Five years ago, we opened the doors to CrossFit Port Clinton with zero members.
Not a soft launch with a waitlist. Not a grand opening with a line out the door. Zero. Just an empty gym, a stack of bills, and a decision we couldn't take back.
If you've never owned a business, it's hard to explain what those early years actually cost. Not just financially, though that part is real too. It's the kind of stress that sits in your chest at 2am when you're doing math you already did five times that day. The kind that doesn't go away just because you smiled through a 6am class and told everyone to have a great day.
What people see is the highlight reel. The PRs. The community events. The photos from opening day. What they don't see is the missed dinners. The nights spent on programming and payroll instead of bedtime stories. The vacations we didn't take because the gym needed a new AC unit, concrete floors, or flooring instead. The quiet moments where we asked each other if this was actually going to work. As I am sitting here, I am in tears, because I have looked at Brett more than my fingers and toes can count, and asked "Can we seriously do this?"
We're not saying this for sympathy. We're saying it because we think it matters that you know what it actually took to get here. And because if you're building something of your own right now, whatever that looks like, we want you to know someone else has sat in that same hard place and kept going.
When we opened in 2021, we weren't planting a business. We were planting a seed. No roots yet. No proof it would grow. Just a patch of dirt and a decision to put something in it.
The last five years have been the watering. Showing up authentic on the days it would have been easier to fake it. Pouring our hearts into programming, into coaching, into knowing our members' names and their kids' names and what they're carrying outside these walls. Building something real instead of something that just looked good from the outside.
You can't rush that part. A seed doesn't care how badly you want the tree. It just needs consistency, season after season, whether anyone's watching or not.
Watching this new building come together, watching our community show up ready to sweat in a space we built for exactly that, that's the seed finally breaking the surface. It's proof the watering wasn't wasted.
I remember when we were with a close friend, also an affiliate owner, and a great mentor, Dale King. We were with him for a competition his gym was hosting in Portsmouth, Ohio June 8th weekend of 2024. We had bought 9 acres of land a couple months prior (April 26th 2024 to be exact), with nobody knowing. May 18th I received my Level 3, a test I studied for more than my Master's degree. We put our house up for sale shortly after and I remember June 8th weekend we had our first showing, a weekend we were gone. Dale King was the first person we told about our dream.
He told us, "You always bite off more than you can chew, and you'll learn how to chew it."
That we did.
We instantly met with Teric Cook, a member of ours, to see if he could build what we had in mind. Ladies and Gentlemen, Teric is a saint. I texted him everyday for the next 2 years. I wish I was kidding. What you will see when you walk in is 100% his finished product. It is wonderful.
Here's what we want to be honest about though: we haven't "made it." This building isn't a finish line. It's not us getting to sit back and coast.
It's part of the journey. One more season of growth, not the harvest. The real question in front of us now isn't "did we make it," it's "how can we be better for our community." Better programming. Better coaching. More ways to show up for the people who show up for us every single day.
We're genuinely excited about what that means. More space to grow with you. More room for the kids' programs and for the community events that make this place feel like ours instead of just ours to run. We built this building to serve you better, not to prove a point.
We'd love for you to be there when we open these doors for good. Our Grand Opening event is Saturday, September 26 from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Head to our social media for a breakdown of the day!
Come see the space, meet the community, work out with us, and celebrate the next part of this journey.
Free and open to everyone, members and neighbors alike.
Five years ago we started with nothing but a decision.
With a lot of love, a grateful heart, and many tears of joy,
Lexis Bauer
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