Írta: Radnai Tamás
2025. március 13. 

Chris Cooper, aki régóta független üzleti tanácsadó a CrossFit szegmensben, egy nagy írással kommentált a bejelentés alatt, hogy a CrossFit cég tulajdonosa megint árulja a bizonyos aspektusokban igen ramaty bőrben lévő céget. 

Úgy gondoltam archiválom ezt egy cikkben. Az írást nem fordítom le teljesen, de álljon itt néhány kulcs gondolat magyarul is: 

"A CrossFit vezetése évekig úgy gondolta, hogy nagyszerű edzői munka sikeressé tehet egy affiliate termet. De az igazság az, hogy az edző nem elég, egy terem tulajdonosnak nagyszerű üzletembernek is kell lennie. A probléma az, hogy a CrossFit HQ soha sem tanította meg a partnereit, hogy miként legyenek sikeresek üzletileg. 

Ezáltal egy fenntarthatatlan üzleti modell jött létre. A korai üzenet az volt a termeseknek, hogy “Pakold tele az óráidat emberekkel, tartsd alacsonyan az áraidat és csak próbáld valahogy megoldani a dolgokat.” 

Az eredmény? A legtöbb CrossFit terem pusztán behozta a költségeit (vagy még annyit sem). És most, hogy a konkurencia és az ingatlan bérleti árak nőnek, sokan bebuktak. 

Itt az igazság: a CrossFit márka az affiliate termekből épült fel és nem fordítva. Sokan azt hiszik, hogy a CrossFit Games volt a növekedés fő oka. Ez fals. Az igazi marketing motor mindig is maguk az affiliate termek voltak. Mindegyik egy önfinanszírozó marketing gépezet, amelyik behoz klienseket, terjeszti a márka hírét és terebélyesíti a mozgalmat. 

Amikor egy affiliate bezár, akkor a CrossFit elveszíti az egyik marketing fegyverét.

Greg Glassman egy szintig megértette ezt, de a libertariánus filozófiája egyszerűen az volt, hogy a legjobb termek túlélnek, a gyengék pedig eltűnnek. Abban a hitben volt, hogy a cégének nem az a feladata, hogy a partner termeit segítse, hanem hogy jó edzőket képezzen és hagyja, hogy a piac eldöntse, hogy melyik terem a jó."

How to Save CrossFit: The Path Forward for Affiliates and HQ

Source: Chris Cooper's comment

The Problem: CrossFit Is Shrinking

In 2020, Berkshire Partners bought CrossFit, Inc. from Greg Glassman. The brand was on a slight decline from its peak, when it had over 15,000 affiliates worldwide and was certifying nearly 50,000 coaches per year.

Greg got paid a reported $200M on the sale, which he well deserved. But there are still thousands of people – Affiliates, coaches and athletes – who depend on the brand for their living. Many have set aside careers, taken enormous debt or worked for over a decade to bring the CrossFit method to their community. And now the brand is shrinking, and Berkshire Partners wants out.

I was an affiliate owner for 14 years; worked for CrossFit HQ for six; and now mentor more CrossFit affiliate owners than anyone else in the world through Two-Brain Business. I’ve written books about CrossFit and business, and we have the largest data set for gyms in the world. For the last 10 years, I’ve tried to do for CrossFit affiliates what CrossFit HQ should have been doing all along. This is my opinion on how a new buyer can turn the ship around.

Let’s start with the question: What does CrossFit sell?

CrossFit, Inc. has four products:

1. The CrossFit methodology (free since the beginning, with daily workouts and articles on CrossFit.com)

2. The CrossFit coach certifications (arguably, still the best in the world for producing hands-on coaching knowledge)

3. CrossFit affiliation (a license to use the CrossFit mark in your gym’s name and marketing)

4. CrossFit sponsorship (access to the huge audience of CrossFit affiliate owners, coaches, and fans for a fee – mostly done through the Games, but also the Affiliate Partner Network.)

