Why Spartan Race founder Joe DeSena is not your average Joe

SINGAPORE — Don’t be surprised if you spot a fit man with a crew-cut doing a burpee while waiting in line for a taxi, in the office or at the airport departure gate.

That’s Joe DeSena, the 46-year-old founder and CEO of Spartan Race Inc, the world’s top obstacle racing company; he still does 300 burpees every morning before he starts the day.

“The burpee is the most effective total body exercise you can do and I make sure I get mine in every morning. No ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’; it would not be uncommon to catch me dropping some (burpees) along the way even if I’m travelling, on the go, or on the way to a meeting,” said DeSena, who moved to Singapore in July.

This obsession with burpees partly explains why participants of any Spartan Race around the world have to do 30 penalty burpees for every uncompleted obstacle.

Then again, DeSena is not just any ordinary fitness enthusiast. This is a guy who has, at one point, completed over 50 ultra events and 14 Ironman races in one year.

DeSena showed his gumption at a young age. He started selling fireworks at the age of eight, then started a T-shirt business in high school, built a multi-million-dollar swimming pool business in college before working as an equities and derivatives trader.

“I learnt how to protect the nest egg and earn a living more efficiently from my time on Wall Street, but consequently I wanted to work with purpose and I wanted to change people’s lives,” DeSena explained.

He left his cushy Wall Street job to pursue his obstacle race dreams.

“The most prevalent things in anyone’s life are obstacles. It could be in work, relationships, school or family, and these obstacles can seem endless and impossible,” he added.

“I realised that the same mindset applied to overcoming physical obstacles in an obstacle race can also be applied to overcoming obstacles in life. The power of the mind is a huge factor in enabling this, but it needs to be taught and trained.”

That was why DeSena is keen to position obstacle races as a vehicle for positive change in a person. With two other friends, he organised the Peak Races, followed by the Death Race, which later evolved into the Spartan Race series.

Often described as a true test of willpower, the Spartan Race is known to push minds to its limits with standard obstacles round the world such as the wall climb, barbed wire crawl, fire jump, tyre flip, rope climb and more. On top of managing Spartan Races in more than 15 countries, DeSena also has his hands full with his four children, as well as a wedding business and a local general store back in Vermont.

South-east Asia is a new market for the brand and besides growing races in this region, his other focus is to educate the young.

“Back in the day, Spartans educated their young and in comparison, we also want to do the same,” said DeSena. “I cannot reveal too many details right now, but currently there are a couple of Spartan curriculums being finalised to road test both in schools in the United States, as well as locally.

“It will be based on teaching kids resilience and various other Spartan principles that will better prepare them to tackle the obstacles and roadblocks in life. It has been something I’ve been really excited to get out there,” he added. CHERYL TAY/UPGRADEMAN

The Reebok Spartan Race Singapore will take place on Nov 15. For more details, visit http://spartanrace.sg or http://www.facebook.com/UpgradeMan.