SPEAKER_00 0:00

Be focused on what you're actually good at, not trying to take on other things. Know your place and know your role and uh stick with that. It's way easier in life. It'll make you happier.

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Hey there, and welcome to the Woodburn Podcast, where we believe every story matters, and every neighbor has something worth sharing. I'm your host, Gilbert Lopez. I'll be sitting down with local business owners, community leaders, and hometown heroes right here at Woodburn. You'll discover amazing people in your own backyard. And if you more connected to the community we call home, make sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube at Woodburn Podcast to be the first to know about new episodes and announcements. Hello, Woodburn. This is Gilbert Lopez. Hey, so I wanted to start this podcast to really showcase what Woodburn is all about. So I realized that Woodburn didn't have a podcast. So I was like, hmm, maybe I should start one. And um no, I don't work for the city. I'm actually a life insurance broker, and I'm blessed to be licensed in 30 states. So technically I can work anywhere across the country. But Woodburn will always be home. So growing up here, you know, I've been so blessed to meet amazing people. And and I think it's time for me to get back. As you guys know, Woodburn is growing so fast. New houses being built, new apartment complexes, so many new businesses coming in, which means yes, more people, more traffic, and and more puzzles too. But if you're new here, welcome. This is an amazing place to live. And I wanted to showcase that and and bring the voices that make Woodburn so unique. So come and join me. And thank you for listening. All right, so welcome to the Woodburn Podcast. I am your host, Gilbert Lopez. Uh today I got my my buddy here across the street, um Brandon Seglentary. He he's actually the owner of Anytime Fitness. And um, Brandon, tell tell us a little bit about yourself, people that don't know you.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Oh, I've owned uh Anytime Fitness for 18 years since 2008, and uh known you for a little bit. Yeah. Thanks for having me, buddy.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

Yeah, yeah, yeah. How many years have you been going to the gym? On and off for 18 years when you opened up when you first yeah, you're probably in high school. No, I was uh college. Yeah, yeah. College wrestler. Yeah. You guys opened, I was like, I need to go get in shape, and that's when I met you. And you're saying like your your boy used to wrestle, you and yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Um, I had not my blood family, but um I have a son that his side, you know, his mom's side, they're all wrestlers actually. Um the one of the uncles is the Harrisburg High School wrestling coach. So he's actually really good.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

Yeah, so um, yeah, we were just catching up, and for some reason, I'm so sorry. I thought you were your hometown was Hermiston, but it's Harrisburg.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Hell no, not Hermiston. Yeah, Harrisburg. Down by Eugene. Yeah. Okay. What's happening here? When I went in the Marine Corps, that's after boot camp. So that's like September of 91. Yeah. That's a at my girlfriend's house. I was pretty proud right there. Oh, yeah. I got a little I did 22 years, different branches, so nothing spectacular. Had a good time.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, nothing, don't say that's all good. No, no.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

It was a good time.

SPEAKER_02 4:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Um, yeah, when I met you, you were I was like 34 and I'm 52. Something like that.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Has it been that long?

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Oh yeah. Jeez. Yeah. I'm old. I'm old now.

SPEAKER_02 4:17

Man, time flies by. Wow. But looking at that that picture right here, what was going through your mind? Oh, I'm like, I'm so proud. I'm a Marine. I think you were saying your family, a lot of your family are military.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Yeah, I'm the first Marine that I'm aware of. Everybody else was army, um, which isn't a bad thing, I guess. I did the army too. My two sons, two of my sons out of three are in the army right now, active duty. One's in Louisiana and the other one's in Hawaii. So they're doing they're doing well.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

Yep. Nice. Proud dad.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Yeah, oh yeah. Nice.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

Okay, so that's me. That's me going in uh getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan in 2006.

unknown 5:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

2006. That's in Portland, yeah. And Oregon National Guard. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Yeah, just whenever I talk to people, especially like clients, and they tell me when they're overseas, and I hear stories, and just like the average person just hearing that is like mind blown.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

It was good.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

It was fun. Yeah. Yeah, ever since I know you, you had the same attitude of life. You're just like you just live life every day by day, and just you're just yeah, and um you don't have to be a millionaire.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

You don't have to do shit. No. Nope. No, just make it work and have a good life, you know. Less stress. I've just learned that recently. Had a bar or two, and that's yeah, no.

