By Dirk Gessler
Other affiliates are not my competition.
The idea of competition in business is a divisive issue among CrossFit Affiliates. Some insist that other Affiliates are not their competition. Others fight with each other tooth and nail for each client, undercutting and bad mouthing each other until nobody wins. This is a bad way to do business. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth of everyone involved, especially the would-be CrossFit client who goes elsewhere because for them, all* CrossFit boxes are greedy and underhanded.
This is unfortunate because I believe that other CrossFit affiliates are not the competition.
The couch is my competition.
Diabetes is my competition.
Sedentary lifestyles are my competition.
Obesity is my competition.
Poor health is my competition.
Decrepitude is my competition.
Running on a treadmill for hours a week with no effect is my competition.
Countless bicep curls for no progress is my competition.
I believe this so much that I have links to most of the other CrossFit affiliates in my area on my web site. If my box isn’t right for an athlete, one of theirs is.
The world is full of reasons for people not to work out. That is my competition. That is really what I am fighting against. Everyone may have plenty of reasons not to work out, but there are even more urgent and compelling reasons for them to be working out.
We as a CrossFit community are much better equipped to lead a health revolution in this world than any of us as individuals. My goal is to help people live a healthier and fuller life. If that happens to be at my gym, great! If it happens to be at a neighboring box, that’s great too! At least we made a difference…together.
* I use the word all here to illustrate that for most clients, one or two Affiliates behaving poorly is enough to poison them to CrossFit altogether.