Rippetoe is a super-smart businessman.
How do I know? I witnessed his rise to glory from 0 to 100.
But what’s more impressive is that he’s maintained his status for years.
I will dissect both his genesis and late game, as it’s honestly as clever as it gets—especially for a man who wasn’t born with a tablet in his mouth yet leverages technology for massive monetary gains.
THE RIPPETOE GENESIS
Rippetoe hit the scene around 2005/07 with a classic chess move…
Here’s an essential question:
How do you get famous when no one knows your name?
Simple. You form a symbiotic connection with those who are already renowned. That’s what Rippetoe did, too.
How? He married CrossFit at its peak. I am talking about the glory days when everyone was doing it (think kipping pull-ups spam). He was going to seminars to teach naive souls how to bench/squat/deadlift.
Once Rippetoe got noticed, he slowly ended his affiliation and even began criticizing the movement.
The reality? He knew the subpar qualities of CF since day 1 but needed the fame catapult. Smart.
Later, he blamed the “kipping pull-up mentality” to cut ties. Ironically, it happened right when the symbiotic relationship was getting to the point of diminishing returns for him, and he’d amassed some serious following.
Appeal To The Noobs
Here’s another golden rule of business:
NOOBs = MONEY
Noobs are not only the largest group, but they are also the hungriest, the most naive and the most eager to burn money. Meanwhile, advanced lifters are a minority and the least likely to pay for a new product.
In other words, more people would type “how to squat” rather than “how to get my squat from 450 to 500”.
Rippetoe knew this very well. So, he wrote a book explaining the basics. But the manual is one part of the bluepring. It’s good, but it’s not enough.
The best product to sell is a cure + a dream.
And that’s what Starting Strength was/is.
The Dream
The dream part came from the promise that you can gain a ton of “useful bodyweight” via barbell lifts and food. (We all know how that worked out.)
The cure?
Well, Starting Strength was also supposed to cure girliness among men. It was meant to make you as tough as nails.
Rippetoe plays the role of the father/big brother you never had in an estrogen-overloaded world.
Man, it worked so well.
Of course, this wasn’t 100% intentional. To a large extent, it happened naturally as the guy has an easy time playing the role of this rough Texas dude who drinks whiskey and slaps people who are confused about their gender.
Excellent Timing
As a wise man said, timing is everything. If Bill Gates was born in 1800, well, he’d be some nerd running a printing press or scheming in a banker’s office. No Windows. No MS. No trillions.
But just like Gates, Rippetoe came at the right time. Why?
- The alternative fitness revolution was just beginning. Before him, most of the knowledge was mainstream (think Men’s Health and homoerotic bodybuilding material)
- The Internet was in its prime – somewhat pristine and ready to grow. There was plenty of market share to gain, and the place was still somewhat sane. Today, it’s all social media and Reddit. Independent sites like mine are dying a slow death. It’s a lot harder to build a popular site (especially in the fitness niche today).
Excellent Promotion
Maybe not many of you remember this, but Rippetoe also wrote for other sites (e.g., T-Nation) even if they didn’t match his narrative. The goal was promotion.
Nowadays, he is doing routine collaborations, dwells on social media, and has his radio.
Hm…the guy pretends he doesn’t like tech and classifies it as a “pussified” means of communication, but uses it wisely to boost his business presence like a 300 IQ entrepreneur.
Never forget that money is money, whether it comes from lobotomized social media users or Harvard-educated barbell worshippers.
Excellent Monetization
Rippetoe has made millions from his books. That’s obvious. SS has been a bestseller for over a decade.
But Rippetoe’s genius didn’t stop there. Hell no.
He is smarter than that.
His other form of monetization is seminars. I don’t know how they go now, but back in the day, they consisted of him (along with men like Jim Wendler) telling the naive souls, somewhat condescendingly, to squat and eat more.
The prices were around USD 900.
But many people were eating it up and gladly paying that much for his presence.
This is a very smart move for 3 reasons:
- More revenue from the same content
- More respect
- More connections
Remember the blogger Victor Pride? He suffered from dramatic loneliness because he was working alone.
A couple of times, he organized a seminar where he essentially bragged about how cool it is to be a blogger. This was a very good move on his part, both financially and socially. But he stopped the practice – a bad decision that hurt his mental health.