SPEAKER_02 5:57

We were talking about this. So you're uh gym owner, and then you're where I bar owner.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Yeah. How did that work? That didn't work out. I had a bar for two years, and it's just a lot more work and completely opposite of what I was doing. So I got into the gym business because basically I was always into fitness and stuff like that. Not that you can always see that now, but you know, military, and then I was in sports all the way through school. Um, and so that's what I wanted to do. So when I was in Afghanistan, I was like, I'm looking for looking on the internet, looking for uh franchises or some way to open a gym or this and that. And I found Anytime Fitness. And so they were about five years old at that time. And five years old? Yeah, I thought it was 2006. I think they opened in 2001 or 2002, something like that, when they first started. Oh wow. So I got into it earlier on. Okay. Um, thank God. But uh it's been it's been good. You're not gonna be rich, millionaire, unless you like o open multiple, you know, and things like that. But yeah, you know, how much do you want to work? How much do you want to stress out? Things like that.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

So like right now, like you kind of stepped away a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Uh yeah, I moved it back down to my hometown where I grew up and went in. Harris, Harrisburg, Oregon. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I was gone from the state for a long time, obviously, um, doing military stuff and whatever. And uh so I've been in Woodburn since 2007, and uh then opened the gym in 2008. So I was here about six months or eight months before I opened it.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

And now that yeah, at this time of my life, I'm just like older and I just want to chill out, look, relax a little bit. So I went back home and uh I'm like two basically like you can call it two blocks or quarter or half a mile from the river. Yeah, and summertime is great, so yeah, I'm loving it.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

I know you send me pictures of the river.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

I send pictures to everybody. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 8:09

Yeah, so I I shouldn't feel special then.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

That and going up to the mountains 15 miles away and shooting guns, and yeah, it's freaking nice. Nice.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

So fast forward, so you owned the gym since 2008. Yeah, April. Yeah, okay. When did you expand? I know you expanded the gym a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

Um, that was 2018.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Yeah. Yeah, like January, February, right at the beginning of the year. Expanded that out and um remodeled it. And now I have to do another remodel. That's right. Before July of next year. So got new new strength equipment in January of this year. Let's talk about that.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

Yeah, so if you're listening and you haven't been there for a while, um, yeah, there's new equipment coming. Okay, so you remodeled 2018. Two years later, what happened?

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Oh, COVID. That's lovely. Yeah, that was good. I I don't want to get in too much to that, but yeah, it sucked. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

Um a lot of gyms just went. Went under. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. And the reason I brought it out is because you were able to overcome it. Especially in a small town in Woodburn.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Yeah. Well, I will tell you this, man. I'm blessed from the people here, honestly, because um they still supported me, whatever, you know. So, and I'm a white dude. They must like the gym or whatever. I just leave people alone, let them do what they gotta do. So I'm blessed. That's all I can say.

SPEAKER_02 9:44

Yeah, uh, that's what I like about you, bro.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Especially in Woodburn.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

Diverse city.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Right. It's mostly Hispanic, right? Yeah, it's like 66%. Right, and then you have uh the Russian community, orthodox Russian community, and then you have a lot of retirees. We love people on fixed incomes and stuff like that. So what if your go-to spot for food? Well, that's changed a lot throughout the years. I I used to go to when I first got here, it was Louisa's. Oh, I can't go wrong with Lisa's no. Oh no, no. From Fun Tree. Yep. What would you order there? Oh. Either Connery Asada burrito or um shredded beef, you know. I like the wet burritos. All right. Tell me about this one. What's happening here? That's uh I was in the Navy, the Gaby. Um Harbor Patrol. So as a master at arms, I think I was an MA2 there, and uh, that's the M60, old. Okay. The Navy still had those whenever you had 240 bravos, but it's okay. Um, I love that gun though. Um didn't have ammo in it right then because you know, you're not really at a threat in Pearl Harbor, and you gotta clean all that ammo with the salt water, and it's just not fun. So guns up there ready. You open the box, throw some ammo in it if you had to, but yeah. I was on the back of a 34-foot CR Harbor Patrol boat. That was some hard duty. I don't know what that means, but it sounds pretty intense. Yeah, it was it was really rough. Um cruising around in a boat in Pearl Harbor all day for 12 hours. You know, that's scary. I just rewatched that movie the other day. Yeah, that was World War II. This this was like in 2003. Yeah, yeah, it was chill. It's cool out there though, because there was a boat, there was a ship that was uh blown up out there from World War II and still there. And uh and then uh when the war had started in uh Iraq, uh we had to guard the pier that had unbelievable amounts of ammo on it. Um not like secret top secret, but it was like classified.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

