Hans Tishmack Interview: The Wednesday Project’s inspirational story
The Wednesday Project FTC is a free fitness organization through Fort Collins that aims to bring many different types of free exercise to whoever is willing to join them. Originally started by Colorado State University student Mikaela Moog two years ago, the project has steadily grown, attracting an array of different people to its inspiring journey. Hans Tishmack, one of the two main organizers of The Wednesday Project, originally started his journey in this free fitness organization with his father in July of 2015 in Vancouver, B.C. when they were on vacation. Queen Elizabeth Park held its very first work out as an official November Project group.
Coming back to Colorado in 2015, he joined Mikaela to begin the Wednesday Project in Fort Collins. Since then, they have dedicated themselves to bringing motivation, inspiration and free fitness into the lives of whoever is willing to join them on every Wednesday at 5:45 a.m. for the last two years. Interested in the atmosphere that this group had to offer, I joined the workout last Wednesday and had a talk with Hans.
This interview has been lightly edited for readability.
Let’s start off by saying that was an amazing and unique workout to say the least. Do you do this every single Wednesday?
Every Wednesday. We call ourselves #weatherproof. So if that means in a downpour rain, if it’s for whatever reason 80 degrees at 5:45 in the morning sticky with humidity, or in the middle of a snowstorm, we use the weather and pivot what we’re doing towards it. If it’s dangerous we try and find a way to get ourselves sheltered from it so it doesn’t create a hazard but it doesn’t scare us.
But it is completely free every time?
First and foremost, we keep it free. We keep it fun. It’s got to be exciting to folks new to working out, or are new to fitness, or are trying to get their asses off the couch and getting them motivated. We just try to keep it fun and exciting and encouraging, above all else.
What got you started in the Wednesday Project specifically?
Mikaela started it. I had heard from mutual friends of ours in Denver at their November Project when I went to workouts with them when I worked in Denver, and I was like oh man we’ve got to make this happen. And to this day, for the last two years we’ve been going at it every single Wednesday. Every week. We’re here whether you’re going to be with us or not so #justshowup and get your ass out of bed. It’s always better when you’re here so just come!
So you said something about the November Project which started in Boston and I noticed you have the same motto #justshowup, so why do you call it The Wednesday Project here?
So, we have to get to a certain level where we are continuing to grow and build the group. We report back to them through social media and email with what I call NP corporate, founded by the two guys Bojan and Brogan, and we let them know sort of how we’re doing along the way. Any time we post of any social media we hashtag it with #NP_pledge so they know that any time they see that through their feed they can see our progress and tell us to keep it up and build the numbers. When they finally reach out to you telling you that you’re an official pledge group they give you a goal to try and reach in 8–10 weeks, whether that be filling a stadium with 100 people or holding 75 people attending the workouts for five weeks. But until we’re an official NP tribe we have to go under our own special moniker.
So until you reach that limit you’re more underground and unofficial?
Yeah we’re still friends with them and we go to all the NP events and they know who we are. We get a lot of support and love from friends that are in official NP groups and they tell us to keep it up. But it’s not about being November Project for us, but it’s more about bringing free fitness to Fort Collins and building a community around it.
Do you think it has been successful so far?
Considering where we are two years in, we started with Mikeala at CSU and me with a couple of her friends at the time. It would sometimes drop to Mikeala and I, just the two of us, working out in a snowstorm, all the way up to 36 in Old Town Square a couple weeks ago.
What exactly is your favorite part about the project?
Seeing people come that have made a positive change. One of our folks showed up while she was pregnant, had her baby and didn’t show up for a couple months on her downtime after the birth,then came back and dropped a ton of weight and she has just been killing it. She still comes out and is exhausted after workouts but she has come such a long way and to still see that and new faces show up all the time is amazing. People think that they start and are slow and drag everyone down but you don’t drag anyone down. You made it out here and that’s the biggest step. To see that and encourage that is definitely my favorite part.
What’s the most important thing that you would want someone to take away from this experience?
What I want people to get from it is the satisfaction that they didn’t want to get up and sleep in, but I don’t want them to use it as an excuse. I want people to know that there is a value to getting up on the first beep of your alarm, and getting out of bed and getting something out of helping people push through and achieve goals. You can go and get the same experience at a gym by yourself but I feel you get more out of coming to this, having a bunch of laughs with some friends, meeting new people and running buddies. You’re stepping in to this crazy-fun new lifestyle that you didn’t know you needed but you’re glad you have it.