Rippetoe is smarter, however. He didn’t quit. He saw the benefit and kept pushing.
Starting Strength Certifications
Another genius way that Rippetoe uses to obtain both marketing and monetary gains is the so-called Starting Strength certification. People are paying a decent change to get a certificate saying that Rippetoe (or one of his associates) has taught them the proper way to drive their hips up.
A genius move by Captain Rippetoe to leverage his brand into another money printer.
Never Talks About Money
The Internet is full of people selling you a blueprint on how to get rich.
It doesn’t take a professor title to comprehend that they are trying to get rich by telling you how to get rich. And that applies to anyone – from the local 17y.o. hustler – to Andrew Tate selling you “hustler university” memberships.
It’s all bullshido without practical advice.
Hence, most pupils who fall for that scheme start selling the same principles. In other words, they join the pyramid one way or another.
The people who have a business that doesn’t generate money by telling you how to make money don’t talk about money.
Rippetое is one of them.
He won’t tell you how to get rich, but he has done it. Succesful guys like him are quiet on that topic, but you can study him.
Keeping Up With New Tech
Rippetoe plays the role of the old guy who hates computers and the Internet. Except he doesn’t – because they make him money.
He is on every platform except maybe TikTok. He has a website, an app, a radio show, a forum – a lot of tech presence for a guy who hates tech.
He needs it because that’s how he reaches more and more people.
In other words, that guy knows what he is doing and leverages the Internet in his favor better than a Gen Z kid would.
The old school vibe is somewhat real, but also a bit of an image that he needs for the kids.
If he really wanted to live in the good old days, he would simply shut down his Internet presence, but he won’t because that’s his business.
The Cult
When I was 21/22, I was part of the Starting Strength cult. Bought the books. Did the routine, posted on the forums (got banned quickly, ofc)…all that.
Guess what? All the people from that era have moved on. All the coaches, all the students…etc.
But Rippetoe is still going?
How?
He is consistent in the formation of his cult. Ever since the beginning, Rippetoe has been recruiting volunteers (usually former pupils) to spread awareness of low bar squats and milk.
The methodology works well as the relationship is symbiotic. Rippetoe gets people to work for him; they get recognition (or lose some of the dust that’s been accumulating on them).
The point is this: Rippetoe is smart and knows that, ultimately, you need a group of people to reach the next level. Many lone wolves (like me) learned that a little too late.
And Yet, I Still Don’t Recommend SS
Starting Strength is an alright routine, but only if you remove the promises of insane muscle gains and strength (lol).
The main issues are:
- Low bar squats are too glute dominant and give you AIDS quads and a bubble but which sucks as a man.
- The volume is low.
- The cheat press that Rippetoe teaches now is ego garbage.
….etc.
It’s all good to learn the lifts, but I would never recommend it for aesthetics in its pure form.
Summary
Rippetoe is a smart business owner who entered the fitness niche at the right time and with the right product to appeal to the noobs.
He deserves respect for staying at the top for so long. Many smaller companies have failed to do so.
His secret?
- He doesn’t change his product as it appeals to the noobs very well.
- He maintains his macho/alpha male image very well.
- He stays on top of tech as much as he can for a man of his generation.
- He is not afraid of collaboration.
Hello Buscador, good article as always, there are many of those “gurus”, but as you say, they deserve respect for the top they reached … deceiving and selling smoke, as the saying goes “it is not the fault of the pig but of the one who feeds it.” The truth is that it is outrageous how these clowns earn so much, selling unreal dreams … You are a great teacher, who teaches with passion, you make some people wake up, which is an increasingly difficult task, people are very sleepy !! It is not easy to make them open their eyes and see reality, they like to live deceived … since I discovered this website it has helped me a lot to continue with my vocation of teaching, I am a Physical Education teacher specialized in bodybuilding …. your books helped me even more … and knowing that we are not alone in this … greetings to you and all the readers ….
Like Truth nails it here, noobs are the best customers ever and there is a neverending supply of them (most of us were one at least at some point of our lives). There will be always someone without morals and driven by shallow greed who won’t hesitate to seize their naivety and rip them off the most they can.
While I’m not into bodybuilding (I didn’t even know who this Rippetoe guy was), I like this kind of case studies that expose how these “gurus” work and how they stay on top despite their lies and manipulations.