So I don't want no secret agent come knocking in my office here.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

No, but it's already like 20 plus years ago, but no, it was just we had to guard this uh um tons of tons of bombs. So yeah, we had to stay really close. And there were they added extra boats and everything else for that. So it was cool to be part of that. But um other people, you know, men are deploying, we're chilling in the harbor, so that's what it was.

SPEAKER_02 12:27

So you surf for 22 years.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

Yep. 12 active, 10 reserve or reserve component. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

Geez, it's a long time.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

But you know, you go in at 18, you're done at, I mean, you can do 20 years active and be done at 38. You're still young. Yeah. You get another job, triple, you can get you can get triple retirement. Plus, you learn a lot of skills in there. I mean, different stuff. I mean, I I never stayed, that was kind of my problem why I ended up retiring the way I did. Um, some of it was because I own a business and didn't really care or put the effort into getting higher rank. Um it was uh more that I disliked my position where I was at, like being a squad leader, so E6, and that's what I retired at. Um could have got E7, you know, if I went to school, but no, didn't want it. If I'm not gonna progress and just sit there, that's not the right thing to do. Wow. Get out, let someone else move forward, you know. And that's what I did, especially in that guard or reserve units. There's no upward mobility if people just sit there and stay in. So does that happen? Oh god, yeah. Does it? Oh yeah, yeah. People in their E4, E5 until they're 60 or something like that. It's just ridiculous. Get out.

unknown 13:48

Like, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

I'm not telling people to get out, but you know, move move out of the way. So yeah. If you can't lead, you know, if you cannot lead soldiers, you're too busy doing other things, or you know, you're not giving them their the what they deserve, or you're just not physically fit enough, or whatever it is, get out of the way. Yeah. That used to irritate me. So yeah, when I saw what I was doing, I had to get out of the way.

SPEAKER_02 14:15

All right. So if somebody wants to sign up for the gym, what is the best way?

SPEAKER_00 14:22

The best way is to email or call. So you can you can call the 503-984-0423. Monday through Friday, 1 to 7 p.m. And uh but you can also email, we get every email, or you can just walk in uh 1 to 7, Monday through Friday. You would have to come in after 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, even though the staffed hours state 1 to 7 all week long.

SPEAKER_02 14:55

Okay, yeah, because the doors are open like the left side. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

The left left side is for guests. Uh people wanting to sign up, come in. Write doors for members. Uh, you squat your key fob or access pass on their on their cell phone. Um, trying to get everybody on access pass so I don't have to buy key fobs.

SPEAKER_02 15:14

Right.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

That's right. Okay. Yeah. So I know you run special promotions from time to time. Um now's the perfect time to let let everybody know what what promotions are you running right now.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

So right now, um, a good one is the $99 for three months. Okay. And also if you if you don't do that one and you want like a longer term membership, we do a year and a half, a year, six months, and a month to month. Um, we just ask right now to donate to the Woodburn School District. So if you bring in roughly five dollars worth of school supplies, um, then we would waive your enrollment fee. Um I donate, we donate the gym donates every year um to the school district and then to the food bank and then to Toys for Tots. So we do this the rest of fall through uh uh starting um winter time. So and you always if you bring in that stuff, you will get a zero enrollment fee. Oh, that's pretty cool. Yeah, it's awesome. Nice, nice for the community. It is the one win. It is, absolutely win for them, win for the community, and you're helping your own people.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

