The rise and fall of CrossFit: 15,000 gym empire for sale?!

A fitness empire that hit 15,000 gyms — then the founder's tweets torched the brand in hours.

Watch this on YouTube

By The Numbers

15,000

gyms at peak

20%

affiliates closed during COVID

affiliates quit in hours

What They Nailed Early

Built the perfect counter to conventional fitness: short, intense workouts with set class times and a cult-like community. The open-source licensing model let anyone open a gym for $3K/year, enabling explosive growth to 13,000 gyms by 2013.

What Changed

The brand became associated with danger as injury reports mounted. COVID shut gyms and killed 20% of affiliates. Then founder Greg Glassman posted inflammatory comments about George Floyd and COVID, losing Reebok's sponsorship and 7% of affiliates overnight. He was forced out, but the damage was done.

Where it Landed

Down to 10,800 affiliates after a brief rebound. On its second sale in 5 years, third CEO. A competitor died at the 2024 Games. The flywheel is reversing.

The Principles

Don't tie your brand to one person. Glassman's personality built the cult, then his tweets destroyed it in hours.

Growth without guardrails eats itself. Unlimited licensing meant gyms opened across the street from each other, cannibalizing profits.

What attracts early adopters can repel the masses. The Games attracted hardcore fans but scared away people who just wanted to get fit.

Builder's Takeaway

3 warning signs your brand is too brittle:

•

Founder personality = single point of failure (one tweet can torch years)

•

Uncapped licensing creates affiliate cannibalization and resentment

•

Extreme positioning (hardcore games) alienates the mass market you need

Want the whole story? → Watch this on YouTube