In spring 2016, I was brought in for copywriting tasks on a Klitschko campaign. When the project wrapped, the Creative Director, David Schecker, took his well-earned vacation (lucky for him, luckier for me). I was asked to step in. And sometimes timing really is everything.

That’s how I ended up with the job of naming McFit’s new fitness and lifestyle studio chain. The brief: find a name that people could drop into a sentence like, “I’m going to John Reed” instead of the less inspiring “I’m going to the gym.”

The concept behind the studios was just as personal — each location designed to feel like training in someone’s stylish home. Every space unique, every vibe different.

After some serious word wrestling, John Reed was born. The name stuck, the studios opened, and today not only do I work out at John Reed, I also get to enjoy the peculiar satisfaction of sweating inside a brand I named.