So yeah, that's good. Yeah, that's feels good.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Yeah, that's what I like about you, man. You uh you really give a lot to the community. Okay, so you grinded for 15 plus years. You build your business to the point where you can step away a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's you gotta find um a good employee. I mean, there's so many things I did wrong, obviously. But you just learn, you know, you live and learn and try to get away. That's how you try to get a bad best like trial and error. Absolutely, yeah. And try to take uh knowledge from other people, you know. What whatever they say, take it, take it, um, use it if you want, but at least have it, you know, it's there. So some stuff I didn't take from people. I listened to them and I didn't. So um but whatever. Uh it is what it is, and yeah, you could be more successful or if you do everything perfect, but you know, who does? Um I'm just trying to be pretty chill. I don't need to be a millionaire, don't want any part of that type of life. But yeah. It's been a good, it's been fun, it's been awesome.

SPEAKER_02 17:49

Yeah, and you can tell when you walk in at the at the gym, it's so mellow, like environmental chill. Compared to other gyms, especially when there's like really strict rules.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Yeah, like planet fitness. Oh planet, come on.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

Planet, don't, don't sue us.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Yeah, don't sue us. Oh, they can't. I just said oh planet. They they they have enough reviews, I imagine. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Let's talk about your reviews.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Yeah, that's great. Uh maybe not having a bathroom, it's just funny because I have two. Some of that stuff is just insane. Reviews are ridiculous. There's been so many, they don't even they have fake names or not last name, uh, that type of thing. And it used to bother me because it's like personal to me, and it's like, you're lying, you know. But I right now I just don't care. You're you're flicking and uh people can come in and see it for themselves. What's next for you? I'm loving Harrisburg right now. Okay, yeah. I'm back home. I might be a little young to like go back to your home. I'm 52, but man, no, I'm I'm loving it. Um, I have a great manager, um Jackie. She's awesome. And so uh I I'm able to spend time with myself and my uh partner and uh hang out at the river and take the boat out and yeah, go go shooting and whatever we want to do.

SPEAKER_02 20:04

Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. Um, and you mentioned about your partner, by the way, Kay. You're awesome. Um I I think she made you a better person, bro. She possibly has, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:15

Might might have, yeah. Might have. Very sweet, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

I mean, I had I have had, yeah. Yeah, you know what I'm you know what I'm saying. Yeah. Um, but yeah. Yeah, I'm but don't want to dig too much, but you share what you want to share. She's awesome. Yeah, absolutely. A little crazy, but she's a little awesome. More awesome than crazy. So yeah. But I need crazy too, so that's good. I hope she sees this. All right, so let's talk, let's talk about this picture. Okay, so that one is when I was in Afghanistan, and uh I was actually an MP, but I went as a truck driver. So truck driver. Yeah, motor tea, or that's what the Marine Corps calls it, but army is just trans, which is kind of transportation. Um, so that's I I did that, volunteered for that instead of MP. And uh, so we just drove around Afghanistan, Kabul area mostly, but you know, Gardez, Coast, and then we had our company was there at Phoenix, but then there was platoons uh around Ring Road, so Harat and Gardez, the Mazori Sharif. Um and yeah, so that was at a like a I believe that was at a like a weapons or storage facility just down a road from Phoenix, maybe 10 miles or something like that. If that, I don't know. Um a lot of Afghan soldiers there. They were trying to give us like marijuana or like that for our juke tarts. Anyway, yeah, that was that I think I found a dead mouse in my pack at that one. Sack four was laughing, yeah. It was fun. Didn't get blown up, thank god. Well, you're still here with us. Yeah. Like I mean I saw a couple, you know, but saw is way better than dealing with it.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 22:26

I think I was telling you earlier like every day you just don't know what may happen.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

No, but you know, you can't have that. Right. You cannot have that attitude. It's just like what's the mindset you gotta have? Uh you know, try to rely on your training and think you're trained enough, and uh um you know if it happens, it happens. I hope it doesn't, you know. There was uh times, you know, stuff did happen, but it didn't affect me necessarily right there. And then other just crazy stuff driving through. Um, I mean, you knew they could blow you up right there. Yeah, and they just didn't. So um, I'm still friends with my lieutenant. He retired as a major. Um he's like, How did it nothing happen?

