who recommends their competitor?
Thoughts from Basel, Switzerland, Easter week 2024
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
I've been thinking for far too long about “what if I send out a short email, whenever I have something worth sharing that could be impactful for boutique fitness studio owners & instructors? And do so on Wednesdays?”
So here we are. It's a Wednesday night where I am & I have something I feel is worth sharing with you…that I hope will offer you the opportunity to think about it twice.
I am currently in Basel, Switzerland for the first time. In less than 24 hours, I found myself in thoroughly unplanned conversations with 2 boutique studio owners with which I have no relationship with whatsoever and have never once spoken with nor met until this week.
[Why Basel? An opportunity arose to cat/housesit here for Easter week & since I love capturing street art as I travel (if you follow me on Instagram, you know that's how daily Stories have kicked-off since late 2022!) & figured there would be some cool murals alongside beautiful scenery/vibe to give me my European-fix before leaving for India next month.]
Last night, I went to an indoor cycling pop-up class at a nightclub, docked on a boat in the Rhine River. It was, as you can imagine, cool AF. I chatted briefly with the woman checking riders in before & after (before went something like, “Umm hi, am I in the right place? Are we really riding bikes on a boat?!”). As we chatted more on my way out, I mentioned I'd seen online that the studio was currently closed.
She very rightfully share-vented their situation (I realized I was talking to a co-founder & I then shared that I'm in our industry, too). I was honored to hold space for her as she shared Psytrack's tribulations with the Swiss government.
What she said next, stunned me. It should be the norm…but we all know it is not:
“You should check out Open Ride while you're here - they're from Zürich but recently opened a space in the train station & they've done a beautiful job.”
Fast forward to lunchtime today, when I joined a class at Open Ride. Found myself chatting with the instructor afterwards, she outed herself as the owner…and I shared, verbatim, what was said last night by a colleague in our space…someone who would, of course, be construed as a competitor.
She was as genuinely touched as I was.
And I'll be back to ride with her again before leaving Basel, to support the kind of leadership I always aspire to possess & be around.
xx Noël