Thus far, we have provided you with bits and pieces of former Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick’s transformation from SEAL commando in Southeast Asia to being the CEO of multi-million dollar fitness enterprise. A recent feature on Entrepreneur magazine provides us additional bits of trivia that contributed to the success story that is Randy Hetrick, former Navy SEAL, which we would like to share with you.

Through several previous posts, we have shared with you how Hetrick put together a contraption from parachute webbing in order to stay in shape. This eventually evolved into the TRX Suspension Trainer, which found its way into the training routines of such athletic big-wigs as New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.

The skill that enabled Hetrick to develop the TRX suspension trainer – sewing – may appear to a lot of people as a skill that is way too feminine for the buffed-up SEAL image. But au contraire! Stitching, according to Hetrick, is one of the skills that the SEALs learn in order to give them the ability to “modify standard-issue gear for clandestine missions”. This is exactly what he did.

Before TRX became the “portable workout system” that it is today, it was first called “the gizmo” within the SEAL circle. Hetrick recalls how he had asked a Navy rigger to make a better version of his original home-made parachute webbing design. “The gizmo” eventually caught on, and his fellow SEALs started sewing “gizmos” of their own to take with them.

After leaving the Navy, Hetrick headed off to Stanford University in pursuit of an MBA. While working towards his degree, he built a business model. With MBA in hand, and a $50 investment on a sewing machine, Fitness Anywhere was born.

The transformation is now complete – but, like we always say, once a SEAL, always SEAL!