Adam McClellan

Adam McClellan | Double Your Profits, Double Your Fun →

Published April 25, 2023  ·  All posts on Apr 25

On Castbox.fm — Adam McClellan | Double Your Profits, Double Your Fun

How can Parkour coaches and gym owners enhance their programs and business practices to better serve their clients and staff while addressing unique challenges?

A coach explores the challenge of bridging personal values with the priorities of clients.

What’s the path that my students and their parents, if they have them, are going to walk through and make that really easy for them to do? It might start as just starting or beginner program. And then there might be another choice, take this path, or that path. Here’s the value in one, here’s the value in the other, but let them decide, give them the freedom to choose.

~ Adam McClellan (3:42)

The conversation addresses challenges faced by Parkour coaches and gym owners in aligning their values with those of their clients. It emphasizes understanding that parents often seek benefits like confidence, discipline, and community for their children, beyond athletic skills. Strategies for effectively presenting program options to clients and balancing simplicity with flexibility are also discussed.

The discussion explores broader topics such as staff management, including gaining buy-in for new initiatives and recognizing individual strengths within the team. Insights are shared on leadership, trust-building, and leveraging the collective wisdom of experienced professionals to guide conversations and decision-making.

Takeaways

Understanding client priorities — Recognizing that clients may value outcomes like confidence, discipline, and community over purely athletic development.

Balancing simplicity and choice — Creating guided pathways that provide clear options without overwhelming clients with too many choices.

Implementing upgrade programs — Offering higher-value, optional services as a way to grow the business without alienating existing clients.

Gaining staff buy-in — Addressing the challenge of aligning staff perspectives with the goals of new initiatives and higher-priced programs.

Trusting team members — Encouraging leadership through identifying and developing individual strengths within the team.

Shifting presentation strategies — Adopting a flexible and discussion-driven approach to group sessions, allowing collective wisdom to guide outcomes.

Bridging knowledge gaps — Helping clients and staff see the value of programs through tailored explanations and processes.

Navigating pricing challenges — Exploring ways to offer premium services without making clients feel pressured or alienated.

Adapting leadership styles — Understanding that effective leadership involves trust, delegation, and allowing room for learning through mistakes.

Leveraging group insights — Recognizing the value of collaborative discussion for solving complex problems and generating new ideas.

Addressing misconceptions in coaching — Acknowledging that coaches may need to adjust their expectations to align with client priorities and perceptions.

Resources

Parkour Generations — A global organization promoting Parkour through classes, events, and community.

adam.mcclellan@parkourgenerations.com

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Inevitable failure →

Published October 28, 2021  ·  All posts on Oct 28  ·  

It’s inevitable that you’re going to fail. If you’re not failing, then you’re definitely doing something wrong because you’re supposed to find your limits. There are parts of it that are going to suck the whole way along— that’s a perfect possibility, but you’re going to grow.

~ Adam McClellan

slip:4a807.

Failure →

Published October 28, 2021  ·  All posts on Oct 28

I’ve recently begun the long project of looking through my past recordings. Only in the last month or so have I been keeping notes about the conversations as I record them, and I want to go back to day-one, (January 28, 2017,) and update my notes on who, when, where— but also the themes and ideas that were discussed. (I’m not listening to everything, just going through the scattered information I already have about the recordings.) Although it’s a lot of work, it’s rewarding to see so many things organized in one centralized system! These days, ideas and connections I find in the slipbox also point me to my specific conversations.

It’s inevitable that you’re going to fail. If you’re not failing, then you’re definitely doing something wrong because you’re supposed to find your limits. There are parts of it that are going to suck the whole way along— that’s a perfect possibility, but you’re going to grow.

~ Adam McClellan

slip:4a807.

You may fail miserably, or you’re gonna break through it— you’re gonna learn something new about yourself, and you’re gonna develop a new skill out of necessity that you didn’t have at the beginning of the painting. So that’s what keeps me excited about making paintings, is because I couldn’t do the same thing over and over again. I have to manufacture some sort of potential failure there.

