The Good Life – March-April 2024

ON THE COVER | ERIK HOPPERSTAD
DREAMING BIG
IN A SMALL CITY
Fargo Allows PRx Performance
and Other Businesses to Boom
WRITTEN BY: HILLARY W. SORENSON
PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
A 1996 cult classic, two-time Academy Award-winning movie, and now FX
series, “Fargo,” created a less than desirable image of the “North of Normal”
community, Fargo. In 2016, Fargo’s mayor, Tim Mahoney, said that despite the
film's success, it reflected “an unfair stereotype and appearance” of his city.
Fargo, not only took back the woodchipper (if you know, you know) but
embraced its eccentricities with the daring slogan “North of Normal.”
The official trademark slogan leaves some room for interpretation,
however, the statement declares there is far more to the city
than desolate plains, cold winters, and exaggerated accents –
including, but not limited to, booming business potential.
In 2024, Forbes Advisor named North Dakota the best state
to start a business. However, well before the rest of the
world caught on, Erik Hopperstad and Brian Brasch were
already kicking off their business ventures by starting PRx
Performance right here in Fargo.
WHAT IS PRX PERFORMANCE?
Hopperstad and Brasch met through their wives, and on
a summer evening in 2013 surrounding a campfire the
dream of PRx was sparked. The pair, who are both fitness
enthusiasts, had an idea for a barbell collar. “We quickly
realized that it was going to take a lot longer to get to market
than we anticipated, so we had to find other opportunities,”
Hopperstad said. “At that time we had a large competitor that
was preaching to fitness enthusiasts to give up their entire
garages and fill it with weight lifting equipment – which is
awesome, but especially around here, we love our garages, and
we’ve learned that people feel that way all over the country. So,
that’s when we set out to design equipment that people could
get the same experience from, but when they weren’t using it,
it wasn’t taking up any space.”
18 | THE GOOD LIFE