Dear Greg Glassman A few years ago my health was so bad that I could barely get out of bed. I spend most of two years bed-ridden, and in that time I stumbled across the Fittest on Earth documentaries. I ended up watching them religiously, and it continually inspired my to try and find a way out of my conditions. Today, I've improved so much that I'm currently training for a half marathon. I've never entered a crossfit box as it's WAY too expensive for people with long-term health conditions who can't work regularly. I now watch crossfit RU-vid videos (like this) but it's not the same without the high production quality (no offence craig, luv u) I still rinse the same three or four docus whenever I need to be motivated to stick to my fitness journey. I haven't watched anything from the crossfit games RU-vid channel since the changes. Don't underestimate the power that elite fitness and the old games format had. Plus, the talent of the media team for making such inspiring and engaging content.
Wayfaring Sarah Same, same, same. Heber and Marstons and teams docs are what got me to look into CrossFit. And while I’m not able to join an affiliate now, when I do in the future, it will be because of the media and online community.
Wayfaring Sarah it will sustain itself in the end, he doesn’t want to just break even on a model that was never intended, his intention was bringing Crossfit gyms to the forefront, no the competition. He’s said it himself, he is a meticulous man. He knows what he is talking about. Patience. You will see it pan out. Change is hard though.
Totally my thoughts! He is a total rambler, not cohesive at all! Must've been amazing to visit HQ and a real coup to get a long sit-down interview but you've got too be a real fan to sit through this and sift out the good stuff!
I am one of the many that have lost 100 #s because of CrossFit. I walked right by Coach at the California regional in 2017 and froze. I let him walk by and didn't get the chance to thank him for creating the thing that allowed me to win my health back and to maintain it for the rest of my life. Happy to watch this and get his take on it all.
I like his last comments. My favorite part of the week is my "date" with my mom when we go to the Saturday morning class and do the partner WOD together. I might be doing 75lb dumbell snatches and strict hspu and she might be doing 10lb and strict seated press, but we are both able to work as hard as we can to get the best score possible. To me that is what CrossFit is about.
I recently transitioned to more CrossFit based training. Your videos have helped me with the transition and understand the sport better. Def a long road ahead of me but I enjoy the current challenge
Q: "What is your response to people who say you handled the changes incorrectly, such as starting your season without a rulebook?" A: "Well Craig, let me tell you about our level one cert and how bad soda is."
I can’t tell you how much this man has changed my life for the better. His signature is certainly on my body. My wife said at 44 I look as good if not better than when I was in my 20s. Thank you Mr Glassman.
Shout out to Craig and Jazz because this interview looked a bit tough. Glassman seemed off putting to me and all over the place. He seemed to talk about “I” a lot and pat himself on the back while not really acknowledging the hard work that the media team put in. And in my opinion the media team, especially the documentary team are what has really driven CrossFit to be what it is. And yes, I’m sure there are affiliate owners who come up and say it’s not about the games but the games are fun to watch for nearly every athlete in those boxes, why else would he be encouraging the community to compete in the open? Possibly because it generates revenue for his company? All in all I think Craig did a solid interview, I just didn’t get a good “vibe”, for lack of a better word, from Greg.
KaiteCo Greg doesn’t care. CrossFit was not intended to be a sport, just a training program. Raw, dirty, in-your-face attitude, just like punk music. Then the Games came, but for 0.01% of the people. Glassman cares about the other 99.9%. There will be not just one but many documentaries, many more behind the scenes videos, many more opportunities for people to be professional. It’s been few months but it’s already happening. (Inside Elite Fitness and On The Minute shows, Buttery Bros behind the scenes videos and documentary coming soon, Joule Studios WZA documentary, many pro athletes’ vlogs and so on).
Glad you got this interview! I wish there was a question on the firings at HQ, what's going on with media coverage, and why is Dave Castro not announcing opens?
So glad that you were able to get a hold of Coach Glassman. I very much enjoy his in-depth thinking on health. I would suggest that people who watched this also look up his old videos when he owned the original box in Santa Cruz. Really great stuff there.