~ Jonny Hart

slip:4a815.

Also: Delightful connections like the two quotes above fall into my lap along the way.

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Adam McClellan, Caitlin Pontrella, & Alan Tran | Art of Retreat 2019 Recap →

Published July 15, 2020  ·  All posts on Jul 15

On Castbox.fm — Adam McClellan, Caitlin Pontrella, & Alan Tran | Art of Retreat 2019 Recap

How can events like retreats foster personal growth, collaboration, and community-building in specialized fields?

Discover how open schedules and shared creative spaces redefine the meaning of collaboration and innovation at events.

Something new that we did this year was open schedule […] an open forum where anyone could add a session or workshop or something informal, to the schedule during our blocks of open time, which was really well received.

~ Caitlin Pontrella (0:54)

This discussion revolves around the role of retreats in fostering personal growth, community-building, and collaboration. Adam, Caitlin and Alan describe the unique atmosphere of the retreat, emphasizing the importance of an open schedule that allows participants to contribute sessions spontaneously. This format lowers barriers to participation, inspiring individuals to step into leadership roles and share their expertise. Additionally, the conversation highlights the retreat’s design, which fosters vulnerability, connection, and a sense of belonging through shared meals, cozy settings, and creative activities.

The group also explores the challenges and opportunities of organizing international retreats. Topics include reducing economic barriers for attendees, creating cross-cultural connections, and leveraging sponsorships to enhance inclusivity. They stress the significance of helping participants take the retreat’s transformative energy back to their local communities, translating it into actionable insights and long-lasting impact. A key theme is the interplay between deliberate planning and organic participant-driven creation, which collectively define the retreat’s unique success.

Takeaways

Creating space for spontaneous sessions — This fosters inclusivity and encourages new voices to emerge as potential future leaders.

The role of environment — A retreat’s physical setting significantly contributes to its emotional and social impact, enhancing connection and memory.

Barriers to accessibility — Efforts to reduce economic, geographic, and social barriers ensure more diverse participation.

The power of shared meals — Communal meals are designed to build intimacy and create a warm, homelike atmosphere.

Cultural exchange in international retreats — Cross-cultural understanding and shared learnings enhance the global community’s impact.

Emphasis on personal agency — Participants are encouraged to take ownership of their experience, tailoring it to their needs.

Connection beyond the retreat — A focus on enabling participants to take back ideas, skills, and inspiration to their communities.

The hero’s journey framework — The retreat experience is framed as a journey of personal growth and transformation.

Resources

Art of Retreat — Official website for the retreat, offering event details and registration.

Parkour Visions — A partner organization supporting the retreat.

Parkour Generations Americas — A key partner in organizing and supporting the event.

Zen Planner — A sponsor providing resources for event management.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Adam McClellan | Know Your Numbers →

Published June 24, 2020  ·  All posts on Jun 24

On Castbox.fm — Adam McClellan | Know Your Numbers

Adam McClellan | Know Your Numbers

How can Parkour business owners use financial data to better understand and grow their businesses?

Many business owners are unaware of their financial health until they see the gaps in their numbers.

Businesses want to be successful, but you don’t know what success is, if you didn’t set some kind of goal in the first place.

~ Adam McClellan (7:31)

The conversation focuses on the importance of understanding and tracking financial data for running and growing a Parkour business. It emphasizes that many business owners overlook key financial indicators, which leads to uncertainty and poor decision-making. A major theme is that budgeting, like the rules of a game, provides structure and clarity, enabling better goal-setting and resource allocation.

The discussion explores practical steps such as tracking income and expenses, creating performance indicators, and comparing data year-over-year to identify trends. The value of making assumptions, trusting them, and consistently testing them against actual data is highlighted as essential for success. The conversation also underscores the psychological benefit of financial clarity, helping owners make confident decisions about hiring, marketing, and expanding.

