"When we talked about starting CrossFit Westport, I could think of no better person to put money behind than my brother."
CrossFit runs in the family for Tommy Baker, head coach and co-founder of CrossFit Westport in Westport, Conn.
Baker has been involved with fitness as a personal trainer and CrossFit coach for more than five years. Eighteen months ago, he joined his brother, Warren, to start CrossFit Westport.
“I guess I always had an entrepreneurial spark,” Baker says. “I found different ways to make money on the side here and there, but I finally decided to make (CrossFit) my focus.”
Baker says he wanted to found his gym on the principle of integrity. His goal is to instill in his members a mastery of basic movements and a sense of accountability. He accomplishes this, he says, by spending more one-on-one coaching time with athletes than other coaches with whom he’s worked.
“We try to keep our classes to about eight people per class, which helps us spend more time with individuals,” Baker explains. “We’ve had a lot of demand for that type of coaching.”
From a business standpoint, when Baker first had the idea to open a CrossFit in Westport, he knew who he wanted as a partner.
“I didn’t want to partner with someone I didn’t trust,” he remembers. “(Warren) and I have always been on the same page and he saw how excited I was about CrossFit.”
Warren works for an investment group in New York and has been involved in starting several small businesses. He provides legal knowledge and business experience that comes from his years of managing various hedge funds. When Tommy came to him with the idea, he had already established a loyal client base that would become some of CrossFit Westport’s first members.
“When we talked about starting (CrossFit Westport), I could think of no better person to put money behind than my brother,” Warren says. “Tommy has expertise in the field and knows the trends and best times to make business decisions.”
Warren compares CrossFit Westport with other gyms around the world for best practices. As part of his day job, he’s required to travel between New York, France and Colombia and says the CrossFit affiliates he’s visited in those places offer the same high-quality experience.
“Even when the coach is speaking French, a ‘burpee’ is a ‘burpee,’” Warren says.
But Warren and Tommy aren’t the only members of the Baker family involved with CrossFit. Their sister, Carolina, does CrossFit in London. She works out at her brothers’ gym whenever she visits home.
“I remember being the last girl in Tommy’s class to finish a workout and the way he focused on me and motivated me to get through my last reps was awesome,” Carolina says. “For me, it’s inspiring to have such a positive role model in my life.”
Additionally, the siblings’ parents are financial backers of CrossFit Westport.
Having family support means a lot to the Bakers.
“We’re all in this together,” Warren says. “And this is something that helps our relationship grow.”