Another good article! and F@CK THE SYSTEM !
Starting Strength is for …… Starting Strength from noob to novice/intermidiate and then you get frustrated when you stall and/or get back messed up and quit (in my case). It not ideal for body building and more ideal to Power Lifting and Strongman. The hardest part was admiting to my self its not working for me anymore and not doing something completly different. Right now I do 3×3 and work up to 3×6 later in the month before I increase weight. This is working for me now until I will need to make further changes to to continue. I do strength train and do not bodybuild. I would not recommend Starting Strength to someone interested in bodybuilding.
What is your opinion on rebounders?
I gained a lot of muscle from SS. Complaints are 1) No row focus, which is probably responsible for a labral tear in my right shoulder. 2) Overhead press form in SS is crap and is cheating. 3) Back squat is inferior to zercher/front squat (unless you are competing/football player). Zercher works quads as well, along with one having to work to keep the torso upright (great for posture/spine). Started it at age 38, and would constantly have a fried CNS (I have 5 kids, a wife, and a lot of other responsibilities) and pelvic floor always overworked (contributed to ED).
I’ve moved back to calisthetics/yoga now. I don’t care what Rippletitties or anyone else says about my exercise routine, it works for me. Ignore the haters, do what works.
Hi Bobby,
What a great comment and a real-life superhero story! I love reading about actual people getting things done, and I have huge respect for the fact that you have five children and still manage to exercise. I don’t have that many kids myself, but I still find it really challenging to fit workouts into my schedule at times.
And as you mentioned about routines, the best one is definitely the one that actually gets done. It reminds me of what Bruce Lee said about being like water—absorbing what’s useful and adapting to what works for you.
For me, it’s the same. If all the professors, experts, nutritionists, and coaches out there were to analyze my training routine, they’d probably tell me to change everything. Here are a few things they’d say I’m doing “wrong”:
• I do too few sets.
• I do too many reps per set.
• I include too few exercises.
• I rest too much between exercises.
• I eat too many carbs and not enough protein or fats.
• I do steady-paced cardio with too low intensity.
But here’s the thing: I always get my training done. If I listened to all the experts, I’d probably end up getting very little done at all. So, I just stick to what works for me!
Nice post J Bobby. It’s interesting you mentioned the pelvic floor. I recognized a while ago when I was squatting (in my mid 30s, doing well, pushing it) that I’d get a cramped pelvic floor on the last couple of sets or the last rep of really finishing that heavier rep out. What’s that from? Progressive load and pure fatigue? I never understood it. Now, I don’t bother with much more than max 2 plates for any exercise, and mostly I just do a little above body weight, which is high 1s and low 2s, just because the bang for your buck is low when you’re older. I already am lean and look better cosmetically than 99% of people, so no point in getting injured to prove I can move X weight Y times, lol
My wife and I were wondering why I couldn’t “finish”, in sex, for days after heavy squats. Realized the fatigue of the pelvic floor was the reason. I recommend lifters try out some Yoga/BJJ to bring awareness to their body. It’s like the doll lady says in Nacho Libre “I hear wrestlers make bad lovers, that they save themselves…for the ring”.
Follow the program of who you would like to look like. Want to look/perform like Rippetoe and his buddies? Follow their program. By their fruits (guts) you will know them.
That’s never been an issue for me. Hmm
Once again, a fantastic article by Truth! At first, I thought I wouldn’t be that interested, as I’ve never been particularly drawn to Rippetoe’s work. Most of what I know about him comes from Natty or Not: a focus on the basics, Mark playing humorous roles with his pupils watching in awe, lots of milk drinking, and the infamous T-Rex physique.
But there’s clearly much more to it. I’ve heard plenty of praise for the basics, and it’s truly remarkable that Rippetoe has managed to stay relevant for so long with such a simple approach. In an era where product life cycles are incredibly short, what he’s achieved is nothing short of a miracle.
It’s great to see someone dissect this kind of business model because you can learn so much from it, even if the routine itself isn’t particularly valuable. I used to view every failed routine of mine as a complete flop, but I’ve learned that you should always take something away from those experiences. By looking at the bigger picture, you gain valuable insights. In this case, even if you discard Rippetoe’s routine entirely, you can still learn a ton about running a successful business.
