Activate Your Audience!

Coss Marte - Shattering Limits for Transformative Success

• Imperial Branding Agency • Season 1 • Episode 25

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When Coss Marte speaks, you can't help but lean in closer. The founder of ConBody and ConBud has a story that's as uplifting as it is gritty—a tale of transformation, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of freedom.  This year, 2023 was a year where Coss didn't just break barriers; he smashed them, with ConBud, the world's first and only dispensary run and owned by formerly incarcerated professionals and the staple Prison Style Bootcamp, that is ConBody, which hires Formerly Incarcerated Individuals to Teach Fitness Classes. 

Taking his businesses to new heights with tripled revenue, emerging victorious from the grip of legal battles, and laying the groundwork for expansions, Coss promise to revamp the Bronx and New Jersey with the spirit of the ConBud and ConBody's unique philosophy and mission. Through the chaos and the calm, Coss's reflections on freedom invites us to ponder the liberation found in surrendering to the uncontrollable.

The saga of Coss's business growth is not just about numbers—it's about people, passion, and the profound impact of a community-led enterprise. The parallels between business development and the progressive nature of, life, physical fitness, and elevation stand out starkly. Coss and I chart the course of an underground operation transformed into a legitimate powerhouse, emphasizing the emotional equilibrium necessary to ride the rollercoaster of entrepreneurial life. Tune in, and you may just find the inspiration to harness the "six working geniuses" within your team, balance your energy to ward off burnout, and step into 2024 with a rejuvenated sense of purpose and the tools to make it your most fulfilling year yet.

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Luis Felipe:

Today we speak with Coss Marte. He is the founder of ConBody and ConBud, two purpose-driven businesses that have made history in the justice reform space. Coss has raised the TED Talk stage, been featured on Forbes, msnbc, new York Times, the Ellen Show and more. A second time returning guest for this special holiday edition episode. So welcome back Coss to the Activate your Audience podcast.

Coss Marte:

Thank you, Coss, I appreciate you.

Luis Felipe:

Yeah, man. So since it's December it's the end of the year let's highlight the summary that 2023 has been for you, and maybe some of the things that, at a high level, you aim to kind of maintain through 2024, and some of the changes that you want to look forward to in 2024 for you, for the business, for the world, for whatever.

Coss Marte:

Yeah, I mean 2023, it was a hard year in terms of it was a lot of fortunate, a lot of bad things. It was just a roller coaster in terms of like really launching ConBud and ConBody. We hit our revenue, like 3XR revenue, so things better on the gem side. Things are thriving there and we're expanding. We're working on franchising towards the end of the year. That's what we want to do is franchise ConBody and we have a huge entry in people.

Coss Marte:

Yeah, I mean ConBud that was. It was a roller coaster because it was hard to get a license. They first granted me a license in the beginning of the year and then we were stuck in a lawsuit fighting against the unfairness of what the law was being written against veterans, and then the veterans said it was not fair that we as four new cursory people got to go before them, and so it was a battle. But, you know, fortunately enough, we won that battle and we were allowed to move forward and open up in October. So we saw that, not the light at the end of the tunnel, basically the beginning of the tunnel, because we just started.

Coss Marte:

We literally got like 60 days in, you know, open and it feels like a year of being open already, but it's been amazing just to see the staff come together, the community come together and really support and right now we have both of the businesses cohabitating in one building. So it's easier for me to manage, you know, for me just to come to one stop shop. But yeah, I get, I want to expand this. We're opening up the combat Bronx in February and I'm looking to do you know more, more locations across across the city doing that and then on the combat, on a comedy front, we're looking to expand it to Jersey by next year.

Luis Felipe:

Nice man. Yeah, as you mentioned, it felt like a 60 days, you said, felt like years, right, with this back and forth. So even on kind of like that tip, like we think about you know time and space today. You know, as, as folks out here living in the free world, obviously still like any human facing challenges, like any entrepreneur, you know going through the ups and downs. That is the journey.

