know, like I said, whether you join or not, whether it's good enough and the Clubhouse members will love it and they refer people or they don't, You know, whether you see the value in it or not, whether you listening, if you're on the fence and, and, you know, maybe this podcast will push you over, maybe it doesn't. Like, I— that's not, it's not in my control. Um, all I can control is my inputs, and all that I can control is my reaction. That's it. That's, that's the only thing I can personally control. And, you know, that's the same thing we coach our clients on, and it's the same thing that we tell— I tell people all the time. Like, you know, you can't control the scale, you can't control how fast you lose weight, you can't control— like, but you can control if you hit your calories. You can control if you commit to your journey, which, by the way, if you want to commit to your journey, join us in the new Clubhouse app. Link is in the show notes of the podcast, or head to erf.clubhouse.com. You can control if you get your workouts in that day or not. If you go outside and get your walks, even when it's, it's fucking freezing. Like last night, I, I'm still on my calorie deficit. I might be stopping it this week, we'll see. But you know, I was on— I'm on my deficit, so I gotta hit my steps. And I go out last night, it's fucking freezing. It's like 12 degrees, it's like 30-mile-an-hour winds. I'm walking outside with this weighted backpack on and I'm like, Oh my God. Why am I doing this? So I'm like, I'm already down 20 pounds, I'm already really fucking lean, I've basically already achieved and accomplished my goal. Why the fuck am I still doing this? It's because I told myself I would. It's because I, I need to show up for myself. It's because that's the inputs to me. Like, it's— I almost craved it. I craved putting in the inputs because I know I can control it. Like I said, you know, I can't control if you're going to give the Clubhouse app a shot or not. I can't. I, you know, I would love for you to. It would honestly mean the world to me. I've put my entire life into this. These stories that I'm telling you about, just like, just the development of the app, you know, like, I could go on and on for those. But also, like, I've taken my entire 8+ years of coaching and I've put it all into this app. I've seen the industry and what's missing. I've seen how people, you know, other coaches, other, other, other people like do things I don't necessarily agree with, whether it's cutting calories so low or doing hours upon hours of cardio. You know, I was talking to somebody the other day about the app and they were kind of talking to me, somebody who had like early access, and they were like, this is literally exactly what I wanted. They were like, Like, you built everything that I was looking for, whether it's the workouts, whether it's the meal plans, whether it's the recipes, the calories. Like, so again, like, I know what can help people, and that's really what I'm trying to do here. I firmly believe that, you know, we talk about business and we talk about making money. I'm a firm believer money is just like a value exchange. You are going to pay me money, and really it's not me; it's it's my company and my business. And that's another side note of this. So the Clubhouse app is you know sixty bucks a month, right? You either pay it quarterly or you you know we have a yearly membership deal for the first hundred people who sign up again. By the time you listen to this, that might already be gone. But if it's not, you can go and maybe take advantage of that. It's literally two hundred dollars off. So like. If you want to commit to your fitness, if you want to commit to this, if you want to support me, that it would mean the world to me. But like, if you want to do that, you can definitely click the link in the show notes of this podcast or head to erfclubhouse.com. But you know, I've, I've taken all of this and I've put it into this app to try to help you as best I can. You sign up for the app, I help you see results. It's a value exchange. That, that really is What business to me is about. I don't think in today's day and age, maybe back 20, 30, 40 years ago before social media, I don't think in today's day and age you can actually be a successful business if you're like scamming people out of their money because like people are gonna know. They're gonna talk about it. They're gonna say your shit sucks. They're gonna say he scammed me. They're gonna say I paid Eric 180 bucks to join his app and I never got shit. Like People are gonna say that. But I'm also hoping people join and say, damn, I really enjoy this. Yeah, they really helped me. If I had a question, they answered in a timely manner. They had workout programs inside that were realistic and attainable for my goals. I don't work out at the gym, I work out from home, and I wanted some workouts there, and that's what exactly what they provided to me. I was confused on my calories and macros, but they took out all the confusion for me. They helped me make new friends and be surrounded by an entire supportive community of members who want me to win, who want me to succeed. Like, that's the value. Like, I believe it's a value exchange. And so, you know, I saw what helped people and I