Mark Rippetoe became rich because he provides a simple solution to everyone’s problem.
What does everyone want? Get stronger/big, and eat a ton of food. Of course, people don’t want to get fat but is anyone actually doing anything to not be fat? Hell no! People still want to each pizza and drink beer.
Mark Rippetoe knows this. That’s why he tells people that it’s OK to be fat. People feel like he’s sympathizing with them, so he gets a lot of love. People are tired of others telling them to lose weight because losing weight is impossible unless you can’t afford to buy food.
Instead, Mark Rippetoe proposes a simple plan: train with barbells 3x per week, and eat a ton of food. In the end, you’re still fat but at least you’re not weak as well. If you’re fat and weak at the same time you’re a waste of space. But if you’re strong then you can feel good about yourself.
With this simple formula, Mark Rippetoe gained a ton of followers and made a ton of money in the process. He’s very different from the likes of Andrew Tate who want to sell you formulas that provide zero results. Mark Rippetoe sells strength, and strength is what you get.
Simple formula + desperate audience = $$$.
Nailed it, Muscle Chaser. What are there a lot of? Tons of? Overweight people. What’s more, there are a lot of people in general, and dysgenics with food on every corner will mean you have a ton of people that want to change, but as you said, none will stop eating. So they’ll get stronger until they give up due to less energy and/or relatively lower T over time, at around age 30 or 40, since so many peak then.
The degree to which people chase numbers/reps is stupid. No one is in the gym to put health any higher, really, than cosmetics. They want to eat ribs, fries, drink beers, etc.
Trust me, I should know, as I have the ideal body type – over 6′ and 170-180. What does that do for me, though? Little, as I’d have to go out in custom fit clothes all the time and it still doesn’t matter as the society won’t give me young women because they don’t care about the women or the men. Even if you did find them they won’t give up their 20s when spoiled and on tik tok. And I won’t give them 100s of my thousands a year or a contract to get worse over time while I stay the same or get better.
I should ask Truth Seeker to write a post on what men should do who are in shape and have money after age 40. I think he’s around that age, or even into the mid 40s or 50s. Dudes can still look good and have major ascent. I’ve found the only thing one can even plan on is overseas, and that has tradeoffs. It doesn’t seem that the modern woman is worth pursuing but for short periods of time any longer.
You got it right Big Timer. People want to continue being fat slobs while pretending like high numbers on the bar means they’re “useful human beings”.
Look at the Starting Strength Youtube for example. All of the coaches are either obese or overweight. But they can squat, so it’s fine. Rippetoe himself tends to promote heavy drinking and eating junk food all the time. Nobody cares about being healthy and doing the right thing. That’s why the masses flock to people like him.
Being 40 is tough. The world is becoming lonely for both men and women. You can travel overseas but be prepared to be disappointed because there’s no traditional women to be found anywhere in the age of Tiktok. Even if they exist, they don’t want to settle down with foreigners. This one is a tough nut to crack. Hopefully Truth Seeker has something to say about it.
The first “program” I actually ran was Stronglifts, which is essentially the same thing as Starting Strength with a couple more sets and barbell rows in place of power cleans (which I think is probably a good idea). When I was around 45 years old, I started working out with my teenage son. We’d always spent a great deal of time together, and he’d gotten to the age when he didn’t really “play” any more, so it was something for us to do together and we had a great time. Initially, we just made up our own routines.
Then I searched the internet and found Stronglifts. I’d never really done squats, and according to the Stronglifts site, they were the “king of all exercises”, released growth hormones, and were just the missing key to why I didn’t get huge! For a short time, the gains just kept coming for both me and my son. I had already reached a 200 lbs bench press back in college, and when I reached a 200 lbs bench for 5 sets of 5 reps, I remember actually thinking “How friggin strong am I going to get?”. The answer was 205 lbs for a 5 X 5 lol. I never exceeded that. I think my 1 rep max on bench was 235 and I’m not sure I could do that now at 50. The squat and the deadlift did increase a lot. Of course, I remember when 135 lbs felt heavy for those lifts, as I’d rarely or never done them, so if you double that in a short time, that’s pretty impressive. My son’s lifts increased the most, relative to where he started. I didn’t find Starting Strength until later. Thank goodness I didn’t know about the gallon of milk a day thing, although I doubt I would have tried that. All in all, if I had to go back, I probably still would’ve done Stronglifts or Starting Strength at some point. Just temper your expectations and do something else once you stall.
