TRX

Randy Hetrick created the first suspension trainer harness while serving as a Navy SEAL at the special missions unit. After 14 years in the SEAL teams, he left and attended Stanford Business School, where he realized the suspension trainer could be a viable commercial product. At the time, the idea of bringing a simple strap into a gym full of machines seemed crazy—but Hetrick had a vision.

Hetrick bootstrapped the business with approximately $5 million in angel funding across several rounds. He partnered with Fraser Quelch, a career trainer and education specialist, to solve a critical problem: he had a near-100% close rate when demonstrating the product in person, but conversion dropped to 5% online. This led TRX to pivot early into professional education—creating courses, DVDs, and eventually digital content to teach trainers and coaches how to use the suspension trainer effectively.

TRX's initial strategy was to become the "business partner" of training professionals—chiropractors, physical therapists, MMA coaches, and personal trainers. The suspension trainer became a tool that delivered remarkable results in trained hands. Hetrick described it as a "magic wand"—something that looked simple but in expert hands transformed client outcomes. This professional-first approach built credibility that later extended to consumers.

For 10 years, TRX operated as a pure B2B business, selling to gyms, studios, and trainers. By 2015, the company had placed approximately 350,000 training professionals through TRX coach certifications and operated in 50,000-70,000 gyms globally. Around 2015-2016, TRX began expanding into true B2C consumer sales. This timing proved prescient.

When COVID-19 hit and gyms closed, TRX's B2B business collapsed while the consumer side exploded. People who had used TRX in gyms suddenly wanted home equipment. Website traffic surged 4x from February to April 2020. TRX made the bold decision to make its professional education courses free via Zoom during lockdowns, converting struggling trainers into loyal brand advocates. The company also turned off the paywall on its $4.95/month app temporarily.

Hetrick emphasized that premature hiring of "best practice" presidents from large corporations had been a mistake. These executives couldn't adapt to the speed and ambiguity of a scaling company. He eventually found success with Adam Ryan, someone he'd known since high school, who could be scrappy and entrepreneurial while also managing operations.

By 2020, TRX was generating approximately $60 million in annual revenue and had diversified its revenue streams: physical products (suspension trainers and functional training ecosystem), professional education ($295 per 8-hour course), and subscription digital content and apps. The company remains private but is now co-owned by multiple capital partners after a 2018-2019 recapitalization that exited early PE investors. Hetrick moved into the role of co-chairman, focusing on brand, product innovation, and new initiatives rather than day-to-day operations. He also serves as a lecturer at Stanford GSB and USC Marshall, mentoring young entrepreneurs and investing in select startups where he can add operational and strategic value.