In the early days, the CrossFit revenue model followed a predictable trajectory from #1 to #4: someone found the workouts online. They tried them. They loved it. They wanted to become a coach. They attended a seminar and feel deeper in love. They wanted to help more people and make a living coaching CrossFit. They opened an affiliate. A few saw opportunities to sell a product back to the affiliates or CrossFit community (programming, tshirts, supplements) and did so.

And now, each of these is shrinking. The company is likely worth less than it was when purchased from Greg Glassman. But the method still works. It’s fun and effective. Why don’t we have 30,000 affiliates worldwide?

I’ll start with my area of expertise, and the first step in a turnaround: fixing the affiliate model.

CrossFit affiliates are closing at an alarming rate. The public story is that the brand is thriving, but behind the scenes, thousands of gym owners are struggling to stay open—not because they’re bad coaches, but because they don’t know how to run a business.

For years, CrossFit HQ has believed that great coaching alone would make affiliates successful. But the truth is, great coaching isn’t enough—a gym owner must be great at business, too.

The problem is, CrossFit HQ never taught gym owners how to run a business. Worse, the information they did provide was often misleading or harmful.

The Timeline: How We Got Here
To understand why CrossFit affiliates are struggling, we need to look at how business education was introduced—and rejected—over the years:

• 2004: The first CrossFit affiliate (CrossFit North) opens. No business systems are provided. Founder Greg Glassman is surprised by the desire to use the CrossFit brand and tells his wife, Lauren, “Maybe we’ll have five of these someday!”

• 2006: John Burch, a former martial arts business consultant, launches "The Biz," which promotes the big-group model—packing classes, keeping prices low, and avoiding business fundamentals. His approach led to short-term revenue spikes but long-term instability. In 2024, he was arrested and charged with child exploitation (FBI source).

• 2009: Nicki Violetti publishes "The On-Ramp Program," advocating for structured client onboarding and better business practices.

• 2012: The Affiliate Blog (A-blog) promotes some business discussions, but most advice is unstructured and anecdotal.

• 2013: CrossFit launches the "Community Page," which I was made head writer of, but it lasted only a few months.

• 2017 (October 17): I traveled to Portland to meet Greg Glassman at his home. We recorded a deep-dive interview about CrossFit's business model and future (read the full transcript here). Greg confirmed that he did small-group personal training at his gym, not the big-group model promoted by CrossFit ‘business experts’.

• 2018: CrossFit fires most of its media team and focuses purely on Games coverage, ignoring affiliate needs.

• 2018 (December 11): I run a free business seminar at CrossFit HQ for their team and local affiliates.

• 2020 (June): Greg Glassman sells CrossFit to Berkshire Partners. Initially, the public was told that Eric Roza was the purchaser, but he was representing the private equity firm that’s now looking to sell.

• 2022 (Feb 28): I’m invited to a call with Gary Gaines, Austin Malleolo, Mike Marrone, and Braxton Decamp about the Affiliate Partner Network. HQ tells me Two-Brain is their "only" choice, but they ultimately choose someone who will pay them for referrals instead.

• 2023: HQ attempts to launch a business mentorship program. It fails due to lack of structure, tracking, and real mentorship.

• 2024: CrossFit pivots to roundtable discussions — where struggling gym owners share opinions but receive no actionable guidance.

• 2025: CrossFit announces it’s looking to sell.

That model—introduced in 2006 by John Burch, promoted by various CrossFit “experts” (most of whom have now disappeared)—helped drive early growth but created unsustainable businesses. The early message to affiliates was, “Pack your classes, keep prices low, and just make it work.” The result?

Most CrossFit gyms have operated at breakeven (or worse) for years. And now, as competition grows and rent increases, many are going under. 

Here’s the truth:

The CrossFit Brand Is Built on Affiliates, Not The Other Way Around

Many people believe the CrossFit Games were the primary driver of CrossFit’s growth. That’s false. The real marketing engine has always been affiliates themselves. Each affiliate is a self-funded marketing machine—bringing in members, spreading the brand, and growing the movement.

When an affiliate closes, CrossFit loses its biggest marketing tool.

Greg Glassman understood this at some level. But his libertarian philosophy was simple: The best gyms will survive, and the weak ones will fail. He believed CrossFit’s job wasn’t to help affiliates—it was just to certify trainers and let the market decide which gyms were good.

