Just a little over a 12 months in the past, CrossFit LLC raised its annual affiliate fee for the primary time in additional than a decade, growing the price of affiliation from $3,000 to $4,500.
- As anticipated, affiliate owners had mixed feelings. Some applauded CrossFit’s choice to lift the speed, whereas others threatened to de-affiliate. Others had been upset that CrossFit broke its promise to by no means enhance the grandfathered fee.
In trade for the payment enhance, CrossFit CEO Don Faul mentioned that the corporate pledged to ship extra worth to associates to allow them to “construct a robust, sustainable enterprise.”
So, the place are we one 12 months later? How a lot did the payment enhance impression associates? Do gymnasium house owners really feel they obtain extra worth in the present day? What number of have left the model?
Answering these questions is difficult, to say the least, however here’s what we do know.
What Health club Homeowners Are Saying
We performed a small survey of gymnasium house owners and rapidly obtained 365 responses.
- 55% of householders mentioned that the payment enhance was not an enormous deal, however they weren’t getting extra worth from CrossFit.
- In the meantime, 19% mentioned that the rise has not been an enormous deal and that they are receiving extra worth from CrossFit.
- One other 10% of gymnasium house owners mentioned they’ve or are planning to de-affiliate from CrossFit.
- Lastly, 13% mentioned they’re dealing with the payment enhance however aren’t glad with it and haven’t obtained extra worth from CrossFit.
Arthur Pruneda, Brandon Couden, and Pete Mongeau are three house owners who’ve determined to stay affiliated for varied causes.
Pruneda, the proprietor of CrossFit Unchained in San Antonio, TX, mentioned the payment enhance “was not a problem,” and he stays fortunately affiliated. Moreover, he has obtained “a number of leads” from CrossFit HQ by means of their web site.
“[That] has been a pleasant added worth because it wasn’t one thing we had prior to now,” Pruneda mentioned.
Couden, the proprietor of the 700-member CrossFit Grandview in Columbus, OH, is one other who stays “proudly affiliated.” Though he hasn’t seen extra worth on account of the elevated fee, he mentioned he has at all times obtained worth from CrossFit.
That being mentioned, he additionally described this previous 12 months as “a troublesome 12 months for CrossFit total” and famous that “it’s clear issues are shifting” with CrossFit being in the marketplace. Nonetheless, he stays eager for the long run.
- “We now have misplaced some momentum over the previous few years, and my hope is that new management will help us regain it,” Couden mentioned. “This health methodology, this sport, and this way of life: it really works. It’s highly effective. It modifications lives. We simply want a robust chief, a transparent course, and a return to the roots that made it so particular within the first place.”
Lastly, Mongeau, the proprietor of Zanshin Health in Peachtree Corners, GA, is much less optimistic concerning the state of CrossFit than Couden. Nonetheless, he stays loyal.
“For proper now, the payment I pay is to make use of the title and to proceed supporting the model that introduced me to the dance 13 years in the past,” he mentioned.
CrossFit Affiliate Numbers
On March 25, 2024, the CrossFit Affiliate Map indicated there have been 11,366 associates worldwide.
- Precisely one 12 months later, this determine had decreased to 9,899, reflecting a 13% drop over the 12 months. On the time of publication, the overall quantity on the map is 9,836.
Whereas this statistic is undeniably regarding for CrossFit’s future, it’s difficult to find out how a lot the rise in affiliate charges has contributed to the decline in CrossFit associates or whether or not different elements are concerned.
Moreover, it’s tough to determine what number of of these misplaced associates de-affiliated from CrossFit and what number of closed their gyms solely for varied causes.
In accordance with Two-Mind Enterprise proprietor and gymnasium mentor Chris Cooper, gyms are closing at “an alarming fee,” and the explanations go nicely past the $1,500 payment enhance.
- “The general public story is that the model is prospering, however behind the scenes, 1000’s of gymnasium house owners are struggling to maintain their companies open – not as a result of they’re unhealthy coaches however as a result of they don’t know find out how to run companies,” Cooper wrote in a current blog post.
Price noting: We do know that 10 former CrossFit associates in Norway, all owned by Useful Health Group, de-affiliated recently. This was primarily as a result of payment enhance, which, mixed with an unfavorable trade fee, meant that being a CrossFit affiliate was not helpful to their enterprise.
- “Altogether, our affiliate charges whole practically $50,000 per 12 months, near 550,000 NOK,” Useful Health Group CEO Eivind Dahl Ringard mentioned. He made the choice to de-affiliate 10 of their 16 gyms.
The Massive Image
We all know three issues:
- CrossFit is for sale.
- The price of proudly owning a CrossFit gymnasium has elevated.
- CrossFit affiliation has decreased significantly within the final 12 months.
Whereas it’s unclear precisely how a lot final 12 months’s affiliate payment enhance contributed to the decline, there are 1,400 fewer CrossFit gyms on the affiliate map in the present day, and it’s evident that the model is at a crossroads.
Extra CrossFit Tales
Credit score: @welcome_to_the_mill / Instagram