In this video shot at the Montana stop of the CrossFit Tour, CrossFit founder and CEO Greg Glassman responds to a devil’s-advocate question about affiliates who might be tempted to expand their business to include selling supplements, apparel and more.
“In my head, a trainer trains and doesn’t do anything else,” Coach Glassman responds.
That’s because Glassman believes a trainer is just as much a professional as a doctor, lawyer or accountant. Those traditional professionals don’t often try to sell you some shoes after rendering their services.
“Professionals don’t sell shit,” Glassman explains. “They sell their service, their knowledge, their experience, their talent, their skill, their commitment.
“We sold shirts. Why? It was just part of the community. It was part of who we were. They said foul things that shocked people. They were cool. It was a part of the whole thing. Let’s leave the supplements and the power bars and the apparel as a critical part of your revenue, let’s leave that to a different gym model.
“Now I’m not going to tell you not to do those things. I’m just telling you I’d never do them. Never, ever, ever.”
As always, Coach Glassman leaves the choices up to the affiliates, but he’s clear that being a great trainer is all you need to make money and thrive. According to Glassman, full commitment to clients results in two things for a trainer: health and wealth.
6min 4sec
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Additional reading: Professional Training by Greg Glassman, published Jan. 1, 2006.