saw what was missing. Again, going back to what I talked about earlier, I saw even with our own members, but just in general, I, I'm very hard-pressed to find an app, and maybe you can correct me if I'm wrong, but an app that has workouts for gym or at home, that has a calorie tracker, a barcode scanner that helps you with your calories and your macronutrients, that tracks your steps for you, tracks your body weight for you, shows you your trends in your body weight, it tracks your pictures, it tracks your measurements, it has hundreds of low, low-calorie, high-protein recipes, not only from me, but this is a really cool feature I'm actually really excited about. We have a community recipes feature inside of the app, and basically what this is, is if you're a member of the app, you can make a recipe and put it inside of the app, and it goes to everybody who's in the app. And like, again, something I've seen from running the clubhouse for the past 5 years now So many people have so many good recipes and they used to just like share them in the Facebook group, which is like cool, like don't get me wrong, it's fine, but like I was like, why don't they just put those in the app and then everybody can use those in the app, and that's exactly what we're doing, and so like there will literally be every single day, every single month, probably dozens and dozens of new recipes that get loaded up inside, on top of the ones that we already put in every single month, so you're never gonna get bored of your food, whether you're a vegetarian, whether you're vegan, whether you're, you know, you like Mexican food, maybe you're, maybe you're more a Japanese food, you know, maybe it's more Indian food, like we have people from all over parts of the world and all different backgrounds, all different nationalities, all different ethnicities, whatever the case may be, so like there's gonna be something in there for you, so that's a really cool feature I wanted to add. I just Like I keep saying, I built this app for one reason. It's going to simplify your journey and make it easier than ever to stick to. And again, like even the coach access, I'm very hard-pressed to find an app for $60 a month that like you can actually talk to and that has everything included and you can talk to a real human being that is an expert coach on my team. Like, I also see this. So many apps use like bots or AI, whether you know it or not. By the way, little— this is a little dirty secret. A lot of people are using these AI chatbots and they make it seem like they're real people. Again, I talked earlier about like I was, you know, uh, I don't want to say worried, but like to a degree of how I'm gonna pay my employees and But there's a reason that we have real people working for us is because like I value that. And I think you value that. I think you value having a real human connection, knowing somebody actually gives a fuck about you. Like anybody can go use ChatGPT. And if that's you, by the way, go fucking use ChatGPT. I don't— it doesn't— again, it doesn't matter to me. I know the way that we do things works because our results speak for themselves. And I wanted to double down on that on top of the fact I love The people I work with. What I do is for the people I work with. Like, yeah, do I want to be successful and do I want to, you know, fucking buy a Lamborghini? Which I'll talk about in a second as well because I thought this was funny. But like, yes, I want all those things. But like, I love my coaches. I love the people that work with me. You know, I love shout out to you know one of our employees Nicole. I love you, Nicole. Like Nicole has worked so hard on this app with me every single day, and she's been like. The right-hand woman there for all things app-related. Like, I couldn't have done it without her. The app wouldn't be here without her. So like, I want her to be successful. I want her to see this. Like, it's just— so I actually care. But like, you get access to real coaches who will give you real feedback in real time. Like, I think that's important. And again, like I talked about earlier, if you see the value in that and you want to sign up, you can click the link in the show notes of this podcast or head to erfcoach.com. Clubhouse.com, or you don't see the value in that and you're not— you're gonna be like, who gives a fuck, Eric? I'll go to ChatGPT. Okay, man, like, go to ChatGPT then, you know what I mean? So I, you know, that's a part of it. You also get access to, again, a community of people. If you listen to the podcast, you hear all these people come on the podcast, and, and again, fact-check me if I'm wrong, but you can go back and listen to these podcasts. I just did one with Sonia, uh, on Friday, one of our, one of our members, Sonia. She talked about how amazing the community is. I wasn't like, oh, Sonia, by the way, how great is the community? Like, she talked about it because it is great. It's not me. I'm not the special one here. It's the people who are inside of the community who are giving, you know, feedback to people, support to people, and motivation to people. Like, you're gonna get access to that community, this incredible community of like-minded people who are on the same journey as you, who can talk about the the same things you