Morning Filters Commitment

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, created an exclusive morning workout group that demonstrates how early morning activities can act as a natural filter for committed participants while combining networking, fitness, and friendship.

• The Program Structure:

  • Meets at 5-6am in New York
  • Different fitness activities each day
  • All expenses covered by Zelnick
  • Invitation-only membership

• Natural Filtering Mechanism:

  • Early timing (6am) acts as a barrier to entry
  • Challenging workouts filter out casual participants
  • Self-selects for highly motivated individuals
  • Creates high-quality network of committed people

• Benefits of the Format:

  • Combines multiple activities efficiently:
    • Fitness
    • Networking
    • Friendship building
  • Creates stronger bonds through shared challenge
  • Attracts motivated, ambitious 20-30 year olds
  • Provides cross-generational perspectives

• Key Success Elements:

  • Treats fitness with same priority as board meetings
  • Makes activities slightly challenging
  • Creates "buy-in" through shared sacrifice
  • Builds exclusive community through natural barriers

• Alternative Perspective:

  • Early morning timing can be problematic for some
  • Creates anxiety about sleep schedule
  • Some prefer midday workouts (3pm) for better energy management
  • Shows importance of finding personal rhythm vs following others' schedules