In 2024, Rebel Strength and Rowing made Entrepreneur magazine’s list of the top 150 independently owned and operated small businesses in the United States. In late September, it was inundated by the flood waters of Hurricane Helene. We talk with owner Adam Smith, and member Jason Mogen, about founding a small business, growing meaningful community, and sustaining it all through incredibly challenging times.

Concept2’s Dick Dreissigacker and Craftsbury’s Will Ruth help us consider heel height, seat pads, horizontal drive, and finding comfort on the erg.

When Stephen Pryor and Justin Knust met as teenage athletes in Florida, they couldn’t have know that 20 years later they’d be coaching people in studio, online, and on the water, as the data-driven founders of Live2Row Studios.

In just two years, Elizabeth Gilmore has had in insanely meteoric trajectory from indoor rowing newbie to indoor rowing champion and world record holder, to Head of the Charles course record breaker. And it all started with getting on the erg to rehab a running injury.

Indoor rowing popularity has exploded since early days of the COVID pandemic in 2020, with a whole new rowing community coming together around the erg, buoyed in large part by people who have never touched an oar. John Steventon – a gold medal and world record holding indoor rower – started to make rowing workout videos during lockdown, and his RowAlong YouTube channel soared to popularity. Today it boasts hundreds of fun, imaginative rowing workouts.

Concept2 oars and indoor rowing machines are nearly synonymous with rowing today. But it all started in the early 1970s with brothers Dick and Pete Dreissigacker messing around with carbon fiber and fiberglass in a kitchen hoping to develop a better oar - their “secret weapon” for finding more speed on the water.

Isaac Kenyon just set his third ultra-distance world record on the Concept2 indoor rower. This follows on the heels of other huge achievements, like rowing the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, and swimming the English Channel. We dive into the philosophy and motivation that helped him break free of the lure of screen time, and the coping mechanisms necessary to take on audacious challenges. Through it all, Isaac's advocated for the environment and Autism awareness.

In 2016, Steven Dowd suffered a devastating spinal cord injury. With an exceptional personal will and the support of family and friends, Steven today is not only walking, but rowing. We sat down to talk about his journey and motivation, and the EnduRow Challenge, a charity event he launched in 2021.

Sarah Fuhrmann, CEO of UCanRow2 wants to flip the script and reshape the way people think about indoor rowing. She is passionate about sharing the sport with people who can benefit from its total body workout no matter their fitness or competitive athletic goals at any age.