We value our supporters and audience immensely; We want you to know what we deal with and have to contend with- both positive and negative- in order to do what we do, share what we share, and build what we are building. We would never mislead or manipulate those that choose to follow our journey. Never.
Thank you.
Overview:
It became clear to us in 2019 that there were several tiny, reckless sects of “ANTIFA” out west that were going to target anyone in counter-culture that looked or spoke in unconventional ways, presented challenging information, or kept associations that they didn’t like. They manufactured their own hateful, deceitful articles that were “published” on their private, nearly impossible to intercept blogs, and shared them as fact with anyone shortsighted and naïve enough to listen.
CV ANTIFA, or Corvallis Against Fascism are several of their platforms.
I have been ham-fistedly slapped with the white supremacist/ Neo-Nazi allegation before; It is the go-to, low-brow, cheap-seats indictment that the willfully ignorant place on those that speak hard truths, appear physically strong, and have black tattoos. It is no more justified or dignified in this case than claiming that all men wearing suits are weakling accountants, or that all professional sports figures abuse their spouses.
It has all originated out west- Oregon and California- with less-than-zero legs to stand on and no conversational traction outside of those they work closely with. No one with any common sense, clarity of mind, or power of observation could look at anything we do now or that I have shared in the past twenty years and believe there to be any thread of racial or ethnic bias within it.
The current, inclement cultural climate has allowed these libelous and slanderous accusations to land; They have done considerable damage to my brand, my personal reputation, and most importantly, my reach and ability to help people.
Timeline:
January/ February 2020: Corvallis ANTIFA contacted the public schools here in Rochester and Webster New York that we had worked for years to earn the privilege of operating our ‘Cubs’ program within. Following their coordinated phone blitzes, social media deception, and even many direct phone calls targeted at the administration, the schools removed the program.
We ran the inaugural phases of ‘Cubs’ in 2019, and it was nothing short of extraordinary. The benefits to the kids, the parents, and the schools themselves were tremendous. When it came time to re-up, there was a line up-and-down the hallways to participate. We were already solidly on our way to changing the physical and mental perspectives and preparedness of many youth in our community and beyond.
We not only lost the chance to help a ton of great kids, but also my ability to create another positive teaching opportunity and potential revenue stream for our instructors here and elsewhere, as the plan was to standardize the entire Cubs protocol and then expand into other schools, everywhere.
In addition, it was a crushing blow to the people here that had worked very hard to make this happen. In short, it changed many things here, and not in a good way.
June 2020: After over three successful, logistically flawless years of selling our maces (a custom weightlifting tool that we make here in Rochester, NY) through Rogue Fitness, the product was removed from their site with no notice, no explanation, and not even so much as a heads-up from the company. One afternoon, it was simply gone- and our customers had to tell us. It took several days to even get anyone to respond, and then, it was a dismissive note from their “legal team” that told us nothing.
Rogue was our exclusive distributor, and upon being cut off cold, our sales dropped almost 80%, and have not recovered much more than maybe 10%. We are tiny, we make virtually no margin on this locally handmade product, and the volume of sales was all that was making it a viable project. We will lose 70-80% in retail revenue this year alone, and of course that number will unfortunately continue and “grow” into next year.
My mistake was giving exclusivity to a company I did not trust, and that had proven long before this that they did not care about us; Always have a back-up plan, I learned yet again.
It was confirmed for us that the same hate group from Corvallis, with their fake articles and 110% false accusations, had brought their sneak attack to Rogue, and that was the reason for the completely unprofessional and disrespectful deplatforming. If we had not had the ability to pivot immediately, a blow like that would easily have put us right under- especially during a period in which the government was attempting to keep gyms closed.
We not only lost much of our retail revenue, but I had to redirect on both staffing and project development due to the sharp decline. It has also compromised our relationship with the shop here that produces the product. It would be impossible for anything outside of ineptitude on my end to justify to a small machine shop and foundry why we went from nearly 100 maces per month to now often far less than 20; “Our distributor dropped us because some fanatics called us Nazis”, is simply ridiculous to say, and even harder for any professional person to believe.
October 2020: I have been fortunate enough to be connected with those directing the UFCPI (UFC Performance Institute), and all indications were that my unique talents in the strength & conditioning field were going to be put directly to use there. The relationship was off to a phenomenal start, and they had ordered a few of our maces to begin application of our methods and strategies.
As soon as that was shown to the world (which we did proudly, since earning a relationship like that was quite a big deal for me), the same group from Corvallis/ ANTIFA reached both legal and marketing within UFC, and at very least, tarnished what was an otherwise excellent beginning.
Neither I nor the UFC has thrown in the towel, because the good that can be done far outweighs any of this nonsense, but it will certainly not be what it could have been when it could have been, and will also likely impact my ability to monetize my contributions there (though that will not stop me from providing them, as money never does); That is both very damaging and very discouraging, personally and professionally.
Synopsis:
Wolf Brigade is a brand that gives far more than it takes to many great people, everywhere, every day, for many years, and will never stop doing so. I am one of the most unique and effective strength & conditioning trainers and movement specialists in the world, and have built, rebuilt, guided, and helped improve thousands of people from all walks of life imaginable.
My hands are now essentially tied, our external development has largely been halted, our retail revenue is now next-to-nothing, and my personal reputation has suffered to a degree that it is possible I will never make the mark I could have with my hard-earned and valuable skillset. All, because some fanatics in Oregon with no scruples don’t like how we look, the firm language and stark imagery we use to send positive and empowering messages, and disagree with some of our friends and clients.
The entirety of their “justification” for the attacks is that I have taught clinics for several groups and individuals that they simply do not philosophically align with; Not racist groups, not political groups, not groups intent on harming others- Just simply those cut from very different cloth.
Within that feeble rationale, anyone that dislikes or does not understand cops, military, battered women’s shelters, hardcore kids, youth sports, professional sports, action sports, college sports, martial artists, the tactical community, the hearing impaired, or children with Asperger’s should also be attacking us, because I have taught clinics- very often for free- to each and every one of those groups.
It would be impossible for racial and/ or ethnic bias to hide behind a lifetime of assisting and empowering others; That is just very simply not how hate works.
I have fought racism in tangible, intellectual, and often physical ways since I was a kid growing up in underground music scenes and I have never stopped doing so; I have made my life, my protest. The fact that my business and personal trajectory have been severely impacted by baseless accusations saying the very opposite is as confusing and disheartening as it gets.
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Welcome to our attempt at operating and growing a truly inclusive, purpose-driven small business in America, 2020:
Help others, by any means available and necessary.*
*Just, not ALL others… just the ones that look and act and talk and think just like… all the others.
No.
We do not discriminate based on anything other than elective constitutional softness, or reprehensible moral character. We celebrate those that have swam through deep water, and walked through the fire, only to emerge better. We can’t relate to those with no scars. We don’t trust those that have never fallen down and don’t know the struggle it takes to get back up.
And, as we’ve said before and will always say again- We would rather fail than suck;
To turn tail and run, when we have long-proven that to even the most challenging and unconventional groups we bring unwavering integrity, irreplaceable expertise, and pragmatic positivity, would make us true and utter… suckers.
Fail we might, but never without a fight.
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Thank you for your time in reading this today, and please share at your discretion.
Greg Walsh
Agent- Wolf Brigade