161. Don Faul, CEO of CrossFit

Today, I’m joined by Don Faul, CEO of CrossFit, a functional
fitness program with licensed affiliates across the world.


Founded in 2001, the high-intensity strength and mobility regimen
has expanded rapidly through affiliate gyms, global fitness
competitions, and merchandise. Serving 5M athletes through 14K
locations, CrossFit’s tight-knit community encourages better
health and peak physical fitness. 


In this episode, we discuss how Don’s experience in the military,
Big Tech, and startups led to his role with CrossFit and how
introducing more people to the CrossFit lifestyle is central to
the business.


In this episode, you’ll learn:


• Don’s path to CEO of CrossFit
• How the brand is changing its perception to reach more
people
• Its strategy to grow and improve the CrossFit ecosystem 


Subscribe to the podcast insider.fitt.co/podcast
Subscribe to our newsletter insider.fitt.co/subscribe
Follow us on LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/fittinsider/


Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:17 Don’s Background
03:15 Becoming the CEO of CrossFit
05:24 New strategy for the company
8:03 Key initiatives for the coming years
13:06 Changing brand perception to reach more people
15:04 The value of doing hard things
16:47 How the CrossFit Games affects perception 
20:50 Affiliate ecosystem and partners
24:29 How Don plans to grow the brand
30:16 Focusing long term vs. short term
32:31 Conclusion