TOURISM

TOURISM

Ann Marie Kennon

annmarie@wilcobr.com

Williamson County is “Fit” for Business

Early in 2021, Ohio-based Rogue Fitness chose Williamson County for the third annual Rogue Invitational, a CrossFit and Strongman competition that featured some of the biggest names in the sport.

Rogue is the leading manufacturer of strength and conditioning equipment and has been serving athletes at every level for 15 years. Their three-day competition took place at Dell Diamond in October; another example of big business choosing Williamson County and demonstrating the versatility of the county’s economic development community.

The event was a huge success in terms of awareness, but also for the new and vigorous partnerships that will continue to bring prosperity to everyone involved. Chief among them is Bare Performance Nutrition (BPN) founder and CEO, Nick Bare.

image Facebook/rogueinvitational

BPN

Nick Bare (facing page) is an entrepreneur and elite athlete who built a successful company and a social media following in the millions while still an Army Infantry platoon leader. Now headquartered in Round Rock, BPN is a leading and trusted source of performance and health supplements. The company is known in the industry for transparency, and extreme diligence in product testing and safety.

ROGUE IS BODYBUILDING AND WEIGHTLIFTING. BPN IS THE FUEL THAT HELPS PEOPLE ACHIEVE AND SPURS THEM TO WIN. ~ NICK BARE

BPN athletes and staff are committed to connecting with like-minded individuals and businesses, and they agreed the Rogue community is on exactly the path they want to follow. Executive Assistant Wyatt Knight said, “Rogue is an established brand, and we are looking forward to expanding our communities together while being leaders in our respective space.”

Bare explained, “We began speaking with Rogue about a partnership a few years ago because their values are so much in alignment with ours and I have great respect for everything they do. Their products are American-made, they support our military, and many athletes who have signed with our brand are professional CrossFit athletes.” When Bare found out Rogue had chosen Austin for the 2021 event, things began to fall into place.

As it happens, Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell sometimes meets with Bare to discuss his growing business. During one such meeting, Bare mentioned the Rogue event was coming to Austin. He recalls, “Judge Gravell said, ‘I want that in Williamson County’, picked up his phone and called [Round Rock Express President] Chris Almendarez at Dell Diamond. We had a relationship with Chris; having previously sealed a deal to have a booth at Dell Diamond and donate $100 for every home run. All the pieces fell into place and Dell became the primary partner for the event.”

THE SOLUTIONS

Almendarez said Rogue is the kind of event that puts a spotlight on the success Dell Diamond had since being forced to pivot in 2020, and their solutions are scalable. “This is our forte,” he said. “With COVID, we began thinking outside the box to figure out what we could do when we didn’t know what baseball would look like. We have a history of adapting in this crisis and, while we always focus on baseball, we have a lot of diverse programming on the schedule.”

He added the impact is far-reaching; “We have a great relationship with BPN and they have signed professional athletes from around the country. We were pleased to give Rogue, and ourselves, the opportunity to introduce new people to Central Texas. They brought in a community we had not worked with much and I am proud to say our staff made it look like the place was built for CrossFit.”

BPN Marketing Director Trey Freeman added, “The Invitational was huge by itself but outside of that, CrossFit hosted free classes all weekend. It was an opportunity to prove that Texas hospitality is bigger than just one event.” Similarly, BPN also created ancillary events at their own headquarters in Round Rock. Freeman said, “There were so many resources and finances invested in this event, we leveraged the opportunity to engage with and invite thousands of locals and visitors to Williamson County to our own events just three miles away.”

All events at BPN and outside the Dell stadium were free to the public. BPN also shared the wealth and invited local vendors and food trucks to take part in the local events.

TOURISM

ONWARD…

A very satisfied Bare says the event was a huge success; the perfect event at the perfect time. He explained, “The Austin area is the place for a lot of people and organizations in the health industry. For Rogue to choose Round Rock is a testament that we have all the ingredients, and places like Dell Diamond that are a perfect marriage of fresh air and amenities.” As such, he is hoping BPN will be able to host a similar event soon. He recalled, “We had a marathon in January at Schwertner Ranch. Tickets sold out in about 90 minutes and people flew in from all over the country. That says a lot of about the potential for Williamson County to be a destination of choice for the fitness community.”

BPN athletes celebrate Nick Bare’s signature sentiment.