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 

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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