🔥 R.A.D® Is Bringing Back Old-School CrossFit

October 13th, 2026

POWERED BY

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • 🏁 As the hybrid fitness “arms race” heats up, Spartan DEKA is betting on local gyms instead of chasing only massive race weekends.

  • 🎉 R.A.D® wants to bring the party back to CrossFit with “Tin Slingers.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY
❝

[W]e're losing the art of creating experiences for people, especially the [CrossFit] community as a whole, and so that’s what we're trying to do…is bring that back.”

Adam Klink, director of community and partnerships at R.A.D®
INDUSTRY

How DEKA Has Built Its Own Lane in the Hybrid Fitness Space

Credit: @deka.fit / Instagram

From HYROX to the Hybrid Games to the Deadly Dozen and the Turf Games, hybrid competitions and races have been gaining momentum for some time now, and demand only seems to keep growing.

Today, Spartan DEKA is in the spotlight.

The DEKA story: After six years at Spartan Race and watching their races “pull 20 million people off the couch with the mud and barbed wire,” Yancy Culp had an idea for a different kind of race.

  • His vision was to create a “globally recognized sport designed for all levels," he explained to the Morning Chalk Up.

In 2019, Culp pitched his idea to Spartan founder Joe De Sena, and the DEKA FIT concept was born. Now it was time to figure out the details of the standardized race.

  • “We rented an old abandoned Kmart in downtown Denver, Colorado, and for three-and-a-half months, we started testing the plan,” said Culp, who has been involved in the fitness space for 30 years.

The testing process included people of all levels, including CrossFit Games athletes, lifestyle fitness enthusiasts, and even people who were out of shape, with the goal of creating a hybrid fitness test anyone can do.

  • “I said, ‘We’re not leaving here until everybody has crossed the finish line, using the exact same standards. I don’t want Rx and scaled,” Culp remembered.

One Shoe to Rule Them All

Your WOD combines squats, 400-meter runs, and rope climbs. You know the problem: most shoes excel at one of those things and fall short at the other two. The Velites Hybrid 1.0 are built to hold up through it all. They’re stable enough for heavy lifts, grippy enough for the rope, and light enough that you won't think about your feet during the run.

It's also just... comfortable. Wide toe box, cushioned insole, the kind of shoe you forget you're wearing until the WOD reminds you why it matters.

*This newsletter relies on our sponsors. Please consider supporting them.

SPEED READS

📈💪 Gym Traffic Is Bouncing Back: After a sluggish second quarter, U.S. gym visits jumped 2.4% year-over-year in August — the industry's strongest monthly gain of 2026, according to new HFA data. Budget-friendly gyms led the charge, accounting for 74% of the increase, while luxury clubs saw visits decline.

💧💦 Thirsty? Treat yourself to the Ferrari of hydration products. More than just high sodium, Podium Hydro Salt + BCAA delivers hydration and recovery, with balanced doses of betaine, branched-chain amino acids, coconut water powder, magnesium, Potassium, and Astragin®.  Use code "CHALKUP" for 25% off Hydro Salt + BCAA.

📅🔥 The Countdown Is On: CrossFit has announced the dates for the 2027 Open, giving athletes a target as the road to next season begins.

🛡️🤝 CrossFit is Doubling Down on Affiliate Protection: CrossFit has named its Risk Retention Group the official insurance provider for U.S. affiliates through 2031, offering coverage tailored to CrossFit gyms, including open gym access, youth training, and off-site workouts. Already insuring roughly half of U.S. affiliates, the policyholder-owned group gives gym owners a direct stake in the company protecting their businesses.

👋 🦍 Grip Weakness? Don’t let it limit your deadlift. Versa Gripps offers lifting grips for every training need, including FITPRO, designed specifically for women. And for extra back support, the lightweight Hyperbelt is comfortable enough to wear through your metcon. Use code CHALKUP20 for 20% off.

ICYMI: Compete for a Cure Calls on CrossFit Gyms this October (Rx article)

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Tin Slingers: R.A.D®'s Plan to Reunite the Fitness Community

Purple and blue lights spill onto the street; bass thumps through the door; Danielle Brandon is the bouncer. It’s a Friday night at CrossFit South Brooklyn, and R.A.D® is throwing a party disguised as a workout. 

The performance footwear brand is hosting a series of events called Tin Slingers, which is built on the simple idea of bringing back community experiences for gyms. Gyms worldwide can sign up to participate for a chance to win R.A.D® shoes and Rogue equipment. The R.A.D® crew is also hosting several in-person Tin Slinger events, bringing their sponsored athletes and a full competition environment. 

The event, held at CrossFit South Brooklyn earlier this month, featured four sponsored athletes: Brandon, Josh Bridges, Madeline Sturt, and Jay Crouch. Tin Slingers includes a standardized partners workout for male/male and female/female pairs across all events. All four Games athletes competed alongside the community in the evening's final heats. 

  • “I thought it was the most successful, if not one of the most successful events we've put on, just from a numbers perspective,” Adam Klink, director of community and partnerships at R.A.D®, told Morning Chalk Up in an interview.

HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.

  • 🩷Happy anniversary to Bronislaw and Lidka Olenkowicz.

  • Check out this 170-kilo/375-pound jerk and overhead squat from Nick Mathew! 😳Whoa.

  • We saw a lot of cool programming at Crash Crucible last weekend; check out Lydia Fish on these double rope climbs. 

  • Gui Malheiros tried his hand at the ropes too — watch his rope muscle-ups.

  • 😤Jay Crouch is locked in for Rogue — check out this 161-kilo/355-pound clean and jerk.