An about time interview! Watched it twice too, and so glad to be part of an era when this great training/fitness is in its prime. Can’t wait to see how it truly evolves from here.
Did he ever answer any question asked? I cannot follow his thoughts. More questions than answers after the Interview. Much respect for doing a 40min interview, Craig! 👍
You have built a business off his idea. His Affiliate fees are dirt cheap. Even if you're brand new and paying $3k a year, it's still fuck all of a price to pay for trading off his intellectual property.
Watched the first 12min and I must say the way address your questions is very genuine Craig, so well done mate. I haven't watched it in it's entirety just yet, but I thought I'd throw a comment in regarding the question you asked at 8:53 regarding the shift in Crossfit. His response and body language to your question has thrown me off, and he seems oblivious to the fact that he cannot admit that things have changed when he responded with "nothing really has fucking changed at all, it's just gotten better". He then backed this up with a fair comment in regards to the overall perspective of health and wellbeing, and that his vision was to help a more broad audience, which is a far better reply in my opinion. I feel Greg could learn a lot from you Craig and your vision. You're genuineness, and understanding of the culture is what Crossfit needs, and your videos and content are truly a breath of fresh air. Keep up the great content mate.
Thanks for the interview. I feel better about the games! Also... you should make these available on podcasts, unless you already do in which case I need to look better!
Alice Kindseth , good suggestion about a podcast, almost the reverse of the way many podcasts now put out a RU-vid video version. The interviews would be perfect for that.
Epic interview Craig! So cool to see how far your vlog has come, even since the beginning of 2019. You guys are killing it, and it's nice to see good things happening to good people.
Excellent interview Craig & Jas. I appreciate the notion that he wants to democratize the games. He's right, nobody needs to know the 36th fittest on earth, even though they night be a super cool person. It's good to hear everything from the horse's mouth. He has a vision, and like it or not, it's his show.
Craig, others have said already, but that was a tough interview. He didn’t appear very interested. But you handled the awkwardness very well. Thanks for this.
I have never watched a 45 min plus RU-vid video about anything before. Great interview Craig and Jas. Congrats. And yes. We are the strongest team on RU-vid.
Nice job, brother. Everyone saw what you were trying to get to with Gassman and where you were going with interview, but he has a different perspective... clearly. Could not AGREE WITH YOU MORE -- the CrossFit Games have been a phenomenal venue and continue to demonstrate enormous success in messaging the value in CrossFit... why would you not want to continue to capitalize on this?? It's like you said, it opens eyes to the possibilities for everyone. I'm a 49 y/o Army Officer, CrossFit masters athlete/junkie, feel better than I did when I was in my 20s as a young Ranger, and the CrossFit Games keep motivating me to better myself year after year. Again, great work in trying to help brother Gassman see the light... keep hammering. Best, Keith
So cool that as an advertisement before the video started and Glassman talked about Pulp Fiction, I saw the whole trailer of the new Quentin Tarantino movie!
This was a great clip and a insight to the thinking of the man you developed CrossFit to where it is today. I like the new format and just from the open this year, you can tell it has done the things he wanted the open to do.
