CrossFit Games Layoffs Signals Big Changes to Come
For years, CrossFit founder Greg Glassman has been considered by many to be a crass individual. And while most people who are just now becoming familiar with CrossFit know it primarily as what they see on television as the CrossFit Games, or perhaps what their boasting fitness enthusiast friends tell them about how grueling their workouts are, CrossFit certainly has another side. Many may be surprised to know that founder Greg Glassman has always been more invested in reshaping the fitness industry and addressing chronic diseases. This recent post on the Morning Chalk Up goes into more details about a pretty significant layoff at CrossFit HQ, and what it could mean.
Excerpt from post
The restructuring, orchestrated by CrossFit founder
Greg Glassman, came just a week after the 12th CrossFit Games and a surprise to many in the company. One employee who was not laid off estimated it was “close to 30 – 40%” of staff in CrossFit’s Santa Cruz, CA office.
On the surface, the force reduction appears to be further evidence that CrossFit, Inc. is hemorrhaging money and finds itself in dire straits financially. However, after years of failing to turn a profit, the CrossFit Games is now in the black according to multiple sources inside HQ. Last year, they sold more than 60,000 tickets and by all indications the 2018 Games was an even bigger success.
Read full post here.
Read the article this morning myself. I’m definitely interested to see the direction of what happens with the future of the Crossfit Games in terms of qualification stages and the structure of the Games. We all have to remember why we got into Crossfit in the first place and it wasn’t because we wanted to be a Games athlete but to find something that will get us fit for the long haul and also learn new skills. It’s still awesome to see that we were able to have athletes from our gym qualify for Regionals and the Games.
Purely speculation on my part, but it would seem that Castro and Glassman are reaching a crossroads with one another. Castro spends “big money” on the games and Glassman is more interested in the big picture effects of Crossfit. Over the course of a decade the Games has evolved into an unsustainable event. Especially since Reebok has not paid what it promised in sponsorship. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.