heard back from a 2nd possible candidate.
at this point I would be looking at around $4500 for 2 presenters (1/2 day each) total
if I got a 3rd presenter I’d need around 100 people to make it economically decent for you guys.
That shouldn’t be too hard considering one author said he could get quite a few people through his contacts.
i’ll keep updating you guys as I get more info.
What about Cressey and/or Tony Gentilcore. They both live in MA; not terribly far from DC.
just a thought…
this should be interesting for sure! As long as there is a gym nearby so I can train.
[quote]B rocK wrote:
What about Cressey and/or Tony Gentilcore. They both live in MA; not terribly far from DC.
just a thought…
this should be interesting for sure! As long as there is a gym nearby so I can train.[/quote]
True. I will reiterate to JF that if you think we should get Cressey, I know him decently well and can push on him a bit.
Make it happen man. The DC Test Fest was a blast. And so was the Staley Bootcamp in 2005.
I need to catch up on this thread (just heard about it from MsM), but make sure you talk to Phill since he’s done this before.
Not sure what you’ve discussed so far, but it’s best to have it at a hotel and use their conference center. It makes it much easier for people to come together (all stay at the same hotel) and use the facilities rooms for presentations and whatnot.
I’m sure TC, Tim and Shugart would send some stuff for giveaways and you may be able to get Shugart to present and TC to stop by (like he did in DC).
I’d think that you’d be able to get plenty of contributors to present while still making the event affordable and fun for all involved.
I’ll go back and read the previous pages.
You still thinking of doing this in Maryland? Might be better if it’s in a better location (New York, DC, LA, Orlando/Tampa, Atlanta, etc.).
Heres a vote for Chicago or Cincinnati, but i would make a trip to DC, and maybe Orlando/Tampa
Well he’s from MD so I don’t think he’d be setting up a seminar 100s-1000s of miles away from himself. If someone else wants to organize something go for it… I like the location just fine 
No commitment to this yet but if it is reasonably priced I’d be very interested in going in the spring time.
Nate.
Yes, in MD at my gym (at least that’s what I’m thinking right now). It’s only 15 mins East of DC anyways.
Kuz, I’ve contacted Cressey and he’s given me his fees for presenting. Just waiting to hear back from Thibs at this point. I know he’s been on a honeymoon or just got back and probably has a lot of catching up to do, so I’m going to give him a little more time.
Having it at a hotel sounds like a good idea, at least for convenience sake. Don’t hotels usually give a discount for a block or rooms if you host an event there?
EDIT: That’s not to say that having it in a gym is a bad idea. I can think of a lot of great reasons to have it at one. Will the gym be closed while the seminars are going on?
The problem with having it at a hotel is that will cost extra.
I’m hoping the gym will either not charge me or at least have a rather reduced fee.
Only space at the gym would be the basketball court, which is big, but I’d have to get a lot of chairs, lol
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
The problem with having it at a hotel is that will cost extra.
I’m hoping the gym will either not charge me or at least have a rather reduced fee.
Only space at the gym would be the basketball court, which is big, but I’d have to get a lot of chairs, lol[/quote]
If I might make a suggestion, Jehovasfitness…when I was at the Pro-Ams in Cincy a couple of weeks ago, they had their stuff down; let me tell you. The Convention Center they had the meet in was right beside the hotel and there were several restaurants in the vicinity. I thought it was beyond well organized. Everything was so close together that you just had to walk back and forth. After the long plane flight, I was grateful for not having to do a lot of additional driving.
Sounds like things are coming together nicely. You’re taking on a big job and you’re doing great.
I’d be willing to pay a deposit as well. That is only fair.
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
The problem with having it at a hotel is that will cost extra.
I’m hoping the gym will either not charge me or at least have a rather reduced fee.
Only space at the gym would be the basketball court, which is big, but I’d have to get a lot of chairs, lol[/quote]
Make it BYOC - bring your own chair. This post is semi-serious.
[quote]B rocK wrote:
What about Cressey and/or Tony Gentilcore. They both live in MA; not terribly far from DC.
just a thought…
this should be interesting for sure! As long as there is a gym nearby so I can train.[/quote]
dude can we carpool?
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
Make it BYOC - bring your own chair. This post is semi-serious.[/quote]
How do the airlines feel about steel chairs as carry-ons?
The problem with hosting it at a gym is that space is usually an issue. I attended a Renegade Training Seminar that was held at a gym, however, that was a small group of people (20-30 max). If more than 40-50 people attend, I think you may have problems having it at a gym.
You could make it work if the gym is large enough and if it is nearby a large hotel(s) so people can easily walk over or take a taxi to the gym.
Having a centrally located place like a large hotel/conference center just makes things a lot easier for everyone, especially those coming from out of town. Also, the closer you are to an airport, the better.
It sounds like the location won’t be an issue if you have it in Maryland since you are so close to DC. People can easily fly into DC and should be able to take a taxi or other form of transportation to MD.
You may want to contact some of the larger hotels/conference centers and find out what the price would be for you to rent rooms for a seminar. This cost would be factored into the cost to attend the event.
