Cult
Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 10:46AM by Jon Gilson
This can’t be a cult; the connotations are all wrong. "Cult" would imply that something foolish or devious is occurring, something motivated by greed or vanity, something to do with stars or demigods, the cosmos or the second coming.
The only motivation here is excellence. Caring too much. Pushing the boundaries. All that stuff you say during a job interview and nobody believes you.
From outside the looking glass, I can see the disbelief. I can believe the disbelief. Thousands of people, swearing up and down this is the best thing since solar power, lawn irrigation, and supermarkets, bundled into a free-if-you-want-it package and available daily, changing lives every time. It sounds like a teenager’s drunken promise, whispered sweetly and mired in mal-intent.
Any rational human being would assume that there’s a plot, a cabal at the top, aiming to steal and maim, to prosper at another’s expense.
There’s not. I know, because I’ve sat at the table. I’ve had the conversations, reflecting on the past and predicting the future, wondering at the sheer speed of the rocket ship, the linear progression turning geometric. The discourse isn’t yachts and summer homes; it’s progress.
The driver of this mission is physical superiority; a battle-ready state, general physical fitness spurred by a contrarian philosophy and a general distain for bullshit.
We want our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen to pummel our Nation’s enemies. We want our sons and daughters to reject a sedentary lifestyle. We want our parents out of nursing homes and into society.
We do not want a cult, togas and Nikes ready for the apocalypse, and we couldn’t have one anyway. CrossFitters are too numerous to track, let alone control. They’re recklessly dispersed in America and the Middle East, Peru and Finland, Prague and Canada, arrayed under a thousand coaches, many of whom would just as soon eat horseflesh as agree with each other.
The only motivation here is the higher calling, the moral stance, and the knowledge that kind of good is not good enough, that health and wellbeing are sacrosanct, that the truth is inviolable, that fitness is everything.
Decry the organization, but know that your arguments are false. This is no siren song, no massive conspiracy to suck dollars from the pockets of the credulous. This is a revolution, righteous, transparent, and effective. It is a philosophy couched in generosity and executed unfailingly. It is a way of life, and it will continue, with or without you.
Speal attempts 100 consecutive pullups while the CFHQ training staff looks on. He got 96. Picture courtesy of CrossFit.com.
Reader Comments (17)
I wouldn't mind a toga though, do those come free with membership? The toga with nike's combo is killer fashion :)
Excellent article, I can't stand the cult reasoning.
Positive reinforcement and encouragement? Obviously a cult, why would anyone give those out for free? (yes, that was sarcasm)
Keep up the great work!
Nice article Jon, I always love your stuff.
I heard Greg Glassman give the best response to the 'cult' question. He said something like, "we don't care if you come and we don't care if you leave, how can that be a cult?"
Our Kate Rawlings uses a different 'c' word to describe her love for CrossFit, she says it's her crack!
There are numerous definitions for "cult". And being called a cult is not necessarily a bad thing. I looked up "cult" on Dictionary.com, and none of the definitions included forms of the words foolish, devious, greed, vanity, steal, or maim. Some of the definitions apply to religions, but not all. Two in particular seem to apply to CrossFit: "Great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing as manifested by a body of admirers: "the physical fitness cult". and "Obsessive devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing." What's wrong with that? Celebrate the CrossFit cult!
a great piece again jon, your words never cease to inspire
cult or no cult, I am in it for the long haul. great article as always Jon!
Hear hear!!
While I completely agree that we're not a cult, I can see how our devotion can give that image to those on the outside looking in. However, the worst attempt at decrying CF as a malicious endeavor that I've seen was someone recently calling CF a Ponzi scheme. Obviously, Coach has tried since the onset to give away his gold to the masses, encouraging us all to use the main site free of charge, step out into our garages and our backyards, and join each other in a better pursuit of fitness. It is the community itself that begged for the opportunity to pay for certifications, trainings, and affiliations. This comes not as the result of a mustache-twirling mastermind sucking us all in with his free goodies. And no amount of smooth-talking, glossy-packaged, jargon-spewing salesmanship could make anyone love a Fran, or a Mr. Joshua, or a Murph. We gladly participate and contribute and proliferate purely because we know the power of the content.
