We were lucky to catch up with Chuck Sims recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chuck, thanks for joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

In my mid 20’s I was trying to finish up college and make money at the same time to live. I was working several part time jobs, one of which was at a local bar and grill/restaurant. Just needing to make money I took a job washing dishes on the PM shift. After working there for a few weeks, the Manager approached me one day and asked if I wanted to come in during the morning and do food prep. I said yes because it was more hours. Then one day after that he asked if I could come in 3x a week and do the floors before opening hours. Soon after that, we want you to start cooking. That lead to waiting tables. Within about 6 months I was a Floor Manager at the restaurant. The moral of this story is, 50% of any job is just showing up. You will be taught the rest of it. Be dependable, and on time. Opportunities will prevent themself when you demonstrate reliability to an employer.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I spent the better part of 20 years training and competing in endurance sports. Primarily in the sport of triathlon. I have been coaching endurance sports for approximately 13 years now. Coaching has allowed me the opportunity to travel to other countries and take part in continuing education. On one such trip to the UK I was at a conference in Manchester at their Sports Science Institute. During a breakout session in one of their labs I learned that the entire room could simulate high altitude with machinery they had installed. Upon returning back to the US, myself and my two very good friends and business partners Patrick and Susie Lane started researching indoor high-altitude studios available to the general public. We found there were some in international locations, but very few in the US. We also found out that the company who makes the equipment was in New York. After making contact with their salespeople and finding a suitable location we moved forward with building out the space and installing a state-of-the-art high-altitude studio in Atlanta, GA. in May of 2019.

We offer something no one else does in the area, which is the ability to train at high altitude in both active and passive states. Atlanta is about 1000ft above sea level. The highest point in Georgia only reaches about 4000ft. In order to train at altitude and get the physiological benefits from it you would have to travel somewhere about 5000ft or more and live there for several weeks/months.

Hypoxic training has many physiological, clinical, and performance benefits. Such as:

-Cardiovascular & Hematological Adaptions (Higher EPO, Red Blood Cell Production, Capillary density)
-Muscular & Metabolic Adaptations (ATP production, fat oxidation, lactate tolerance and clearance)
-Respiratory Adaptations (lung capacity, breathing efficiency)
-Performance Enhancements & Benefits for Athletes (increased VO2 Max, aerobic and anaerobic endurance, recovery)
-Clinical & Health Benefits (blood pressure, cholesterol, weight management, insulin sensitivity)
-Other Benefits (greater psychological resilience, mitohormesis, cross-adaptation effects)

We are most proud of the fact that over the last 5 years we have helped our clients achieve their goals, using high altitude as a component to their training. Whether it be the hundreds of mountain climbers who have worked with us to build acclimation before getting to their destination, the military recruit who needs help with passing his PT test to enlist, the cancer patient in remission who needs help building back their hemoglobin numbers, or the athlete who is attempting to PR their important event of the year. We’ve been a part of it all and look forward to working with many more in the future.

In addition to altitude training we also offer VO2 Max and RMR testing from our location.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Throughout the journey from concept to completion, the idea always seemed like a great one. No one else is doing what we are doing! People are going to be really excited about this opportunity! We are going to have lots of business! These are all things you tell yourself. Then you release your opening date, launch it, and no one shows up. You reach out to people you know asking them to come, offering free sessions. Anything to get people to come in and try it. Then in less than a year Covid hits. It was a rough first couple of years. There were many months where bills were getting paid out of our own pocket because revenue was scarce. But through patience, some 5-Star Google Reviews, and with the help of many early clients word begins to spread a bit and slowly business begins to pick up. One of the biggest wins in the last 5 years was the day we paid all of the bills from the money we made on services, and none came out of our own pocket. These things take time. You have to believe in your product, be consistent with what you are delivering, and allow it time to organically grow.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

You can be the smartest person in your chosen field, but without people know who you are and follow you, where you are located, and what services you offer its going to be a very long and difficult road to go. The one thing I think we would do if we could go back to the beginning is put a lot more into marketing. In today’s world you have to appeal so much to the consumer out there. Catch their attention. It needs to be short, slick, and interesting. Even though our product and services have tons of benefits and we knew the results for people would be there, we didn’t do a lot of self-promotion starting out other than the basics such as FB and IG posts. As we move forward, we are planning to do a lot more of this.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://elementalaltitude.com
• Instagram: @elementalaltitude
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/elementalaltitude