But here’s the problem: Glassman never defined what made a gym “good.”

• A “good” affiliate isn’t just one with great coaching.

• A “good” affiliate is one that is financially sustainable.

CrossFit HQ never provided a real business framework. That’s why affiliates fail—not because they’re bad at coaching, but because they were never taught how to run a gym.

• Failing affiliates don’t produce coaches for the certifications.

• Failing affiliates don’t produce registrations for the CrossFit Open.

• Failing affiliates don’t produce customers for FitAid or those cool t-shirt companies.

• Failing affiliates don’t pay their affiliation fees, either. They deaffiliate or go out of business.

How to Fix CrossFit (Before It’s Too Late)

If CrossFit HQ truly wants to save its affiliates—and by extension, its brand—it must take immediate action, starting with the affiliate program.

1. Acknowledge That Affiliates Fail Due to Poor Business Systems—Not Poor Coaching

The Level 1, 2, and 3 courses are some of the best coaching certifications in the world. But they are the worst courses in the world for preparing gym owners to run a business.

A coach does not automatically become a successful entrepreneur just because they take a seminar. In fact, the business courses that HQ has run have been actively harmful—built on outdated models that encourage breakeven operations and overwork.

HQ must acknowledge this failure and commit to fixing it.

2. Teach Affiliates Basic Business Metrics

Every new affiliate should know how to read a profit and loss statement before they open.

They should understand ARM (average revenue per member) and LEG (length of engagement)—the two most critical numbers in gym profitability.

They should be able to price their services correctly instead of relying on the failed “big-group” model.

A Level 2 coaching credential should not be a requirement for affiliates. A business education should be.

3. Prequalify Any “Mentors” Who Give Advice on the CrossFit Platform

Right now, CrossFit chooses its business mentors based on how long they’ve owned a gym—not how successful that gym has been.

Many of the mentors they put on stage never ran profitable gyms.

Many survived by working as CrossFit seminar staff—not by running a gym.

Others run gyms that are for sale, failing, or on their third owners.

This has to stop. If someone is going to mentor other affiliates, they must prove their success with data.

This is true for CrossFit meetups, roundtables, online seminars…anywhere that affiliates can be led astray by opinion or salesmen. Though John Burch created the problem, it still carries on today – attend any affiliate Zoom call with a guest speaker, and count the times someone asks “where’s your proof?” It never happens. We all trust anyone that CrossFit puts in front of us to give business advice, and that’s a mistake until they’re actually vetted.

4. Track and Publish Affiliate Business Metrics

CrossFit HQ should collect and share real data from affiliates—not just coaching credentials.

This means:

Annual financial reports for affiliates (average revenue, net profit, member retention).

Leaderboards based on business success—not just how long someone has owned a gym.

Highlighting profitable affiliates as role models, instead of just the loudest voices in the room.

5. Rethink the Big-Group Model

Greg Glassman’s original CrossFit gym was 1,200 square feet. He ran small-group personal training, not massive group classes.

HQ keeps pushing the big-group model because:

It requires affiliates to hire more Level 1 trainers (which HQ certifies).

It leads to higher insurance premiums (which HQ profits from through the RRG).

It forces affiliates to lease larger spaces and take on debt (which locks them into long-term commitments).

But this model is failing. If HQ advocated for semi-private training and ARM-focused pricing, more affiliates would thrive.

6. Work to bring former affiliates back. 

While the 2024 price hike wasn’t received well, it shouldn’t be reversed. CrossFit does deliver around $5000 worth of value per year. Most of us who were at long-term rates were overdue for an increase (my affiliate fee hadn’t changed in 14 years. I was wildly underpaying.)

However, the L2 requirement is an obvious money-grab; no one (even anyone at HQ) believes that holding an L2 coaching credential equips someone to own a business.

7. Recruit new affiliates from other certifying bodies (like the NSCA.) 

CrossFitters taking the L1 aren’t the only future gym owners in the world. Many personal trainers will someday open their own gym. Why wouldn’t they be attracted to leveraging the CrossFit brand? Because the “crossfit vs everyone” stance dies hard.

