And I’m finally trying some kettlebells. Which is rather odd, when you think about it.
Ten years ago, almost nobody had every heard of kettlebells.
Today, these lumps of iron are probably a billion dollar industry. Every gym around the world literally has dozens of them — and they ain’t cheap.
So what explains this explosion in kettle-interest?
In one word, Pavel.
In two words, Pavel Tsatsouline.
AKA “The Evil Russian,” Pavel Tsatsouline popularized the kettlebell in America, and was directly responsible for the fact that I was using one this morning.
Of course, Pavel didn’t do it alone.
There was also John Du Cane, owner of Dragon Door Publications, a direct marketing publisher that sells martial arts and fitness programs, including Pavel’s original Russian Kettlebell Challenge.
Over the years, Dragon Door has had other promising fitness stars in its stable.
But none of them have had anything close to the mainstream impact of The Evil Russian.
Which raises the question, why?
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might be able to guess my thoughts on why Pavel was so successful.
In a nutshell, it’s his origin story.
Born in Minsk, raised in Riga, Pavel was supposedly a physical training instructor for Spetsnaz, the elite Soviet special-forces unit.
Of course, not everybody can claim to be peddling military secrets.
But with a bit of work, different elements of Pavel’s origin story can be applied, with surprisingly good effect, to any product, service, or brand.
This is something I’ll talk about in more detail in the future. For example, in my upcoming book on email marketing.
If you want to get notified when that book is out, and even to grab yourself a free copy, then comrade, you have but one task. Go to the page below, and subscribe to my newsletter: