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The CrossFit Podcast

Behind the Scenes With CrossFit CEO Don Faul (EP. 007)

The CrossFit Podcast

CrossFit LLC

Health & Fitness

4.3 • 757 Ratings

🗓️ 27 March 2025

⏱️ 90 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, CrossFit CEO Don Faul shares how he handles the pressures of decision-making at CrossFit HQ and why he’s still chasing improvement every year. Along the way, Don reflects on the energy of the community, where the company is heading, and his years of CrossFit before becoming the CEO. Don opens up on topics that matter to the CrossFit community — like the future of CrossFit. We also get a behind-the-scenes look at his personal life — from being a dad and a CEO to trash talk at his 6 a.m. CrossFit class.

Topics Covered:

  • The 2025 CrossFit Open 
  • Decision-making as the CEO of CrossFit and managing community feedback
  • Personal stories from his family life and military days
  • The sale of CrossFit and state of the CrossFit brand

Resources Mentioned:

Community Highlight:

Brian Boucher and his wife, Gabby, opened MidState CrossFit in 2014 in Merced, California, with a goal to create a community so solid that it exists for decades to come. One of the ways Brian is making a lasting impact is through MidState CrossFit’s adaptive athlete program, which provides training for athletes with both mental and physical disabilities. His commitment to his members goes far beyond the norm — he’s known for handwriting birthday letters to all of his members. Brian’s leadership is rooted in connection, proving that CrossFit is about more than just fitness — it’s about creating a community where people build self-efficacy and find belonging.

Visit MidState CrossFit → https://www.midstatecrossfit.com/

Know someone you think deserves to be highlighted? Nominate them here → https://crossfit.surveysparrow.com/s/CrossFit-Community-Stories/tt-PrkSJ

Share Your Thoughts: Let us know what you think about the podcast and how we can improve here → https://crossfit.surveysparrow.com/s/The-CrossFit-Podcast—Feedback-Survey/tt-lf9Gf?ep=007

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the CrossFit podcast,

0:10.4

where we welcome guests who are making the world a fitter and healthier place.

0:16.0

My name is Denise Thomas, and I guess this week is none other than the head honcho himself, CrossFit

0:22.6

CEO, Don Fall. Now yes, we all know him as the CEO of CrossFit, but I wanted to get a little

0:29.3

peek under the hood and get to know the person behind the title. So today we're going to peel back

0:35.2

some of the layers from his personal life to the future

0:38.0

of CrossFit. And I ask about the sale of the company, the 2025 open, and then we got

0:43.9

to chat him about more personal things, like how he navigates life's challenges, and then

0:49.0

the really important stuff, such as how he got once kicked out of his four-year-old soccer

0:54.0

game. Yep, Don did that.

0:56.9

So without further ado, please join me. And here is my conversation with Don.

1:06.0

So how did you do in the open? Uh, I did it okay in the open.

1:11.9

I,

1:12.1

you know,

1:12.8

I was a little,

1:13.6

honestly,

1:13.8

I was,

1:14.3

I was kind of nervous for the open this year because I felt like my fitness

1:17.4

in the last year has not been great.

1:21.3

And I ended up retesting two of the workouts because my performance was not awesome.

1:26.6

So,

1:29.2

uh, it was awesome.

...

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