eComFuel Podcast The Blessing and Curse of a Hero SKU: Lessons from Building Animalhouse Fitness
Nov 21, 2025
Paul Jackson, co-founder of Animal House Fitness and inventor of the viral MonkeyFeet, joins to share insights from his fitness brand journey. He discusses the explosive sales surge following a Joe Rogan mention and the challenges of scaling a one-SKU business. Paul reflects on pricing experiments, navigating Amazon's impact, and combating knockoffs. He also emphasizes the importance of innovation, using custom GPTs for product development, and designing a life focused on wellness and family. A captivating blend of resilience and entrepreneurship!
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Origin Story Of MonkeyFeet
- Paul and his co-founder developed MonkeyFeet nights and weekends after a rehab-inspired idea from a pro boxer.
- Paul left Boosted Boards full-time and launched MonkeyFeet in October 2020 during the home-gym boom.
Viral Boost From Joe Rogan
- Joe Rogan randomly mentioned MonkeyFeet after finding Ben Patrick, massively boosting sales for months.
- The shout-out multiplied sales roughly 3–5x and Paul used the clip publicly with Rogan's permission.
Plan For Windfall Downsides
- Plan for anomaly windfalls and avoid scaling so fast your operations and cash flow break.
- Expect tailwinds to subside and keep conservative inventory and MER targets during spikes.
