What are the Reebok CrossFit Gyms?

There has been a lot of confusion in recent months in regards to the new branded Reebok CrossFit boxes. Many including myself, were not sure if these new boxes were owned by Reebok or if they were just regular CrossFit gyms who had a kind of financial partnership with the brand.

Reebok CrossFit Boston

There were many affiliates and CrossFitters who began to wonder if Reebok and CrossFit were in fact partnering to create some kind of new globo gym network. Affiliates and individuals alike worried what this would mean for them and their prospective boxes. The fact there was little if any information on the matter led to enormous speculation, which is never good when it comes to such matters. Fortunately this week Reebok released a public statement that specifically addressed the matter.

I think it goes a long way to clear up some of the confusion. You check it out below:

We currently have in place a number of ways that CrossFit Affiliates can work with Reebok, including a custom Affiliate gear program, revenue share program, event sponsorships, product testing and more. Contact reebokcrossfit@reebok.com for more info.

Our ultimate goal is to see CrossFit Affiliates thrive. CrossFit HQ’s directive to us, and the core focus of our partnership with CrossFit, is to support the Affiliates. As Coach Glassman has repeatedly asserted, the Affiliates are CrossFit. If anything we are doing is not contributing to their success, we will re-evaluate our initiatives. This is something we take very seriously at Reebok. The intent of the current Reebok-CrossFit television commercials is to drive awareness of CrossFit to the greater public and get them banging down your door!

WHY? Because we know CrossFit is the ultimate expression of fitness and it is time for the world to know. We are not in the gym business; we are a product company. In the end, through making the best possible product and supporting the Affiliates, we hope you and your clients want to sport our gear.

As it relates to Reebok CrossFit boxes, we are mainly focused on teaming up with new CrossFit Affiliates in International markets to help spur the growth of CrossFit in countries where Reebok is strong and CrossFit is still young. We have partnered with a few Affiliates here in the U.S. to foster awareness and access to CrossFit; where we have professional athletes (Miami), actors and actresses (LA), or music industry leaders (NYC). Please note that these are all Affiliate owned and must meet the same affiliation requirements that every box in CrossFit’s network of more than 3,000 Affiliates must satisfy…they are NOT Reebok owned. We also partnered with a box in downtown Boston focusing on the companies in that immediate area. Finally, we have Reebok CrossFit ONE at our World Headquarters which is only open to Reebok employees, of which we now have over 500 CrossFitting just from here. This box serves as a CrossFit showcase for professional athletes and companies in the sports and apparel world and testifies to Reebok’s belief that CrossFit is THE fitness program and lifestyle and the sport of the 21st century.

Outside of these boxes in the U.S. we are not looking to partner with more CrossFit Affiliates at this time. We are, however, looking at more beneficial ways we can partner up with Affiliates. Stay tuned!

The Drop Boxes showcased in the television commercial are being escorted around the world to showcase CrossFit in key cities. We will be reaching out to local Affiliates in each city to help us coach and run the workouts as well as promote their local box during these “Drop Box Events”.

Finally, we are building a team of Reebok employees (called ARMs–Affiliate Relationship Managers) around the country to be at your service, with the goal of having the foundation in place and people on the ground by the end of 2012.

Again, thank you.

Reebok Team