Congratulations to Matty Aporta and Ben Hopkins, who are currently in the process of opening their own CrossFit box! We’ll keep you posted as to the prospective location and website. Opening a box is financially risky, psychologically frightening, logistically frustrating, and emotionally harrowing.
We fully support and encourage their efforts.
I’m also going to segue into a topic that is sensitive among CF owners and trainers, hardly broached on a public forum, and has passionate stances on both sides: CF boxes opening within miles or feet from each other, and often from members of the older box. This is a good thing. Not only for CrossFit, but for members of both boxes, and the community at large. Usually the scare comes out of ‘losing’ members to the new box if they’re cheaper/cooler/better than the old box. I don’t want to rant about this (not in the usual way), so here’s a paraphrased amalgamation of hours of debate and discussion on the topic:
Client: “Zeb, a new box is opening 30 feet away from us!”
Zeb: “Awesome. Do we know who they are?”
Client: “They used to be members from here!”
Zeb: “Even better. We can cross promote, and hold multi-box events.
Box to box Murph!”
Client: “Aren’t you worried we’ll lose people?”
Zeb: “No.”
Client: “You don’t think we’ll lose people?”
Zeb: “I can guarantee we will.”
Client: “Don’t you want to keep them?”
Zeb: “They were going to leave anyway. We were only babysitting them until they did.
“
Client: “What if the new box starts poaching our athletes? Isn’t that unethical?”
Zeb: “Probably.”
Client: “Isn’t it disrespectful?”
Zeb: “Most assuredly.”
Client: “Don’t you give a shit?!”
Zeb: “No.”
Client: “What are you going to do about this?”
Zeb: “Well, I’ll begin with a congratulations.”
Client: “That’s all?!”
Zeb: “I’ll promote their website on our own, support them in whatever way I can, and encourage
our people to attend their Grand Opening.”
Client: “But this is mad. What are you trying to pull?”
Zeb: “400 lbs in the Deadlift for starters, but man it’s taking me forev-“
Client: “This is serious!”
Zeb: “Haha. Okay.”
Client: “What if they offer cheaper prices? Better events?”
Zeb: “Sounds like excellent value to me.”
Client: “They will try to outdo us and outperform us in every manner.”
Zeb: “I would be ashamed to promote them were they any other way.”
Client: “You will lose money.”
Zeb: “I can understand how it would seem that way to you.”
Client: “They’re going to take some good people.”
Zeb: “‘Take’, like with a gun?”
Client: “No, but -“
Zeb: “Force?”
Client: “No, but -“
Zeb: “Threat?”
Client: “You know what I mean! Don’t you want to hold on to them?”
Zeb: “I can’t ‘hold on’ to them any more than they can ‘take’ them.”
Client: “You trust your people that much?”
Zeb: “Everywhere and always, yes.”
Client: “But you could lose everything.”
Zeb: “Yes.”
Client: “Isn’t it scary?”
Zeb: “Terribly so.”
Client: “So you’re scared?”
Zeb: “No.”
Client: “How can you be this way?”
Zeb: “There are people who will stay with us no matter what, people who like us but will leave for something better, and people who want to leave but have nowhere else to go. New, more, and closer boxes make the ‘fitting’ process easier, and it’s just healthy for everyone.”
Client: “What about the people in this neighborhood who’ve never heard of CrossFit before?”
Zeb: “They will soon have two excellent boxes to choose from. Hopefully more in the next few
years.”
Client: “You know not everyone sees it the way you do.”
Zeb: “They can see things and run their own business in whatever manner they choose, and I will fight for the freedom that allows for everyone to do this.”
Client: “This altruistic vision of yours will cost you dearly.”
Zeb: “This has nothing to do with altruism.”
Client: “But you can’t be doing this just for the good of mankind.”
Zeb: “I could give a shit about the good of mankind.”
Client: “So who the hell are you doing this for?”
Zeb: “Why the Remnant of course. I grow weary of this talk. Wanna workout?”
