Saturday 8.29.20

Virtual Class Zoom Room (Password: CFSBK)
CFSBK @ Home: 10am
Thomas Greene Park: 8:00am, 9:00am, 10:00am CANCELLED

With a 70% chance of rain and thunderstorms at the time of posting, we have decided to cancel park classes this morning. Color us bummed. Everyone RSVP’d should have received an email with this information as well.

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Today’s Programming

CFSBK @ Home

Equipment Drop off today!

Come by between 1130am and 3pm today to drop off borrowed equipment. We’ll be in 597. Thanks ya’ll!

CrossFit South Brooklyn

Last June I and many others made the decision to part ways with CrossFit. The catastrophic response to the murder of George Floyd, as well as allegations of sexual impropriety drove this decision. Responsible for these offenses was the now former-CEO and founder, Greg Glassman.

Shortly after the mass exodus from the brand, I was asked to be on a BTWB panel discussion hosted by Pat Sherwood. Also on the panel were several long time affiliate owners like Chris Spealer, Annie Sakamoto, Jen Marshall, Rich Froning and others who had devoted their personal and professional lives to CrossFit. For all of us, the decision was gut wrenching, but I felt confident that standing in solidarity and in support of marginalized communities was far too important to not take a definitive stance on. I was not unique in this decision nor do I think it was the only way to enact change, but it proved to be effective. We’re here today with new leadership and a new, more inclusive vision for CrossFit; not because of bad global press, but because our own community stood up and said a line had been crossed.

While this event was a tipping point, to anyone who has been around long enough, the position we were in came as no surprise. In the aforementioned panel, we lamented the long history of self-inflicted wounds, public gaffs and the lack of transparency and communication from the company. We also had concerns about the direction CrossFit was going given all the radical changes we saw around social media, the games, and mass layoffs at HQ.

After the fallout from the community, the previously-unthinkable happened; Greg sold the company to new owner and CEO, Eric Roza. I was cautiously optimistic, but wanted to wait and see what Eric’s vision for the company was. Leaving CrossFit was a decision I didn’t make lightly and in order to recommit to the brand, I needed to trust that our new path would address the concerns of the community. In July I sat in on and contributed to a series of panel discussions over two days that Eric hosted covering different topics related to CrossFit like race, inclusion, affiliate support and how the company can do better. I was encouraged by what I heard there and again at the more recent town hall. We’ve seen announcements like the appointment of a leader of culture and inclusion, a council on DEI, more diverse representation and course corrections on the games and athlete relations. This is the first time many of these conversations are being had. I feel more optimistic than ever about the potential of CrossFit and know we can accomplish more together than apart. CrossFit is a community, now not beholden to one person, and I believe these changes and more delegated leadership will ensure that we keep each other accountable to reflect the brand we deserved all along. I want my gym’s values, culture and best practices to be part of this transformation and am excited to be reopening my gym after 5 months of closure this Wednesday back as CrossFit South Brooklyn.