“Running a successful affiliate is not easy. It is a very, very tough business.”
That has been Kirby Martin’s experience after nearly 10 years of owning CrossFit Elmira in Elmira, Ontario.
After all the trials and tribulations of the last decade, Martin is adamant it has all been worth it. Not only is his 190-member affiliate thriving today in small-town Ontario, but he is stronger than he could have imagined because of it — stronger and more prepared than ever to handle anything life throws at him.
[Related: Best Protein Powders]
Martin’s Story
Martin and his wife, Shavonne, first discovered CrossFit 12 years ago when they lived in Manila, Philippines.
- “I knew nothing. I had no background in fitness. I had gone for a few 5k runs in my life and had a gym membership at one point in High School that I didn’t use,” Martin said.
Joining CrossFit MNL in Manila changed everything.
- “Holy shit, training is fun. It feels like I’m playing a sport. And everyone is so humble and kind and so hard-working,” he said of how his perspective on fitness changed.
People at his gym told him he looked like four-time CrossFit Games champion Rich Froning. Martin had no idea who Froning was, but before he knew it, people were suggesting that he should become a coach.
- “I literally got the job because I have somewhat of a resemblance to Rich Froning,” he laughed.
But after some time, Martin found himself more fired up about coaching than he ever thought he would be.
- “All of a sudden, it just hit me. This is it,” he said, realizing that this is what he wanted to do in the long term.
The next obvious step for Martin was to open his own gym.
Turning Points
Nearly 10 years ago, Martin and his wife moved home to Canada and opened CrossFit Elmira.
Things were starting to grow business-wise until he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
- “Being a fit dude, being a coach, eating healthy, sleeping right, doing all these things, getting diagnosed with cancer was extremely difficult for me to receive…[And] the business was still really young at that point,” he said. “Trying to grow a business in a small town with barely enough members to survive, being told you have cancer, and not being able to coach for a while, it was crazy going through that.”
What happened next surprised him.
[Related: Best Cross-Training Shoes]
Not only did his members step up — “Members were jumping in to coach classes. It was an incredible moment of support,” Martin remembers — but he found inner strength he didn’t know he had.
- “I realized, ‘Shit, I have been training for this moment.’ It wasn’t so much about the [physical] health required to fight cancer; it was the mindset that I can handle the adversity that’s coming my way,” he said.
He continued: “No CrossFit workout is ever really fun. It’s about preparing your mind to overcome those obstacles that life brings…Without a doubt, if it weren’t for the mental toughness CrossFit brought me, I would have never been able to navigate [cancer] as well as I did.”
Martin overcame cancer but was immediately met with a new challenge: a worldwide pandemic that led to some of the strictest lockdowns in the world in Ontario, forcing gyms to be completely closed for the better part of two years.
- The result was devastating for Martin. By the time he was able to resume business, 50 percent of his members were gone.
He admits he considered throwing in the towel, but he was all in at this point and didn’t have a backup plan, so he found the strength to focus on rebuilding.
Then, another hurdle: After eight years in his gym’s location, his landlord increased his rent by 30 percent.
- “We were within about 12 hours away from being like, ‘F&$k this. This isn’t even marginally worth it,’” he admitted.
Then, once again, another voice in his head told him, “Don’t panic. Stay calm. One rep at a time.”
So, Martin trekked on, and finally, it started to pay off.
[Related: Best Electrolyte Supplements]
He decided to build a 4,800-square-foot facility on the commercial property he owned, which became the new home of CrossFit Elmira last April.
It’s something he wouldn’t have done without the help of his gym community, he said.
He explained that one of his members is helping him finance his new gym while another member built it.
- “Everything is a result of the fitness community that we built from 10 years of struggle, [that started with] coaching classes where only one person would show up,” he said, laughing at the memory.
Today, Martin’s community has grown to almost 200 members, and he is turning a profit.
With a team of 10 coaches, Martin now only coaches six classes a month, giving him the time to really work on his sales processes, the gym’s management, and, more recently, on building a corporate wellness program.
Martin’s Message
Martin is adamant that the real value of CrossFit isn’t in the fitness it provides.
- “It’s about what’s actually happening to you as a person,” he said. “People start out wanting to get a little bit healthier, lose a few pounds, or get a bit stronger, but if you’re not paying attention to who you’re becoming along the training journey, you’re missing the value.”
He believes this is the value he provides most to his clients, and it’s the value CrossFit has provided him.
- “I’m just unbelievably grateful for all of the challenges that life has brought, but without a shadow of a doubt, had it not been for the mindset that CrossFit has created in me, I would have not been able to make it through this journey,” Martin said.
He added: “To other affiliate owners, stay the course. It seems never-ending; it seems like such a slog to get to a certain point, but it is possible. You can make a living doing what you love, running a CrossFit gym.”
More CrossFit Profiles
- Kristin Holte Returns to Competition at the 2024 Dubai Fitness Championship
- Meet the Man Who Did 1,000 Murphs
- From Weightlifting to Gym Ownership: Meet Two-Time Olympian and CrossFit Affiliate Owner Wes Kitts
Featured image: Kaufman Klicks Photography
