Want to run an in-gym event that brings in new members and keeps them around? Download our step-by-step Intramural Open guide.

Are the CrossFit Games dead? And should gym owners even care?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper joins CEO John Franklin to discuss the state of the Games, as it heads into its 20th year.

Chris has been on both sides of this conversation. He worked for CrossFit HQ, recently interviewed the brand’s new CEO Bruce Edwards, and made the decision to reaffiliate his own gym.

He walks through how the Games shifted from a small community meetup into an expensive, sponsor-driven spectacle, and why that shift disconnected it from the everyday members who make up most affiliate gyms.

John puts Chris through a four-question report card on whether the Games still market the brand, measure real fitness, bring new people into CrossFit and keep members in affiliates longer.

Chris’ answers point to one consistent theme: Gyms don’t need to wait on HQ to fix this.

The pair dig into what’s actually working elsewhere, including HYROX, Spartan Race and Street Parking meetups.

They explain how gym owners can borrow those ideas to build their own intramural events, using the same repeatable workouts each year so members can track real progress and feel proud of what they’ve accomplished.

Tune in to hear Chris’s take on where the Games went wrong, and how any affiliate can create that same “peak moment” feeling for members without needing CrossFit HQ to get it right first.

Links

Intramural Open Guide

Gym Owners United

Book a Call

0:00 - Are the CrossFit Games still helping gym owners?

0:51 - What the CrossFit Games were originally built for

3:11 - When the Games stopped helping affiliates

7:21 - What gym members are actually looking for

10:20 - How the Open lost its original purpose

14:42 - Chris Cooper grades the CrossFit Games

20:25 - What Chris would change at CrossFit HQ

25:12 - Why fitness festivals outperform competitions

29:09 - How to reinvent the CrossFit Open for your gym

34:23 - Why Chris re-affiliated with CrossFit