A friendly wager between friends is usually simple and never takes on a life of its own. In the case of Dave Maloney, a bet evolved into a business.
In the 1990s, Maloney was a former track and field athlete at Auburn University. Despite working on Wall Street post-college, athletics were still on his mind.
“Sports were always a big part of my life,” says Maloney.
Eight years ago, Maloney and 11 friends competed for fun to see who was the most athletic of the bunch. After the competition finished, Maloney decided to take the event to the next level and co-founded the Decathlon. After starting the 10-event competition in New York City, he partnered up with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to help find a cure for pediatric cancer. The move was for a great cause, but it also had deep ties to Maloney’s family. At the time, his mother was in the process of chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer at the MSKCC.
The Decathlon is a unique experience for any outsider. It’s a competition that features participants looking to one-up each other in different fields including pull-ups, the 40-yard dash, and the 800-meter run.
It’s extremely competitive, but there is a sense of camaraderie and teamwork among the various teammates and opponents in the Decathlon.
“It’s not like you can hide among 10,000 people and find your way to the finish line,” the WeWork Commons member says. “You’re putting yourself out there, and you immediately earn the respect of those around you, and it becomes a very supportive environment as much as it is a competitive one.”
In the first year of the Decathlon, there were 19 competitors, and together, they raised $120,000. Each year, the donations have increased. The most recent event in 2015, for example, raised $1.4 million.
The Decathlon has ascended to new heights, but there is much more on the horizon. This year, the event will be held in multiple locations for the first time. And in the near future, the Decathlon will be aired on television and on mobile devices.
While the Decathlon has taken gigantic steps forward, the journey is in the opening kickoff stages of its own Super Bowl.
“We’re not in a place where we’re patting ourselves on our back,” says Maloney. “There’s still a lot of work to be done, and we think we’re just scratching the surface in terms of the Decathlon’s social impact. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, but it’s still the first inning of the Decathlon, to put it in a sports analogy.”
Photos: Dmitry Gudkov