I’d like to first start off by genuinely wishing you all a Happy New Year. It’s hard to believe just 9 months ago, after I wrote to you all at the beginning of this pandemic, that we’d still be in deep this long in advance. It was unfathomable at the time and continues to be.
During that time, as with many businesses, we were absolutely HAMMERED by the country repeatedly going into extended lockdown. I had candidly shared with you that it was very possible JerkFit might not make it out alive through it all.
We were hit from so many angles:
- Country-wide shutdown of all gyms, boxes, and fitness facilities
- Our factory in Los Angeles was forced by the Government to ONLY produce PPE and we ran almost completely out of stock of our own goods for months.
- Amazon wouldn’t deem health/fitness products as “essential” and refused to ship anything that wasn’t essential for almost 2 months.
- Our 2- and 3-year-old out of daycare and with us full time!
The fact that we’re still standing after all of this is incredible and I have many of you to thank for supporting our small business during this once in a lifetime crisis.
As someone who has poured their entire heart, life, and savings into my business to build it up, the thought of losing it all has been terrifying and I feel so much pain for the many who already have.
I hope that this year many of you can do what you can to help support small businesses and restaurants as they truly are the backbone of our country and there are people behind it who have put everything into making it a reality.
What has kept me sane throughout all this is getting out into the fresh air and exercising. Big projects around the house have been huge for me as well. Hell, I’ve had MUCH more free time than ever and that has been a revelation for me in my life and the biggest silver lining (that and no traffic in Los Angeles!).
It’s a brand-new year, we are FAR from being on the other side of what has happened, but I encourage YOU to put exercise and personal health as a top priority for you in 2021. It always sounds so cliché this time of year, but after the year we all experienced, I feel this has extra meaning this time around.
2020 sucked, lets own 2021 by controlling what we can, our HEALTH.
Much love to you and your family,
Jeff Hunter
CEO JerkFit LLC