Opening CrossFit Sherwood Park was four years in the making for Jason Biggeman.
All over the world, CrossFit has provided people the chance to fulfill entrepreneurial dreams. Two new Canadian affiliates, days away from opening, are embracing their first taste of business ownership.
CrossFit Sherwood Park
CrossFit Sherwood Park has been Jason Biggeman's dream for four years. One of CrossFit's early adopters, Biggeman first tried Fran in 2003.
“I had been doing globo gym workouts (forearm curls and calf raises) for around 10 years, and had thought that kipping was cheating,” he remembers. “I posted a 17:43 Fran time and felt like I wouldn't move off my puddle on the floor in twice that time.”
Biggeman completed the CrossFit Level 1 Seminar in 2007.
“I have been coaching since then, and absolutely love teaching new people and watching them improve day to day. The reason I keep doing this is not to coach the epic athletes — because they will always be epic athletes — it’s to coach the people out there that doubt themselves and don't believe that all of the things we coach (are) possible,” he explains. “It’s an amazing feeling to see them do their first pull-up or complete a WOD as prescribed.”
Opening his garage for training in 2009 while coaching at CrossFit Lineage at the same time, Biggeman was often encouraged to open a gym. In his opinion, starting the business was not risky.
“Any risk I'm taking is minimal compared to other businesses, I feel. The overhead is big, but much less than any globo gym,” he says.
Biggeman is spending approximately $25,000 on equipment, and investing another $20,000 into his space.
“I guess there is always a risk, but you get out what you put in,” he adds.
Biggeman found a 5,300-square foot warehouse space.
“It leaves enough room for two classes to be run at a time,” he says. “We have ordered a 40-foot wall rig through Rogue and hope to expand on that as soon as we outgrow it.”
He's also using artificial turf along the opposite wall for sprints and sled-work in the freezing winter weather. An overhead door leading to an empty parking lot will provide opportunities in the summer.
“It’s a CrossFitters dream — a beautiful facility has that raw simplicity that I have always loved about CrossFit,” he says.
He doesn't plan to advertise.
“The response from spreading the word just through friends and family has been amazing, as well as having the CrossFit Games aired on TV lately,” Biggeman says. “Facebook has been a great way to spread the word along with Twitter … Contacts from other CrossFit gyms and competitions have helped through word of mouth, as well. We are also relying on our other jobs. I, and one of my head coaches, Curt Manning, work in the fire departments in Sherwood Park and Edmonton, respectively. Many of our co-workers share our belief in CrossFit and will be coming to the box."
Biggeman counts himself as a bit nervous, but very lucky.
“I think if I wasn't nervous about it, then I would never be successful,” he says. “My biggest worry is keeping a healthy work and life balance. My family is extremely supportive, but I don't want to live at the gym. CrossFit keeps me ready for life, it shouldn't run it. On the other hand, I'm excited to have a finished product and be a part of the ever-growing community.”
CrossFit Core K-Town
In Northern Ontario, Dave Emery had been doing CrossFit workouts in a church basement for four years before deciding to affiliate.
“We had some space, and I worked out with my sensei using CrossFit to get in better shape for karate,” he says.
Kenora, Ontario is a small town of 15,000 people. The nearest large city, Winnipeg, is three hours away. Emery was teaching yoga, doing personal training and running boot camps when he decided to open a CrossFit affiliate.
When some friends purchased another old church and transformed half into a cultural arts center, Emery saw his opportunity.
“Half of the building is being used for dance, painting … there’s going to be another theatre involved. There’s a gym portion of the building that we've transformed from a classic church gym into a CrossFit gym,” he says. “It’s basically one big, giant lifting platform with a bit of softer matting for mobility space.”
A week away from opening CrossFit Core K-Town, Emery is looking forward to the remaining work.
“We have a trailer filled with equipment waiting to be put together this weekend,” he says. “We've basically outfitted the gym for $41,000 through Rogue … As of day one, we're going to be able to cater to a class of 15 to 20.”
Emery eagerly recounts the inventory waiting in his parking lot: two wall-mounted rigs — one for each side of the gym — with 12-foot brackets to hang rings.
“The bumper plates go on forever,” he says. “It arrived faster than expected, we were scrambling to put the floor in. We're having high schools build us boxes and storage units in their shop classes.”
“The debt is always kind of scary, but I thought, 'I'm young, I'm ready to do this and I have some really good support and friends behind me,' so the transition wasn't hard to make.”
“There are always little stressors, but I take them in with open arms. I'm always ready to learn. The business side feels a bit overwhelming, but CrossFit has taught me to take things down in small chunks,” Emery says.
CrossFit Core K-Town will offer a schedule with a variety of different classes: Senior Strength, for older athletes who want to focus on movement virtuosity; hockey-specific programming for the hordes of skaters in Kenora; and an Olympic club.
“I’ve done things in the high school gym classes already with PVC pipe, like teaching the kids to snatch and clean. The interest is there,” Emery says. “I’m trying to cater to everyone's needs. That’s the cool thing about CrossFit — you can have grandma working out beside a teen-athlete and they can inspire each other.”
The small, northern town is tight-knit, and that will play to Emery’s advantage.
“Our mentality is that it’s our community’s facility, and I want everyone to take ownership of it in that sense,” he says. “It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, a family feeling. I would never go back to any way of training, and I'm excited to share that with everyone who comes through those doors.”