Takeaways

Budgeting as structure — A budget is necessary to define goals and measure progress in business.

Tracking key indicators — Key performance indicators help measure and improve critical business processes.

Assumptions in decision-making — Assumptions, when tracked and adjusted regularly, are essential for planning.

Growth as a challenge — Businesses should set achievable but slightly challenging growth goals to stay competitive.

Confidence through clarity — Knowing financial numbers provides confidence when making hiring and expansion decisions.

Empty space for growth — Unstructured time at events can lead to organic, valuable connections and ideas.

Resources

Lehigh Valley Parkour — Adam McClellan’s Parkour business website.

Parkour Generations Americas — Organization involved in Parkour education and leadership.

Art of Retreat — Event for Parkour professionals focused on leadership and education.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Someone has to be the first guinea pig →

Published December 17, 2019  ·  All posts on Dec 17  ·  ,

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series The interviews from my perspective

Adam McClellan / Episode 1

The story behind episode one is challenging. How much do we want to know? How much do we want to share about the birth of the podcast? That all plays into Episode One. I picked Adam as the first guest because I wanted a guinea pig. I had bought a Zoom recorder and some microphones and cables. There’s a guy who did our audio editing for the first two years, and I had sent him some test audio files just to verify that when I press “Record” it does what we think it does.

I had been training with Adam for years, so I approached him and said, “Hey, I’m thinking about starting a podcast. You want to sit down and have a conversation?” In hindsight, I now realize it takes a lot of chutzpah to actually say, “Okay, I’ll sit down with microphones,” but he was totally up for it. I said, “I need a guinea pig. I’m going to screw it up, and I want you to just be game for a radical F-up.” And, sure enough, now I realize the zeroth rule of podcasting is always press “Record” and then double-check that you’ve actually pressed “Record.” These days we actually have a system, because sometimes it still happens. The person who sits in and listens actually takes notes and uses the time codes from the recorder. So you have to actually look at the recorder, and if the timer isn’t running, we know that I haven’t pressed “Record.”

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Adam McClellan: Business, coaching, and outreach →

Published April 24, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 24  ·  

Adam McClellan: Business, coaching, and outreach

What are the inherent challenges of growing and monetizing a Parkour community without losing its core values and spirit?

35 episodes and 2 years later, Adam McClellan returns to Movers Mindset. Adam deserves a large measure of credit because he was willing to be the original guinea pig for this crazy experiment. Our first interview was a simple Q&A style but in this episode we have an in depth conversation about the cycles a community goes through, the nature of parkour, and the type of people who are drawn to it. Adam explores the intersection of parkour and business, and how the two coexist, before discussing the nuances of coaching children. He opens up about his knee injury and recovery, his thoughts on normalizing parkour to the public, and different ways to design a parkour gym.

One of the things we value about Parkour is there isn’t that hierarchy and structure in place. It’s just you and me, and we’re hanging out, you don’t have to call me anything— There’s no assumed authority, right? We’re just training together.

~ Adam McClellan (21:40)

This conversation explores the growth and evolution of a Parkour community as it transitions from informal outdoor training to a structured business model. The discussion highlights the shifts in community dynamics when money and formal structures are introduced, drawing parallels between martial arts schools and Parkour. Adam reflects on how scaling up often leads to a loss of intimacy and core values, raising questions about whether Parkour can retain its spirit as it grows.

Key topics include the role of leadership in shaping community culture, the unavoidable influence of business practices on Parkour, and the challenge of teaching children while preserving the deeper philosophical aspects of the discipline. There is also a focus on personal injuries, their impact on training, and how physical setbacks shape the journey of a Parkour practitioner.

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Adam McClellan, Caitlin Pontrella, & Alan Tran | Art of Retreat →

Published November 14, 2018  ·  All posts on Nov 14

On Castbox.fm — Adam McClellan, Caitlin Pontrella, & Alan Tran | Art of Retreat

What makes Art of Retreat a transformative experience for community leaders and organizers?

