• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
The BarBend Logo in white.

BarBend

The Online Home for Strength Sports

  • News
    • CrossFit
    • Strongman
    • Bodybuilding
    • Powerlifting
    • Weightlifting
    • HYROX
  • Reviews
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Mini-Massage Guns
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein
        • Best Vegan Protein Powders
        • Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders
        • Best Mass Gainer
        • Best Protein Bars
      • Best Pre-Workouts
        • Best Pre-Workout for Women
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Men
        • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workouts
        • Strongest Pre-Workouts
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Electrolyte Supplements
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Meal Replacements
      • Best Nitric Oxide Supplements
      • Best Fat Burners
      • Individual Supplement Reviews
    • Cardio Equipment
      • Best Treadmills
      • Best Rowing Machines
      • Best Exercise Bikes
      • Best Ellipticals
      • Best Recumbent Bikes
      • Individual Cardio Equipment Reviews
    • Strength Equipment
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Weight Benches
      • Best Resistance Bands
      • Best Leg Extension Machines
      • Individual Strength Equipment Reviews
    • Apparel
      • Best Weightlifting Shoes
      • Best Cross Training Shoes
      • Best Running Shoes
      • Best Gym Shorts
    • Fitness Tech
      • Best Running Apps
      • Best Fitness Trackers
      • Best Workout Apps
      • Best Smart Scales
    • Support Gear
      • Best Lifting Straps
      • Best Gym Bags
      • Best Lifting Gloves
      • Best Wrist Wraps
  • Nutrition
    • Diets
      • Carb Cycling
      • Vertical Diet
      • Reverse Dieting
      • Carnivore Diet
      • Ketogenic Diet
      • Intermittent Fasting
      • IIFYM Diet
    • Muscle Gain
      • How to Dirty Bulk
      • Go From Cutting to Bulking
      • Eat These Carbs
      • How to Eat for Muscle
    • Fat Loss
      • Macros for Fat Loss
      • Calorie Deficits
      • Natural Fat Burners
      • Cut 2 Pounds Weekly
    • Supplement Guides
      • Pre-Workout
      • Whey Protein
      • Mass Gainers
      • Greens Powders
      • Creatine
      • BCAAs
    • Daily Protein Needs
    • Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
    • Foods With Creatine
    • Bulking Tips
  • Training
    • Exercise Guides
      • Deadlift
      • Bench Press
      • Back Squat
      • Overhead Press
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Shoulder Exercises
      • Chest Exercises
      • Ab Exercises
      • Quad Exercises
      • Biceps Exercises
    • Training Guides
      • Beginner’s Guide to the Gym
      • How to Build Muscle
      • Guide to Muscle Hypertrophy
      • How to Train on a Cut
    • Workouts
      • Back Workouts
      • At-Home Workouts
      • Chest & Back Workouts
      • Full-Body Workout
      • HIIT Workouts
      • Bodybuilding Workouts
      • Farmer’s Carry Workouts
    • Programs
      • 5×5 Program
      • Bodybuilding Programs
      • Push-Up Program
      • Pull-Up Program
      • 5/3/1 Program
      • Powerbuilding Program
      • German Volume Training
      • Build Your Own Program
  • Calculators
    • Protein Intake Calculator
    • Macros Calculator
    • BMR Calculator
    • Squat Calculator
    • Calorie Calculator
  • Community Forum

Affiliate of the Month: Dreamtown CrossFit Owner Jason Berger Chooses Happiness and Health Over Wealth

July 3, 2024 by Emily Beers

Jason Berger had a financially lucrative job — but it came at a cost.

As the owner of a transportation company, he found himself working 12 to 14 hours a day, and he soon grew to weigh 300 pounds.

And then, as the story goes for many, Berger found CrossFit at age 40 and made a serious lifestyle change.

  • “I had my appendix removed, and I was just laying in the hospital and I knew all the nurses there because my wife works there [as a nurse],” Berger told the Morning Chalk Up in an interview. “I was just pretty embarrassed at the shape I was in. My son was four or five years old at the time, and I had this moment of clarity of needing to get myself into shape.” 

Today, at 53, the six-year owner of Dreamtown CrossFit in Truckee, CA, is down to 225 pounds and 10 percent body fat.

The tradeoff — the days of making lots of money are gone.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dreamtown CrossFit (@dreamtowncrossfit)

[Related: Best Lower Back Exercises]

The Dreamtown CrossFit Story

Truckee is a small resort and mountain town near Lake Tahoe, and most of Berger’s 120 members are mountain bikers, skiers, and outdoor enthusiasts.

This means it’s hard to keep his members coming to the gym for 12 months of the year — once the snow hits in the winter, they all head to the mountains.

  • “People [here] are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. They’re out mountain biking, they’re snow skiing, they’re cross-country skiing, they’re running, they’re hiking,” Berger said. “And so our struggle is retention for the 12 months. I may have those athletes for three or four months, but [it’s hard] to keep them consistent for the 12 months. And I can’t blame them. They’re doing what they should be doing.”

Berger added that his gym ends up being the place where people train only in the “shoulder seasons” between their summer and winter sports.

Then a couple of years ago, Berger found a “phenomenal coach,” and he said he needed to figure out a way to hire him full-time. 

The gym wasn’t bringing in enough revenue to support hiring a permanent head coach, so Berger took on a side gig with a community agriculture program. On top of being a gym owner, Berger now drives a produce truck and delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to people twice a week so he can provide a good financial wage to the coach. 

  • “I refer to [the gym] as my not-for-profit,” Berger said, laughing.
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dreamtown CrossFit (@dreamtowncrossfit)

[Related: Best Cross-Training Shoes]

While it might sound dire to the outsider looking in, Berger insists it’s not. Having a full-time coach who leads the way allows Berger to relax a bit more and even get away on vacation here and there with his wife.

  • “It allows us a tremendous amount of freedom,” he explained.

Further, Berger has learned he’d rather have his health and love what he does each day than earn big bucks working 14-hour days in a career he wasn’t passionate about. 

  • “I had a business that made money and I was miserable…I loved that it put a roof over my head for my family and food on the table, but I really disliked the actual business,” he said.

It’s the opposite today. 

  • “I love every minute of it…I feel like I’m a better person every single day I walk in and interact with our community,” Berger said. “I finally have a place that I go to every day that puts a smile on my face.”

So, as long as he can get by, Berger will continue on the path he’s on.

“I can’t imagine my life without CrossFit,” he concluded.

More From the Morning Chalk Up

  • Aussie CrossFit Couple Jay Crouch and Maddie Sturt on Their PRVN Results This CrossFit Games Season
  • CrossFit Games Rookie Spotlight: Austin Hatfield – Elite CrossFit Athlete by Day, Rabbit Farmer by Night
  • Reps Ahead Pro 3 “Redemption” Results: Sydney Wells, James Sprague, and Kyra Milligan Deliver Knockouts

Featured image: @dreamtowncrossfit / Instagram

BarBend

BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.

  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sections

  • CrossFit
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Training

More

  • BarBend Newsletter
  • BarBend Podcast
  • The Ripped Report
  • 1RM Calculator
  • BMR Calculator
  • Macros Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Squat Calculator

Policies

  • Accessibility
  • Advice Disclaimer
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2025 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap