David Tao on Creating the ESPN of Strength Sports

Published: Feb. 1, 2021, 11 a.m.

I\u2019m often asked about how to make money in the fitness space.

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One obvious route is becoming a coach or personal trainer. This can be done in-person or online, but if you can help people get into shape, build muscle, and lose fat, and know how to market yourself, you can earn a decent income.

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And I\u2019ve talked before about building an online coaching business and becoming a successful coach.

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Another path, though, is content marketing. This can be monetized in various ways, but it all begins with creating high-quality content that provides value.

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This is also something I\u2019ve discussed on the podcast with the likes of Lou Schuler, but today\u2019s episode is a bit different.

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Specifically, I\u2019m having a fireside chat with David Tao, the founder and CEO of BarBend. In case you\u2019re not familiar with BarBend, it\u2019s a hub for all things strength related: news coverage, training and nutrition articles, product reviews, and more. And David isn\u2019t a new kid on the block\u2014he wrote for Fortune and Greatist.com before creating Barbend and turning it into what it is today.

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So, who better to discuss building a media business than someone who found a gap in the market, and carved out their own niche by creating unique, valuable content and grew it into the premier news source on strength sports.

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In this episode, David and I talk about . . .

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  • How he seized an opportunity to \u201cscratch his own itch\u201d
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  • Why creating content is hard and the biggest mistakes creators make
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  • The importance of staying top of mind
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  • The beginning of BarBend as a news outlet and when he realized it could be successful
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  • Monetization (advertising and sponsorship)
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  • His biggest mistakes that turned into lessons
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  • His game plan for the future
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  • And more . . .
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So, if you want to learn how David created a strength sports content empire from scratch, listen to this episode and let me know what you think!

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8:01 - What was the opportunity you saw?

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16:29 - When starting out, should you focus on quality over quantity?

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324:35 - How did you start out?

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30:04 - At what point in that first year did you see signs of life?

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38:07 - How did you go from having a great idea to having a viable business?

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49:34 - What are some of the worst decisions that you made that later became great lessons?

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59:16 - What are your future plans?

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Mentioned on The Show:

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BarBend Website: https://barbend.com/

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BarBend Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbend/

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BarBend Podcast: https://barbend.com/podcast/

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Shop Legion Supplements Here: http://buylegion.com/mike

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