Joe De Sena

Last updated
Joe De Sena
Born (1969-01-02) January 2, 1969 (age 55)
Queens, New York
Alma mater Cornell University
OccupationBusiness owner
Known forCo-Founder of Death Race and Spartan Race
Notable workSpartan Up: A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Peak Performance in Life
Television Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge

Joe De Sena (born January 2, 1969) is the CEO and founder of Spartan and the Death Race. [1] He is also a NY Times best selling author of Spartan Up, [2] Spartan Fit [3] and The Spartan Way. [4]

Contents

Early life

Joe De Sena grew up in Howard Beach, Queens, with his mother Jean, a yoga aficionado, [5] and his father, Ralph was a business owner. De Sena built a small business around selling fireworks, and then a t-shirt sales business at a young age. [6] Joe later began a pool cleaning business while a teenager, where he earned 750 customers in his local area. Joe eventually moved with his mother and sister to Ithaca, NY, and four years out of high school he attended Cornell University. He eventually restarted the pool cleaning business and later sold it for $500,000. Following this, he began a career on Wall Street. [7] At a brokerage firm De Sena worked as an equities and derivatives trader [8] and engaged various outdoor activities ranging from multiple IronMan races, to the Iditarod by foot. [9]

Racing career

De Sena first became interested in long-distance events after gaining weight while holding his desk job, and trying to reverse the process through running the stairs of his apartment building. He later moved to Vermont in order to continue a private stock trading business. [7] He moved his family as well to Pittsfield, Vermont to operate a farm, a bed and breakfast, and a general store for hikers [10] that he purchased. [11] Here he became an ultramarathon runner and began to compete in other long-distance events. [12] This included athletic events like the Ironman and the Furnace Creek 508 Bike Race, [10] as De Sena competed in several hundred extreme races after moving. [13] In one year, De Sena completed fifty ultra events and fourteen Ironmans. [6]

Spartan Race

In 2000, De Sena's team became stranded in the Quebec wilderness during a 350-mile winter adventure race, when he had to dig himself beneath the snow to survive. It was here that he claims he made a distinction between "difficult" situations and "desperate" experience, and inspired him to create his own endurance races. De Sena decided to develop a new series of obstacle course races [11] and cofounded the Death Race. The first edition in 2007 saw only eight competitors, with three completing the race. [7] The original race is still held at De Sena's farm, where in 2014 only forty of three hundred entrants completed the race. He also hosts individuals at his farm for long-term personalized outdoor training. [11] In 2008 De Sena began the Peak.com Corporation to promote endurance sports, including Peak and Spartan. [14]

In addition to running the Death Race [15] and Peak.com De Sena founded the Spartan in 2009 as a less strenuous obstacle course test. [7] He is currently serving as the company's CEO. [16] In August 2012, the Raptor Group, an equity firm run by Jim Pallotta, invested in Spartan with John Burns from Raptor Consumer Partners joining the Board of Directors for Spartan. Spartan continues to grow and currently hosts more than 200 events in 40 countries across the world, with over one million annual participants. [17] The new venture began as Spartan Race unveiled a new stadium series of races beginning with Fenway Park. In 2013, Spartan Race expanded the stadium series to include CITI Field, Miller and AT&T parks. [9]

Writing

De Sena is a contributor to publications including Entrepreneur . [18] In 2014 he published the book Spartan Up: A Take-No-Prisoners Guide to Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Peak Performance in Life, [19] co-authored with Jeff O'Connell. [20] In 2016 he followed up that book with Spartan Fit!: 30 Days. Transform Your Mind. Transform Your Body. Commit to Grit. No Gym Required., [19] and in 2018 he added The Spartan Way: Eat Better. Train Better. Think Better. Be Better. De Sena is also the host of the Spartan Up! podcast, on which he interviews various public figures on their achievements. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triathlon</span> Swimming, cycling, and distance running race

A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the disciplines included. The word is of Greek origin, from τρεῖς or treis (three) and ἆθλος or athlos (competition).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ironman Triathlon</span> Series of long-distance triathlon races

An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.2 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.2 km) run completed in that order, a total of 140.6 miles (226.3 km). It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Triathlon Corporation</span> Sports event promotion company

The World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) is a sports event promotion company owned by conglomerate Advance Publications, that produces the Ironman Triathlon, Ironman 70.3, the 5150 series of triathlon races, and other sports events.

