His Gyms Forced To Close, Former Marine Working Out How To Solve Exercise Equipment Shortage
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — A former Marine forced to close his gyms across Orange County due to the novel Coronavirus pandemic is now working to help alleviate a shortage of exercise equipment internationally.
Former Marine Captain Grant Broggi told CBS2/KCAL9's Stacey Butler he never dreamed when the Coronavirus forced him to close his gyms five months ago that a nationwide shortage of weights and racks would soon follow.
Broggi says he first noticed the shortage when he tried to set up weights in his clients' homes. Local stores and online vendors all appeared to be sold out.
"The demand has gone up and up and up and up," Broggi explained.
"People are realizing that this is a longterm thing. You know ... there's people putting gyms, you know, our smaller products, in their kitchens. And then they're going, OK, let me go find gym equipment. And here's another thing they can't find," he said. "It's all gone. It's all gone."
Broggi started making his own racks in Orange County and sourced a foundry in Wisconsin to make iron plates.
"All over the nation we're selling this. In Canada, we've already sold stuff," he said.
His is one of a few companies in the country to sell weights and racks made in the USA.
"If I get a few plates – if I put them up on the site, it's just gone instantly," he said.
As a list of clients wait for their weights, Brody and his staff at The Strength Co are busy doing Zoom trainings with clients he now has all over the world.
"Innovate, adapt, win ... I think that's that we can do as a country to get to the other side and let there be some hope," he added.
Broggi said he's expecting a shipment of weights to arrive at his warehouse in Santa Ana in the coming weeks and plans to sell them at the brick-and-mortar site and online by the end of August.
