Dialled-In w/ Nike Strength Founder, Drew Conant

DIALLED-IN

Drew Conant. Original Architect of the Metcon. Founder of Nike Strength. Training Obsessed.

Drew Conant is a name woven into the DNA of modern training. He built the original Nike Metcon from a single idea: put the athlete first. The result was a shoe that rewrote the rules of functional fitness footwear and has stood strong for over a decade. But Drew’s story doesn’t stop there. Training has always been his obsession, and every project he touches is a reflection of that passion. Today he’s the founder of Nike Strength, a bold move to bring innovation, sustainability, and athlete-first design into the world of equipment. Simply put, he’s a bit of a legend of the game and one of the clearest examples of how training changes lives.

Dan caught up with Drew for a long-overdue conversation on training, the genesis of the Metcon, and what’s happening now with Nike Strength. Here’s how it went.

Dan: Drew, how’s it going?
Drew: I’m good, man. I’m just hopping on the bike here, warming up. I’m in Nike Strength headquarters right now.

Dan: Tell me why that gym matters to you.
Drew: For sure. You know, it’s a showroom, but it’s also a place where we work out every day as a team. Every teammate at Nike Strength is really into training.

Dan: Tell me a bit about what your training looks like these days versus what it used to look like.
Drew: For years, I was traditional bodybuilding, and then I got into CrossFit for 14 or 15 years. I’ve since gone back to more of a push, pull, leg split. I still add in Metcons a couple times a week, Olympic lifts a couple times a week, and then add a bunch of Zone 2 stuff. At the end of the day, staying consistent is the most important thing.

Dan: I hope you’re training the Metcon 10 now. Tell me a bit more about your involvement in the Metcon originally and the evolution of the shoe.
Drew: Metcon’s been going for over 10 years now. Back then, a shoe like it didn’t exist. We started where Nike always starts: listening to the voice of the athlete. Hundreds of athletes shared how they trained and what mattered most to them. Out of that came the Metcon 1. Every year since we’ve innovated, improved, and here we are at the Metcon 10.

Dan: So your involvement in the Metcon is in the past now, and Nike Strength is your future. Tell me a little more about Nike Strength.
Drew: Nike’s always trying to serve athletes. If we’re going to serve them and keep them in the Nike ecosystem, let’s create the most amazing fitness equipment product line in the world. So we built a team, leveraged Nike’s engineering, and obsessed over every single product to bring the best equipment to the world through Nike Strength.

Dan: I’ve had some experience with the Grind Plates now, because we’ve been using them in the WIT pop-up, and they’re superb. Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind that.
Drew: Nike Grind has been the most disruptive product we’ve created. You’ve got this amazing sustainability story, beautiful design, and a product that performs. To make it, we collect pre-consumer rubber, grind it up, and turn it into dumbbells, plates, and other equipment through Nike Grind.

Dan: Tell us about the future for Nike Strength. What’s the vision?
Drew: For Nike Strength, the vision is simple: make the world stronger, fitter, and better.

Dan: I love that. It’s such a similar ethos to what we have at WIT with training changing lives. Drew, it’s been great to catch up. Hopefully we’ll speak again soon.
Drew: Thanks for the time, man. It’s been a pleasure knowing you for the past decade plus. You and Sam are doing great things. I look forward to seeing you soon.