Testimonials
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Mike Fandrey, along with Tom Smith, are the owners of CrossFit Rocky Point in Coquitlam, B.C.
Fandrey has been CrossFitting for a while now. He first opened up a tiny four hundred square foot garage gym in Maple Ridge. Before opening his doors of his 3,000 square foot facility in Coquitlam, Fandrey spent a good deal of time consulting with CrossFit Vancouver.
“This played an integral role in the early development of Rocky Point CrossFit,” said Fandrey. “We still use CrossFit Vancouver’s fundamentals program to train all of our new clients before they head into group classes,” said Fandrey, whose box has more than 150 members today.
He credits the business mentorship program at CrossFit Vancouver as having helped him grow as quickly and as smoothly as he has. “The program is advantageous to anyone wanting to open an affiliate of his own,” he said.
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Joe Marsh came up to Vancouver in September, 2011, for the Executive Diploma Program. In this video, he explains why he came up, what he learned, and what his thoughts about CrossFit Vancouver are.
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John Stanley came to Vancouver for the in-house executive business mentorship diploma program in April 2011. Here’s his story:
When I first heard about CrossFit, I was skeptical. Every program claims to be number one, and most don’t come close to meeting that mark. So I started researching and found that there was a lot of science behind the program. It just made sense to me.
I wanted to learn more, so I talked with Patty and we discussed a level one cert, and then he suggested his business mentorship program. I thought, ‘Well if I’m going to open a new business, who better to learn from than the guys that brought the product into the country?’Simply put, the program gave me all of the ins and outs of the business. These guys had already made all of the mistakes and found the best ways around them. I took in everything they said, and completely bought into their system.
CrossFit Vancouver showed me the perfect way to expose a new client to CrossFit. I live in a city of only twenty thousand, in one of the coldest parts of the country, a place where people want to be outside in the summer. Despite this, I still signed sixty very happy clients in the last two summer months. They are going strong, getting great results, and I believe they are all going to become long-term CrossFitters.
Thank you Patty, and, of course, the entire CrossFit Vancouver crew!
-John Stanley
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Dan MacDougald is one of CrossFit Vancouver’s celebrity graduates.
A former big-shot lawyer in the US, he is mostly retired now. However he continues to consult to CrossFit Headquarters. And he’s the owner of CrossFit Atlanta.
MacDougald found CrossFit in 2004, becoming certified by the fall of 2005. At the time, he had no idea that CrossFit was about to “become my life’s passion,” he explained.
But soon enough, he left his law practice to devote his heart and soul to CrossFit Atlanta, which he opened in November, 2005.
Despite his tremendous success during his law career, MacDougald was admittedly lost as an affiliate owner. “I had no idea how to run a business, and I blundered along for several years making little to no money at it…until I met Craig Patterson at the 2009 CrossFit Games,” said MacDougald.
“We became friends almost instantly,” he continued.
Shortly after that, Patterson and MacDougald made a deal, and the mentorship program began. “My focus had been entirely on excellence in training, and while that is important, it’s not enough,” he said.
MacDougald learned from CrossFit Vancouver that running a successful CrossFit affiliate came down to the vibe in the box – things like community building, client retention, and developing excellent coaches. He credits Patterson as having helped in him tremendously in these areas.
“From the fall of 2009, when I began implementing his suggestions, to June, 2011, our membership and monthly revenues have climbed steadily, and our currently monthly revenue is 50 per cent higher than it was in 2010,” he said.
He added: “The wife is now getting enthused about CrossFit. Holy Fuckin Mackerel!!”
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Colin Broadwater is the owner of CrossFit Bishop, in Eastern California. Like many affiliate owners, he opened his box and his struggles began.
After training out of his 400 square foot garage for a number of months, it was time to open a real gym. He held a fundraiser in order to pay for the first month’s rent in his new venue.
But when he did get into his own space, he and his wife had a hard time making enough money to pay the bills and put food on the table. In the first year, he was was forced to work insane hours just to get by.
“After our first year in operation, we were at a point where we needed to make some serious decisions about how to run a profitable business,” he said.
So he called Patty at CrossFit Vancouver for advice. In the month after just two short phone conversations with Patty, his box recorded their highest monthly revenue to date. The following month: another conversation, and another $3,000 increase in monthly revenue.
“Patty has opened my eyes to how I can run a successful and profitable business, change people’s lives along the way, and not run myself into the ground trying to get it all done,” he said.
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Allister Jones, commonly known as ‘Big Al’ owns CrossFit Glenmore in Kelowna.
It’s no surprise he’s been successful in drawing women in their 50s (his prime clientele demographic) to CrossFit. Simply put, Big Al is objectively charming and equally attractive – he has one of those faces that doesn’t want to age.
Although Big Al has the talent to be a huge success on his own, he doesn’t for a second discredit how CrossFit Vancouver has nurtured him, and continues to cradle his business today.
Patty introduced Big Al to CrossFit in November, 2003.Patty took him to a city park in the area and put him through his first WOD.
Although still a stranger to CrossFit, he was no stranger to Patterson – the two had been best friends as children in Gaspe, Quebec.
“Being best friends with Patty over the years has taken my life on many narrow, less travelled paths,” says Big Al. “The CrossFit path has changed my life in many ways.”
Prior to CrossFit, Big Al was your typical wannabe body building male, constantly pumping himself with horrible tasting protein shakes, creatine, and double whoppers, all the while never seeming to gain the fitness prowess he strived for. While living this lifestyle, he had a life threatening accident that left him 50-pounds underweight and severely disabled on his left side of the body. CrossFit helped him recover and gain his strength back, he explains.
Today, Big Al says what he misses most about training in Vancouver is the sense of community and belonging that flourishes at CrossFit Vancouver. “Every time I feel my tank getting empty, I take a visit to Vancouver, check out your website, or call Patty and get a belly full of energy, inspiration and new ideas to implement at my own box,” said Big Al.
“Everything I learned in CrossFit was learned as a student for three and a half years at CrossFit Vancouver,” he said.
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CrossFit Vancouver has transformed my life. CFV allowed me to pursue
health and fitness at a time in my life when I wasn’t
certain I could ever regain either again. I decided to attend the
Executive Diploma Program, and I am thrilled with the
results. Patty and his crew shared both their personal and business
experiences, and having the benefit of their six years of
wisdom is indispensable as I move toward my goal of CF
affiliate owner! CFV’s Executive Diploma Program is an invaluable tool to
have in your toolkit!Terri-Lyn Higgs
Mareck Bigler travelled all the way from Switzerland to complete our junior apprentice diploma program. He graduated in the spring of 2011 and headed home with the tools to help him open his own affiliate in Switzerland.
Here’s what he has to say:
With a gymnastics and team sports backround, I discovered Crossfit two years ago and it caught my interest right away. I did one year of training by myself, took my level 1 cert, and then headed to Crossfit Vancouver for their apprentice diploma program. …Read More