If people are unwilling to spend $150-200 for a 1.5-2 day seminar, then they don’t know what they are missing. Most seminars cost that much or a lot more. I attended the Perform Better Seminar in RI this past May and it was $350. Granted, I thought that was a great price and the event was 2.5 days and had a huge amount of contributors/seminars going on simultaneously along with hundreds of people who showed up for it. So $150-200 should be completely reasonable for a 2-day event (even 1.5 days if you have good presenters/topics).
I believe the DC Test Fest was $150 and that was basically a one-day event. We flew in on Friday afternoon, had time to meet some T-Nation members, hang out, grab a bite to eat, then attend the informal presentation by Dave Tate Friday night and then the seminar ran all day Saturday (8am - 6pm-ish) followed by dinner and then a large get together of people after that.
Good times.
It takes a ton of planning, but you have time to put things together for a spring (April/May) event if you keep working on it now.
[quote]TC wrote:
jehovasfitness wrote:
I’ve PMed TC waiting to hear back. Good ideas Carl
Oh man.
The last time there was an unofficial T-Fest, it led to 3 divorces and way too much drama.
Ain’t no way we can officially sponsor one unless Biotest conducted the whole thing and made everyone take an oath of celibacy.
However, you’re certainly entitled to do one on your own and invite any authors you like.
And we’d certainly send some goodies over.
[/quote]
I only know of one divorce and that would have happened regardless of the T-Fest. No idea what drama you’re talking about, as I don’t recall much.
Biotest should officially sponsor the whole thing. They did one in Orlando in 2000. It was only a one-day seminar as well, and it was worth the $225 or so it cost to attend.
Why hasn’t Biotest considered putting these on a few times each year in different locations? I understand that planning a special event is time-consuming and expensive, but you can easily recoup the costs through attendance fees and sponsorships/donations from equipment manufacturers (since you obviously wouldn’t need supplement sponsors).
I think Biotest should host 2-3 seminars each year in different locations (Southeast, Northeast and Westcoast). They have the people, resources and money to make it happen.
If you need guidance on how to do it, talk to the people at Perform Better. They put on an incredible seminar and really go all out to bring in the best speakers, a good location, plenty of swag (they gave out a really nice backpack to every attendee that also included a hand towel, shaker cup, free book from one of the presenters, t-shirt and other goodies) while making the event enjoyable and a real good learning experience (able to earn CEU’s).
[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
LankyMofo wrote:
BlueJ wrote:
Are we all going to wear name tags with our T-Nation names on them to allow for proper identification?
I think the consensus was we all have to get tshirts printed with our avatar on it.
Good luck getting the moving avatar shirt printed that no one will recognize due to your ultra low post count. I’m sure you’ll make plenty of friends.
I think you’ll figure out who I am without me wearing my avatar on my chest
[/quote]
Yeah maybe for a few weeks before the event everyone should just use actual pics of themselves for their avatars. Novel idea eh?
[quote]theAnj wrote:
OctoberGirl wrote:
LankyMofo wrote:
BlueJ wrote:
Are we all going to wear name tags with our T-Nation names on them to allow for proper identification?
I think the consensus was we all have to get tshirts printed with our avatar on it.
Good luck getting the moving avatar shirt printed that no one will recognize due to your ultra low post count. I’m sure you’ll make plenty of friends.
I think you’ll figure out who I am without me wearing my avatar on my chest
Yeah maybe for a few weeks before the event everyone should just use actual pics of themselves for their avatars. Novel idea eh? [/quote]
Or at least put a few ‘real’ pictures on their profiles, if they don’t have them already.
[quote]analog_kid wrote:
LankyMofo wrote:
Make it BYOC - bring your own chair. This post is semi-serious.
How do the airlines feel about steel chairs as carry-ons?
[/quote]
It’s okay as long as you don’t sneak up from behind and smack them the forehead with it just as they turn around.
[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
Biotest should officially sponsor the whole thing. They did one in Orlando in 2000. It was only a one-day seminar as well, and it was worth the $225 or so it cost to attend.
Why hasn’t Biotest considered putting these on a few times each year in different locations? I understand that planning a special event is time-consuming and expensive, but you can easily recoup the costs through attendance fees and sponsorships/donations from equipment manufacturers (since you obviously wouldn’t need supplement sponsors).
I think Biotest should host 2-3 seminars each year in different locations (Southeast, Northeast and Westcoast). They have the people, resources and money to make it happen.
[/quote]
Or at least one big one a year that’s centrally located or held at Biotest Heaquarters. Regional ones make sense, but then attendance would likely be lower at each event. I’d like the opportunity to meet more people from all over.
I vote for a Friday evening meet and greet that starts late in a hotel bar and we can go from there.
Saturday, two to four presenters, another booze and schmooze in the evening
Sunday, some sort of something like a brunch get together as the airline reservations get close, we just leave from there.
Presenters?
There are so many I would want to hear. AC, Mike Boyle, Stuart McGill, CT, CW, TC, Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, Jarred from Subway…well, maybe not him.
ProfX debating rainjack
Lixy just yammering anti Bush stuff
We could do shots every time splits vs TBT comes up.