So, for the short version of my opinion.. Stronglifts and Starting Strength do make some good points and have some decent advice. Keep adding weight to the bar (progressive overload). Get enough protein and eat more (if you’re skinny). And the programs work, especially for someone who’s never lifted. If you put in the work, eat enough, and keep adding weight to the bar, you will get stronger AT THOSE LIFTS. Will you lift massive weight? Not unless you’re a massive dude. Will those programs make you 250 lbs and shredded? No, but nothing will short of chemicals. Right now, I’m kind of just doing my own routines, although I still do those same lifts in some capacity or another, along with some direct arm work and *GASP* some jogging and biking. My son is in college now and still works out some – mainly on *GASP* machines! The best thing about those programs is it introduced me to progressive overload and gave me a structure. Any routine with those two things will work, for a while. Then you’ll stall or regress if you keep pushing. Or, I suppose you could force feed yourself and your lifts might keep going up. I never tried that. I’m not obsessed with abs, but I certainly didn’t start working out to get a bigger gut.
Great article. I always enjoy them.
Starting strenght and 5×5 is what messed up my back with all the squatting, rowing and deadlifting. Even overhead press can aggravate disc issues.
All that in 6 months or less.
Did I get stronger ? Yes?
Did I get jacked? No. Maybe. I couldn’t tell.
People need to make a difference between strength programs and hypertrophy ones.
Oh but “stronger means bigger, bro”. Yes and no.
I just use your ARMS maximization program and it works. It’s what I need. When you get sick of all the arms, you can reballance the workload to shoulders.
It’s what I want anyways. Delts and arms. Legs, back and chest I am ok with.
What about Charles Glass and his special angles with training.
People buy into it .
Yeah, remember Poliquin trying to say mathematical volume x weight loading meant the same as lifting larger loads for fewer reps? LOL, the internet.
5-3-1 worked. That guy put out a .pdf that you could get for free and was honest about life and women at the time, even. Forgot his name. I was a late bloomer but that was year 15 of my workout life, and into my mid 30s. Was lean and ideal body type. The world became roids and cheating, among other things. It’s all gynocentric which actually means closer to gay, if you think about it. Men didn’t have to do jack but work well and be a presence, and women trained to be feminine. You can’t have a population boom with fake money for that to happen, or lose religion.
*Truth, make a blog on what men should even bother doing or planning at age 40-50 with money and fitness. Please and thank you. lol
Great idea for a blog post, Big Timer! As someone over 40, I’ve spent decades focusing on fitness but neglected career and money for too long. A few years back, I woke up and started investing, but starting late means I’d need to make huge sacrifices to catch up—sacrifices I’m not sure I can make. Looking back, I wish I’d balanced fitness with financial planning earlier. My advice to younger guys: start investing early, even if it’s small, and don’t wait for a wake-up call.
I tried pushing my career harder once, but it led to burnout and depression, so I’ve learned to prioritize balance. Fitness is still my outlet—last summer, I ran to an outdoor gym, got a solid pump, swam in a lake, and jogged home. Felt amazing, cost nothing but effort, and reminded me that these moments keep me going at this age. Honestly, at this age, I’ve even started to accept that life’s finite. Not in a dark way, but I’ve tried a lot, and I’m okay focusing on what feels meaningful now: staying fit, living simply, and passing on what I’ve learned to younger guys.
40–50-year-olds should focus on realistic goals: maintain fitness with simple routines, invest wisely without stress, and find joy in small wins. No need for roids or fake promises—just keep showing up for yourself.
Well said SamS. How do you go about figuring out “investing” anyway. I should really get into that because I have zero financial sense and that sh*t will bite me later.
But the investing world is full of fake gurus like Andrew Tate so it’s difficult to know who BSing or not. Is there such a thing as a nattyornot.com for learning the true investing?
There’s a famous book on how to cheat at cards called “The Expert At The Card Table” the introduction says this:
“The vagaries of luck or chance have improved the professional card player with a certain knowledge that his more respected brother of the stock exchange possesses, viz.–manipulation is more profitable than speculation; so to make both ends meet, and incidentally a good living, he also performs his part with the shears when the lambs come to market.”