Part III
Victoria Draper, owner of Rowbics Indoor Rowing Inc., had the best problem ever. Her business was doing too well.
After starting a rowing machine-based excursive program at the Long Beach Boathouse, the program’s popularity went through the roof and she was just plain running out of room. Renting 20 ergs a few hours from the Boathouse just wasn’t cutting it anymore.
That’s when the pickle factory came into play.
In March of 2008, Draper and her team came across a warehouse space on Loma St. just off of Anaheim St. After an exhaustive search of the local area, the Rowbics team knew they had found home as soon as they walked through the doors.
Built in 1920, the 5600 sq foot spread was originally a pickle factory. Most recently it served as a welding and construction company, but as Draper says, “So old, but so perfect.” There was room for growth, as well as room for Vespoli boats and JL Clothing, both top end rowing companies, and both who have jumped onto the Rowbics boat, so to speak.
The owner of the building built stairs to an upper loft that Draper, Director of Marketing Todd Mehl, and the rest of the Rowbics team turned into offices. The space efficiently holds more than 30 Concept 2 Ergometer rowing machines, two eight-person boats, and a reception area with a flat screen TV and racks of JL apparel.
The music at Rowbics is up beat, and it bumps all day, setting the atmosphere for what has become one of the most successful startup businesses in Long Beach. Of course, as we have shown in our three part story, Draper is always asking, “what else can I do?”
“Spinning has 16,000 locations in U.S., and we expect to surpass them,” says Draper. “That’s lower body. It’s great, But we can offer everything somebody is looking for. Rowbics is more social. Classes are intense, don’t get me wrong, but we do more things to create community and connection.”
That community and connection will be on display this Saturday where this all started, back in the Long Beach Boathouse at the 23rd Annual Beach Sprints, an indoor-rowing-machine regatta that will be contested by Southern California’s finest rowers. The unique event, part of the Crash-B Indoor Rowing World Championship series, pits rowers versus the Concept 2 Erg in a timed sprint distance of 2 kilometers. This is a brutal, challenging race that has been described as one of the most painful in all of sports.
According to LBRA President Jim Litzinger, “the racers are known to lapse into unconsciousness at the end of the race. Vomiting is as common as are tears of joy and despair… this won’t prevent almost 400 rowers from taking their seat on the erg and giving it their best shot to row as hard as they can.”
Men and women, ages ranging from the low teens to the seventies and eighties, will race on Saturday, with world records at the 2K distance in their sights.
“An event like this is not only memorable to witness,” says Litzinger, “but it can inspire people of all ages and athletic abilities to participate in an active lifestyle.”
CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL BEACH SPRINTS PRESS RELEASE
Draper and the Rowbics team will be there with some of their students, so you’ll just have to stop by on Saturday if you have any more questions about the hottest thing to hit the fitness world.
Be Sure To Come Back…
LBPostSports will be at the Beach Sprints, so make sure you come back to the site for full coverage of the event.
Disclosure: Rowbics is an advertiser on lbpost.com