Luis Felipe:

How do you think about what freedom means to you today? Right, like you have this freedom as an entrepreneur to be your own boss, but we all know a lot of that sometimes is also giving up that freedom to empower people. Right, to help your team to delegate tasks, but also in regulated industries just across the world. Right, like waiting for the red tape to be cut, if you will have certain, you know, progress specifically in this space. How do you think you know, going into 2024 or even in the past years, what does liberty and freedom mean to you and in terms of balancing this sort of the resistance that we face and just the Temptations, the ups and downs, you don't just kind of like the work that it takes to accomplish great things?

Coss Marte:

Yeah, I think for Freedom for me is different. You know, I could be trapped and as an entrepreneur, people think it's it's more freedom, but it's more being trapped in and what you created. But I, I feel like freedom for me is just like, you know, for your mind, from, you know the, the situations that I can't control. You know, don't stress, what I can't control is basically, you know, the serenity prayer. You know, grammy, there were serenity to accept the things I can't change. The courage should change the things I can with them, to know difference and and that wisdom.

Coss Marte:

And I feel like it's that freedom, because a lot of the time is like I could be stressed out when situations are going wrong and I can't control it, I can't change it, but freedom is the, the fact that I I'm relieving myself that you know it's in God's hands and and and and it'll get figured out eventually. You know the problem that I'm facing, that I feel like it's eternity is temporary, but I need to continue, you know, reminding myself that because Sometimes we all get into this hole and we're like, fuck, I can't do this, I can't get out of it, you know, and we feel trapped, we feel incarcerated. That's, that's how I seek freedom.

Luis Felipe:

Yeah, man, it's a practice, it's one of those things that has to be ongoing, no matter what quote-unquote level we're at in life and business, in age, like I especially, you know, thinking about the holidays and you know what is a new start. This framework of like resistance training, as you know, like in the gym space, like anything thing requiring growth, is going to have this sort of pushback right in order to Create attention for a muscle to grow. And one of the things that has been just really anchoring in that sort of, you know, repetition of accepting, letting go and being able to actually Engage in and and create what is within your control and work within what is your control is just remembering that that resistance is there for a reason and whether it's you know, people or situations or just time, we do find ourselves being Sometimes entrapped in these sort of mental frameworks that are often like time-constructive, right, like we either, or is us giving up that sort of Agency to things that we can't control. So, I think, remembering that we do have a World that, as you mentioned, with faith, like we trust that things will work as they need to be well, we also put in that work. But why add the you know the shackles, if you will, of like Worrying or being concerned, or even when we face, like certain Problems, with people not moving fast enough right, or people kind of like, maybe within their own resistance, or say, a Systematic problem that takes time to change.

Luis Felipe:

It can be easy to be frustrated if we forget that sometimes that's part of the game and that thing is doing what it knows how to do that person, that process, not taking it personal, but also it's like this is the whole point of the growth, like when you are 60 and 80. Even now, if you look back at your younger self, like With that person that you are now and that person you're gonna become, become that without having to face that. So I try to frame it as that is almost like this anchoring tool to look at. This resistance is there like a weight, is there to help me. You know build, you know muscle build growth.

Coss Marte:

Yeah, definitely a learning experience, I see it. We got to face this shit every day. Yeah, facts man.

Luis Felipe:

So, in terms of you know, reflecting on the, the state of combat, and come body as you guys expand what it been the most noteworthy wins of the year, yeah, no, in combatty, we've been able to land larger contracts with Correctional facilities to bring our program inside.

Coss Marte:

We train Inside, and so now we, where we expanded from we were operating only a couple months out of the year Riker's Island in 2022, because, coming off the pandemic, it was scarce, and then we got two more facilities the juvenile facilities in New York City To sign on. So that was a that was a huge, huge win for us. You know, moving into a new location Just gave it that fresh, clean and more Visibility. Look, you know, we're wearing a prime corner location where people walking by and taking pictures oh, I, you know whether they saw it in a podcast or heard it in a podcast or saw it on a YouTube video or whatever they're like oh shit, oh, I didn't know this was here. I, you know. Sometimes, you know, I hear it a lot is that you know things need to click at least three times before somebody we, you know uses that product. So it's been, it's been a good, good move, you know. And expanding that sign on our combat a Lot of moving parts.

