This YouTube video, produced/uploaded by TJ LaFaver (April 15, 2024), documents an on-site ‘hero’ workout at 1st Phorm HQ dedicated to First Lieutenant Travis Mannion. A speaker gives a motivational pre-workout talk about selflessness, gratitude, and making the most of opportunities earned by others’ sacrifices, explains partner logistics and a 400-meter run marker, leads the workout, and closes with reflections on effort and team support.
Questions this video answers
First Lieutenant Travis Mannion.
Run from the front yellow pole to the first yellow pole down there and back (the speaker says this equals 400 meters).
Created and uploaded by TJ LaFaver on April 15, 2024.
Chapters
All right. Well.
During a hero workout is something that we've done every single month for a very, very long time as a part of this company. And it's not necessarily about doing the workout right. Like, we talk a lot about this. It's about honoring those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for us to do what it is that we do every single day. And we talk a lot about that. We talk about being an American based company, we talk about our values, we talk about our core values, we talk about making the world a better place. And that's what those brave men and women died for. And that's why we do this. Because we can never bring back someone from the dead. We can never repay their families, we can never take that burden and responsibility on. But what we can do and what this team is committed to, this company is committed to and us as individuals are committed to, is living the best life that we can with the opportunities that we've been given based off of their sacrifice. That's why we do it. And as we stand out here today, there's a million reasons why we shouldn't do this workout. Why a lot of people would think about it and be like, alright, well, it's not that big of a deal. Pick a different day. It's raining, it's cold, the equipment's going to get messed up, whatever the case may be. But we only need one reason why we do this.
The ultimate reason. It's because we have the opportunity to do it because of them.
And today is a special workout. Every one of these hero workouts is special. But today is in honor of first Lieutenant Travis Mannion.
Who before his last deployment, where he lost his life while saving other individuals and drawing enemy fire away so that they could survive.
The whole message of him going on that last deployment was, if not me, then who?
And you think about that. The selflessness, the attitude.
The belief in the mission.
Standing for what he believed and knew was right.
And when push came to shove, I hope that I would respond similarly. I hope, I pray.
But the truth is, we'll never know.
But what we can do and what we do know is that we have the opportunities to build the life of our dreams. We have the opportunities to build the life that Travis would be proud of. We have the opportunity to build a selfless life. Thinking through, if not me, then who, Rising to the occasion, setting the standard, leading by example, and truly making a positive impact on this world. So today when we're out there, it's not thinking about, oh man, this sucks. Oh, this is uncomfortable. Oh, this is. Whatever. It's thinking about the one reason why we are doing this, and that's because we have the opportunity. Deal.
All right, so here's what we're going to do, actually. Now, I think about, since we only have a limited amount of equipment, right. This is what we did last time. Partner up with somebody that you're going to use the same equipment. Okay. And then first person, partner A, whatever it is, line up on the yellow pole. The front yellow pole. Okay. Because 400 meters, if you run from that yellow pole to the first yellow pole down there and back, that is 400 meters on the dot. Cool. So that doesn't mean, hey, we're, like, shortchanging it. We're coming in, you are running around that pole, and then in. All right, so let's pair that up, and in one minute, we need partner A out there, partner B with whatever implement, and we'll get started. All right, let's roll. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go.
Right now is that moment. Do you make yourself proud, or.
One breath at a time.
All right. I'm real proud of the effort there.
This workout, it's simple. I said it a couple times during. Anybody can do these movements, right? Anybody can squat. Anybody can run. The separator is the effort that you put into it. Just like life, you can overcomplicate things. You can think about all the situations. You can think about all the, you know, struggles. You can think about anything that you want. But what we choose to focus on when we think about, hey, I'm going to put my best effort into this, that's how you build your life. And what's really cool on the selfless side of things is everybody's got to do the work for themselves. Can't split reps. Someone can't lift it for you. You got to do it. But what we just showed is that at the end, when someone's struggling, you can do the work alongside of them. And that's how we go further together. That's how we make a bigger impact together, putting the wants and the needs and desires of those around us first. That's being selfless. That's sacrificing for the man and the woman to your left and your right. So I'm proud of that effort. I'm proud, even more proud of how we finished on that. So let's break it down, and for those of us that need to get an additional, you know, 10, 15 minutes in, finish out your workout. Let's do that. Cool. All right. Wind on three. Wind on me. One, two, three.
Definitely felt that one.
We did the same one last year. And yep, it's like a punch in the mouth, but happy to do it with this team we got out there.
Definitely just a great reminder of the opportunities that we have every day to be our very best and that those opportunities were earned for us by people who chose to give everything. So, you know, I'm proud of the work that I put in, the team put in, and I feel good.
Will, why do you guys always do. Luckily, real life, man, it's to spend time, you know, purposeful time, thinking about the brave men and women that gave the ultimate sacrifice for us to have the opportunities and the freedoms that we have, you know, every single day, you know, because doing these workouts, right, like, some people might look at it as, like, oh, it's not that big of a deal. Well, it is when you are able to take that thought process and that gratitude and that thankfulness not only back into today, but into tomorrow, into next week. But as we know, with anything time, it blunts all emotion. And so if we don't stay consciously thinking about it, it can become easy to take for granted. When you take for granted, you're obviously not grateful for it. And if you're not grateful for it, you're not going to maximize the opportunity. So for us, it's, hey, staying intentional with remembering those sacrifices, staying intentional with building the life of our dreams and maximizing the opportunities that we have because of those men and women. So that's why we do it.