Sally Edwards is the CEO and Founder of Heart Zones, Inc. She is a best-selling and prolific author, serial entrepreneur, professional triathlete, motivational speaker, innovative app developer and a living legend. Edwards is a pioneer in modern women's sports. She supported and then qualified for the first women's marathon Olympic Trials in 1983. She is one of the original founders of the national governing body of triathlon, USA Triathlon. Edwards has been inducted into two Hall of Fames: the Triathlon Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Sacramento Running Hall of Fame in 2016. She has authored the first books written on subjects including triathlons, training with a heart rate monitor, indoor cycling with wearables, sports snowshoeing, school PE curriculums using wearable devices, and 6 subsequent books on the sport of triathlon. Altogether, Edwards has written 25 books in her effort and her focused mission to get America fit.

Joe Friel is an endurance sports coach best known as an elite triathlon and cycling coach as well as an author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Anderson (runner)</span> American runner and photographer

Bob Anderson is an American runner, photographer, publisher, film producer and businessman. He started running on February 16, 1962, and has been running since then. He currently logs on average 50 miles per week of running and walking. In 2012 he ran 50 races to celebrate 50 years of running. He averaged 6:59/mile. A movie called A Long Run covers the event. He was the founder of Runner's World magazine. A desire to find information about running and racing led him to a career in magazine and book publishing for more than twenty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planet Fitness</span> American fitness center franchise

Planet Fitness, Inc. is an American franchisor and operator of fitness centers based in Hampton, New Hampshire. The company has around 2,400 clubs, making it one of the largest fitness club franchises by number of members and locations. The franchise has locations in the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico, and Australia. It markets itself as a "Judgement Free Zone" that caters to novice and casual gym users, and has faced both praise and criticism for its atmosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CrossFit</span> Branded fitness regimen

CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trademark. The company forms what has been described as the biggest fitness chain in the world, with around 12,000 affiliated gyms in over 150 countries as of 2022, under half of which are located in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tough Mudder</span> Althletic endurance event series

Tough Mudder is an endurance event series in which participants attempt 10-to-12-mile-long obstacle courses. It was co-founded by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone. The obstacles often play on common human fears, such as fire, water, electricity and heights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spartan Race</span> Series of obstacle races

Spartan Race is a series of obstacle races of varying difficulty, ranging from 3 miles to ultra-marathon distances of 50k+.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainer Schaller</span> German entrepreneur (1969–2022)

Rainer Schaller was a German entrepreneur. He was the Founder CEO of the RSG Group, which includes the McFit, John Reed Fitness and Gold's Gym fitness studios. He hit headlines as a result of the disaster at the 2010 Love Parade in Duisburg, which he organized. On 21 October 2022, Schaller and his son Aaron died in a private plane crash in Costa Rica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Joseph Smith</span>

Todd 'The Bod' Smith is an American body builder, personal trainer, health and exercise writer, and businessman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obstacle course racing</span> Sports discipline

Obstacle course racing (OCR) is a sport in which a competitor, traveling on foot, must overcome various physical challenges in the form of obstacles. Races vary in length from courses with obstacles close together to events of several kilometers which incorporate elements of track, road and/or cross country/trail running. Courses may include climbing over walls or up ropes, monkey bars, carrying heavy objects, traversing bodies of water or mud, crawling under barbed wire, and jumping through fire. Since the beginning of modern OCR in 1987, the sport has grown in popularity such that more than 2500 events are held annually across the world and several run organizing companies are commercially successful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Sitaras</span>

John Sitaras is an American fitness professional, the creator of the Sitaras Method and the founder of Sitaras Fitness in New York City. The method developed by him supposes an initial comprehensive evaluation system similar to a general medical examination, in order to design individualized routines according to each student's genetic aptitude, level of fitness, health conditions, and personal goals. As the students make progress, the evaluation is resumed periodically to reassess the routines and track their physical changes. He is the personal trainer of several high-profile people from various fields, like business magnate George Soros, economist and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, journalist Charlie Rose, record executive David Geffen and NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson.

