2020 Vision
An Anvil Opinion Article by Daniel Hunt
The Anvil team is back from visiting their families and ready for a fresh year - feeling better rested, slightly more tanned, and sick of our parents asking us if what we’re doing is financially viable. Christmas is always a good chance to get away from the everyday scenery, step back and appreciate the year you’ve had, and enjoy the holiday with people you care about - whether that’s family, friends or even pets. As the team sits down again, we’re looking toward the year ahead and the plans for which we set the groundwork during the end of 2019. Falling under the banners of business, education and training - the three facets that make up Anvil Training and Development - we’ve discussed, confirmed and implemented steps in order to achieve the goals we’ve set ourselves this year. This article aims to be an insight for any reader into the doors that will be opened and explored by the team over the next twelve months. Ranging from offering physical training, new mental health initiatives and 100km walks - it’s already shaping up to be a year that’s getting us excited to sink our teeth into. It won’t just be the Anvil team either, we’ll be working with other individuals and organisations to improve and expand our reach across multiple demographics.
Business
As far as what Anvil T&D is selling - 2020 is looking to offer a solid mix of improvements, new apparel to customise, and limited-time products to keep things new, while also maintaining the best of the old. The Anvil merchandise has had a great response, and we’re stoked about it because the designs on our shirts are a result of the team sitting at our computers and dusting off the cobwebs from the creative part of our brains. We design and sell products that we not only like, but would happily wear. That includes, but isn’t limited to - a fat cat (drawn by myself on my computer, to the best of my Microsoft Paint ability) in gym gear with the words “Shredding is for Cheese” underneath it. Like cheese, shirt designs are best when they’re fresh - so, we’ll be releasing new shirt designs periodically throughout the year, with a custom shirt designer tool in the works for our website. Also, in the apparel space this year is the addition of a couple of other really exciting (currently hush-hush!) fully customisable products which you’ll be able to put your own patterns or images on - increasing the amount of customisation we can offer to individuals who like having their own unique style. Stay tuned on our social media for any updates on the new custom products we hope to have available for you over the next twelve months.
Our best and biggest seller is our custom weight training belts, all of which are unique to the buyer - whether it’s style, text or colour. Our online belt builder has served us well since its release and will continue to do so for the immediate future. However, Anvil T&D Co-Founder and business/technology head, Nathan Barnes, has his sights on a new and improved version, to not only make the process simpler - but also more capable of catering to the unique demands about which people keep asking. Our training gear is being expanded on as well, with the Anvil team currently trialling a whole range of stock powerlifting and training accessories. Like everything else we sell, we want to be able to confidently vouch for the product we’re marketing - so we’ll continue to test and improve until we’re 100% happy, so we know the products we offer you guys will make you 100% happy, too.
Training
A large part of the Anvil team’s last few months have been based around building the foundation of what we want to achieve and offer in regards to training for 2020. Early this year, we’ll begin offering the opportunity for people to receive personal and group training - in person or online, in a range of different disciplines. Spear-headed by our in house training guru, Marshall Officer - anyone keen to get the support, insight and direction in their gym life needs can access it through direct communication with a trainer, or through the convenience of their phone via an app. As part of our dedication to supporting veterans and emergency service workers, we’ll also be running group sessions targeted at those demographics - by doing so, we hope to create an environment in which they can feel comfortable, help them develop a support network from a community of similar interests and people, whilst also helping them achieve a healthier lifestyle through improving their physical fitness.
The disciplines that will be on offer as the year progresses aren’t just basic health and fitness, either. The team is already lined up to specialise in a range of training types. These include, but are certainly not limited to: Strength and Conditioning, Powerlifting, Olympic Weightlifting, and Mobility certifications. Marshall has even lined up a Yoga Instructor certification course in late February. This course is being offered by two other Australian Veteran organisations - one of the many opportunities Anvil will be taking to work closely with other Veteran owned and operated businesses. Marshall will be doing the course with the Swiss8 team, in order to expand our abilities to bring the best possible services to the Veteran and Emergency Services communities of which we are a part. If you’re interested in checking out what the veteran yoga space is all about - look up Blind Tiger Yoga (https://blindtigeryoga.com/) and Frontline Yoga (https://frontlineyoga.com.au/). They have dedicated their lives to helping other veterans achieve a more focussed and positive mindset, increase their overall activity levels regardless of injury, sneak in a bit of focussed meditation, and include younger veterans in an activity that directly correlates with mental and physical rehabilitation. The Anvil team are honoured to be given the opportunity to learn from the best and bring these disciplines to our little part of the training community.