As a 300lb male in his mid 30's I happened upon the Crossfit games late night on ESPN 5 years ago. Once I found out they had all got there via workouts in the Crossfit Open months earlier it intrigued me to look into it more. When I discovered it was something I could do (even poorly) at the local level I was in. I saw something that I wanted to do. Something I could be part of and a new direction and challenge that I knew would result in saving my life. I saw a community that I wanted to be a part of and for five weeks a year this comradery and family dynamic was magnified in a manner that is difficult to quantify with words. Fast forward a few years and countless new achievements I never thought I would see in my lifetime and I lost 75lbs (the weight is but a small indication of the massive change on overall body composition as I've gained lots of lean mass within that transformation) and looked forward to the Open every year. The sweet misery of it was something I knew would challenge me and bring new people into the healthy lifestyle. I've turned my life around in a healthy, positive manner and am the prototypical life that Crossfit looks to change... all because of the Open/Games. This year, for the first time since I discovered health, I feel left out. I feel like I don't matter and my success now doesn't matter. I didn't sign up for the Open for the first time since discovering Crossfit because... what's the point? Give Crossfit $20 for what reason? Nah. I'm good. If you can't find a way to make something like the Crossfit Games profitable that's more of a management issue. The Games, a distraction? This confirms that it's not us that doesn't get it but upper execs @ Crossfit who don't get it and have lost touch with the (not so) little guy (and girl) who found fitness and owe their life to Crossfit due largely in part to the Open which has been ripped from us with poor reasoning & veiled assumptions. Of course we're going to recoil against this change because we have ZERO belief in the "vision" and how it actually gets people like us more involved not less. Bring back the Open and figure out a way to make it profitable if that's the concern. People like me who don't have much time at their current path in life depend on growing that presence, not shrinking it.
That was a great interview! Love the tough questions you asked that are on many of our minds! I also thought Coach Glassman answered them well. Having said that he clearly doesn’t give a s#$& what anyone thinks. 😀
First off I’m gonna need you to watch pulp fiction as soon as possible. Second thank you for the interview I hope that this answers a lot of questions for many people this is the interview that should’ve been done a long long time ago. I’m glad y’all got around to it.!
Man, you guys did such a good job on this! Like many others already said,, Glassman just seems to ramble on and not really answer any questions.. but your patience! Loved watching this though like all your content!
i watch your channel for like ages, i have merch... i have to say... you not knowing pulp fiction is sad, watch it on the next plane flight, love you guys, keep it up =)
Awesome interview! Seems to me Greg knows about the power of Crossfit to really change people's lifes on a small scale at the affiliates and wants the focus on that. I like it!
The distinction between Glassmans view of health and that of that average competitive cf’er is perspective. Go into any hospital, nursing home, fast food restaurant and globo gym and you will see a common trend of failing health archetypes. People needlessly moving to a state of decrepitude too soon and the adverse effects they have on our health care system, it’s crippling in itself.
At the box level the games are a once a year test to see how you have improved over the year. That excitement / challenge was missing this year. Integrating the Games with the box level experience grows CrossFit. Treating the Games as a sideshow perpetuates the image that CrossFit isn’t for normal people. Thanks for the interview!
This was frustrating to watch. Craig did a great job, but Greg's dismissal of the value of the games and his his all over the place responses were frustrating. For me and several people I know, the reason we got into Crossfit was because of the games. It's like a motivational powerhouse, and while I'm sure there are plenty of people who do crossfit that don't care about the games, he is disregarding the crowd of people that get inspired by the games to join a box. Greg is caught up on wanting to promote crossfit for what it is, which is to promote healthier living thru this methodology, but people who join boxes because of the games are still going to get that benefit. I honestly would have never gotten into crossfit if not for the games coverage. He keeps talking about the people from 10 year old affiliates who come up to him at the games reminding him 'it's not about the games.' Okay, what about the thousands of others that are there BECAUSE they've been motivated by games athletes to participate in crossfit? It's like he doesn't like the way crossfit is evolving... but the games can grow and pull people into this sport more than advertising good health ever will, and the result for people who take up the sport will be the same: they'll be learning this methodology and how to stay fit, which I assume is what he wants ultimately.
That...was a tough interview. Nice job Craig. I'll be honest, I've never been a fan of Greg and that's still the case. I didn't appreciate the disregard he had for the lack of communication to the people who are Games fans (who are also part of the Box), his disregard of the media team, and honestly the disregard towards the athletes. These lives and their financial livelihoods are important. So while I'm not against the changes at all, they went about it in a disrespectful way. And to be honest, if he wants people from all different backgrounds, countries, ect to compete at the Games, then he also needs to put that same energy into the demo videos, health videos ect. Those are not diverse. Once they become an integral part of Crossfit Health's messaging, then that will trickle to the affiliates which will trickle to the Games. Anyway, again nice job Craig and Jas.
