From powerlifter to entrepreneur, Marc Bartley has made a life for himself in the world of strength sports. As one of the most accomplished and recognizable heavyweight powerlifters of the 2000s, he posted personal best totals of 2562 pounds in both the 275-pound and 308-pound weight classes, suffering an infamous knee injury during a 1200-pound squat dump along the way. Bartley also gained acclaim for undergoing one of the most impressive bodily transformations seen in the industry, which was extensively documented in articles from both Shelby Starnes and Bartley himself. In addition to his incredible personal accomplishments, as owner of Spud Inc. he has designed numerous original products, many of which are available for purchase on elitefts.com, including lifter-favorite items such as:
As one of elitefts' most prominent and valuable product suppliers, Spud Inc. is constantly churning out new items to make strength training more accessible and effective. Just last week Matt Ladewski wrote a detailed review of the new Spud Inc. Tricep, Lat, Low Pulley System, and the new Spud Inc. Zercher Strap and Big Ray Strap will both be available on the elitefts.com store later this month.
Through all of these accomplishments, the relationship between Bartley and elitefts has been strong. At the start of this year, Bartley reached a long-term goal when he moved Spud Inc. into a brand new facility, complete with space for both his business and his gym. To check out the new place and catch up with Bartley, elitefts Executive Equipment Specialist Nate Harvey visited South Carolina. In this video, Harvey and Bartley talk about the new Spud Inc. headquarters, the process of reaching this milestone, and what's next for the company.
Bartley begins by explaining how long it took to find their ideal space. The idea to move into a new headquarters originated in 2002, and Bartley spent many years planning his ideal location. After a very long search, visiting and considering every potential piece of land and every potential building, he found the right property in 2011. Bartley explains that, through years in this industry, he has seen a lot of great places and visited a lot of great gyms. With the knowledge gained from all of these visits, he was able to learn what he liked and what he didn't like. It also gave him the chance to build exactly the type of gym he wanted: one where any person can come and do the training they want to, without having to worry about offending someone else.
WATCH: Equipment Feature — Spud Inc. Tricep, Lat, Low Pulley System
Bartley then shares some of the key differences between the old place and the new place, key among them being the Spud Inc. storefront and the nutrition warehouse. In the old facility, the business operations of Spud Inc. were confined to a very small area where they received and shipped products. In the new facility, there's a designated area with a wall and storefront exclusively for Spud Inc. products, separating it from the gym. Additionally, the layout of the gym was chosen to make room for what Bartley refers to as his "equipment hoarding." Because he keeps so much equipment around and never wants to give any up, in the previous gym, the equipment had to be jammed together, leaving little room to move around. His vision for the new place was to have enough space to accommodate all of the equipment he has, while still leaving room for movement. The equipment was so much a priority when designing the layout that Bartley even reduced the size of the turf area in the middle of the room so that he could have the necessary space.
With all of these improvements, Bartley is very clear on his plan for the future of Spud Inc.: this new facility is forever the headquarters for the gym and the business. It is the endgame.
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