Here is the link and article:
http://blogs.forbes.com/sportsmoney/2010/07/20/the-crossfit-games-an-action-sports-investment-opportunity-in-the-making/
The CrossFit Games: An Action Sports Investment Opportunity in the Making
This is the language of a fast growing action sport that may be a ‘diamond-in-the-rough’ investment opportunity for sports sponsors in coming years.
This is the language of CrossFit.
This past weekend I had the privledge of witnessing The 2010 CrossFit Games. In its 4th year, this international competition markets their athletes as the fittest in the world.
And this translates into the potential for commercial appeal both domestically and abroad.
History of CrossFit
CrossFit was founded by former gymnast Greg Glassman, and the first CrossFit affiliated gym opened in Santa Cruz in 1995. CrossFit itself is a strength and conditioning fitness methodology that promotes broad and general overall physical fitness using a myriad of exercises more commonly found in the activities of weightlifting, sprinting, and gymnastics.
Designed to enhance a wide array of physical characteristics simultaneously such as cardiovascular endurance, power, flexibility, speed, agility, and balance, the popularity of CrossFit has truly taken off in recent years. The number of affiliated gyms grew from 18 in 2005 to almost 1,700 in 2010.
Another sign of the growth in CrossFit is how their culminating annual event, The CrossFit Games, has truly taken off in a short period of time. Consider the following…for the the inaugural 2007 CrossFit Games:
Given the significant increase in popularity over such a short time, event organizers decided to make the 2010 Games a bit more elite by having a thorough qualification process which involved sectional and then regional competitions during the first half of 2010.
Ultimately, the 2010 Games featured 50 men, 50 women, and 68 teams which qualified from all over the world…though mostly concentrated in the U.S. and Canada for now. They also added a Masters division. Furthermore, the 2010 Games took place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA…home to Landon Donovan of the LA Galaxy and one of the finest spectator facilities in America.
CrossFit’s Potential for Commercial Appeal
Most of CrossFit’s current sponsors are fitness-specific brands (either niche athletic wear or health-related products). But one of their sponsors is the highly successful and broad reaching Under Armour brand…and this might be a signal of things to come if CrossFit’s chief administrators shoot for the moon and market their product globally.
Given the kinds of exercises and activities that the CrossFitters engage in, one might harken back to the early days of ESPN and ESPN2 when, while desperate for programming, they would air Strong Man competitions.
You remember those, don’t you? Guys carrying 200 pound cement balls to and fro, pulling fire trucks, tossing kegs in a way most dissimilar than what college kids do on the weekends along frat row. To many, these athletes seemed more circus than substance.
But as I walked around the Home Depot Center over the weekend watching the competitors in action, I marveled at the grace, speed, and strength at which these competitors engaged their craft. They didn’t look like hulks that the average person couldn’t identify with. Instead, they looked like regular folks that just made a commitment to training. In this way, CrossFit has a transformative and inspirational vibe associated with it for both participants and spectators alike. And this vibe is more than a vibe because you can see tangible results for the people that engage in CrossFit, and that the activity is truly attainable for any person though perhaps not at a competitive level.
And talk about sex appeal. Not unlike the professional volleyball tour, this sport exudes attractiveness…and sex sells.
In the movie industry they talk about ‘pitching the quad’…that is, make movies that can appeal to men and women alike, as well as the young and old.
Well, sports sponsors may want to jump on the bandwagon before these ad and sponsor rates jump because CrossFit pitches the quad. With competitors spanning both genders and with competitors ranging in age from early 20s to well over 50, you’ve got a diverse consumer base with an above average level of affluence.
And as stated previously, this activity would likely attract any person that engages in some fitness regimen. It inspires those of us who train to perhaps think of new, fun, and creative methods for training. And in much the same way as the Olympics inspires us to think and dream of what we are capable of when pushed, I’d argue that CrossFit offers this emotion and concept to a greater array of people who are perhaps not as giften in one particular area as an Olympian or professional athlete but still have the drive for self improvement.
Given that most of the competitors still largely hail from North America, there seems a tremendous opportunity to expand the CrossFit brand internationally. After all, North America does not have a copyright to the concept of fitness.
Going forward, I see the likes of ESPN or Versus airing these Games…further increasing the awareness and visibility of CrossFit, and making corporate sponsorship of CrossFit activities considerably frugal and effective for sponsors and the sport alike.
This is the language of CrossFit.
This past weekend I had the privledge of witnessing The 2010 CrossFit Games. In its 4th year, this international competition markets their athletes as the fittest in the world.
And this translates into the potential for commercial appeal both domestically and abroad.
History of CrossFit
CrossFit was founded by former gymnast Greg Glassman, and the first CrossFit affiliated gym opened in Santa Cruz in 1995. CrossFit itself is a strength and conditioning fitness methodology that promotes broad and general overall physical fitness using a myriad of exercises more commonly found in the activities of weightlifting, sprinting, and gymnastics.
Designed to enhance a wide array of physical characteristics simultaneously such as cardiovascular endurance, power, flexibility, speed, agility, and balance, the popularity of CrossFit has truly taken off in recent years. The number of affiliated gyms grew from 18 in 2005 to almost 1,700 in 2010.
Another sign of the growth in CrossFit is how their culminating annual event, The CrossFit Games, has truly taken off in a short period of time. Consider the following…for the the inaugural 2007 CrossFit Games:
- It was an open competition with no qualification process in place;
- It featured no more than 40 male and 20 female competitors;
- There was no team component of the Games;
- And the Games were held in Aromas, CA…and where is Aromas, CA you ask? That’s right, in the middle of nowhere.
Given the significant increase in popularity over such a short time, event organizers decided to make the 2010 Games a bit more elite by having a thorough qualification process which involved sectional and then regional competitions during the first half of 2010.
Ultimately, the 2010 Games featured 50 men, 50 women, and 68 teams which qualified from all over the world…though mostly concentrated in the U.S. and Canada for now. They also added a Masters division. Furthermore, the 2010 Games took place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA…home to Landon Donovan of the LA Galaxy and one of the finest spectator facilities in America.
CrossFit’s Potential for Commercial Appeal
Most of CrossFit’s current sponsors are fitness-specific brands (either niche athletic wear or health-related products). But one of their sponsors is the highly successful and broad reaching Under Armour brand…and this might be a signal of things to come if CrossFit’s chief administrators shoot for the moon and market their product globally.
Given the kinds of exercises and activities that the CrossFitters engage in, one might harken back to the early days of ESPN and ESPN2 when, while desperate for programming, they would air Strong Man competitions.
You remember those, don’t you? Guys carrying 200 pound cement balls to and fro, pulling fire trucks, tossing kegs in a way most dissimilar than what college kids do on the weekends along frat row. To many, these athletes seemed more circus than substance.
But as I walked around the Home Depot Center over the weekend watching the competitors in action, I marveled at the grace, speed, and strength at which these competitors engaged their craft. They didn’t look like hulks that the average person couldn’t identify with. Instead, they looked like regular folks that just made a commitment to training. In this way, CrossFit has a transformative and inspirational vibe associated with it for both participants and spectators alike. And this vibe is more than a vibe because you can see tangible results for the people that engage in CrossFit, and that the activity is truly attainable for any person though perhaps not at a competitive level.
And talk about sex appeal. Not unlike the professional volleyball tour, this sport exudes attractiveness…and sex sells.
In the movie industry they talk about ‘pitching the quad’…that is, make movies that can appeal to men and women alike, as well as the young and old.
Well, sports sponsors may want to jump on the bandwagon before these ad and sponsor rates jump because CrossFit pitches the quad. With competitors spanning both genders and with competitors ranging in age from early 20s to well over 50, you’ve got a diverse consumer base with an above average level of affluence.
And as stated previously, this activity would likely attract any person that engages in some fitness regimen. It inspires those of us who train to perhaps think of new, fun, and creative methods for training. And in much the same way as the Olympics inspires us to think and dream of what we are capable of when pushed, I’d argue that CrossFit offers this emotion and concept to a greater array of people who are perhaps not as giften in one particular area as an Olympian or professional athlete but still have the drive for self improvement.
Given that most of the competitors still largely hail from North America, there seems a tremendous opportunity to expand the CrossFit brand internationally. After all, North America does not have a copyright to the concept of fitness.
Going forward, I see the likes of ESPN or Versus airing these Games…further increasing the awareness and visibility of CrossFit, and making corporate sponsorship of CrossFit activities considerably frugal and effective for sponsors and the sport alike.
