Rob Davis was a six-figure, white-collar, software-industry executive with a wife and six kids. When the economy started to tank, he wasn’t concerned.

“I never in my life had a problem finding a job. Didn’t anticipate it being a problem whatsoever,” he explains. “That wasn’t the case.”

Davis and his family found themselves living on his unemployment checks for months with no prospects on the horizon. During that time, a friend introduced him to CrossFit.com. After learning more, Davis took a leap of faith.

“I took—no exaggeration—I took almost our last little bit of money and put our deposit down on a Level 1 cert with no idea how I was going to pay the remaining balance before to be able to go.”

Days before Christmas, the Davis family received a knock on the front door and an $8,000 check “from Santa.”

Today, Davis owns CrossFit 817, a 15,000-square-foot affiliate in Keller, Texas, with more than 300 members.

“Still to this day,” he says, “don’t have any idea where that (check) came from.”

Video by Elliot Schrock.

For more info on becoming a CrossFit affiliate, click here.