Coss Marte:

I think the biggest thing is I've been able to hire 33 more people in the team. So nice it's. It's a bigger expansion, more opportunity for people. I mean it's only been in 61, 62 days. You know so very, very early on and yeah. But you know we've been seeing Rolf we go a week five, ten percent. Well, we go week. We were a little bit worried when one thing is, the first day was great and then the second day was like you know minor crickets and we're like where you fuck? You know it's gonna happen and so we continue. You know, seeing a growth, and I think that's the biggest important thing thing to get together.

Luis Felipe:

Yeah, yeah, man, it sounds like these. Whether it's a location or obviously the, the impact of introducing something like com body to you know folks in the juvenile system or just the general public being in a place that can help you leverage Not just the visibility but the impact of it, is something that happens over time. And so, whether it's, you know, the first day or the 60th day or the 60th month, there is this sort of Ideas I've thought about this year, like expanding the time horizon of things, right, and there is a real, you know, monthly overhead that that exists. There is time, you know, to meet certain kind of sales goals. But it's like if we can increase that sort of percentage of, okay, first day to second day, if it was great or not, but if from first day, first year to second year, then it's, you know, same thing, just like the body right, like if you're gonna do one workout versus if you're gonna do 1,000 workouts, like it's in your ton of horizon that you'll be able to really kind of see this difference. And then all the other things that are supposed to glue, like Finding the location, you know, finding the funding, finding the right team, those things are like the slow, just like a body, just like a business. Like over time, that investment will then turn into something Right.

Luis Felipe:

So, thinking about you know that, that sort of horizon and I was looking at the, the delivery service, right, so you guys just offered that Does it trip you up to think, you know, like you before, all of this, right of like, holy shit, like who would have thought that in 2023, this is like the way to go. You know, all on the up and up, like, does that ever just kind of fuck with you? Like here I am running advertising about delivery services on shit that, yeah, it should be like this, but I was punished for back then at a ridiculous level. Shit is surreal, you know so Shit is surreal.

Coss Marte:

You know shit is really surreal because you know running, running a delivery service in the street and now running a delivery service legally, I mean it's. It's different, you know. Obviously it's not the same Structure but it's a lot. You know it's similar. You know meeting a supply and demand in the market. I'm selling a commodity that you know I was running around Everywhere in the streets. You know doing the same thing and now I'm back. You know being able to do it the right way and then leave away. And then also you know knowing that my money and my tax dollars are going back to the community where I grew up and I'm still living in, you know, into the nonprofit organizations that are around the area. It's a whole. It's crazy, it's surreal. You know I walk, I walk to work and I just see the sign and I'm like fuck, this it is. I'm still in the dream. You know, I feel like I still haven't really it hasn't became normal to me yet. You know like I'm still in the days. All right, that's crazy.

Luis Felipe:

Dude. Yeah, that's one of those things that is just so, I think, inspiring. It's like the reverse side, you know, being locked up as a nightmare, you feel, and even sometimes you know, with PTSD you could be like when you were in that state of like I'm gonna wake up because this shit sucks, like this can't be this bad. Or again, kind of referring to PTSD is like when am I gonna wake up? Because it's too good to be true, right, but on the reverse, it's so hopeful to see just again I'm fascinated with the power of the mind and of just the ability to create greatness through this thing between our ears that that same sort of framework that can either make us feel like we're living in a nightmare and wake up can also help us, or, almost like play the same trick on us in the other direction, like I'm dreaming, like this is too good to be true. And what that says to me is everything again is situational and we can create this sort of future. We don't know how long it'll take, we don't know.

Luis Felipe:

You know things, as we were mentioning earlier, beyond control. But that's the truly inspiring, I think, piece of the puzzle of just like when it's as bad as you think it's gonna be like, just write it out, you know, and just trust in yourself, trust in whatever higher power you believe in, and when it's as good, just like, write it out to and enjoy that. Don't don't. Don't get too high, don't get too low, enjoy that. Sometimes these challenges would will inevitably come and in the dream there are these little you know potholes that you will face. So I think just having that as a sobering thought is important to kind of balance. How do you maintain? But also, like, do you maintain any sort of like level within again, not getting too high, not getting too low. How do you approach that?

