Meet Cody Romness | American Businessman

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cody Romness and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cody, how do you think about risk?
Risk-taking is easier said than done. We’re encouraged to “go for it.” But when the risks you take – like starting a business – play out over a 5-10 year timeline… and those crucial years and building your life is at stake… it’s easy to say “maybe I don’t need to take this risk. It’s too risky.” But if you’re being honest to yourself, not taking the risk might eat you up more. For me, for the handful of big-ass-risks that I’ve taken after thinking a lot about it, the answer’s been yes. I am more afraid of inaction and “what if” down the road. I am more afraid of not going for it and what that materializes into a few years from now than I am going through the pain, fear, and struggle of taking a big risk. By the way, I’m not taking risks just to take them, you know? I’m taking them because 1) there’s a big pay off if it works 2) I believe I can do it 3) I’m calculated in small but large risks I take. I put my eggs in one basket when it comes to big risks. Why? Because I put my everything into my decisions. 100% in. I want to stand behind my decisions with full conviction. Because if you’re gonna give it a real shot to get something over the proverbial “hill” it’s going to take all you got and then some. I don’t shoot from the hip when the risk I’m thinking of taking will play out over 5 years, 10 years, a lifetime. The more irreversible the decision, the more time I spend thinking about it. I saw Will Smith talking about risk taking on a YouTube video somewhere out there. Watch it, he’s got some good stuff in it. the punch line is nothing big can happen if you don’t leap.  But at the end of the day, big things don’t happen without big risks. In physics, there’s the model of potential energy and kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is stuff that’s actually happening. Potential is just built up potential. It’s sitting there, and maybe it’ll get used. Or maybe it won’t. The first step to turning potential energy into kinetic energy is committing to the risk. Risk-taking – calculated, ballsy, big-reward-if-this-works risk-taking – is the tip of the spear. We all have different capacities for risk-taking. For better or for worse, my capacity for taking risks is high.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I started Allegiate with two business partners 4 years ago and we built it into a million-dollar brand. Crazy beginnings but here’s kinda how it went. I started a blog. The blog turned into a brick and mortar business. And then brick and mortar business is turning into more locations. We’re a class-based, athletic strength training gym and style of training. Because we played football at USC and had a strength & conditioning program and coaches, we know the classes in the fitness space sucked. And people like us didn’t go to them. We thought there were a lot of people like us out there that needed to solve the same problem we had. So we built what we wished existed. And we have two locations: Redondo Beach and Century City (coming soon). We’ve fought like hell, built a profitable business, and survived a whole lot of adversity. To grow our idea, we raised a substantial amount of capital from investors that want to help elevate this “thing” we’ve built and be a part of the ride. We’re like the artist that you saw in a small venue that blew you away and knows they’re gonna be headling Coachella. We’re just positioning ourselves and putting in the work to get there.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I recently relocated to Manhattan Beach to be closer to work. But prior to that, I lived up by the Grove. So most of my good spots are up there. But here’s what we’d do: We’d start with an early morning session at Allegiate Gym in Redondo Beach. Everything’s better when you’re stronger. We’d grab a meditation looking out over the biggest body of water on planet earth aka the mighty Pacific Ocean. I’d hit up my mentor Steve who managed the band Incubus and is a legend in the music biz and ask if he’d take us out to Bel Air CC to play some golf. After an epic round golf and a drink at the clubhouse, we’d head back to the beach to watch the sunset and talk about life. Next day, we’d hit Franklin Canyon for a morning hike. Drop by Melrose trading post to get inspired and look for some vintage Harley Davidson shirts. From there, I’d take him good times at Davey Waynes, then we’d go to Catch for dinner and sit on the patio with the beautiful people. We’d finish the night at Blue Collar Bar – who plays the best music and the bartender’s swag is almost too much to handle. As the night was coming to a close, I’d ask my buddy, what you don’t live like this every weekend?

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents and the circumstances I was born into. The model they lived every day: loving, caring, well-educated, ambitious parents who love each other and are still together. Being brought up and told you can do whatever you want, be whoever you want to be. We believe in you. That’s the most powerful outlook on life you can give to a kid. I’m lucky to have had that. And I just continued to surround myself with friends, mentors, and relationships that shared that perspective. Thanks to every author who wrote a book I’ve read that’s made me better. And the people that are out there taking action, making things happen, and setting the bar higher and higher. Fires me up!

Website: www.allegiategym.com and www.codyromness.com
Instagram: @allegiategym and @codyromness
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codyromness
Twitter: @codyromness
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cody.romness/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/allegiate-gym-redondo-beach-2
Other: Google maps: https://g.page/allegiategym?share

Image Credits
Allegiate @allegaitegym