YouFit Gyms is a national chain of fitness clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amelia Boone</span> American obstacle racer

Amelia Boone is an American obstacle racer. She used to be an attorney for the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, but now works for Apple Inc. in San Jose, California.

Evan "The Rocket" Dollard is an American athlete and rock climber. He came to prominence during Season 1 of the rebooted American Gladiators, as the season 1 men's champion. He earned his nickname "Rocket" from his speed in Gladiator competition, taking it as his gladiator name, becoming a Gladiator for season 2 of the rebooted American Gladiators. He has since appeared prominently in the Ninja Warrior franchise; in American Ninja Warrior and the standalone American Ninja Warrior, also using his nickname. Dollard also hosts his own web series, "Ninja Quickies". He has also competed in local editions of Ninja Warrior.

Rogue Fitness is an American manufacturer and distributor of gym equipment based in Columbus, Ohio. It produces strength and conditioning equipment such as weightlifting barbells, plates and racks, kettlebells, as well as a range of fitness related equipment for CrossFit boxes, home gyms, military, collegiate, and professional sports teams.

Nick Mitchell is a British personal trainer and fitness writer.

References

  1. ↑ Webster, Donovan. "How Fitness Has Become the Secret to Multimillion-Dollar Success". Men's Fitness. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  2. ↑ De Sena, Joe. Spartan up! : a take-no-prisoners guide to overcoming obstacles and achieving peak performance in life. ISBN   0544570219. OCLC   898052856.
  3. ↑ De Sena, Joe (2016). Spartan fit! : 30 days. Transform your mind. Transform your body. Commit to grit. No gym required. ISBN   9780544439603. OCLC   961282519.
  4. ↑ De Sena, Joe. The spartan way : eat better, train better, think better, be better. ISBN   9781250153227. OCLC   1050871746.
  5. ↑ "Is 'Spartan Race' The Next 'American Ninja Warrior'? Founder Joe De Sena Hopes To Replicate Success Without The 'Glitz' In New NBC Series". 2 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Why Spartan Race founder Joe DeSena is not your average Joe".
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Joe Hardcore". Archived from the original on 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  8. ↑ Miller, Stuart (2011-06-21). "Vermont's Amazing, Grueling, Traumatic Race". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  9. 1 2 Brick, Michael (9 June 2009). "You Created It, Tough Guy. So Let's See You Finish It". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  10. 1 2 Baverman, Laura (11 January 2013). "Are you Spartan Race material? Prove it in a Death Race and you're hired". Upstart Business Journal. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 Vigneron, Peter (10 June 2014). "Meet the Most Punishing Man in Fitness".
  12. ↑ Rommelmann, Nancy (17 October 2014). "Mud, Sweat and Beers" – via Wall Street Journal.
  13. ↑ "Q&A With Joe DeSena, the Founder and CEO of Spartan Race".
  14. ↑ "Spartan Race: una carrera llena de historia".
  15. ↑ "There's Something Called the 'Death Race' in Vermont".
  16. ↑ Burns, Mark J. "Spartan Race CEO Discusses Brand Evolution, Overcoming Adversity And Obstacle Racing In The Olympics".
  17. ↑ August 16, Wayne Havrelly |; Comments, 2018 5:30 Am | (2018-08-16). "This is Sparta!". Camas-Washougal Post-Record. Retrieved 2019-01-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ Sena, Joe De (19 May 2016). "The Most Important Question for Any Entrepreneur, Period".
  19. 1 2 "Spartan Fit! – Joe Desena Book 2 Announcement". Obstacle Racing Media. 7 April 2016.
  20. ↑ "Nonfiction Book Review: Spartan Fit! 31 Days. Transform Your Mind. Transform Your Body. Commit to Grit. No Gym Required". ISBN   978-0-544-43960-3. by Joe De Sena, with John Durant. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (256 pp)
  21. ↑ Murphy, Austin. "Q&A with Joe De Sena: On the Spartan Race, his recipe for success, more".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.