The Anvil T&D team is big on training - it’s literally in our business name - so, we’re excited to promote and offer access to people seeking a healthier lifestyle. There will be more to come as the holidays wrap up!
Education
The third pillar in the foundations that make up Anvil T&D, education, has so far covered the articles we write and post, the content we share on our social media and website, and the driving force for us to supply people with clear, evidence-based content. Our goal in 2019 was to post one article per week, and we achieved that - so in the new year, we’ll be looking to expand our articles by posting content written by external sources. This means instead of hearing from the same two guys in every article, there will be various experts of holistic health-based subjects providing information for readers to consume. It’s all apart of our effort to give clear, accurate information on various topics which can be applied to everyday living for those who need or want it. We’ve posted articles written by Dr. Kevin Kraushaar (https://twitter.com/drkevinoz?lang=en) before, and as time goes on we’ll be increasingly involved towards efforts surrounding mental health.
While it’s no secret that we have a high focus on veterans and their wellbeing, we always aim to make anything we do scalable to everyone. So, whilst we might provide strategies for a struggling veteran to utilise when in a low point - these methods can be applicable to anyone going through a low point. Mental health is big for us - as is its link to physical health - and this year, we’ve got several big things planned to raise awareness about the mental struggles that are affecting people every day. As such, we are eternally grateful to the current community of veterans, emergency services, and civilians who are becoming more and more supportive of the free educational content we provide. Every like, share, and comment on our posts or for our articles allows us to reach even more people, and hopefully widen our net to bring high-quality information to as many people who could possibly want or need it. As we have said many times in 2019, feel free to share what we write, and feel free to comment or message us about future content you want to see. We love what we do, and we want to give you guys the things you want to know - so never be shy about sending us an email through the website, telling us your opinion in a comment on Facebook or Instagram, or even sending us a direct message (or Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok, because we put our content on every social media we can). We appreciate your feedback!
No one in the Anvil team has 2020 vision
We’re excited about the year ahead, and we hope that anyone reading this is as well. We’ll be collaborating with academics such as the aforementioned Dr. Kraushaar, our brutal but fair editor Charlotte Officer, and anyone else who is passionate about the same things we are and willing to put pen to paper for us. With their help, we hope to produce a powerful mental health assessment tool that can help those in need - with the hope of making a dent in current suicide statistics (especially in the high risk demographic of Australian Combat Veterans, soldiers, and young men). We’ll also be working with Swiss8 on some exciting stuff, and joining them on ANZAC day, followed by some of our team jumping in for a segment of their Stomp around Australia event to raise awareness for veteran mental health. We’ll be aiming to make an appearance at some fitness events as well, with the Anvil team hoping to make a show of force at a Powerlifting event this year.
Just as exciting as the stuff we’ve got planned is the stuff that will inevitably present itself as the year progresses. A lot of the good from 2019 wasn’t planned, but we rolled with it and made the best of everything that came up - and we’re keen to see what gets thrown at us in the upcoming new year!
As they say, plans never survive first contact. It’s the start of a new year, but our motto remains the same. Train Smart. Train Hard.
Find out more about the Anvil T&D team here: https://anviltd.com/pages/who-are-we
Find out more about Swiss8 here: https://swiss8.org/
About Us
Anvil Training and Development is a group of Australian veterans who care about the physical and mental health of veterans and emergency service workers. We’re passionate about ongoing education and working with others to implement positive change.
Instagram: Anvil Training & Development - @anvil.td
Facebook: Anvil Training & Development - @anvil.td
www.anviltd.com
(Article Edited, Proof Read, and Fact-Checked by Charlotte Officer)
VES Mental Health Resources: https://anviltd.com/pages/ves-australian-mental-health-resources
Daniel, Courtney and Nathan,
Inspiring and compelling vision for 2020 guys! You are doing a fantastic job. You do your community proud. Geoff
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