CrossFit: How A $4B Fitness Cult Destroyed Itself

Enroll in the Restructuring & Distressed Investing Certificate from Wharton Online x Wall Street Prep. Code JUNKBOND saves $300 off tuition: https://rb.gy/23g65a In 2020, private equity firm Berkshire Partners bought CrossFit in an estimated $200 million buyout following founder Greg Glassman’s disgraceful exit. Six years later, the firm is desperate to offload the brand—yet after more than a year on the auction block, every single buyer walked away. Between hiking affiliate fees 50% on struggling gym owners, watching over 1,400 gyms flee after the tragic, preventable drowning of athlete Lazar Đukić at the 2024 Games, and losing the fitness world to HYROX, CrossFit has morphed into a corporate "falling knife." Here is the investigative breakdown of how the world's most intense fitness cult became completely toxic. --------------------------------------------- Why CrossFit is dying Who owns CrossFit now Berkshire Partners CrossFit sale collapse CrossFit Games Lazar Djukic tragedy Marine Creek Lake CrossFit drowning investigation Why nobody wants to buy CrossFit Greg Glassman Floyd-19 controversy history CrossFit affiliate fee increase backlash Why gyms are dropping CrossFit affiliation HYROX vs CrossFit growth comparison CrossFit Open registration decline 2025 Eric Roza CrossFit CEO tenure Don Faul CrossFit exit Bruce Edwards CrossFit CEO news Dave Castro fired CrossFit Games history Mark Mastrov Wade Diebner CrossFit buyout CrossFit business model explained Distressed private equity asset sale Downfall of CrossFit documentary Why CrossFit gyms are closing down Rolling Stone CrossFit investigation report Functional fitness industry competition The death of the CrossFit Games Fitness business documentary video essay CrossFit Reebok sponsorship cancellation Corporate restructuring distressed gyms Why athletes are leaving CrossFit Boutique fitness market trends Santa Cruz gym culture history The collapse of the CrossFit cult Crossfit Gym Gym culture Toxic gym culture Crossfit downfall Crossfit death #crossfit