Coss Marte:

I mean going high, going low, I think that's totally normal.

Coss Marte:

You know I feel like we're all gonna feel all the feelings outside. I can't be on a high exuberant, you know, 24, seven. You know maybe one day I haven't. You know I feel like the human body, no matter what, is going to feel some type of reaction, whether somebody cuts you off on traffic or does something stupid. You want to just rage and get mad. But you know, for the most part, for the most part, I'm happy. You know, and yeah, this hiccups is little issues, but for the most part I'm pushing it.

Coss Marte:

And I had a marketing meeting yesterday and one of the guys they said hey, when I think about you and Bran, they see the word like limitless. You know it's like there's no limit. You know it's basically like you made a dream come true and that inspires people and gives them hope to do whatever they want to do. You know and I'm not saying that anybody could do whatever they can do you know that's not true. You know so some people just don't have what it takes or it's not built that way. You know, but that you do need that line of motivation and that hope inspiration. You know, shit If you put the work in and you go as hard as you can like shit, shit go up, things kind of happen.

Luis Felipe:

Yeah, man, and I think a big part of that is also just, you know the individual. As you said, you embody this sort of limitlessness. This can do this sort of scene beyond what is in front of you, right, this vision and a lot of times that can be inspired. You know the great city of New York that you live in like that's the energy there I feel, like all the time you have somebody like Hove and just folks in the neighborhood at every level in the city that have really painted that you know picture of rags to riches or something out of nothing. But how do you kind of balance both the internal self-motivation and vision? And is there a part that also aligns to other people, right, whether it's family or you know some of these grades or mentors. How important do you think it is to have people who expand your vision, or is it more of an internal thing?

Coss Marte:

for you. Yeah, I mean, I definitely need people to help me expand my vision because, you know, most of the time I'm looking, I'm just putting my head down and working. You know, whatever, whatever I need to do, I'm just gonna do and that's just like, oh, you know, somebody say you're a hustler, but you're not, you're not there where you're not a visionary. Yet you know, because I'm putting my head down but I'm not looking inside the box, and sometimes you need that and the vision that's gonna say like, take a breather, step out, let's talk. This is what I have in mind, let's figure this out. You know, this is how you expand. You know, and there's a lot of people that are already gone through the stuff that I had to go through, you know, and so to listen to them or get feedback from them, I mean, I think it's it's it's crucial, as though it's the way we learn. You know, because I don't have all the answers, but chat GBT might.

Luis Felipe:

Chat GBT. Might, man, I might be the ultimate freaking assistant slash person. Can't wait to let me make that robot. Yeah, man, that's so true, and I think, even with you know, the one of my goals for 2024 is that it's just be more intentional about being around folks you know, like you, that embody this greatness to, at least you know, not just get feedback and also see it, but recognize the possibilities, because we are one human right, as great as that is or as small as that is, I think it's both right. We are grand and we're also small in the grand comparison of things.

Luis Felipe:

But having two minds the whole thing is just. You know, the whole idea of the mastermind you know expands your capability, and so that's been one of the goals of like just being around folks that expand my vision of what's possible, also just mentors and guides and hopes that, and folks that I can also hopefully return that to. But I think about, you know, this idea of like six working geniuses, right, this, this form of life, these six areas that within a business, we ideally want to have all of them, and I feel like you would have this tenacity right. They call it like the genius of, just, like you said the hustler, one shit gets started. You're going to see that through. And then this sort of galvanizing right, even, obviously, since you're a coach right, you started in the fitness space as a coach you can galvanize and inspire and activate people.

Luis Felipe:

And they say we have two geniuses. The other are your enabler, who's kind of like the person that you can give the task to and they'll get it done the, the, the wonderer, which I kind of relate to, the person that just thinks the why, the strategist right. And then the inventor right, the person that comes up with the new ideas, the innovator, the one that's just kind of like the create and thinking about that. Do you think you could benefit from having this sort of structure? Or do you think maybe in hindsight, you've built that sort of structure of, within the bodies of your family, of the businesses, that there are certain kind of roles that you know, begin the task or the project or the business, make it run and then kind of see it through either on a day to day or like on the lifetime of, say, quarter to quarter, year to year.