SPEAKER_03 23:27

And then I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 23:32

Yeah, pointed to the sky. What does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_00 23:39

Oh, our creator.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

Absolutely. I love that, absolutely, love that. Yeah, yeah, he's watching over you. Absolutely, yeah. Definitely over there when you're overseas. Yeah, and when your mom's praying for you. You gotta love mom prayers, absolutely, yeah. Yep. Um, but yeah, you're just talking about you can't really think about that.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

Um, you don't really think about it. If you think if you sit there and thought about um I mean, our our guys that are uh that were in serious stuff, um you gotta keep that out of your mind, you know. It's not always there, or not always able to do that, but as best you can. And then you start getting used to things and can't get can't be complacent either, though.

SPEAKER_02 24:33

So no. No. Like even right now, like we can be driving down 214. Yep. But you're not gonna be thinking about uh what if I don't make it home.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Yeah, yeah. Because actually, you know, statistically, driving down I-5, as far as deaths, I believe this to be true, was was worse than being in Afghanistan. Yeah, depending on where you were at in Afghanistan, depends, you know. Yeah, if you're a door kicker and stuff like that, or you're even Motor T like me, they tried to blow you up, especially in Iraq, you know. Uh Motor T was uh they were gunning for the soft targets, you know, IED. So I I'm very thankful and blessed that where I'm at in my life, and yeah, I don't want much, don't need much, just yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:25

And and you keep referring back, like, hey, you know what? I don't have to be a millionaire. Hey, nope, I don't need much. Nope. Was that do you learn that like overseas? Like you saw so much where you're like, you know what, I'm just blessed to be alive.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

Okay, so yeah, so when I came back from Afghanistan, actually, the United States, uh, when I got back here, it's disgusted me in a in a way because there's so many advertisements and things in your face that you actually don't need. And so I was just like, good lord, you know, just just doesn't need you, just don't need it. And then as I've owned the gym and I've had fast cars and this and that, and to me, it's not necessary. So if you want to do it, fine, you know, yeah, God bless you. Yeah, I mean, have fun, yeah. But uh I'd rather just chill right now. I'm chilling. I like my little uh place I live in Harrisburg, and the river's right there, mountains are right there in 15 minutes. Love it.

SPEAKER_02 26:31

All right, so as we wrap up, uh, do you have a message for for our listeners?

SPEAKER_00 26:38

After everything I've done, just be focused on what you're actually good at, not uh trying to take on other things. Uh you know, example and add the bar. So although it was it could have worked, uh it was just too much. And so know your place and know your role and uh stick with that. It's way easier in life and it'll make you happier.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

Yeah, like you've been successful for 18 years with the gym here. I don't know. Have you considered maybe opening another one?

SPEAKER_00 27:13

Yeah, I wanted to do one, I want to do one south of here in Harrisburg. That may be a difficult task, so it just depends on how difficult it could be and how much effort that you want to put in, you know, or I want to put in. So population's what 3,600 people? Yeah, 3650, I think. So, you know, one percent of that is 36 and a half people. Don't think that's paying my gym membership. No, you would need more like 10% or more, and that's a very difficult thing to do.

SPEAKER_02 27:50

Yeah, I actually heard that a lot, you know, just focus what you're good at.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 27:55

Yeah. So who knows? Maybe you'll I've been told that.

unknown 28:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:02

Well, hey, bro, thank you for for stopping by. And I think um, you know, we should do this again.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

Yeah. Uh awesome, man. All right. Like every so often, we're right across from each other.

SPEAKER_02 28:14

Yeah. Well, that's a wrap for today's episode. Thank you for listening to the Woodburn Podcast. If you enjoyed it, share it with a neighbor and make sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube at Woodburn Podcast. Until next time, stay safe and watch out for those puzzles.