Leadership Ruck – Fitness of the Body, Mind, and Soul – Mike “Photon” Bauer

Backblast: February 14th, 2026

AO: The Fortress – Grace Church – Perrysburg, OH

PAX:
Photon – Q
Deliverance
Guardian
Meatloaf
Tarnished

Workout: What Is Love?

FNG’s: N/A

Mission and Principles:
F3: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith
Mission: To plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership.
The core principles of F3 are that it is always:
1. Free of charge
2. Open to all men
3. Held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold
4. Led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary. You versus you. Modify or stop an exercise if you need to. The most important thing is that nobody gets hurt.
5. Ends with a Circle of Trust
Credo: Leave no man behind but leave no man where you find him

Warm-up: N/A

The “Thang”:

Rucked West on 6th street until someone started complaining that we had gone too far before turning around and that the Q wasn’t listening to anything that the other PAX were saying. Didn’t get to all of the conversation topics due to some good discussions going a little long, but did engage on the following:

Question 1 – The Foundation
When you hear the word “love” in the same sentence as “leadership,” what immediately comes to mind—positive or negative? Why?
Question 2 – The Memory
Think of a time a leader showed you genuine care or love—could be tough love, quiet support, fierce advocacy, whatever. What did they actually do, and how did it change how you showed up?
Question 3 – The Tension
What’s the biggest reason leaders don’t lead with love? Is it fear of looking weak, fear of being taken advantage of, something else? Where have you seen that tension play out in your own life or teams?
Ended with:
Count-O-Rama: 5
Name-O-Rama

The Six – Guardian

LDP3

Ball of Man

Spreadsheets from the Gloom: A great reminder of why the Saturday Leadership Rucks are my favorite time(s) in The Swamp. Always an opportunity for great conversations and this day did not disappoint. Unfortunately, Guardian did not learn anything about love as a result. Maybe next time…

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