In 2020, we climbed Half Dome without ropes! We walked Niagara Falls on a tightrope, jumped the Grand Canyon (actually Snake River Canyon, but you get it) on a motorcycle like Evel Knievel, and climbed Mount Everest during a blizzard and lived through it! We survived the blizzard that was 2020!

We had been preparing for “winter” for the last few years. Having been through two other economic downturns in our now 24 years in business, we knew it would come again, but we were not ready for the magnitude of what this winter brought with it (not to mention spring, summer and fall). We have survived thanks to the support of our team, our clients and our community.

At the start of 2020 it was business as usual with upgrades to the facility: new plyo boxes and dumbbells, new faucets in the locker rooms and updated digital locks in the women’s locker room (with the men’s to follow in the fall – it’s on the wish list now). We hired a photographer to take new photos and we completely overhauled our website. In February we attended what would be our first and only seminar of the year, The Metabolic Health Summit. Little did we know just how important metabolic health would be in the face of the coronavirus. Shortly after, as February came to a close, and the Ides of March approached, the world knew something was coming. Early on we stayed focused on being healthy and keeping our immune system strong because even when we knew nothing about COVID-19, instinctively we knew we had to arm ourselves with ways to beat it.

On March 17th, 2020, the unthinkable happened; we were forced to close our doors. It was surreal and scary at the same time, but we also thought it would be short-lived. These are the times when you are truly tested. Under pressure you either succumb to it or you show up and deal with whatever unknown is ahead. We took a step back (after some confusion and tears), and gathered information from the source about the shelter in place order, the State/County – not the local news. We began to execute, and to (dare we say) “pivot in these unprecedented times”. Our main goal was to take care of our team, put their minds at ease, and keep our community together through virtual training, constant contact (literally), continued engagement and content to help everyone stay healthy, keep exercising, and to feel loved. We spent every day at AXIS communicating, engaging, cleaning and preparing. Our daily walks on the Stanford campus helped to clear our minds and stay energized. As scary as it was, we knew with confidence that we would get through it. Even as we opened again after 98 days, only to be shut down and re-opened several times over, not once have we questioned our ability to kick ass and keep going for your health and wellness. 

We have always prided ourselves on delivering to you the most current and relevant research in health and longevity. We rely on trusted sources for our information to share and we are not afraid to change our minds or admit we were wrong as new information emerges. That has been true throughout the COVID information overload. We have stayed away from the mainstream media who share constant negativity and fear. We have continued to listen to the brilliant doctors, scientists, researchers and epidemiologists who are the best in their fields. We read studies on pub med and articles in peer reviewed journals to gather the best information so we can keep you informed, educated and give you tools to focus on what you can control. We wrote three blog posts over the past 9 months that hopefully brought you some good information to arm yourself with as we go through the ups and downs and surges of COVID, including the benefits of vitamin D and other ways to stay healthy and improve immunity. You can find these and other blog posts here.  

The one area that has been magnified as a result of this pandemic, is the poor health of our nation. 70% of our population is overweight and 42% is obese. Over 120 million people in the U.S. have Type 2 Diabetes or are pre-diabetic. Other chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease (now called Type 3 diabetes) are so prevalent and all have become a breeding ground for COVID-19. Of those who have died of COVID-19, 94% had at least 2 pre-existing chronic diseases. This is devastating. 

We must continue with every safety measure in place to stop the spread of coronavirus now: wear a mask, wash your hands, and social distance. What makes us most excited is all that we can do to stop this one, as well as future viruses from having such a deleterious effect on us. By respecting unbiased science and constantly learning and researching, we can take control of our future outcomes, and not be paralyzed or overly stressed based on fear. We will keep encouraging everyone we know and love to exercise, eat well, get good sleep, and take vitamin D & C, along with zinc, to help stave off the virus or at least make sure you have a greater chance of a full recovery. Our promise to you is that we will continue to be here to support you and provide you with as much information as possible for you to lead your healthiest, best life. That’s what keeps us looking forward to the New Year and beyond. 

As we look towards 2021, and reflect on the past year with the overwhelming sadness and many challenges it brought, we know 2020 gave us so much to be grateful for too. We value the many lessons we have learned and know we are all better for having been tested. Our relationships have become stronger, and we have had the wonderful opportunity to see the very best in people. We can’t even begin to describe the appreciation we have for how our team and our community came together. 

Again, we thank you! To those of you who have been alongside us everyday and to the many of you who have supported us with your love and encouragement from afar, we thank you! We hope throughout this time we have helped in some way for you to stay hopeful and healthy. You will never know how much you helped us power through 2020. We will not only survive, but AXIS will thrive! Cheers to a new year of hope, happiness, health, safety and above all else, love. 

AXIS Family, Thank You!!

Much Love,

Scott & Alli

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please enjoy a look back at this crazy year: