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It’s a pleasant July morning in Carson, California, in 2016 as Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, Inc. makes his way across the Stubhub Center turf and sits down on one of the black Rogue plyoboxes that line the back perimeter of the stadium. He gazes out past the ongoing rows of boxes, connected rigs, and zigzag sprint course to see the sun starting to rise over the grandstand canopy. Just 15 hours earlier those grandstands were filled with thousands of passionate screaming fans cheering on the final contestants of the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games. A slight grin appears across his face as he lets out a faint but subtle chuckle to himself, almost as if he can’t believe that he has built the fitness industry’s fastest-growing brand.
The tenth consecutive CrossFit Games, the largest CrossFit sporting event in the world, was now over and Glassman started to reflect back on how quickly his creation has risen in just a few decades. In 1995, he was a personal trainer looking for a place to train his loyal clientele after being kicked out of yet another commercial gym because management did not approve of his unorthodox training methods, and now, he is a multi-millionaire who owns one the largest brands in the fitness industry. That unorthodox training method, well, it is now one of the most popular fitness workouts in the world and is arguably becoming one of the fastest growing sports of all time. Everything has happened so fast, he thought to himself while watching the cleanup crew start to tear down the event setup, we barely even have a concrete business plan, he jokes but deep down inside he knows that it is true. CrossFit has evolved so rapidly that Glassman and his relatively small but fiercely loyal employees have been forced to make important company decisions on the go. Evident by CrossFit’s unprecedented growth, those decisions have more often than not been correct but with little time to reflect on the company’s aim and future, how could he be fully confident in the direction his company was heading and what does the future hold for a fitness company operating in an ever changing, potentially fad-like industry?
As Glassman got up to leave the stadium to catch the quick flight back to the Silicon Valley in the company jet, he decided he was going to disrupt his normal routine and take a few days off to think. His plan is to use this time to genuinely reflect on where his company has come and how the business has reached elite status as one of the largest fitness brands in the world. What can CrossFit, Inc. do to improve, what new trends can they capitalize on, where is the future of the company and sport going, and how can they avoid that dark irrelevant fate where so many fitness startup companies eventually end up?
History of Crossfit
5-1aGreg Glassman
Greg Glassman, born on July 22, 1956 to a rocket scientist father and a stay at home mother, was raised in the Los Angeles, CA suburb of Woodland Hills. Around the age of one, Glassman was diagnosed with Polio, a disease that affects the nerves in a person’s spine and affects muscle movement. Growing up though, Glassman did not let this disease define who he was as he turned to sports such as gymnastics, cycling, and weightlifting to counteract his inability to participate in contact sports. His aptitude on the pull up bar along with having powerful upper body strength led him to excel at the rings in gymnastics, but a freak injury on a routine dismount in high school left him with a permanent limp and unable to compete. Glassman subsequently turned to coaching, a decision that would eventually define who he is and create a legacy most people only dream of.
Glassman refers to himself as a “rabid libertarian,” a term defined as “an advocate of the doctrine of free-will.”
In high school, Glassman habitually read and studied the theories of Milton Friedman, an American economist who wrote such books as ‘Capitalism and Freedom’ and the 50th anniversary edition rewrite of F.A. Hayek’s ‘The Road to Serfdom.’ It’s here where Glassman’s management theories would form the basis of his future business model, or lack there-of. At age 18, Glassman took a job as a gymnastics coach at the YWCA in Pasadena, CA. Little did he know at the time, this being his first real coaching gig, that it would eventually be his calling in life. He attended college but never graduated, stating “I went to a half dozen institutions, but I was just there for the girls.”
His passion was fitness training and throughout the late 1970s and ‘80s he worked as a personal trainer. His commitment, knowledge, and extremely brash personality attracted people to enlist his services in the Silicon Valley area, but it was also his unique and unconventional methods toward fitness that allowed him to lure in not only the computer tech leaders and local service workers but also celebrities and professional athletes alike.
Results are what ultimately define success and Glassman knew how to attain them, but his methods were unusual and his workouts were seen as in your face and bordering on intimidating. So intimidating to the average gym goer in fact that he had been kicked out of seven or more commercial gyms as a result. Glassman’s attitude toward fitness can be described as confident and assertive with firm beliefs, but that confidence can also be interpreted as defiant and arrogant. In a 60 Minutes episode, when asked if he doesn’t like to be told what to do, Glassman responded with a chuckle and said “Oh, I don’t mind being told what to do … I just won’t do it.” But that is who Greg Glassman is and that defiance is why he now owns 100% of the fastest growing fitness program and emerging sport in the world, CrossFit.
Crossfit Philosophy
5-2aWhat is Fitness? (According to CrossFit, Inc.)
One of CrossFit’s first newsletter articles set out to explain the company philosophy by questioning previously proposed definitions of what it meant to be truly fit. The article challenged the notions of Merriam-Webster, Outside Magazine (“Fittest Man on Earth”), and the industry leading National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), by concluding that their definitions were either too broad or too narrow. The CrossFit article concluded that previous attempts to define fitness were inadequate. Glassman, however, defined fitness through a meaningful and measurable way as “increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains,”
where broad time means “length of duration of effort” and modal domains “variety of activity.”
In the What is Fitness? article, Glassman defines three standards/models that they use for evaluating and guiding fitness. Together they outline CrossFit’s view of fitness as 1) ten general physical skills widely defined by physiologists, 2) performance of athletic tasks, and 3) energy systems that drive all human action (Exhibit 1). CrossFit’s aim is not to specialize in one certain task of fitness but to be a “jack of all trades.” The article states, “Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports and life reward this kind of fitness, and on average punish the specialist.”
CrossFit’s 3 Standard Principles
· 1)
10 recognized General Physical Skills:
· –
If your goal is optimum physical competence, then all general physical skills must be considered:
· 1)
Cardiovascular endurance/Respiratory endurance – The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen
· 2)
Stamina – The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy
· 3)
Strength – The ability of a muscular unit or combination of muscular units to apply force
· 4)
Flexibility – The ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint
· 5)
Power – The ability of a muscular unit or combination of muscular units to apply maximum force in minimum time
· 6)
Speed – The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement
· 7)
Coordination – The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement
· 8)
Agility – The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another
· 9)
Balance – The ability to control the placement of the body’s center of gravity in relation to its support base
· 10)
Accuracy – The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity
· 2)
The essence of this view is that fitness is about performing well at any and every task imaginable. Picture a hopper loaded with an infinite number of physical challenges where no selective mechanism is operative, and being asked to perform feats randomly drawn from the hopper. This model suggests that your fitness can be measured by your capacity to perform well at these tasks in relation to other individuals.
The implication here is that fitness requires an ability to perform well at all tasks, even unfamiliar tasks, tasks combined in infinitely varying combinations. In practice this encourages the athlete to disinvest in any set notions of sets, rest periods, reps, exercises, order of exercises, routines, periodization, etc. Nature frequently provides largely unforeseeable challenges; train for that by striving to keep the training stimulus broad and constantly varied.
· 3)
Three metabolic pathways that provide the energy for all human action
· 1)
Phosphagen Pathway – Dominates the highest powered activities (10 seconds or less)
· 2)
Glycolytic Pathway – Dominates moderate powered activities (up to several minutes)
· 3)
Oxidative Pathway – Dominates low-powered activities (excess of several minutes)
Total Fitness = The fitness that CrossFit promotes and develops requires competency and training in each of these three pathways or engines.
Business
CrossFit, Inc. is 100% privately owned by Greg Glassman—an ownership situation that totally fits his style. In 2012, CrossFit began business as a 50/50 partnership between Glassman and his ex-wife. At that time, because of a contentious situation, Glassman’s ex-wife’s share was almost sold to Anthos Capital, an investment firm looking to invest in one of America’s fastest growing brands. In the 11th hour though, Glassman was able to secure a matching loan through Summit Partners (Boston) for $16,093,000 and put a halt to the potential sale. With Glassman in full control, he could operate the company autonomously, without input from outside corporate investors.
CrossFit, Inc. does not have to answer to shareholders or a board of directors. The headquarters, which handles the business operations, is located in Washington, D.C. and the Media Office, the lifeblood of CrossFit’s day-to-day technology operations, is based out of Silicon Valley. CrossFit’s model resembles its owner’s libertarian beliefs, as the growth of the company has come directly from its affiliation program that permits individuals to own and operate their own box while using the CrossFit name and allows them to run their business with independence and autonomy.
Criticism
The growth of CrossFit is undeniable and the future of the company and sport is still as bright as ever, but CrossFit like most fitness industry startups is facing a certain degree of criticism and skepticism. Throughout the first decade and a half, CrossFit has faced an array of naysayers who criticize CrossFit’s methods, techniques, safety measures, and legitimacy. The following are a few of CrossFit’s most common criticisms:
Cult. One of the most widely mentioned criticisms of the CrossFit industry is that it is a “cult.” Doubters of CrossFit feel that the family-oriented atmosphere that CrossFit revolves around resembles that of a cult-like following. Typical arguments insist that CrossFit brainwashes its members with their workout effectiveness, paying large membership fees (generally around $100/month), to being led by a ‘leader’ who dictates how they should act, to being elitists who only socialize with other CrossFit members.
Injury/Safety. Outsiders have often claimed that the CrossFit workout can be unsafe for its participants. The intensity and competitive nature can lead to too much heavy lifting and improper form all the way through the rep sets opening up opportunities for injury. The most commonly mentioned injury/disease used against CrossFit is rhabdomyolysis. Shortened in the CrossFit world to “rhabdo,” this is caused by the death of muscle fibers and the release of their contents into the blood stream. Rhabdo results from overexertion, which leads to the body’s muscles breaking down and potentially causing kidney failure. Although it can be deadly, it is usually a treatable disease.
Legitimacy. Many proponents of CrossFit argue that the workout methods do not produce realistic results—that the libertarian methods of allowing box owners to create their own workouts within an entire methodology opens up the risk for unqualified coaches to piece together workouts that are not safe and do not translate into results. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is widely considered one of the best forms of exercise to burn fat, and CrossFit is no stranger to utilizing this method. But many feel CrossFit fails at this in their mix of intensity versus volume. Some contend that CrossFit uses HIIT as a fitness test and not necessarily for the best results. For example, a widely used HIIT method is TABATA (named for Japanese Scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata), which uses eight rounds of one exercise (bike, sprints, etc.) that includes 20 seconds of all-out work and 10 seconds of rest. CrossFit has a workout called ‘TABATA THIS’ in which athletes complete rows, air squats, pull ups, push ups, and sit ups … for 40 intervals! Critics say that this far exceeds the accepted mix and exposes participants to a decrease in intensity because of the large volume as well as a breakdown in technique, which both can lead to less effective and more dangerous results.
Saturating the Market. While most of CrossFit’s criticism comes from outside the community, there are affiliate owners who have concerns regarding the rapid pace at which CrossFit has grown. One box owner who has seen the rise of CrossFit through increased usage of social media pointed out that “growth doesn’t equate to quality.” He wonders if the rapid growth is just inflating a trend or if CrossFit will become a permanent fitness fixture.
While many business owners are reluctant to respond to public criticism for fear that it will damage their reputation, CrossFit, Inc. and their legion of followers are the exact opposite. CrossFit has a team of employees who patrol the Internet looking to defend the brand with an iron fist against anyone and everyone who tries to deface it. Glassman has an entire team of lawyers dedicated only to defending the brand name as well as its trademark from people around the world who attempt to use the CrossFit name without paying for it. When asked why, Glassman explains, “if you don’t defend it, you won’t have a brand for long. We are in shark-infested waters and I’ve got shark-repellant attorneys.”