talk about. I know a lot of people in your life don't give a fuck about hitting PRs. They don't give a fuck about if you go to the gym and you bench press, you know, 75 pounds on the bar today. They don't care if you're down a pant size on your waist. But like, we do care, and we do want to support you and be there for you and motivate you and hold you accountable. So you get access to that too. And honestly, quite frankly, if you decide to join my new Clubhouse app, you would just be supporting a kid who's worked incredibly hard. And I don't know, I don't know why every time I talk about this I get a little bit emotional, but I, I'm not special. I think God has given me, um, special talents, you know. I think he's put me in a special situation. He's given me a lot, but— ah, I'm sorry. All right, he's given me a lot, but like, I've had to work for everything that I have, like, ever since the beginning. And don't get me wrong, I'm really grateful for it. I wouldn't have it any other way, but like I have put so much work into this. That's— it's probably why— it's probably why when, like, I'm sure it's similar to, like, let's say somebody— the Super Bowl just happened, right? And there were people, you know, the people on the Eagles who were crying or whatever, right? Like, it's just— it's not about actually winning the Super Bowl. It's not about actually launching this app. It's about The sheer amount of work that has gone into doing the task and accomplishing the task. Like, you probably hear athletes talk all the time about, you know, the work they do in the summer, the work they do in training camp and practice. Like, like, that's why I probably, probably get really emotional because I've worked really hard, man. And, you know, again, I, I can't keep talking about this because I'll just— I don't know, I'll just fucking cry. Clearly I can't talk about it. Maybe this is a therapy thing. I don't fucking know. But like, if you join the app, you'll be supporting somebody who works really hard, who really cares about you, um, who clearly— you know, fucking crying talking about this— um, who clearly gives a fuck, who clearly cares, who wants you to win. Um, and you know, I, I do care. And I don't— I guess normally, I don't know, maybe I would like cut this part of the podcast out. But you know, I want you to know that like, we— again, whether you sign up or not, man, like whatever at this point. But like, I just want you to know I care. And I really do want To help. Um, I want to be something that can just be a positive light in your, in your day and your journey, help you see progress, help you feel better. Because I think that's the thing about what we do, um, in terms of like helping people with— it's not to us, it's not just losing weight, like, or lifting weights or getting stronger. Like, those things are awesome, but You know, I know firsthand how this actually changes people's lives. I know firsthand how not only does it make you have more confidence, it makes you feel better about yourself. You live a better quality life. You're less miserable. You're happier. You, you, you don't hide in family pictures anymore. You don't hide from the mirror anymore. You get to go on your vacations and actually enjoy it. You get to look at your kids. in the eyes and know that you're being a positive role model for them. Like, I, I've been doing this long enough to know it's much more than just weight loss and, and macros and workouts. Like, yeah, those are the tools, but you know, I want you to live the best quality life you can. It's really why I started doing all this from the beginning. Like I said, I believe that God has blessed me with an incredible situation, and he's given me these tools to give back. And that's, that's what I'm trying to do. Like, if you go back and listen to, you know, even my, my very, you know, first podcast, like, I talk about, like, I've always believed that I can do whatever it is that I want to do. And I just, for some reason, like, other people don't believe that. I don't, I don't know. Like, I thought everybody did, but I guess they don't. And so I wanted to give back. I wanted to help people. I wanted to see— like, I know I live a very great life, and a very— and yes, it's stressful and it's challenging and it's difficult and all these things, but I also know I live a great life, and I want other people to feel the way that I feel. I want other people to experience what I experience. I don't want you to, like, wake up every day and, and be miserable because of the way you look and feel. I don't want you to have low energy. I don't want you to feel like shit about yourself because, you know, you're not a role model for your kids. Or I don't want you to feel like shit because, like, you know, you and your partner can't have a good connection because of the way you look and you feel and your body weight. I don't want you to leave this earth early because of your health issues, whether it's diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol. Like, yeah, all this is really just like, I actually care. And you know, with all that being said, I'm you know I I would love if you gave myself and gave the Clubhouse app a shot. You can click the link in the show notes of this podcast, or you can head to erfclubhouse.com. I