FRANCHISEE INSIGHT: Why I Decided to Own a Playtri Triathlon Store

It all started when…

Thirty-three years ago, as a young Lieutenant in the US Army, stationed in then-West Germany, I did my first triathlon. An older friend got me interested, even though I hadn’t swum competitively, or ridden a bike past the age of 12. A few months after purchasing my first Peugeot road bike, I found myself holding a rope stretched across a small river, waiting for the gun to sound for an upstream open water swim. The instructions were in German and I discovered the hallucinogenic properties of the “bonk”…but somehow I finished and was hooked.

I managed to race sporadically over the next 2 decades, but I always considered myself a triathlete and loved the crazy, multi-tasking nature of having three sports to choose from; for my daily training regiment. Nearly 10 years ago, I rolled the age odometer to 50 and decided to dedicate myself to racing regularly (8-12 races a year) and surprisingly found more success as I got older. This totally new experience of standing on a podium to pick up a 4-inch plastic trophy had a motivational impact – as I was not an athlete of any kind in my school-age years...only the US Army could shape me up. But athletic endeavors now drove me, with Century rides, Rim-to-Rim treks across the Grand Canyon and as many Tri’s as I could squeeze in; I even met my wife on Fitness Singles.Com.

Then, suddenly my Corporate Job came to an abrupt end and I had time on my hands to ponder what was next at age 57. With this extra free time, triathlons were an even more intense focus and when entering a race sponsored by PLAYTRI I saw a column titled “FRANCHISES”. Wow! Triathlon franchises…how was that even a thing? After meeting with Ahmed Zaher and Staci Brode, the Founders of PLAYTRI, we all realized what a great fit this would be. I had extensive corporate experience as a CEO, had owned another type of franchise and loved triathlons…So, I bought a PLAYTRI store in Colleyville Texas and became partners with Ahmed and Staci.

I found such a rewarding feeling by being in the business of my passion - especially using my experience bringing new people into the sport and helping them to accomplish their goals. At my age, I demonstrate the possibilities and try to de-mystify the sport. After following IRONMAN Races and participating in triathlons, it is unbelievable that I am a part of this worldwide phenomenon, with PLAYTRI becoming the Official Triathlon Store of IRONMAN in 2019….what an amazing 33 years it has been!

About Stephan Brown:

CEO of PLAYTRI Franchising is Stephan Brown, an experienced senior executive in the consumer products industry: Humminbird Marine Electronics, the Experimental Aircraft Association and most recently as the 10-year CEO of the Commemorative Air Force, Inc. – the largest flying, vintage-military aircraft organization in the world. Brown has competed as an age group triathlete for 33 years and owns the PLAYTRI Colleyville franchise location.

 Learn more about Playtri Franchising at Playtri.com/ownastore