“CrossFit changed the world. And we’re not done.”
That’s how incoming CrossFit CEO Bruce Edwards opened his post announcing his arrival to lead the high-intensity, group-based fitness regimen — and a pointed declaration from an OG in the now-booming competitive fitness space.
He assumes the role May 4, succeeding former CEO Don Faul, who served CrossFit for four years and exited last month.
Edwards is something of an OG himself, writing that he’s been part of the CrossFit community since the late 1990s, when he was coached by founder Greg Glassman. It reshaped his health and eventually led him to serve as CrossFit’s chief operating officer from 2013 to 2019, also opening an affiliate in Aptos, California.
“I’ve seen this ecosystem from every side, and I believe that perspective matters right now,” he wrote. “I’m not here to dwell on the past. I’m here because I think CrossFit’s best chapter is still ahead.”
His note lands at a moment when CrossFit has lost market share to upstart competitive fitness brands including Hyrox and ATHX Games. But as Edwards noted, the CrossFit methodology didn’t just inspire the industry, it created it.
The work ahead, he wrote, isn’t about catching up but about “making sure the world recognizes the original for what it is: not just another option, but the standard everything else gets measured against.”
Since stepping away from CrossFit in 2019, Edwards remained a fixture in the fitness and wellness world, most recently at boutique fitness brand barre3, where he was president and chief operating officer. He also spent time as CEO of Core Development and Management, a Planet Fitness franchisee that owns and operates more than 80 locations, and chief growth officer of In-Shape Family Fitness, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Edwards’ re-entry into the CrossFit orbit also comes as the brand is up for sale — though according to Barbell Spin, Berkshire Partners is no longer seeking a new owner. Berkshire Partners didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the meantime, CrossFit has been far from dormant.
Chief marketing officer Jenna Hauca, who joined from Barry’s, has spent the past two years elevating CrossFit’s gritty, counter-culture vibe, relaunching long-form series like “Road to the Games” and pushing localized influencer campaigns across Brazil, Australia, France, Spain and beyond. She’s also the marketing mastermind behind CrossFit’s unapologetic “F*ck the Quick Fix. CrossFit Is the Cure” campaign that launched last summer.
