Dana White, King of MMA

things wide open for what he could eventually do under that business name and didn’t
restrict him to any specific business type.
Dana and I went to a Kinko’s in a strip mall and had business cards made up along
with letterhead and envelopes. Just a classic black on white business card and off
white paper and envelops. Dana at the time was living with Annie (his wife) and her
parents, and so his business address was their home address. Dana and I worked
together on a business plan, and Dana decided he would start by offering boxing
aerobics classes at gyms in Las Vegas as he had been doing in Boston. I remember him
saying to me, “What if they don’t like my proposal, and say ‘no thanks, we’re not
interested’?”
I would always ask him, “If they turn you down, will you be any worse off for
having tried? But if they like your proposal and say yes, will you be better off?” I
needed him to see rejection might hurt his ego but nothing else would change. Dana
approached all the gyms, and the Q Sports Club was interested in the idea of
something new and different in an aerobics workout for their members. A couple
other gyms were interested as well.
Dana’s classes became so popular that the gym was often overflowing with people
trying to get into them. An article in the Review Journal dated August 16, 1996
reported, “Dana O’Del, aerobic director for Q The Sports Club, said that when White
came to her over a year ago to begin a serious boxing class at the Q, class attendance
was much smaller. ‘We had 20 to 25 when we started a year ago; we have 70 to 75
now,’ she said. ‘It is the only class that has grown so much.’ Private classes cost
about $40, while five week clinics cost $125.” Dana also set up a jump rope workout
that was convenient for business people who traveled a lot. Dana told the Review
Journal , “You get more benefit than you would from a Stairmaster or a treadmill.
Jumping rope not only provides an intense cardiovascular workout; it actually burns
almost as many calories as running. Over time, it greatly improves your coordination,
and a rope can go anywhere with no hassle” ( Review Journal , January 11, 1997). Many
members of the Q were executives who needed the stress release of working out and
wanted to be in shape to stay on top of their game, and many people in his classes
wanted private lessons with Dana at their homes. Others were asking Dana to set up