Coss Marte:

That makes sense. It definitely makes sense and I think I just I just try, I love what I do and I'm like just keep doing it, you know, and sometimes it's it. Sometimes I need somebody to remind me like hey, you need to divide and be that wanderer and think and not just do you know, because I just I react right away when I see something like Get it done. Boom. You know it's like fight or flight. I'm gonna, most of the time I'm gonna fight, you know, and react to the problem and head on.

Luis Felipe:

No, I mean, I think it's a concept where we intuitively I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, but I'm thinking, if we can be more intentional around building that there may be something there, or maybe it's just one of those things that over time it works itself out, because, you know, if we've always seen everything as a as a nail right, like we're always reactive, or if we're always just wondering, all those things serve a purpose and if they worked in the past, I think it's important, as entrepreneurs, especially folks who are leading missions, to just, you know, be as intentional maybe, maybe for certain personalities, maybe in certain situations, about just formulating that sort of structure right, because we all know the days of where, you know, we're wearing a thousand hats and, yeah, we're getting shit done, but at the end of the day, we have 24 hours and we're one human being and there's a whole market out there that we need to serve and we have our families and we have our responsibilities. So, kind of parlaying it into our next and final question, like in thinking about energy, right, energy management Is there a way that you, how would you see in 2024 in an ideal world? Or maybe how have you managed, you know across, like your health, your physical body, your mental cognition, your spiritual sense. You know relation to source or whatever you believe in and within, like your, your intellectual right, like your ability to to just be on. Like back to the muscle training If we overstrain any of those or if we let any of those lag like we can atrophy.

Luis Felipe:

And this idea around energy and full engagement, again that kind of I think parlays into this six working genius model is managing that sort of way that we expand and recover energy. What are some thoughts on? You know 2024 or how you see your energy? You know how do you manage preventing burnout or how do you manage the right rest or the right push through.

Coss Marte:

Yeah, no, I. One thing I do is like I definitely divide time with family and you know it's I'm not, I'm not really on my phone after nine o'clock.

Coss Marte:

I, I, I sleep eight hours a day, you know, whatever. You know, sometimes I wake up with 500 text messages and I'm like, all right, I'll get to it when I get to it. And I try to get to it, you know. But I'm not stressing, like whatever it is, you know, because we only have that 24 hours. So you know, basically I'm going hard for 15, 16 hours and then eight hours I'm taking that break or spending time with my family during that time and just enjoying and taking in that, that energy with, especially with the baby, you know, it's the whole, it's the whole beast.

Coss Marte:

You know, with the, with the baby just growing up and seeing her, you know, mold into the person that you know my wife and I are, you know, because she's learning everything from us, you know. So I don't, yeah, and in 2024, I'd love to do the same thing. I know it's going to be crazy with the like movie coming out, I mean the docu-series coming out and all that stuff, but I'm ready for it and I'm not going to, you know, kill my own personal self, because if I stress and kill myself, then you know nothing to look forward to, you know. So I definitely keep that balance. That's how it, that's how I operate.

Luis Felipe:

That makes sense, man. Yeah, I think it sounds like you do have the structure that is necessary to prioritize right Like the family, the health, the things that you need at a fundamental level. So grateful for you, man, to chat, as always, and where can people learn more about what you got going on? Or is there anything you want to shout out to?

Coss Marte:

to plug in. Yeah, I mean, if you want to get your body right, you know, calm body. If you want to get your mind right, calm butt. So you know the good straight. Look at us, look us up on Instagram c-o-n-b-u-o-d-y and c-o-n-b-u-d, and my personal is called smarta, so that's it.

Luis Felipe:

Sure, and be on the lookout for that. Documentary Sundance Just got announced this week, January, right around the corner. So excited for that, Excited for everything. Man and thanks again and you've been motivation. Continue to be that and your friendship is invaluable. So thanks for jumping on brother Chat soon. Thank you, bro.