Tough Mudder Chief Executive releases account of building his obstacle race movement

Will Dean, Chief Executive of Tough Mudder, has released a book outlining where the company came from, why it is has been a success and where it might go in the future.

It Takes a Tribe: Building the Tough Mudder Movement, focuses on how the creation of a ‘community’ has been key to the company's success, exploring the mental, physical and social principles behind Tought Mudder and how the brand built a global ‘tribe’.

In what is a textbook for anyone looking to start a business or find more followers, Dean shows a new generation of entrepreneurs why it's important to create a brand that people identify with and love.

Having conceived Tough Mudder while studying at the Harvard Business School, since 2010, more than 2 million people have participated in Tough Mudder events.

In creating the obstacle race/endurance event industry, that had not existed before and which has been widely imitated, Dean’s tribe has changed the lives of many who have joined Mudder Nation.

Arguing for clear principles, bravery and persistence, Dean explains that the biggest lesson he wants readers of It Takes a Tribe to learn “is the importance of purpose in any organisation.

“I really believe the best companies don't just exist to make money.

“They serve a higher purpose. They have a set of goals and a set of values they aspire to live by. At Tough Mudder, we don’t pretend to we're curing cancer, but we are getting people to live more healthy, active lives and spend time with one another. I think there's a lesson in there for anyone who aspires to start a company or be a manager in any organisation.”

On the expansion of Tough Mudder, which now includes its own media business subsidiary, Dean is also looking to challenging assumptions in the fitness and the training space, having launched the Tough Mudder Bootcamp this year

He explains that while “there are thousands of fitness studios to choose from ... we're definitely trying to disrupt what the fitness market looks like.”

With the obstacle race/endurance event in the USA having experienced a 40% decline since 2013, Dean concludes “obstacle course racing is an interesting industry (in which) one or two players (are) rising to the top (with) the long tail is disappearing.

“I think to be successful today, you have to really have an integrated business.

“You have to, of course, be good at the events, but you also have to be good at marketing, you have to be good at media partnerships. You have to have ancillary businesses, such as the training business, to support that.

“Events companies are very much becoming sports media entertainment and lifestyle brands.”

7th September 2017 - TRIATHLON, ENDURANCE AND CYCLING SHOW CANCELLED FOR 2017

31st July 2016 - TOUGH MUDDER CREATOR SLAMS AUSTRALIAN RED TAPE

23rd July 2016 - TOUGH MUDDER TO HOLD FIRST EVENT IN BALI

20th July 2016 - TOUGH MUDDER TO LAUNCH IN DUBAI IN DECEMBER

17th June 2016 - TOUGH MUDDER LOOKS TO ASIAN AND MIDDLE EAST EXPANSION WITH IMG PARTNERSHIP

11th November 2015 - MUDDY FUN AS MUDDERELLA STAGES FIRST AUSTRALIAN EVENT

2nd October 2015 - OUTDOOR RECREATION STAKEHOLDERS TO CREATE FIRST NATIONAL SET OF OUTDOOR SAFETY STANDARDS

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