Episode 78: From Rogue’s Affiliate to CrossFit Grandview

Brandon Couden never expected when he walked into Rogue’s Affiliate gym that he’d walk out with an offer to buy it.

And yet, that’s what happened. Years later, Couden is the owner of CrossFit Grandview in Columbus, Ohio.

In this episode of Box Talk, Couden dives into his journey of how he came to own CrossFit Grandview after buying the Affiliate from Rogue. He shares about exponential growth and what they could have done better in those initial years of owning the business. He looks back on some of the top lessons learned from his mentors, including the lesson on operational organization. Finally, he shares some of his top advice for the Affiliate owner, which deals a lot with finding your best members and pleasing them.

Listen to the episode below and implement Couden’s advice today:

Show Notes

• Why Couden was cut from sports in high school and what he did as a result.
• The negative about being a physical education major.
• When Couden found CrossFit, his first opinion was…
• Why he thought he sucked at CrossFit.
•  What happened when Couden and Graham Holmberg asked to be managers at Rogue’s Affiliate…
• How to restart a gym with only 14 members.
• Why Couden’s gym-owning opportunity made him work harder than ever before.
• The power of friends from high school.
• What moving locations did for the gym.
• How to handle (or maybe how not to handle) explosive growth.
• The benefits of one-on-one and proper progressions.
• Top lessons learned from Couden’s Affiliate mentors — which included Doug Chapman at HyperFit.
• Check out this gym that’s all about organization.
• How to get started with the operational organized mindset.
• The way to treat each and every class is like it’s an _____.
• Couden’s last pieces of advice for other business owners.
• What idea Couden and Jay Williams have in common.