Dude is a superhero for continuing to run a smooth interview with that rambling nonsense. So upsetting that he didn't show Craig, his viewers, or fans of the Games more respect. Did anybody else get a Donald Trump feel?
Say it with me guys......I will not drink heavily before someone interviews me.......I will not drink heavily before someone interviews me! Come on ....ilove this sport and the fact that he created it, but dayum man get it together! The games have alot more clout than he wants to believe!
agreed with you but from a business perspective what sense does it make to break even? I believe in Greg’s primary mission, I also love the sport of fitness!
@@kyleobrien9402 I think the changes to the season are fine. The communications around the changes were horrible as was the way to deal with the employees.
Craig, I agree with you when you said that you wouldn't have nearly as many friends if you hadn't started crossfit. I'm in the same boat. I met some of my closest friends at crossfit
Wow, that's was tough to sit through. Admirable patience from Craig, and concluded the video at the right time. I don't disagree with any of the changes to the sport, but was really hoping to get more insight from Glassman here. It's as if he too concerned with using elaborate metaphorical analogies vs providing a simple answer! Good work regardless Craig.
Love how you can see the cogs in Glassman’s head working overtime on Jas’s suggestion. I would love to do an entry level type course introduction to CrossFit. Hope it happens 🤞
1) I've wanted a sprint triathlon in the Games for years now. I hope this is the year. 2) Jeez, Craig. you need to watch more movies. those are some damn good ones. :)
I understand him 1000%. I didn't enjoy watching the Open but I enjoyed the open at my gym. Yes the games created the hype, but the local athletes are what power the engine. It's about seeing peoples journey not who the best in the world is.
Great work Team Richey!! I will say that a friend got me into CrossFit, but games type coverage has given a lot of ongoing inspiration to want to get better. As long as that’s not totally overlooked I agree with the thoughts shared here...
Glassman essentially does not care that a big part of mine and many others passion for CrossFit is embedded in witnessing, being inspired by, and keeping up to date with the elite. He’s not willing to accept that senior management within CrossFit HQ have made huge mistakes the last 6 months. It’s arrogant, frustrating and pushes people away. “I had a different vision for the games”. What to communicate absolutely nothing to the community that has helped build this entire thing? “Nothing really has fucking changed at all. It’s just gotten better”. On behalf of everyone, no it’s not. If you feel the games format has been improved, great. But we don’t know that because it’s now so difficult to access it. We’ve become reliant on podcasts and vlogs from fired employees of CrossFit HQ to churn out weekly content so we have a clue what’s happening and how the new format even plays out. It’s categorically not good enough.
I think the reality is that Crossfit HQ simply sees the revenue stream coming in from the affiliates as funding for their goal of combating the scientific and educational shortcomings in the field of nutrition. I mean, affiliates and CF Open participants account for the bulk of their revenue, not the Crossfit Health department. Based on Glassman's vague answers and the chaotic way in which Crossfit HQ's content offering has shifted without any heads up recently (the weird videos and retro sets), I feel that it's pretty clear that they either don't care about the sport itself or it's just a case of complete mismanagement Just think about this: What does Crossfit HQ offer to its affiliates and members other than the Crossfit logo? And if you look at the Open, what do we get for our $20? Apparently now just a leaderboard page and an App (no more CF Media coverage etc).
Fair points, Omar, especially your second statement. I'm looking at this from a ground/ up perspective - the culture and progression of Crossfit starts from the box owners , and administrated by HQ.
Good points! If CrossFit continues to follow Glassman's rambling way of thinking it will have a hard time surviving. I can't imagine rational people trying to work for him. He's proud of how the changes were rolled out?!?! To the community it was a disaster and completely mismanaged. Wow there's an opportunity for another organization to step in and take the reins of the competition arena. We will find out if the growth in the number of CrossFit affilates that coincided with the growth in popularity of the Games was a coincidence. Or was the popularity of the Games responsible for the growth in affiliates. My bet is on the Games/competition being the leading attraction.
