Okay, here's the deal with who we are and why we're starting a Patreon account:

Crushing Iron is a couple of guys, Mike and Coach Robbie who have been writing and making videos for triathletes and Ironman racers for four years and have now recorded over 60 podcasts with a 5-star rating on iTunes. The content has always been free and will likely continue that way, but a little support along the way and will ensure we continue to do podcasts, entertaining posts, race training plans and instructional videos.

We simply love triathlon and want the sport to flourish by building a community of great people. We've been sharing our enthusiasm for years on the blog, podcasts, and by making high quality race tribute videos like this:

Our Situation: We are Mike Tarrolly and Robbie Bruce, two guys who met through triathlon. Robbie helped coach Mike to his first Ironman finish in 2013 at age 50. Throughout that time Mike journaled that experience on CrushingIron.com and Robbie was a frequent contributor.

Over the next three years, Mike finished three more full Ironman and several shorter triathlons, all with Robbie as his coach. They began thinking about a podcast, but the timing wasn't right. Robbie moved to Kansas City and the podcast started for real by Skype in November 2016. Now that Robbie is back in Nashville and we have big plans for Crushing Iron, including our first triathlon camp in July.

It's 2017 and we have over 60 podcasts and nearly 1,000 published articles on CrushingIron.com. We've also produced multiple race videos that have been watched by 10's of thousands of triathletes on YouTube and Vimeo. The seed is in place, but in order to take this all to the next level, we need some support. Not a ton but some so we can make more rich content that helps triathletes succeed in races and life.

This is what we know:

1) We are committed to continuing Crushing Iron far into the future. We have tested the waters and know the interest is there; we have thousands of podcast listeners and readers. We are truly obsessed with triathlon and the well being of ourselves and other athletes. As a result, we can truthfully say that this is the most fun we have ever had.

2) We have sold a handful of race plans and a few t-shirts during this journey and our savings are unimpressive but with the ability to focus on the endless ideas, we think it would be a great and helpful community for many people. Crushing Iron doesn't need to be an empire by any means, but a great resource for those looking to empower themselves and other around them in the triathlon community.

This endeavor has been built on passion for being a better athlete and better person. We continue to produce content free of sponsor interference so that we can follow our (and our supporters) direction without unnecessary influence. Ads are annoying and hurt the user experience and we can come up with a better way to do it. So far, we have two methods:

1) The Crushing Iron Training Plan Store. Having a store has definitely helped, but it is just the beginning and we are just starting to get the word out. We'd like the "store" to evolve into much deeper offerings, especially e-books and merchandise.

2) Donations. We have been working hard for about 5 years without support outside of ourselves, but have had lots of inquires on how others can support us. We thought this would be a good avenue to explore that provides benefits to both parties outside of the traditional donation model.

The way Patreon works is a supporter can donate an amount of their choosing and that donation recurs each month. Any donation, from $1/month up, is hugely helpful to the cause.

What We'll Use the Money For

Our initial goal is $500/month. That money plus the store income will be enough to keep Crushing Iron going from a simple expense perspective.

Hosting. We need a robust enough hosting plan to support the highest spikes in traffic we ever get so we don't crash during those moments and ruin our happiness.
Podcast expenses. Storage, microphones, programs, etc. to lift the podcast to even higher quality.
MailChimp. The service we use to email posts out to the subscription list. This fee grows as the email list grows.
Ongoing development. It's a website, so there are always upsetting glitches coming out of nowhere and occasionally, we add a new site feature. Neither of us has any programming skills, so we need to pay someone for this.
Facebook post "boosts". When we announce a new post on Facebook, this makes sure that the announcement gets onto 1/3 or 1/2 of our Facebook followers' News Feeds.

Our second goal is $5,000 per month. This would take things up a notch or two or three. Here's how that money would be used.

We would take the podcast from twice a week (Monday and Thursday) to three times per week (day to be determined by you).
Race wear and t-shirts. Create a line of C26 gear for triathletes. We'd love to have a line of gear inspired by you and others who support Crushing Iron.
Us. We are simple guys with simple needs and would love to create a full-time lifestyle around triathlon. If we're making a little money, we will take more time for more podcasts, videos, books, website post.

Our third goal is $10,000 per month. This pretty much gives you our full attention (even though you mostly have it now).

Basically full-time focus on Crushing Iron
Video production and live video podcasts.
More traveling to you at your races to support and meet you while recording podcasts and videos.
Support and freedom to focus on finishing the full-length documentary about triathlon.

That's the basics. With those pieces covered, Crushing Iron can support itself and deliver much more content about being a better person and triathlete. Thanks for supporting us.