promise you that we're we're gonna do everything we possibly can to help you, and I really do mean that from the bottom of my heart. And so and so yeah guys, you know, and last couple things I said I was gonna talk. About this. Um, I, I was, uh, the other day, I think it was like Tuesday, Monday, I don't know when exactly it was, but I put something on my social media where I was like, you know, if a certain amount of people sign up for the Clubhouse app, I'm gonna, I'm gonna buy my Lamborghini, which I don't know if I'll actually do it or not. And everyone's like, oh, do it anyway, do it anyway. I'm like, you guys, the, the money I could— the money I was gonna spend to buy a Lamborghini, I built the app with. I mean, this app cost me over $200 grand. I could have bought a Lamborghini in cash with that, but I chose not to. I chose to invest into my business, invest into myself, hopefully invest into you if you join the new Clubhouse app. Head to the link in the show notes of this podcast. So like, I'm like, guys, I don't know where you think the money is, is coming from. Um, but you know, I was kind of taking some time to think about this. Um, I will probably set some time aside. We'll see, maybe it's when I'm on vacation, but Maybe I'll set some time aside. Not maybe, I will. I will do it and think about some rewards I might give to myself because quite frankly, I usually do things like this. And again, like I said earlier, I'm like, okay, it's onto the next. Like, you know, what, what, what else do we have to do? What else do we wanna improve? What else do we wanna get better at? I'm never satisfied, which I love, and I don't mind that. But I also think for this particular thing, it's a, It's a really big milestone for me. It's a, uh, it's a really, really big part in my life. Um, and I will do some like little tiered rewards, like if X amount of people sign up, I'll do this. If X amount of people sign up, I'll do this. And I have some thoughts. Um, one of them is a Lamborghini. Yes, if a certain amount of people sign up, I'm, I'm, I will, I will buy a Lamborghini. That's scary to say out loud, but if a certain amount of people sign up, I will pull the trigger and I will do it. But, uh, but yeah, so I, and I think it's important to, you know, I think it's important to reward yourself like that sometimes. And, and, you know, if you join the app and you're consistent for a certain amount of time and, and you reach 10 pounds down, 20 pounds down, 30 pounds down, you have something to work towards, right? And so, although I, like I said, I can't directly control, you know, if, if you decide to sign up for the app, I can't control if you are a Clubhouse member. If you choose to refer people and get your friends and family and coworkers to sign up for the app. I can't control that, but, you know, I, I think there will be some little tiers of rewards and, you know, maybe I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll discuss those on different podcasts potentially. Um, once I know what they are and, and once I hit them, because, you know, I'm, I'm gonna work, like I said, it's, the work isn't done. Like, yeah, the app is out, but I know how these things work. Even when you hear this podcast, if you're still listening, which if you are listening, I appreciate it. Um, but even if you do listen to this, I know, like, I don't know, maybe you still won't be sold on it. You still won't give me a chance. And, you know, again, I respect that, but I'm not gonna go away. I'm gonna keep trying. I'm gonna keep trying to help you. Um, and so, yeah, I know the work is just getting started, but I think it'll be cool to kind of see what, uh, you know, what, what tiers of rewards I might be able to reward myself With. And, um, yeah, so guys, that's everything I wrote down for the podcast today. Um, if, like I said, if you're still listening, I really appreciate it. I hope you, I hope you enjoyed this. Like, this is just a very raw, real side of me. Um, you know, you hear me got emotional and, and all these sort of things, but like, you know, this is the guy, like, here, here's the guy you listen to. Like, this is who, this is who I am. Um, This is why I like these, you know, podcasts. It's not going to go viral. Millions and millions of people aren't going to listen to this like maybe they do with some of my Instagram or TikTok posts or whatever the case may be. But like, you know, you get to know me and, and you get to know, like I said, who you're supporting. And I'm a firm believer that like you're gonna get some help with fitness regardless at some point, probably, correct? Like you're gonna want to get some help with with training, nutrition, workouts, whatever the case may be. So if it happens to be me and, and you want to support me and you want to support my, my business, my company, my brand, what I stand for, who I am, what I'm about, um, it would mean the world to me. And, uh, you know, you'd be doing it for a, uh, for a very good cause. So last time, if you'd like to join us inside of the Clubhouse app, click the link in the show notes of this podcast. Or head to erfclubhouse.com. We'd absolutely love to have you inside. And yeah, just thank you so much for listening. I love you guys. I appreciate you guys, and we'll chat soon.