Leaders gather to exchange ideas, solve problems, and shape the future of Parkour communities.

It’s been kind of special to wake up in the morning and have it be peaceful and quiet and more nature oriented. And I think that’s changed the vibe in a certain way which has been pretty valuable.

~ Adam McClellan (0:37)

Art of Retreat, held in the Cascade Mountains, brings together leaders, educators, and organizers to foster collaboration and growth in the Parkour community. The setting contrasts with previous urban locations, providing a peaceful and cohesive environment for attendees to engage deeply with one another. A significant focus of the event is creating a space for problem-solving, leadership development, and community building, with sessions addressing topics like business practices, sports psychology, and story branding.

When I think about stand-out experiences from the weekend, honestly, it was— …while the talks, obviously, are the key elements, the things that really resonated with me were the things beyond that: The community building, and getting a sense of group-making and cohesion.

~ Caitlin Pontrella (2:52)

Attendees value the social aspects and shared experiences beyond the formal talks, such as night missions, treasure hunts, and cabin activities. The organizers emphasize the importance of a diverse speaker lineup, often through an application process, ensuring a wide range of voices and perspectives. Challenges like travel logistics and expanding the event’s duration are under consideration to enhance the experience further. The event continues to grow in geographic reach and influence, drawing participants from international locations and various parts of North America.

Takeaways

The impact of location — A shift to the Cascade Mountains enhances cohesion and creates a peaceful, reflective environment.

Cohesion and connection — The retreat format allows for deeper group bonding and social interaction beyond formal sessions.

Community-focused programming — The event emphasizes leadership, education, and business aspects of Parkour, filling gaps left by other events focused solely on physical practice.

Diversity of voices — A mix of invited speakers and open applications ensures a broad range of perspectives and expertise.

Importance of informal moments — Activities like treasure hunts, night missions, and shared meals foster community and collaboration.

Expanding reach — The conference attracts attendees from across North America and internationally, reflecting its growing influence.

Future improvements — Plans include addressing travel logistics, adding additional days for decompression, and increasing focus on leadership and team-building topics.

Event co-creation — Volunteers, sponsors, and venue staff play crucial roles in the event’s success, highlighting the collaborative nature of the retreat.

Resources

Parkour Visions — A supporting organization that contributed to the event’s success and logistics.

Firestorm Freerunning — Sponsored the event and provided community support.

Axiom Parkour — Partner organization contributing to workshops and sessions.

YMCA Camp Lake Wenatchee — The venue for the retreat, providing a scenic and well-maintained environment for the conference.

Movers Mindset — Craig’s platform involved in recording and sharing content from the retreat.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Adam McClellan: Community, goal setting, and coaching →

Published February 20, 2017  ·  All posts on Feb 20  ·  

Adam McClellan: Community, goal setting, and coaching

What lessons does the practice of Parkour teach about community, personal growth, and resilience?

Adam McClellan discusses his work with Parkour Generations Americas, the parkour community in America, and his local community. He goes into his transition from martial arts to parkour, before delving into goal setting and how he motivates himself. Adam finishes by sharing people he draws inspiration from and why coaching parkour is so important to him.

A rising tide lifts all boats, and through events like Art of Retreat, we’re realizing we can all benefit by working together.

~ Adam McClellan (0:53)

The conversation explores the broad implications of Parkour on personal growth, community development, and coaching philosophies. Adam discusses Parkour Generations’ work in creating partnerships with various organizations, emphasizing trust-building and long-term collaboration. He highlights the growing unity within the American Parkour community, describing a shift toward collaboration and shared growth over individual competition.

On a personal level, McClellan shares his journey from martial arts to Parkour, driven by the transparency and humility inherent in Parkour’s practice. He reflects on the physical and mental challenges of advanced training courses and the value of failure in pushing boundaries. The conversation also delves into his coaching philosophy, advocating for spreading Parkour’s core values effectively and inclusively.

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