Check Out Lance Panigutti’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lance Panigutti.

Hi Lance, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My story begins a bit earlier than most race directors. I got my start in triathlon at the very early age of 14 way back in 1996. I feel like most of the race directors you meet are all in their 50s and 60s, with race directing being a second career after the corporate world. The industry at the time had a negative “good ole boys club” mentality but on the flip side a very maverick and wild west culture which I was attracted to. During my college years, I worked as a beach lifeguard and found myself creating lifeguard competitions and unique challenges during our 1hr breaks. The call is ADD or just a desire to create, but I hated the general sitting around and reading magazines during break time. I didn’t think anything of it as I had put my triathlon career in the rearview mirror after my mom’s accident. In 2001 she was training for her own triathlon and was involved in a bike crash that left her paralyzed from the waist down. So between lifeguarding and helping to take her to PT my own personal fire for the sport was extinguished.

It wasn’t until a few years later that I was faced with the inevitable, “what do I do after college” question that the fire would ignite once again. It was my mom talking me into giving my pursuit of a professional triathlon career another go, with a very simple “just give it one year”. One year quickly turned into three, turning professional in 2007, and then the financial crisis of 2007 hit. At the time my brother was working in the mortgage industry, so very quickly he was out of a career and looking for what’s next. So he packed up his 95′ Jetta and drove across the country to live on my floor. Naturally, it’s always best to plan your next life move with a trip to a water park. So on a rainy Wednesday, he went to WaterWorld with our sister and started chatting about all these businesses we could start, one of them being a race. Out of nowhere our soft-spoken sister put her foot down and screamed, “enough already, just pick one idea and actually do it. You have no job, you’re a pro triathlete making no money, just do it, you both have nothing to lose.” That’s truly where it all started, with a paralyzing bike ride, a financial crisis, and one trip to WaterWorld!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Looking back I have to laugh at all the struggles, the curve balls, and the giant “wtf” moments. If someone told us about half of what we would face then we might have thought twice about this path. Let’s start with mother nature.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve faced hurricanes, forest fires, tropical storms, a 100-year flood (Boulder), crazy hail and snow, and a few sub-0-degree days. Throw in a pandemic, starting in a financial crisis, and breaking into a very guarded industry to top it off. There was a famous Dunkin Donuts Commercial in the 1980s where a guy would wake up at 3 am, with the slogan “it’s time to make the donuts.”

That becomes our battle cry for every race with a challenge. My brother would text me at 2 or 3 am “it’s time to make the donuts”, which for us meant we were going to find a way, and we were going to have a great time in the process.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
When we started in 2008 our budget was about $600 from a sponsor to launch the entire company. It gave a whole new meaning to bootstrapping, so many of the skills we had to learn along the way. I knew from day 1 that I wanted our branding and t-shirt designs to be unlike anything the endurance industry had seen before.

So I did what most 25-year old’s in 2008 do, watch YouTube to learn graphic design. Over the years our design work is something I’m most proud of as we did it our way, bucking the traditional model to stand out in the crowd. There are many elements that lead to our success, but that was one of the riskier moves that never felt like a risk.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Make a list of “what do you have to lose.” I’m a student of ancient history so I love the story of Julius Caesar burning his boats when he landed on Britannia. It’s the mindset of always moving forward, facing challenges from a place of “I’m going to figure this out no matter what” that gave us the fortitude to grow. My other advice would be for people to define success for themselves.

Too many times we let society define what progress or happiness looks like. Why? Society can be a shallow materialistic cluster fuck, so why are we letting other people define a standard of success that we need to adhere to?

(Disclaimer, yes I swear a lot while working). We need to first establish our moral code and parameters for success before we start off on any adventure, big or small.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.withoutlimits.co
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/withoutlimitsco
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/withoutlimitsproductions
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/withoutlimitsco 

Image Credits
Ryan Muncy and Kenny Withrow