Founder's Journal #2
All-Ireland Final Weekend
Last week’s journal got a response I genuinely didn’t expect.
The messages, comments and conversations afterwards made me realise that people don’t just enjoy seeing the finished product. They enjoy seeing everything that goes on behind it.
So I’m going to keep writing these.
I brain dump into my notes every single day. Sometimes it’s about business, sometimes it’s about how I’m feeling, and sometimes it’s just a random thought after an event or a conversation. Most of it never leaves my phone, but I think it’s important that people see more than the polished version of C11 that ends up on Instagram.
These journals are my way of doing that.
One of My Favourite Weekends
Last weekend will probably go down as one of my favourite weekends since starting C11.
Not because of a deal we signed.
Not because of turnover.
Just because of the pure joy it brought me.
If you’ve grown up around GAA, you’ll understand what All-Ireland Final weekend means.
I was lucky enough to play hurling with Kildare and was fortunate enough to play in Christy Ring Finals in Croke Park. Like every young lad involved in Gaelic games, I dreamed of one day walking out in an All-Ireland Final in front of over 80,000 people.
That dream never happened for me as a player.
But through C11, I still get to experience the emotion of those days from a completely different perspective, and I don’t take that for granted for a second.
This year’s final was between Kerry and Mayo.
Kerry have been one of our longest-standing clients, and over the last few years we’ve built an incredible relationship with the players and backroom team.
This season was our first working with Mayo after installing their sauna and cold plunge facility in MacHale Park earlier this year & covering all their away games in this years league & championship.
I actually met Andy Moran and Colm Boyle for the first time back in December.
Did I leave that morning thinking Mayo were going to become All-Ireland champions?
Absolutely not.
If I’d known that, I’d probably be retired by now.
But I do remember ringing my dad on the drive home and saying one thing.
“They’re just good people.”
Andy and Colm were exactly the type of people you enjoy working with. You could see how much they cared about giving the players every possible opportunity to succeed.
I’ve always believed that whether it’s business or sport, when you’ve got leaders who genuinely care about the people around them, everyone benefits.
That stayed with me all year.
Behind the Scenes
What most people didn’t see was that All-Ireland Final weekend actually started for us early Saturday morning.
I’d only landed back from Manchester after Represent 24/7 earlier that morning. We unloaded one van, loaded another and headed straight to Dunboyne Castle where Kerry were staying the night before the final.
We built another recovery space with Normatec boots, massage guns and mobility equipment so the players had everything they needed that evening.
By the time we got home on Saturday night, there wasn’t much time before the alarm went off again.
Sunday started early.
We left HQ at 6:30am and made our way to Croke Park before the madness of All-Ireland Final day really began.
Most people will see the photo we posted of the Sam Maguire sitting in the cold plunge after the game.
What they don’t see is the weeks of preparation beforehand.
Organising staff.
Accreditation.
Parking passes.
Loading vans.
Branding the pools.
Making sure every cable, every hose and every detail was ready long before a player ever walked into the dressing room.
Those are the things nobody notices when they’re done properly.
But they’re the things that matter most for us.
Inside Croke Park
For anyone who doesn’t know, the dressing rooms in Croke Park work alphabetically.
Kerry were in Dressing Room One.
Mayo were in Dressing Room Two.
Tommy, my dad Noel and I looked after Kerry.
Cillian and my little cousin Fionn looked after Mayo.
Every team is different.
Mayo have always preferred two cold plunges and Normatec boots after games.
Kerry favour contrast therapy, using both hot and cold pools.
One thing I’ve learned from working across elite sport is that we’re not there to tell world-class coaches how to recover their athletes.
We’re there to provide exactly what they need, exactly when they need it.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
We’ve always said we want to be the extra one percent.
A fly on the wall.
Provide an exceptional service without ever becoming the story.
Before Throw-In
By around eleven o’clock everything was ready.
One thing I love about working in Croke Park is that we’ve been doing these setups for the last four years.
We know the staff.
We know security.
We know where the power is.
We know where the water is.
Everything runs like clockwork.
After setup, the four of us headed out for a coffee.
Anyone who knows me knows a flat white is almost non-negotiable.
Looking back, that simple coffee is probably one of my favourite memories from the day.
Tommy, Noel and I were all wearing Kerry gear.
Cillian and Fionn were in Mayo gear.
One company.
Supporting both All-Ireland finalists.
Walking back into Croke Park together.
It was one of those moments where I quietly thought…
“This is pretty special.”
The Game
Once the game started, I realised how attached you become to the teams you work with.
People often ask if you stay neutral.
You don’t.
You spend months with these players and backroom teams.
You see the sacrifices.
The early mornings.
The setbacks.
The work that goes into trying to win one championship.
