Hey, 

Just this week someone called me and asked why certain athletes were tagging my personal facebook page and thought it was weird. I said it's fine and reminded me of how powerful tagging each other really is! 

Don't keep the prep a secret and use video, images, show banners, flyers, etc to create momentum. It also allows you to use the tags to benefit you. 

My only advise is I would say please PLUG the #FitnessAtlantic event and the event location, date, link etc and it all makes sense and I love it. It's good for us all and reminds me of 2011, and The "Team" Philosophy: 

Why "Going It Alone" is a Losing Strategy

In 2011, I stood in a room filled with over 100 WBFF Pros—and delivered a message that many weren't ready to hear: Competing is great, but a trophy won't pay your mortgage. 

At the time, the fitness industry was at a crossroads. I had just executed a massive WBFF PRO Digital Banner Campaign on Facebook, an innovative move for the era, but I could see the horizon shifting. While most athletes were obsessed with the next show date or the next supplement sample handout, I wanted them to see the bigger picture. Whether it was 2011 or today in 2026, the principles of longevity remain the same: you must stop seeing yourself as just a competitor and start seeing yourself as a media company.

Trigger the algorithm as a team

Central to this evolution is what I call the "Team" Philosophy—the precursor to what we now recognize as Community Marketing aka Earned Media.

#Tag away - tag Brian Cannone, Fitness Atlantic, WBFF, and not only Facebook but Instagram too - 

The Foundation of Community Marketing

The core mantra of that seminar was simple: "As a team, it’s better than trying this alone." Back then, the concept of a "network effect" was still relatively academic to the average athlete. I pushed the WBFF and WBFF Pro athletes to stop viewing their peers as mere rivals and start seeing them as amplification partners. By tagging each other relentlessly and cross-promoting content, they weren't just helping a "competitor"; they were creating a web of visibility.

When one athlete tags ten others, they tap into ten different networks. In 2011, this meant showing up in more Facebook newsfeeds; today, it means triggering the algorithms that reward engagement and relevance. "Going it alone" is a strategy rooted in ego; "going as a team" is a strategy rooted in scale [21:03].

Yes! We all had WBFF in our names and tagged each other! 

Keywords vs. Photos: The Search for Longevity

One of the most controversial points I made in 2011 was the shift from "just posting a picture" to creating search-indexed content. I told the room that a 500 to 1,000-word article for a platform like Fit & Firm Magazine would always outperform a lone photograph on Google [19:35].

Why? Because photos are fleeting, but keywords are permanent.

A photo might get a "like" today, but a well-written article on training, nutrition, or mindset becomes a "hub" that people find years later when they search for advice. In the seminar, I emphasized that "Content is King" [26:12]. If you aren't providing value through information, you are nothing more than a digital billboard that people eventually stop looking at. 

Those #tags find ones that you own like #fitnessatlantic and below was BodyRock by Nicole Costa what a great time in Rhode Island! 

Own Your Media: The Harsh Truth About Rights

 saw it happening constantly: an athlete would do a "free" shoot with a photographer, sign a release form without reading it, and effectively hand over the rights to their own image forever. They didn't own their own photo that photographer did. I saw people try to use a photographer watermarked image for an ad, banner or magazine submission and the photographer wanted to get paid which is fine but was never explained. 

I warned the athletes: You MUST own your images. [15:33]. If you don’t own the high-resolution files and the rights to use them, you don't own your brand. I encouraged them to bring their own release forms to shoots. In an era where digital content is the primary currency, being "famous" on someone else’s terms is a dangerous game. If a photographer or a magazine owns your best work, they own your ability to monetize your likeness.

The stage images you own! 

Building Your Own Hub

Long before the "Influencer" era was codified, we were pushing athletes toward YouTube, blogs, and fan pages [17:41]. I told the pros that Facebook could kick them off tomorrow, and if they didn't have a website or a mailing list, they would lose 80,000 fans in an instant [17:30].

How many times have you heard someone's Instagram page was hacked? 

Your social media profiles are "rented land." Your website is the home you own. We encouraged athletes to use social media as a "hook" to pull people back to their own hub where they could sell products, coaching, or memberships. The goal was to build a database of customers, not just a tally of followers.

The Magazine Illusion vs. The Supplement Myth

In the early 2010s, every athlete's dream was a magazine cover. I had to break the news: The magazine cover is a vanity metric. [08:02].

A print magazine stays on the shelf for 30 days and then goes in the trash. An online article stays forever. Furthermore, being on a cover doesn't put money in your pocket unless you have a product or service to sell to the people reading it.

The same applied to "The Supplement Myth." Many athletes thought that working a booth at the Arnold Sports Festival or the Olympia meant they had "made it." I told them clearly: working a booth isn't a career—it's a stepping stone [10:05]. If you are trading 12 hours of standing on your feet for a free tub of protein, you aren't an athlete; you're undervalued labor.

Becoming an Asset: Value Over Handouts

To get a real endorsement—the kind that pays the mortgage—you have to show a company that you are an asset. I challenged the athletes to stop asking, "What can you give me?" and start asking, "How many customers can I bring to you?" [10:41].

Companies don't hire athletes because they have the best abs; they hire them because they have the best reach and the most influence. By building a fanbase and a brand through the "Team" Philosophy, athletes could walk into boardrooms with data, showing exactly how many people they could move toward a product.

*Janelle and Shannon holding the issue on Status Fitness Magazine with the Team Feature! 

The Game Changes, The Rules Stay the Same

Whether you were sitting in that room in 2011 or you are reading this in 2026, the pillars of the "Blueprint" haven't changed:

Network Effect: Use the team to amplify the individual.

Ownership: Own your media, your data, and your platform.

Value: Provide more than just a physique; provide a solution.

Strategy: Plan your promotion 12 weeks out, not the day of the show [23:19].

The fitness industry has always been "broken" in some ways—fragmented by federations and ego [01:21]. But for those who understand that they are in the business of Community Marketing, the opportunities are limitless.

Stop just competing. Stop waiting for a "pro card" to validate your existence. Start building a fanbase, a customer base, and a brand that exists long after the spray tan fades. Because as we said back then, and as remains true today: It is better to build a legacy as a team than to chase a trophy alone.

Watch the original 2011 Seminar here: https://youtu.be/XZLVNwsCStQ