CrossFit Tilt is located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Dedicated affiliate owner Max Isaak said he spent every waking moment at his gym during his first year of ownership. “I coached every class … I lived and breathed my affiliate and felt I understood how to love and care for my members,” Isaak said. “People were happy, having fun, and coming to class. I felt like I had arrived.”
Six years later, Isaak shares some of what he’s learned in his time being a CrossFit affiliate owner.
Where are you now compared to where you were one year ago?
Gosh, one year ago seems like forever, but I’m guessing we were still working out in masks with partitions. In Massachusetts, we were shut down for a little while … when we were allowed back inside there were strict guidelines for how we could run our classes. We built large partitions at our gyms and essentially gridded out the floor so each member had a fitness cubicle. I’ve heard a lot of gym owners complain about those times, and while they were difficult, it was amazing to see the resilience of our members. Fast forward a year and we are able to work out without masks and partitions, which is pretty awesome. Funny thing is, fitness is still fitness with or without the mask. Last year was tough, but still great as we were able to keep our gym open.
If you had an extra $1,000 each month in your budget, what would you use it for? If you had to reduce your expenses by $1,000 each month, what would you cut?
Love this question! Extra $1,000 I’d spend on anything to make my members’ experience better. I feel like low-hanging fruit is more equipment. I absolutely love getting new equipment for my members. So maybe I’d buy a bunch of sandbags, you could probably build out a fleet of 40 lb, 60 lb, and 80 lb sandbags. Also, depending how long you received this extra $1,000 you could buy a new piece of C2 equipment every month. I would love to have 15 rowers, bikes, and skis at all my gyms (a guy can dream right?). Also, we could probably start a towel service for members or maybe reserve that money for prospective or current members who are having a hard time affording the gym. I could go on and on thinking of ideas.
As far as reducing my costs by $1,000 I would cut it from my salary. During the lockdown I took a salary reduction and was able to make cuts in my life to make it work. I would do it again in a heartbeat if needed.
Tell us about one of your proudest moments as an affiliate owner.
Wow this is tough … very hard for me to pick one moment as I’m proud of my members and coaches on a daily basis. If I had to pick one, it’s when my mother (74 years old) decided to start taking classes at our Waltham gym. She’s been a modern dancer almost her entire life and has made a lifelong commitment to health and wellness. When I started CrossFit, she didn’t understand why I loved it and would dabble in it here and there. Once she retired, she decided to join the gym and I guess you could say the rest is history. Whenever I get to take class with her, I feel so proud that we get to share something like CrossFit together.
Describe an important inflection point in the growth of your affiliate. When did you feel like you had a good grasp of the business and know you could make a career of it?
First off, I feel like I’m constantly learning as we’re coming up on our sixth year and owning five affiliates. There are times when I feel like I understand everything and then another learning opportunity presents itself. With that said, after our first year of being open, I really felt like I could make a career of this. During that year I coached every class and spent every waking moment at the gym. I lived and breathed my affiliate and felt I understood how to love and care for my members. People were happy, having fun, and coming to class. I felt like I had arrived.
Tell us about an important learning experience.
Before we get into this, a little background on me. Professionally, I’ve been a teacher my entire working career. I worked at camps, volunteered at preschools, taught kindergarten and middle school. When we opened our first gym, I was so excited that we had members I forgot to sign people up for memberships. I remember talking to my business partner and longtime friend LJ DiCarlo and telling him how great the gym was doing. The classes were full and people were loving it! He then told me we only had a handful of members paying for memberships. I was so wrapped up in our classes and building relationships, I had simply forgotten that we were also running a business. Needless to say, I’m better at that now.
What excites you about CrossFit’s future?
In one word, everything. CrossFit has changed so much since I started off 10 years ago and I know things will continue to evolve and change. I love how universal CrossFit is. I love how affiliates can be the same but also so different. It’s for everyone and also at the same time individualized. I’m excited I get to be a part of it and guide my members and coaches.
How do you plan to adapt your business to thrive in an evolving fitness landscape?
I love how many options there are for people these days. There are so many new gyms, routines, and equipment for people to choose from. The thing is that loving and caring for your members doesn’t change. As long as I can find wonderful coaches who truly care about their people, I don’t need to change much. We’ve recently started offering a free week for new members and it’s worked well. We want people to see what it’s like when someone is invested in their progress inside and outside the gym … . We don’t need to change much as long as we stay true to our values and mission. We want our members to understand that it’s a lifelong commitment to health and wellness and it is our job to guide them through this while they’re with us. If we do this well we will be successful.
What does your affiliate do for the holidays? Party? Schedule change?
This is my favorite time of the year! Holiday party? Yes! Schedule change? Yes! A couple packed workouts for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve with a New Years inspired workout to cap things off. Gosh that just got me hyped! We rent out this awesome dive bar every year for a holiday party and the members love it.
What are your top three favorite workouts?
I love working out and love finding out what others enjoy. Starting out at CrossFit New England I’m drawn to classic CrossFit workouts so here are my top three in no particular order:
Jackie. Need I say more? The first time I did Jackie I asked the coach how come the thrusters were so light. I learned really quickly as I was down to sets of 5 with that empty bar. Completely humbled me. Love it.
Nate. I remember walking into CFNE during my first month or two and seeing people do this workout. My jaw was on the ground watching people do muscle-ups. I couldn’t believe it was possible. Also, I love that we get to do Hero workouts. How special is it that we get to honor someone who gave everything through our effort?
5K run. When I started CrossFit, I didn’t understand why running was important and would skip days like this. Fast forward 10 years and I have a huge appreciation for this workout. Also, I think it’s important to be alone with your thoughts and you certainly get time alone during a 5K.
Note: Some responses edited for clarity or length.
Q&A With Max Isaak of CrossFit Tilt