We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rob Mendenhall a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rob , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Originally my business partner and I were renting space from his uncle and it only cost us $900 a month. After covid his uncle was wanting his space back so we had to look for a new space. We found a larger space and in a great location but the cost was much higher. My partner decided he wanted to focus on the other businesses that he started and wanted out of this business. I was going to move into a new space that was going to cost over $3000 a month just for rent, with no partner, after covid when so many businesses failed, especially things like gyms. We went for it and we have only grown since. We now have a growing and successful Krav Maga program and adding instructors, we have a great BJJ program that is always growing, Muay Thai is growing, and we now also have wrestling, taekwondo, kajukenbo, fitness classes and more.

Rob , 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?

After getting out of the Marine Corps, I moved to Indiana. A state I had never been to before and knew no one except my soon to be daughters mother. I started working and after a year i ended up in college. In college i met another Marine Veteran who went out of his way to check on my mental health and see how i was adjusting to civilian world. We talked about starting a business that we would teach people all the skills we had acquired over our time in the Marine Corps. We decided we would start with fighting because medical training and firearms are a second to fighting. We then found the International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF) contacted them and then travelled the country training and becoming instructors. We started off just offering Krav Maga, then we added kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. we now also have fitness classes, Muay Thai, Wrestling, taekwondo, and Kajukenbo. Each one is taught by an elite instructor in that sport. My partner chose to pursue other business ventures in 2021, which has lead me to build this amazing team of coaches i have now!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

According to numbers and the barriers we were hitting early on in business, we likely should have shut the doors. It didnt feel like our member list was growing with out losing just as many folks. I was working to pay my bills at home and also make sure the gym stayed open as well. In 2021 when my partner and i split, i moved into a new space with a much higher over head, had to make some improvements to the space, and keep all my bills paid. i was averaging 18-20 hours a day between construction work, security work, and working at the gym. I saw my family long enough to tell them i love them and it wouldnt be like this forever and to refill my lunch box. I had a vision to provide a space that people would be able to come and feel safe, and that kids/teens could come to stay out of trouble. the type of place i needed when i was younger. By the grace of God its 2025 and we are stronger then ever and i have a team of coaches that also are veterans, also want to help keep kids out of trouble, and want to see The Forge grow.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I have had to make a few pivots but one of the most impactful pivots was in 2013. I planned on retiring from the Marine Corps. I found out right before my last deployment that i had gotten my daughter’s mother pregnant. I wanted to make sure that i was a present father in my childs life so i not only shifted my whole career path and got out of the Marine Corps, but i also moved to Indiana instead of back to my home state of Pennsylvania. Once I moved to Indiana i changed careers a few times, changed majors, and still making changes to this day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theforgetc.com
• Instagram: theforgetc
• Facebook: The forge training center (IKMF)