On another note, your second to last paragraph reminds me of something I want to put on a t-shirt: "Just good enough just isn't good enough"
Thanks for another great read,
Sky
As Always Jon, great article!
Great post Jon. My friend's wife is into the whole crossfit movement and that's what I call it. A movement, not a cult. Besides, if hanging out with these guys can get me to do a third of the pullups that Speal did, then that's not a cult. It's a sheer Motivational Group. Least, that's how I feel.
Disclosure: I am not a Cross Fitter
Not because I disagree with the concept, just because it doesn't satisfy all of my fitness urges.
I am more than happy to steal from Cross Fit as needed (as I do with other training modalities)
But, as a non- Cross Fitter, I am probably more likely to hear all of the nasty things that other lifters (bodybuilders, powerlifters, etc...) say about Cross Fit. And they do say some pretty bitchy things. Who knew that a 275 lb strong man competitor liked to gossip so much about other lifters?
But, to me, the funniest thing about all of the sniping and infighting between lifters is that to the general public, we are all a bunch of freaks...in a cult
Why do people put other people down for working towards a goal with passion? Jelously? Dissapoinment in themselves? Who knows! All I know is that Im loving what Im doing, I feel great and Im going to share that with anyone and everyone who cares to listen!
Nie post. I'm going to take a little more serious whack at this topic, but please don't interpret it to mean that I think CrossFit is a cult. They just seem like very motivated and effective fitness enthusiasts to me for the most part.
The notion of a cult in the pejorative sense comes from the observation that under certain conditions, group dynamics and charismatic leadership feed each other and lead to extremes of motivation or compliance that are contrary to the best interests of the individuals. This is based on very extreme cases, usually but not always associated with new religious movements. Social dynamics of groups really are a matter of degree. Most organizations wisely try to leverage some of the power of human social motivation, but not to the degree that totalist cults do. It is a real concern even in athletic and self-help groups.
One cautionary note, people involved in a "cult" in that sense *never* realize it, they have a completely different perspective of themselves from outsiders. Ayn Rand's most devoted followers for example considered themselves the ultimate individualists even though outsiders pereived them as slavish followers of a restrictive doctrine, and Michael Shermer called them the "unlikeliest cult" in his analysis.
Social dynamics are more powerful and change our thinking and perception more than we realize, there is good reason to be cautious if you hear other people refer to something you believe in as a "cult." It obviously doesn't mean they are right to be so extremely concerned, or that your group is doing anything more than motivating its members for good things, but it doesn't hurt to notice the dynamics of what is going on if the group seems to be the primary focus of your life. I've been involved in martial arts training groups that seemed to be wonderful at the time, and it wasn't until later when I left them that I realized I was a little farther into it and more slavish to the instructor than I realized at the time.
Some good introductory sources:
Tanya Luhrmann, "Persuasions of the Witch's Craft" (her PhD thesis on a wiccan group she was involved with in England)
Marc Galanter, "Cults: Faith, Healing, and Coercion" (looks at medical rehabilitation and addiction treatment in terms of their social system dynamics)
Thanks for sharing that information, Todd. Good stuff.
Best,
Jon
Coming from outside the US, I have never heard of this but it sounds like it could really attract a lot of followers in the UK.
I'm a happy cult member! Our uniform should be vibram 5 fingers and lulu lemon sweatpants...
But horseflesh is actually really tasty.
Conrad,
I bet it is. High in protein, too...
Best,
Jon
Very motivating and inspirational. It will be a source of physical well being for many. My personal trainer from Carlsbad also puts emphasis on the ideas of your article. Thanks you for the support guys!