“The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. Thats the essence of it.”- Vince Lombardi
NEWS
BREAKING: CrossFit Announces Significant Layoffs Just Ahead of 2023 Semifinals
CrossFit LLC is letting go of 20% of its employees only a few weeks before Semifinals and just months before the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games begin.
“In assessing our organization and cost structure while considering the current economic environment, it became clear that we needed to make some changes. While this was an incredibly hard decision, these reductions will help us create a more sustainable business model, ensure that we’re prepared for economic uncertainty, and position us to make some big bets against our most important priorities,” according to a statement from CrossFit LLC Chief Executive Officer Don Faul.
Though CrossFit didn’t provide an exact number of employees affected by the lay-offs, nor did they provide details about the positions that were terminated, the Morning Chalk Up has heard from individuals in various departments across the company, including partnerships, DEI, adaptive and affiliate management positions.
Jordan Holland is one of them. The former regional manager for US Affiliates, who also ran events such as affiliate summits, confirmed to the Morning Chalk Up he was laid off on Thursday, as did Alec Zirkenbach, who was the Accessibility and Adaptive Sport Specialist at CrossFit.
Remind me: The company has gone through its fair share of layoffs, specifically in 2018 and 2019, under the leadership of CrossFit founder Greg Glassman, when he announced a restructuring of the company and let go of the majority of the CrossFit Games media team.
CrossFit LLC has also gone through several leadership changes in recent years. In August of 2020 Eric Roza bought the company and stepped in as CEO for 18 months, but transitioned to Board Chairman in early 2022.
In August of 2022, Faul, who is a US Marine veteran with vast experience in the technology space including roles at Pinterest, Meta and Google, took over as CEO.
One of Faul’s most recent interviews was with CrossFit legend Jason Khalipa on his podcast Effort Over Everything. The two had a wide-ranging conversation regarding affiliates, Faul’s approach to business, and the future of CrossFit.
Faul also mentioned during the interview he and his team were working to build the business from the ground up and shifting the business model from a startup mentality to a big business outlook.
The bottom line: It is yet to be seen if or how the layoffs will impact the current CrossFit Games season. All eyes will be on the company as it navigates the major events coming up.
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SPEED READS
Not sure what to get your mom or wife for Mother’s Day? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our Shopping Guide for Fit Mamas.
Looking for some insight on how to manage your nutrition while building muscle for CrossFit? Austin Heaton at The Heaton Minded has some info for you (h/t Working Against Gravity).
🧈 🥞 🧈 Nick Mathew made it to the 2022 CrossFit Games, but only just barely. Then he won two events and placed 14th overall. Learn all about his season in the Buttery Bros new video.
CROSSFIT GAMES
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Five Men Likely to Punch their First Ticket to the CrossFit Games in 2023
Last season, 12 rookie men competed at the Games and the year before, nine. How many rookies will break through this year is anyone’s guess, but here are five we have been keeping a close eye on and think have some of the best chances to qualify to their first CrossFit Games this summer.
Mena Mahmoud Qualifies for Individual Semifinals While Observing Ramadan, Ranks Top for Egyptian Athletes
From March 22 to April 20, Muslims worldwide observed Ramadan, a holy time of fasting and spiritual growth. During this time, those who were healthy fasted, abstaining from water and food from dawn until after sunset.
For Mena Mahmoud, this time of fasting and reflection fell over an important step in her CrossFit career: Individual Quarterfinals.
While fasting 14 hours a day, Mahmoud qualified for the Individual Semifinals and ranked at the top of the leaderboard for Egyptian athletes.
How she did it: Tyler Millstein, Mahmoud’s coach, planned to keep her training during Ramadan centered on quality, skill, and tempo work, saying that this period of fasting was not a time to push it. When coaching other athletes through Ramadan, he explained, some take the whole month off, while others come in and move the best they can, hoping they don’t faint.
With Quarterfinals, however, Mahmoud didn’t have a choice in the intensity or timing of her workouts.
I have been on the ten year journey with Reebok Nanos since my first pair of custom hot pink Nano 2.0’s back in 2013 during my first year of CrossFit (back when my dream was to do one double-under). Nanos have been a part of CrossFit history, and we can all think back to when we tried our first pair.
We’ve seen the Reebok Nanos, and now we have evolved to the Reebok NanoX editions. The shoes have changed and evolved, the same way our sport has changed and evolved.
But enough backstory, let’s get into it. I’ve been training in the Reebok NanoX3’s for the past month, and here are my takeaways.
Today’s workout is programmed by seven-time CrossFit Games athlete, Khan Porter. After only one year of CrossFit, Porter finished his first competitive season 10th overall in the 2013 Australian Regionals. He has been a mainstay in elite CrossFit ever since, most recently taking 4th in the 2022 Games with CrossFit Reykjavik teammates Annie Thorisdottir, Tola Morakinyo, and Lauren Fisher.
Porter has competed at the Games one other time in the team division in 2019, and six times as an individual in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2020. The Aussie planned to return to the individual division in 2023, but was stopped short by injury during Quarterfinals.
The self-proclaimed “fitness nomad” is currently training in Reykjavik, Iceland under Jami Tikkanen, and is known in the community today through his outspoken advocacy for mental health issues, his eclectic style, and, of course, his viral dance videos.
Khan Porter
3 Sets of:
13 Rounds
0:30 Max effort machine of choice
0:15 Rest
Rest 3 minutes between sets
Advice from Khan:
“The intent here is to hold the absolute maximum pace you can for 30 seconds across the duration of the workout. Each interval should be similar in terms of pacing. Set a standard in the first 3-4 intervals and fight to hold it.”
To inquire about submitting an upcoming workout of the week, shoot us a note.
THINGS TO...
...KNOW
Four Common Causes for Knee Pain
If your knees are killing you, while you are trying to figure out how to make it better you should also be figuring out why they are hurting. Here are four common knee pain causes and how you can overcome them!
The Best Recovery Tools To Get You Back in the Box
Nothing is more frustrating than having pains, aches and injuries that keep you from working out. Use these recovery tools to keep you healthy and strong, so that you never have to miss a workout... unless it's a rest day.
While we can’t guarantee you will look quite as athletic and overall ripped as Christian Harris, we can guarantee that practicing these can help with your ring muscle ups.
NOBULL is bringing super bloom energy to the Floral Shop this season. Find fresh prints on new products and past seasons’ top picks that have sprouted again. Get ready to harness the flower power of the 2023 Floral Shop and thrive in any environment.
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