by Mitch Hauschildt, MA, ATC, CSCS
Recently I attended Rockstock, Rocktape’s annual movement summit in Miami Beach, Florida and I want to use this week’s blog post to share my thoughts and experiences at the event.
As many of you know, I’m a huge fan of Rocktape and an instructor for them, so I’m sure you aren’t surprised that I attended their annual event. I have attended their movement summit in previous years, but I haven’t made it the last 2 years and certainly haven’t been a part of the event since they rebranded it as “Rockstock” and elevated the status, size and scope of the event. The last time I attended a Rocktape movement summit, it was called just that…The Rocktape Movement Summit and it was held in Denver and ProjectMOVE. I enjoyed my time at that event, but Rockstock is now a different event all together. So, I was eagerly anticipating this year’s event to see what fun things had been added and how the event was going to be run. Rocktape doesn’t do anything halfway, so I had a good feeling about it going in.
Overall, the weekend was great. It really is a different kind of continuing education course. Over the years I have attended a number of conferences and seminars and it is interesting how they all have a different feel. Most larger scale conferences that cater to clinicians tend to be quiet, reserved and honestly rather boring. They tend to have a lot of speakers who aren’t used to speaking a lot and, while they usually provide good content, they oftentimes struggle to deliver it a fun and energetic manner.
Conversely, the fitness conferences that I have attended tend to be full of energy, fun and excitement. While I love the energy, my experience at a lot of those events has shown a lack of really good, high quality education. The great thing about Rockstock is that it combined the best of both worlds.
The speakers were high energy, very skilled, and presented high level, rock solid content. The morning sessions were set up in a lecture style hall with screens and slides followed by afternoon sessions that were active and fun and got people moving (one got people moving a bit more than they expected, but was still well received overall).
The location of the event (Miami Beach), was also attractive to most people in attendance. It was held at a beautiful hotel right on the beach, which offered a great backdrop for the event and a fun opportunity to enjoy a wonderful city. It was my first time in Miami, so I enjoyed taking in the sights. With that being said, I can also see that the location was not attractive to everyone. If you live on the west coast or midwest, I can see where Miami can be difficult to get go and not the cheapest city to get to or stay in.
The cost of the event was $550 per person with a $100 off if you registered early. On the surface, $550 doesn’t seem like a steal for 12 hours of education, but it also isn’t overpriced in my mind. But, just like the education wasn’t a standard conference, neither was the pricing structure. Rockstock included 7:00 am workouts on the beach, breakfast and lunch buffets both days and a party Saturday night that included food, music and all of the alcohol that a person cared to drink. The meals were outstanding with a number of food options for all tastes and all of them were very high quality. So, when you build in food, workouts and the party with the education, $550 (or $450 if you planned ahead) is a great price. My only criticism of the food was a lack of coke for me to drink throughout the day (those of you who know me understand my love for Coca Cola).
The best part of the weekend for me was the people. The Rocktape family is simply awesome. When I say family, I am referring to Rocktape staff and instructors, but I’m also including the conference attendees. I was able to connect with old and new friends alike during the weekend who all have one thing in common…a desire to see people move well and be better at their craft. This unified passion was present in everyone who attended and it created a real bond for all of us. The love and excitement is shared by everyone was palpable.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed my first Rockstock experience and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fun and engaging education experience. Rocktape has done a great job of upgrading this event in recent years and I plan on attending every year going forward, even if I’m not asked to speak. Look for information coming out on next year’s Rockstock and get yourself signed up!
Krysia Witkowski says
The food was AMAZING!!! But ….it was my first Rockstock and I loved it. I am used to more content oriented courses but the people, the connections and the inspiring topic were wonderful!! Looking forward to next year!
Krysia