Integrity is a commodity that is in short supply these days and even more so, it seems, in the online prep and trainer industry. To say things are out of control would be a gross understatement, and yet to say that there is no integrity left in the world would not be fair, either. There certainly are people in this industry with integrity, but it seems that these people are in the minority — or, I am just tired of all the bullshit and this has me jaded. Probably a little of both.
By definition, integrity is a trait that someone has who is honest and of moral (and in this case ethical) character. This shouldn’t take work or any level of discipline to achieve. An honest person is an honest person, with little effort. If you have to put forth effort to have integrity, you likely don’t have any. A lot of what I see today in the industry is absolutely abhorrent and you would think people would be ashamed of their behavior but…apparently, they aren't. At all.
Ideas, concepts, and protocols are stolen on an almost daily basis whether nutritional or training based. I am unsure what the motivation is – whether stupidity or just plain desperation — but the social media world is not as big as one might think. Eventually, someone is going to notice that your ideas are the ideas of someone else, and you are going to be screwed. When ideas are stolen, they are stolen from people that have made those ideas popular because those people have been successful in the industry. This makes getting caught that much easier because so many people recognize the popular ideas or concepts. If someone was smart about stealing ideas they would steal an idea that wasn’t yet popular but...stealing an idea or stealing a TV is stilling stealing, and thieves, by rule, aren’t usually all that bright.
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Some people take it a step further and instead of just stealing a concept, they steal it and rebrand it as their own. It is one thing to use someone else’s ideas but still give them credit, and another to steal the idea and then put your name on it as if you are the genius that came up with the idea. Pretty bold move when you think about it. Keep in mind that the ideas out there for training and nutrition are essentially variations of different methods over the years. I mean, it isn’t like someone is going to invent a new macro diet that no one has seen before, but they might have a different spin on combining macros with different timing that they have proven works well. That is essentially a new concept that one could brand and label as their own. Anyone who would use that concept after it is popularized should, in my opinion, give credit to the person that put that idea together. Instead, what people do these days is either use the method without any mention of the person that “invented” it, or they use 97% of the concept, change 3%, and rebrand it with their name on it. Yes, this is creativity and innovation at its finest.
*sigh*
Another awesome trend that has come to light in the last year is people flat out stealing and plagiarizing – word for word – someone else’s articles. As if stealing someone’s ideas and making money off of them is not bad enough, people can’t even write their own articles anymore. I am not talking about taking an article and twisting a few sentences or rewording paragraphs, but rather flat out stealing the article, cutting and pasting it, and taking out the author’s name to put their name on it. REALLY? This is what we have come to as an industry?
Aside from stealing and rebranding, there are also the guys that give no credit to the trainers they work with. Instead, they pretend they have gotten to where they are based on their own decisions, acquisition of knowledge, and research. This is not anywhere near the level of stealing someone’s ideas or plagiarizing articles, but it still cuts to someone’s integrity or lack thereof. Not giving someone credit for working with you, teaching you, and taking you to the next level isn’t terribly fair. Not giving them credit, and then acting like it was you that got you to the point that you are today, is flat out disrespectful. I understand why people do it; they want to take credit for their accomplishments and feed the money train that is their client base that they have started to build. Apparently, money can buy integrity. There is a price for everything, I suppose, or at least for a lot of people in our industry, anyway.
If you are reading this and think it isn’t a big deal, you haven’t had an idea or article stolen from you. I guess it wouldn’t seem like a big deal to me if it didn’t happen to me, either. So, let’s look at it a different way: You work hard on something that you and others feel is quite original. People end up knowing that the work you have done over the years is yours and is associated with your name (and reputation). One night you go out, and when you come home your idea and work has been stolen from your house by some douchy fuck that doesn’t work, has no money, and thinks mooching off of you is fine. You call the cops but the cops say it isn’t a crime. They basically tell you that anyone can come into your house at any time and take whatever they want without any significant consequence. If you say you still don’t think it’s a big deal, you are lying...or you are one of the guys that likes to steal other people’s shit.
I wish I could take the time right now to name some great people that are a part of this sport because there are a lot of them. Integrity isn’t non-existent, it is just overshadowed by the larger majority of people that are guided more by what their online persona is and how much money can be generated. These two things are the main reasons that people lie, steal, cheat and pretend they are someone they are not. I mean, who’s gonna know, right? You dumbass. Everyone figures it out in time. And if you think that you are someone I would list as a good person in this sport, be careful — most shitbags think they aren’t shitbags and most criminals think they aren’t criminals. Just as most people without integrity will swear they have it. Just Sayin’.
