The CrossFit landscape looks much different today than it did back in 2021 when Mat Fraser and his team launched HWPO Training.
- Athletes at the time were hungry to learn what the five-time CrossFit Games champion had been doing for his training.
And, while many still are, the brand has since grown immensely and expanded its scope to the larger fitness community.
Matt O’Keefe, co-founder and HWPO Training CEO, shared some new goals for the company this year and the story behind why some elite CrossFit athletes have recently decided to leave the training camp.
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Remind me: Fraser launched HWPO Training not long after winning his fifth consecutive Games title in 2020. The brand originated as an online coaching platform and has since branched out to offer programming specific to other sports, such as golf, weightlifting, and running.
- Fraser retired after his 2020 win and has since become the chief product officer of HWPO Training.
Making the Vision a Reality
The vision from the start came from Fraser, and O’Keefe said it was quite simple: to help as many people as possible. O’Keefe is Fraser’s close friend and was his agent while he was competing.
- “He really enjoyed his career, the moments where he was able to share what he was doing at that level, with family and friends,” O’Keefe tells Morning Chalk Up in an interview.
While CrossFit is a business at its core, HWPO Training has broadened its horizons in recent years to reach everyday athletes and individuals who want to start their fitness journey.
- “We’ve seen that it is effective and we’ve helped a lot of people and want to help more. We want to step past just the CrossFit space and create opportunities and attraction for people to train with us daily that maybe don’t want CrossFit,” O’Keefe said.
The brand has worked with a number of high-level athletes, notably Katrin Davidsdottir, Mal O’Brien, Amanda Barnhart, Brooke Wells, and Jayson Hopper.
As of late, there has been some attention surrounding some of the athletes leaving the HWPO Training camp, which O’Keefe says is typical for professional athletes.
- “I think there’s a lot of focus around what we’re doing and how we’re doing it or not doing it, but that’s a very normal process every year around this time,” O’Keefe said.
Most notably, Hopper joined Matt Torres and Brute, which he announced on a YouTube video on his page. His reasoning for the switch came down to being “ready for change” and trying a new programming style.
- “It’s really just a part of some people’s process, and the reality of being in this business is razor thin. I think often in our sport, we forget what sport looks like and how these things work,” O’Keefe added.
A New Competition Season
The 2025 season for the sport of CrossFit is shaping up to be one of the busiest in history.
CrossFit LLC is, of course, hosting the Games season beginning with the Open on February 27. However, a new venture from Games veteran Will Moorad and Jackson and Isabella Terry called the World Fitness Project has emerged to offer athletes another opportunity to compete and make money.
- The new competitive tour for fitness has “signed” some, if not most, of the best of the best CrossFit athletes to participate.
The way it will work is the WFP will operate like a professional tour in other sports (i.e. golf). The “Pro Card” holders, or athletes who have been signed, will compete to maintain their position and have challengers compete against them to earn a card throughout the season.
When it comes to the HWPO Training athletes, many are signed onto the WFP and will participate in the CrossFit Open, said O’Keefe.
Separately, for many in the general HWPO Training community, the Open is the pinnacle event for individuals and affiliates.
- “The lion’s share of our members are CrossFitters, so that’s a big moment for them annually, so that being their focus becomes ours,” O’Keefe said.
Professional athletes can pursue whichever avenue they choose, O’Keefe added. And HWPO Training will support them in those endeavors.
- Speaking to the World Fitness Project, O’Keefe added, “There’s nothing more important than the athletes wanting to do this. So we should look at it and support it because, as a fan of the sport, I believe the focus of the sport is the athlete.”
Expanding the HWPO Training Horizon
Affiliates make up a significant amount of business for HWPO Training and are at the core of what the brand does.
- This year especially, they will be looking to help affiliates evolve and that might be taking the pedal off of CrossFit and branching out.
One example is the explosion of HYROX training. The fitness race has taken off in the United States in recent years and has become hugely popular with CrossFit athletes both in local affiliates and at the elite level.
- “CrossFit is important. It changed all of our lives in so many ways, and we want to continue to train that, but I think HYROX is going to save many global CrossFit affiliates,” said O’Keefe.
Many affiliates have added HYROX training plans to their programming and have started to offer separate HYROX classes. John Singleton, founder of The Progrm and a veteran CrossFit Games coach, was chosen to lead the official HYROX training program and has been sharing his insights through a three-part series.
As a business, HWPO Training is open to supporting whatever fitness track or trend is important to its members. It’ll be an interesting year to see how some of these new organizations pan out and how the community will respond.
- “We want to give people the resources to accomplish their goals. And I’m really excited about the future when it comes to net new opportunities like HYROX or World Fitness Project,” said O’Keefe.
One last thing: HWPO Training will be launching some exciting new partnerships this year, along with a goal to open a new headquarters and gym in Boston.
More details are forthcoming on both.
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Featured image: HWPO Training
