State of the Box Address

Every so often I think that it’s a good thing to sit back and reflect not just on where we’ve been and how far we’ve come but also how close we are to achieving our ultimate goal(s). And for all you athletes (read: all of you!), this is a crucial part of your continued development too!

Over four years ago, when I told Mandy I’d be leaving a cushy corporate job to open my own gym, it was not met with much…enthusiasm, shall we say. But in the end she trusted (and supported!) me and it’s the best decision we’ve ever made. (One of my old bosses even famously left me with the parting words: “Don’t you know the 3 businesses most likely to fail are bars, restaurants, and gyms?!”) My vision here was, and still is, quite simple: I want to help people improve their lives through advancements in their health and fitness.

When it quickly became apparent that I’d need to open a 6:30am class and a 7pm class, it meant that I’d be up and gone before my newborn son woke up and home long after he went to bed at least 3 days per week. But it worked out and the early AM class run by Heather today is probably the most consistent classes we have. My vision: to reach the early morning crowd and afford them the same opportunity as the later classes, namely real health and fitness!
 

Not long after we opened, we had to make a major investment in more equipment and completely rearrange the box to accommodate larger classes. Some “griped” about the growing community, but in the end they wound up thanking me for making more space to enjoy with their new box friends…”some of the best friends I’ve ever made.” My vision: create a floor space that would accommodate more athletes and allow us to continue to grow our supportive community.

Believe it or not, we had plenty of folks who were sad to move from our old location to the brand new one in the heart of FishHawk. While even I miss the “old school” feel at times, I think everyone agrees that the offerings of our new location far outweigh feelings of nostalgia. (Though if you’d like to feel some of that, I’ll leave the AC off the remainder of the summer and fall…) My vision here was simple: I wanted the professionalism of our location to match the professionalism of the coaching we offered from day 1 at the old box. I’d say we accomplished that.

AC, showers, more bars, rowers, GHDs, weights, dumbbells, more kettebells, WODIFY, wall balls, and boxes…
Even more bars…and more weights…
A couch and lots of chairs…
An area dedicated to rehab and mobility…
More pullup bars and squat racks…
Community benefit WODs – remember the Kera Young Benefit and Relay for Life?
Along with all of this, we’ve also rolled out (and will continue to) new programs and services – CrossFit Kids, nutrition counseling and challenges, remote coaching, private training, Open Gym 2.0, weightlifting clinics, running clinics, gymnastic clinics, an updated Olympic Weightlifting Program (yep, coming soon!), speed and agility camps (yep, coming soon!) and more.
All of this, every last item, has been decided on for one reason – to offer each of you a better experience at CFG to better your life through health and fitness. But I realize that Weightlifting doesn’t appeal to everyone (blasphemy!). Nor does CrossFit Kids. And some may never want me to see what they eat, haha. Many people may want nothing more than good old fashioned group CrossFit classes.
And you know what? All of that is ok.
Because in all my time in managerial roles and as a business owner, one of the many lessons I’ve learned is this: you can’t please everyone all the time. All I can do is stay true to who I am and what I believe in. And sometimes that means making decisions that aren’t popular.
But all the PRs…
All the accomplishments…
All the improvements…
All the meds left behind…
All the weight lost…
All the strength gained…
All the stress burnt off…
All the years gained…
All the blood work improved…
All the life improved…
All of those things…they tell me that we’re still doing the right things for the right reasons.
I think the moral of the story is this: we still remain 100% committed to our mission statement and every decision that we make, no matter how popular, is in the interest of fulfilling that mission. You’ve entrusted us with bettering your life thus far, and we can ask nothing more than your continued trust to do so as we move forward together, as one CFG community.
Sincerely,
Josh