Just maybe not in the way that you think.

Castro isn’t thinking about crypto’s investment thesis right now. He probably isn’t even thinking about “crypto” at all.

However, he is thinking about losing his job. Eric Roza fired Castro, and this decision affected everyone involved in CrossFit.

Yes, CrossFit LLC is a company that has to think about its bottom line and making money. More importantly, however, it’s an ideology that many people align with. Right or wrong, Castro’s termination affected a lot of people. And some of those people were pissed.

But, what does crypto have to do with any of this?

More Than Money

It seems like forever, but remember before Greg Glassman was ousted as CEO?

Something very interesting happened.

It started with Games athletes dropping out from the competition unless Glassman resigned. Many affiliates followed suit, distanced themselves from HQ and removed the term “CrossFit” from their names. The community largely supported this move.

A potential takeaway was that CrossFit the community was separate from HQ. This is huge.

This change showed CrossFit can decentralize. The pandemic taught affiliates how to manage their communities online. Online programs proved that you don’t even need to join a box.

Social media empowered a community of Games athletes fighting for Glassman’s resignation.

And no matter your opinion on the eventual outcome, this is amazing. Despite initially losing one of its strongest attributes, CrossFit showed a newfound versatility. It can exist online.

Decentralizing HQ

Community identity crises happen when the top of the org chart makes a call, and misjudges the community’s reaction.

Something made possible by crypto is a truly decentralized organization. One that gives everyone a chance to own a stake and have a say.

A decentralized Crossfit would incentivize community members through financial capital, primarily ownership. It would also build upon CrossFit’s existing social fabric.

Coordination and communication, combined with participation and ownership, could create the engine that redefines what it means to be a part of a fitness community.

But how is this done?

Ownership

You know how Dave and Busters gives you tokens for playing games? You spend money to access games, play them, and then receive tokens for participating. You use these tokens to buy stuff at the end of the night.

Now, imagine CrossFit rewarding you tokens for accomplishing things. Let’s say you get a token for completing the open and 3 tokens for your one year anniversary.

But the biggest difference from these and DnB tokens? These tokens represent your stake in CrossFit. When you receive a token, you now own a part of CrossFit. 

Um, so… what do I do with these tokens? Who decides that?

That’s ultimately determined by the community. Communities typically form before tokens are launched, so the ways you can use them, and the amounts allocated for different actions, are predetermined.

For example, your level of ownership can be determined by participation. So if you’re a member of an affiliate for 10 years, you’ll earn more tokens as a result. More tokens = more ownership.

And with this ownership, the biggest thing you can do is vote.

Social Capital

CrossFit has created an enormous amount of social capital through the years. While this community was established in mostly in-person settings, there has been a shift since Covid. Online programming became more popular, and it’s created global communities of people.

A decentralized CrossFit would leverage an online messaging forum that gives people a chance to interact, coordinate and ultimately vote on the proposals that affect the community.

Real dialogue, and having influence over the community's decisions strengthens your feeling of ownership. And, this feeling of ownership strengthens members’ sense of belonging.

Decentralizing CrossFit doesn’t take away from the in-person experience. It strengthens the online experience.

Governance

Remember how these tokens give you the right to vote? What does that mean?

So think of governance as making decisions. In crypto and Web3, any decision that affects the organization is voted on by its members. Anyone who owns tokens can vote on proposals that would affect the community’s future.

So, people submit proposals and members vote yes or no? If there are more yes votes than no, the proposal passes?

Exactly. And, it’s this ability to vote on the future that gives those tokens their true value.

Eric Roza wants to move the Games to Dallas? You want more resources invested into the CrossFit Kids program? You propose it and people vote.

This mechanism of governance doesn’t stop ideas from those over at HQ. It gives people a chance to say if it’s actually what they want. This seat at the table also empowers members to fight for change, which can unlock ideas that HQ may have never thought of.

Some ideas may not need this form of governance. But, this framework ensures the community gets a say on the ones that really do.

Recently… Instead of Roza firing Castro, the community votes on a proposal suggesting he gets fired. If this happened, I believe Dave Castro would still have a job.

The Community Decides

I’m biased. I like CrossFit, Crypto and Dave Castro. And while I might be projecting my thoughts, last week was the first time I truly thought, “Wow. CrossFit needs crypto.”

Glassman stepping down, no matter what you thought of him, was a win for the CrossFit community. It showed that with influence and coordination, even the highest ranking officer isn’t immune to consequences.

But Castro’s exit was a loss in more ways than one. Yeah, losing Castro hurts on the sporting front, but we’ll never know if it’s what everyone wanted. While we can speculate, we’ll never know the result of a democratic, community based, vote.

Dave Castro, HQ and CrossFit didn’t need crypto to save Castro from losing his job. We needed it to know if it was the right decision for the community.