The "Good Content" Dilemma

“But he/she makes good content!”

Have you heard this one before?  Maybe you’ve even said it.  It’s a sentiment that I’ve encountered plenty of times, and while it usually is said innocently, I think it can also cause harm.

While the word “toxic” is probably overused throughout this industry, the fact remains that we certainly have our share of people whom that word would accurately describe.  Bigots, charlatans, and people who are just plain jerks are far too common in this field, and a frequent excuse that I hear from folks who continue to support them is that these fixtures in the industry “make good content.”  Justifications abound, all in the name of preserving the flow of material that might make some part of our lives marginally more convenient:

Guy just went on a racist rant against someone publicly and has a reputation for shouting obscenities at people who challenge him?  Yeah, but he writes reviews that kind of help me understand stuff. [more on this later]

Lady sells dangerous body image attitudes and relationships to food?  Sure, but she also puts out some good programs and helped get my friend into great shape.

Influencer steals other people’s photos and repackages writing that isn’t theirs so they can fluff their own library?  Okay, but is that person *really* harming anyone?

Barring a longer discussion about whether these examples even constitute good content in the first place (people who know me recognize that I’ve got a laundry list of gripes on that front), we need to have an honest chat with ourselves about what we’re endorsing when we give support to people in this industry.  Whether we’re directly hiring them for services, buying their products, or just following or sharing their material on social media, our actions send a message.

You’ve probably heard of voting with your money – of taking your business elsewhere if you don’t like the practices of a particular company – so why not do the same when it comes to the content that you consume?  Behind every brand is a person (or group of people), and I submit that the content of their character should matter to you at least as much as the content of their book, blog, or program.  We need to ask a little more of ourselves and of our industry.

“But Geoff… what about the really technical stuff?  Some of this goes over my head, so I need someone to break it down for me!”

Well to that I say that first off, nobody has so much of a monopoly on science, training, and nutrition that you should endure abuse to get to their knowledge.  Nobody.  It might take some digging, but sooner or later, you’re almost certain to find someone who shares valuable information on the topic you’re interested in *without* being a huge jackass.  There are enough good people out there that we should be lifting them up instead of giving more of a voice to people who are already too loud.

But let’s say that this subject matter you want isn’t easily accessible.  Maybe there really isn’t anyone creating good content out there on the topic that you’re looking for – at least aside from the people I’m asking you to avoid in this post.  At that point, you have to decide what’s important to you.  Decide whether you’re willing to put in some more work to sidestep the problem.  I’m talking about just learning the nuts and bolts of the subject for yourself.

Steve Jobs said something interesting about dogma when he called it “living with the results of other people’s thinking.”  I think this can apply to the fitness/health fields as well (at least within reason).  While it’s convenient to have someone pre-digest information for you so that it’s easier for you to grasp (and I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t make part of my living by doing this as well), there is a certain satisfaction that comes from learning a thing yourself and *knowing* that it’s true not because some perceived authority figure told you, but because you just paid your dues yourself and learned it well enough that you have a certain ownership of the subject.  If you’ve never tried it… I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.

This also relates to a more involved discussion on the importance of first principles (something that Alex and I both consider essential), and I may write on this soon.  A big goal of ours is to empower people to separate sense from nonsense on their own so that they don’t have to be as reliant on other “thought leaders” in the first place.  More on that to come.

To be clear: this isn’t a call-out post.  I’m not doing this to put any specific person on blast.  I’m just trying to nudge anyone reading this towards thinking carefully about whom they support, because this industry is in a lot of turmoil.  It can use all the help we can give it.

- G

P.S. -- If you enjoyed this topic and want to explore things like it further, be sure to check out our membership options HERE.  We have weekly Q&A roundups, short special topic videos, full-length course lectures, and even a discussion forum where you and other members can talk about this stuff (or toss your questions directly at Alex and me!)