8. Redefine the brand. 

It almost doesn’t matter what the definition is: right now the brand has no definition. Ask someone on the street for the difference between CrossFit and OrangeTheory, F45, or bootcamp, and they’ll probably mention either the equipment or say “I don’t know.”

The original “Forging elite fitness” could have been maintained, while explaining that elite fitness was possible for average people. Instead, we now have “crossfit is for everyone”, which – while kinda true – is not a differentiator. Everything’s for everyone now. Planet Fitness’s “lunk alarm” might induce bile in the throats of CrossFitters, but it’s a better brand differentiator than anything CF has published in the last 5 years.

9. Leave the core certifications alone. 

Keep the renewal period the same, instead of shortening it to 3 years. Reintroduce true subject matter experts from outside the CrossFit ecosystem instead of looking only at the usual suspects. Find experts in weightlifting, not just the CrossFitter who’s best at weightlifting. Ditto for all physical skills and business skills. This is how you make the brand antifragile: by attracting the best in the world, not the best in the office.

10. Evolve the method. 

This is the suggestion most likely to have me burned at the stake. But when Greg left, there was no one responsible for doing science anymore. That means the method – once derived through scientific process – has become dogma. Instead of addressing new thinking about aerobic (zone 2) training, for example, the common response in CrossFit Media is:

“We don’t do that because we’re CrossFit”

“We don’t follow fads” (whatever that means)

or “We kinda do that sorta sometimes.”

11. Vet the “affiliate partners”. 

When you sell your audience to an advertiser, you are renting out their trust. Don’t sell to Big Soda – stay on-mission or lose the room.

What’s Required for Real Change?

CrossFit is, reportedly, building a "Level One Course for Business." This could be helpful, or it could further the problems.

As history has shown, real reform usually doesn’t come from the institutionalized model. In Soviet Russia, the 'reformers' didn't change anything because they were incentivized to keep things the same: the model was feeding them; who cares about anyone else?

Private equity purchases a company that seems to be set up and running smoothly but hasn't capitalized on all of its opportunities for revenue yet. They are resistant to changing a working model—for good reason. Their MO is always to capture more money from everyone in the ecosystem: to charge more for affiliation; to sell more sponsorships; to capture more of the revenue by selling products directly themselves instead of partnering with the established experts.

Similarly, choosing one of the long-term CrossFit "elites" to institute real reform in the affiliate model will probably have the same effect. Fewer and fewer of the Affiliate managers actually own gyms—their income comes from HQ. Their incentive is to resist change, not to upset the apple cart. Change will likely have to come from outside.

When I was asked, in 2018, "What's the best thing we can do for affiliates?" by then-COO Bruce Edwards and then-CEO Jeff Cain, I responded with the same list that I just shared above. One of the people at the breakfast table said, "That sounds great, but we're never going to do it."

At the time, I was despondent. But in 2025, after seeing CrossFit's growth stall, then go backward, I'm actually glad to have a position outside the "inner circle," because it means that I can work for affiliates without being influenced by the motives of private equity.

I’m a huge CrossFit fan. Greg Glassman changed the industry. In 2017, while sitting with him at his kitchen table, I asked Greg “why should an affiliate continue to pay the affiliation fee year after year?” at the time, I thought the question was rhetorical: I didn’t think I’d ever deaffiliate.

His answer was “If I were using something that someone else had created, I’d want to pay them for the privilege.” Fair enough. Greg deserved to become very wealthy for creating something effective, powerful and fun.

But now that Greg has BEEN paid, the company needs direction and leadership. That means the company needs real change to grow. I’ll leave it to others to comment on the programming or the Games or the certification and courses, and stick to what I know, after 14 years of affiliation and publishing stuff for other affiliates every single day for the last 13 years:

It all starts with the affiliates.

Give them help from real experts with real data, instead of regurgitating the old myths louder and faster.

The affiliates aren’t the fruit of the CrossFit tree. They’re the roots.

Make the affiliates stronger, and then get out of their way.

They’ll save CrossFit.

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