Of course I wanted Kerry to retain Sam Maguire.
But at the same time, I couldn’t help thinking about Andy, Colm and everyone involved with Mayo.
As the game swung in Mayo’s favour, you could actually feel the atmosphere inside Croke Park change.
It was hard not to get caught up in the emotion of it all.
The Moments I’ll Remember
Then came the moment I’ll probably remember more than anything else.
After the final whistle I looked across the pitch and saw Fionn celebrating with the Mayo players.
He’s fifteen years of age.
He’s GAA mad.
Because of C11, he got to spend All-Ireland Final day inside a dressing room before walking out onto the pitch afterwards with the Sam Maguire alongside players he’d looked up to his whole life.
Then I looked over and saw Cillian.
He only joined C11 a few months ago, but he’s exactly the type of person you want around you.
Hard-working.
Dependable.
Always willing to do whatever’s needed.
The event side of this business isn’t glamorous.
It’s early mornings.
Late nights.
Ferry crossings.
Loading vans.
Setting up before everyone arrives.
Packing everything away after everyone else has gone home.
It’s definitely not for everyone.
But seeing Cillian standing there afterwards with a smile from ear to ear, lifting the Sam Maguire with the Mayo lads, I knew that was another memory he’d carry with him for the rest of his life.
Then I looked at my dad.
Working alongside me with Kerry all weekend was Noel.
Anyone who knows C11 knows I’m usually the one people see.
But very little of this business exists without him.
When I came up with this mad idea called C11 four years ago, he never once told me it wouldn’t work.
He just got behind it.
He’s been there through every setback, every risk, every late night and every challenge.
The amount of work he’s put into helping me build this business will never fully be seen by anyone else, but I see it every single day.
Standing beside him in Croke Park on All-Ireland Final day meant more than he’ll probably ever know.
The Bonfire Effect
A couple of weeks ago I read something called The Bonfire Effect.
I’ll be honest, I don’t usually buy into motivational sayings or business quotes.
But this one stuck with me.
Imagine you’re sitting beside a bonfire.
Some people pull up a chair because it’s warm.
They stay for a while, enjoy the conversation and then leave.
Others stay.
They throw another log on the fire when it’s starting to burn out.
They don’t leave when the weather changes.
They don’t leave when it gets cold.
They just stay.
The more I thought about it, the more I realised that’s exactly what building a business feels like.
People will come and go throughout your journey.
But if you’re lucky, you’ll have a handful of people who never leave the fire.
My dad is one of those people.
He’s been standing beside that fire since before C11 even existed.
And I know he’ll still be there long after I’m finished.
Standing in Croke Park with him, Fionn and Cillian on Sunday made me realise something.
When I came up with this mad idea called C11 four years ago, I never imagined it would create moments like this.
Not for me.
For the people around me.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work Ryder Cups, major championships and events all over the world.
But watching Fionn lift the Sam Maguire.
Watching Cillian grinning from ear to ear.
Standing beside my dad on All-Ireland Final day.
That meant more than any of them.
The greatest thing C11 has ever given me isn’t the events we’ve worked.
It isn’t the countries we’ve travelled to.
It isn’t the clients we’ve signed.
It’s the memories it’s created for the people around me.
Honestly…
That’s fucking beautiful.
The Journey Home
Eventually the celebrations came to an end.
The Kerry dressing room was understandably quiet.
The Mayo dressing room was still celebrating.
That’s elite sport.
One team experiences the best day of their lives.
The other experiences one of the toughest.
We thanked the Kerry backroom team for trusting us all season before quietly packing away our equipment.
No fuss.
Just doing our job.
Cillian and Fionn finished packing down in the Mayo dressing room before heading back to Dunboyne Castle to collect the last of the equipment.
It was nearly 11 o’clock that night by the time everyone got back to HQ.
A proper day’s work.
The type of effort that very few people ever see.
Driving home that evening, I kept thinking about how far C11 has come.
A few years ago, I would’ve dreamed of working with one county team.
This year, we were fortunate enough to support both All-Ireland finalists.
That’s something I’ll never take for granted.
Dad
Before I finish this journal, there’s one last thing I want to say.
Dad, thank you.
Thank you for believing in a mad idea four years ago.
Thank you for every early morning, every late night, every mile driven, every lift, every job that nobody ever saw, and every time you stood beside me when things weren’t easy.
People might see me as the face of C11, but they’ll never fully understand how much of this business has been built because you’ve always been there.
You’re the perfect example of The Bonfire Effect.
You’ve never left the fire.
I love you, Dad.
Ryan
C11
C11 Recovery is Ireland’s fastest-growing sports recovery and wellness company, providing athletes, teams and businesses with premium recovery products and services