The answer to how it's crossfit going it's on this year open and all the announcements...the announcements this year at least for me feel kind of empty it was really boring too and it doesn't look professional anymore, and I'm not gonna talk about the open itself...at least on my box less that half of the people participated...and last year the participation was way better...at least for me we need to get back to the old format
For me, watching the games came after starting CrossFit. But I think the games are extremely inspiring. I know I'll never be at a level to compete, but I can relate to everything the athletes do. It gives me an appreciation for the sport. As well makes it exciting to watch. If I'm ever feeling stuck on the couch, I just watch road to the games, or the redeemed and the dominant, and I immediately want to work out. I hope the games continue to grow and they stop considering it a side show.
It honestly sounds like Crossfit needs to relinquish management of the games period. It's obviously Greg Glassman is not interested in the games... What he doesn't really understand is that A LOT of people LOVE to watch the games. I love watching thruster races... if that's how he likes to phrase it. I started Crossfit when I was 43. I started because I had a free week. Then my wife purchased three weeks. I tried it out... It was cool... didn't understand a lot about it. Later I joined another box for a month. During that time the games came on... I was fixated on it all weekend... LOVED IT! I didn't even know who the athletes were at the time... but it was amazing to me... My appreciate for a thruster race increased the first time I had to do Fran. Watching Mat Fraser do 19.5 was impressive because I KNOW what's involved in that... and I still shake my head he can do it sub 7 minutes. I respect Mr. Glassman... He is an innovator and I appreciate that he is trying to stay true to his calling and purpose and will push back to continue doing so. I just disagree of his perception that the games aren't that interesting.
Are you afraid the games won't continue? What I've experienced with this open is almost better coverage compared to previous years with RU-vid channels like this one and ButteryBros. Things can change and continue...
Aaron Lengel No I’m not afraid of that. I’m suggesting that he isolate the games from the fitness side and let people who DO love the Games run with it. Seems obvious Glassman doesn’t. My post was not a criticism of the man or his mission... just disagree with his perspective in how people view the games.
Rick McGuffey Isn’t that what Crossfit is doing by letting others run sanctionals and do broadcasting? Don’t be surprised in a few years if others start to run the games itself. You said he should isolate the games from health and let those who love the games part of things run it. And Greg has done exactly that. Now others can broadcast events and the games where before it was just Crossfit doing it in house. Now others can run events with the Crossfit name in them where before it was only in house. Now there is a risk, that being maybe the demand for this wasn’t that great and Crossfit was taking a loss every year on running the show. We know from the viewer numbers that the games didn’t pull in that many viewers. Maybe the community/audience for this isn’t as good as we think and they won’t be able to replicate it and stand on their own, That is a concern but I think there is a lot of potential for growth as we’ve seen in sanctionals the last few months. Also just within the 2019 open alone there has been a lot of improvement. The Miami and Dublin broadcasts of 19.5 were as good as previous years and much better than the early 2019 open announcements.
He was criticising the NSCA CSCS: uk.humankinetics.com/products/essentials-of-strength-training-and-conditioning-4th-edition-with-web-resource, and talking up his CrossFit level 1 cert.
Good interview..... the problem with crossfit is on a local level not really advanced crossfit like your experiencing. Ive seen you go to Tennessee with some of the big names of crossfit which are the most advanced there is. So I would have no problem going into Fronings gym and feel 100 percent about the training and guidance he or anyone at his gym gives me. The problem is that is few and far between. To be an instructor you have to take a short class of crossfit and you are considered certified. I have been to two crossfit gyms locally and neither one of them really knew how to instruct on how to properly do a deadlift, the snatch, clean and jerk etc. I think there should be more advanced requirements for the trainers involved in crossfit across the country because if these movements are not taught well and you dont have a good foundation, it is setting people up for injury.
rayraymartineziii on ramp courses are great but you should download and study the L1 training guide. That’s what everyone should know before doing CrossFit.
