In 2024, Rebel Strength and Rowing made Entrepreneur magazine’s list of the top 150 independently owned and operated small businesses in the United States. In late September, it was inundated by the flood waters of Hurricane Helene. We talk with owner Adam Smith, and member Jason Mogen, about founding a small business, growing meaningful community, and sustaining it all through incredibly challenging times.

HEART EMERGENCY SERIES: PART 1 - David Setter and his wife were pushing through a tough gym workout when suddenly he didn’t feel well. He describes his heart attack that days as “feeling like the 1500m mark of a 2k,” despite a massive blockage that could have killed him. They tell us about remaining calm in the moment, motivation in rehab, and learning to find more joy in rowing.

Indoor rowing popularity has exploded since early days of the COVID pandemic in 2020, with a whole new rowing community coming together around the erg, buoyed in large part by people who have never touched an oar. John Steventon – a gold medal and world record holding indoor rower – started to make rowing workout videos during lockdown, and his RowAlong YouTube channel soared to popularity. Today it boasts hundreds of fun, imaginative rowing workouts.

Kevin Goyena and Jason Oliver are Seattle-based masters rowers, entrepreneurs, and rowing evangelists. We find out about their progression from being adult LTR students, to getting hooked on racing, to finding community through developing holistic rowers. Jason tells us his motivation behind bringing a GoPro in the boat and a drone to regattas; and we ask Kevin about creating iCrew, a team management app to make magnet board sign-ins a thing of the past.

Plus, the Best Part of My Rowing Week call-ins from masters rower Sarah Copeland, Coach Claudia Loeber, Team USA para-rower Pearl Outlaw, writer and trainer Will Ruth, and 2-time gold medalist coxswain Mary Whipple.