Meet the Electric Flight Crew (EFC). They're an exclusive, invite-only running club of hot, young, LA-based professionals with careers in medicine, law, media and tech, just to name a few.
Every Tuesday night, the members—45 members in West LA and roughly 20 from West Hollywood—meet for custom-designed runs in their respective neighborhoods. After the workout, they enjoy well-deserved, guilt-free libations during a tradition called "No Shower Happy Hour."
The group was co-founded by Jonathan Fitzgerald Patton and Dr. Josh Goldman, whose bromance began at UCLA. Patton sat down to dish on their exclusivity policy and plans for the future.
How did living in Los Angeles factor into the birth of EFC?
Living in LA makes it easy to get outdoors to workout with fun, large groups. Our year-round weather is second to none, and the fitness community is embraced by most Angelenos. We wanted to build a network outside the "typical model" of working out, then going home. So why not build a social fitness crew that get a hard workout in together, followed by drinks.
Talk some more about the exclusiveness? How LA of you.
Haha, so LA! It is invite only... but I'd like to think we're more "inclusively exclusive." The idea behind the exclusiveness is that we want to make sure we're attracting the right type of people who are active, successful in their fields and who want to make a positive impact in our community. One way to do that is to surround yourself with like-minded people. This goes both ways. We also want to make sure we're the right kind of organization for a prospective member.
Where do you find potential members? If you're an Angeleno reading this who thinks they have what it takes, how does one apply?
Since Josh and I founded EFC, most of our recruitment has come from our extensive network and partners, some of which include Orange Theory Fitness, Lululemon [why are we not surprised], Nike and Soul Cycle. We also have fitness studio partnerships that promote us to their clientele. Those interested can apply online through our site.
What makes EFC different than other social fitness groups?
The community we've built is much more active and cohesive than your traditional kickball or dodgeball league. EFC'ers are creating connections that expand beyond the infrastructure we've built. We run, we train and we socialize together via "No Shower Happy Hours." But it's also likely you'll see EFC members hanging out together on trips over the weekend and even creating business opportunities with one another.
What are the plans for the immediate future?
We'd like to grow into additional markets within LA—the South Bay, Hollywood, the Valley and DTLA.