Is Berkshire Partners Killing CrossFit?

Dan Uyemura, co-founder and CEO of PushPress — the gym management software used by thousands of CrossFit affiliates — has had enough. This week, he published an open letter directed at Berkshire Partners, the private equity firm that has owned CrossFit since 2020, with a message that's been circulating hard across the community: Berkshire Partners is killing CrossFit, and nobody with a platform is saying it out loud.

Uyemura says he has the answer. That it's not complicated. Not easy. But doable.

Whether you're a gym owner, an athlete, or just someone who cares about CrossFit's future, here's what's actually going on — and what it means for the 3,300+ affiliates across the US.

How We Got Here

Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm, acquired CrossFit in 2020 alongside entrepreneur Eric Roza. At the time, CrossFit was coming off the fallout from Greg Glassman's departure and desperately needed stable ownership. Berkshire brought capital and professional management. The community cautiously gave them the benefit of the doubt.

Six years later, the picture is a lot less optimistic. Here's the timeline that brought us to Uyemura's letter:

What Uyemura Is Actually Saying

Uyemura isn't just venting. His argument has a specific diagnosis and a proposed fix. As CEO of PushPress — which powers gym management for thousands of affiliates and has an 8-figure ARR — he's arguably the most operationally connected outside voice in the industry. He sees the data that CrossFit HQ doesn't publicize.

The core critique: CrossFit under Berkshire has prioritized extracting value from affiliates rather than creating it for them. Decisions that might look rational on a PE spreadsheet — cutting community investment, raising fees, pushing proprietary apps — erode the affiliate ecosystem that makes CrossFit worth anything in the first place.

Uyemura's position is unique because PushPress isn't a competitor to CrossFit — it's a partner to CrossFit affiliates. When affiliates struggle, PushPress feels it. When affiliates thrive, PushPress thrives. He has every incentive to want CrossFit to succeed.

What This Means for Your CrossFit Gym

If you're running an affiliate or training at one, the Berkshire situation creates real uncertainty in several areas:

Affiliate Fees

The current annual affiliate fee sits around $3,000/year plus a $1,000 application fee. The leaked investor pitch that circulated late last year proposed raising this to $10,000/year — more than triple. That proposal hasn't gone away. Any new owner will face pressure to increase revenue, and affiliate fees are the most direct lever.

Brand Value

The value of being a "CrossFit affiliate" depends almost entirely on the strength of the CrossFit brand. Open registration is down 32% from the prior year. If the brand continues declining, the premium that affiliates pay — and charge — for the CrossFit name erodes with it.

Ownership Uncertainty

CrossFit has been in a holding pattern for over a year. No permanent CEO. Multiple failed sale processes. The company is operating in limbo during its most important event of the year — the Open. That's not a sign of organizational health.

The Opportunity

Here's what the doom-and-gloom misses: CrossFit's methodology is still the most effective training program in fitness. The affiliate model — locally owned, community-driven boxes — is still one of the most resilient business models in boutique fitness. What's broken is the corporate layer on top, not the sport or the gyms.

If CrossFit ends up in the hands of someone who actually understands the affiliate ecosystem — whether that's a community-first buyer, a group led by someone like Rich Froning, or even a model like Uyemura is proposing — there's a real path back.

Who's in the Running to Buy CrossFit?

As of early March 2026, the sale process is still ongoing with no confirmed buyer. Several names have circulated:

• Wade Diebner & Mark Mastrov — reportedly entered a 90-day exclusivity agreement in late 2025, with a target closing in January 2026 that appears to have passed without resolution
• Rich Froning — Berkshire Partners reportedly visited Cookeville, TN to meet with Froning directly. He has since signaled he may de-affiliate CrossFit Mayhem, which would be a significant symbolic blow
• Daniel Chaffey — CrossFit's former International Director, endorsed by Greg Glassman himself, with a background in affiliate ownership and competition promotion
• Community-led consortiums — several proposals have circulated that would put ownership closer to the affiliate base

The Bottom Line for Athletes and Gym Owners

CrossFit the brand is in a genuinely uncertain moment. CrossFit the methodology and the community? Still as strong as ever. Your local box isn't going anywhere. The coaches who wake up early to program your WODs aren't leaving. The Open is still happening — 26.3 drops today.

What Uyemura's letter represents is something healthy: community leaders who have real skin in the game refusing to stay quiet while a private equity firm makes decisions that affect hundreds of thousands of athletes and thousands of gym owners. Whether that moves the needle remains to be seen.

WodFind will keep tracking the ownership situation as it develops. If CrossFit changes hands, we'll break down exactly what it means for affiliates across the country.