Reebok CrossFit Connect

We are pleased to announce our affiliation with Reebok.

We are pleased to announce that CrossFit Connect has joined a growing number of boxes in the UK and around the world and affiliated with Reebok to become Reebok CrossFit Connect.

Reebok have done an amazing job over the last two years in promoting CrossFit, pushing its message out to a much wider audience and raising its profile right around the world. More and more people are realising the power that CrossFit has to change lives for the better and as coaches this is what we strive for day in day out in our own boxes.

Yes, there were some misgivings when Reebok first got together with Coach Glassman and CrossFit in 2010. Such a tightly knit, almost underground community that CrossFit was had suddenly become breached by a huge multi-national corporate company like Reebok. People loved CrossFit because of its low-key, spit-and-sawdust feel and now they were selling out for commercial success. Hundreds of blog posts and comments were made online chastising CrossFit for selling out and this argument is still bubbling away today.

However, we have followed carefully just how Reebok have got involved, been to meetings with the UK head office and listened to proposals of just exactly what it is that they mean to get out of the partnership. We have seen how much they have raised CrossFits profile with quality prime time TV adverts, burgeoning competitions around Europe and have loved being able to watch all of our favourite athletes at the Games on ESPN and live streaming on the net. I doubt any of this would have happened without Reebok and it means more and more people are switching on to see just how damn fun CrossFit can be. As our nation spirals into an obesity epidemic surely this has to be a good thing.

Reebok are in it primarily to sell sports apparel. They have created a line of CrossFit specific clothes and shoes which they hope will become their flagship sports range. Lifting shoes, WODing shoes, shorts, t-shirts etc have all been designed with maximum training intensity in mind and of the items I have tried so far I have to say they are pretty damn good. The only downside at the moment is the cost of the items but I'm hoping this will come down in the near future to a more realistic level. You don't need this stuff to workout in but it certainly feels nice to wear. CrossFitters have become the biggest stash gathering fitness enthusiasts on the planet, jumping on the newest pair of trainers, compression socks, wrist straps...anything that will give them the edge in a WOD! Reebok have realised this and hope to benefit from it. And who can blame them?

So when it comes down to it, what does our affiliation with them mean?

It means we will be regarded alongside Reebok as a professional, quality brand. We can use their name to promote CrossFit Connect to a wider audience. We will feature on their websites and we will be holding events at the box each year. We will get some different signs made up for above the box door. We were chosen partly because of the quality of coaching we offer at the box and members can be assured that they will receive the best advice and guidance possible. You might even see us in few more pieces of Reebok gear over the next few months! ;)

Other than that, nothing will change. We will not change how we run the box and they will have no say in what makes us us. One of the best things about a CrossFit box is its uniqueness. Every box is different. We will continue to run Connect exactly as it is now as its this that our members love. One of our initial reservations was that boxes might become homogenised and god-forbid turn into mini globo gyms. But aside from the branding, each box will continue to run in its own unique fashion and its this that finally saw us make the decision to join forces with them.

We are now also in esteemed company in the UK with the likes of Reebok CrossFit Velocity, Reebok CrossFit 3D and Reebok CrossFit Thames, some of the biggest and best UK boxes. This is a proud achievement for us to sit alongside these coaches and names seeing as we are a fairly young and smallish (at the moment!) box.

We would just like to thank all of our members and supporters who have gotten us to where we are now. Its been great seeing our dream become reality and to build a fantastic place for people to come and train and have fun. We are really looking forward to seeing how the UK CrossFit scene develops over the next few years and love being part of such a vibrant community.

Cheers

Your Coaches: Dave, Holly, Barney & George