An interview with CrossFit South County
by: Nicole Hughes

In the fall of 2010 Max Fernandez & Paul Gregrow traveled to Austin to attend a Garage Gym Blueprint Training. Before I even shook their hands, I encountered their personalities. Jeremy Thiel and I were getting ready to kick off the training with the CrossFit Mind, chatting with the other affiliates in town from Newport Beach, Round Rock, Montgomery and Waxahachie when Jeremy looked out the windows of the gym, “Nice! Looks like Cali’s in the house!” I glanced up to see Max & Paul stepping out of a bright green Camaro. With huge smiles, buzz cuts, shades, CrossFit tees, and a SoCal glow they strode into Central, “What’s up! I’m Max, this is Paul.” Inquisitive, determined, driven and 100% ready to go to the next level, their energy resounded through the weekend.

Max Fernandez, a Marine, power lifter and active CrossFit competitor had been in the garage gym business for 3 years and 15 months when he decided to truly dedicate himself to developing his passion into a successful business. “I originally got into the garage gym business because it was all I knew, it was my passion to train people to be fit and live a healthy lifestyle.” CrossFit South County opened in Laguana Hills, roughly 330 miles from the birthplace of the anti-globo gym and the inception of the fitness counter culture. Along the west coast over 300 affiliates operate daily in the state of California, radically constructing the nucleus of CrossFit.

In 2009 Max began to build a strong foundation in Laguna Hills and as the months passed his clientele grew due to their effective program and shared vision. CrossFit South County, by all definitions, was doing all right. They had a great community and people were getting results, but something was missing. They were stagnant around 85 clients and were looking to grow. They knew something had to change in order to fulfill their goals and successfully grow their business.

Shortly after deciding to implement a closed class model, they registered for the Garage Gym Blueprint Training to learn Crossfit Central’s proven systems and structure. “I was hesitant at first about spending the money to attend the training but that hesitation quickly went away; after the seminar it became more clear to me that the money spent was a true investment to our business, its growth and overall success.”

That weekend was roughly 4 months ago. Since that time they have raised their prices, expanded their client base, increased their revenue and hosted top notch events; however, their success did not come without hard work, transitional challenges, and even a few clients resistant to the changes.

By the Numbers in 90 Days:
Client Growth –> 50+ Clients (now at 130 members and growing)
Increase in Prices –> $50 per registration
Increase in Overall Revenue –> 50%
*also added 1 full time coach, 1 part time coach, & an Operations Manager

You guys have gone through a lot of changes from the closed class system, your website, Mind Body Online, etc – What has been your biggest challenge?

Throughout our changes our biggest challenge was going from “open gym” to a closed class model. As the old saying goes, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. We had a bunch of old dogs who were not too happy about my new tricks. However, the change has been incredible! Change takes time, and with time each student realized how much more accountability and quality coaching they were receiving with the new class model. Each class is a team, they are friends and they feel exclusive knowing that their class will be closed if it reaches max capacity of students. Besides it being extremely beneficial for our members, it also allows us to create new programs and projections with precision.

What was most important for you during the closed class transition? How did you initiate the transition at your box?

The most important thing during the transition was communication with clients. This is a big change for the better but it may be hard to realize this a first. You can’t just “do it”, you have to be able to implement it and back it up with better results than what you currently offer. If you use the tools given then you can easily create a program that is unmatched in comparison to what you had before. It’s all about accountability and the closed model delivers it! At first I shot an email but got many responses back about the transition, we then had a town hall meeting where clients could as questions freely about how the program worked. I’d be lying if I said it was easy and every client loved the idea; but I believed in it and wanted a better program for our clients, I knew this was it. And guess what? It has been the best move our business has ever made and we are just getting started.

What are your Top 3 Successes So Far?

1. Momentum is rolling.
I cannot say this is because of one particular move or decision. It is simply all the tasks, tools and duties we learned and gained from the GGBP training. From 90 day calendars, planning events and having a strategic plan of action; GGBP has truly helped CrossFit South County develop a recognized brand, culture, community and respected training facility within Southern California.

2. Client retention.
Hands down, we have over a 96% client retention rate. Why? Because we offer more accountability within our program. When it comes to operating a successful training facility you have to have a good offense and a good defense. I see many gyms developing a great offense, reaching out and scoring 10, 20 or even 50 new clients a month. However, they can’t seem to keep all of them in the gym. You need to create a supportive, friendly, results driven defense integrated with accountability.

3. Strong supportive team.
You have to realize that if you want to grow, you need help. You cannot do it all with one or two people. Reach into you community and find people who love CrossFit and its culture as much as you do. Bring them on your team with skills they are good at. It’s more than training, you have to run your business like you would train an elite athlete, with data, written plans and systems proven to work.

Max gives the GGBP a tour of CrossFit South County

How do you feel as a business owner and the direction your box is heading?

I feel amazing! I feel we have a strong supportive team, pin point precision on where our company is going over the next months/years an incredible system to reach numbers unheard of.

What are your goals for your box?

Our ultimate goal for CrossFit South County is to be the Go-to brand in the Orange County/So Cal fitness community. We will soon offer more programs, more equipment, more experienced coaches, more events, a strong community and a results driven training facility in the So-Cal area. CrossFit South County’s goal is to help thousands of people, if not millions of people, know about the CrossFit mind, body, workout and culture. Our journey is just beginning.

You can Follow CrossFit South County:
On Twitter: twitter.com/CFsouthcounty
On Facebook: facebook.com/CrossFitSouthCounty
Via their Website: CrossFitSouthCounty.com