We were lucky to catch up with Denny Krahe recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Denny thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I started a podcast as part of my first entrepreneurial venture (personal training) in early 2014, and I decided to start a podcast where I’d talk with runners about running, life, and everything in between in my spare time. Over the next couple of months, I realized I was enjoying the running podcast much more than the general health podcast I was producing, so I decided to shut down the first show and focus on the running podcast solely.

It still wasn’t a business at this point, not even something I had thought about turning into a business. Just something that I enjoyed, so I continued to pursue it.

Over the course of the next year, as the podcast continued to grow, listeners of the show began reaching out to ask if I did any coaching. I said no several times, until I realized that there might be an opportunity to pivot in my business that I was missing.

The next time someone asked if I coached, I said yes. Over the next couple of years, I built up my coaching business to the point where I made that my sole business focus.

Denny, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve always been a fan of sports. As a kid, I had dreams and ambitions of being a professional athlete, though I realized by the time I was in middle school that pro sports probably wasn’t going to be in my future. I ended up studying athletic training with the goal of working with an NHL team as their head athletic trainer. This way, I’d still be able to make my living in athletics even if I wasn’t the athlete on the field.

When I was in grad school at Middle Tennessee State University, I was working with the Track and Cross-Country teams as their athletic trainer. I didn’t like running, in fact I pretty much hated the idea of going for a run, but I started doing a bit of running at the end of practice most days in large part to kill a bit of time while my athletes were stretching and finishing up their drills. Over the course of my two years at MTSU, I went from loathing my runs to actually looking forward to logging a couple of miles most days.

My background in athletic training, sports medicine, and exercise science ultimately led to me leaving my “day job” in 2013 to start my own personal training business. After a few years in the personal training industry, and after starting a running podcast in 2014, I started coaching runners in 2015 after several listeners to my show reached out to ask if I’d coach them.

When I started coaching, my area of expertise was running injuries, specifically injury prevention. Many runners deal with nagging running injuries during their running careers, and my belief is that many of those injuries are preventable. My focus as a coach is on keeping my athletes healthy. By staying healthy they are able to continue training consistently, and I believe that is the key to making progress in the sport of running.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I’ve built my reputation, for the most part, via my podcast. I’ve put out almost 1100 podcast episodes since my show debuted in 2014, and folks that listen to my podcast regularly have gotten to know me quite well over the years.

Showing up in people’s ears, 2-3 times per week for the last 8+ years, has done more for building my reputation and brand than anything else I’ve done, hands down.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Hands down it’s my podcast.

The show has been my main marketing channel since day one, and it continues to help me get leads and new clients to this day.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://dizruns.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/dizruns
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/denny.krahe
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennykrahe/
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/dizruns
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqWI51SEDQ4VjonEXYjqvqQ
• Other: Podcast: Search Diz Runs Radio on your preferred podcast app.