John San Filippo of Front Range CrossFit
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL SILVERMAN // BUSINESS & INNOVATION EDITOR
PHOTOGRAPHED BY ESTHER LEE LEACH
Michael Silverman: John, thanks for sharing your thoughts on gym ownership through the pandemic. Front Range was one of the very first CrossFit affiliates in the state and the 55th affiliate ever nearly 15 years ago, but you’re new to owning the gym. What made you want to buy the gym and get into the business? Anybody that works with you can tell your incredible passion for getting people fit and maximizing their health and performance - has this always been what you wanted to do?
John San Filippo: These are great questions! There’s a lot to unpack, but I think it boils down to three things. First, I wanted to get into the business because I had spent three years coaching full time, knew this was what I wanted to do long term, and loved the community at Front Range, so I didn’t want to see it die. Then, the things that I loved most about coaching transferred over to owning the gym--watching people accomplish things they never thought possible, hearing about all of the out of the gym activities that were now possible, and getting texts with lab results of bloodwork that means decades of life earned back for my clients. I also got to add some of the business side things that I actually really enjoy from my education/sales background. I had no clue this was what I wanted to do in college. I majored in Environmental Science and Economics, and had job offers to do environmental consulting. Last minute, I decided that this wasn’t’ what I wanted to do, so I moved out to Colorado with zero plan, got a job in corporate sales, and started doing CrossFit for fun and to stay in shape. I quickly realized I loved it, and started to coach. Then things snowballed, and here we are!
MS: The global pandemic and the resulting restrictions on gyms hit early in your career as a business owner in the space, but you continue to have a remarkably engaged community. What was going through your mind when the shutdown first happened and how have you handled the restrictions since then to keep being of service to your members whether they’re in the gym or not?
JSF: The very first thought was, “We have to figure this out, or all of my members are going to really struggle.” I remember telling my fiance that I wasn’t going to let people fall off the wagon because of something they couldn’t control. With that in mind, we loaned out every piece of equipment we had and checked in with members as much as we could, offering 4 zoom classes a day and programming for different levels of equipment. Once we were able to reopen our doors, it was really just about giving people options (at home, mixed, in the gym) and protecting people as much as possible. We’ve always been sticklers for masks and distance and rearranged the gym to make sure we maximized the space between people working out. We added and changed class times to make sure we were maximizing customers’ ability to get into the gym, and just generally didn’t accept that we wouldn’t be able to still offer a great service. My thought process was that I would control everything I could to maximize our product, and let go of any worry over the stuff I had no control over.
John coaching Business & Innovation Editor Michael Silverman (right) at Front Range
MS: You’ve developed a comprehensive program for training new or developing coaches and recruiting them to the gym. What inspired that program and how is it going? Do you have any particular advice for people aspiring to work in the fitness industry as coaches or gym owners?
JSF: This is a big passion of mine. I think that the fitness industry should be a place that demands excellence of coaches and works towards offering them an ability to make a professional career. Front Range has always had amazing coaches, but when I took over, I simply asked our coaches to prioritize continuing education and provided that opportunity. We’ve been lucky enough that our staff has run headlong into providing a better product and service on the floor, and I’ve just tried to facilitate that. My advice to anyone getting into this industry is threefold:
1. Help first. Make sure that your motivation is to help your members reach their goals. There’s no room for underhanded tactics or shady processes in our industry.
2. Continually evaluate what you know and what you don’t know. A brand new coach can change so many people’s lives with basic knowledge and care, but trying to operate outside your scope because someone is willing to pay you for it is a great way to have a frustrated client and a bad reputation.
3. There is no substitute for time and hard work. If you are not expanding the horizons of your knowledge and experience year over year, you’ll get left behind by this industry.
MS: So much of the fitness industry these days is finding ways to come into the home and stay relevant on people’s phones and computers. How have you been using digital technologies to grow, promote and manage your business?
JSF: Not as well as we could, I’m sure! We’ve focused on offering a personalized service at home to fit members’ equipment, and that’s mostly facilitated by a coaching app that allows us to deliver videos, provide instructions, and track results for our members. While we were shut down we offered zoom classes, which worked really well for allowing members to get that community feel while they were working out.
MS: What are your thoughts on in-home solutions vs still going to the gym? Does the fitness future belong to the Peloton’s of the world or do you think there will always be a place for gyms like Front Range?
JSF: I think gyms like Front Range have an advantage (for now) in the realms of community and in person coaching. I’d be naive to think those things won’t continue to improve for at home options, however. One thing that I’ve really been focused on is continuing to elevate our offering to solve bigger problems for our customers. Whether through a small group model, or truly personalized fitness plans, we customize all of our member’s experiences to fit their goals and needs. It’s one thing to just get people a bit more fit or to help them lose a bit of weight, but we can help them get out of pain, change their health profiles, and expand their horizons outside the gym, and I don’t think those will ever fully be replaced by at-home offerings. Also, from a simpler perspective, there are a lot of people who need the accountability of something in person--we have lots of members with pelatons and full home gyms who still regularly come in!
MS: What advice would you have for people that might have let their health go off the rails with all the stressors of the year and are hoping to commit themselves to fitness goals in 2021?
JSF: The biggest thing I would offer people is to give yourself grace. You can’t go back and unmake the decisions that lead you off the rails this year. Feeling guilty about those decisions will absolutely keep you from getting back on them. Start with very small wins and remember that those add up to huge progress over time. If you need a place to help you with that, I know a guy!
John with Business & Innovation Editor Michael Silverman (right)
John San Filippo: @johnsanfilippofitnesscoach
Front Range: www.frontrangecrossfit.com
Writer: Michael Silverman: @silvermangrams
Photographer: Esther Lee Leach: @estherleeleach